-y^^ SpHm ■F\-'.^ ^MJ^ WSiT'l^t^^A S^flp^^' a %\jSV^B^^Vv "^l^fli^^^^l ^L^y* .iJN^^M^I ll^p^iBI sVlknK flU ^kJl /o i:^ 5jt o^ 2^ .^^ i:^. ^2- OK THE PRINCETON, N. J. SAMUEL AGNEW, OK P II I I. A n F. L P I ^yh<^^cy^ y^rr^j^^t^ BR 145 .B687 1823 Bourne, George, 1780-1845. Lectures on the progress ai perfection of the Church ( I A I iLa®iw®ai •N THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION ©F THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. BY GEORGE BOURNE. After the Lbrd had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs {•Uowing. Amen. , makS. MOUNT-PLEASANT, N. Y. PUBLISHED BY R. W. KNIGHT, •. AIARSHALL, FRINTBB. I82g. JT #♦ M PREFACE. These Lectures upon Ecclesiastical History were origijirilly intended solely, to diversify public instruc- tion in tlie ordinary routine of christian ministerial duties ; which constitutes a sufficient apology to dis- arm criticism. The Prospectus remarked, *• as the principal object is to develope to youth, and to per- sons who have enjoyed but few opportunities of study, a concise delineation of the prominent features and facts which the annals of the Christian Church com- bine; and as the form of instruction is oral and pop- ular, all learned and recondite investigations are un- avoidably precluded." The last note in the Appendix contains the jnlor- mation ordinarily included in an introductory no- tice; to it, the reader is referred for any explaijation which he may desire, concerning the materials of which the volume is composed. The Author believes, that notwithstanding all their imperfections, these Lectures are not the vehicle of error ; he has endeavoured ifi connection with the narrative, to oppose essential aberrations from the truth, to defend the fundamental doctrines of the fREFACE. Gospel, and to inculcate the importance of fraternal affection among Christians, thereby to augment that " communion of all saints" which will constitute the peace and the glory of the Millennium. If an heter- odoxical opinion sanctioned as evangelical verity, or a statement which can excite a discordant feeling between the sincerely devotional disciples of the gracious Redeemer — should be discovered in the vol- ume, no person will more sincerely censure, or more quickly expunge the morbid excrescence. The prophetical illustrations are incorporated ex- pressly to demonstrate the truth of Divine Revelation, and to educe a devout and practical acknowledgment that the Author and Founder of Christianity, is the God of all Grace, King of Kings, and Lord of Lord^, GEORGE BOURNE. Mount-Pleasant, N. Y. April IQ, 1823. INDEX OF TITLES. I. rntrodiictory. The study of ecclesiastical history, t II. The Apostles, Evangelists, doctriues, discipline, persceHtions, and progress of the church during the first century, 21 III. The order, einiuent Christians, heresies and persecutions oi" the churcli during the second ceutury, 36 IV. The eminent Christian*, doctrines, government, heresies, and persecutions of the chnrcii during the third ceutury, 67 T. The triumph, doctrine, government, ministers, ceremonies, and heresies of the church during the fourth century, 85 Tl. The extension, doctrines, rites, and the ceremonies of the church during the htth aud sixth centuries, 100 VII, The Mohammedans aud the Turks— the superstition, ignor- ance, discord and depravity of the Greeks until tue Reform- ation, 114 Tin. Prophesies reipecting the Latm chu'ch, 135 IX. The dominion aud power of the Papal hierarchy, 154 X. Characteristics ol the Popedom, 1§9 XI. Supporters of the Papal Apostacy, 193 Xli The two Witnesses who prophesy *' clothed in sackcloth," 223 Xiii. Ths Hecormation : 241 XIV. Oppu!»tioD lo the Protestants, 260 XV. The Greek, P^omaii, Lulherau and Augiicaa episcopal church from the Ketormation, 285 XVI, The modern reformed churches, 311 XVil. Theological coutrovv^rsies, 335 XViil. The principal modern den«minatioDS, 364 XIX. Christianity la the United Slates, 393 XX. Religious iu^tiiutions, 410 XXI. TH£ MltLENNlOM, 424 INDEX TO THE LECTURES. America discovered America settled Auglican established church Apostles Artifice Asiatic seven churches Augsburgh cootessioa Auriculae coat'essiou Austria B. Baptism of Heretics Baptists 377 Bishops aud Presbyters Page Sabellian 237? Trinitariau 393 Councils 72, 92, 227, 300 Court of High Commisioa 21 Croisades 20l| D. 36jDegeneracy ot the ecclesiastical 248 orders 181 Depravity of the Greeks 292j Destruction of images Diet ot Worms 7aOiscipiiDe of the primitive Chris- 407 tians 9* Discord among the Greeks 76 340 2r.9 306 208 Blasphemy of the heathen Priests 57.Douatists Blessings of the lleformatioa 275 Duration of the Milleuuium Bohemia 317 E. Book of Sports 307 Ebionites C. English Reformers Celibacy 145, 182 Knthusiasm Ceremouies 97, 1 lO Epispcopacy Charact«ri!itics of the MilleDBium 433 Episcopal ian Christianity tr;e H, 130 Evangelists Claims of the .Roman Bishop 74 Extension of Christianity Commencement of the 126U Extreme Unction years 158, 420 F. Commeaceraeut of the Milieu- mum Conference at Liepsic 234 V2?. 247 244 27 125 93 431 28 266 207 407 21 31. 103 181 Congregational ists Constautiuopolitau empire sub- verted Constantms and Coostantiae 86. ii7 Faith of the primitive Chris- 427 tians 243 Feasts ot charity 405 Festival at Ararat "Five points 236.Fraace 24, 41 in 61 347 314 G. COitTROVKRSIES. Arian Arminian Baptismal Oeisticai Easter Eiistathian Gevurnmeut and Discipli Manichean Meletian Nestoiian Origan Pelagiaa Popish Puritaa Geneva 99, lOSG.rmanCalviuists 34^) Gnostic* 350 God-denying apostacy 336iGo 204 24! 126, 145, 178 236 Vaudoia Virginia 314 402 Waldenses • 213, 229 War against the Protestants 261 Wiciiiiffe John 227 Wishart Gtoige 324 Z. Ziska John 231 ZniBgliHS Ulrio 249 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY^ IXTilODUCTORY. THE history of the Christian Church comprises the most iiiterestijig and splendid topics for contem- plation in the annals of our globe. If the study of general history be one of the best means of mental expansion; if an extensive acquaintance with Biogra- phy be a copious source of self-knowledge — it follows, that of all the departments of historical record, that which includes the government of Jehovah in con- nection with the disciples of the Prince of Peace, must be the most instructive and important. To review the moral transformation which has been developed in the world since that august Pen- tecostal morning, when in Jerusalem, in every lan- guage, Peter and the disciples "spake the wonderful w^orks of God;" briefly to retrace the divine dispen- sations by which the grand design of redemption has been evolved ; a,nd to display the gradual progres- sion of the church of Christ towards that period, when '' the light of tj^ie moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, even as the light of seven days ;" can be neither a useless nor a superfluous employment. Here we shall behold tlie most astonishing con- tradictions, under the government of infinite wisdom, all combining to produce the same beneticial result; in the methods by which the Great Head of the Church has directed ail her affairs, we shall perceive the Redeemer exalted; from the fortitude, patience^ A i2 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE I. virtues and triumphs of suffering Martyrs, the timid oppressed disciple may be encouraged ; from the labors, energies and zeal of Apostles. Reformers and Missionaries, the slothful may be excited to activity and diligence, and the faithful Servant must be ani- mated to nobler exertions for the cause of him " who died that we may live ;" and from the aw- ful end of many who have with unhallowed hands touched the ark of God, we may be induced to trem- ble lest we should be hardened into the spirit of per- secution, or ingulphed in the abyss of impenitence and despair. From contemplations upon the visible kingdom of Jesus, in the successive ages through which she has passed, we may deduce every species of moral and spiritual improvement. The perfections of God, as illustrated in her narrative, are adapted to excite equal fear and confidence; the mercy of the gracious Saviour has so often interposed for the deliverance of his tried and stedfast disciples, that no one can reasonably be agonized; the graces which inspire and adorn the Christian, are manifestly demonstrated to be of celestial origin by the wonderful effects which have flowed from the possession of them — thus devo- tion, hope and a similitude to him" who was holy, harmless, and undefiled" are engendered, and we become "folloAvers of them who through faith and pa- tience now inherit the promises/' What luas the state of the irorid on that inorning when ''-the Lord was received vp into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God?'' The greater portion of the civilized and explored countries of our globe were tributaries to Rome ; their morals formed amass of indescribable turpitude, and their pretended religion was the most preposterous and senseless idolatry. Even their philosophers, with scarcely an exception, were little more elevated ei- ther in the rationality of their conceptions, or their purity of conduct: and the Epicurean system, which was the most extensively prevalent, and obtained INTRODUCTORY. the most numerous enrolment of devotees, comming- led all the absurdities of the most debasing iVtheism in principle, with unbounded practical sensuality and corruption. The Jews alone appeared under a different character; while the other nations were enveloped in tangible darkness, light beamed upon them; notwithstanding, errors of ihe most pernicious nature infected all orders of the people, and the dis- putation of the Sadducees and Pharisees tended only to augment their delusions. — Pharisaic traditions which made the commandments of God of none efiect, were the entrance, by which the people travelled to Sadducean hifidelity and thence to Epicurean licen- tiousness. Of those sections of the world, which the conjoined ambition and cupidity of Rome had not grasped, little is known; but that record which has survived the destruction of time, evinces that in prin- ciples, manners, appearance and civilization, they were probably inferior to the most degraded and wretched tribe of our Aboriginal Americans. At this period, about the year of the world 4000, in Judea resided a being in human form, of the most extraordinary character. The instructions w hich he delivered, w^ere all sublime, novel, decidedly oppos- ed to the sentiments and habits which then prevail- ed, and .totally destructive of their longer continu- ance : these doctrines he enforced by matchless au- thority, and verified by the most stupendous mira- cles. From the haired which his opinions excited, he was unjustly and ignominiously murdered ; having previous to that event, predicted his premature and cruel death, the instruments who should be permit- ted to slay him, disclosed his restoration to life to his twelve disciples, and commissioned them at a subse- quent ca//, to itinerate through all the world, pro- mulging as they travelled, instruction for the igno- rant, reformation for the vicious, and redemption for the lost, merely by believing the "'' glad tidings," the good news, which they were enjoined to preach ; promising them, at the time of their appointment to 4. ECCLESIASTICAL inSlOIiV. LECTURE I. this arduous employ, that 'Mkip3»k>ha'methey shouWi cast out devils, speak with nen'-and unknbwn tdsi^e^ take up serpents unhurt;" drink poitiorihmt'kiof hig; divine mission. - v!];,!i >c ^3 r^ v/k r| Now, Jesus Christ did live.,di(e, ris!?ragaift, ai«j!Mafc jestically disappear from J udea, in conformity v,with the narrative in the New Testament : or the emuK gelical history is fabulous. If it be replied, that no such being ever resided among the Jews, then a vast majority of the most splendid and biissthl events in the annals of the world, have no anterior cause ; that is, all the transactions of tlie civilized nations, durins; nearly eigliteen hundred years, have existed without any commenccxment, or concatenation : and what is more astonishing, this same Jewish nation, among whom he is related to have been numbered, are ex- pelled from the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, according to his prediction; in every age, in every generation, in every country, of all climates, colours, languages, period.^,, scattered through the habitable globe, almost universally feeling an inextinguishaMe hatred to that Jesus who was crucified by their an^ cestors, and manifesting an insuperable aversion from all those who profess to believe in his doctrines, and to obey his commands ; that is, they abhor that which never existed, and are most inveterately malignant against a non-entity. Admit tliis consequence, and all the miracles in the holy scriptures dwindle into ir^significance, contrasted with the magnitude of that INTRODUCTORY. C|\ prmligy ^o which Infidel creduhty flics for refugc^t •£>eiij.the truth of ancient history, which thus repi'^g?-; senlsitke state of the world prior to the destructida of /Jerusalem ; all the past becomes a blank, an^- reliance- upon human testimony a delusion. ,But asj this principle ia operation would immediately, pror; duGoa dissolution of society, it requires; no argument to demonstrate that it is fallacious, c <,.oi ,:-.«;:;„>-,;( ^ Ifv! on - the contrary, we affirm, thajt jJespsitiQlliJstr lived according to the evangelical narration, \t6ia»fe^. involved in a single alternative— either the results, which the Saviour declared should attend Apostolif the Church by human pens, to the authority or to an equality with the imperishable dictates of super- nal inspiration, it may be admitted that the former are supplementary to the sacred Oracles, and should liiaintain the second rank in our regard and attention. In the human heart natai'ally is found a disposition to disbelieve the divine existence, to discard the su- premacy ofGod, to deny our obligations of obedience to his commandments, and to disown future rctribu- B, 10 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE I. tion. — The volume of celestial revelation was pro- muiged to exterminate these irreligious principles and sensibilities from the soul; and to implant sub- lime, consistent, reverential sentiments concerning the Godhead; with enlarged vieAvs of our character, duties and destinies as men. This native infidelity is banished by the word of God, and in its stead a vital faith is substituted. It is not presumed that similar effl^cts would result from the most amplilied knowledge of Ecclesiastical History; because failh cannot be generated, nor can its eiiicacy be sustain- ed without t!ie word of God; but as a Coadjutor, the records of the Church present innumerable and most cogent arguments to arrest the influence of our uabelief and to give energy to that faith " which overcometh the worll. " Nevertheless it must be remarked, that no doctrine taught by any Expositor, no ceremony practised by Christians of any age or country, no govenimeiit or laws which have been estiblished at any period, should be admitted as au- thoritative, unless they are sanctioned by " Thus sailh the Lord ;" and no example must be imitated, unless it flowed from "the same mind which Avas also in Christ Jesus." With this proviso, in the history of the Christian church, appears such multiplied proofs of the pouer, wisdom, interposition, justice, and mer- cy of God, that every species of unbelief must, under the operation of their influence, when duly scrutini- zed, be completely confounded, if not totally extir- pated. Thus an additional alterative is obtained a- gainst the mortal poison which creeps through our. veins, and which must be extinguished or we die for ever. //. The spirit of acceptable devotion. In the most eventful and perilous storms of perse- cutioji, with which the Lord permitted his sheep to be agitated and worried, it was a proverb, that bcr came at last, from its long experienced truth, a Chris- tian axiom, " tiie blood of tjjc Martyrs is the seed of the churcli," In this aspect, how worthy of all our INTROErCTORY. 1 ] devotion and confidence, does that King of Saints appear, who from the conflagration of his adopted children could produce the conversion of their exe- cutioners, who by the corporeal murder of one Chris- tian could quicken blind, dead idolaters, to spiritual sight and life ! Are jour affections dull, jour intel- lects benumbed, the powers of the soul torpid ?™ ily to Jerusalem. Hear Stephen, the Proto-Martjr, whose wisdom and spirit were irresistible, and who "full of faith and power did great wonders and mira- cles''—mark the rage of his envenomed Judges, thej gnash on him with their teeth^ — listen to his defence ; watch him — his ejes are elevated to the heavens ; those heavens he saw opened, and the crucified Messiah enthroned in celestirJ glorj. The rage cf his enemies could no longer be restrained, thej si- lenced his eloquence by their vociferatioii, stopped their ears, forciblj seized him, dragged him out of the citj, and there stoned him into Paradise. His di/ing confidence^ "the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God" to receive his spirit; his last words, the prajer of affection for his deluded assailants. — Every particle of this narrative inspires devotional sensibilities. Here the presence of the adorable Jesus, " Him who is exalted Prince and a Saviour," in his peopfe's distress is unequivocallj attested, to encourage our confidence — here the natural enmity of the human heart against revealed truth is distinct- ly exemplified to excite our remorse and vigilance against the intrusions of this unh;;]lovt'ed temper — - here the spirit of Christiaiiiiy is triumphnntiy dis- played, in disarming the injured of the most powerful passion of corrupt humon nature, rereuge, and in tranr- forming the fury of mnlediclion into the transports of filial and believing imploralion, that we may remem- ber the value of prayer, when we combine with Ste- phen's dying intercession, the subsequent renovation and labors of Paul — and here the decisive superiority of the religionof Jesus to all other systems of theolo- gy and morals which have ever been devised among 12 ECCLESIASTICAL IIHTORY. LECTURE I. men is irrefragably certified, as it imparts to its posv sessors a tranquillity which injustice cannot interfiipt, and which an unexpected and merciless death canfiot diminish. These views are more than sufficient to educe all the ardors of praise, the lervour oflove, and ceaseless ebullitions of gratitude to him who can thus regenerate the soul, and qualify it for an admission into those mansions of bliss which he is gone before to prepare tbr them, "• the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." : ;'*!><>!:! Who can hear a Martyr exp,ressTng^his(>conte!3ip't for " all that earth calls good and great," contrasted. M'ith the approbation of the Redeemer, the Son of man "who shall judge the world in righteousness," and not feel the incapacity of things terrestial to sat- isfy the desires of the immortal soul ? and their insig- nificant value, when compared with that " good hope through grace" which terror could not shake, and which the "midst of the burning fiery furnace" could not consume ? Who can listen to an outcast fronk earth, proclaiming the conquests of redemption, and " the unsearchable riches of Christ," to the obdurate sinners who have unjustly exposed him on the cross, as food for birds of prey, and not admire the impress, of a gracious Saviour's hand ? Who can stand around the stake to which are chained the despi^ad disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, view the llames which destroy their tortured limbs, and hear the M^arblings of their dying hallelujahs, without corresponding emotions in his soul ? On scenes like these we may gaze with conllicting sensations of rapture, until, like the dis- ciples travelling to Emmaus, " our liearts burn within us," while the Lord walks with us in tlie way, and from the pages of his servants' history, more lucidly opens to us the Scriptures. Dead indeed must be the sen- , sibilities of that man, who can behold these august ev- idences of Christianity witliout solicitude, when he scrutinizes his own dilFerent situation; and cold must be the feelings of that disciple who can pass by like the Priest and the Levite, and enjoy no sacred . i , INTRODUCTORY. 13 warmth, when he contemplates the chariot of fire which waits the triumphant Believer from great trib- uiations to the New Jerusalem. ///. -A luminous commentary upon the Gospel of Christ. To the sacred volume we are instrumentally in- debted for all our intellectual expansion, and all our social superiority over those nations where the Surj of Righteousness has not yet arisen with healing in his wings. The truth cannot be too often repeated^ cannot be too deeply impressed upon all descriptions of men, that the moral maladies of the human family admit but one mode of cure, and the evils which originate in sin have hitherto been mitigated only by the Balm of Gilead, the diffusion and reception of the Gospel. Hence, every proper attempt to cor- roborate its truth, to illustrate its doctrines, and to enforce its injunctions, must be beneficial. But to what sources shall we apply for confirmation of the Book, except to the histories which are a continua- tion, though written by fallible and uninspired men, of the divinely revealed oracles ? whence can we more precisely ascertain the purport of our standard of faith and practice, than by investigating the opin- ions of all those who have received it as an infalli- ble Arbiter, and by comparing their decisions with it, thence to educe our own conclusions ? how can the precepts of Christ derive higher exemplary sanc- tion, than by a delineation of that practical conform- ity which has been shewn to them in all ages by the most dignified members of the human family, and by an exhibition of the advantages which have invari- ably accompanied unreserved obedience and fidel- ity to the law of Christ ? It has been sometimes intimated, that christians professedly receive the gospel from a sinister motive, which designates them hypocrites^ or from a weak in- tellect, which supposes them incompetent to form a correct judgment. May not this odious insinuation be confuted ? Since the apostolic era, or at least- since the miraculous gifts to the church have been 14 ECCLEgIA'-.TK;AL HfHTOKV. /.FXTLRF. I. rio longer r^xpcmnccd, lf»c votario** of christijifiify dread iiotliitij^ wh*;n (jyityrHHicA witfi thoir crifmir-H, either in tiunibfrrft, virtu*?, or illnrnination : anfl it will bn no Hfnall a<;q«jif-^ilir>r], could this fffrrt alofif he pro(J(if.<:rl \>y u. nv'i*;w ol* Ecch-Hijifttirjil ili^.tf;ry — jin ijii^h-'ikr ji (:orivi<;liori ttuit. vvitii lh(; «ifi<"rTC rf.'C^-ption of chrifitimjLty in ifirJihwoluMy coruhiriftd, all that vviiich can irifusr? flrivofion, purify thr; hffirt, ♦fiiarf^c tho uncJf;rKt,arjrliri^, prorriot,*; prfHr-rit. coffiff^rt. and ifnp'ant. ttif; a>,mjrf;(l af»licipat.if)f»s of hili<:i(y c.vrrlnHt- ifig. In ihiH portion ofthf; annalh frxpJHKJcd (or the iriHpeetion of man, the Haered volume is eopionsly ehieidated. Kvctry perleetion ol thf! Deity is dis- phiyed ; all the attrihule^ ly erdar^^ed c'jipneitioH. '^I'huH .-idruittin^ the divine word hh our orily svuthori/ed Ht.'ind.'i rd oi" all reli^iou^i opinionfl and aetiorjs, yet we HJiidl diH- cover in thsieiu, aji inversion has been establisli- eil, and that >vluch sliould be tirsl. is either last or totally obliterated. ir every book is charaolerized by delect, exeept the voluuu> ot' supernal revelation, and if that defeet is proportionate to the distance ut uhicli it is re- uio\ed iVoin the centre ot'pertectiou: how important is it. espiH'ially to youth, that ere corruption eotn- nieuees its unhallo\ved dominion, the pure light sliould irradiate the heart, ami the nol>lest of men be vi(Mved as examples. ^Ve introduce our >outli to the sacred scriptures as the fust Hook, and instead of sanctioning- the cIUhIs which it produces, by a course of reading- wlilch may eijually instruct, interest, and corroborate the salutary impressions educed by the holy dotMriues and lives o\ the departed saints, we trausler their attention from Mount Zion anil the heavenly ,lerusaltMn, to Greece and Rome, and the pav;es of those la hies, which can have no other ten- dtuicy tluui to vitiate their princi])les, while it sinud- tanng!uless, uud the obdurate siniuM", the immensity oi {\\c tlivine ptMl'ections, and tlie truth oi' our re- sponsibility. Hence a mind not predisposed thus to b(*hokl the gevernuuMit of Jehovah in all suhhmarv atliiirs, might scrutinize all the records connecUHl \\'\[\\ ]U'ofane history, without knowing any God but the phantom of a mythology as absurd as it is dclil- iug, ami without contemplating any ext^mplars except men wliose predominant pa.ssions anil uniform con- ilnct, instead of being- calmly pourtraved, should ne> er be adduced, except aia a beacon to cautioji ; 10 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE I, until at length, the stupifying potion has almost if not entirely expunged the prior impressions engendered by divine Truth : but a knowledge of Ecclesiastical History, would on the contrary increase the iniluence of the verities which a perusal of the sacred oracles might have imprinted on the heart ; and thereibre, an acquaintance with the prominent facts w liich have occurred amid the revolutions of Christianity, is not only proper, but indispensable. Is it obvious that the moral qualities of man are of tlie highest regard, and demand our primary at- tention ; and that nothing adventitious, whether in intellect, or station, or acquisitions, is truly deserving of esteem, except it contributes to render the pos- sessor more useitd and beneficial in this state of pro- bation, and to imbue him with superior qualifications for the immortality before us, when the corporeal powers shall be stilled by the grasp of death, and inclosed in the oblivious recesses of the tomb ? Then, to wiiat sources of information must we apply for correct ideas of the Deity, especially in his govern- ment of the world ? Undoubtedly, to those histories in which his perfections are ever recognized, and the w^hole train of diversified change is attributed to the divine permission, or direction, or immediate in- terposition. But this grand stimulus to virtue, the impressive reality of the divine omniscience, is either diminished or forgotten in all other records ; and this general position will apply to every other truth, the operation of which is intended to glorify God, and to promote the welfare of men. To tlie holy scriptures we must ever primarily refer for all that knowledge which is requisite to our sanctification and peace ; and if this instruction be all-important, it follows, that it is a most incumbent duty, to assist the influence of tliese doctrines by tlie sanctions which tliey derive from their actual display in the lives and actions of those who professed to have been governed by them. Hence, it is incontestable, that a mind fraught with moral and religious iniluence, INTRODUCTORY. l7 sfnti an enlarged acquaintance with the history of the Church of Christ, is much more prepared to peruse with advantage the annals of the world ; and although the whole tenor of the author's narrative might in- duce a thoughtless reader to suppose that " there is no God," or at least to forget the exactitude of his dispensations, and the minuteness of his attentions to all the ajffairs of mankind ; yet from the vivid and permanent sensibilities excited by the Gospel, and the delineation of its elfects as embodied in the Mar- tyrs and Reformers, he will be disposed to admire the control of that supreme, invisible hand, which primarily impelled, and which still regulates the ma- chinery of the Universe. 2. V. A treasury of self-knoivledge. We have often admired the saying of the antient Philosopher, '• knoio thyself:^'' and we are frequently admonished that " the proper study of mankind is man:" admitting this truth, the most efficacious mode to attain this knowledge must be instantaneously approved. If the history of the world exhibits man in all his variegated hues, and of course enables the beholder accurately to estimate his diversified qua- lities ; if in biography, his characteristics are por- trayed with perfect individuality, and his features are distinctly depicted; indubitably, these points are much more advantageously and precisely ascer- tained in the records of the Christian Church. The good and the evil are so indiscriminately blended in profane history, that it is very often almost impossi- ble to separate them ; and it is very common for per- sons through this combination to contract an equal fondness for the vile as the precious, until the influ- ence of this unhallov/ed amalgamation becomes in a measure incorporated in their own hearts and prac- tice. This pernicious consequence cannot attend the proper study of Christian history. In every stage, in every important occurrence, in every character of 2. Appendix II. 1& ECCLESIASTICAL HISTC-RY. LECTURE L notice and interest, the line of demareation is so- plainly drawn, that it cannot become obscured. — The distinctions between truth and error, vice and virtue, rectitude and injustice, barbarism and phi- lanthrophy are so invariably maintained and so lu- cidly exhibited, that it is impossible for the most superficial observer to commingle them. Consequent- ly in every step of his route the Traveller finds a source of knoAvledge in application to his ow n cha- racter; and his mind is insensibly, yet additionally impressed, with the importance, the benefits, and the celestial origin of the sacred books. In the annals of the church of Christ, the virtues of which man is capable are exemplified in their most fascinating ap- pearance ; and the vices to which sinners are prone ixre displayed in all their undisguised deformity. — The natural darkness which beclouds the human mind, and the depravity which sways his soul are clearly discerned; while in all the effulgence of meridian splendour, we witness the expulsion of the mental gloom, and admire the w ondrous transforma- tion which opens the blind eyes and whitens the Ethiopian's skin, Christianity expands her archives, and proclaims man, a creature destined for an im- mortal existence, this alone gives to ecclesiastical history an irrefragable and an incalculable superi- ority over all the other details of nations. Every page is fraught with serious recollections ; by which we are reminded of the divine government, our per- sonal obligations, our ineffable responsibility, the misery of an exposure to the wrath of the Lamb, and the extatic peace which accompanies the expe- rience of the divine favour. The successive charac- ters which are depicted, furnishing either a caution to alarm or an example to imitate, convince the mind- without a long process to analyze the composition ; because the particles though combined are so dis- tinct that the grandeur and simplicity of virtue are in- tuitively separated from the tortuous baseness of ■vice. Thus, as in a glass, we behold the secret move- ISTRODL'CT®R\. 19 -jfients of our hearts, and the ahiiost mysterious con- tradictions which adhere to the human character j and when it is subjoined, that since the period of Constantine's reign, the history of the Saviour's king- dom inchides all that which is truly interesting in the affairs of men, we have an insuperable argument for the Course of Lectures now proposed. If it thus appear evident, that an acquaintance with the events which have transpired during the existence of the Christian church is the most proper introdb^ction to the perusal of the other annals of our globe ; that it is one of the most ample sources of self- knowledge ; that it affords a most lucid commentary upon the sacred volume; that it furnishes a strong - antidote to unbelief, and nurtures the spirit of ardent and acceptable devotion ; it requires no additional recommendation to urge our scrutiny of the promi- nent circumstances Avhich in the successive ages of Christianity have occurred ; especially as not amuse- ment only but illumination is sought, and not instruc- tion alone but also our melioration may be obtained. However, it must be recollected that we are about to survey a very extensive field, to examine contro- versies which have agitated nations, and divided the members professedly of the same household, and to investigate doctrines, opinions, characters, ceremo- nies and institutions, on the correctness of which many may have already decided. It becomes us therefore, to divest ourselves of our preconceived prejudices, that we may derive from this research, that spiritual edification which the Martyrology of the Saints and the triumphs of Reformers are calcu- ed to produce ; even from listening to the perverse disputings of men, that we maybe established in the faith and hope of the Gospel; and that the v,retch- edness which has attended the last terrestial days of Persecutors may inspire us Avith a holy aversion from all those feelings and excitements which are incom- patible with Christian charity; witliout which, all eloquence, all knowledge, all power, and all suffer' ^20 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE 1. ing " profit us nothing, but are sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." iT our meditations shall educe these elTects, we shall not regret the hours devoted to an examination of the progress and influence of Christianity from that glorious Pentecostal morn to the present period ; while the narrative of past ev- ents will radically impress the conviction, that we indulge only the anticipations of certitude, when we exult in the speedy approach of the reverberations of that blissful trumpet which the seventh angel shall sound, and in answer to w hich '' the great voices in heaven" shall say ; " the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, and he shall reign for ever and ever." Amen. ^h'^OStlSs^' (And' ^Evangelists — the doctrines and disci- Kiplino-^the persecutions — and the progress of the church ^Ufkl0 the first century. The history of the Christian church during the first century, is chiefly comprised in the Acts of the Apos- tles, and the epistolary part of the New Testament. The command of the ascending Messiah, which en- joined upon the Apostles, that " repentance and re- mission of sin, should be preached in the name of Je- sus Christ, beginning at Jerusalem" w as strictly fulfil]- ed: for immediately after the day of Pentecost, the in- spired followers of Immanuel commenced the pro- mulgation of those celestial doctrines, which have illuminated and metamorphosed the world. The stupendous results of Peter's first sermon, of Stephen's martyrdom, and of Paul's conversion were accelerated and augmented by those identical meth- ods which the enemies of the truth adopted to inter- rupt and exterminate them. Persecution erected its hell-incarnadined banner and severed the Apos- tles ; driving them with relentless fury into all sec- tions of the Roman Empire. By this dispersion, "the glorious Gospel of the ever blessed God" was re- sounded from India to Spain, and from the Danube to the Lybian deserts. Few are the records of the primitive disciples which have survived the corro- sions of seventeen centuries — but some facts may be collected, from which their dispositions, the features of the truth which they believed, and the distinctive characteristics of the christian church can be ascer- tained. /. The Apostles and Evangelists. After Stephen, James the son of Zebedee died by the swor^ of Herod. Of his exit, an interesting and 22 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE U* marvellous fact is detailed. The man who had drag* ged him before Herod's tribunal, ^vhen he perceived his submission to the barbarous and unjust sentence which doomed him to death, struck with remorse, and suddenly converted by the Spirit of Truth, was turned from the power of Satan to God, conlessed the Lord .Jesus with great boldness, and was con- ducted with the Apostle to the same block ; having implored James' forgiveness, having heard the Apos' tolic "Peace be to thee," and having received tiie kiss of charity, they were both beheaded together: exhibiting the noble fruits of apostolic example, and the blessed eihcacy of redeeming grace. James, the author of the Epistle, who by his extraor- dinary religious qualifications had acquired the name of the Just, was forced by his enemies to ascend the pinnacle of the temple, there to declaim against that Christianity, to the faith of which he had been asto- nishingly instrumental in adding converts — when thus exalted, the eyes of his mind being enlightened, he avowed, "that Jesus Christ was sitting at the right hand of God, and would come again with power in the clouds of heaven." They commanded him to be hurled from the battlement, and then began to stone him — his last words ; "Lord God and Father, I be- seech thee for them, they know not what they do" — his noble eulogy^ a Priest's vociferation ; " Cease ; the just man is praying for you" — his imperishahk cpitapK the testimony of Josephus; "that the murder of James was the destruction of ill fated Jerusalem." Of the seven other Apostles no records remain, except a general tradition that in various parts of the globe they successfully performed the duties of their high vocation, until the malignity of idolatrous bar- barism commuted their terrestial labour for heaven- ly rest, and the "crown of glory that fadeth not away." Andrew is related to have been crucified, after hav- ing displayed the utmost fervour against the prepos- terous worship of the Heathens, and an almost incre- idible constancy during the terrific preparations which CENTURY i. 23 \vere made for his suspension on the cross — com- Ininghiig with all the most solemn recollections of his Martyrs death, the utmost expansion of Christian benevolence. Peter's wife received the honour of martyrdom, prior to the Apostle's death ; as she was conducted to the place of execution — " Remember the Lord"^ cried the saint — and soon afterwards he was called to exercise the same christian magnanimity and af- fectionate recollection. The history of thajt period assures us that Peter and Paul triumphed on the same day or in rapid succession. Peter having been crucified with his head reversed, and his beloved brother decapitated. What a brilliant vision — the Barbarian could dismember his body, but could not shiver the crovv^n of righteousness from his head! 3. John survived all his brethren ; and after, as the ancients narrate, he had been boiled in oil, and drenched with poison, he was banished to Patmos to be starved — but there he found Jehovah Jireh, and at length was restored to his former residence at Ephesus, where he died in the Lord. Nothing more accurately, lucidly, and sweetly de- picts the spirit of those primitive ages, than the apos- tolic sermon which the superannuated, enfeebled, but gio.ving John constantly repeated on every Lord's day in the assemblies of the saints, " Children love one another." This he declared was "the one thing- needful." It is a source of the most pungent regret and painful humiliation, that the dying injunction of the last of the Gracious Redeemer's associated ser- vants has not uniformly and incessantly been exem- plified among his successors. //. The doctrines and discipline. The moral aspect of the world during this period, exhibits the most surprising revolution conceivable; which was effected, notwithstanding the united op- position of every diversified enemy. Learning and ignorance^ licentiousness and idola- X Appendix 111. V, ! ECGLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE II trv, prejudice and bigotry, ferocity and antiquated consecrations, armed wiiii the resistless authority of the Roman empire were roused to the battle ; never- theless, the impotent, despised, unlearned Fishermen and Tentmakers sustained by him who on Calvary- proclaimed, ''It is finished" — vanquished every ioe. Where they Avalked, diseases lied ; when they spake, the benighted understanding was enlightened, the corrupt inclinations were relbrmed, the sensual al- fectioiis were purified; — where they sounded the Jubilee trumpet, the God whom the nations knew not was received, the Saviour of whom they had not before heard was trusted and loved; and the barba- rism of debased seliishness was transformed into the purest philanthrophy — thus were the passions sub- jected to reason , the rebels against God bowed to their hitherto unknown Creator ; they who shuddered at pain were changed into monuments of patience ; and they who would not admit either tlie gloomy word or the sable imagery of death to be introduced in their presence, now benigidy smiled amid its most appalling terrors, and meekly exsiltif^d in their ap- proach to the land of blissful immortality. Yet the' church possessed no terrestrial dignity or civic pow- er ; these were her decided enemies ; nnd all that Christianity could claim was almost exchisively cir- cumscribed w ithin the poor of the world, or the undistinguished mass of national society. To what causes must such stupendous effects be imputed ? 1. Their faith. — All history coincides with the New Testament, that the doctrines of the cross of Christ were universally the sole topics of Apostolic and Primitive Preaching . That Messiah, who is despis- ed and rejected of men, was, in their estimation. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords: that baptisinnl covenant, which is disregarded from infidelity, was then most conscientiously and publicly avowed , and the cross of Christ was their only hope, and boast, and consolation. CENTURY r. 25 The efficacious atonement of the merciful Jesus then constituted t?ie basis of acceptance with God, and the unceasing source of solace and of song. It formed the corner stone of all their experience, of all their belief, and of all their preaching. The proposition at which modern pride revolts, and with which modern reason is disgusted, then combined the burden of their hymns, and the theme of their silver-tongued eloquence — " Christ died, the just for the unjust, to bring us sinners near to God." How shall a sinner be righteous before the Lord ? ^vRs the inquiry daily propounded, and in reply continu;dly illustrated. The phantom of human merit, and the visions of supererogatory good works, were not in- cluded in the creed which they adopted ; all their justification originated in faith through the Lord Jesus Christ, as their infallible Instructor, their ethcacious Mediator, their righteous Lawgiver, and by him they had access to God through one Spirit. Hence, all the pungency of their reproof, and all the thunder of their admonition, invariably tended to demolish ev- ery hope of pacification with God — of which Imman- uel did not form the only basis. But how might this knowledge be acquired ? How could a creature dead in trespasses and sins, be made alive to God, to himself, to the Savior, to eternity ? To this they replied, by directing the enquirer to the Holy Ghost, as the enlightener, and the sanctifier of the world. — That humiliating topic, regeneration, was their fun- damental position. " Ye must be born again," was continually reiterated ; and to every objection re- specting the instrument, the mode, and the possibili- ty, they gave but one overwhelming retort — " Ex- cept ye be converted, ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven — Thus saith the Lord." As long as these heaven-born doctrines were plainly and energetically enforced, so long the church retained its purity, the preaching its success, and the nations their edification — but when the ridiculous perversions of men concealed these celestial verities, D Zb ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE IL and buried them under the rubbish of fantastic spec- ulalion, and the chills of sepulchral unbehef— then the honors of the only Redeemer were appropriated to legendary saints — then the favour of heaven was guaranteed for corporeal austerities or pompous ec- el.^si'istical donations — then the ])eace of God was insured, not lor faith and holiness, but for pecuniary mule — -then the regeneration of the Holy Ghost w,iy swuliowed up in that most odious of all blas- phemous substitutes, priestly absolution ; and then the entivii;ce to glory everlasting depended not, a? they asserted, upon the name w ritten in the Lamb's book of life, but upon a Pope's bull. The glorious Reformalio.i dissipated this bbckness of darkness ; and the resurrection of the same august doctrines from the oblivious vr:u!t in which the Papists had en- to:nb:.'d them, h is produced similar magnificent con- sequences— the melioration of the nations Avhere they have been received, ei joyed and practised. The whole economy of grace, so consl^'ntly unfold- ed by the pristine preachers in the Christian Church, w.is exactly adapted to demonstrate the glory of God in the redemption of man. While they humbly con- fessed their sin, their helplessness, and their state of perditiorj of w^hich they were clftxtually convinced ; w hde tliey relied alone for salvation upon the aton- ing blood, the perfect righteousness, and the preva- lent intercession of Jesus, as tlieir only hope of heaven : and while they acknowledged themselves siiiful atjd vain, without the constant regenerating and purilyiMg influences of the Holy Ghost, which were their common privilege — they were constantly reminded of tlieir obligations to the Father who loved them in his Son — to the Saviour who died for their redemption, and to the Comforter who enliven- ed, supported, and sanctified them — thus combined in their experience and practice, they worshipped, bdieved, and adored the God of Christianity, in con- l> idistinction from the idols of their hands, and from th ) d^test;;b!e mythology which they had hithcrto hoAioured and trusted. CENTURY L li 2. The discipline which theij administered. — The prim- itive church was a conimunitj of brotherly love. Ecclesiastical tyran?iy then was unknown — none ex- isted who were lords over God's heritage — it would have been impossible, where all things were in com- mon, and where the love feasts precluded the sem- blance of dictatorial authority. Evident indeed are the superlative charity and heavenly mindeduess of these our Christian ancestors. They were all of one heart and one soul—their most odious crime, the ar- dour of their brotherly affection—their enemies' most indignant charge against them, their superiority to all things terrestrial. The societies of Christians were at that period all of them independent chvrches — electing their own Bishops nnd Deacons — admitting their own members, and exercising the various duties attached to their social relations, without appeal to any external authority—but exhibiting the most mag- nanimous, endearing, and universal affection to all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. The Lord's day was ever observed, the Lord's death weekly commemorated, and the fraten-ity of Chris- tians exemplified in the sircraest of -AX bonds, a union not only unprecedented, but tibsululely unim- agined by any mortal who had previously existed. ///. The heresies.. The best donation from the hand of God deterio- rates when committed to men. Even in the all per- fect revelation ofthe Gospel, this lamentable effect vv'ns displayed. Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousaess, as " the light of the world," br'pmed his ineff ible splendour over our moral hemisphere ; but human inventions quickly wrapped the radiance in clouds. Grace, unfolding all the unsearchable riches of Christ, filled the world Avitlj its ecstatic harmonies, but the pride of sinners robbed it of much of its Avorth a;id blessedness. In the review of that period, so long since elapsed, and the attempts of our own age, t)ie reflecting mi[|d is irresistibly arrested by the resem- blance, or rather the identilv. 28 ECCLESIASTICAL IlISTORY. LECTURf. {/. '• Both examples certify to us how prone is the hu- min heart to undervalue the mediation of Jesus, and the glory of redeCiiiing grace, while it attempts to sub-sdtute instead of the gospel method of salvation, the delusive schemes of a self-righteous spirit." Two classes of heretics arose even during- the A- poHtolic age. Widely did they differ in their errors, but both extremes joined in the same centre. The Gnostics propagated that the Son of God w^as not properly man, and that the death on the cross Avas oidy an appearance. This principle at once exterminated all the essential qualities of Christiani- ty ; and rendered all its most sublime and peculiar doctrines a mere nullity, without foundation in exist- encv?, or argument to support ; because if Christ died not, iie rose not, he ascended not, he lives not to in- tercede, he cannot return to judge. The Ebionites marched to the other extremity: they asserted, that the Lord Jesus was a mere man, oniy the Son of Joseph and Mary. Of course, they d' ;r-.arded the atonement, and endeavoured to estab- lish Iheir justificallon by the works of the law. Paul's epistles they rejected from their canon, and thus like their modern descendants, charged an inspired Apostle with error and vice. One party would not beiieve in the Mediator as Man, the other would not admit tliat he possessed any dignity superior to hu- manity— and between them both, it mny be declar- ed, as Mary complained in the Garden — " they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." The doctrine of expiatory substi- tuf^ion, which is the grand cornerstone of the gospel, was tluis entirely removed : the Gnostics destroyed it by denying the human qualities of our Master; and the Ebonites, by opposing our Lord's divine nature, banished all the value of his sufferings. The Gospel and Epistles of John were written expressly to counteract both these heresies ; and no stronger proof can be given or require#of the sen- timents of the Ch.ristians of the first century, respect- CENTURY I. 29 ing those who thus demolished the temple of God^ than the foot, that the Apostle John, when entering a public bath for refreshment, upon seeing Cerinthus, one of the most furious and malignant of these heretics in the bath, said to his friend — " Let us flee, lest the bath should fall, while Cerinthus, an enemy of truth, is within," and hastily departed ; thus expressing his disapprobation of his opinions, and his abhorrence of his pestilential errors. IF. The persecutions. These commenced when Peter and John, by the power of Jesus of Nazareth, cured the lame man in Solomon's porch, at the entrance of the temple in Jerusalem. Jews and Gentiles, who never consented in any other object, cordially combined to extirpate the disciples of the Lamb. Herod and Pontius Pilate must both unite, to malign and condemn the Lord of life and glory ; and the disciples were assured, that they should not escape the prior allotment of their divine Saviour. Many minor conspiracies against the church, are noticed in the Acts of the Apostles, and in the Epistles ; but the first general persecution originated from the conflagration of the city of Rome. Nero, a proverbial monster, had, for amusement only, commanded that metropolis to be set on fire ; and after it was nearly consumed, to avoid the reproach of his infernal barbarity, for he played the harp to an old Grecian song, exulting in the desolation ; he hypocritically accused the Christians as incendiarieg of the empire. It is impossible to peruse with pa- tience or serenity, the still remaining monuments of the inconceivable agonies which resulted from that merciless event. Peter died, and Paul was behead- ed, during its ravages ; and the following description will enable us to form an indistinct idea, of the hor- rific calamities which defenceless and meek Chris- tians, such as those upon all of whom was great grace, were called to endure. " They were slain- with the sword, or burnt with fire, or scourged to death, or stabbed with iron darts, or bored with 30 ■ ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE II. augers, or hanged, or crucified, or drowned in sacks, or flayed, or bereft of their eyes, and tongues, or stoned, or stripped and left to freeze, or starved, and in every way dismembered, ior the scorn and deris- ion of the world — insomuch that a man might see the streets of the cities full of men's bodies, the old and young together, with female corpses naked, in heaps, to which interment was forbidden. They were cov- ered with the skins of wild beasts, torn by dogs, stripped, covered with combustibles, hung up in va-r rious parts of the cities and villages, and then fired, that they might serve for lights in the night, ior their relentless murderers." By all these various modes, w as the malignity of Hell exhibited upon earth — un- til after four years, the Lord permitted jNero to be degraded, who fled into eternity by his own hand, and his wretched remains were dragged about Rome, in deeper disgrace than the Christians had ever ex- perienced, the abhorrence of the good, and the exe- cration of the wicked. The ravages of persecution through the edicts of Domitian, were more widely extended and more cru- elly afl!lictive. To him, persons of all ranks, stations, characters, and ages, were equally abhorrent. His highest delight was to discover and to inflict the ut- most tortures which humanity could sustain, and his individual employment to kill flies, when even his ruflian hirelings were fatigued with butchering Chris- tians. His own domestics, even his relatives, could excite no relentings, and he who commanded men to be barbarously murdered, and in the most lingering form, merely that he might be glutted with their ex- cruciating agonies ; he who boldly and diabolically wished that the whole human family possessed but one head, that he might exterminate them at a blow; permitted no interruption to his almost incredible extravagancies, until the righteous Judge of all the earth called him from the throne of his earthly tyr- anny, to the supreme bar, there to answer for " the things done in his body." CENTURY I. 31 V. The progress of the Church. It might be rationally asked — amid tliese storms, could the defenceless ark survive ? Yes — the heav- enly Pilot conducted her safely and triumphantly tln-ough the perils of the dee}). The measures which viere concerted to extinguish her name and to oblit- erate her existence, by the superintendence of infi- nite wisdom amplified the number and the sphere of her servants, and daily added to the church them who should be saved. "The blood of the Martyrs was the seed of the Church." The executioner be- headed ojie.man, and ten believers hallowed the spot ■ — From the cross one was transferred to the crown, and a multitude sprung up around the consecrated scene — One saint marched through the fire to Para- dise, and hosts of soldiers filled with the unquencha- ble love of the Redeemer shed abroad in their hearts, arose to aveng>e his death, by following his exam- ple. Until from zeal and persecution, each combin- ing to produce identical results — ail the then ex- plored habitable globe displayed the trophies of the gospel, and resounded the honors of the Lamb that was slain. From Caesar's palace to the miry dungeon, from Rome to Britain, and thence to Africa; from the Nile to India, and Tartary, the messengers of salvation had transported the exhilarating Angelic chorus, " Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will to men ; for unto you is born in the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord !" This condensed narrative excites serious reflec- tions. For the primary establishment, the etlicient promulgation, and the extensive progress of revealed truth, in so short a period, and amid such appalling opposition, impel us to admire the wondrous dispen- sations of God ! From darkness he educes light, confusion he transforms into order, and in his incon- ceivable benevolence to the wretched children of Adam, so " manages all mortal things," that the con- spiracies of malign depravity and corrupt ignorance, against his glory and christian enjoyment, under his; 32 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTLTxE JI- all-wise controul, become the instruments to devei- ©pe the honours of his government, and the medium through which the Ibllowers of the Lamb obtain, even in this vale of tears, " the peace of Ciod which pass- eth all understanding" — and tliat most splendid and enrapturing of all terrestrial acquisitions — an evan- gelical capacity to " read their title clear to mansions in the skies !" " Here is the faith and patience of the saints !" The influence of the grace of God, as exhibited in the experience and practice of the Redeemers dis- ciples, presents the most dignifying moral specta- cle ! In contrast with the Apostolic Fishermen and Tent-making Evangelists, all the intellectual expansion, all the noblest virtues, and all the boast- ed eloquence of Greece and Rome, dwindle into comparative insignificance. In vain do we explore their volumes, thence to derive any knowledge of the hope fall of a blissful immortality ; and a debasing, revengeiul passion realizes no diminution when we peruse their jejune ar2;uments against unhallowed indulgence. But who is that Judge, arrayed in all tho magnificence of Imperial majesty, and armed with all the jurisdiction of absolute power ? That is Felix, the Roman Governor : And wh-o is he, in bonds, standing before him with the physiognomy of more than mortal philanthropy, and the digniiy of saint- like innocence ? the prisoner is Paul of Tarsus ; a slandered, persecuted, despised, and detested Naz- arene. Listen ! to a Tyrant almost proverbial for his arbitrary injustice, he proclaims the necessity of righteousness ; to a Voluptuary, wallowing in bestial licentiousness, he enforces temperance ; and to the Arbiter of his mortal destiny, he depicts, with all the infallible solemnity, and all the unmitigable ur- gency of a divinely commissioned Instructor, the in- dispensable necessity of transferring his attention from the judgment seat on which he Avas then sta- tioned, to that ''judgment stituted an essential, often the chief portion of (iieir diurnal drink; and with these were combined ail the common calamities ii cident to mortality. Can we therefore review the glorious results which accompanied the dissemination of sal- vation by the Messiah; can we peruse the heart- rending records of those excruciations, and not feel and cultivate the highest degree of gratitude to the Almighty Sovereis:n of the Universe, tiiat all the de- liohts of this Gospel we may enioy. without their for^ mcr accompanyiiig miseries and horrors t To a Christian of the nineteenth Century, and e- speci^lly to a descendant of tliose Puritan migrants who, for the rights of conscience, dared to buffet the tempests of the then almost u'. traversed Atlantic, and who erected their t-}bernacles where ecclesiastical hierarcliies and antichristian despotism have never dispLiycd their ruthless characteristics; nothing can be more diilicult than tiie attempt to depict the vivid representation of the scenes, and to embody in his own sensibilities the experience of the Redeemer's disciples, during the prevalence of those storms with which Persecution desolated the church of God. When we retrace the virulent, the unceasing, the diversified, and the universal opposition which the Gospel of Jesus Christ has received from the na- tions among «whom it has been promulged — when we reflect upon the tortures, igpominy and multifari- ous death which have been the invariable concomi- tan.ts of that ''cloud of witnesses, of whom the world was not worthy'' — when we are reminded that the grand object of their pursuit was "a city which hath foufidations whose builder and maker is God" — and whe!i we contrast the doctrines, the illumination, theduti''s. the prohibitions, the promises, the spirit and the object of di^ i'je Kevelation, with the trials of them who "endured as seeing him who is invisible:" CENTURY I. 35 who were mocked and scourged, " in bonds and im- prisonment, stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, siain with the sword, wandered about in sheep skins and goatskins, in deserts, in mountains, and in dens arid c;r/es otthe earth, being destitute, afflicted, torment- ed " — we are overwhehned with astonishment; and are coerced to believe, that our Ancestors were in- duced to suppose that the sacred Oracles, instead ofbeiHgllhe treasury of -peace on earth, and good will to men" — were like the fibled box of Pandora, a c\sket filled with every multiform evil and male- diction, from which even Hope itself was perfectly aud for ever excluded. With the convictions which we possess, that to the extension of the Gospel, the civilized portion of the habitable globe are indebted for ill their intellectual and moral superiority, how can we effectually comprehend the narrative of those inconceivable tornados of malignant fury, which, not like the Angel who scattering death through Se- nacherib's army, mingled the whole camp of all cha- racters in a solid mass of corpses — but with infernal acumen appeared instinctively to exonerate the hiughty devotee of idolatry, vice and corruption; and to diffuse all its blasting energy upon the humble sanctified Christian ? Reminiscences of the priinitive a.ijes of the Messiah's kingdom, and of the inelfible c ilamities in which its citizens were then overwhelm- Cvb must therefore excite and foster unfailing evan- gelical gratitude to the Great Head of the Church, who dispenses all "the unsearchable riches of Christ," for the support and enjoyment of the present members of "the household of faith;" and who has so graciously made our lines to fall in pleasant places, that we " have a goodly heritage," and enjoy the blissful pro- mise, " they shall sit every man under his vine, at.d under his fig-tree, and none shn)l make them afraid : for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it"— Amen. The seven churches of Asia — the first and second Apoca.- Jyptic seals — the interior order, eminent Chrisiiaus, he- resies., and the persecutions of the Church during the se- cond Centura/. , ^ From this period in the amiais of tlie Christian Church, all the prominent features of her history, are detailed by the spirit of prophecy; and our faith in the authenticity of divine revelation is strengthen- ed by observing the wonderful coincidence between John's Apocalypse since its original transmission to the disciples, and the history of the Roman empire. Among the most remarkable of these fuUilled pre- dictions, the epistles to the famous seven churches of Asia, stand a striking and incontrovertible testi- monial of the Apostle's supernatural inspiration. The magnificence of Ephesus is a fact attested by all the ancient historians — and the glory which the Church there obtained, by their obedience to Jesus, is equally resounded in the primitive age. They were nevertheless prcmonished, that it is highly dan- gerous to depart from the living God, were caution- ed not to encourage the Nicolaitans, an impure sect, whose doctrines and practices were equally abhor- rent and vitiating ; and assured that if they did not repent, " their candlestick should be removed out of its place." Now the temple of Diana is in extinction; and of all the Christian houses of prayer — one only remains, which is transformed into a Mahommedan Mosque. A few Turkish f imilies live in great wretch- edness among the sj)lendid ruins of Greek, Roman and Asiatic g)-andeur, with not one '"household of failh;" the gospel, its preachers and ordinances, all have vanished. . CENTURY II. 37 Tlie second message was addressed to Smyrna; ihej were commended and encouraged; and not- withstanding ail tiie inroads of the Arabian Apostacy, it is beheved, that the body of behevers has never been at any period totally extinct. At present, the spirit of the Gospel is reviving among the descend- ants of them who heard the honoured Poly carp preach, and who saw the iniiexible Martyr triumph. The church at Pergamos, which was very sharply reproved by her great Head, has scarcely a vestige remaining. A few families who are called Christians, but whose name it may be feared, is the sole evidence of their evangelical profession, reside amid the des- olations of this once dignified metropolis, in the ut- most misery, and '• in the most abject and sordid ser- vitude." Thus hath the Lord fought against them with " the sword of his mouth," In Thyatira, no traces of any devotional building can be discovered : a few Turks dwell among the immense piles of white marble which have survived the destruction of centuries ; but the profession of Christ is extinguished, and engorged by the reveries of the Koran. Sardis was the haughty metropolis of Croesus, and at one time surpassed in brilliancy and opulence all tlie cities of the East — the church in it is stated to have been the first which w as formed in lesser Asia, and also the first which apostatized from Christianity. Now the city is a superlatively grand and very exten- sive mass of demolished magnificence, where no tem- ple exists to the Redeemer's honour ; where no preacher blows the joyful sound, and in which no people walk, O Lord, " in the light of thy counte- nance." The epistle to the church of Philadelphia, is sin- gularly prophetic — among them God reproved noth- ing, but declared that he would " keep them from the hour of temptation ;" no doubt intending the tyranny of the Turks ; and it was promised to them who over- came, that " they shall be made pillars in the temple 38 ECCLESIASTICAL HIST0R¥. LECTURE IIL « of God," In writing the history of the Mohammedan irruptions under the Turks, a modern scotling Inlidel has most unintentionally corroborated this marvel- lous prediction. He says, " that of all the Christian churches which are recorded to have existed, i'hiia- delphia alone survives," and as if he had been divinely guided to confute his own scepticism, by using the very phraseology of the scripture, he adds, •* she stands the pillar of stabihty, unmoved amid all the surrounding desolations." Here Christianity has al- Avays displayed something of its purity, and some of the buildings hallowed for the worship of .'esus still exist; a monument of the protection with which God encircles those who ^'keep the word of his patience." Laodicea was, in its prosperous period, one of the most populous and superb cities of Asiii — -• she was rich, and increased in goods" — but the Christians within her walls were corrupted by the luxuries, and chilled by the carnal enjoyments to which they had such easy access. Their lukewarm ness, and lethar- gy, and fondness for the things which are visible, produced for them unmingled censure from " the Faithful and True Witness." The Lord's declaration was wonderfully consummated ; if they would not repent, " I will spue thee out of my mouth." Laodi- cea has long since been totally demolished ; and during many centuries lias been, as it is now, merely an assembhige of caverns, where wolves and jacknlls prowl, and dragons, snakes and vipers hiss ; so that not only has the ancient worship of God totally dis- appeared, and the recognition of a Saviour been per- fectly exterminated ; but the district even in which this lukewarm church existed, has been so immedi- ately cursed by the righteous Judge of all the e r'h, and so branded with the visible marks of inextin- guishable reprobation, that its stupendous spec"mens of architecture are not only utterly destroyed, but also by men completely abandoned. Modern visit- ers corroborate the truth, that " as they did not then hear the voice ©f merciful admonition, noiv every thing CENTURY II. 39 seems as if God had doomed the place, and left it to the dominion of Satan." " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches." 1. The history of Christianity as narrated in the Apo- calypse, is divided into three distinct periods ; seven seuls^ seven trumpets and seven vials. From the era of the vision, nntiS the triumphs of Constantine over his foes, and the succeeding permanent establish- ment of the cliurch, is the Heathen Roman Empire, included within six seals. Thence, the state of the Christian Roman empire to the commencement of the seventh century, is delineated under four trumpets of the seventh seal. Witliin the three last trumpets, is contained a view of the world during the famous prophetic 1260 years. The fifth, or tirst wo-trumpet includes the origin of the two Apostacies, Moham- medan and Papal; and the sixth, or second wo-trum- pet represents the extension of their sway; both de- tailing Events which have occurred in the Eastern empire : and the seventh, or third w^o-trumpet, with its vials, depicts the ultimate effusion of the wrath of God upon the powers, which in every age perse- cuted Christians, and finally coalesced for their ex- termination ; and displays in all its horrors the de- struction of " the enemies of our Lord and of his Christ." The paragraph in the sixth chapter of the Revela- tion, from the first to the fourth verse, contains the prophetical history of the church and the Roman em- pire during the second century ; and the first seal has almost universally been applied to the general ditTusion of the gcupel. The Lord Jesus Christ is represented as a Conqueror— his bow indicating en- ergy ; his white horse, the rapidity of his conquests, pure and merciful ; and his crown, his royalty and triumphs. From the borders of India and Tartary on the east, to the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the name of Immanuel was known, and honoured as the Redeemer of mankind — thus circumscribing all the I. iAppendix IV. 40 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE IIL civilized world, and the nations with which the Ro- mans held any intercourse. Who can Avilness tliis extensive liow of the doctrhies of the cross, in spite of all opposition and persecution, and not with rapture hail these demonstrations of celestial benevolence ? The second seal has been usually referred to the Romaji empire, from the accession of the EiiJperor Trajan to the close of the century. It was a red horse, denoting his bloody cliaracter, and his rider had power to take peace from the earth by his great and tremendous sword. The Roman onnais are re- plete with the almost incredible slaugliters and mas- sacres which continued without mitigation, and al- most without intermission, during more than 89 years. The Jews and the Romans, equal enemies of Chris- tianity, were permitted to butcher each other with a destruction and malignity similar to that with which they desolated the Christians. In Cyrene. the Jews massacred 220,000 men with the utmost barbarity. Around Alexandria in Egypt, and in Cyprus, they murdered 240,000 — while the relentless Romans, like ferocious beasts fired with rage, attacked the Jews at all times, and in all places, until in their grand rebellion under Barch.obab, who pretended to be their Messiah, upwards of a thousand of their for- tified places, and of their largest and most populous towns, were utterly razed and destroyed ; 580,000 men were slain by the sword, besides incalculable numbers whom pestilence killed, and famine starved. So great was the diminution of the inhabitants from these varied commotions anff wars, so vast and dreadful were the dilapidations upon the prosperity and energies of the empire, that even the finally tri- umphant Emperors neither congratulated the Senate, nor would receive any honour for victory. If we add to these deaths, the myriads tortured, mutilated and slain by the ruffian arm of infernal persecution — we shall immediately perceive the accuracy and the miseries ©f this prophetical denunciation. C.EXTURY II. 41 Which were the distinctive characteristics of the (Christian Church ? /. The interior order. 1. Their faith was very similar to that of the for- mer period ; the i'undamental doctrines already de- tailed, were still exhibited and preached in their pu- rity ; but towards the close of the century, the intro- duction of the ancient Heathen philosophy, m ith a variety of distinctions diminishing the extent ofmor^ id obligation, much deteriorated the simpliri ty and dignity of the principles and practice of the former century. 2. The miraculous gifts of the Apostolic era were ytill prolonged, though with less frequency ; and were more generally displayed in those regions where the Gospel was primarily introduced ; and of course where supernatural attestation was requisite, than among the long established abodes of tlie Redeemer's followers. But towards the end of this age, a great degeneracy was discernible in the manners and vir- tues of the disciples ; they had multiplied schisms, and consequently their vices ; while their frivolous disputations oidy tended to evince, how weak was the tie which bound them to their Lord and Master, and to each other, although professedly united to *^ the Lamb of God which takelh away the sins of ihe world." 3. Apostolic practice genernlly continued on all the more prominent and essential institutions : but a variety of minor circumstances connected with the church, was partially changed during this centurial revolution. " The mystery of iniquity had already begun to work," and at length it developed itself In Rome, at some epoch not exactly determinable, f il;.^ ], p^e of 1600 years, and the purilVJi'g e'ii'i';:ry of iii:' 'ujo-ust Reformation have not elFeetu d!y ex-'; ' ; i ' I. A certain indescrib sble solemnity w :»s s!]|>p<'S -d to be- long to Baptism, wliich confi led the adininistraiion of that ordinance chieily to E sster and Whitsuntide; and the origin of these names demoistrate the ten- dency of the human mind to abe.r ' Vom the lu- minous path of gospel truth and c ■ i simplici- ty. Our English epithet Easter, is dei-i\eJ., eilh*^r from the Assyrian Idol Astarte, or the Saxon God- dess Eostre, the grand celebrations of" which nothings were about the month of April; and Whitsunday w is so designated, because the candidates for Bap*'* ni on that occasion, geiierally wore long white robes ; although it appears., from the custom in the early ages, the frequent b'!*:-r'n of Ik: converts naked^ that this garment must hiwG been tlie appendage of later generations. The seeds of the Romish M.vss were also noAV im- planted, by the rapidiy iiicreasing practice whieh had been introduced, to administer ihe: Lords ■"tap- per, and even to transmit the co.'?.serr«/f?f/ elements, to the sick and dying : and in connection with this de- parture from the primitive institution, the dog na sv.'iftly and extensively v.as diffused, that^a peculiar 44 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. LrCTURE III. saiiclltj was altaclied to a lile In ccHbacy, which evcnliKilly conducted to all the Monastic establish- ments ot" the Greek and Roman hierarchies. When the Christian religion remained without ai;y recommendation Irom the inllnence of power, or thr^ display ot" exterior mao;nificence, how was the exist- ence of the gospel perpetuated ? i>y Avhat terres- trial coincidences and contradictions did the Lord sustain his cause ? The extent of the Roman empire was so vast, that while its government crushed one part to atoms, the other was excluded from its coer- cion; and thus the very circumstance which in a more confined despotism, according to human esti- mate, would have demolished the Saviour's sway, augmented 4l« amplitude, and contributed to its pre- servation. In llie retrospect of tiiis century, it is impossible not to remember the remarkable simili- t" 1 b^^tvv^en th ^ most striking features of that dis- tant period, and the present era. 1 ...' iUiiii'diate successors of the Apostles are re- nowned for the dispersion of the Scriptures in the various vernacular languages; whicli constituted then tiie grand means to diffuse and prolong the know- ledge of divine revelation, and which has been ve- rified in our own generation, to be equally etlica- cious for the promulgation of the Truth, and the pro2:ressivc enlargement of his empire, who is going "forth conquering and to conquer/' //. The superior Christian ivriters of tlie seeojid, e- qually as of some other Centuries, constitute a very distitiguished part of the historical detail of iho Re- d^'erner's church: and their magnanimity, their learn- ing, and their claim upon our undying affection will not be diminished, by understanding the state of Pa- ganism, v.h^n thev sojourned in this vale of tears. The various systems of Idolatry received all the sanctions of Imperial power, and notwithstanding they were becoming iiicreasingly disreputable — yet the Apo^osz;ists lor Christiarnty evinced unexampled fortitude wlien they could dare unlimited earthly CEM'LKV tl. 45 authority in defence of the truth. Besides, the Hea- then Priests and Shrine makers exerted themselves in every form and upon all occasions, to intlame the sano'uinarj multitude, thus fortitied by sovereign ex- ample and defended by Imperial influence, against the pnssive and impotent brotherhood of the meek and lowly Jesus, The lucubrations of Pagan Philosophy, the effervescence of Atheistic ridicule, and the ebul- litions of Epicurean reproach, ever most amply remu- nerated, combined all their powers to sustain Satan's throne, and to disgrace by falsehood, or extirpate by force,- Christsanity from the globe. Notwithstand- ing, Celsus vomited forth his blasphemies. Emperors enkindled the Martyrs' fires — and bribed Murderers tortured maligiiant ingenuity, to deter by every spe- cies of most abhorrent laceration and indecency the feeble Christian ; the Infidel, the Tyrant, the Ruffian, toiled for a non-entity ; still Idolatry was diminished by the loss of its devotees, and the number of sincere Penitents incessantly augmented. in a geometrical ratio •, while the imperishable apologies of some of the Martyrs, exposed the absurdities of the Mytholo- gical system, in the most luminous manner, to univer- sal contempt, and utter abhorrence. The men of Mdiom we speak w^ere truly eminent " children of the light ;" they adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour by their personal piety and multifarious labours— they promotedthe cause of Christ by their continual writ- ings— they pometimes blunted the sword of persecu- tion, and always developed the infuriated senseless injustice of their Tormentors, by their eloquent apo- logies lor their Masters religion— they enlightened the understandings and exhilarated the h'^arts of the dis- ciples, by their treatises onevangHical doc r'nes and Christian devotion : and at last, sufTered the excrucia- tions, and obtained the crown of martyrdom, that the testimony of their dying blood might seal the evidence of their dignified lives. Of these, Simeon. Ignatius, Justin, Polycarp, Po- thinus, and Apollonius, were in various forms slain; 46 tCCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE III. but Athanagoras, Theophilus, DIonjeiiis, Miltia- des, and Quadratus, -svere protected of God to die in peace. Tlie writings of these primitive Christians are of the highest value, as evidence of the doctrine, disci- phne, heresies, manners and sutierings of the disci- ples of the ages in which they lived ; and their testi- mony is of additional moment, because of their long protracted mortal pilgrimage. Simeon had attained 120 years when he wascruciiied-Ignatius during near- ly forty annual revolutions was Pastor of the church at Antioch. Justin had been a renowned Christian in all parts of the church almost half a century, when ke was transported to heaven by decapitation — and Polycarp had been the angel of the church at Smyrna seventy-four years, probably the very individual ori- ginally addressed by John, in the epistle to that body of believers. To those, therefore, whose eyes had witnessed the various changes in the cfiurch, and who had participated so actively and prominently in all their more general affairs, we may with confidence appeal for correct information ; and this equally exalts the suffering and unresisting followers of the Lamb, and degrades to the very depths of ignominy the merciless and unglutted Bloodsuckers who were perpetually slaughtering the older generation, that by every refinement of barbarity they might intimidate their children from adhering to the cross. Hut in vain — '^ he that sitteth in tlie heavens l;>.ughed, and the Lord had them in derision. The King was set upon the lioly hill in Zion." ///. The heresies which trniihhd the church during this cra^ originated in two sources. 1. The Jewish opinions. A sect arose called the Na- zarenes, who mingled a vast variety of Mosaic cer- emonial observances with Christianity, and who were much attached to the economy promulgated by him, who " esteemed the reproacii of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Al- though not numbered with the avowed rejecters of GEI^iTUHY IL 47 a good conscience, who, •' concerning faith, have made shipwreck ;" .yet their opinions and practices denied the simplicity and purity of the Gospel, and fui'iiished others with arms in which more directly t© contend against divine truth. The grand heresy of the first, subsisted in the se- cond century ; the docirins which opposed or corrupted the real and proper Divinity of Christ-, and it is a so- lemn memento to the existing generation, that during the first 200 years of the existence of the church, any man who denied our Lord's divine character, was not permitted to associate in communion with the church universal, or to retain the name of Christian. A si!!i;!il;.a' fact is recorded concerning this contro- versy, riicodotus who attempted to revive the dog- ma, that our Lord Jesus Christ was only a man> was the principal heresiarch. During one of the per- secutions— he was conducted with some christians before the inimical magistrates. His associates open- ly avowed their faith and attachment to their Lord and Master, and were immediately condemned and exccuiC'J. Theodotus as resolutely denied him. Be- ing afterwards severely censured for apostacy from his God ; he replied, " No, I have not denied God, but man, for Christ is no more." This opinion, with his ex- clusion from the usual tortures to which the Chris- tians were doomed, produced a new nomination: the God-demjinir aposiacij. '• He had neither principles nor contidence to bear the cross--"' arid our modern Scof- fers at the Lord Jesus Christ's essentially divine per- fections are his exact counterpart. Their love of im- mortal souls evaporates in a cold and cheerless sys- tem of dry ethics, animated by no missionary fire j and their dissemination of the Scriptures to enlighten the ignorant and reform the vicious, is circumscribed by a bigotry, which only admits them partially even to disperse a frigid and corrupted translation of the New Testament ; so that a Humanitarian of the nine- teenth, approximates, if not surpasses in error, a God-denying Apostate of the second century. 48 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOKV. LECTWRE III. 2. The Oriental Fhilosophj also contributed its iuli proportion towards the deteriorfdion oi' evaiJi!,i.'lical truth. The Montanists were collected by an inlatunted enthusiast, Avho pretended to bo the conilorter that Jesus had promised. Montanus himseh' was an ene- my to all literature, and the bigoted ica iler cl" all those who did not submit to his dreamino- iiispiralions. Believing many of the distinctive verities ol" liu? Gospel, notwithstanding; their numerous and absurd additions, the sect which he formed excecdii)(!;ly tioublod the church. The Pagano-Chrisiian Philosophers probably ef- fected the most important injuries and the most per- manent corruption of Christianity. They were de- nominated Eclectics : their limdamcntal tenet was, that all religions are virtually idenlicaL Their prin- cipal object was, to combine the morality of the Gospel, with the more refined notions of the Platonic philosophy. All the essential doctrines of tlie cross were excluded from their system ; and a hctitious holiness, an exterior garb of sanctity w as substituted, which was gradually amplitied into all the penances and austerities of the Papal mummery. Hence the pleas of Pharisaic pride, and the iancies of self-right- eousness, mingled with the relined argumentations of dialectic Platonism, obscured and partly oblitera- ted the doctrines of justification by faith in Clirist, the sole efhcacy of his atonement and mediation, and the absolute necessity of the work of divine grace, through the operation of the Holy Ghost, to regene- rate the heart and sanctify the life. From these caus- es, the purity of sacred truth, and the godliness of its Professors, manifested prior to the close of this century, direct symptoms of decay. But nothing can more obviously exhibit tlie de- basement of the Ministers of the Christian church in the latter part of this period, than the controver- sy that was agitated from one end of the iloman em- pire to the other, respecting the precis? day on which CENTURY II. 49 ihej should celebrate our Lord's resurrection. From Lyons to Rome, thence to Ephesus and to Antiocli, this despicable lury raged. The Bishop of Rome, not a Bishop in the gospel interpretation, but one of the Pope's progenitors, v/lio with his predecessors had contrived to usurp addi- tional jurisdiction throughout these hundred jer^rs, resolved that this solemnity should be observed -ic- cordijjg to a tradition which he declared had been received from Hermes. The churches of Ephesn? and the Asiatics commemorated the resurrectio : of Jesus, according to the day which had been desig- nated by Polycarp, who had been taught as John's disciple, immediately from the Apostle himself The principal question v/as, whether the crucifixion of our Lord should be memorialized on the same dry when the Jens celebrated their Passover? This fri- volous dispute excited every angry passion, and commenced that dissatisfaction and discord which nnally divided the Latins and Greeks, into two distinct, and often inimical bodies. One of the most astonishing facts connected with this circumstance, and a most lamentable proof of human degener-^cy and imperfection, is, that they over whom the swo^d of persecution ever hung, suspended by a hair, and for whose extinction, the incendiary always held the torch ready to kindle the fires of martyr- dom, should thus debase their pacific religion, and debilitate their more than mortal energies, by child- ish disputations as absurd as they were unimportant ; and yet they were sustained with a rancour little less malignant, than that with which the bitterness of the Heathen Priesthood inflamed the murderous rabble. This contemptible controversy eradicated the larger proportion of the harmony of the church, during the few years when "the Lord gave them rest roundabout from all their enemies;^' so that between external storms and interior discord, we may reasonably won- der, how the church could have existed — but it was the biish in realitv, which Moses only saw in svmbol, G 50 F.CCLnSIASTICAL IIISTORV. L'.xTURi;: in. and though Imrning, it cannot be cor. sinned, for the Lord is in tiie ])i]sli. IV. The <{C)i3ral histor)j of ike Church and of its pei^secv- tions^ will inchide all that remains of importance in the second century : but this comprises those cir- cumstances Avhich embody the moral features of the Roman Empire, as well as of the Christians vvithin its boundaries. Never might tlie higlily figurative lamentation of Jeremiah the Prophet of Tears, have been more apt- ly applied, than by the Disciples of the second cen- tury. '• Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of heaven ; they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid Mait ibr us in the wilderness." Their situation renders ilitilc all attempts to de- lineate the ceaseless malignity, and not only unmiti- gable, but accelerating barbarism, which the Idola- ters exhibited during the various successive genera- tions of that period. Nothing less than the benefici- al results w^hich flow from the retrospect, could scarcely urge a person imbued with only common sensibilities, to explore the heart-rending annals of those prijiiitive christians — but truth beckons, and her votaries know, that however mysterious and ap-' parently inextricable the labyrintli, she infallibly con- ducts those who follow her, to light and life and joy. The persecutions of the second century, may be illustrated by the remembrance, that during the for- mer age, " the wisdom of this world" had centered almost exclusively in the Philosophers of Greece and Rome. With the unique exception of Paul, the A- postle of the Gentiles, no one of the immediate fol- lowers of the Lord Jesus Christ, appears to have op- posed to their vain reasonings, a confiitation deduced trom tlieir own absurdities. Butaftei' t!ie departm-e of the last of the most noble twelve, John the Belov- ed ; when the celestial effusion of the Holy Ghost, the extraordinary gift of cloven tongues, like as of fire, with the miraculous interpositions of the Great Head of the Church, had partially ceased ; and when CENTURY 11. r>l the sublime trutJis, witli the august efRcls of Divine Revelation, were developed in all their resplendency and righteousness, then tlie princes even of the ilUi- minated Idolaters, submitted all the pride of learning, and all the licentiousness of Bacchanals, lo the wis- <^lom of the cross, and the sanctity of the gracious Redeemer's immaculate prescriptions and example. The conversions of Justin, Aristides, and others of tiie Pagan prime devotees, evolved a new era. Evan- gelical truth, with her immutable adherents, liad been supported almost entirely by her own simplicity and consistency ; but these new champions of the faith transformed the contest between the knowledge and worship of the one true God, and the abominable mythologies of superstition and Idolatry, which had hitherto been sustained by a defensive and resistless mode of warfare, into an irresistible assault upon all that creed which Pagan Philosophy had promulged, and carnal ignorance had deemed sacred. The de- basing doctrines of the Epicureans and Stoics, were contrasted with the holy dictates of the sacred ora- cles— the absurdities of Pantheism were arrayed against the luminous injunctions of the spirituality of the Godhead — the arcana of the Heathen Priesthood were displayed as a foil to that radiance Mhich brings " life and immortality to light, through the blessed Gospel of the ever glorious God'"" — and of course, Demetrius and the shrine-makers were a- larmed. Prejudice and cupidity, with all that is selfish in principle, and sensual in action, felt the mortal thrust, and roused themselves to determined action. Of this vast combat, which was waged even at the foot of the Imperial throne, few memorials ex- ist ; but the scattered remnants eviijce, thai, before the sword of the spirit, vv'ielded under divine aid, by the Literary Martyrs of the second century, Greek and Roman Pagans were totally discomfited; and that like their more modern successors, the only arms with which they could crush undoubted verities, were the multifarious torment^ of relentless persrcurton. 52 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOUl. LECTURE III. To a reflecting mind of the nineteenth century, a question naturaliy arises ; how could the execrable devastations and miseries which Christians suffered, have been permitted by the successive chiefs of the Roman'empire ? especially if v.e add, that by the forced confessions of their incurably inveterate and malignant opponents, they were the most submissive, meek, unoflending, peaceable and virtuous inhabit- ants under their sway ? One answer alone can be given ; — the disciples of the Lamb were ridiculed, misrepresented and ca]umniated. It is also a fact inconlcstablc, that these ungodly machinations were often commenced, and ever in- flamed by the Jews, in all points where their influ- ence extended. The whole fury of the scattered tribes was ever ingeniously exerted. As the Chris- tians professed their plenary belief in the sacred Books of the Jews — when persecution misheathed her sword, the descendants from Israel were often doomed to the same punishment — to avoid this ex- tremity, the Jews never ceased to vilify the followers of tiie Messiah, that they might escape odium and torture ; and many of the most abhorrent scenes of that terrific period, originated in the same spirit which induced their ancestors to crucify the " Lord of life and glory." The opposition made to the progress of Christian- ity during the second century, originated in one source, and produced similar elTects ; it may, in all its diversiiied exhibition, be embodied in one word, p,:-- ,:■ /f'ion : but it must be developed in its threefold operation. 1. Calumny. — Nothing can more irrefragably dem- onstrate the depravity of human nature, than the si- m'l.tude which exists between the opponents of "pure and undefded religion," in all ages : — and did we noL sometimes, however impotent their efforts, realize their rage even in these United States, we should be surp;'ized to know the monstrous excesses with which the early Christians were reproached. Contempt CENTURY 11. .13 and indignation, in their utmost extension, -were em- ployed by those Idolaters, when they avowed theit- enmity to the gheep of the Saviour's fold. ' They were denounced as Atheists ; because the} would not worship the images made with hands, oi Jupiter and Bacchus, which idol nothings they de- rided, as Elijah scorned the Baal of the Israelites : they were accused of magic and witchcraft, because in them was displayed the power of Jesus of Naza- reth, to enable his servants, according to his promise, to work miracles : they were represented as haters of the light, because when their diabolical enemies had proscribed them from worshipping their Beloved and Gracious Saviour by day, they assembled in the jiight ; and because when they dared not meet on the face of the earth, they ventured to pray in its dens and caverns : because they addressed each other under the Christian epithets of Brothers and Sisters, they were depicted as an unbridled community of incestuous associates : the sacrament of the Lord's supper was transformed, by their misrepresentations, into a regular sacrilice of bread, accompanied with human blood : and as if it were possible to exceed this infernal mass of lies and enmity, the Martyrs who preferred a present death in torture and Heaven, to linal apostacy and Hell, were ignominiously reviled as self-murderers. These varied criminalities were all depicted ae cemented by the most odious magical operations ; and as intended to consummate their secret designs and plots of revolt against the Imperial Usurpers, who called themselves, and who wished to be known as legitimate Rulers. Aristides and Quadratus offered their jastifications to Adrian, and Justin presented his apologies to An- toninus and Aurelius. To these literary warriors may be subjoined, Tatian, who began the warfare by a direct attack upon idolatry ; Theophilus, who un- folded all the abominations of the origin of their Gods ; and Hermas, who compared the subtleties 51 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORi'. LECTURE lU. and in.-ipid trash of the Philosophers, with the sublim- ity, harmony, and truth of the Scriptures. But Ap- pollonius stands a perermial example of Christian fortitude and wisdom. He was one of" the Roman Senators, and consequently of the very highest order in the Empire ; yet he ventured to pronounce an oration even in the Senate, in defence of the perse- cuted Believers ; the triumph of truth was scaled hi his crown of martyrdom. An almost iiiercdihlefact has survived the desola- tions of time — v/liile the most relentless fury was un- chained against the genuine Christians, the various sects of Heretics enjoyed profound quietude. Two reasons may be assigned for this artificial conduct. By division, they expected to enfeeble Christianity; and thus they varnished over their persecution, by imputing to the true church, the crimes of its enemies and apostates. Nothing can be more refreshing than the defence ©f Justin Martyr, against the calumnious imputations cast upon the children of God. Jn the apology which he olli^red to Antoninus, he most lucidly and elo- quently pourtrays their pious concord, their ardent charity, their generous self-denial, their absorption in eternity, tlieir unshaken confidence in the Re- deemers promises, their patient submission in every trial, their self-humiliation, their hatred of the world and its maxims, their unceasing vigilance over them- selves, their assiduous culture of all the interior and secret excellencies, and their constant preparation for the Martyr's flight. To demonstrate the utter falsity of the allegations brought against the primitive Christians, listen to A- thenagoras : " But," says the virtue-armed Christian sage, " if any one can convict us of any crime, either small or great, we will not deprecate punishment, but are prepared to suffer its utmost cruelty : Yea, we wi4l rather hold to the judgment, that we may be punished for the crimes which we have committed. No Christian can be a wicked man, unless he -belies CEKTURY II, 55 Ins profession." We can conceive that suffering in- nocence might thus write ; but it is impossible for defenceless guilt, in its utmost hnrdihood and insensi- bility, to assume effrontery suificient to dare its judge to the inevitable consequences of the misery attached to assured and immediate conviction. The inquiry is, how could so many reproaches have originated, and so long have been perpetuated, unless some cause had existed on which to found them ? The primitive church was obliged to conceal their ordi- nances, and devotional assemblies, from the eyes of their enemies. Pursued througli every avenue of the Empire, without protection, without liberty, with- out asylum, without human resource — the wildest deserts, or the deepest caverns, were the only tem- ples in which, unmolested and fearless, they could worship the God of their devotions. Hence, their solemnities were enshrouded in sadness and the si- lence of the night ; and of course, bore the resem- blance of mystery. This afforded to the Pagan devo- tees, the basis of their injurious stigmas against the professors of the Gospel. The fatal prejudices thus excited, long continued ; Justin was the lirst writer who unfolded all the simplicity and sanctity of Chris- tian institutions, and thus demonstrated the injustice of their foes, and the indefensible malignity of their persecutions. Respecting the slander, that they were privily ar- ranging a destruction of the Imperial Government as then established ; the following striking extracts from tv»o of the Apologists of that period sutHciently evince that the spirit of opposition to Revealed Truth, and the allotments of its defenders, arc nearly identical in all countries and generations. " What traces of Atheism can be discovered in those who worship an infinite Creator ? How can they barbarously immolate human victims to him, when they abstain from all animal blood, and cannot even endure the recital of homicide ? What ridicu- lous injuitice must that be, which transforms the af- 56 ECCLESIASTICAL HJSTORV. TLXlIliEIII. lections of piety and the most scrupulous t^oniifKiicc, into abominable incest ? What shadow ol" a slmdc exists for the appearance of revolt nmong them, whose onlj arms are faitli, obedience and prayer ? Daring the long train of envenomed persecutors, all more obstinately determined to destroy Christians, than to counteract the Scythians and Parthians, what Be- liever ever armed himself for deliverance ? On the contrary, although discord was universal; Rome, the Senate, and the Armies, contended for the supreme power ; the banner of independence was unfurled in every province ; seditions were enkindled in ever> department ; and although Emperors Vvcre exalted and degraded by conspirators ; the Christian alone acknowledged the Persecuting Tyrants to be his Masters, and preferred the continuance of his pains, to the liberation which could not be obtained with- out rebellion." The love of social order, the prefer- ence of the public good to individual advantage, due subordination to the laws, and perfect docility to the Imperial edicts, when conscience was not interested, were the characteristic features of those disciples. That we may understand the matter, as well as the manner, of the Believers' petitions, one of them sub- joins— "Christians supplicate the throne of Grace, with expanded arms, because they are innocent ; with uncovered heads, for they are not ashamed ; withoui. a form or promptu, because we pray from the heart, that Csesar may enjoy all that Caesar himself desires." The calumnies, with their authors, would have been extinguished in utter oblivion, had not the Lord gra- ciously permitted the triumphant refutations of these undeniable witnesses, to survive tlie " wreck of em- pires, and the crush of time." ff we reflect that ^11 those, with innumerable other falsehoods, progressively increasing in extent and baseness, had been disseminated throughout the Ro- man Empire, during nearly one hundred years, with no other contradiction than the radiance of tlie Gos- pel, and the faith and patience of the Saints, we shall CEI'TURY II. 57 thea nlmost cease to feel astonishment at the horri- hle infatuation of that part of tlie ruffians who glutted themselves with Christians' gore, and feasted on the torments of excruciated and expiring humanity. 2. T/ie blasphemies and ribaldry of the Priests and. Philosophers, constitute a very essential proportion, of tiiat energy which impelled the machine of persecu- tion so long and so vigorously to operate. They in- flamed the rabble ; and a lioman commonalty were proverbially cruel : their public shows and most be- loved entertainments, which were universal througli- out the Empire, and which were continually recur- ring, especially in all the metropolitan cities, that in^ variably and necessarily determine the character, taste and propensities of the territories over which they exercise inllucnce, were exhibitions and amuse- ments, forming a combination of the most unnatural indecencies, and the most refined barbarity. The glory of the scene consisted in the adroitness with which the conflicting Gladiators and Captives could murder each other, and in the streams of human blood which incarnadined these Aceldamas. This sanguinary disposition becaihe at last so ungoverna- ble, that like the horse leach it cried give, give; and as the rapacious grave, still remained unglutted. In times of discontent and turbulence, these bloody dramas were performed to quench the popular fer- ment; and an ensanguined mob, stimulated by the enraged Bacchanals, Priests, and Priestesses, sanc- tioned by odious, corrupt and despotic Governors, who naturally must have been solicitous to bury their ceaseless iniquities in the sepulchre of forgetfulness, always could draw upon the Bank of Faith, to sup- ply their raptures as hum.an life exhaled, and Christ- ian example was banished. The records of the Mar- tyrs point out two modes by wh.ich the infernal pro- pensities of these inhuman multitudes were often at- tempted to be satiated, and wliich nothing but the matchless grace of God could possibly have enabled them to endure. The defdement and pollution to H 58 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE ii'x', wliich the Fem?.le disciples were oblio;cd to submit, will never be known in liill until that day^ when the secrets ot "all hearts shall be disclosed— but one, if not the most applauded act olthis grand Theatre of ex- uit ition in wo, seems to combine every machination oi tiend-like depravity which could be transplanted from Pandmoiiium to Rome. The harmless Sheep were dragged from their dungeons naked, to the im- mense and crowded Amphitheatres, and there the Brethren and Sisters were urged to slaughter each other — and when at last no torture could incite them to participate in this diabolical contrivance, and when the cries for blood from all parts of the multi- tudes could no longer be resisted — Gladiators and Wild Beasts were both unfettered that the Lion's roar might be accompanied with the worse than Can- nibal shout. Yet all this impetuosity might have b'^en restrained; ard this dreadful depravation of intellect and sensibility miji;ht have been repressed and healed— had not the supreme authority not mere- ly connived at these scenes, but actually directed their display. This developes the master agents of these inonstrous impieties and horrors. 3. hnperiid edkt^ gave the impetus to the battering ram with which it was hoped to subvert the super- structure of the church, and to remove the Rock of ag- - on which its foundation v»'as established. rhe Princes who held the Roman sceptre during this century, and by whose instrumentality the church- es of Christ were so severely tried in every varied form, oftorture, must be successively arraigned. Trajun. When he a,ssumed the Imperial authority, no edicts against the disciples of Jesus existed. The laws of Nero had been annulled by the Senate, and Nerva hnd abr .gated the infm-iated proscriptions of Domitian. Sriii the fury of the outrageous mobs and the demands of the bloody Priests supphed the de- fect, and as often as the Governors were solicited, they were unwilling or dared not refuse to deliver up inimraerable multitudes of the children of God, like CENTURY n. 59 Sampson of old in the house of Dagon to make sport for the Philistmes. Notwithstanding all the eulogy which has been bestowed upon Trajan for his wis- dom, clemency and other Imperial virtues ; it is cer- tain, that if his conduct towards the Nazarenes be the criterion of our judgment, we must pronounce, that he was a conlirmed prejudiced Idolater, who meditated the total extinction of Christianity. One instance of his conduct slinll suffice. In Bithynia of which Pliny w^as Governor — the Christians were so numerous that the Heathen Temples were frequent- ly desolate — yet by the force of power, incalculable numbers died in extreme excracialion rather than join the orgies of idolatry. Pliny wrote a letter to Trajan requesting directions liow to act; his Epis- tle is an authentic national document : from it we learn, that the Christians were very numerous, most exemplarily pious, and inoffensive ; their only crime, that at certain regular and appointed seasons they assembled to sing certain hymns to one Christ their God, and to covenant that they would abstain from theft, fraud, falsehood, adultery and murder — and not- withstanding their peaceable demeanour, they were sorely persecuted because they would not renounce Jesus Christ. This information he declared that he received from Apostates, whose testimony w as also confirmed by '• two young females who were examin- ed by torments and the rack." Nov/ this panegyri- zed Trajan in his reply directs ; that every person who was accused and convicted of adhering to the faith of the Lord Jesus should suffer decapitation. In Asia one of the Governors exerted the utmost coercion of persecuting rage. He so wearied them w^ith unintermitted cruelties and oppressions, ma- ny thousands having been tortured to death ; that on one occasion, probably to plead for their sufferi ig brethren, the whole body of the chi;rch preserved themselves before his tribunal ; he immediately or- dered a few of them to execution, and dismissing the rest said, " Miserable people, if you choose death GO ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. , LEt TIRE III. roil may imd precipices and halters enough." ft seems that the Savage was at last drenched Mith christian blood. Three oithc exalted worthies of that age require distinct memorials. Some of the Jews accused Si- meon, 120 years of age, the son of that Cleopas with v/hom we have so often felt our hearts burning within us when we have been walking with him and the mysterious stanger to Emm.'us ; during many days in succession he was most cruelly scourged, until at length fatigued with that tedious mode of extermina- ting vitality, they crucified him like his master. Phocas was commanded by Trnjan in person, be- cause he would not sacrifice to Neptune, to be im- mured in a burfiinglime kiln — and thence still living, he was thrown into a boiling bath. Yet this is the far-famed, the exemplary and the merciful Trajan ; if this is Royal benevolence, what is vulgar cruelty ? As Trajan was travelling to the East, he rested at Antioch,. where Ignatius had preached the Gospel nearly forty years, with Apostolic power and success. Trnja!! summoned tlie veteran into the Imperial pre- sence ; and iiaving required him to deny the Lord Je- sus, which was as peremptorily refused, he adjutlg- ed iiim to be conducted to Rome, and there in the usual slaughter-house to be given to the Lions. Tra- jan doubtless thought the nobler the victim, the deep- er the ignominy, and exulted in the philanthropic sport, Vviiich he had contrived for the debauched canaille of the mistn^ss of the world. Chained day and night to ten soldiers, during a protracted jour- ney and voyage of more than 2000 miles, Ignatius seemed to rise more dauntless and pure in propor- tion to his tedious and miserable captivity. He arriv- ed and was speedily devoured. It is high time to strip these Imperial Spoilers and Tyranls of i\ic\.\- purple and their laurels, and. to exhibit them, not in the garb of Infidel panegyric, but in the g'^nulne manufacture of impartial Christianity ; and we may a,t^ter this review of Trajan's persecntiort CEXTURY II. 61 with wonder inquire, How could the church survive ? One reason only can be given, it was the rapture of prophecy — '' The Lord is Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King ; he will save us." Adrian. Although this Emperor never issued any edicts of a persecuting nature, yet'the non-repeal of those which Trajan had promulged, conduced to the same effects. By tlie law of Trajan, if a person could so conceal his attachment to the Gospel as to evade public accusation, he was safe ; and Adrian had given no impulse to tlie executioner's employ. It was at this period, that some of the scenes already briefly described occurred. The blood-thirsty pop- ulace, stimulated by the interested and revengeful priests, in the most tumultuous manner, demanded at the public games, the destruction of the Christians ; wiiich was often granted, from the fears and disposi- tions of the Governors. We are informed, that up- w^ards of ten thousand disciples were butchered at one time in Rome, to appease the clamours of the infuriated populace. Around Mount Ararat, there Avas formerly celebrated an annual festival, to com- memorate the resting of Noah's ark upon the top ot the mountain — it was accompanied with every spe- cies of the most brutal riot and licentiousness ; on one of these occasions during the reign of Adrian, to augment the universal festivity, they erected a large number of crosses ; and historians assure us, that after they had crowned the Christians with thorns, they crucified on that occasion nearly ten thousand ©f the followers of the Lamb ; and that they might witness their expiring agonies, they thrust into their iides sharp darts, after the similitude of their Re- deemer's death. These scenes continued to be exhibited during nearly seven years, when Adrian having perused the apologies of Quadratus and Aristides, and urged by the importunities of Gratianus, the pro-consul of Asia., not to sanction that most unreasonable injustice, the slaughter of Christians guiltless and without trial ; 62 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTSRY. LECTURE IIL he directed at once, that no Christian should be mo- lested solely on account of his religious faith ; thus through the mercy of God, the Tyrant's arm Avas re- strained, and a respite of peace alibrded to the ago- nized and agitated church. The next emperor, Marcus Pius, preserved the disciples in quietude ; he withered the arm of mur- derous rage by decreeing that if a christian were convicted of adhering obstinately to his profession, he should be discharged, but his accuser should suf- fer the usual punishment awarded to calumniators. Thus by the rigid execution of his righteous edict, during the reign of Pius, the christians worshipped God in peace. The mercy of Heathens was too great a blessing for the possession of Christians ; — hence, after the reign of Pius had closed, Aurelius Antoninus obtained the throne ; a philosopher whose extraordinary wis- dom and virtue have been a standing topic of eulogy and eloquence during the last 1600 years, among the Pagan and Infidel Orators and Authors and Poets. But the most evident proofs which he ever gave of superior intellect or morality, are embodied in tl^e fact, that during nineteen years he was an implacable persecutor of Christians ; and to them, Nero liimself scarcely surpassed his injustice and barbarities. Nev- er was a cause more luminously and irrefragably de- fended than by Justin, Athenagoras and Tatian, and never was merciless cruelty more Avidely extended and more powerfully exerted than under the reign of this impurpled Despot in a philosopher's cloak. The death of Polycarp, the disciple of John the Apostle, excited peculiar interest ; his terrestrial re- cord remains in the letter written by the church of Smyrna to their brethren of Pontus. From this epistle we ascertain the extremity of those tortures which the humanity and beneficence of this Antoninus commanded to be inflicted upon those who would not bow down to his idol. The persons who wit^iessed the treatment of the martyrs were utterly astounded CENTURY n. 63 at the admirable but incredible patience which they displayed. They were scourged and whipped, until the internal veins and arteries and members appear- ed ; afterwards in this wretched condition they were obliged to walk and were rolled upon pointed shells, nails, thorns, and goads sharpened for the purpose ; and ingenuity itself having been exhausted in devis- ing torments, they were lastly transferred to the beasts of prey. We are assured, that at the sight of the peculiar and invincible constancy of two of the martyrs in the midst of unparalleled corporeal la- ceration, one of the rabble vociferated aloud, " Vere magnus Deus Christianorum." Verily, great is the God of Christians. He was immediately seized, and partook of their martyrdom. In one of these murderous assemblies, the whole multitude demanded Polycarp — When conducted be- fore the Proconsul, and commanded to offer sacrifice to the Emperor's image, he peremptorily refused. As the guards were conducting him to the seat of judgment, a voice from Heaven, it was beheved, was heard, amid the uproar and shouting of the rabble that Polycarp was apprehended ; the supernatural address said, " Be of good cheer, Polycarp, and play the man." The Proconsul menaced him with the wild beasts and with fire, for his refusal to sacrifice to Caesar's statue — " Eighty and six years," said the saint, " have I served my Master ; and how can I speak evil of him .'"' Immediately after he had avowed himself a Christian, the crowd of Jews and Gentiles at Smyrna instantaneously and with most vehement rage and noise shouted, " This is the Fa- ther of the Christians and the destroyer of our Gods." A most noble God which man could de&troy ! " Give him to the Lion" — but Polycarp had a short time be- fore seen a vision, from which he assured the church at Smyrna, that he should speedily be burnt : the Proconsul refused their desire that he should be de- voured by the Lion, but commanded him to be con- sumed alive by conflagration. When he was tied t© G4 ECCLESIASTICAL UISTORI'. LECTURE 111. the stake, the fire having been kindled, the ilame immediately divided, and formed an arch above and around him, so that the fire could not molest his body; a sword pierced his heart, and the quantity of blood which flowed extini^uished the fire ; but at length his corpse was totally destroyed in the second burning. It w'ould involve more particularity of detail than is necessary, to recapitulate the boundless extent and ceaseless repetition of these horrors. Many of the most noble Christian dignitaries were transported into Heaven during the prevalence of the fiery storm. Justin, whose learning and eloquence, and arguments and facts had silenced Bacchanalian calumny, and sheathed the sword of Persecution under Marcus Pius, during the early part of the reign of his succes- sor, was remunerated by the Prefect's outrageous de- nunciation, "• let him be first scourged, and then be- headed"— six of his fellow Christians from the same dungeon accompanying him by similar decapitation to the joys of Paradise. 3. The world which we inhabit is a world of muta- tion ; before its destiny equally bows the Beggar's statF and the Tyrant's sword ; at length Antoninus disappeared and bequeathed to Commodus his pow- er, but carried with him to Hades his bjirbarism. During the greater portion of the century which remained, the empire was in peace respecting Chris- tianity, but the Lord removed the young and careless Emperor ; and a stern adherent of Paganism suc- ceeded— whose nature was embodied in his name, Severus, and who after many years of quietude, re- sounded the horrific blast of war, and rekindled the volcano for the Martyr's fiery destruction. From this narrative we deduce tlie depravity of hu- man nature. Solitary instances of guilt may be over- looked without an impeachment of a general system ; but it is impossible to develope uniibrm and gener- al evolutions of turpitude, of themost proporti©nate 3. Appendix VI. 1 ENTLUY U. *j;j symmciFv r.of Pagan superstitions with the simplicity of the Gospel, and the progressive succession of Heresy in multifa- rious forms, the temple of God was polluted with the vanities of men, and the lustre of Christianity on various occasions was partially obscured. The in- troduction also of the Monastic principles of self- mortification, as constituting the most acceptable righteousness before God, copiously contributed to the establishment of many additional rites and ceremonies, exorcisms, spells, the frequency of fast- ing, and an aversion from marriage. From all these causes, the creed, the devotions, tlie dignity of vast numbers who were called Christians, were much di- minished from the standard of excellence which had formerly prevailed. IF. The government of the Clnirch. The plain system of government which the Apos- tles had prescribed for the church, in this century lost nearly all its primitive features. By the delete- rious effects of tlie Councils, the determinations of ignorant and erring mortals were transformed int® /4 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE IV. intallible dogmas, aiul.the parity of station among tlic Preachers was lost in distinctions between Presbyters, Bishops and Patriarchs, until at last the Pope embodied. the Avliole mass ol' delbrmity. One of the most absurd and stupid of all the pretexts which ambition and cupidity devised for self-aggran- dizeHiCnt, was deduced from the simulated analogy between the High Priest, the Priests and tlie Levites of the Mosaic economy, and the Bisliop, Presbyters and Deacons of the Christian Church. Hence began all the corruptions of subsequent ages; and the sys- tem extended itself, until even ail the necessary at- toidants of funerals were classed as Gospel minis- ters appointed by divine authority. Tlie commence- ment of the Mass also is perceptible, in the additional ceremonies and the pompous rites which accompa- nied the administration of the Lord's Supper. Another circumstance added to this change — the meetings of the Christian assemblies Mdiich had formerly been Iield in a compar^stively private manner, were now become more public in consequence of fixed and large houses ior the worship of God being appropri- ated for that sacred object ; but these seem to have existed only late in the century; for the first Christ- ian house of prayer is generally supposed to have been built at Rome, after the Decian or Valerian persecution. Still some vestiges ot original appoint- ments remained : the youth were instructed in the doctrines of Christianity, the choice of Pastors re- maiited in the members of each distinct Society, and the power of tlie Bishops extended only to the regu- lation of the Churches in their own immediate vici- nity. Two disputes which agitated the Christians of tliis period will develope the increase of a monarchical power in the ecclesiastical government and a mu- tation of sentiment respecting one of the ordinances. The I'iishop of Rome arrogated the jurisdiction to direct all things coimected with the Church, for the snl-niiftsion of thosc, wliom he declared to be his CENTURY III. 7;j inferiors. This claim was most inveterately opposed by Cjpriaii, who at the same time defended the dig- nity and authority of Bishops. A dispute arose con- cerning the baptism of Ileretics, and the Asiatic Christians determined that ali Heretics should be re-baptized prior to their reception into the Church; Stephen, Bishop of Rome, immediately promulged, that all who held this opinion should be excluded from communion with the Church of Rome. Against this anathema, Cyprian and the Africans forcibly re- plied, and denounced baptism by Heretics as void and invalid : nevertheless this vague dispute was only ended by the death of the Roman, and the mar- tyrdom of Cyprian. A query was submitted to Cyprian, wliether chil- dren ought to be baptized on the eighth day after their birth .'^ and a council of sixty six preachers was assembled to decide the doubt. That the children of Believers should be baplized^ivas admitted by all the contro- vertists, as a Christian ordinance and practice derived from the Apostles^ of ivhich no one pretended even to hesitate; but the question was finally dismissed respecting the pre- cise time of baptism, as involving points which no rules could peremptorily determine ; but they all de- cided that injanis should be baptized immediately. V. The Heresies. Three errors of a very oiiensive tendency were promulgated during this period, ali producing the same effect, the progress of the grand Apostacy, and the final exaltation of him. '• who exalteth himself above all that is called Cod." The Manicheans derived their designation from Manes, a Persian Philosopher, who combined the tenets of the Gnostics respecting the Lord Jesus Christ, that he was only the form of a man, with the principle of purification by fire after death, and the punishment of transmigration into the bodies of animals or the torments of malignant spirits. But as it was impossible to reconcile these monstrous absurdi- ties with the sacred Oracles : he rejected nil the Old 76 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE IT. and the major part of the New Testament, and par- ticularly denied the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. A great variety of delusive opinions deri- ved from this general source Avas propagated by dif- ferent persons, among whom the Hierachites were the most distinguished ; lor they maintained the abhorrent position, that«// children who died in their in- fcincy were excluded from the kingdom of heaven. These extravagancies have passed away ; and are so pre- posterous, that iaw men now have the hardihood to promulge them. Two opinions prevailed under the general appel- lation of Sabellianism. Noetus and his disciples pro- fessed that God the Father, indivisible, was united to the man Christ, born and crucified with him; hence they were described as persons who declared, that the Divine Creator of the Universe alone expiated by death, the sins of the world. But Sabellius and liis adherents averred, that a certain energy only from the Supreme, or a portion of the Divine nature Avas united to the man Jesus, and that the Holy Ghost was also only an emanation from the Everlasting Fa- ther. These Sectaries were called Patri-Passians ; they who believed that God the Father died. Va- rious modifications of these general propositions were sustained ; but all of them denied either the humanity or the divinity of tlie Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, the leader of one sect, alFirmed that the Son and Holy Ghost exist in God, as reason and activity abide in man ; and that Christ was born a mere man, but that the wisdom of the Father descending upon liin\, he wrought miracles, and therefore was justly called God. The Heresies of modern ages therefore are 1600 years old, and only a little modified to conceal their deformity. From the history of the Church, as well as from the Gospels, we deduce, that the Lord Jesus was al- ways honoured as possessed of divine perfections, combined with human characteristics, Immanuel, God with U5 ; and this was the unvarying belief of CENTURY III. 77 all the C'liiistian disciples during the first three cen- turies ; to verify which fact, it is indubitable, that those who denied this fundamental doctrine were not admitted to the communion of saints. The pestilential influence of these unholy princi- ples was increased by a bitter and wide spread con- troversy, which arose respecting the restoration of those into the church, who, during the persecution under Decius, from fear of death had denied the Lord that bought them. In this most direful period, many of the Christians abjured their profession ; after the storm, by the .relentless Tyrant's death, had ceased, the backsliding but penitent sheep prayed again to be received into the fold of the Redeemer. Novatian most furiously opposed their re-admission ; and al- though he coincided in every other point with all the churches, yet the controversy raged so warmly, and so extensively, that he at last, with many others, se- ceded from the fellowship of those who united with the lapsed, and formed distinct Societies. This pro- duced a lamentable division, until the tenth perse- cution melted all the disciples into one mass, and had not the Lord interposed, would have consumed them all in the same general tremendous conflagration. At this period the fifth seal, as recorded in the sixth chapter of the Revelation, from the ninth to the elev- enth verses, having been opened, unfolds its woful mystic scenery ; and introduces the prominent char- acteristics of those heart-rending suflferings which the peaceful flock of the Lamb of God were doomed to endure. VI. The Persecutions. Those of the prior era have already been revicAv- ed ; but incredible as the fact may appear, all the ingenuity in devising torment, and all the malignity in inflicting pain which hitherto had been exhibited, were merely the sport of children, contrasted with the inconceivable miseries with which the Lord per- mitted his saints to be afflicted, until the contest be- tween the glorious Son of God and the powers of 78 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE H . darkness closed in the utter extinction of tlie Bac- chanalian Mythology. The partial calm which had subsisted diirino; the early part of the reign of Severus, who filled the imperial throne at the commencement of this century, soon disappeared; for he promulgated a decree, that no person should exchange tlie religion of his Ances- tors for that of Christianity, This iniquitous requi- sition furnished an excuse for plundering the Chris^ tians of their property, and for murdering them as having departed from Paganism. From the annals of this tempest, the following brief narrative is se- lected, as a specimen of the desolation which ravaged particularly in Asia and Africa. Perpetua, a young married Avoman of high rank, with two men of superior order, and a male and fe- male slave, the latter named Felicitas, were seized ; and all intreaty and remonstrance, and multiiorm hardships in prison, with every menace at the bar of judgment, having in vain been employed to induce them toTccant; Hilarian, the Judge, commanded that they should be cast to the wild beasts at the next public shews. During their confinement, the Jailor was converted to the faith, and on the day prior to the public exhibition, vast crowds, not only of the Christians from love, but of the Pagans from curiosi- ty, visited them. To the latter, Salur, one of the men, when they were closely inspected by the Idola- ters, loudly and with great animation appealed, '•^Ob- serve well our faccs^ that you may knoiv ihem at the day of Judgment.'''' One of the men expired in his dungeon in peace. The other four were conducted into the sanguinary Despot's presence ; " Thou judgest us^^"* said the Martyrs, " God shall judge thee.''' They were immediately scourged in the most barbarous manner; and having with great christian magnanimity, expe- rienced very shameless abuse and every indecent de- gradation from the ruffian multitude, and torturing lacerations from the hungry brutes, they fell asleep in Jesus. centory III. 79 tyrants, however, with all their power, must die ; and the Lord having permitted thisSeverus to devour the church during nearly ten years, summoned him to that dread tribunal, where even Imperial earthly edicts are scrutinized and remunerated in the utmost exactitude of personal retribution. From this period during thirty eight years, the church enjoyed comparative peace, with the excep- tion of the short and turbulent reign of Maximin. He vented his rage against Christianity, by an edict in which he commanded, that all the Pastors of the church should instantaneously and in the most bar- barous manner be murdered ; thinking, without doubt, that by the destruction of the Teachers, the Congre- gations must follow. The doleful eflects of his cruel mandates were realized by Christians of every rank and description. He reigned three years only, and consequently lived not to complete his design ; for his blood-thirsty temper, with equal gratulation and delight, would have exterminated the human race, as the noblest portion of his subjects. The declaration of the Redeemer, " in the world ye shall have tribulation," and the doctrine of Paul, " the godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," were still to be verified. About the middle of this century, Decius, having murdered Philip the Empe- ror, Avho, if not himself a Christian, was a most ardent Friend to the Disciples, was permitted by God to kindle a new fire. Some idea may be formed of this extremely horrific desolation, when it is remem- bered, that the provincial governors and praetors throughout the empire, were peremptorily directed under the penalty of immediate death, to exterminate the whole body of Christians without delay, and without exception, either of rank, station, sex or age ; or to coerce them by every possible species of tor- ture, to join in the idolatrous orgies, and publickly avow themselves to be Pagans. The peculiar refine- ment and barbarity of the torments thus universally propelled into operation, were inexpressibly more, *d ECCLESIASTICAL MISTORT. tfcCT«RE tf. dreadful and appalling than sudden martyrdom j hence vast numbers, terrified at the slow-paced hor- rors which were prepared for them, abjured their divine Master's cause and profession, while innume- rable multitudes, throughout all the provinces of the empire were transferred by the chariot of fire, to an immortal crown of glory. The brutal indignities es- pecially to which the Christian virgins were forced to submit, left them no alternative, but to deny their Lord with every species of blasphemous lascivions- ness, or to forget themselves, as one of them trium- phantly uttered when the infernally infuriated Barba- rians were most vilely abusing her mortal frame — ** You may put my body to shame^^'' said the saint, "6?// -you cannot defile my souV Yet these are the most no- ble Greeks and Romans, who are ever propounded as the august exemplars of wisdom and virtue to our youth, and who, they are instructed to believe, em- bodied all that is dignifying in human nature. In short, had not the Lord, after the persecution had ravaged during two years, sent the invincible mes- senger Death, to remove the author of this pestilence, the public profession, if not the private knowledge ©f Christianity, according to all human calculation, must have been extinguished. At this period, began the devastations of that alarming plague, which dis- seminated agony and. dissolution, in every district where it was permitted to enter. Very speedily after the succession of Gallus to the throne, the storm, which on account of the death of Decius, had in some measure ceased, was re-an- imated with equal fury. But the Lord who by the former whirlwind had purified the Church, did not design that its enemies should triumph in her total destruction. An interval of peace succeeded until the year 2.57, when Valerian, having changed his kindness towards the Christians, first prohibited the assemblies of the disciples for public worsliip; all the Preachers of the church Avcre next doomed to exile ; and during the following year, every Christian I CENTURY III. 81 was comniaiuled to worsliip the idols upon pain of instant death. Among tiie noble army of Martyrs '.vlio were removed to cry under tiie altar, were (Jy- prian, Sixtus and Lanrentius ; the latter of wliom is renowned for having been broiled on a grid-iron, VV hen he had continued a considerable time lying on one side over a slow fire, the patient saint addressed the Prefect who was present, '•'-Utinc be turned^ I am broil- ed enough on one side^ ^V hen they had turned him, he added, " // is enouf^h, now ye raay eat /" Then pray- ing for his enemies, he departed to Paradise, From the records of this persecution, it appears, that the murderers learnt hy experience and practice, new modes of torture, and more exquisite methods of prolonging life in every species of possible excrucia- tion ; so that it is not surprising, that those only whose fiith was of the most ardent and seraphic nature, could triumphantly conquer the extremity of anguish which in every place and condition, and at all times encircled them. This Emperor Valerian however, affords a remark- able evidence of the equality of Providential distri- butions. In a war with Persia, he was taken prison- er by Sapor, the Persian King, who would not release him ; but constantly used his neck for a stirrup when lie mour.ted his horse, and finally flayed and salted liim. Whether his immediate successors w^ere im- pressed by this example is uncertain, but the fury of persecution ceased, and during the succeeding fifteen years, the condition of the disciples, if not altogether peaceful, was through faith and hope tolerable. The calm, hov.cver, was disturbed by Aureiian, the Emperor, in 275. who, like Ilaman the Agagite, had resolved by one overwhelming stroke to demol- ish the Church : — a Tcllow-murderer effectually as- sailed him, and he was transferred from the Imperi- el palace of Rome, to the house appointed for all living, prior to the actiial execution of his ov/n ungod- ly mandates. •Jerethe persecutions of the third century close; 82 EC C L E S ! A S T ! C .\ L Fi I S 1' O K Y . LiiC-il.RC IV. but lo corapletc the subject; it is proper to roiuark. that the vision oi John ah'catly introduced. Avilliout doubt relates to' the last coir.bustioii. emphaticalU denominated " the era oiMartyrs/- From tliis vi^^ion m?.y be deduced a \ cry impor- tant doctrine. The departed Riartyrs are represen- ted prostrate under the Altar; as sacrilices siaiii to the Lord, cryini^; aloud, that Jehovah would avenge their cause. They arc dressed in white robes to shew their justification before God; but they are ex- horted to rest for a season, until the number of Mar- tyrs shall have been completed, when they shall re- ceive their plenary reu ard. Tiiis depicts the souls- of the disembodied saints in an ever secure region, possessed of conscious energy, in devotion and en- joy me- it. The Historians oi that period, who sur- vived tlie persecution of Dioclesian, all affirm, thai the final liery storm was of longer continuance, wider extension, more atrocious barbarity, and as having effused more christian blood tlian all the former per- secutions combined. It began in 303. — An order Avas issued by the Emperor, to demolish all houses dedicated to the worship of Jesus, to consume all Christian books and writings in the flames, to debar the followers of the Lamb, from every civil right and privilege, and to impede them from any otlicc of trust, honour or emolumenL A second edict soon followed, by whicli all the Ministers and Dea- cons were sentenced to be instantaneously cast into prison. A third decree was speedily promulged, that every torment which could possibly be devised, sliould be adopted, to impel the Preachers to desert the cross, and unite in tlie bla'^phemies of Imperial idolatry. An immense lunnber of persons was sacrificed tln-ough this stratagem. Decency precludes the re- c:ital oftlieir tortures, vast multitudes of them died IT) their sullerings, and thor.e whom they could not thus destroy, were sent to the mines, there to drag iVJi:t the remains of a wretclied lifii. in vassalaj'e, la- CENTURY III. O.* bour, and angiiisli. After a short iiiterviil, the fourth law was enacted, and by it ail Christians, withoui regard to age, rasik, sex or condition, were doomed losufTer every kind of shame and misery inihcted upon their bodies ; and if they would not finally apos- tatize, then the Magistrates v.crc enjoined to sen- tence them to death. Orosius assures us, that dur- ing ten years, the Roman empire exhibited nothing but one \iniversal scene of devastation, slaughter and human victims in perennial conilagration. The fires of the Houses of Prayer, the proscription of the in- nocent sheep, the destruction and confiscation of the property of the Christians, and the ceaseless butcii- ering of the Believers, altogether depopulated the people of God, stained every district of the whole empire with the Blood of the church, and the public strength and numbers and wealth, by these terrific means were more completely exhausted than had ever been effected by the most extensive, lasting and desolating wars. So completely at last had tlie persecutors triumphed, that pillars were erected, de- claring that the superstitions of Christianity were to- tally abolished, and the v/orship of the Gods entirely and eternally restored. But the judgment of God awaited Galerius, the grand instrument of these in- fernal outrages; the latter part of his life v»'as tortur- ed with a disorder of the body, which literally in th€ utmost agony and amid complicated horrors inefih- ble. gradually corrupted him, untilhis corporeal frame in rottcness was finally separated from his soul; but not until by an Imperial edict, he had ordered tiie persecution to cease. Freedom and repojie were thus restored to the remnant of the scattered and concealed followers of the Lamb. Here we must pause for tiie opening of the sixth seal ; which crum- bled idolatry into atoms, and exhibited the cross of Christ triumphant over all liis enemies. The subjects which have now passed in review instruct us — Hovv'.vain are all the efforts of ungodly men to extirpate th':' Gosn^^I of Christ, and the churcli ©fGod' 84 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. LECTURE IV. Here learning most extensive, tortures unceasing-, allurements most seductive, power uncontrolled, and general malignity unrestrained, congregate their en- ergies in vain against the defenceless and unoppos- ing Sons ol" Peace. Though like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they were cast into a boundless " buraing iiery furnace,'' the Son of God })reserved them victorious amid the ilaraes ; and thoiigli like Daniel they were immured in the den of Lions,"" through the presence and ahnighty power of their Saviour, they "• were more than conquerors through him who hath loved us:" and our ensuing exhilarat- ing employ is to review the annals, and to listen t« the enraptured shouts of their triumph. The Apocahjptic sixth seal — the triumph of Chris tiani is/ — the doctrine — the government — the Ministers — the ccrc- -and the heresies of the Church during the four tic monies- Centurif. The scenes exhibited in the prophetic dehneation, from the twelfth verse of the sixth chapter of the A- pocalypse to the end of the seventh chapter, consti- tute one of the most remarkable revolutions recorded in the annals of empires. We have already sympa- thized with the suffering Martyrs; we have retraced the ceaseless malignity, and the combined energies of the Roman potentates, always excited to extermi- nate the name and the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth during nearly 300 years ; and w^e have heard the Bachanals shout that Christianity was extirpated, and Idolatry for ever established. But the star, however beclouded and feeble its glimmerings, was still visi- ble above the horrizon in the \Vest ; and it is a w^on- derful coincidence of facts, that from England should have arisen the destroyer of Pagan abominations, and the most powerful enemy to Antichristian supersti- tions. It would be a departure from our professed object to introduce the history of the demolition which the Heathen authorities realized at this period ; but it is necessary to record, that through the instrumen- tality of Constantine, the whole imperial system of Rome was utterly subverted. The sixth seal has oft- en been applied to the opening of that wonderous day of eternity which shall ii^^ver know an evening — but it was no doubt intended primarily to predict that astonishing succession of events and victories, by which all the Imperial persecutors v/ho had partici- 8G ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTLili: V. pated in the liorrors of the era of Martjrs, Averc in succession, and finally subjugated ; and by ^vhich a professed Christian became solo and undisputed Master of the Roman territories. Without attempt- ing to investigate the controversies connected Avith this subject, it will sullice briefly to narrate the facts. Constantius had uniformly displayed aflection for the Christians, so that in his portion of the Empire, the rage of persecution was little known. Constaii- tine his son, denominated the Great, having imbibed his father's predilictions, became the object of aver- .«ion to all the other Princes. Providentially preserv- ed from murder, he escaped from Galerius, tlie chief Persecutor v/ho had designed his death, to his fathers dominions ; and speedily after he was chosen and proclaimed Emperor. A combination was im- mediately formed, to divest him of his authority and life. Convinced that a contest of indefinite magni- tude and duration was unavoidable ; and that the conflict involved not only his family interests, the enjoyment of his friends, but also the prosperity of the empire, and the apparent existence of that reli- on. the disciples of which were his only confideniial and faithful adherents — on his march from Gaul to Italy, if Eusebius has correctly informed us, his mind was most grievously agitated with a view of the dan- gers, importance and results of that measure, which had compelled him to resort to arms in defence of his ow^n dominions and people, by whom he was es- teemed to the highest degree of devoted enthusiasm. Of the aflection which the Britons. Gauls and Span- iards bore to Constantius and his descendants, the following fact affords a beautiful illustration. All the exterior pomp and magnificence of Eastern royalty, were totally excluded from this Prince's humble mansion; hence on some occasion when Diocletian's am])assadors visited him, they were astonished that no goblets of gold and services of silver were found on liis table. Diocletian reproved him very sharply, for not taxing the people more, for his own splendour. CENTURY IV. 87 inii lor the Imperial revenue. Conslantius assured him, that although vast masses of the precious me- tals were not locked up in his palaces, yet that upon any emergency he could display more wealth tljan all the other Emperors combined. Diocletian ap- pointed persons to go to Constantine's residence, at that time in France, and examine into the truth of his declaration. In the intermediate time, the belov- ed Emperor had sent to all the iniiucntial persons of every rank, a general notice, that the public safety n]id necessities required them to deposit at his com- iVKiiid and service, whatever of the precious metals iixy could spare for the present exigencj. On the day of exhibition, the Envoys expressed their utmost astonishment at the immense quantities of gold and silver, bulHon, coin and plate which had been sent to him; and the view of this plate probably hindered the other persecutors from attacking him in his owa territories. Immediately after this scrutiny, every man's deposit was faithfully restored to him ; Con- stantius preferring the security of their affections, to any other treasury. On another occasion Constantiua was directed by all the other Emperors, during the fury of the persecution, to banish from bis service every Chris- tian. He transformed the order into a contrivance To ascertain his real friends ; having published the decree, that every person must become an Idolater or be dismissed from his oifice, he vvas rejoiced to discover that all his most attached, most useful, most ihitiiiul, and njost respected friends and Ollicers, deliberately chose disgrace, poverty and death, rath- er than a violation of their consciences, and a sacri- fice of the fear of Gods. The A])ostates were imme- diately discarded, and to the inflexible Christians was committed the superintendance of all the affairs of his dominions. That parties thus mutually and reciprocally united in interest, in principle and in heart, should be deep- ly impressed with go unequal a contest; Constantine So ECCLESIASTK AL HISTORV. I,KCTLRE\. and his minor forces contcndinp^ ofi;aiits( (lie nrrayed strength of tliree fourths of the Empire, supported hy all the dignity of majesty, tJie coniidence of victo- rious militaiy genius, and the malignnnt opposition of BachanaHan idolatry, is not surprising; and that their chieftain should be intensely agonized, is natu- ral and just. In this distressing perplexity, when approaching Italy, where the actual warfare was ex- pected to commence ; at noon, or as some authors say at sunset, appeared in the heavens, the figure of a cross, such as that on which Jesus of Nazareth was cruciiied, splendid and luminous as the sun — and over it in plain letters in the Latin language, the words, " By this, thou shalt overcome." While he was overwhelmed with anxiety to ascertain the object of this astonishing celestial appearance, in a dream the same night, he saw the Lord of Life and glory, who commanded him to erase from the stand- ards of his army, the usual idolatrous ensign, and to inscribe the figure of the cross which he had seen ; assuring him, that if he sought the I^ord in prayer, and trusted in him, he should prosper in all his en- terprises, and confound all his enemies. The figures of Idolatry were at once removed, the cross was in- serted, and Constantine in the progress ofa few years completely fulfilled all that the sixth seal developed; for '- the kings of the earth, the great men and the mighty men, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;" and thanks be to God, there they remain yet entombed ! ! Several years were occupied in the consummation of his designs : but in the year 3:M all opposition having been extermina- ted, Constanline issued those edicts by whicli Idolatry was trampled under foot, and Christianity proclaimed the religion of the empire. The seventh chapter of the Revelations has been applied by all Scripture expositors, to the period immediately subsequent to (lie elevation of Constan- tine to the undivided government of the Uornnn em- pire ; and although the Commentator* are partially ©Er^tURY IV. 89 divided in opinion respecting the interval betwixt the restraint upon the winds, and the close of the half hour's silence in heaven; everything to be ascertain- ed from the ancient records assures us, that it was not until aiter the death of Theodosius the great, in the year 395, that those tremendous desolations com- menced, whicli ended in the division of Europe into the ten horns ofthe Beast depicted in the Apocalypse, Our present review will consequently include the history of these seventy years ; and will prove that no history could liave been more figuratively accu- rate, than the mysteries which the Prince of the Kings of the Earth, unfolded to the Apostle John, when in Patiiios, he " was in the spirit on tiie Lord's day." Before we enter upon the review of the internal state ol the Church, it may be remarked, that two events of an uniavourable nature to the truth occurred. The accession ofJvlian to the throne ; who having apos- tatized from the Christian faith, became a most artful malignant, deceitful, and bitter adversary to the Christians; and had determined, that if he returned successful from his war with Persia, to extirpate the terrestial kingdom of Jesus. His reign was not of two years continuance ; but during that period he resolved to try the validity of our Lord's pre- dictions upon one of the most essential topics of our historical faith. The Amen, the faithful and true Witness had declared, that the temple of Jerusalem should be utterly demolished, and that trodden down ofthe Gentiles, it should remain in desolation and ruins, until "the times ofthe Gentiles shall be fulfil- led." Julian felt the energy of this monumental visi- ble argument in favour of Christianity; and wished to evince that it included no veracity, by a combina- tion of the whole Roman power. Edicts were pro- mulged to rebuild the temple of Solomon in its pris- tine mag[iificence ; and the Jews were commanded, there to re-assemble and restore their Mosaic ritual iii all its poinp aitd ceremonies. In addition to the M '•^^ e:.cli:sia« ncAL iiistouv. LECTURE V mvi-iads of Jews who hastened in their infiituation, to comply with a:i hlolalrous Magician's impious :iik1 impotent attempt to disprove the verity of God's declaratio!is ; n hirge miliiary force was also appoint- ed to superintend niid aid the completion of the re- bellious design. But every effort was in vain; as- soon as the workmen began to remove the stones find earth, which in scattered masses had escaped ihe final conllagration under Titus, tremendous balls of fire, most app'dliiig and hideous noises, con- tinual concussions of the earth, not only filled the idolaters and Jews with the utmost terror and dismay, but at last rendered Mount Moriah absolutely inac- cessible; so that nirthe menaces and promised emo- lnme!its which Julian nddrc5sed to them, were equal- ly in vain. Fourteen hundred and sixty years have r^'uw.e elapsed, veriiying to the highest degree of hu- man cred^.bility and confidence, tlie certainty of Ciirist's raomcnto, " Heaven and Earth shall pass awoy, but my word? shall not pass aw^ny." Th? d.^ath of th3 zVpostato was similar to his life : mortnlly wounded by a lance, he filled his hand v.ith bloo'J, and hurled it towards heaven, exclaiming, '•() Galilean, thou hast conquered." — Thus ending a life of infernal servitude, by the Devil's own faith and acknowledgement, " Thou art the Son of God." In Persia, during part of this century, under Sapor, then King ; a bn-'j; and mosl desolaiin^ persecution ravag- ed (hs dlsciph^^ who lived within the sway of that idol- atro!i3 Tyrant. So general, so grievous, so completer was the extermination of the church, that from the fourth century to the present period, the profession of Christianity and the name itself have become so ob-*cared, as with fev/ exceptions scarcely to exhibit a solitary testimoni;d, that inrmmerable multitudes there warbled rede:nntion's triumphs, and ii) those- regions vastly increased the noble army of Martyrs. Respecting the general enjoyments of that age which immediately succeeded the victories of Con- stantine ; that the prophecy wa« fidfilled is evident. CENTURY lY. -- ^ Hot only from the testimony of tiie Ilit/Lorians who (hen flourished bnt also from medals stil! exiBting, on which are inscribed Beata Tranquiilitas; Blessed TranqnilUiy; and as if the Authors had imbibed the spirit of the Apostle v.ho foresaw their peace; tiiey triumphantly depict their gladness in almost tlie very terms of inspiration. Lactantius thus writes, ''tran- quillity being restored tin'ouoliout the world, the church lately ruined is resuscitated. After tlie vio- lent agitations of so great a tempest, the calm air and the desired light are resplendoiit. God has relieved tlie afflicted, and wiped away the teafs of the sor- rowful" Thus fmmanuel restrained the winds of v>ar and persecution: nothing was permitted from v.ithout essentially to injure the kingdom of Christ in the Ro- man empire. Vast riumbers of the J ev»'s were added to the church, and a great multitude which no man could number, the servants of God, seaiedin their foreheads, that is baptized and admitted into the chris- tian covenant, all united in that wonderful cliorus, '• Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, Amen." They were arrayed in Avhite robes to denote their justification and sanctili- cation through the death and merits of Christ; they carried palms in their hands to express their victory over all their tribulations, and their persecuting en- emies ; and they enjoy the comforts of a land, where famine shall not molest, thirst shall not afflict, and fires shall no more consume. For the Lamb tlieir gracious Brother, Redeemer, Guide, and Friend. nourishes tliem, supplies them from the stream which makes glad the city of our God: and banishes weep- ing and lamentation from every heart, and "wipes away all tears from their eyes." Tiiiswas realized in many points oi view, and while it demands our most fervid gratitude for the past, it PanctioiJj^ hope for the future; wheji during tl;e Milienium this spiendiS Kf CLESlASnCAf, HISTORY. LECTGKE VJ. mulged tv/elve most furious nrmthemae. He wn^ eventually exiled ; but their body, as uell as some of their origiaid opponents, still exist in various; parts of Eastern Asia and Northern Africa. Tlw? Pelagian cotitroversj, which has been more famous, permanent and extensive than all the otliers^ originated in the early part of the iifth century. The doctrines universally received, '• that human nature is originally corrupt ; and that divine grace is neces- sary to illuminate the understanding and to sanctify the heart," Pelagius and Celestius opposed. On the contrary, they averred, " that the sin of Adam and Eve, Avas not im})utcd to their posterity ; that we derive no j;:orruption i'rom their transgressions ; that children are born now as pure and holy as Adam was created ; that mankind are in themselves capa- ble of repentance and amendment ; that they have no need of the internal assistance of the holy spirit ; that bapti'im is not the seal of the remission of sins, but a mark of admission to the kingdom of heaven; and tliat good works are not only meritorious, but the sole conditions of salvation." These positions were generally and immediately condemned, whenever, and as soon as they were pro- mulged. Augustin had urged with irresistible force and etTect. tiiat divine grace was the unmerited gift of God, and iiidispensnbie to the salvation of men. Hence arose a new sect, the members of whicl), with Cassian as their head, resolved to combine the dis- cordancies between the Predestinarians and the Pe- lagiaivs by opening a path, midway between the two extremes. TJicse were denominated Semi-Pelagians. Thcirdoctrine may thus be described. '-Grace is not necessary to originate the first movements of penitence and melioration; these c;\nbe produced by every man by the exertion of iiis ownficullies; and all persons cau thus believe in Christ aiid resolve upon evangelical obedience ; but no persons can persevere and ad- vance in that holiness and virtue which they com- meficed,, without the perpetuul support and a-a-ststance •CENTURY V. S'l. 109 of divine Grace. Their fandamcntal tenets were; *' that God did not dispense his grace to one more than another, but was wilhngto save all men, it'thev Gomphed with the terms of the gospel — that Christ diedi'or all men — that the Grace of Christ was offer- ed to all men — that man before he received grace was capable of faith and holy desires, and that man be- ing born free, could resist or comply with the influ- ences of (he Holy Spirit." This metaphysical and truly incomprehensible sub- ject has continued to divide and alieiiate the church" of Cln'ist through every succeeding generation : and is even now as eagerly contested, and the dispu- tants are as widely separated as if it were the first perceptible eruption of the Volcano. Augustine's tbllowers are generally found among those denomi- nated Calvinists- — while the Arminians derive their origin from the Pelagians. In every age however, endless have been the modification of these opinions, from the mystery of Supralapsarianism to the Infi- del ma-xim, that "men possess naturally the power to obey the divine law in perfection." During this con- troversy, Pelagius, who denied the original depra- vity of human nature, was charged with invalidating by his doctrine, the ordinance of infant baptism, vvith its propriety and necessity ; he indignantly replied, that he w as not a Pagan — for not a single individual, no one sect of Christians, even though avowed He- retics, had dared to deny, that Infant Baptism was the pr3ctice or injunctioi^ of the Apostles; or that it had not been perpetuRted by their authority and ex- ample : for when an Idolater was baptized and re- ceived into the Church, all his Children and house- hold also, whoever the inmates might be, were con- sidered subjects of the ordinance. Amid all these controversies, the progress of su- perstition in principle and practice, was steady and uniform. The souls of departed Christians became the objects of cor/stant invocation ; and as it was be- lieved, that they still continued to hover about the 110 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE VL places where their bodies were entombed, their se- pulchres became the places M'here this abhorrent worship was statedly performed. Images of these dead disciples were erected, and by the adoption of the old Pagan notion, that when the statues of Jupi- ter, Br:>.cchu3 and Venus were erected, those fictiti- ous Gods were really present and propitious to their devotees, so the deluded Christians attached a simi- lar supernatural efficacy and incorporatiou to tlieir anti-evangelical idols. To the bones of the Martyrs and to the figure of the cross, was attributed an ener- gy irresistible in counteracting all calamities, and in extirpating all mental and corporeal maladies. An- cient Heathen institutions, in pilgrimages, supplica- - tions, and festivals to their demons and temples, were continued with very trivial changes, and thus the most odious part of the idolatrous mythology was embodied in the practice of the Christian Church. Hence the doctrine of purgatory, the worship of ima- ges and saints, the power of relics, and the efficacy of good works, had assumed a regular establishment and a permanent character ; Avhich continued to aug- ment in diffusion and influence, until they enveloped in darkness the whole evangelical empire. ///. The rites and ceremonies. The external frippery and meretricious glare com- bined with the worship of God during the tifth and sixth centuries, exceed all credibility. Robes adorn- ed with the most costly and gaudy embellishments were introduced into the service of the Sanctuary as Priestly decorations. An unceasing choir of music was maintained in many places, which was never in- terrupted; but the choristers resounded their chaunts day ajul night, in bodies succeeding each other, as if the adversary could be extirpated, or the .ludge appeased by unceasing sounds. We may almost wonder at the inquiry; to what region, all the wealth of the Roman empire at that period could have migrated ? when we are assured, that the bones, ^culls, teeth, nails and various suppositious relics of CENTURY V. VI. Ill the dead Martyrs were sacredly preserved in caskets and closets of solid silver and gold ; while the ima- ges of the Virgin Mary liursing the holy child Jesus were adorned and enriched with all that superstitioa could prescribe or imperial wealth procure. The magnificence and pomp of all the other utensils em- ployed in the service of the church may therefore easily be conceived; and the immensity of the value must be estimated from the universality of the extra- vagance. Two circumstances in the liislory of these centu- ries strongly dcvelope that total degeneracyof raan- liers which had become too general to be diminished by any counteraction then existing or discoverable. During the era of persecutions, the Brethren and Sisters had held Agapa, Feasts of Charity, where all the sanctity, and all the consolations of C])ristiau love had ever encouraged and intlamed the Saints in their anticipations of immediate martyrdom ; these assemblies inconsequence of the riot and licentious- ness which they occasioned were totally dissolved. But the proof and the cause of still more detesta- ble enormities originated in consequence of a decre- tal issued by Leo, Bishop of Rome. It had always been customary for offenders against the dicipline of the Church, publicly to acknow ledge their guilt be- fore the whole Congregation, prior to their restora- ion to the communion of the faithful; but this pro- genitor of the Pope, directed that nny penitent who privately confessed his sins to a Priest regularly ap- pointed for tliat duty, should be absolved from guilt, and restored to the communion in the same estima- tion as if he had openly declared his contrition be- fore the assembly at large ; thus all restraint upon impurity, and every shield of female modesty were totally exterminated. A vast variety of unmeaning ceremonies, and the utmost absurdity of gorgeous display, were intro- duced into the celebration of the ordinances. The profession of the candidate was absorbed in the sib Il;i. ECtLr.ijlASTJfeAt HlSTWiii, LECTURE V-T. tin<>ss \\\i\i wliirh it was accompanied ; and the death of tlie Redeemer was Ibrgotten in the prepostcrout^ ritual with which they pretended to commemorate that wondrous event. To consummate tfiis mourn- ful record, it only remains to be added, that to ap- peaye the Pagan converts, who were chagrined at the loss of their liacchanalian orgies and feasis of Pan, several festivals were instituted at the same seasons, and the only difference perceptible was the alteraiion of a name; Venus for Mary; and Bacchus or Pan for John. This is the counterpart of an an- ecdote related of the most revered Latimer; who, preaching before Henry Vlil. respecting his attempts to combine Popery and Protestantism, reprobated tht* sclieme in most stern denunciation, and declared that it was all Mingle-Mangk ; and truly, they of the 5tb and 6th centuries mingle-mangled all together; when ihey displaced Venus to set up *' Lady Mary, the Mother of God," and when they only divested Mer- cury of his laurel coronet, to put on the Monk's square cap, and write upon its front, Peter. The church government during this period, m ith some other topics are omitted; as it will be necessary todcvelope them more largely in their connection, when we illustrate the rise and progress oftheAnti Cliristian Babylon. Of the Christian Authors during these centuries r.oUiiiig of sufiicient importance to attract our atten- tion in these lectures, cither as individuals or in theit Avritings, exists. This is a wretched wilderness over which to cast uur eyes — during two hundred years the church of God appears to have been a complete exemplifica- tion of the atlecting statement made by Asaph with regard to Israel— Psalm 80 : 8—19. Notwithstafidingall this general gloom, some light shone or Christians would not have suffered persecu- cution. We have a common proverb ; and however thoughtlessly or even improperly used and appro- priated, it is a solemn momentous trnt-h iii conuec-^ CENTURY V. Vl. 1 1J3 U-on with the Gospel cf Christ, " The Devil helps his own." Wicked men have seldom or never shared in the tortures of Christians; lor in fact, the rage olhrll would never be kindled against its own devoted earthly adherents: therefore, when we read that the tiolemnities of religion and the claims of humanity; the innocence of evangelical rectitude, and the paciiic temper of aChristian's walk; the irradiations of Gos- pel truth, and the universal seal of Divinity stamped upon the revelation of the Son of God; were all inef- fectual to restrain the relentless rage of barbarian maligfiity, we may reasonably judge, that the major- ity at least of those incalculable multitudes who per- ished in every variety of cruelty, and ignominy and exquisite torments, in Gaul, Britain, Germany, Italy^ Greece and especially in Persia, chieily, if not alto- gether, for their intiexible adhesion to the Gospel of Christ, before the Idolaters among whom in conse- quence of their having been subdued, they contin- iiued to reside; was part of that glorious army of Martyrs who are now singing the song of Moses and the Lan^.b. ''Great are thy works, 'Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou Kin^ of Saints ! " Th2 Apoccilypiical prcihctions rsspectin!^ tJii Arahian Ale- hammedans aid the Turks — !hs rdperstiliou:^^ h:piorancc. discord and dopravUfj of ihs Greek church nhhui ih^-r drsrm::>07i?^ until '•' (he blessed Rcfurnialio-t.''' Wc have now arrived upon the confines oi' that period em piratically denominated the 1260 years ; at the commencement ofwhich was exhibited the rise of that (hiphcate alienation from th.e Gospel of^in-ist, the Mohammedan Apostacy and the Roman corrup- tions. These have unilbrmly been designated as llie dark ages, in which ignorance and vitiosity maintain- ed a n^sistless and an almost universal sway. Evan- gelical simplicity, illumination and purity were eflTi- ce 1 by pompous superstitions, unreserved submission to a Monk's directions, and the utmost licentiousnesEi sanctio:ied by a Mendicant's plenary absoluiion For th':' sake of perspicuity, the two divisions of .anti^ c'hrist shall be separately reviewed in tlieir rise, pro- grf^ss and distinctive c'loracteristics. After the blast of the fourth trumpet, a pause ensu- ed; durino- which interval, tlie Apostle heard the an- gel who lied ihroup;!) the midst of heaven, denource tlie three wos which the inhabitants of the earth should experience. " by reason of the other voices of the trumpets which the remaining angels are yet to soinid 1' Revelntion 9 : 1 — 1 1 . This prophecy delineates the origin nnd -ncccss of Moliammcdanism. W iien tlic trumpet resou.nded, tlie Prophet sav/ a star f:tll from heaven, Avhicli liold tlie key of the bottomless pit; and having opened ii, a crdiginous smoke issued, that darkened the sun aud air; tlioso black confused doctrines Mbicli ob;- cured the pure light of revelation. This star haa CE.NTUllIES VH XVI. 115 been applied to the apostate monk Sergius, ".vliovvas the priiicijial vvriter ol the Koran, and pcculiarl)' sub- t(.'i\iciit Lo the designs of the Arabian impostor. Ivjt an insuniiountable objection may be urged ; it rolVrs a j)re-cminent rank in propheey, to one ot" tise most obscure individuals in the history of tiio world. From the most accurate con3\)ataiion, it is snffici- enlly demonstrable, that in their commencement, the grand features of their domination, and in their extirpation, the tA\o apostiicies nearly synchronize. Bill this remarkable coincidersce jusliiies the belief, .(tiai the filleii star denotes the ciiief corrupter of Christiaiiiiy. The star fell from heciven unto earth, precisely at the sounding of the tififi trumpet, anteri- or to the appearance of the locusts, nnd consequently preceded, though almost imperceplihly, tlie Moham- medan imposture. "Pure and undehled Religion" had been almost concealed from sight by the author- ized worship of images, saints and angels, prayers for the dead, and other papal inventions; which subse- quent to the close of t'ne period allotted to the tburlh trumpet, had disfigured the cou.':te.Mar:ce and defiled the character of the church. The h( ad ofth^se absur- dities unlocked the abyss, removed (ije obstacles from Ihe way of the Impostor, and Ibrmed the pretext for liis ujission: and the harmony of the prophetical rec- ords with reference to the Eastern and Western Apos- tacies, requires us to admit, that not an individual, either as the fiUen star, or as the King of the locusts, Apollyon, was intended ; but tl^at siiccessioii of men who corrupted the Gospel, and of Caliphs who ex- einplified their legal claim to the title of" the Angel of the bottomless pit." The accuracy of this vision rcjiders it acondciised history of the Mohammechins, during the KiO yevrs v/liich ensued after the lirsl pu[>iic deeleretinu that the Arabian made of his celestinl appoinlmeni. Locusts strictly signiiied the Saracen ar-nies : tney ongmated ]n the same regions ; m ranii]>erp they were almost iricalculablc; and th'^'v spread dcsolalio!] IIU KCCLESIASTICAL KISTOKV. LECTURE VIZ. through all the Romaji empire. Scorpions by their sting produce extreme pain, which is ollcn succeeded by death : biii. in their compound character, these men were enjoined noi to de\ astate the earth, hut to slay ai! those •• men wh.o had not the sen! ot'God up- on their ioreheads." The literal direction of ns erected, the locusts lerminrUed their conquests, aed their power gradually derlined. Locusts in their heads reseml^le horses : and the Mohnmmednns w ei-e peculiarly skilful Ecjueslriaiis. The Crowns denote their turbans and other badges of mnjesty, or the ex- tension of their sway; tlieir faces exh.ibiteda manly b'^ard, while their hair was decorated after the fash- io 1 of women; their lion-teeth prefigured their enra- ged force: their iron breast-plates bespoke their en- ergy in self-defence ; their w ings lucidly develope the rapidity of their victories nntl thefiny of their assaults; and their scorpion-stiuij;s diiliised the Impostor's poi* son, which generated more injury to the souls, than their barbirities inflicted misery upon the bodies of men. The title of their king was peculiarly empha- tic and applicable; Al)Kldon, the (lest rover— tor they murdered man in his enjoyments, in his hopes and i|i Kis doom. CENTUKIES VII XVI. 1 17 ••!^n<^ v,'o is past; and behold there come two wos more hereafter: along period intervened between the issuing of the Arabian locusts and the loosing of the Euphratean horsemen.'' Rev. 9: 13 — 21. This prediction is iiiost buninously dis})hiycd in the history of the Turks. In numbers immense, and with irresistible force, the Scythians had migrated westerly, until their progress was arrested on the borders of the Euphrates. There possessing several parts of the Saraceni<' conquests, they remained bound in lour distinct sovereignties, through the ins- trumentality of the European crusades. But whert the rage for these more than Quixotic expeditions ceased, and the temporary dominion which, the Latiil!*- obtained in Palestine was nearly extinguished ; the trumpet sounded, the four angels were loosed, and the successes of the Turks over the Eastern empire commenced. Two circumstances in the accomplish- ment of this wo; the numerical exactitude ofthe pe- riod allotted to their devastations ; and that unique characteristic, "out of their moutlis issued fire and smoke and brimstone ;*" — are singularly remarkable. The angels and their horsemen from the river Eu- phrates were prepared for a year, and a month, and a day, and an hour, or 395 years and 15 days; and it is indubitable, that from their first victory over th.e Eastern empire until their final conquest i[i Poland, that space of time was precisely exhausted. Gun- powder and artillery had not long previous to the attack upon Constantinople been introduced ; and the most tremendous engines of destruction ever known to have been used, vomited death from their mouths, during the siege, in which was " killed the third part of men." Their numbers almost surpass credibility, and they were cavalry: enveloped in scarlet, blue and yellow, they appeared as covered with ftre. jacinth and brimstone: and their horses were peculiarly strong and fierce. Their fire and brimstone destroyed the bodies , and their venomous stin2;s. the souls of men. 118 LCCLESIASTICAL llISTOflY. LluCTL'ili: Vll. Ferocity was their dit^tiiictive character; i'ov siriiiiar to thescorpion-iocusls. ihese berpeiit-liorseineri were armed with woriclly ajabilioii and Mohaimncdan iaii- nticism ; and the banir-haient of the Gospel with the siibstilation of the Koran, universally accompanied the successes both oi the Saracens and the lurks. The close of the vision depicts the Latin church during the progress of the Angels who were ioosed. Many countries in Europe were not aflbcted by the Saracenic Locusts or ihe Euphratean horseioen ; but they persisted in the worship of saints and images, in their persecutions, inquisitions and murders, in their detestable licentiousness, the pretended celiba- cy of the clergy, monks and nuns, and in their fraud- ulent exactions, by which (he nations v^ere impo\er- ished. The victories of I\lohammedanism and of the iio- man idolatry coincide; yet the tremendous njiserics produced by the former, and the glorious Keiorm Avhich the superstitions of the latter iinrJly engender- ed, eflecled but a diminulive transibrmation. iJciice, they will feel the horrors of the tliird moat awinl wo. iVcdiction is now narrative; for that which John prospectively saw has occurred. '• Thc^ second wo. is past.'' Nothing can be more evident tliaii that this proplie- tic delineation refers to the desolation of the Eastern ]iart of the Roman Empire; and it is a wondrous con- lirmation of our faith in the divinity of the Christian f.ystem, that the events should so accurately !;.'-vo coalescd v.itli the ])rediction. The progress of this curse over the earth v. as equally rapid, extensive and direful. From tfie Mohammedan era, theHegirain b2:!.must prob.djly I) i dated the commencement of the r2(50 years in ref- erence to the Eastern Cliurch; hence the total extir- pation oi' this system Avill probably have occurred prior to the end of this cciitu ry. The following brief \ieu' of the chief doctrines and practices of this delusion cannot be irrelevant. CK^'Tunr^LS MI — -xvj. 119 The Mohamnieclanrj bnild nil Ihoir iaiih iipnii one |)v'jsilioii — "there is no God but one. raid Mohv^mmed is the Apostle ot'Gotl.'' AH their articles of bciirf are comprized in the unity oliiotL the existence of An- gels, the absolute i]Tjmutai~)!litv of the inost minutely applicabJe predestination, the revelation of the divinr^ will to iJoscs. David, Jesus nnd I^iohammed ; but ihi Jewish and Christian S'eriphires ih^^y reject FfS totally corrupted, and maintain the Koran to be tho- solo standard of truth; (liej also admit a general resurrx^elion and future ju'lgnient. /The Mohammedan description of hell is perfectly ludicrous, and yet extremely nppe.!iinf>; to the senses ; v/hile the exhibition of heaven in the Koraji is most offensively indecent and volupiuons. This is llicir faith, ^vhat is their prnclicep-r-lt con- sists in five daily stated prayers: before sunrise — after mid-day — before sunset — during the tvv'ilight — after night; with these are conjoined a variety of coremorfial washings and purifications. Legal and voluntary aims — fasting; and above all Vno pdgrimage to Mecca; without vvhich, this Ara- bian .hnpostor declares, even one of his own disci- ples might as well be a Jew or a Christian ! Herice, we may cease to feel any surprise, that Apollyon should have so swiftly and extensively in- gulphed so many myriads ^\ithin his vortex. By the force of e.rnis and the splendour of victory, the natiop.s were obliged or inti;nidaled to submit to the Caliphs. The cruel dissensions r^mong the Nes- torians, the Greeks, and the otlier sects Were accom- panied with such abhorrent oatrnges, that the very name of Christianity became odious. At this period also, all tjic Eastern countries, and even the mnjor jTart of the Roman empire were overwhelmed in the most profound ignorance, and of course were easily deluded by a?i artful and bold Teacher, decorated with the garb of an irresistible Conqueror. Eut the grand reason, was its complete and cunning adapta- tion to l!)e depravity of the l^.umnn heart. He select- VIO ECCLESIASTICAL IFISTOKV. LKCTLKE vri, vd some of the funilamental truths uhich both Jews and Christians believed — he required ot his diseiples hut few reii»ioiii^ (Uities, neither diifFieuit to he ])er>- formed nor involving any restraint upon their corrupt passions ; and thus by sanetilying their pre-conceived opinions, by admitting all their usual customs, an;s of^he Euro])en.n nations, was in- tended; and denotes th(; situatjon oi'lhe rhiircl) un- der Pagan Rome. But previous to the d<'iivcrance of the Ciiristinns from persecution l>v victorious Consiantlnc. the war of Mi-chacl and the Drap;on in- terposed. This si.ojnifies the veh.ement exertions Av!iit:h the Pagans mride against the establishment of Ciiristianity. Tlie Devil after a^coiitest of nearly 300 years was final! j overt hrowu; for the blood of Christ and the doctrines of the cross, by the testimo- ny of them., "Avho loved not their own lives unto the death," vanquished every hellish machination, and -the heavens rejoiced. When the Drag-on was ca^t U:ilo tiie earth, he pci-- secuted tlie woman, the church; and this designate^ the continual attempts which were formed and execu- ted, after the age of Constantino, to subvert the Gos- pel and to restore the ancient irreligion. Durini-; these "occurrences, (he woman received wings, hy wjiich at the appointed time, she might fly into ih.<.- wilderness during the 1200 yenrs. Tlie serpent the , endeavoured to destroy her by a flood of water, tUc irruptions of the Northern- Barbarians; wliich tlse surviving Pagans stedf>stly and strenuously encou- raged*, hoping that Messiah's rcligio»i would perish in the commotions. Nev^^rtheless, " the earth helped the woman and swallowed up tlie (lood ;" for the va- rious nations which desolated the Roman empire became nominal Christians. Thus discomfited, the Dragon in his wratli went to ''make war with the remnant of her seed," those who submitted not to the a))surdities, superstitions, nv.d pollutions of Po- pery, and '• who keep tlie commandments of God, and t'je testim.ony of Jesus Christ." The beast with seven heads aiid ten horns, now appears with crowns on his horns, and this alteration from the seven crowns ofi his heads to the ten crowns on his horns, declares tlie change which resulted fiom the extirpation of (he imperial authority. TEiNTURlES VII. XVI. 14 i Trie ten horns are all the present kijigdoms ofEu- iope; iiusHia, Scandivinin, and Greece only except- ed : and iVom (heir origin to the present day, this part ©I'the Rqinan empire notwithstanding numberless tu- mults, vicissitudes and revolutions, has generally re- mained when in a settled condition, in ten distinct indepeiidciit sovereignties; whicli decidedly inti- mates, that whatever modifications or external cha- racteristics th?y may yet exhibit, they shall contiiiuc in number, ten, and are the Horns which shall tail with the Beast. . This beast was a leopard for fierceness, a bear in cruelty, and as a lion terrific. The sixth head was wounded in the overthrow of the Imperial power: but revived in Charlemagne, v/no established the Holy Roman empire; and by this association of the s^ecular authority with the Papal spiritual supremacy, the nations v.'Pre all reduced to submission and wor- shipped the beast, supposing his power irresistible. Daniel and John agree , that he should speak great things; he claimed to be God of Gods, and God upon earth, and the duration of his authority is fixed for 1260 years. The Papal Church has blasphemed God: his name, his tabernacle; by substituting image wor- ship in the house of prayer and by murdering his saints, as heretics ; and "them that dwell in heaven," by the imputation of the most ridiculous actions, and by sacrilegious devotion. He \vas to make war with the saints and to overcome them; all computation fails to ascertain the numbers of those, who for deny- ing the Papal dominion and doctrines, have been mercilessly tortured by this savage unrelenting Beast; and his power extended over all countries, tongues and nations, and " all those whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, worhsip him." -Before this, horn, three of the ten horns were to tall; and accordingly, previous to the elevation, of the Pope to temporal authority, through the sanction which the Holy Father gave to the usurpations of the 142 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LKCTURE Xll'l. sanguinary Phocas; he became master of the Gothic kingdom which had been primarily established in Rome and its vicinity. Another beast arose, which had " two horns, hke a )amb, bnt speaking as a dragon." This is the two bodies of ecclesiastics who in all generations have been the principal support of the Pope's devilish sorceries : for they have exercised the consummate power of the first Beast, spread themselves into eve- ry country, subjected by their arts and menaces all people, and forced them to adore the " son of perdi- tion." Daniel's little horn and this two horned beast are similarly described. '• He doth great wonders ;" the pretended miracles of the Apostates : " he mak- eth fire come down from heaven upon cnrth in the sight of men," the bulls and ipxcommunications wliich regularly issued from the Vatican against all those who dared to oppose the authority of '• him whose coming is after the working of Satan." By these simulated wonders, men were deceived ; and he was to '• make an image to the first beast ;" this image Was either the Pope, to whom the Cardinals gave life aiid ability to speak, who as a temporal Prince represents the ancient Emperors, and as the infalH- ble Head of tlie church is the great Papistical Idol ; and in both respects is now the chief of the whole 7\nti-christian tyranny : or it may include the impious abominations, which their chimerical devotions so ostentatiously display. " Those who will not wor- ship the image of the beast, he was not himself to kill, but cause to be killed ;" the Papal Priests never absolutely destroyed their opponents, but delivered the witnesses to the Magistrate who was colleagued with them, and completely under their dominion, that they might be murdered by the secular arm. "All men were marked in their right hand and their foreheads ; and no man might buy or sell, save he who had tiio mark," or his name, or the number of the name of the beast ; they must bow to the idolatries and superstitions of the church of Rome, whoso GJENTURIES VII. XVI. 14'3 lanrk is the cross, the cause of the most infernal cru- dities and the most childish superstitions, and uhich is without cessation applied by every ridiculous vo- tary, to his hand, his activity in supporting the throne of iniquity, and to his forehead, his subjection to this tyrannical compound of unholy power ; and all in- tercourse with the enemies of the Pope and his clergy was strictly prohibited. The beasts name is speci- iied 666 : it is the name of the first beast ; of the ten horned beast ; of a man : it is the name with the mark: and of every individual in the empire. These properties combined meet in the word Latinus only; and consequently fixes it upon that Church. The Apostle depicts the character of them v. ho in all ages should oppose the Papal authority and su- premacy, and " follow tlie Lamb whithersoever he goeth." Three Angels then arise in succession, one tiies in the midst of heaven with the everlasting Gos- pel— the Waldenses and Albigenses ; the second An- gel followed crying, " Babylon is fallen ;" the Bohe- mians and others who after the former witnesses w ere nearly or totally slain, more plainly and boldly pro- claimed the wrath of God against the persecutors of the saints; and the third Angel thundered with in- creased vehemence, and with augmented wo in his denunciations ; Luther, Zuinglius. Cranmer and Knox, with their co-adjutors and successors to the present period, who shall not cease to protest against the infernally erroneous principles and practices of the Latin Hierarchy, until the last witness is mur- dered. Living nearer the era, and when the prophecy could iiot be so lucidly expounded, the Waldenses and Al- bigenses more mildly but with equal resolution, pro- mulged evangelical truth. When " the mystery of iniquity" had arrived at its acme, and the character of the "man of sin" was more clearly developed, the language of vaticination was used with more certain- ty, and the opposition of the Bohemians, Huss and Jerome, was marked with a mere decided abhorre-nce. 144 ECCLESIASTICAL HlSi©RV. l.LCilKE VIJl. Bill LuUier and his descendants have hern more de- termined in tlieir protestations, more ur£cnt in tlieir iinportunity, more distinct in their aj)j>iiealion of these predicti6i]6 to the Papacy, and liioic >v\vvv, in the judgments which they have dencnnced. John evidently concUiJes the testimony of the Reformers ; he calls them tb*"^*" patience to keep (lie commandments of God and the faith of Jesus ;" ai;d encourages them to persevere by the assurance, ilmi '•• Blessed arc the dead who die in ihe Lord.' The predictions respecting the three Angels in the fourleentli chapter of Revelations, and that concern- ing the two witnesses, ])rophesying'''a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloih'" demand additional elucidation. J^ut a cloud impene- trable overshades the precise epocha when the 12-^0 years commenced. Prophecy evinces, that the Mo- hammedan apostacy will close before Popery shall ex- pire; though their decease will be in swift progression; and that tlie end of their duration is not immediately to be anticipated. Speedily after the absolute domi- nion of" the Man of Sin," the witnesses began to ex- ist ; but the Pope's primitive antagonists were the first Angel, the Waldenses; who arose not prior (o the year (566, when the Papal suprenic^cy was gene- rally acknowledged : for some of the horns lon^g re- sisted the power which lie claimed ; but by secessioii from the Latin church, the primary witnesses conse- quently opposed her errors and growing enonnities. Ample evidence exists, that nearly at the same period when the beast began to reign, the witnesses in sackcloth commenced their prophesying in opposi- tion. it has already been noticed, that in (he eighth century the Greek dissented from the liatin church ; and the principal topics which constituted (he basis of contest between the Papid Hierarchy and r-lie fol- lowers of the Lamb, "• as many as wouhl not worship tlie image of the Beast," must be succinctly deline- ated. fENTURIM VH XV J. 145 1. 7ne ^oorsJiip of imay^es. — In the eighth centurj, tlie Greek Emperors most eiiergeticallj opposed the devotions ollered before the statues, the intercession of the saints, and the suppositious sanctity of the rehcs; and a succession of witnesses constantly protested against this derogation from the divine majesty and honour. 2. The supreniacii of the Pope was another topic which excited severe contest : but it seems never to have been universally tolerated throughout the ten horns of the Beast, until Gregory, whose name liil- debrand was most appropriately transformed by the sincere Christians inlo Hell-Brand, claimed, exercis- ed, and by every species of tyrannical violence, ti- nally usurped and obtained, either a voluntary or a tacit subjection to his illimitable authority 3. Transuhstantiation. — This most absurd of all pal- pable and sensible contradictions for along time re- ceived every variety of resistance ; but ignorance fi-^ j»ally triumphed : and the worship of the host, the canon of the mass transformed the wafer into the identical flesh and blood of the Redeemer of man- kir.d. 4. Penancs and Pur() years the contest was conti- nued ; admitting of little intermission and ordy to be decided by the complete overthrow of one of the Combatants. On the .part of Satan every abomina- tion was exhibited towards his Antagonists; the car- nal weapons were sharpened to their utmost edge against the spiritual armour, and in the battle, myri- ads of fmmanuel's sheep were transferred from the cross to the crown, amid ihe most excruciating tor- ture; but the vision was tor an appointed time, and although it tarried, they waited for it until it came. '• The sixth seal was opened — the great earthcjuake occurred; the sun became black; the moon became as blood ; the stars of heaven lell ; the heavens de- parted ; every mountain and island were moved;" and all orders of Satan's troo])S " hid themselves in tlie dens and rocks of the mountains, for the great day of liis wrHth^' came, and none of them were '• able to stand," CENTURIES Vll. XVi. 149 After so complete a demolition of the ancient idol- atry, the consummate exposure of its unhallowed mysteries and authorised corruption, and the estab- lishment, bj law and by insuperable force, of the sub- limely " pure and undeiiled religion, and the life and immortality brought to light by the gospel" — com- bined with the triumphant evangelical Hosannas of that multitude which no man could number — who could have supposed that Christianity Avould have been metamorphosed so as to display all the abhor-' rent qualities of the Bacchanalian mythology ? — yet' the nations governed by Papal authority were scarce- ly more evangelized than to change the worship of & block of marble, sculptured and denominated Jupiter, lor an image oi the Virgin Mary, or of an imaginary disembodied saint: tq this astonishing departure from the Gospel must be added, the incorporation of the' most sanguinary feature impressed upon the idolatrous system; tha.t philanthropy which thegospel so earnest- ly and continually inculcates as the grand effect and evidence of the converting grace effused by the ever blessed Spirit, was absorbed in a furious malignity, in- cessantly devouring ; cruel and insatiable as the ^rave. At the approach of the Papal adherents, all that was enlightened, pure and devotional disappear- ed ; the substance of evangelical religion vanished, and in its stead, scarcely a shadowy similitude re- mained. The whole fabric called Popery was found- ed upon an impenetrable ignorance of the Gospel of Christ ; and its long continued ascendency was per- petuated by that combination of spiritual tyrants, who contrived during several centuries to bind the world in the most degrading mental vassalage. That illumination only is requisite to demolish the Papal corruptions, equally with the Mohammedan apostacy, is a fact verified by experience, and attested by the history of nations. Under the withering controul of that appalling and incomparable despotism, the ten kingdoms of the Roman empire, the ten horns of the beast became gradually more and more palsied, until laO , KCCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE VIII. it appears, that an almost incurable lethargy pervad- ed their whole boundaries; at least, it is certain tliat nothing could have roused them from their stupor, but the activity inspired by the discovery of Amei ica, and the excitement enkindled by the rapid propaga- tion of knowledge through the then novel art of print- ing; both of which loosened the chains ofdark.'iess and coercion with w hich the human soul had so long been fettered, and finally enabled the enterpris- ing, and the learned and the pious to '• fight the good fight of faith ;" and by thus undermining the Papal fortress, to justify that anticipation which exults in the song of triumph over its total and irrecoverable -destruction. In reviewing the moral degradation and the intellectual stupor of this desolate period in the annals of the human family — we are lost in astonishment at the mysteriousness of the Divine government, the wondrous reaction of human affairs, the exact retribution which the Supreme Governor often awards to mankind, even in tliis world, and the almost insuparable tendency that exists in the hearts of men to depart from the living God, The gradual introduction of the Papal supersti- tions, and the sudden establishment of the delusious originally promulged at Mecca, verify the Prophetic truth, " the Lord is with you if you be with him, hut if you forsake him, he will forsake you :" and the infallible declaration of the Judge of all the earth is exemplified in all its humiliating force, by the annals of the nominal church during the three hundred year? subsequent to Constantine's publicly authoritative recognition of the Gospel, as the Imperial religion. Spiritual devotion was generally unknown ; the wor- ship of Godw^as transformed into a carnal exterior round of services by which the light of evangelical truth was obscured ; h ^ sanctity of the divine com- mandments was obliterated by a substitute which altogether commuted the whole moral system, in the practice of auricular confession, and pri^^stly absolu- tion; and as the progress of corruption is continually CENTURIES VII XVI. l5l acGeleraliog; it was soon developed in all its enor- mity, evincing that "men love darkness rather thaa light because their deeds are evil." it is not surprize merely which affects us in con- templating these inscrutable movements of the Pro- vidential system ; but also gratitude that God who presides over aH terrestrial affairs, has so directed these apparently inexplicable and contradictory e- vents, that they furnish the strongest possible con- viction to our minds of the truth which the sacred scriptures develope, and thus through divine influ- ence they may contribute most essentially to our spiritual edification. " He maketh the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of that wrath he restrains." The Monks and Friars, whose Argus eyes explored every recess however secret, to seize all the copies of the sacred volume, that their con- tents might be unknown to the multitudes'over whom they had obtained a resistlsss sway, entombed the manuscripts which they collected in oblivion, witliin the walls of their Abbies. Now it is not a little re- markable, that this same manoeuvre under divine controul became the safe-guard of the scriptures. The copies which were obtained either by intimi- dation or force or fraud, were deposited in the mo- nasteries and the large collegiate institutions as re- ceptacles of safety; and as these were appropriated to the most sacred purposes in public estimation, and legalized as perfect sanctuaries, so they v/ere seldom assailed ; and thus became treasuries in which might most securely be intrusted any articled however costly or precious. Had the ingenuity of the Monks and Friars equalled their malignity, and their aversion irom the Scriptures, they would have irrecoverably destroyed all the copies which could have been grasped; but they were taken in tlieir own craftiness ; and he who makes '* all things work toge- ther for good to them that love God, to the called according to his purpose," thus so regulated all the corrupt passions of n^en, that they who never rested 152 ECCLESIASTICAL IIlSrvRV. LRCTUnK VUJ. from the unholy employ, to obliterate the eiiergy of revealed truth and to extirpate the cliarter ol' re- demption from its residence on earth, became in the days of darkness, and tlirough the centuries of moral and spiritual palpable gloom, the unassjiilable guard- ians of its imperishable truths, promises and com-t mands. Another circumstance which is not l^ss impressire must also be remembered. In declaring the Latin version, the only authorised text of Scripture, it be- came necessary for the sake of those who continued to use that language both in speakir.g and writing, and who consequently might comprehend the oracles of truth, often to exhibit the Old and New Testament, that sceptics might be convinced that tlie various er- rors and mummeries of popery were truly sanctioned by the Founder of the Church and his Apostles. — . Hence the exposure necessary even to change the tenor of the divine w^ord, so that it might authorize all the new follies either in faith, worship or practice, ^vhich were contimially increasing in the church, also tended to remind those who had never seen the Gos- pels, that such a book existed, and that so paramount was its authority, it was deemed in all cases of difficul- ty that standard of verity alone from the decision of which no appeal existed. He. the supreme, who does ns he pleases in the midst of the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, often by this means illustrated the truth to the sincere and candid inquirer; and maintained the smoking (lax, that it could not be totally extinguished. To this cause we owe the feeble opposition to the Papacy, Avhich existed at every period from the rise of the Walden-. f>es to the more furious assaults made upon the bat- tlements of Antichrist by the Reformers of the six- teenth century. When we consider therefore the nature, progress, extent and predominance of Popery, originating in the corruption of ungodly Despots and Hierarchs in the bosom of the church-^'vvhen we reflect upon th^ CENTURIES VII. XVI. 153 strictlj accurate delineation given of all these poste- rior events so mmy hundreds of years anterior—when we observe the wonder-working displays of the per- fections of God, as unfolded in his boundlessly wise super-intendence of these discordant and baneful e/ents — when we see a constant interference pro- pelling even the wickedness of man to consummate the dispensations of divine wisdom and mercy — and when we behold all the concerns of several centuries only operating tx) verify divine revelation, to humble us under the review of the vast imperfection attach- ed to the human character, to exemplify the incalcu- lable value of the truth as it is in Jesus, and to ex- cite in us caution, w atchfuiness, and a more power- ful solicitude rightly to impove our inestimable pri- vileges, we must, lost in astonishment, subjoin with the Psalmist—" Lord, what is man that thou art mind- ful of him, or the Son of man that thou shouldst visit him .?" V The Papal hierarchy delineated in its prophetical charac- teristics— the extent of its dominion, and the nature oj its power. After the permanent establishment of the Arabian imposture, the mystery of abomination was com- pletely unfolded, and the 1260 years of gloom com- menced their revolution. However impossible it may be to determine with precision the exact period ; yet the moral aspect of the nations, the exaltation of the Roiuan Hierarchy, the inseparable combination of the ten civil horns of the Heathen Empire under one (iominal Christian Judge and Legislator and ter- restrial Vicegerent of God, and especially the origi- nal prophesying of the two witnesses in sackcloth authorize the deduction, that the sacred mysterious iiuitiber 6t)G is probably the true date of that dupli- cate eventftd eia, in retrospect so humiliating, so joyful in anticip-^tion. The general history of the Roman Papacy, its most imp.-essive features, the opponents of its authority, and some of its prophetical characteristics must be described. These topics will include the principal eve'its which occurred during nearly 850 years, until th*^ third Angel proclaimed with a loud voice, '-they have no rest day nor night, who worship the Beast and his im'^gc." The narrative which these circumstances com- prize will not be divided by dates or periods ; but each subject will be distinctly reviewed throughout the duration of the almost uncontradicted supremacy of him " v,ho had two horns like a lamb, and spake as a dragon," CENTURIES VII XVI. 155 /. The extent of his dominion. Of graphical prophecy, no painting can be more accurate than the portrait of the Papacy drawn by the Apostle, when in Patmos, he "was in the Spirit, on the Lord's day." The Beast to which " the dra- gon gave his power, and his seat and his great au- thority," had '• seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns:" and in the seventeenth chap- ter of the Apocalypse, the heads and the horns are explained. '' The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth ;" for the prophet had immediately before described the woman as sitting " upon a scarlet coloured beast, having seven heads and ten horns." The seven heads are also expound- ed as seven kings, of whom five had fallen, one exist- ed, " and the other is not yet come ; " and the ten horns are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet but receive power, have one mind, and shall give their power and strength to the beast." The seven mountains determine the application of the prediction to Rome, " the city with seven hills ;" and the seven kings imply the several forms of gov- ernment which successively swayed the Roman em- pire. " Five of these had fallen ; the lings., constds, dictators^ decemvirs., and military tribunes ;" the imperial authority, which was the sixth, then ruled ; and the seventh must intend either the Patrician form after the death of Augustulus, or the delegated sovereignty to the exarch of Ravenna, in combination with the Pope's temporal authority, which is that complicated beast '• that was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven and goeth into perdition." The scar- let coloured beast must be the Roman government in its final attribute ; and this is the Papal hierarchy. The great red dragon which stood before the wo- man to devour her child as soon as it was born, is delineated as identical with the scarlet coloured beast. To illustrate this point, it is extremely inter- esting to observe, that the dehverance of the church from the dragon is fixed at the ordinary period of 156 ECCLESIAbXICAL IJISTOR'V. LECTURE IX. gestation; and from the day of Pentecost until the proclamation of Coiistantine for tlie universal tolera- tion and encouragement of Ghriatianity, comprised exactly 280 year,s. But why is he clothed in scarlet ? The Roman Kings, Consuls, Generals, Emperors, Popes and Cardinals have continually adorned them- selves in purple or scarlet robes ; and that this is the correct exidication of the prediction is evident from the remarkable manner in which it was adopte, was proclaimed Universal Bishop. Having excommuFiicated the Greek Emperor in consequence of his opposition to idolatry, and having excited such civil commotions '..fcJNlL/RiES VII XVI. 159 aiid Jiitesliiie wars that the sovereignly of Leo was totally subverted in Italy — about 120 years from the almost general acknowledgement of his ecclesiastical reign, Gregory If. then Pope, usurped the temporal supremacy. In the mean time the heterodox, for all who dissented from the Beast were so denounced, were by the laws declared infamous, incapacitated as witnesses, and outlaws ; the Pope's canons were of equal or superior authority to the legislative enactments . and hence it is evident, that at this pe- riod, the Beast had fully received from the dragon " his ])ower, and his seat :?.nd great authority," — - ft appears therefore a reasonable inference, that the year 606 is the earliest, and the Papal acquisition of the indepejjdent civil power, the latest date poaisi- ble whicJi can be fixed for the entrance upon the 1260 years. The tirst is too early ; because it is prior to the Mohammedan Hegira, and the witnesses pro- phesying in sackcloth ; and the latter seems to inter- pose too great an interval between events which prophecy and history both determine to have almost simultaneously occurred. One fact remains incon-^ testable — two of the dates, 1789 and 1815, which during the last century were frequently specified as the years when the Papal Hierarchy and alDomina- tions should be extirpated, have revolved, and the Beast still exercises his odious, intolerant sway over the major part of iiis original domains; fulminating his anathemas against the word of God and its Pro- pagators from the Baltic to the Meditterranean, and from Thrace to Connaught ; and despatching to all nations with renewed vigour, t' the body guard of the Pope," his horde of Jesuit Janazaries, "that generation of vipers," to seduce and envenom the world. //. The characters of his power. These must first be illustrated in the language and painting of prophecy. Daniel represents him in his seventh chapter, as a horn, the scriptural symbol of energy and force, "plucking up by the roots, three 5 60 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE IX. of the first horns," overturning three of the ten states; *• he shall be diverse from the first j*' his aiUhority being both ecclesiastical and secular — *' in this horji were eyes like the eyes of man;" this denotes his cunning policy and splicitude for his own advance- ment— •• he had a m0uth speaking great things ;" the Pope filled all Europe v/ith his noise, boasting of his supremacy, issuing his bulls, and disolving ail the relations of society — '■ his look was more stout than histellows;" he claimed and possessed almost uni- versal superiority over all the ten kir.^s — ^' he shall speak great words against the Most High;" the Pope established himseli above all law, arrogated the god-like attributes of holiness and infallibility, and demanded and enforced obedience to his decre- tals, when they were absurd, destructive and blas- phemous— ^' he shall w^ear out the saints of the Most Hjph;" whoever harrassed the sincere disciples of the Lamb with more cruelty or constancy, by massa- cre and tortures than the Popes and tlieir Inquisi- torial agents ? — " he shall think to change times and laws ;" this was effected by the indulgences for sin, the idolatrous festivals which he appointed, the anti- scriptural articles of faith and the vitiating practices w^hich he sanctioned, and by claiming the indefeasi- ble prerogative to alter and reverse at his pleasure the laws of God and man — " they shall be given into his hand, until a time, and times and the dividing of times;" time means a'year, therefore this is equiva- lent to three years and a half — " forty two months, a thousand two hundred and threescore days" — now God declared to Ezekiel, " I have appointed thee each day for a year ;" and Daniel's seventy weeks were 490 years, consequently these are 1260 years. The description of the Apostle Paul is not less ac- curate— "he opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." In a further delineation, he de- scribes the members of the Apostacy as giving heed «";i:XTUR]ES VII. XM. ICl •lo sridiijcitig •^pints qikI doctrines of devils, speaking iies in liypocrisy, forbidding to marry, abstaining from meats, an 1 having tlieir consciences seared with a hot iroii.'' T'iiis is the genuine picture of the Papal system. The Popes have always destroyed, if prac- licable, those who adhered to the word of God and rejected their traditions — •■ he exalted himself;" Einperors find Kings, have been dethroned and re- stored by them ; and their kingdoms have been be- stowed as the patrimony of tlie Beast ; the most dig- Jiiaed potentates of Europe themselves, have waited at the gates of ihe Pope's palace almost naked, in tlip midst of winter — they have prostrated themselves before liim, kissed his toe and held his stirrup ; (wo of them have led his horse by the bridle in procession; their crowns have been kicked from their heads by the Pope's foot; he has trampled upon their heads; and they have even suffered their necks to be trod- den upon as a footstool, when he ascended his horse, or portable canopiese(|uefit to the death of Gregory, usurped that same title thus so bohlly denounced by the for- mer Ilierarch ; and the title, with all its anticliristian appendagos. is still retained by the present Pius VII. the genuine heir of all the pride, of all the hatred to the gosj):>h aiid of all the cruelty which Ilildebrand ♦^r Alexander ever felt or displayed. The modern ^ CENTUKiLS YII. XVI. 1G3 •' Man of Sin," it is true, possesses not the opportu- nilj to develope his real and perfect character ; but he has often asserted the undiminished plenitude of his ecclesiastical supremacy ; he has invariably coun- teracted the spread of the scriptures by liis audacious bulls, mandates and venom, against the Bible Socie- ties and Revealed Truth in the vernacular language; he has resuscitated the dead, entombed and accursed hiquisition ; and he has re- organized that band of Scorpions, the Jesuits, to pollute and disgrace the nations — thus combining a mass of incalculable and intolerable crime against the church and the world, which will consign the name and the acts of this Rep- resentative of the Beast and the pretended legitimate Despots of Europe, his restorers and abettors, to imiversal and imperishable execration. The qualities belonging to the Apocalyptic woman, as described by John, have already been brieily no- ticed ; two of her characteristics however were not recited. Upon her forehead was a name written, •"Mystery ;"' and it is affirmed, that formerly this word was inscribed in letters of gold in front of the Pope's triple crown. '■' The woman was drunken with the blood of the saints, and Avith the blood of the mar- tyrs of Jesus'" — Blasphemy and cruelty were predict- ed as her prime distinctive features ; that they were appropriately described will most evidently appear when we narrate the high claims and tiie sanguinary practices of this Antichristian Apostacy. It has been calculated that the Popes and their vassals have massacred ten times as matiy rejecters of the Papal authority, as the number of them who under the Heathen Emperors were m.artyred because they re- fused to bow down to their idols ; well therefore might John wonder " wiih great admiration,*' at the vision of the external form and name of the Christian (Jhurch, encircled with an ocean of blood. etTused from the veins of hnmnnuers disciples, and the Apos- tle's brethren in the faith. The prophetical picture of the Beast having thu§ 164 tCCLCSIASTlCAL HIS'IORV. LKMTRL iX. been analyzed, the nature of liis power will now be developed. It comprized two principal nssurnplions. Intallibility wilhoiil defect, and supremacy without controul. 1. How was this InfaUihilUi^ c.xanpUfiP.d ? The principles advaiH'.ed by the claim of infallibii- itv J^re these : •• The Church of Christ is tlie rule <'.i' faith, tiie judoje of controversy, visible, universal, and Vf ithont error; the Roman counnunion is that church ; the Pope is by divine right, its sovereign liead, su- preme judge and lawgiver in all things relating to religion, whetliei' as to laith, manners or discipline — who. as the vieegererit of Jesus Clirist, cannot err ; but upon every point of revelation, pronounces sen tence clearly, distinctly, and with certainty infalli- ble." This privilege is of vast extent ; it compre- hends/)/5?zr/r?/;w«'er — to determine upon the canonical authority of the sacred scriptures, and demands the br^lief or rejection of them in conformity with the pa- pal decision — to authorize the knowledge of the ce- lestial volume for us : this principle however, is now vevy much altered ; formerly Popes, Cardinals, and the whole minor train of *' Friai-s. black, v»hite and grf^y," insisted that it would have been better for the Chui'ch if there were no Bible, and contended tijal they derived not their. existence from the gospel, but thai the canon of revelation was indebted for its use among men to tlieir permission : this dogma howev- er, since the invention oi" Printing and i\\o Heforma- tio!i, has not been much promulged, altiiongh it is still generally believed and {tractised among llie ad- herents of the papacy — lo expoimd the sense of the holy oracles, and with all tliat cerlitude, that every Christian is obliged without scruple to believe it ; hence, under papal interpretation, vice and virtue change their characteristics ; error and truth become metamorphosed ; and tiiat although Popes and Coun- cils in every age, lia\'e contradicted each other to the utmjst distance ol'possihle separation; notwithstand- ing thev have, with all grovjlv, fulminated e\erv CENTURIES VIl XTJ. 165 \nathoma which infernal maHgnity coulcl invent against each other, the whole odious mass of contra- eoplc were excommunicated, anathematized and ♦lethroLied. with all the overwhelming coercion deriv- ed from the power which pretended that it could '• do no wrong," and w ith all the intimidating sanc- tions uliicii a catalogue of celestial names, the Pope's suppositious adherents could impart. One monarch was ordered to embody an irresistible force, that he might be enabled to drive another from his dominions; while his subjects were forbidden upon pain of immediate death for disobedience to papal mandates, and a transfer to purgatory or the quench- less fn'C, to any defence of their own country against the ruthless devastations of sanguinary invaders ; whose peremptory orders directed them to execute ^ie Pope's curse, by fire and sword, unpitying massa 168 FXCLESIASTICAL JIISTOK^ I.K( 1 L'KE IX. ere and universal destruction. I'^oni iho elfccls ol' these combined despotisms when in aclna! exercise, the ten horns oi" the Beast frequently, in character and simihtude, approximated a geiieral Aceldama, avast lielil ol' blood, equalled Old}' by the degrada- tion ofignorance in which the people were entombed. and by the almost incredible corruption ot maimers, which like a pestilence involved in its ravages all classes ot the popedom, iVom the Man of Sin tlu'ough every gradation, even to the lowest and most silly Devotee who superstitiously crossed himself with holy water, or idolatrously chaunted, " Ave Maria Regina coeli — -Hail Mary, Queen of Hoaveii." The prominent features of the Motlier of Abomi- nations when exhibited in detail iuriiish a hideous display of the state of the Morld at Ihis perioe 180 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTUKki X- in the body for their assistance ; yet it v.as equally requisite for the survivors to make oblations and implore mercy for them ; still this most unaccount- able medley of odious pilfering and igrtorance pro- duced neither disgust nor astonishment; although if the most obtuse reflection had been even mo- mentarily admitted, it would instantaneously have been perceptible, that this procedure decided the possession of heavenly joy, not by faith, repentance and holiness, but by the ability to satiate the raj)a- cious demon of covetousness. As a necessary con- sequence of this manceuvre, all restraint upon vitios- iiy was removed ; and the soul was represented as secure for eternity, provided an ample price was paid for present absolution, and iuture ransom; thus combining the robbery of their deluded vota- ries in both worlds. In immediate collection with these topics, is the dogma which they proiimlge concerning the work^ of supererogation and Indulgences. Tliis asserts, '• that some holy men have performed more good works, than God requires of them, or were ne- cessary to secure their own salvation, and that this surplus merit is deposited in the treasury of the, church of which the Fope holds the keys, that he may confer portions at his pleasure upon those who are deficient in good works." This stupendous here- tical theory, obviously sanctioned the doctrine of Indulgences ; which is farther sustained by the posi-, tions. that punisluncnts remain after sin forgiven; that there is a purgatory ; and that these merits of supererogation, may be and are applied by (he church. This system was regulated by the utmost exactitude of calculation, and Iranslbrmed (he whole Hierarchy into a '• great Custom House for sin." Yet this is also pronounced an obligatory part pf the faith of every Papist ; and that which is extremely surprising is, that notwithstanding (he sale ot these Indulgences, formed the basis of the glorious Refor- Ination ; they are yet vended and purchased with CENTURIES VII XVI. 18| nimost uiKliminislied solicitude, throughout all those countries ^^hic}i still sincerely adhere to the Beast, and " receive his mark in their foreheads." Pilgrimage to the tombs and the images of the dead saints, that the devotee might obtain the bene- /its of their intercession jn heaven on their behalf, through the apphcation of a large donation to the Priest, the guardian of his statue on earth, is ano- ther of the impositions with which the Roman Apos- tate has burdened tlie church. Extreme unction, or the anointing of the sick with oil as thej are departing from this world, after all hopes of the patient's recovery are extinguished, is a most deceptive and soul-killing ceremony. I^ is represented as a Sacrament by which Grace is conferred, sin remitted, and the sick are comforted ; and the sentence of anathema, is definitively pro- nounced against all those who deny that the ancient gift of healing from which the practice was profess- edly adopted, had not been transformed intq a sa- cred and sure passport for the dying into the kingdom of heaven. Auricular confession and the prohibition of mar- riage to the Priests have been thus forcibly described. ^' The immeasurable confidence poured by all the individuals of his charge into the bosom of one man ; and the almost absolute influence which it gives him over them ; must be engines which an unprincipled Priest can turn to the utmost dreadful purposes of intrigue and villainy. Not only the virtue and hap- piness of individuals, but the vital interests of fami- lies and often of mighty kingdoms, have thus been subject to the management of a confessor, and sacri- ficed to his bigotry and wickedness. These things are now for the most part shrouded in secrecy ; but Avhen the day shall arise, that "will bring to light the hidden things of dj>rkness" — what depths of ini- ; them merely as re- presentatives and symbols of their Gods : very few of the Papists, probably, if they were seriously ex;ini- iiied, would say that their Agnus Dei, or crucifix, or rmage, was truly and vitally what it appeared exter- nally to be ; yet they bow down to them, serve them, and honor them with religious ceremonies. Polytheism pretended to distinguish between llie worship appropriated to Jupiter, and that which was offered to the minor idols ; so the Papist contrives to exculpate himself from the imputation of being an Idolator — by expunging the second commandment >from (lie decalogue; and by a frivolous plea, that he* worships God directly and absolutely ; but the saints, relics, Szc. indirectly and relatively. What difference is perceptible, between IsraePs sin^-^who danced and played before the Calf; and tJie Papist's festivals and processions, around tlie crnciiix and the Agnus Dei ? Tfio veneration and inyf^calion of angels were an ancient transfer from Paganism to Christianity, or Paul would not have reproved them in his episfle to tiie Saints and faithful'Brethreii in Christ at Co!o":se; but these are expressly eiijoiiied by the Councils, ar;d ibrms of prayer have becii composed for each spina's worship. This is part of ev*u-y Papist's creed, nMch is pronounced to be infjiliihiy scriptural ; and whicli every oliicer in the Roman Hierarchy, from the Uesst witli Ids triple crown to the meanest Janitor in a convent, all swear that they believe. " The saints reigning together with Ciu'ist, are to be vor.Jiipped and prayed unto ; for they do offer prayer mito God for us, and their relics arc to be had in veneratioo.- The images of Christ, of the blessed Virgin, tS.i"iiis kii;gdom: God hath ilivided his kitigdom with the V irgiii Mary: All things and persons serve to the Rmpire of the Viigin, even God hiftiself : and no' pipf*Mence exists between the Mothers milk and the Son's blood : from- her fulness, the whole sabred Trinity receives its glory ;" and when dying, th^^ olose tiieirm9rteil^?ert. cause in- \'lsibie grace — and Matrimony ; and by their laws concernina; this ordinance of God ; their prohibitions, dispensations, aiid reguhitions, mei-ely for the sake of amassing money; they transformed the world into a "den of abominations." A condensed summary of our principal objections against the Romish system of corrupted Christianity, shall close tliis catalogue. The Papal Kierajcdiy -h: s no sanction or authority for its existence from, the sacred volume ; but is clearly described and di- reclly coudemned, by Daniel, Paul and John, from its evolutiofi to its tui.il tragic catastrophe. By its operation, the essential principles of individual reli- gion are demolished ; /or it denies salvation to all Avho do not practice their superstiiious ritual, ex- punges the rigfil of private examination and judgmeist on religious topics ; it " proiiibifs liberty of mind, speech, writing and printing: it defends its dosi^uiiis by chains, dungeons, racks and flames : it debases the soul and character of man : it is the fo of educa- tion, science, improvement and reason: and it S]>rea.i. horns like a Ipimb ami who spake as a dragon.*' de- bilitatetl the e!ier^i(?s and decomposed the unity oi" the patriots, by rousing all their supcrsliliousaiarni» of excotmnunication here, and beyond the grave, their dread of purgatory and wo everlasting. ^I'he mystery is not that Pius Vli. should still blaspiieuj- ously arrogate this attribute of the Godiiead ; but that a protestant Monarch, a popisii Emperor, and a Greek Tzar, a Trio naturally and essentially dis cordant, sliould combine and claim tl^e unhallowed co-operation of Satan's grand visible terrestrial vice- gerent, to consummate their schemes ot'despotism. and their opposition to the progressive melioration of the besotted devotees of the Anti-christian Apo^- tacy, is an anomaly, which can be solved only by tho recollection ; that ambition transforms its desires into necessities, that Royalty sanctifies every crime however enormous, and that the variance between Tierod and Pontius Pilate, could be 'removed only hy the scorn and crucifixion of fmmanuel. Nothing could be more agreeable and acceptable to the \otaries of vice, than the Papal system in its actual opeifttion. Heathen and Antichristian liome were exactly assiniilated ; — the former was originally an asyl'jm for outlaws, a refuge lor Prolligates, and the rosidenee of rulHans; the latter was a sanctuary for the abuuioned of every possible class. The an- cient ra'^tropolis was built on fratricide for its corner 'otone, Romulus having sl.dji his brother, Remus; and popery was authoritatively erected upon the murder of the Eu]})eror Mauritius — the usurper Pliocas. wlio butchered the whole Fmperial Family, expiated his aggravated iniquity hy the establishment of the Man of Sin, as a commutation for his slaughter, and as a COinpensation for Papal absolution. It is evident from the history Avhich will subse- quently be reviewed, that as tiie Roman Apostacy commenced in bloodshed and violence, so in a great degree it is indebted for its existence, to the same diabolical machinations. Like its sister imposture OLiVi CRIES Vll XVI. 1,99* laveiiled at Mecca, it has augmented its disciples, principally bv Ibrce. The i\rabiaM Apollyon employ- vi\ the sword mid military coercion ; iire and iaggot were the instrumeuts of conversion introduced by -iiim who sittctli in the temple of God, as God." Compulsion and cruelty have augmented the disci- ples oftjie western Antichrist : &o that o:iths, and cov-r enanls are phantoms, wlien their rage is to be exercis- ed upon a denounced Heretic. Persecution is an es- sentialcharacteristic of the papacy, and so revengeful is its temper, that if it can glut its revenge with blood, by no- other means, it will exercise its carnivorous and insatiable appetite, even on its own deluded votaries; ofv.iiich. tlie simultaneous murder of every French- maiiin the Island of Sicily, when the bells rang for e- vening prayers, afford a modern and memorable tes- timony. Hence it may be added, in the language of a late distinguished opponent of the Roman Hierar- chy, '• he who can clwosc such a religion^ deserves to be M'ithin its grasp, that it may be his punishment, afl well as his crime." One of the most inexplicable of all the inquiries^ connected with this subject, is, how men so scandal- ously outrageous and vile, as was a large majority of the Popes, in fiict, such proverbially protligate, profane, impious, lewd murderers, that they have no oouMterpai't in society except among the Cardinals, and the chief retainers of the Apostacy ; could have been supported during so long a period } One solli- tion only can be adduced — the universal degeneracy iiicliiied all orders of the people'^ to embraceevildoc- trines, and to engage in false worship ; ' while the ea- sy commutation for their transgressions by means of ;^uricular confession, penance, and the tax for absolu- tion, uiiitcd their energies to- maintain a system, which indulged their vicious propensities to their Nvidest range, and cpiieted their consciences by the guarantee of pardon, security and peace. In the more extended investigations of this period, Tt is manifest that- the most inimical persons, llie most .200 EX-CLEglASflGAL HibTORy. LLf x*-UIlL XJ. discordant purposes, and the most confiicling events, by the cea&(dess cunning, and artifices, and exertions oi'iiie Hierarchs and tiicir agerjts, lost tiioir contra- dictory qualities, and were amalgamated into one machine, Avhose perpetual motions ijivariably tended to the same object; the exaltation oftlie "Man of Sin." Some of the dignified orders of society suc- cujiibed to' the Papal claims from superstition ; others from servility ; many from expediency, and the mi- j^ority from terror. Its long protracted cleva!ion and supremacy, may also be partly attributed (o policy; '" Princes and Emperors, that they themselves mioht attain to nlore arbitrary sway, suffered the clergy to use their liberty to an excess. They often needed their assistance, and found it necessary to indulge, and permit them to tyrannise in spiritual causes, that they might exercise temporal despotism ; until they could not restrain them from usurping the civil pow^ cr." But this connivance and aid vv6ui(l have been jnsuiTicientto fortify so stupendous an edifice of eve- ry diversified evil, >vhich like the "smoke out of the bottomless pit, darkened the sun and the air," had not ihe forced and mmatural celibacy of the Prif^sts, who were dispersed throughout the ten horns of ihe beast, embodied around the Pope, a universal and in- calculable army of inseparable adherents ; whose li- centiousness, luxury and pride could not otherwise have bisen satiated ; and liad not these same Monke and Friars obtained paramount and irresistible ifi- flucncc over all descriptions of the people, from the highest to the lowest, through each intermediate gratle, by being the authorised depositories of every individual's character, secrets and reputation, in con- gequencc of the information imparted at private con- fession. The grand stamina of the Romish Apostacy hov/ever, consisted in the facility with which the ma^ jority of the people in the various nations imbibed those erroneous doctrines which sanctioned their de- praved inclinations, and in their attachment to that pompons ceremonial whlcJi rendered their eupposi' CENTURIES Vll XVI. 201 tious devotions and sensual gratification. Like their ancestors they would have worship})ed any Pageant exalted before them; '•' at what time the Chaldeans heard the sound of the cornet, tlute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, theyfrll down and worshipped the image which wasset up" by Nebuclr.idnezzar. Thus splendour and music excited the infatuation of the ignorant and seduced modern Babylonians; so that "'all ranks and degrees of persons clubbed to support the Romish delusions ; and every one contributed his earnings, some more and some less, to manufacture tliis Golden Calf^ But it is necessary to develope in their extensive ramifications, the more potent and eilix^acious causes of that supj)ort by which the Beast attained and perpetuated the plenitude of his supremacy ; and they may all be classed under four general denomi- nations— Jlrtijice — Terror— Enthusiasm-— and Pcrsecti' lion. L Artifice. The temporal supremacy of the Popes originated in their adhesion to the image-worship, when that idolatry was opposed by all the imperial authority of Leo. That magnificent ceremonial established by the successors of Jupiter's devotees, so strongly attracted the attachment of the deluded multitudes, that they promised the '• Man of Sin," all their sup- port, in discarding the government of the Constan- tinopolitan Emperor. To sanction this proceeding- after Pepin had murdered the king of France, be transferred to his sole independent jurisdiction, the domains in Italy which have since been considered the Pope's patrimony. By various frauds, increasing in impudence and number, as opposition to the papal authority display- ed itself; and by transforming every event into a coadjutor to their designs, they finally established their odious despotism. One of their manceuvres, was a systematic inter- ference in all the political affairs of the different B3 202 fcCCLESlASTlL-AL HISTOKy. LECTURE XI. European kingdoms. The grand object of solicitude was, that the nations should continue in a ceaseless division and contention. The Roman Pontiff, all the discordant parties professed equally to revere, and to his interposition they all appealed. Hence, every emergency of this kind augmented his power ; and by rendering him in universal practice, the final Arbi- trator of all the royal disputes, the Potentates elevat- ed him, by their own admissions, to a dignity which far transcended their own; and this enveloped with all the spiritual majesty, with which ignorance and idolatry combined, had encircled God's terrestrial Vicegerent, as he was blasphemously denominated, eventually rendered measures beyond the ingenuity and power of man to contrive, indispensible to his demolition. As the Pope's favour became a grand object of strife, it was of course disposed of, as po- licy, avarice or ambition dictated. By this cunning, peace and war, national prosperity and adversity, equally promoted the vigour and perpetuity of the mystical Babylon. Nearly at the same period, during the ninth cen- tury, the whole ecclesiastical system in Europe, was changed ; both with respect to its interior and external administration. Constantine had maintained his uncontrouled authority in the principal topics connected with the order of the church; and not- withstanding all the mutations and revolutions of four hundred years, including the irruptions and set- tlement of the Goths, Huns and Vandals, in all the countries of Europe ; Charlemange claimed and ex- ercised supreme jurisdiction concerning the election of a Pope, and the inferior clerical appointments; and also with regard to t!ie introduction of novelties into the ancient system. This power, however, the European kings gradually sacrificed, until the Pope had grasped the prerogative, to fill every official vacancy, not only without the approbation, but in direct contradiction to the various national govern- ments. CENTURIES VII— XVL 203 Prior to this era, also, the Bishops possessed considerable influence in the regulation of" the church, and their sanction had been pronounced necessary to authorize the adoption of a novel dog- ma, or a new ceremonial; but this privilege, if not entirely abrogated, Avas so enfeebled, that the voice of these officers has subsequently been of little or no importance. In addition to this enlargement of the Papal controul, the councils, which had been either statedly or occasionally assembled in the provinces or nations, were disregarded, and the respect which had been offered to their decisions, declined ; so that the only efTectual barrier to the unrestrained exaltation of him " who sitteth in the Temple of God, as God," was complelely extirpated. By these conti- nual accessions of authority, the Popes at length, having become inflated with their prosperity, and arrogant beyond all measure, enjoined upon all the devoted agents of the apostate Hierarchy, to pro- mulge the preposterous dotcrine, that the Bishop of Rome, was constituted by Jesus Christ, Supreme Governor, Legislator, and Judge of the universal church upon earth. To these usurpations, however zealously and ardently defended, great oppossition was excited by various learned persons, who were acquainted with the sacred scriptures, and with the primitive history of the church : notwithstanding, all their resistance was vain ; and it became necessary to invent some mode, by which so palpable a trans- formation of the ancient regimen might be defended. The blindness of the people assisted the design, and the absolute independence of the Roman Pontiff^ was the unavoidable consequence. A large number of the most ingenious and corrupt partizans of the papacy, were employed to forge public conven- tions, acts of councils, and decretal epistles, with similar records ; from which it might be infallibly de- monstrated, that in the Apostolic age, and from that period to the ninth century, without interruption, the Popes had alwavs been clothed with the same sut- 204 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XI. pretne spiritual majosty, as that in ^^llich they were then decorated. ^^ ith the most osleiitatious triumph these fictitious vvritiiigality. Hence, those ec- clesiastical Councils which had in a great measure vanished from the other nations, were sometimes held at Rome, because there they could be trans- formed into a body, whose acts would ordy subserve the pontifical usurpations. By the operation of this sanction, all the spurious decretals, with every other fictitious monument and record necessary to consummate the design, were uicorporated among the eccle-iiastical laws. " The history of the folioAv- ing ages verifies, in a multitude of deplorable ex- amples, the disorders and calamities which sprung from the ambition of the aspiring FontifTs ; by their impious frauds they overturned the ancient govern- ment of the cl\urch. undermined the episcopal au- thority, engrossed the revenues ; and by aiming- perfidious blows at the thrones of princes, endea- voured to lesson their power, and to circumscribe their dominion : until in the tv/elfth century, not on- ly the claim of sovereign terrestrial power was ad- vanced, iMit also assumed and exercised, by Pope Alexander III. who (M-ected Portugal, then a pror vince, into a separate kingdom, and invested Alphon- so with all the dignity and external pomp of regal authority. II. Terror. The increasing gloom which the papal system diflused through every district and department of the 'lomir.al church, sanctioned the introduction of every CENTURIES VII. XYI. 205 absurdity, which could degrade or stultify the intel- lectual faculties. Among the Celtic nations, the Druids, i.heir idolatrous Priests, had been excessively venerated, especially the chief, or arch-druid. The reverence whicli those barbarians had been accus- tomed to iieel for their Pagan spiritual director, was easily transferred to the Roman pontiff, whom they regarded as his successor under the Gospel dis- pensation ; and the Beast perceiving the advantages which would result from the possession of the august prerogatives that his Heathen predecessor had enjoyed, produced a mass of ancient history, and a multitude of overwhelming arguments from the feign- ed religious authors, which secured his title to these extraordinary acquisitions. That stupendous and horrible dogma, which filled all Europe, with war^ rebellion and massacre, from age to age, originated in this druidical superstition. It was contended, notwithstanding all its shocking and pernicious tendencies, that all persons who were ex- cluded fromtheRomishcommunion,eitherby thePon- tifforanyof the inferior Bishops, thereby forfeited, not only their civil rights and immunities as citizens, but also all title to the common claims of humanity. Seve- ral of the Emperors and Kings, were thus anathema- tized, which tilled Europe with war and desolation. From the period when Constantine ruled, excom- munication from the church had been accompanied with many distressing results ; and particularly among^ the Barbirians. who had confided in the old Druids, its effects were extremely appaling. The true origin of the extensive and horrid influence of the European and Papal excommunication, and the unnatural pow- er associated with it, must be imputed to this corrupt transfer from Paganism to Christianity. " Upon the pretended conversion of the uncultivated nations to the Gospel, these new and ignorant proselytes, con- founded the excommunication in use among chris- tians, with their own practice, which had been adop- ted by the Priests of their imaginary Gods, and be- 2<0G ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XI. lieved them to be similar in nature and effect. The Roman Pontiffs were too artful not to encourage and Countenance this error; and therefore employed eve- ry mean to gain credit to an opinion so well calculated to gratify their ambition, and to aggrandize the epis^ copal order. Excommunicated persons indeed, nad been considered in all places, objects of aversion to God and men ; but they were not divested of their ciivic rights, or of the common privileges of human na- ture ; much less were the kings or princes, on account of exclusion from the church, supposed to forfeit, on that account, their official stations and territories. But from the eighth century, in Europe, excommuni- cation acquired that infernal pre-eminence which dis- solved all connections; so that those who were ex- cluded from the communion of the church were de- graded to a level with the beasts. Under this horrif- ic sentence, the king, the ruler, the husband, the fa- ther, even the man, lost all their privileges, the affec- tions of society, and the claims of nature." What could resist a sentence thus consecrated, and supported by all the numbers, energies and arms of the national pow- er and general combination } It was not the actual horrors which visibly suc- ceeded the sentence of excommunication alone, that debased the mental and corporeal capacities of the people, but also the phantoms promulged respecting the fire of purgatory : these chained the terrified vic- tims of the Antichristian Despot in inextricable vas- salage. The apprehensions of eternal torment, of that worm which never dieth, were trifling and evan- escent, contrasted with the momentous and perennial dread of that region of fire which was ever present to their sensibilities and imaginations. The besotted crowds were instructed to believe, that from hell, deliverance at death would assuredly follow, provided they had purchased a sufficiency of prayers from the Priests, and had paid the desired commutation for the supererogatory works and intercession of the saintly patrons : but from the tortures of purgatory CENTURIES VII. — XVI. 207 it was impossible, under any pretext, to realize any exemption. The artifices which were displayed to enliven the acuteness of the public perception on this topic, almost defy credibility. AH the public harangues were little more than delineations of this invisible country ; interspersed with the most ridicu- lous narratives, and with the most stupid pretended miracles, wrought, as they affirmed, by the Priests, to release the sufferers from their misery ; thus evincing the reality of that region, and developing their mys- terious influence and connection with that tremen- dous state of wo. ///. Enthusiasm. The aberrations of the human mind from the evan- gelical standard, in consequence of the general des- titution of the scriptures, displayed themselves in a vast variety of absurdities and profligacy. Two spe- cies of infatuated mania were seized by the Hierarchs as capable of being advantageously employed by them to sustain their Babylonish superstructure. — One of them was early pressed into the service — the Monkish system. When this practice commenced, it was merely a flight into the desert, and a temporary abode in solitude, that the storms of malignant and insatiable persecution might be evaded, until they had dissipated their fury. But the cunning of the Pontiffs speedily perceived, that the monastic life and vows might with great facility become an irresistible engine to maintain their assumed supremacy. Erro- neous opinions respecting the superior sanctity of a life in cehbacy, originally added to the recluses ; philosophi<:al whimsies concerning the purer and more elevated spirituality of a life of retirement and contemplation, enlarged their numbers ; while the independence of the various classes of Monks, the jurisdiction over whom in their several dioceses, had been taken from the respective Bishops by the Popes, rendered their lives one continued scene of sensual indulgence. To these may be added, the universal belief which prevailed, that the monastic order in- 208 ECCLEalASTICAL HISTORY. LLCfUKE XI. volvcd a peculiar and very high degree of sanctifi- cation. Notwithstanding all the corruption which charac- terized the Convents and the Nunneries, lliey main- tained their ascendancy over the benighted multi- tudes ; and when we remember the ignorance even of all the adherents of the Monkish institutions, ex- cept the few chiefs of the Orders, and the compara- tively small number of the initiated Agents, who secretly propelled the main spring of the machinery, we cannot be surprized, that those who were induced to commingle all that was dignified and delightiul in this world, with the Pope's passport to Heaven, as the only guarantee of joy in the world to come, should have enthusiastically yielded themselves to the support of a religion so highly esteemed, so ea- sily fulfilled, that admitted every vicious indulgence for money, and which insured an entrance into the kingdom of heaven to all who could purchase the prehminary papal absolution. But one of the most astonishing proofs of the lia^ bility of the human mind to be led astray by a sudden fantastic excitement, is discoverable in the history of the croisades, which most powerfully assisted the Papal supremacy. After the Mohammedans, dur- ing a long period, had retained pacific possession of the Eastern part of the Roman empire ; about the year 1000 of the christian era, apian was formed to reco- ver the ancient land of Judea, from the Mussulmen. It was declared reproachful to the christian nations, that the enemies of the cross should rule over the country hallowed by the birth, ministry, passion, and triumph of Immanuel : audit was pronounced just and necessary in the professors of Christianity, to retort upon the Arabian scorpion locusts, the reproach, in- juries, persecution, and calamities with which the professed believers in Jesus had been tortured by their Apostate conquerors. Accordingly, an attempt was made by Sylvester Pope, at the close of the tenth *?entury, to inflame the European nations against the CENTURir^S VIL XVI. 209 Mohammedans ; but at that period, the effort was nu- gatory. Afterwards, Gregory, probably the most audacious tyrant who ever ruled either in church or state, resolved iii person to conduct a war for the ex- tension of the Roman church in Asia. Political oc- currences having forced him to postpone the execu- tion of his design, it remained dormant until the year 1093, when ail Europe was ahnost instantaneously e- l€ctrifiedto the utmost elevation of enthusiastic rage, by the preaching and exertions of Peter the Hermit. He had witnessed with anguish unutterable, the a- gonies and indignities to which the pilgrims who visit- ed Jerusalem were continually subject. On his re- turn to Constantinople, he had invoked, ineffectually the interference of the Patriarch there, and at Rome of Urban then Pope. Instead of feeling any discour- agement at their repulses, he began to peregrinate ail the countries of Europe, inciting a holy war against the infidels ; and pretending to exhibit a letter from heaven, addressed to all true Christians, to deliver their brethren, galled by Mohammedan oppressions. Thus was formed and prepared, the bold and apparently impracticable design, to con- duct into Asia, from the utmost western extremities, a force suihcient to extirpate and for ever exclude the devotees of the Impostor of Mecca from the Holy Land. When the epidemic madness thus excited, had raged during a short season, and a universal, simul- taneous and most vehement desire was exhibited for the conquest of Palestine, and the carnage of it« Infi- del inhabitants. Urban the Pope, discovering that all the materials were ready prepared for the long meditated expedition, assembled at Placentia, in 109.5, a council consisting of more than three hundred thousand persons ; on which occasion. Urban and Peter- endeavoured with all their zeal and ingenuity to excite the multitudes to the conflict. After a r-hort interval, a second and more numerous assem- bly was held at Clermont, which included a large C2 210 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORy. LECTURE \L proportion of the princes, prelates and nobles, resi- dent within the ten horns oi" the Beast. Urban and the Hermit here renewed their inflammatory appeals to the ini'uriated passions oi" the people, until at length the whole assembly, as if impelled by an irre- sistible superintendence, exclaimed, " It is the will of God!" These words became afterwards the signal of battle, while tlie cross was the distinctive badge^ which every volunteer in the cause wore, both for his ornament and protection. Ignorance and superstition at this period, were so profound, tliat aided by the private military spirit which was universally extended, "all Europe was torn from its foundation, and seemed ready to preci- pitate itself in one united body upon Asia." The dis- contented nobles, the oppressed artizans, the impov- erished peasants, and the restless monks, all enrolled themselves tor this service; to decline which was infa- my, being branded as cowardly and impious. A con- siderable proportion of the most valuable European possessions, lands^, houses, gold and silver, was trans- f ;rred to the church, either as bequests in case of death, or as a conmmtatation for the pardon and gua- rantee of heaven, which the Pope and his agents assured to all who died during the croisade. "•' Old and young, men and women, priests and soldiers, monks and merchants, peasants and mechanics, all eagerly assume the cross, as an expiation for all crimes." Finally, all t!ie preparatory arrangements having been completed, a motley hnlf crazy multitude of enthusiastic bigols, calculated to number 300,000 men, commenced their desolating pilgrimage, "dur- ing the course of which the most enormous disorders- were committed by men inured to wickedness, en- couraged by example and impelled by necessity." — These commanded by Peter the Hermit, proceeded towards Constantinople ; and trusting to Heaven for supernatural supplies, as they had made no provision for their subsistence on their route, " were finally obliged to obtain by plunder, that which they vainly CENTURIES VII XVI. 211 expected from a ceaseless miracle ;" this conduct enraged the inhabitants of the different countries through which they travelled, until they eventually assailed the xlisorderly licentious multitude, and slaughtered them almost without resistance. The more disciplined forces followed : and having passed the straits of Constantinople, united with the others, and encamped on the plains of Asia, an army of 700,000 croisading warriors. The rage for the conquest of the Holy Land did not cease with this expedition : it continued during nearly two centuries, and involved eight successive croisades. Not less than two millions of people are calculated to have perished in these various attempts to overthrow the Mohammedans in JuJea. The conduct which these Croisaders exhibited, must unavoidably have ruined even the best cause. They were in one ceaseles internal feud and dissension ; and " the horrid cruelties which they committed must have inspired the Turks with the most invincible hatred," and rendered their resist- ance most furiously obstinate. When Jerusalem was captured, all the inhabitants of both sexes and every age, Avere massacred without ifcercy and without distinction. Barbarians inflamed with reli- gious enthusiasm alone, could have acted like them. After this terrible slaughter, " they marched over heaps of dead bodies towards the holy sepulchre, and while their hands were polluted with innocent blood, sung Anthems to the Prince of Peace ; and their infatuation overcame their fury, for these fero- cious victors wept aloud before the suppositious tomb of the Redeemer of Mankind. But in 1204, still greater absurdity and wickedness were displayed. The croisading frenzy infected the children, thou- sands of whom were conducted from the houses of the parents, of whom a part perished in the utmost misery, and the rest were sold by their pretended guardians as slaves to the Mohammedans. Notwithstanding all the aggrandisement which the 212 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE Si Hierarchy received from the transfer of their wealth, which the deluded Hosts confided either to the pro- tection or the support of their (spiritual Despots; and altlioui^h in the plenitude of its dominion, nothing appeared capable of diminishing; its boundless sway, vet the result of the croisades after the final expul- sion of the Europeans and their descendants from Syria, by the capture of Acre, was in many respects favourable to the western nations. The Arabians of that period, were much more refined and polished in their manners, and were surrounded with a high de- gree of magnificence in their style of living, when con- trasted with the degraded and impoverished mode of existence, at that period, general throughout Europe ; and from this era, may be dated a consi- derable improvement in the character and condition of the inhabitants of the Imperial ten horns; as those who fled back to their original residences had im- bibed a taste which emulated the splendour of the Easterns, by whom their temporary predominance in Palestine was finally extirpated. IV. Persecution. An enlf^rged detail of the various cruelties perpe- trated tFirough the instrumentality of this Papal de- termination to possess Supreme terrestrial jurisdic- tion would combine a considerable proportion of the European history during tliree centuries. Although from the establishment of the '^ Man of Sin," the wit- ness'S commenced and prolonged their prophesyingin sackcloth, yet the doctrine had not been widely pro- inulged or generally practiced, that it was lawful or evangelical, to destroy human life lor a rejection of the Romisii traditions. " Persecution is the spirit of Popery;" but at that period it had been encompassed by restraints, of which even nil the domineering prin- ciples of the haughty PontiflTs did not venture to at- tempt the demolition. But from about the year 1200, wiien Gregory had centered in the Pope an unliuiited and olmost undisputed prerogative to dethrone Em- perors, dispossess Kings, banish Princes, and degrade CENTURIES VII XVI. 213 Prelates; when the hardships of the papal usurpations were more acutely realized, and the odious charac teristics of the Roman Beast were developed in all their debasing, vindictive, and appalling qualities; a large and extensively dijETiised augmentation to the numbers, piety and learning of the opponents of the Romish apostacy almost simultaneously was mani- fested. It was determined therefore if possible, to crush the impending audacity, which would dare to tramji!e upon the Beast's authority. Two measures were eventually adopted, to silence all present murmurers, and to terrify others from all future commotion. " Christians did not always assume the badge of the cross to annihilate infidels: the madness of Bigotry, and the spirit of persecu- tion" produced a croisade for the destruction of the servants of Jesus. In the southern provinces of France, particularly, resided considerable multi- tudes of persons who had become very obnoxious to the Popish church and clergy, on account of their aversion from the prevalent doctrinal errors, and the universal ambition of those who filled the ecclesiasti- cal O'ders; and atlength, they refused toacknoAvledge as ministers of the holy religioi? of Immanuel, men totally destitute of huaiility. meekness, self-denial and philanthrophy. Innocent III. Pope in the earlier part of the thirteenth century, alarmed at their prin- ciples mid opposition to his claims, with that of the subordinate pr)pal adherents, resolved to extirpate them by force, or convert them by intimidation. A croisade was proclaimed, indulgences granted, par- a few days during his conferences with the heretics. Another missionary avowed, that he had im- bibed more of the doctrine of salvation irom the re- phes of the V/aldensian children in their catechisms, than from all the instructions of the Sorbonne univer- sity at Paris. Lewis XII. king of France, overcome by the clamorous importunity of the Dominicans, commanded two dignified persons to investigate the character and lives of these anathematized Christians. After their research, they reported, that " in visiting all their parishes and temples, they discovered neither images nor Roman ceremonies, but that they could not perceive the smallest trace of the crimes with which they were charged ; that the Sabbath was most strictly and devoutly observed ; that their children were baptized according to the rules of the primitive church, and instructed in the articles of christian faith, and the commandments of God." Lewis having received this testimony, af- firmed with a great oath, '•' they are better than myself or my people." . The miseries which they endured for the sake of the Lord Jesus, were of the most acute nature. It is improper to describe the b irbarous indecencies with which they were agonized ; and too painful to unfold the perfidious hypocrisy and malignant baseness, which accompanied the scenes of carnage and deso- lation that invariably attended the march of three hundred thousand armed men, instigated by avarice and superstition, and of the moveable dungeons, in which Dominic and his myrmidons, incarcerated their victims, prior to their ascent to Paransonment of the people, until their Grand Master in iniquity, the Pope, had been informed of the numbers ^vho then were apprehended ; for whom, they declar- ed it Avas impossible for them either to provide ample subsistence, or to procure stone and mortar, sufficient for the erection of prisons to confine them. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church ;" for notwithstanding from this period until 1530, three hundred years after, the incessant oppressions and persecutions of Antichrist worried these sheep "with unrelenting tortures, which they sustained with ad- mirable constancy, patience, and fortitude; at the commencement of the reformation, nearly one million of persons were known to profesg the rehgion of the primitive Waldenses. " Here is the patience of the saints ; here are they who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus : blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." As a regular consequence of the unceasing depriva- tioos and dangers to which the Waldenses were ex-^ posed, those who could fly, est:aped into other regions; where in secrecy, they might worship God according to tlieir own conscientious dictates and the Avord of truth. Of these the Bohemians and Moravians formed themselves into a compact body; and after the mur- der of Huss and Jerome, under the command of John Ziska, a man of most inflexible resolution and un- daunted courage, resolved to defend themselves a- gainst persecution, and if they Avere molested, to main- tain their rights, by force. After a long contest, in which every act of horrid cruelty Avas perpetrated, the Roman policy prevailed ; part of the Avarriors was cajoled into submission to the Pontiff of Satan; while the remainder, thus enfeebled, became the 232 FXCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. LECTURE XII. prey of imperial armies and the inquisitors' chains. Yet they survived the tornado : immense maltiludcs united with Luther and Calvin and Zuinglius: a.nd a few who retained their predilections for the customs and economy of their ancestors, in modern ti'mes^ have emerged from obscurity, as those pioneers of the Missionary cause, tlie Moravians or United Brethren. In England, these old Protestants were originally- reproached by the epithet Lollards ; and in a later period, as Wicklithtes : and it is not a little remiirk- able, that the family-likeness among tliese pilgrims scattered in Piedmont, Bohemia and England, should have been so uniform ; for in all the prime cpialities, and in all the distinctive features of the children adopted by God into " the household of faith,'' they were identical. They abjured the Papacy ; despised human traditions ; adhered solely to the oracles of God ; rejected all the superstitions which had been incorporated with the christian system ; exemplified all the devotion, meekness and purity of the followers of the Lamb ; and knowing in whom they had be- lieved, and that he was able to keep that which they had committed to him against that day : patiently submitted to every excruciation, which hell-inspired ingenuity could invent, and raging malignity uitiict. It would have been e>isy to amplify this catalogue. but our limits preclude enlargement. Truth is uni- form; to it with some exceptions and additions, the' opponents of (he Papacy generally bowed ; the ex- perience of christians is very much assimihted in all its grand peculiarities, in this they were but one ; their testimony, although it was almost coeval with the exaltation of " the Man of Sin," to whom the dragon gave '• his power, and his seat, and great authority," was nearly identical, although atlfected by the continual mutations of 850 years ; and ouf modern arguments against the Papal Hierarchy, are' nothing more than repetitions a little varied, of the original resonations of the everlasting gospel which CENTJRIES VII. XVi. 2'33 the angel whom John saw flying m the midst of hea- ven, " preached unto tliem that dwell on the earth ;" thereby verifying with indubitable certainty, that the individual and associated witnesses, whom we have already enumerated, with their assistants, are *-the two olive-trees and the two candlesticks stand- ing before the God of the earth." This view of that glorious army of confessors who in every age contested the usurpations of Antichrist, necessarily involves the question; with what success were their efforts attended, or to comprize a larger : circle of enquiry, what were the more immediate visible causes which effected the partial demolition of the sway of the beast, who " had two horns like a lamb, and spake as a dragon? They may be classed in two divisions. /. Internal 1. The great schism in the popedom^ by the divine i superintendence, manifestly enfeebled the energies I of the Apostate Hierarchy. It commenced in the i! arrogance of the then haughty Pope, and the bold- I nessofPhilip, king of France. Boniface informed Phi- i! lip, that he as w ell as all other princes were obliged, 1, by a divine command, in all political, civil and re- ji ligious affairs, to submit to the papal authority. — With the utmost contempt, Philip retorted on the pontiff in this style; "we give your fool's head to ! know, that in temporals we are subject to no person." The Pope immediately declared, that Jesus Christ i had subjected the whole human family to his autho- rity, and that every man who disbelieved this dog- \ ma, was excluded from all possibility of salvation. I In reply, the French king employed Nogaret, the li most intrepid and inveterate enemy to the Popes, who || appeared before Luther, to publish a catalogue of :i accusations against Boniface, including a mass of 1 crime, and who demanded a council to dethrone the I spiritual tyrant. A sentence of excommunication ! against the king and his adherents followed ; upon which Nogaret with a small force surprised the 2 F 234 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XII. unwary Pope, and during the short period of his cap- ture, displayed to him the most marked and insulting indignity; but he was rescued, and speedily after his return to Rome, died of rage and anguish at his dis- grace isnd disappointment. His successor reversed the anatb ma against the French kiiig, but having filled the papal chair during a short period only, an ad- herent of Philip's was elected Pope, who removed the seat of the papacy from Rome to Avignon in France, where it remained djuring 70 years. At this period began the grand separation; for after the election of Urban to the papacy, many of the Car- dinals offended by his arrogance, withdrew from Rome, and elected another Pope, Clement, who re- sided at Avignon ; from this era, until the coun- cil of Constance annulled the authority and preroga- tives of all the Popes, by the election of Martin, the Hierarchy was involved in a dissension, which filled all Europe with distress, calamity and dismay. Two or three Popes, supported by some of the horns of the Beast, maintained one ceaseless contention; and envh agltited the world with his thundering anathe- mas against the other and all his associates. Not- withstaiuiing the extinction of all sense of religion, and the most scandalous profligacy which even pretended not to concealment ; the authority of the Popes received a blow incurable; and multitudes believed, that the Gospel of Christ required not such a temporal and abhorrent supreme head: these, after this deadly wound was healed, doubtless fur- nished much of the materials for the fiery martyrdom. 2. The degeneracy vf the ecclesiastical orders consti- tuted another prominent reason of that excitement which filled all Europe with commotion, when Luther enkindled the torch of truth, to irradiate the gloomy recesses and arcana of the Monkish system. "That word, Reformation^ said Martin, is more hated at Rome, than thunderbolts from heaven, or the last day of judgment." CENTURIES Vll XVI. 235 fn the re-action of human affairs, it is not a little marvellous, that those same vices and enormities which introduced, aggrandized and established, eventually obstructed, diminished and undermiiied the Papacy. Cruelty and slaughter gave energy to the popedom; and their ravages enkindled that en- mity and opposition, which have been assailing it with forceful and incessant success. Avarice and ambition impelled the Monster in his ascent, and secured the acquision of the triple crown; and the inordinacy of both which was subsequently devel- oped, taught men to feel, then to think, and finally to rebel against a jurisdiction, which robbed all ihe comforts, and palsied all the efforts of civil society, and which rendered Christianity a burden instead of rest; and the anticipations of that " life and immor- tality brought to light by the Gospel," a source of never-failing gloom and anguish. Men will submit to the yoke to a certain degree ; but when their chains are too heavy, they become furious and break them. Every sensible person anticipated a moral concussion. One of the Cardi- nals addressing the Pope respecting the mission of a legate to England, to demand money to supply his magnificent voluptuousness, said, " Holy Father, we treat Christian kingdoms as Balaam used his ass : 1 am afraid they will imitate her ; she, by the seve- rity of his blows, brayed most horibly, and so will they." The prediction has been fulfilled. If to these are subjoined the shameless impurity, the notoriously unmeasurable perfidy, their puerile su- perstitions, and their traditional absurdities ; we shall feel no surprise, that combined with other causes, which even the Pope in all the boundless plenitude of his power was totally unable to control, the progress of the light and the truth received an impetus lasting and irresistible. //. Exterior. Some of these causes have already been incident- ally noticed. But in addition to the flood of human 23{) ECCLESIASTICAL HLSTOUV. LLCTURE XII. iitcratiiro, tlie tide of which continued to swell and accelerate its progress — the warrini^ witnesses, who t"oiii>;!it '• the c;ood fjght ot" faith" — the silent but inex- tiiio;nishable impulse given by the partial glimmerings •pf illumination imbibed by those who returned from the rroisades — the melioration of their tastes re- specting terrestrial comforts — a comparative tone of independence of character, resulting from their long enjoyed semi-freedom, connected with their un- restrained licentious, undiciplined mode of life, while on their pilgrimages, and during their resi- dence in the Holy land — and tlie opposition exhibit- ed by succesive princes, especially after the daring deiiance of Philip to Boniface, and the high prero- gatives assumed by the civil potentates at the coun- cil of Constance — three other events in their com- bination, decidedly introduced a new era in the his- tory of the world ; and in a very lucid degree, deve- laped the wisdom of Jehovah in his providential government, and the mercy oflmmanuel in the direc- tion of that " church of God, which he hath pur- chased with his own blood." 1. Tijpography. — This art was discovered about the year 1110, audits universal adoption, has revolution- ized mankind. Now it has become, in the plastic hands of fervid Christians, a machine, which like the miraculous tongues of the Apostles, proclaims to all people in their own " tongues, the wonderful works of God." The first purely evangelical Reformer, a printed Bihle^appaarpd in 11. 50. But even this inven- tion, which scorns rdl human eulogy, would have been circumscribed in its utility, if the Turks had not dri- ven the superior Greeks ii to the Latin provinces. 2. The ovr.rthroir nf tlie Constantinopolitan Empire. — When the Turks had caj^lured the imperial city, Con- stantinople, they speedilyeonquered all the European possessions belonging to the (J reek Emperors. T<> avoid the calamities which they saw impending over their native \\\\u\^ multitudes of the most learned Greeks lied into Italy, and Germany, and transpcri- CENTURIES vir — XVI. 237 ed with them the intellectual treasures which had so long been immured in the monasteries, and other depositories of learning. These, through " the es- tabhshmcnt of the press, were quickly disseminated in all countries, and excited an unquenchable thirst after knowledge ; so that the ancient Latin and Greek languages became the objects of general study, and none of the higher orders were contented without the perfect acquisition of those tongues which then form- ed (he chief avenue to all intelligence. This con- nected with the diffusion of the sacred scriptures, not only enlightened, but also purified the principles and characters of men. Notwithstanding this con- junction of fortunate events, the progress must have been very slowly gradual, had not the adventurous Cohimbus unveiled to astonished Europe nearly one half of our globe, which until his first voyage across the Atlantic, had been totally concealed, from human observation and intercourse. 3. The discovery of j^merica. — This event filled Eu- rope with universal enterprize ; all the nobler quali- ties of the heart, and all the dignified capacities of the mind, in their combined refinement and energy, w hich liad so long continued dormant under the iron yoke of Antichrist, here found ample room for display. It was impossible, in the very nature of things, that after marine voyages so long protracted at such great dis- tances, with novel books as their only resource for amusement, and where the Pope's name had never been heard ; men should not realize some feelings of that superiority, the consequence of their being so long uncontrouled, which would take advantage of the first concurrence of things, and determined them j to escape from shackles, in which their own super- stitions no longer confined them. But the investigation of these topics, constitutes no part of our design : it is suihcient for us to know and rejoice, that ?iow it would be equally easy to confine the rays of the sun, as the illumination of stereotype; that ere long the intelligence ceramunicated by the 238 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XII. christian Greeks, of the 15th century, to the residents in the Beast's domains, will be superabundantly repaid by the Protestants ; when in the primitive houses of prayer, at Constantinople, the Mufti shall no more mumble his delusions, nor a worshipper of images chaunt his Litany to the Virgin Mary ; and that the western hemisphere, having imbibed the spi- rit of that religion, for the sake of which the Puritans peopled the then wilds of New England, will endea- vor to promulge the influence of that gospel, until all nations " shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks ; and they shall sit every man under liis vine, and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid." Here let us pause to admire the stupendous admin- istration of the High and Lofty One, who inliabiteth J^ternity." Upon what minute events, oiten depend the most important effects. In our period of the church, we are almost lost in wonder, that so simple, so obvious, and so effectual a plan to diffuse the sa- vour of a Redeemer's name, as the promulgatioa of the bible in every language, had never been practi- cally adopted, until within the last 20 years; and yet those institutions, organized to diffuse the scriptures, which transcend all possible estimation, originated in a request for a donation of a feAv Welsh New Tes- taments. The only solution of the ditiiculty, accord- ing to our partial survey, is, that prior to the stimulus imparted by the French revolution, every attempt to .deliver the nations from their vassalage, would have been inefficacious; and therefore, instead of encour- aging, would have paralyzed all future exertion. May not the same general principle of illustration be applied to demonstrate the superintendence of the all-wise Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in reference to the causes Avhich produced the splendid illumina- tion, that irradiates, with a halo of almost celestial glory, the countenances of them who primarily re- sounded the blast of denunciation against " the Son of Perdition," and which it may be presumed will CEATURIliS Vil— -XVI. 239 never cease to reverberate, until the Angel shall cry "mightily with a strong voice, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen"! To us, the type in its continual use is become, not merely a luxury, but an absolute necessary ol' life; and no proposition is more incontestable, than the liict, that Popery could not have existed had the Booksellers' shelves been loaded with the purer works of the pristine Christian Authors. At this pe- riod, when the ear of bigotry is inaccessible by a Missionary's voice, the eye of superstition is often as- sailed by the printed truth ; and the heart evinces, that it is vulnerable by the shafts of the Gospel con- veyed in its own vivifying power, or through the me- dium of a religious tract. Why, do we in vain ask, did no type founder exist prior to the middle of the fifteenth century } Why were all the plains which in this Union now teem with inhabitants, permitted to remain only as hunting ground for the roaming Aborigines of the Forest t 4t would be as easy to reply to the question ; why does the wind diflfer in the vehemence of its motions, or why does it blow at one period, and not at another? The sovereignty of the supreme and ever-blessed God, who directs all things for his own glory, and the general welfare of his creatures, is the sole reason which can be given for these diversities of experience; and that benevolent jurisdiction is not less exhibited in the revelation of those discoveries which benefit man; but likewise in so concatenating the series of events, that "all things may work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." This view of the past, while it imparts the most lofty ideas of the divine wisdom and power, is also cal- culated to imbue us with the most illimitable and unshaken confidence in the completion of all those prophesies which yet, as far as we can judge, remain not consummated. We have seen the visions of six seals completed ; we have heard the sound of 240 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORk'. LECTURE XII. six angels, and are convinced that all their dread blasts have been vvofuUy realized ; we have witness- ed the evolution of the first and second wos ; and we have meditated upon the prophesying olthe witness- es in sackcloth, and upon the proclamations oi' the first and second Angels against the Anti-christian system ; it remains, that we now join in humble ado- ration with them who sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, '•great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Al- mighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints." THE REFORMATION. Antichi'ist, in conformity with his audacious claim, having exercised his prerooative in partitioning the lately discovered East Indies, and the Columhian continent between Portugal and vSpain ; and having by persecution reduced to temporary silence the cla- mours of those who detested his Hierarchy; all the kingdoms of the Beast appeared willing supinely to a^^quiesce in the enormous mass of absurdity, and to submit without a murmur, to all the exactions which a mandate from the Vatican inculcated. Neither the corruption of the inferior clergy, nor the resto- r ition ofliterature ; nor the avarice, the ferocity, even the bestiality of the Popes, Alexander, Juliusand Leo; nor the inexpressible abominations of the Monks and Nuiis ; nor the depraved and miserable condition of l!ie n ifions, impoverished and vitiated by the eccle- siastic adherents of these papal fiend-like monsters, produced at the commencement of the sixteciith century a solitary complaint so loud as to be heard, or suuiciently energetic to be regarded. This death-like repose, and it is scarcely possible to say which of its characters is most astonishing, the }^ontifical temerity in exercising its usurpations, or the slavish infatuated submission of the px^ople. was suddenly interrupted by the inflexibility, the intelH- gence, and the virtue of a monk of Wittemberg, who like puny David, commenced tlje battleagainst theGo- iiah of the uncircumcised Philistines, and triumphed. Tlie prophetic history of this period, is recorded in llevelations 14:9 — 13. In l^I?, Tetzel, a Dominican monk, travelling through Germany, for the purpose of selling indulgences, granted by the Atijcislic Leo, v/hicli Secured to the nurciiaser, the remission of all 2 G 242 ECCLESIASTICAL HlSTOiiy. LECTURE Xllf, sins past, present and future, however enormous, in- numerable and aggravated. The impudent Friar, in the course of his journey, arrived at Wittemberg, where Luther, at that period, was Professor of Theo- logy ; there, with a boundless insolence of maimers, and an indecency of style which cannot be repeated, he detracted from the power and merits of Jesus as the Redeemer of mankind ; and iniquitously boasted that " he had saved more souls from hell, by these in- dulgences, than Peter had converted.'' The decep- tions which he propagated, exhibit the shameless nnd bold frauds that he practiced upon the fears of his audience ; '• the moment the money tmkles in the chest, your father's soul mounts up out of Purgatory .'*" The intrepid Martin, roused to the just stand- ard of christian indignation, on the thirtieth day of October, 1517, published ninety five propositions, in which he pronounced the indulgences delusive, and declared the Pope a participant of theguilt. Thepress aided the cause ; for within iifteen days, Germany was filled with the publication, in which commenced the rupture that has despoiled the triple crown of its dignity, and obliged " the IMan of Sin, to surrender a large portion of his predominance. These propositions which simply investigated the extent of the Papal power conceriiirjg the remission of sin, excited the utmost rage of Tetzel, who re- plied, and \vas supported by a number ofolher Domi- nicans, who resented this attack upon tfieir order. Ag linst all these adversaries, Luther maintained his sentiments, " the common people heard him gladly :" and his success was so great, that even the indiffer- ence and contempt of the voluptuous Leo were elec- trified ; and lie commanded Luther to appear before Cardinal Cajetan, "either to retract or to suffer pun- ishment." Luther refused the former, and escaped from their menaced condemnation. Several attempts were made to cajole the Reformer into submission; and so circumscribed were his views, that if the Lord had not permitted his enemies to proceed to the CENTURY XV 1. 242 most outrageous opposition, the truth would have been retarded in its progress, if not altogether con- cealed. Public disputations, at which vast num- bers of the most learned men were present, continu- ally recurred, and tended to the dissemination of the truth. In 1519, a famous controversy was held at Leipsic, and in tfie course of the debate, Luther's arguments demolished " the authority and suprema- cy of the Roman Pontiff ;" and which was more im- portant, added to the holy contest, a most renowned fellow combatant, Philip Melancthon. During the following year, the religious dissen- sions, having continually and rapidly increased, Leo the Pope, consented to the importunate demands o^ the Dominicans, and issued his bull against Luther, condemning his writings to be burnt, and commanding him to retract his errors, within 60 days, upon the menace of excommunication. This Papal arrogance clecided the Reformer; without delay, he performed the most splendid action, in fortitude and daring, re- corded in the annals of the world. He appealed from the Pope to a general council, and stigmatized the Atheistical sensualist, Leo, " as a rash, iniquitous tyrannical judge, a hardened heretic and apostate, as Antichrist, the enemy and opposer of the sacred scriptures ; and a proud and blasphemous despiser of the Church of God.'' He directed a large fire to be kindled, into which, in the presence of the University of Wittemberg and immense multitudes of spectators, he contemptuously cast the bull of excommunication, the Papal decretals, and the whole canon law ; thus declaring his resolution to defend himself against all the attempts of his enemies. To justify this noble and extraordinary measure, he selected thirty of the most blasphemous positions respecting the Pope's au- thority, and with the addition of some comments, printed and universally dispersed them; and as a consequence of the light which they diffused, nrsd the spirit of resistance to the ignominious vassah^afe. un- der which the people had so long groaned; notvdih- 244 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XII7. standing a continunl siicession of Papal fulminations, against Lntfier, no person would execute thr; Pope'? command lor liis seizure and death. in the year 1.321, wa.s held the diet of Vrornis; be- fore which assembly, consisting of all the Princes, No- bl 's, and Eccle^-iastical dii^nitnries of the Empire, Luther was summoned to attend. The elector of Sax- ony, Frederic the Wise, procured from Charles the Emperor, and other Princes, a full protection ; and e- vcry possible precaution was used to sjunrd the Re- former's life. Accompanied by several of his friends, he proceeded towards Worms, at a sliort distance from which, Spalatinus, the Elector's Secretary^ wrote to him, advising his return : in this situation, with the i^ipe's condemnation, the Imperial mandate to seize all his writings, the utter malignity of every Romish adherent of all ranks, and the fact that even the public faith could not deliver John Huss and Je- rome from the voracious cruelty of the Inquisitors, continually forcing themselves upon his notice — all the magnanimity and fearlessness of the mighty champion for the gospel was developed, when he uttered the wondrous decln ration, that " he was lawfully called to appear in that city ; and thither he would go in the name of the Lord ; though he should be obliged to encounter at Worms, as many devils as there were tiles upon the houses of that city; this would not deter him from his fixed purpose of appearing there; that fear was only a suggestion of Satan, who apprehended the approaching ruin of liis kingdom, by the confession of the truth, and who wished to avoid a pui)lic defeat before so grand an assembly, as the diet of Worms." The highest personal vanity might have been sa- tiated by the homage paid to liim during his resi- lience at W^orms. I lis habitation was continually crowded with piincely visitors ; and his dignity and fortitude conspicuously appeared, when he was introduced to the Diet. Two inquiries were pro- pounded to him by Eckius in the name of the Em- CENTURY XVI. Iiij peror ; one was, whether he acknov, iet^s:^:'^ the- publications issued in his name ? the other, whothor he wouhl defend or retract their contents? On tha folloviing day, in reply; the Reformer admitted th^ buoks to be his writing ; and with christian aniniation, most energetically maintained the doctrines which they promulged. 1. Eckius, after Luther hral spo- ken during two hours with the visible approbation of a large proportion of the numerous assembly, passionately exclaimed, that he was not summoned to state his doctrines ; they had been already con- demned by former councils, whose authority wns un- questionable ; he was only required openly to say whether he would or would not retract his opinions.'' Luther's n^emorable retort to this authoritative inso- lence decided the reformation : " my answer,"" said the invincible champion of truth, " shall be direct and plain. I am not bound to believe either the Pope or his councils ; for they have often erred, and often contradicted themselves. Therefore, unless I am con- vinced by the word ofGod or reason, my belief is so confirmed by the scriptures which I have produced, and my conscience is so deterniined to abide by the Gospel, that I neither can nor will retract any thing; for it is neither safe nor innocent to act against a man's conscience." Closing with the intrepidity, resolution, and confidence of a servant of Jesus, who like Moses '' endured, seeing him who is invisible." '•Ich stehehier: fch kann nicht anders ; Gott hijf mir. Here 1 stand ; f cannot act otherwise ; God help me : Amen." After this public exhibition of the Reformer's inflex- ibility and learning, he remained at Worms a short period: during which, incredible exertions were made by all the grandees of the Empire, secular and ec- clesiastical, to induce him to recant. With the com- bination of superior intelligence and evangelical hu- Diility, he thanked them for their attentions ; but his !. Appendix X. 246 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE Xlll. constant unvarying, unalterable declaration v.as, that '' he was ready to do any thing, except to deny the plain word ot'God." When he was pronounced by the bigotted devo- tees of* the man of sin " incorrigible and a contuma- cious heretic;" it was proposed to Charles to imitate the example of the council of Constance, and by a violation of his imperial guarantee of safety to Luther, to exterminate the author of the pestilence ; as tfiey denominated the progress of the light and the truth. This Charles refused, stating, ^' I should not choose to blush with Sigismund :" for John Huss, when he closed his defence before that infamous gang assem- bled at Constance, fixing his eyes on Sigismund the Emperor, said, " I came voluntarily to this council, under the public faith of the Emperor now present ;" while the guilty 'deceiver incompetent to resist so forcible an exhibition of his crime, " blushed^ and bore the countenance ofa traitor." The decree immediately was adopted by the Diet in the Emperors name ; denouncing Luther as an ob- stinate, excommunicated criminal, depriving him of all civic privileges, prohibiting any person from pro- tecting him, and commanding all the people to seize him, as soon as the 21 days allowed him to return to Wittemberg, should have expired. •' He who sitteth in the heavens laughed, the Lord had them in deri- sion." Frederic concealed the Retbrmer, from the fury of the tempest; on his return home, he was seiz- ed by several masked friends, and transferred to the castle of Wartburg as a place of security ; this scheme it is believed, was sanctioned by Charles ; and it tend- ed eventually in a most remarkable degree, to the progress and establishment of the Reformation. His time, in this Patmos, as Luther designated it, was ve- ry busily occupied, in writing consolatory letters to his friends, in publishing confutations of his adversa- ries, and especially in translating the New Testa- ment into the German language. Thus the Lord o- verruled the mysterious exile of the chief captain of CExNTURY SVI. 247 the Protestant cause, and rendered it the means by which the Gospel was diffused in the vernacular tongue ; long ere it could otherwise have been com- pleted, from the want of leisure, and the immensity of labor, in which those indefatigable servants of Jesus were continually engaged. A circumstantial narrative of the progression of e- vents which conduced to the final pacific settlement of the change introduced by Luther cannot be intro- duced in tiiis summary view. In general, it may be remarked, that the measures which were adopted gradually proceeded from surrounding events: no plan had been systematized, and as the illumination increased, so the demolition of the Papal superstitions followed. During Luther's absence, Carolstadt, one of the Professors in the University, attempted to abol- ish the mass ; to remove the idol images ; to destroy auricular confession, and the invocation of saints ; and had persuaded the Monks to depart from their monasteries and to marry ; thus completely changing all the ancient doctrines and discipline : although these measures were congenial with Luther's views, yet he complained of them as rash and precipitate. At the same period, Henry VIII. wrote a volume in defence of Popery against Luther; and from this fact, the Protestant British kings derive their Popish ;itl?. Defender of the faith ; with which Leo, who was an Atheist, honored the licentious Despotic Pa- pist Henry; and which all his successors, Papist and Protestant, notwithstanding its absurdity, have con- tinued to appropriate to themselves. In his answer, Luther exhibited the most profound contempt for his kingship ; with great asperity ridiculed his unlovely person, and displayed the wretchedness of his argu- ments with most biting sarcasm. Henry complained of the insult; but the. Refonner only menaced him with additional public exposure of his ignorance and silliness if he would not continue silent. How short sighted is man ! little did the haughty monarch sup- pose, less did the humble Preacher anticipate, that *!18 ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTOKY. LECTURE Xlli. v>ithi!i liio lapse of ten years, this same Defender of the Failh would exterminate the Papal ynpremacy throagiiout Cni;land and Ireland. In 1522, the Ger- man New Teslament was disseminated, and e(iicts_ were immediately issued against^its diffusion : this opposiiion roused the dorm;int lion; for Martin in a voluaie, instantly attacked the Princes who published lho3C decrees against the Gospel, and pi-onounced them impious tyrants. The University ol" Paris also condemned Luther's doctrines, but the Boanerges of the Iletbrmation animadverted upon their decision with as much acrimony and scorn as if he had been trampling upon the meatiest ignoramus. (Jontrover- sies with kings and Universities naturally excited uni- versal attention ; and added to Luther's fame and in- fluence ; while multitudes in various parts of Europe rejected the shackles of the Antichristian hierarcliy. Several Imperial diets were successively lield ; one at Nuremburg ; two at Spire ; in wliich all the" attempts of the Papists to crush the accelerating pro- gress of the truth were providentially counteracted, in the second diet at Spire, in 1.529. four of the Ger- man Princes and fourteen cities protested against one of the decrees of that body ; and hence originated the general designation of all those who renounce the superstitious commuiiion of Rome, and reject Ihe papal supremacy, Protestants. At Augsburg, in a subsequent diet, the famous I..ulheran coiifession was presented and produced astonishing etfects; convinc- ing the ignorant, deciding those who wavered, confut- ing all opponents, and reanimating the friends of evan- gelical truth. The disputations between the parties continued to increase, until at length it was deemed advisable to form a confederacy at Smalcald, to resist if necessary, any attempt to force the proiestants to Bubmission by militsiry coercion. A peace was concluded favorable (o the protestants in 1531 ; but t!ie adherents of the different principles were so decidedly opposed. lh;it all attempts efFectu- ally to accommodate wer^fruitlcss. The j^roDositioii CENTURY XYl. 249 to sQtnmori the council of Trent having received the decided rejection of the protestants, Charles the em- peror determined upon war, to subdue them to his will and the Pope's spiritual authority. After much commotion and many severe trials to the protestant champions; the elector of Saxony surprised the em- peror, and reduced him to the inevitable necessity of terminating the deplorable calamities which had so long alilicted the empire, by a treaty of peace enact- ed at Augsburg, in 1555; which unchangeably estab- lished the glorious Reformation. By this compact, it was authoritatively and irrevocably determined, that " the protestants shall be entirely free from the Ro- man pontiff's jurisdiction ; and are permitted to con- duct their own ecclesiastical affairs without controul; that all the inhabitants of the empire shall judge for themselves on religion, and unite w ith either church according to the dictates of their consciences; and that all persecutors upon a religious pretext, shall be legally tried as enemies of the empire, invaders of its freedom, and disturbers of its peace and harmony." la Switzerland, rather earlier than Martin Luther commenced his opposition to Tetzel's abominations, Ulric Zuingle had expounded the scriptures in truth, and censured the errors of the Apostacy. The au- thority and supremacy of the Pope, he rejected, with almost all the anti-christian fl^rrago, anterior to the period of Luther's liberation from the minor trammels of the papacy. The Swiss reformer was a man of the most enlarged intelligence, and pos- sessed of vast penetration and sagacity, accompanied w^ith a resolute spirit of gospel heroism which knew no dread, and through the exercise of which, he, at once, disentangled himself from educational pre- judices and the absurdities with which he had been deluded. His most noble qualities were called into ample exercise by the same cause which excited Luther's opposition to the Pope. A most abandon- ed monk from Italy, named Samson, was selling his indulgences to sin in Switzerland in 1519, with the 2H 250 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE Xllf. same impudent effrontery that Tetzel had displayed at Witteinberg. Zuingle opposed him with the most strenuous exertions and correspondent success. — Ailed bv Ihe iridepenttent state of" the cantons, their viev/s ol' civil freedom, the impossibiUty of imped- ing his cause except by exterior force, which the convulsed state of Europe precluded, and by a host of teachers who promulged his pure tenets of truth to a people already prepared to receive them with inconceivable avidity ; in a few years, the Pope's suprfjmacy and the stupid credulity of the people through the blessing of the Holy Ghost upon their instructions and writings, w^ere banished from nearly all Switzerland; and so effectual was the purification, thcit probab'iy in no part of the Reformed domains, Sco'lmd excepted, has pure and undefiled religion mfiiniained its power over its professed disciples more constantly than in the Swiss Protestant cantons. Two circumstances, however, connected with these Reformers must not be omitted. The disciples of Luther and the adherents of Zuingle difTered upon a very important topic, " the manner in which the body and blood of Chri&t are present in the Eucha- rist.*' All the disputants denied the dogma of tran- sub.^tantiation ; but Zuingle maintained that the sa- cramental elements were merely symbols intended to excite the remembrance of our Lord's death : on the contrary, Lutiier maintained, that the body and biovul of the Redeemer were really a constituent part of the bread and wine. It is scarcely practicable to comprf^hend what the primitive Lutherans under- stood by this principle; but if any idea can be de- duced IVom the " senseless jargon" which J^uther himscdf uttered on this subject; it would appear, that his doctrine was, if possible, more preposterous than even the Romish monster, transubstantiation. By these divisions, the cause of civil and religious liberty was much hindered ; the parties having for- got to '^ keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." CENTURY XVI. 251 To this deplorable dissension must be added the internal commotion in Germany and its bordering countries, excited through oppression and enthusi- asm; which was very prejudicial to the cause of the Gospel. Myriads of fanatical seditious persons arose in various parts of the Empire, and having concentra- ted their force, desolated every district through which they marched, exhibiting a causeless and most unfeeling barbarity. At length, the enthusiast Mun- zer having been appointed chief of the rabble, the contest assumed a religious character. They pro- mulged sentiments at utter variance with all indivi- dual decorum, domestic peace and social order; and notwithstanding the Protestant Chiefs exerted all their influence against this faction, the Papists employed the inferences deducible from their con- duct, as a weapon with which to kill the sacred cause of Christ. Among these infatuated marauders, we discover the first systematic attempt to oppose the primitive church witii regard to the ordinance of baptism. Their sentiments were, that magistrates and taxes were needless; that the baptism of infants is an invention of the devil ; that all things should be common stock; and that as the kingdom of Christ ^vas at hand, all earthly government was unnecessary. Hence they were called Anabaptists, as repeating the ceremony of Baptism. However, it must be admitted, that from the force of prejudice and exam- ple, the spirit of persecution raged against many of them, not for their sedition, although they were arrayed against the state, but merely for pretended religious opinions, the result of error and ignorance; and probably neither Luther nor Zuingle can be perfectly exculpated for having been ingulphed in the Romish doctrine, that heresy respecting the pre- dominant religion, was cognizable and punishable by the civil Magistrate. In 1.521, the light of the resuscitated Gospel shone upon Denmark. Christiern II. a most i'urious tyrant was solicitous to exterminate the Romish supersti- 252 ECCLESIASTICAL KiHTORY. LECTURE XIII. lions from among his subjects; the Lord thus direct- ing his ambition to burst the barriers of spiritual vassalage tor his people. After his exile, for his cruelties raised a conspiracy against him, and forced him to leave his domitiions, Frederic liis successor, issued an edict, declaring every Dane at liberty, either to adhere to the Roman tenets, or to profess the doctrine of the Protestants without molestation ; and permitted the marriage of the clergy. Thus stimulated, the Reformers most zealously and suc- cessfully promulged their opinions ; and Christierti III, the following king, having supprcBsed the odious episcopal authority ; having despoiled the ecclesi- astical voluptuaries of their enormous wealth; having returned to their >original owners the property of which tliey had been divested by every species of art- ifice and stratagem; and having organized a plattbrm of religious doctrine, dicipline and worship after the model cstnblished at Wittemberg, convoked a gene- ral assembly of all orders in the state, who solemnly sanctioned the royal measures, and thus within twenty years, with little commotion, the dragon's beast with all his authority and jurisdiction, was de- throned in the kingdom of Denmark. During the civil dissatisfactions excited by the cruelties of Christiern the Danish king; the Swedes having refused longer subjection to the Danes, eleva- ted to the royal office, Gustavus Vasa; who had imbibed the doctrines of the Reformation, and who perceived their importance to the people of his do- minions, if they could be introduced and established. Every measure which this patriot adopted was e- equally wise and successful. In him the Bible Societies hail a powerful coadjutor: he primarily commanded that a Swcrlish translation ofthe Scrip- tures should bo universally diffused. When the minds of his people had become in some measure illuminated, by the perusal and exposition of the oracles of truth; he appointed a public disputation at Upsal, in 1526, in which Olaus Petri, the Protes- CENTURY XV F. 2.'j3 tant champion obtained a splendid triumph over tho cavils and follies ot" his opponent : the publication of this renowned debate conhrnied the minds ot all who were attached to Luther's cause, and with astonish- ing rapidity multiplied the converts to the truth. Against these innovations, as they were denominated by the devotees of the Hierarchy, the Popish eccle- siastical dignities most vehemently roared ; they had grasped nearly all the possessions of the country : their revenues, power and intluence far transcended that of the executive government; their debauchery and opulence were commensurate ; and ihey easily perceived the inevitable consequences which would succeed the beams of light, that were then winging their course into every hamlet and cottage of the kingdom. Nothing was necessary, but some trifling occur- rence which the Bishops were ever ready to seize, to transform the kingdom into one universal Aceldama, where between the Protestant attachments and the Popish bigotry, the ancient hierarchy might be en- abled to infix themselves more firmly in their terrific sway. At this crisis, in 1527, Gustavus summoned a gen<^ral convocation of the senators, bishops, nobles, clergy and the conmions ; in which he proposed by the chancellor the reformation of the church. The Eisliops having previously entered into a solemn compact to defevsd the Pontiflfand the craft, with one voice rejected the royal proposal, and thus stimula- ted a universal negative from all the votaries of An- tichrist. Immediately after their clamour had sub^ sided. Gustavus entered the assembly, and avowed his determiiiatioi: to resign the government and mi- grate from his country, rather than rule a people en- slaved by th*^ '^ape, and more controlled by episco- pal tyranny, than by the laws of the land. This deci- ded the commons, whose love for Gustavus in conse- quetice of his having liberated them from the Danish bondage, knew no bounds ; for they instantly mena- ced the refractory bishops and their vassals with the 254 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XIIJ. popular vengance, if they did not -without delay, sub- mit to their sovereign ; and thus tlie Beast's -power and great authority" in Sweden were etreclualiy, completely and irrevocably exterminated. The crooked policy of Francis 1. king of France, impeded the inftuence of the protectant cause in that nation. F^ersecution and toleration continually succeeded each other, until during a number of years Ihat vast country resembled a charnal house : one beneiit however followed, even the terrors of the French king's murderous edicts, it transferred Calvin to a place of security, where he employed all his mighty genius in sending abroad the light and the truth. The history of the French Huguenots will constitute a future theme. Had not the secular power supported the tottering edifice, the papal doctrines and autliority would have been demolished, even in the Netherlands, such pro- digious numbers of protestant Christians arose, that persecution at last induced the seven united provin- ces to revolt, and become independent of the impe- rial and Papal jurisdiction. Ill Italy, the progress of truth was arrested by the Inquisitors, who perpetrated so many murders, that the Reformed exiled themselves into the regions where the gospel and its professors were unmolested; although that engine of hell could never enter the kingdom of Naples. By the same process, the influ- ence of the reformation was not experienced in Spain; for the " Lords of the Holy office" there reigned triumphant, and every spark of the gospel was extinguished. Charles the Emperor himself, it is supposed, died a Protestant; and of twenty four ecclesiastics, his associates during his voluntary solitude, after his abdication of the honours of Emperor of Germany and king of Spain, not one escaped immediate death ; for as soon as Charles expired, the Inquisition seized, and either burnt, strangled or poisoned every one of them. From that period to the present day, the history of Spain in CENTURY XVI. 255 connection with Christianity is like Ezekiei's vision, "a roll of a book written within and without, with lamentation and mourning and wo." Notwithstanding all the attempts to eradicate the seed sown by WicklifF and his successors in England, the pure truth was tacitly admitted by many of the Lollards, all of whom avowed their attachment to Luther's opinions as soon as they were promulged in the island. The success with which Luther com- bated the weak arguments of H^nry, aided also to inspire a great veneration for the man who trampled with equal scorn, upon a Pope's dread anathema, a Ring's authoritative volume, and a University's solemn decretal. Henry having become disgusted with his queen, made a pretext, that as she had been his brother's widow, the marriage was illegal; and finding it impossible to obtain the society of AnnBoleyn unless by marriage, he appealed to the Pope to annul his matrimonial covenant with Catha- rine his wife. The Pope was afraid to comply with Henry's request, lest he should affront Charles V. who wasCathraine's nephew; and equally dreaded a refusal, on account of the king's wrath : delay, equi- vcfcation and duplicity aflbrded the only mode of escape from the dilemma. Henry was long tantaliz- ed with hope that the Pontiff would accede to his wishes : but having at length obtained an almost unanimous decision, that the marriage was unlawful, and the Pope having forbidden him from marrying Anne, he defied the papal excommunication, banished the Pontifical legate, rejected the Pope's communion, as head of the church, and by elevating Cranmer to the Archbishoprick of Canterbury, encouraged in many respects the reformation. In 1529, the usur- pations of the clergy having excited very strong complaints, the House of Commons attempted to restrain the impositions of the ecclesiastical orders ; their dissolute lives and insatiable avarice strength- ening the murmurs against them. The power of Wolsey, as Pope's legate was nullified, and thus all &6 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. LLC 1 1 IlL Xllt. the clergy \vho obeyed him . became at once guilty, and were ohhged to purchase pardon at a vast Sacrifice of tiieir weahfi. Many Festivals were im- mediately abolished; images, relics and pilgrimages were destroyed ; abbies and monasteries were deso- lated ; the orders of Friars, Monks and Nuns were suppressed ; and the Bible was translated and par- tially dispersed. But the progress of the Relbrmation, in England was very small during Henry's reign ; for he enacted by law the most contradictory tenets, so that Papists and Protestants were consumed in the same fire ; the former for denying Henry's supre- macy o\ cr the church ; and the latter for not believ- ing transubstantiation. The grand object attained at this period was, the cessation of the Pope'a authority; and although in the doctrines, little alte- ration was perceptible, yet in the forms of worship an obvious diflerence existed; much of the exterior idolatry v/as removed; and the most strenuous par- tizans of the hierarchy, the Monks and Nuns, being divested of their revenues and habitations, lost that influence among the ignorant multitudes, by which the Romish superstition and corruption had been sustained By the death of Henry, his son Edward was ex- alted to the English throne, w ho became the bright- est ornament, and the most effectual support of the Protestant cause. He encouraged literature ; main- tained Cranmer, Ridley, Hooper, I.itimer and their brethren in their exertions; opposed with all mild- ness, but energy, his power to the ancient supersti- tions; dispersed the scriptures, and established a regular missionary system through the island. After a reign of six years he died, and was succeeded by Mary, a furious merciless bigoted fanatic ; who re- stored as far as practicable, the whole papal corrup- tion ; and whose whole reign during five years wa6 an incessant exhibition of every infernal quality. Her persecutions ceased with her death ; and Eliza- beth her sister:, overturned the fabric, and reinstated CENTURY XVI. 257 the ecclesiastical polity as it was when Edward de- parted to glorj. The progress of the truth in Ireland was similar to that of England, and attended by the same revolu- tions and vicissitudes. Archbishop Brown, after Henry's rejection of the Pope, exerted himself with indescribable diligence and vigour to eradicate the idolatrous superstitions. He overthrew the images, burnt the relics, abrogated the absurd ceremonies, and procured a general denial of the Pope\s jurisdic- tion in that island. The revenues of the monks were confiscated, thejr convents destroyed and themselves banished. In this situation the protestant affairs continued in prosperity until the death of Edward ; after which Mary had resolved to extirpate the Reformed in Ire- land, but her death delivered the professors of the truth from utter desolation : although fourrfifths at least of the Irish have continued from that period to be justly numbered among ihe most silly and san- guinary of ail the devotees of the Beast which goeth into perdition. In Scotland, the effects of the light ditTused by the Reformers were long imperceptible; notwithstanding, about ten years after Luther's first public opposition, the number, zeal and talents of the Protestants had become bo formidable to the papal hierarchy, that a considerable persecution, accompanied with inqui- sitorial powers commenced : but the national discord and confusion were favourable to the progress of the Gospel. The first Legislative act against the papacy, permitted the people to read the scriptures in the vulgar language, yet this law was soon counteracted by the ascendency of Beaton, the Romish Cardinal, Regal and hierarchal tyranny having excited univer- sal dissatisfaction, the Protestants increased their exertions and courage. xA-t this period, arose the im- mortal Knox, whose labours never ceased until he was banished. Notwithstanding every obstruction, the protestant cause proceeded, until 1557, when the 2 I 258 ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTORV. LECTURE XIII. first covenant was signed by vast multitudes of per- sons, with some of the most distinguished dignitaries of tlie kingdom at their head ; the feudal system which then existed in Scotland powerfully augmenting their unity and force. By this compact all the idol- atry of the Antichristian system was denied, and the influence and wealth, and mortal existence of the covenanters were pledged in support of the word of God. They were denominated the Congregatio7i of Christ', to distinguish them from the Papists, whom they very opprobriously but \ery scripturally de- nounced as the Congregation of Satan. In this situa- tion, neither party daring to commence the warlike attack, the contest remained until the death of Wal- ter Mill, the last sufferer by martyrdom, through the papacy in Scotland. Indescribable horror seized all the Reformers when they heard of his execution, and the contrast between the barbarity of the Papist Archbishop, and the Christian meekness of the tortu- red disciple of Jesus. From the period of his death, the Reformation extended its flight with the utmost velocity to all quarters of the land ; irresistible was its force and universal its progress. The Reformation in Scotland tinally involved a national contest which through the divine benediction, was closed in the shouts of triumph by Knox and his victor companions. In no portion of the ten horns of the Beast was the pre- domi!iance of popery so completely overthrown as in Scotland; every particle of the whole abomination which could be discovered, from the Virgin and the crucifix exalted in a cathedral, to a forged decretal immured in a Monk's cloister ; from a Cardinal's pom- pous benediction before the Court, to a Friar's blas- phemous absolution in his own cell, were, with equal evangelical avidity sought, and with similar christian indignation obliterated. To verify the ellicacy of their labours at that period, history records that Scotland has ever been pre-eminent among the Europeans, and a counterpart to the primitive Puritans of New- England, from, that era to the present generation. CEi\TURY XVI. 259 Tor all that illumination, fortitude, purity, and philan- ^Jiropj which their solemn leagues and covenants, in the name of the Gospel, so eloquently demand. The Reformation, notwithstanding the activity of its authors and the zealous energy of its adherents was admitted into a very minor proportion only of the ten horns of the Beast. In France it was afterwards almost totally extirpated — in Poland, its influence was always very feeble — in Ireland, its blessings have been perpetuated solely by the overwhelming autho- rity of incessant military coercion — while in the larg- f?r portion of Europe, Turkey, Paissia, Spain and Por- tugal, the German imperial territories and Italy, the entrance of evangelical truth has hitherto been successfully obstructed. A review of the combined powers of darkness which at that period were oppo- sed to the extension of the pure doctrines of the Gospel, will constitute the subject of the ensuing lecture. The opposition to the Protestants and tie Iteformution, A robcllion against satanlc authority, so suddon, Fo forceful, and so extended, as that produced by the varied parlizans of the Reformation, could not be admitted, witfiout an attempt to subjugate those -vvho thus rejected the Beast and his mark on their foreheads. Power is seductive, and it is a lamer)t;ib]e proof of hu nan degeneracy, that very few individuals recorded in the annals of nations, have been found tru* ly qualified to direct its energies. The Reformation "vvas a luminous (lood, at once traversing the darkness of the European hemispljere: for it shed the light and the truth, with the rapidity of the tempests liash, and with the warmth and the permanency of a Midsum- mer's clear and brilliant day. Hell and its minions stood awhile itidilferent ; at lirst they were stupid, next vacillating, then blustering, and finally having recovered their malignity, they resolved to crush the seed olthe woman who was destined to bruize the serpent's head. The providence of God is lucidly developed in tlie various means by which the church of Christ, thf ark of refuge, has been preserved amid the storms and commotions of the troubled ocean of mortality. Nothing in the record of individuals can be more interesting than a review of the lives and transactiorjs of the Refor!n(U'S. Luther, Calvin, Zuingle, Knox, Craruuer. Prown, and tlieir numberless adjutants in the holy war, could always say with propriety, '^ there is but a step betwixt me and death;" and notwith- standing their enrthly existence was protracted un- til after nearly 300 years, we are enabled to say, they died pre(usely at that moment, and each of them m that manner, which sealed the rectitude of their cause, and constituted the anticipation of its eventual CENTURY XVI. 'ZD* triumph. Our limits admit not even the most minute reference to those christian worthies ; but evangcli- cai sensibiHties recur to them in the fondest retros- pect, and indulge the hallowed prelibation of min- gling the communion of heaven with the gospel giants of those days. 1 Our inquiry at jiresent, involves the contest be- tween the sons of God and the slaves of Diabolus, or rather, the various artifices by which the latter at- tempted to counteract the energetic assaults of the Reformers upon the strong holds of" the Man of Sin." The machinations of the grand adversary of good, against the progress of the truth by the Reformation, may be generally classified either as carnal or spir- itual ; combining the policy of this world with th.e exterior of evangelical religion. /. External. Resistance to the truth was thus exhibited in vari- ous forms, and the servants of Jesus contended with the Romish hierarchy, always without secure de- pendence on terrestrial co-operation, ever with the certainty that Babylon would repel. 1. War. — The royal power was excited against the friends of '^ the rights of man" — many years elapsed, during which a contest, general, bloody, and malig- nant, raged in Germany; the sole cause, an attempt to destroy Luther and his disciples. In Holland and the Netherlands, a civil warfare was protracted un- til the battering ram of truth, shivered the odious Spanish Philip's sway over the Dutch, into atoms. Scotland was desolated with one almost ceaseless commotion during nearly 20 years ; the partizans of the Beast stedfastly graspiiig and defending their usurped jurisdiction. The tower of London still contains one of the most mournfully splendid tro- phies of the Reformation ; the vast exhibition of the instruments of torture intended for the torment of the English Protestants, if they would not submit to the I. Appendix XI. 262 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTL'IIE XIY. Papal supremacy, provided the infernal Armada had been victorious in their attempt. Vast changes succeeded the destruction of the Romish assaults. Scotland shouted victory, and she IS Protestant — England sang the song of triumph, and she is a chief glory among the nations of the earth — Holland defeated the Romish janizaries, and she is reformed ; while northern Germany having discard- ed the trammels of the Dragon and his princely as- sociates, has remained a mighty mound over which the waves of superstition have ineffectually endeav- oured to roll. 2. Persecution. — At the commencement of the Ref ormation, the spirit of Abaddon appeared. For a Protestant, the sentence of death was instantaneously promulged ; and if tangible, his tortures followed. All the wars of Europe in which so many myriads perished, were waged merely against the Gospel, as proclaimed by the Reformers. In Bohemia, during thirty years, among the Hussites, all the fury of earth and all the malevolence of hell were unchained; the human blood which was there effused, comprized such a wondrous destruction of the human family and such a vile terrestrial extinctionofChristians, that one of the historians of that period assimilates the blood of the martyred Bohemian witnesses, " to the plenty of waters of the great rivers of Germany." In Hun- gary, Lithuania and Poland, the elFusions of the Christian vital fluid were not less copious; so that a large part of Europe was "deluged with Protestant blood."" Thus that religion which had so long irradi- ated the countries in which the Waldenses had resi- ded, was almost suppressed, and the witnesses were plain. It had been predicted by Daniel, ch. 7 : 20, 21 ; and by John, in the Apocalypse, Revelation 13: 7; and the cause of Christ in those nations has never since recovered its influence. The murders perpe- trated by the Spanish governors and deputies in the Netherlands were so atrocius and repulsive, that neither superstition of the most idolatrous cast, nor CENTURY XVI. 263 dcgrcdatioii ol'lhe most servile meanness, could lon- ger submit to a tyranny bestial in morals, and infernal in mischief. Alva, the Don of butchery, himself boasted that during the five years of his government, eighteen thousand persons had been formally, that is by slow paced legal condemnation, burnt for heresy — but these were/e?t?, contrasted with the multitude?, who were slaughtered by his armed myrmidons, ruf- fians by trade^ and cruel from impiety^ dispersed through all the borders of the land. But the design failed j for the Prince of Orange, v/ith Egmond Horn, both of whom were murdered, raised the standard of resist- ance to the despots, and after an unequal warfare, in which, through the blessing of God, the Protestants triumphed, the Dutch destroyed the prevalence, and constructed a barrier to the return of Popery which has hitherto been found effectual ; for the Synod of Dort stand pre-eminent among the defenders of the Gospel of Christ. France largely participated in the horrors of per- secution. Within the first 30 years, after the treaty of peace, by which the Protestants were secured in Germany, nearly the whole generation of Huguenots was martyred in the Gallic dominions. These Christians on the south of the water, were the exact counterpart of the Puritans on the northern island. They were men who loved, enjoy- ed and practised the truth, in reference to eternity. No painter can depict the torment, no poet deliniate the agony, and no Preacher describe the complicated scenes accompanying the departure of these, " of whom tlie world was not worthy." A million, at least, of these Calvinistical Huguenots, including members of the Royal Family and persons of all grades in the kingdom, during the pilgrimage of one race, were consigned by Papal cruelty to the invisible world. The cause finally triumphed in the access of Henry to the throne; but he became a Ro- mish adherent ; and yet, because he was a tolerator of his Protestant friends, he died by the dagger of a 2(j4 ECCLESlASTiCAL HISTORV. LKCTURE XU' Rultlan, who had been previously absolved from sin for tlie perpetration of his crime. Throiiii;hout tlie astoiiibhing occurrences of modern ages, few events are more interesting than the seige of Rochelle and the Bartholomew massacre, In the city of Rochelle, the protestants concentered, and against tlieir cou- rage, and their devotion, in vain did Popery rage and contend ; the Huguenots resisted and triumphed, after a display of fortitude altogether romantic, and a series of suffering which, for the sake of humanity, it could be wished were merely a fabulous tale. — But the Papists, although vanquished, were resolved, if possible, to govern; and obt;iii ed by deception, that whicli could jiot be seized by force. H;;ving seduced the chiefs of the Huguejiots into a belief that they were disposed to be amicable, the Pop.""s devotees contrived tj^e general and simultaneous extinction of all the enemies of the papacy. It was enjoined by Charles IX. then king of France, that on the twenty fourth day of August, 1572, a Lord's day, when the lells rang for morning prayer, an indiscriminate slaughter of all the Pro- testants should commence ; the Popish military sud- denly rushed into the streets of Paris, and murdered every person who was suspected to be a Huguenot ; the king himself from the windows of his palace encouraging his armed bloodhounds, and with his own musket, for amusement, shooting the w retched and defenceless Christians who ; tiempted to escape from this lawless violence. Day after day these ra- vages continued, and were extended through all France, until the Savages themselves were satiated with thestroamsof human blood. Two circumstan- ces strongly develope the peculiar excitement pro- duced by this wondrous persecution. At Rome, and generally among the Papists, a special day ofthanks- givingwas observed for the destruction, it was hoped, of the Protestant cause in France. In England and Scotland the horror excited by this merciless despot- ism was unbounded. Elizabeth the Queen with all CENTURY XVI- 265 her public officers and domestic attendants was ro- bed in the deepest mourninp;; and when the French Ambassador attended to otfer an apology for this unprovoked and lawless murder oi Elizabeth's friends, the palace exhibited the utmost display of gloom ; blackness and silence accompanying him, until the haughty and justly offended Queen uttered the men- ace which frightenetl the Papist tyrant, and express- ed her abhorrence in a style of dignified sensibility that overwhelmed the Ambassador with shame and confusion. Some of the Scotch preachers made it the subject of pulpit discussion, and so intlamed the hearts of the people with hatred to the papacy, that this event tended in a high degree, by the insupera- ble aversions which it excited, to establish the Refor- mation ; Mhile the tenor of the declarations which were uttered by the Scottish Reformers with respect to Charles, the author of the massacre, almost invol- ved the spirit and force of prophecy ; especially in the exactitude with which the denunciations pronounced against this " most Christian King, and eldest son of the Church," were subsequently fulfilled. In the present British dominions also, the rage of Rome was directed against all the witnesses who con- fronted the Beast's supremacy. Henry VIII. was not strictly a religious persecutor; his cruelties were ex- ercised upon the principle, that his authority alone was paramount; and however absurd his exactions, that every person should be forced to obey them. But this partial exculpation of that haughty Despot cannot be applied to Mary ,his Daughter ; she was lit- terally an insatiable leech for the blood of the ser- vants of Jesus. Before her incorrigible bigotry, all that is lovely and dignified was prostrated. Infancy and old age ; persons of the most exalted rank and the meanest son of wretchedness ; of the most pitiable ig- sjorance and the most enlarged illumination, and of both sexes, M'ere grasped as tares, and in bundle9 hurnt. Within the catalogue of modern martyrdom, noth- 2 K 266 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. l.ECTUUE XIV. ing can be discovered more impressive than the last earthly days of the primitive Anglo-Puritans. The defences of the truth which were offered by Bradford, Hooper, Taylor, Philpot, Piidley, Latimer and Cran- mer, rank very high among the noblest ellbrts of chris- tian genius ; in fact the very meanest of those who were doomed to sufTc'r in the papal furnace of fire, upontheirexaminations, triumphantly and with the ut- mostsimplicity, confuted all the learning of their dom- ineering adversaries and tormentors. During Mary's reign, some very peculiar instances of the judgments of God upon the persecutors of his people occurred, which tbrm a very stupendous contrast, when review- ed in connection with the imprisonment and deaths of the heroes of the gospel. Many of the dungeons in which the saints were literally intombed alive, were like the jail at Philippi, the house of God and the gate of heaven; while the palaces of their infuriated judg- es were the abodes of the furies : very few indeed of the prime instigators and executioners of the sentence ofwo upon the Redeemer's disciples, escaped a death marked by the signal inlliction of the divine vengeance and exact retribution. 2. In Scotland, an attempt was made to introduce the Inquisition, or a court invested with similar power ; but Hamilton the President having been executed for high treason, that tribunal of mischief was extirpated. Subsequently however, the Papists having recovered their energy, and the Man of Sin having despatched an inllammatory Bull and commission against the Pro- testants, "great numbers suffered in the flames." But the seed of truth which had been sown was incorrupt- ible, being the pure word of God, which liveth and a- bidetli forever; and it speedily burst forth in all the force and luxuriance of an evergreen, hardy, verdant and healthful ; and having been watered by the dews of heaven, it expanded its foliage and brought forth fruit a hundred fold to the praise and glory of redeem- ing grace. The Scotch Protestants felt as if every 2. Appendix XII. CENTURY XVJ. 267 family had been bereft of an inmate, when George Wis- hart was precipitately consumed in the fire ; and the martyrdom of Waiter Mill inspired a resolute deter- mination which eventually demolished the papal au- thority in Scotland. 3. The situation of Europe, and the activity with which Mary engaged in the destruction of the English Protestants, so engrossed her attention, that she had notleisure, for a long period, to inquire into the state of popery in Ireland. But as Brown, the archbishop of Dublin, persevered in denying the Papal supremacy, and in exterminating the whole mass of mummery within his diocese, Avhich he had commenced during the reign of Henry, and continued with augmented vi- gor while Edward lived ; it was finally resolved to- w^ards the latter end of Mary's bloody career, that a species of the inquisition armed with all possible au- thority should be erected in Dublin ; and for this pur- pose, a furious hell-hound, named Cole, received am- ple powers. Few events recorded in ecclesiastical history, more lucidly develope the impotence of man, and the perpetual interposition of God on behalf of his church in their last extremity, than the subversion of this odious project. The Irish Protestants had been doomed by Mary and her privy Council to total ex- tinction, and wrath to the uttermost was prevented from being effused on them in consequence only of a very singular display of divine Providence. Cole, ■•'flushed with the expectation of success in this_^7on- ous enterprise, travelling to the sea-coast to embark for Dublin, stopped for a short time at Chester. Du- ring his stay, the mayor of that city, not less furious than Cole for the papal dogmas, visited him, and the Commissioner appointed to inquire into all kinds of heresies and schisms, exulted in the most 7iobIe and pious commission with which he was invested, and displaying a leather case, here, said he, "is a com- mission which shall lash the heretics of Ireland." This declaration being made in the hearing of the v/oijiap ?.. Appendix XIU. 268 ECCLESIASTICAL inlSTOKY. LECTUKE XlV- who conducted the business of llie inn, fmin a nun.ber of motives, for she was deeply interested in the \iVo- testant cause, she resolved to seize an opportunty if possible todcfeat Cole's mission and object. After the interview with the mayor had closed, Cole respeeiiu:- ly accompanied him to the door; the mistress of the house secreted the odious commission of evil, and in its stead inclosed a pack of cards. The would-be In- quisitor, without examination, returned his packnge to the trunk, and on the next morning sailed for Ireland. His arrival and object were immediately announced to the Lord Lieutenant; upon which he was invited to a meeting of the council. With all official pomp, he appeared in the chamber of audience, and deliv- ered his credentials to the secretary. The pjuicr was opened, when to the utter astonishment of the sec- retary, he saw^only a pack of common playing cards, with the knave of clubs grinning at him. Cole was chagrined to the lowest depth of contemptible humil- iation, but having recovered from his surprise, lie a- verred that he had received from the queen a genuijie commission, but how it had bren exchanged, it was altogether impossible for him to ascertain. " Yo« must return tor another commission," said the Lord Lieutenant, and with facetious sarcasm added, "we will shuffle the cards in the interim."' Prior to his ob- taining the second commission, Mary was summoned to give an account of the deeds done in the body, at the bar of God, and Cole has remained from that day to the present, an object of ridicule and detestation.'' Upon what trilling contingencies, according to our estimation, often depend the peace of nations and individual prosperity, this fact most lucidly and feel- ingly illustrates ; and wo are impelled to admire the wonder-working arm of Jehovah Jesus, the great head of the church, who thus supremely controuls the mischievous devices of men, and so directs, that all their most sagacious conspiracies to perpeprate evil become nugatory, and their wisest plans to dissem- inate misery and iniquity are rendered abortiv^e. , GE.NTURY x*r. 26.9 //. Internal. It would be altogether impossible to condense in- to any comprehensible form, a narrative of all the secret combinatiors by which the destruction of the Protestant Chiefs was attempted. One instance may suffice ; for they are so similar in their nature and operation, and mark so brilliantly the goodness of God to his church, that every emotion of gratitude must necessarily be excited. The reference is to Luther. From the publication of the sentence, by w^hich the Diet at Worms pronounced him a vaga- bond whom any person might with impunity murder^ his life during nearly 30 years, was the continual oh- ject of secret and open assault. Every method ^\ liich hellish ingenuity could devise was adopted to murder him : poison and assassination in every multiform dis- guise ; artifice and force in every species of marshal- led array ; previous pay, large promises, and perfect absolution for the crime, all were embodied against him ; but impotent were their efforts and useless their "machinations ; for Martin died at Isleben, the place of his nativity, in his own bed, in the triumphs of faith. This is not a solitary instance of a superin- tending Providence in connection with the life of the servants of Jesus. The memoirs of Zuinglius, Calvin, Knox, Cranmer, Brown, and their illustrious com- peers, abound with similar attestations to the cease- less malignity anisecret hostile attempts upon the mortal existence of the luminaries of the Reforma- tion. It was proper to hint at these private minor at- tempts to obstruct the truth as it is in Jesus ; but two schemes were devised and successfully adopted, which under any other circumstances, and prior to the invention of printing, without a miraculous inter- vention of God, must have totally demolished the Reformation. 1. The Council of Trent. — To quiet the clamours of the Protestants, to impede the progress of illumina- tion, and to silence the murmurs of the discontented 270 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XIV. among the Papists, it was determined to convoke a general council of the church ; but as it was sum- moned bj the Pope, regulated by his legate, nnd en- tirely at his controul, the Protestants relbsed to ac- knowledge its authority and purity. At intervals, during twenty five years, this council remained in nominal session ; the pretext, to devise measures for the restoration of the church to its pristine apostolic character ; the design, to defend the Papacy against the Protestants, and to exterminate the glorious Re- formation. The external or the interior history of this famous Council must not be detailed ; for every species of abomination originating in the corruption of man or Satanic temptation, this horde of ferocious voluptuaries stand pre-eminent. This council, as we have already understood, is now the grand and infallible authority among the modern Papists ; and how highly it deserves this un- limited jurisdiction over the consciencesof men, may be understood from its acts and decretals. The council of Trent assembled under the auspi- ces, and was sanctioned by the authority, of Charles V. the Emperor ; and having triumphed over the Protestant Princes, nothing less than the complete overthrow of the Reformation in Germany was anti- cipated. " But there is neither council nor might against the Lord ; his purpose must stand, and he will do all his pleasure :" the /}/a^?(e entered the city, and the Papists dreading this enemy, tied ; and the council was virtually dissolved. After a long inter- val, the council was re-assembled ; and its decisions have solemnly sanctioned the most offensive and de- testable qualities of the Papacy. The more ostensi- ble points of debate between the Protestants and the Papists, and concerning which the former expressed their abhorrence, have been ratified as infallible doctrines of the Gospel; the corruptions of faith, and the ambiguity of the rules concerning practice, were enlarged and multiplied ; the utmost scorn and vitu- peration were expressed against the Reformers and CENTURY XVI. 271 their doctrines ; the latter were pronounced accurs- ed ; and they who believed them were excommuni- cated and anathematized with " bell, book and can- dle." Among the topics particularly, which the coun- cil of Trent have deliberately confirmed, and in the most deceptive form, are the doctrines of purgatory, the invocation of saints, and the worship of images. One other point they have with more candour pro- mulgated, that the scriptures alone are not a suffi- cient rule of faith and practice; and hence, the pres- ent Pope has lately issued his bulls against all those who tacitly admit his supremacy, whose names are recorded in the catalogues of the Bible Societies ; and has quoted the decision of the council of Trent, to sanction his enmity against those who disperse the word of God. But we may rejoice ; his philip- pics are three centuries too late to be effectual ; the gospel of Christ must " have free course, and will run and be glorified." No doubt can be momentarily admitted, that this infamous council constituted a very efficient portion of that rampart which Popery erected against the assaults of the original Reformers, and that it is still the strong hold of" the Man of Sin." 2. The Jesuits. — Ecclesiastical dominion has always been supported by the vafious orders which it has engendered ; and the monastic clans were ever the buttress of the Papacy. From their primary abuse to this period, they have invariably constituted the efficient means by which the Pope maintains his sway and influence. By them, the devotees of superstition are trained and preserved in order. The defection of so many of the different classes of Friars and Nuns, through the operation of the truth proclaimed by the Reformers, with the obloquy which was attached to those sons of corruption, urged another attempt to organize an efficient force to guard the Vatican from demolition. To heal the wounds and to restore en- ergy to the dilapidated hierarchy, was an object of indispensable necessity and of most urgent import- 272 ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTORV. LECTURE XlV. ancc. A Spanish soldier, Ignatius de Loyola, equally illiterate and fanatical ; but bold, ingenious and nct- ive, became the tool of some of the Papal adherents at Rome, and appeared as the author and head of a new society, called after the usual name of tfie Sav- iour of mankind, the order of Jesus, or Jesuits. The progress of this fraternity presents a subject of real astonishment; within a few years, they were agents of darkness throughout the greater portion of the globe; and as their principles were adapted to all people and all circumstances, they speedily en- grossed a sway in the affiiirs of mankind almost incred- ible. They professed but one object, to maintnin and extend the papal authority — they made one vow, *' to go without deliberation or delay, wherever the Pope shall think fit to send them" — and they all act- ed upon one system, to accommodate themselves to the passions, prejudices and habits of those whom they wished to proselyte. As a natural consequence of these combined motives to action, their system in- volved every possible abomination. It would be im- proper to delineate the doctrines upon which they acted — every thing with a Jesuit was metamorphosed upon the broad basis of expediency. Vice and vir- tue, truth and error, religion and idolatry, good and evil, lost their distinctive qualities when broughtwith- in the operation of a Jesuit's legerdemain. By a cease- less activity, these servants of Satan interrupted the progress of the Reformation, and in every subsequent age have been the most inveterate enemies of godli- ness, and the most restless enemies of mankind. Their impudence and vice finally produced their nominal extirpation, but they only passed into a new form, as almost all the Papists of ecclesiastical rank now in ex- istence arc either secretly Jesuits, or avowedly the brethren of St. Sulpicius, which name they assumed to conceal their outrageous enormities. The temper and spirit of these Jesuits might be easily known from the dispositions of the Popes by whom they werefostei'ed. Clement VH. was a man of such perfidious principles. CENTURY XVI. 273 that no person professed to confide in him ; a wretch- ed Judas, who laughed at all idea of honour, or prob- ity or fidelity. Paul III. was a monster familiar with crimes which the house of prayer must not even hear; but we may understand something of his character from the fact, that he nominated two of his illicit children, cardinals of the church, when infants. Ju- lius III. immediately after his elevation to the Pope- dom, transformed an infamous boy who fed his mon- keys, into a cardinal ; and liaving been reproved by the other members of that college, for introducing a creature among them without learning, merit, or vir- tue, he impudently inquired, " what virtue or merit they had found in him, that could induce them to place him, Julius, in the papal chair .'"' The character and spirit and actions and destiny of the Jesuits were delineated with almost prophetic perspicacity, by the Irish Reformer, Brown, a few years only after their pristine appearance. " There *»s a new fraternity of late sprung up, who shall call themselves Jesuits, who will deceive many, after the manner of the scribes and pharisees. Among the Jews they shall strive to abolish the truth, and shall come very near to do it. For they will turn them- selves into several forms; with the heathens a hea- then, with the atheist an atheist, with the Jews a Jew, with the Reformers a Reformer, purposely to know your intentions, your minds, your hearts, and your inclinations, and thereby bring you at last to be like the fool who said in his heart there is no God. These shall spread over the whole world, shall be admitted into the councils of princes, and they never the wiser ; charmingof them, yea, making princes reveal their hearts and the secrets therein, and yet they not perceive it ; which will happen from falling from the law of God, by neglect of fulfdling the law of God, and by winking at their sins : yet in the end, God. to. justify his law, shall suddenly cut off this society, even by the hands of those who have most succour- ed them, and .made use of them ; .so that, at the end, • 2 L 274 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XIV. they shall become odious to all nations : they shall be worse than Jews, having no resting place upon earth, and then shall a Jew have more favour than a Jesuit." This is an accurate portrait, and the anti- cipation has been realized ; but it is not irrelevant to observe, that one of the grand demonstrations of the unchangeable and genuine spirit of Popery is discoverable in the ttict, that after tlie Jesuitical or- der was authoritatively demolished, half a century since, in consequence of abominations which even Romish corruption could not calmly tolerate, Pope Pius, the present usurper of divine prerogatives, has again embodied tliis band of deceivers, for the avowed purpose of sustaining the almost prostrated Hierarchy, and the debilitated " Man of Sin." These constituted the machinations by which the reform of the Church was primarily counteracted. Heresies of various kinds were also invented or re- newed and extensively promulged ; and as they pro- ceeded from the additional freedom imparted to the human mind by the destruction of the adamantine chains with which the human energies had so long been fettered, they were imputed to the Reformation, and furnished a ceaseless subject for Popish stigma and reproach. This will be illustrated as we pro- gressively review the various denominations into which modern christians have been divided. The Reformation is an epocli too remarkable and interesting to be slightly noticed. Combining a most stupendous moral concussion, it excites inquiries res- pecting the eflects of so vast a resolution in mundane affairs. As the ostensible source of all the improve- ments in individual character and in national man- ners, so obvious when contrasted with the ferocity of the ages anterior to the sixteenth century, " the shaking of the nations" produced by the blast of the third angel's trumpet, the glorious events connected with the history of the Reformers, have received much less consideration, and excited much less affection, than from their intrinsic importance they indubitably deserve. CENTURY XVI. 4275 If it be asked, what blessings have followed the Reformation ? the reply is immediate — they may be classified in three general applications. 1. As individuals, the tribes of mankind have been benefited by that splendid event. The degradation and barbarism which are portrayed in the annals of the middle ages, are in a great measure excluded from those countries where the benignity of the christian religion has effused its delights. Gross darkness covered the people ; they verily sat in darkness, and groped in " the valley of the shadow of death;" noth- ing could possibly be more inhuman in principle, fe- rocious in sensibility, and depraved in conduct, than the multitudes who were directed by a Papal man- date, and menaced with a Friars excommunication. Before this tremendous jurisdiction, every energy, both corporeal and mental, vanished into thin air, equally vapid and feeble ; and man became a mere tool, to perpetrate atrocities too monstrous to be de- tailed, and to promulge absurdities too contemptible even for ridicule. Of his right? and duties, he was profoundly ignorant ; all genuine concern for his destiny was absorbed in the sentence of pardon pro- claimed by his Father Confessor ; and as there was no restraint upon crime through fear, iniquity rolled throughout the nations in an unintermitted over- whelming flood. By the Reformation, an impetus was given to all tlie moral machinery of the world ; the immunities with which God has inalienably in- vested the rational creatures whom he has formed, then were developed in all their freshness and value ; and the nations which before had submitted to have the remuneration of their labours unnecessarily filch- ed from them, by the exactions of their spiritual task-masters, now began to learn and to experience the superior advantages of active life, untrammelled by a Jesuit's craft, and not snl)ject to ceaseless rob- bery by the myrmidons of the Inquisition. But it is not solely in the ranks, as a member of civil society, that the blessings of the Reformation arc developed, 276 liCCLESIAS'liCAL HliTOliV. LECILKL X'.V. it is also in the spiritual improvement of men- Who can arrest tlie alternations of the tide ? Who can change the order of tlie celestial orbs in their inces- sant revolutions ? If this surpass the utmost stretch of mortal capacity, how much less impotent is he, \vho would now strive to impede the march of the christian kingdom, to universal extent, and imperish- able intluence ? Freedom has engendered activity, this has fostered improvement, and in religion and morals it has furnished the most splendid evidence of its sway and success. By the accelerating progress of divine truth, men have become more intimately acquainted with Jeho- vah, and with his requisitions upon the human fa'mi- ly. The distinctions between good and evil have become more obvious ; idolatry has bowed before the spirituality of •• pure and undefded religion," like "Dagon fallen upon his face to the ground, before the ark of the Lord" — ])ractical irreligion in all its diver- sified forms, as sanctified by priestly absolution and papal indulgence, has in a great measure subsided — and the grand doctrine, that man is a responsible creature at the bar of God, has been luminously ex- hibited in all its application and force. " The na- tions which sat in darkness have seen the great 'is'"-" 2. Men in their associated nationjl capacities have been wondrously benefited by the Reformation. This is evident to all who understand the history of the Roman empire prior to the discovery of the ty- pographic art. Grandeur in the feudal ages among the Nobles who composed the ten horns of the Beast, ordinarily combined a gorgeous exhibition of un- veiled vice with t!ie iron armour of devotees, always ready to plunge into any w arfare which a papal bull had previously consecrated. Our rapid sketch cannot even enumerate the vari- ous ad^^antages which have attended the resuscita- tion of the Gospel from the sepulchre in which the Dragon and his worshippers had entombed it : but two general effects may be recorded. CENTURY XVI. *27 .' The principles of government among the nation- have been extensively reformed. Centuries ehipscd and the same abominable niogma remained as infalli ble, that the members of the human family should b( transferred with the soil. As one example will elu cidate the operation of the whole, it is needless to multiply instances. William the Norman, claimed a right to the kingdom of England ; his demand was denied and resisted ; he transported an army from France to England, and having been permitted by God to murder the staff of the nation, he forcibly ruled over the people whom he had thus enslaved. One of the conditions stipulated between him. and his principal marauders, was, that the whole land, with all its inhabitants, should be subdivided into districts, according to the proportionate aid wliich each brought to complete this general devastation. Accordingly, the land and its appendages were al- lotted to each Chieftain according to compact, and all the residents upon the soil were also doomed as slaves to toil for their invaders. Human cattle were thus degraded, bought, sold and exchanged, scourg- ed, starved and murdered, during several generations, with nearly the same impunity with which a modern Nabob of Virginia or Carolina or Georgia exchanges or raffles for his Negros, or sells his own children by the pound at the flesh market, or with his hickory staff gradually demolishes mortal existence. These practices were then universally authorized, but that period in Europe has passed away ; the glorious ef- fulgence of the sacred oracles has diffused a lustre with regard to personal privileges, which it may be confidently presumed can never more be obscured. Although some remains of the feudal system still exist, it is demonstrable, that its total destruction is not far distant ; and that to the Reformation, we are chiefly if not altogether indebted for the triumph of liberty over the Gothic despotism of the dark ages. The other social advantage that has resulted from the renovation of Europe, which commenced in "78 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XIV. the sixteenth century, is discernible in the increased industry of the inhabitants, and the consequent mul- tiplication of their comforts. Ignorance of the arts and sciences, and of all mechanical pliilosophy, was universal and apparently incurable ; for all the reign- ing customs and principles of society were prejudi- cial to the melioration and enjoyment of the people. " Could any greater restraint be laid upon industry, or any obstacle more insurmountable be opposed to it, than the idle monastic life, by which a large pro- portion of the most potent and vigorous inhabitants were withdrawn from the activity of useful labour ; Avho also consumed in the utmost prodigality the proceeds of the others' employment ? Wherever the Reformation has been adopted, the superfluous festivals, costly pilgrimages, an,d all those institutions which encouraged indolence, have been abolished ; the activity of the inhabitants has been indefinitely increased ; the impoverishment of the nation by the imputation of indulgences from Rome ceased, and prosperity has attended every species of business." Thus, even in our secular national relations, the change effected by the instrumentality of the primi- tive Reformers, involves all that is dignifying to in- dividuals, prosperous to the community, and bene- ficial to the world. 3. But it is within the boundaries of the church of Christ, that the nobler and more sublime privileges of the Reformation have been developed and en- joyed. At the commencement of the sixteenth cen- tury, " the temporal authorities possessed but a small degree of power in their respective dominions : the highest potentates were subject to the mandates of the clergy, their own inferiors. In general, the ec- clesiastics displayed no obedience to the civil au- thorities ; apd if the princes complied not with their insolent demands, and did not profusely enrich them with magnificence and wealth, every attempt was made to excite rebellion. Religion always furnished them with a pretext for disobedience to the govern- CENTURY XVI. 279 ment, and for their impositions upon the people. Ex- empt from taxes, and payments towards the necessi- ties of (he state, they engrossed, almost in every coun- try, more than one half of the national revenues; and for a King to oppose the hierarchy thus apparently impregnable, was assuming the danger of banishment from his territories, and personal martyrdom, besides the indiscriminate slaughter of all those who adhered to him. But the clergy not only domineered over governments, they also much more odiously usurped jurisdiction over the community. Their commands were irresistible; and through auricular confession, the secrets of all hearts were exposed to their inves- tigation. Examination, or research, or personal in- quiry was not even supposed to be admissible ; and a word or a doubt respecting either of their absurd or corrupt dogmas, invariably insured speedy death, un- less favour could be obtained by a large pecuniary bribe. Under this galling yoke, in this most humili- ating vassalage of body and soul, the Europeans du- ring several centuries had hopelessly groaned until at length they became insensible to their own degra- dation. But finally the merciful Providence of the om- nipotent Jehovah raised up the instruments to exter- minate these impious abominations, and to overthrow this horrible tyranny." The ecclesiastical changes which have flowed from the execrations of the Reformers, three centuries ago, comprise a large circle of advantage to the hu- man family in general, but peculiarly so, to the in- habitants who resided in the domains of " the son of perdition." Devotion in its external forms has been inconceivably purified ; the mummery of the Romish ritual, and the pageantry which absorbed every spir- itual feeling have disappeared, that the more simple worship of the heart might be introduced ; and this is obviously the grand source whence proceed all the refinements of religious character which so luminously distinguish the present from the former ages. How- ever imperfect may be our attainments when accu- 28Q KCCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XlV. rately compared with the extensive requisitions of the di^ ine law, and the impressive exemplary standard of the gospel of Jesus, yet, from the commencement of that period, when crucifixes, statues, pictures, ima- ges, cloisters, abbeys, convents and idolatrous pro- cessions were coimtermanded and destroyed, until this day, notwithstanding all opposition, a constant progress to that perfection of '' fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ," which shall so exquisitely adorn the latter-day glory has been de- monstrated. Of this general spirit, no illustration is more lucid and lovely, than the modern attempts to disseminate the knowledge of evangelical truth, ''from sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth." The influence of popery and of its head has obvi- ously declined. Altho' in numbers, probably tlie pres- ent Pope can form a catalogue of nominal adherents ^ as large as his Predecessor could have framed during the fifteenth century, it must be remembered, that the irresistible power over the people, which the for- mer pretended Vicegerents of God indubitably pos- sessed, has almost entirely disappeared. Neither Governors nor the people regard, obey, or enforce a papal bull; the injunctions are despised, the mena- ces are ridiculed, and the vision of Bunyan's dream is literally fulfilled ; the Pope sits at the entrance of his gloomy and cruel den, grirming at the Pilgrims, as they pass; he can only rail, for he is now too im- potent to seize and destroy. What a vast superiority does this fact alone impart to modern ages ! What a subject of triumph does this involve, that folly is not credited, and duty neglected through the dread of a papal curse ! Printing has laid " the axe to the root of the trees;" and ere long "the ten horns of the beast, shall hate the Mother of abominations of the earth, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Nothing could possibly be more utterly at variance with common sense as well as with religion, than the , CENTURY XV L 281 positions, that every person who does not believe as the Pope prescribes, shall be anathema, and then burnt, the earthly symbol of the transfer to the ever* lasting tire, prepared for the devil arid his angels ; and that, Avith heretics thus condemned, all faith^ every promise, and all covenants may be inlringed/ These doctrines, we know, are still beHeved as in- fallible by those who submit to the decisions of the council of Trent ; and while the Dragon's Beast possessed all his great power and authority, it is not astonishing, that the tiend of persecution exercised his sway without controul. Modern papists acknow- ledge, but they cannot practice their creed. Not- withstanding that a vast variety of irreligious intol- erance has been exercised in different countries since the establishment of the Reformation, yet the diminution of that evil has been gradual ; and it is be- lieved, that an extensive desolation systematically organized, now to extirpate by force the Protestant cause, if it could be commenced, which is dubious, could not be protracted longer than would be requir- ed to transmit the mournful intelligence to the other nations. Torture and death for the sake of a good conscience, in this age have become so abhorrent, that it is hoped the nations have buried this out- rageous fury, the offspring of Babylon, in the tomb of annihilation ; and although eventually it may be resuscitated for a short period according to the pre- diction. Revelation 1 1 : 7 — 11 ; nevertheless, its pres- ent paralyzed condition justifies unfeigned rapture; and urges with overwhelrrting force, ceaseless and devout thanksgiving to Jehovah, for the inestimable immunities which we have derived instrumentally from the Fathers of the reformed church. All the other privileges which have accrued to us in consequence of the contest in which our ancestors in the faith and hope of the Gospel engaged and conquered, are rendered incalculably more valuable by the avenues which it opened for the establish- ment and increase of literature. In this view, we 2M 1^82 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE Xr\'. are taught to admire the mystery of divine Provi- dence, which combines events that, in their primary occurrence, appear to us to have no connection, and yet in subse([uent periods unfold that they were in- dissolubly cemented. Of what utility to mankind comparatively would have been all the literary treas- ures brought by the Greeks into the Roman boui.da- ries, after the capture of Constantinople, had not th6 types so rapidly and so extensively diffused their partial illumination ? and in an ecclesiastical refer- ence, even the discovery of printing would have been of inferior importai.ce to the church and the world, without the rejection of the papal supremacy. The elc juence of Demosthenes and TuUy, the songs of Homer and Virgil, the histories of Herodotus and Xenophon, and Sallust and Caesar, the criticisms of Quinctillian and Longinus, even the morals of Socra- tes, and Plato, and Cicero, and Seneca, and Antoninus "would have been promulged among mankind in vain ; in a fleeting admiration of the genius of the dead, would have evaporated all the benefits which Greece or Rome could have elicited. Revealed truth nlone could remove the darkness of the moral world, dis- sipate the mists of idolatry, and the logs of supersti- tion ; and they wisely judged, that the grand object was to consecrate typography to the multiplication of the Bible in the vernacular language : and it must rot be forgotten, that this resolution involved the most daring rebellion against the Pope''s authority, and the most presumptuous defiance of all his intim- idating menaces. The more enlightened and artful dignified supporters of the antichristian system were perfectly convinced, thru the occlusion of the sacred oracles was indispensable to the permanency of their tremendous jurisdiction. Every species of torment and death \va9 denounced against the owner and reader of the word of God, except certain individu- als, who were permitted to garble it for the nefarious purposes of sanctioning error ; so that the volume of inspiraiion was altogether unknown ; and the publi- CENTURY XVI. {283 cation of it in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, would have aided the holy cause of pure religion in a verj small degree. God hiinself doubtless imbued the original translators of the scriptures with the hallowed de- sire to impart the blessings of revel iti on to all the nations in their own tongues; and this has been in every age the most effectual mode by which Anti- christ has been enfeebled. But it is irrefragable, that as the advantages of printing would have been exceedingly circumscribed without the secession from the papacy, so the progression of truth must have been slow and confined had the propagation of books been limited to manuscripts. The vast increase of learning has been of inde- scribable use to the church in othec respects : con- troversies upon almost every topic successively arose ; and wherever the Protestants had been ena- bled to grasp the key of the closets that contained the writings which had been incarcerated in the si- lence of the monasteries, they dislodged them from their dark and dreary abodes ; and thus embodied scripture, reason and antiquity against the claims of Rome ; while the excitement produced by this in- cessant collision rendered it necessary for the prom- inent warriors in the literary conflict, to arm them- selves with all the panoply which the store-house of learning could furnish. Hence, has succeded the multiplication of Colleges, with all the minor institu- tions by which the reign of dullness has been so suc- cessfully combated, and the supremacy of the Ro- man Pontiff so effectually and generally disregard- ed. But as a reference to modern times is anticipa- tion of our farther review, this enumeration of the vast enjoyments social and moral, which originated in the erection of the standard of the Redeemer's cross, as the rallying point to " all them who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," must be closed. This retrospect enforces one important admoni- tion ; improve your advantages. Remember the toil, the privations, the anxieties, the opposition, the 284 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XIV, dangers, and the deaths with ^vhich the Reformers whom we have commemorated were constantly en- veloped ; and demonstrate your exalted sense of their philanthropy to man, and devotedness to God, by emulating their virtues, and by evincing your high estimate of their labours, in an active and sedulous discharge of all the duties to which your superiority of condition as men, as citizens, and as christians with unmitigable urgency calls you ! Thereby will you prove your title to be numbered in the cata- logue of those august worthies, and exhibit that grat- itude to God which you should ever noiirish, M-hen you contemplate the value of that truth which " hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." So let our lips and lives express The holy gospel we profess., So let our ivorJcs and virtues shine^ To prove the doctrine all divine. Thus shall we best proclaim abroad^ The honours of our Saviour God, While the salvation reigns within, And grace subdues the power of sin. Religion bears our spirits up. While we expect that blessed hope, The bright appearance of the Lord, And faith stands leaning on his word: The GrecJc and Roman hierarchies — the Lutherans^ and the established church of England, during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. & As the civil world, equally with the kingdom of the Redeemer, has assumed a totally different aspect, since the sixteenth century ; so it is necessary to conduct our revi-^w, if Ave would accurately compre- hend the subject, in a totally different form, and to distinguish the modern church, not by periods of time, but by associations of christians. These gene- ral divisions will consequently comprize — the ancient hierarchies, Greek and Roman — the primary secessions from the popedom, the Lutheran, the Episcopal, and the Presbyterian — the anglo-Puritafis and their descendants — the most interesting aiid important theological co7itroversies — the minor denominations — the American churches — the modern union of christians to promulge the gospel of Jesus — and the anticipations of faith, in reference to the scriptural prophecies which are not yet consum- mated. It would be preferable to enumerate the major part of the different sects, as severed by doctrine, discipline and ceremonies ; but as it is impossible to reduce the conflicting materials into masses upon these general topics, we shall endeavour to illustrate the characteristics of the modern believers, in their sectarian origin, distinctions and progress. We have already witnessed the partial triumph, and the legal establishment of the Protestant cause in Germany, the North of Europe and the British dorai:)io..s — therefore from that period our investiga- tions must commence. 286 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV. /. The Greek Church. In modern ages, this large body of nominal Chris- tians may be described in two divisions; those who acknowledge the patriarchal" authority of tlie Bishop of Constantinople; and those who dissenting equally from the Greek and Roman Pontiifs, are directed in their religious doctrines and institutions solely by their own ecclesiastical officers, independent of ex- terior jurisdiction. Of these various devotees of su- perstition, nothing of any interest has been recorded since their subjection to the Turks. They are con- fined in the most servile vassalage to their priests—^ the patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, Alexan- dria and Jerusalem exercise unlimited sway in all those regions to which their jurisdiction extends; and those dignified offices being entirely at the con- trol of the Grand Seignior, it often follows, that they are filled, not by the friends of religion, but by him who can present the largest bribe for the ap- pointment. Two circumstances alone, in the modern history of the Greeks demand notice ; the attempts which were made to unite them with the Papacy, and the overtures which were presented by Melanc- thon to the Constantinopolitan Patriarch for an utnon with the Protestants. Insuperable dificulties howe- ver instantaneously appeared ; the difference in reli- gious sentiment was utterly irreconcilable ; tlie ex- ternal forms and the absurd idolatrous ceremonies of each hierarchy were so dissimilar, that it was im- practicable to amalgamate them ; and the invincible obstinacy of both the parties to their antiquated cus- toms and traditions, proclaimed that every expecta- tion of harmony was delusive. The ignorance and the stupid infatuated prejudices of the Greeks, in favour of the system bequeathed to them by their ancestors, also formed an insurmountable barrier to consociation with the Protestants; in consequence of which, their degradation, bigotry, and darkness continue almost without diminution. Of all the chiefs of the Greek church, one only deserves a distinct CENTURY XVi. 287 itiernorial in this summary ; Cjrillus Lucar "patriarch ot'Contantinople, who was murdered by order of the grand Turk in the year 1638; and as it is generally un- derstood, in consequence of his protestant predilec- tions. Urban VIII. then Pope, undertook the arduous labour to eradicate the deep-rooted antipathy which the Greeks had so long indulged against the Papists. The ingenuity of Jesuitism was never more keenly tested, and the duplicity of its protessors was never more plainly but artfully developed, than in the final endeavour to incorporate the Greeks wilh the Roman anti-christian hierarchy. To conciliate the Eastern friends of Christianity, the Jesuits declared, that no alteration in their Eastern doctrine or ceremonial observances was proposed, because these were of little importance ; and they only wished to demons- trate to the Greeks, that the Constantinopolitan opinions and worship in all essential points were as« similated to the creed and ritual of the Romans. By this manoeuvre, the Jesuits proposed to convince the Eastern adherents of the gospel, that they had been always actually, though not in profession, one with the Papists; and that their only solicitude was to uiitbld the truth in its certain meaning, not to urge upon them the denial of that religion which they had received from their predecessors. This scheme was maintained by a numerous host of the Jesuits ; all of whom, in their innumerable vol- umes, without cessation proclaimed, that the Greeks, Russians, Nestorians, Armenians, and every other mi- nor denomination, of the Eastern descendants from the primitive ages of Messiah's Kingdom, differed from the Pontifical order, only in a few unmeaning ceremonies, and in a small number of unimportant metaphysical terms, by which their phraseology was distinguished. The abomination of this disingenuous and corrupt device, was clearly discerned by Cyrillus, who, from personal acquaintance with the Protestant churches and the Romish hierarchy, was perfectly competent U38 rXCLESlASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XIV. lo decide upon the propriety of their respective claims to unity with the Greeks. Without hesitation ftiidfear, he boldly avowed his aversion from tlie pa- j)al system both in doctrine and devotion: decidedly asserted liis attachment to the Reformed or Calvinis- tic opinions and discipline ; and proposed (o banish lVon» [lis own church, as far as possible, all articles of faith and all ceremonies in worship which were in- compatible with the purity and simplicity of the Gos- pel of Christ. Rome beheld with astonishment and 7iialig'.iity tliis daring assault upon her authority, and this irresistible counteraction of her inHuence and de- signs. An enemy of this dignity, fortitude and power could not be tolerated; accordingly, the Jesuits, un- der the sanction of the French Ambassador, at that period residing in Constantinople, suborned a gang of false witnesses, who accused Cyrillus of high treason against the state, and through the perjury and malice of tlie Jesuits, he was slaughtered. His successor in the patriarchate, who had been the Jesuits tool to destroy Lucar after some time, notwithstanding his partioiity for the papacy, was removed from this world by the arm of tyrannic violence ; and as Par- thenius, the following Patriarch was a decided oppo- nent of the corruptions and ambition of the Popedom, all subsequent attempts, either to exterminate the Bishop of Constantinople appointed by Mohamed's successor, or to combine the discordant hierarchies, which the Jesuits contrived and adopted, have total- ly failed in execution. The exertions of the Protes* tants also, on a subsequent occasion, to form a coali- tion with the Eastern professed disciples of the Re- deemer, were nugatory, in consequence of their pro- found ignorance and bigotry; which fact most im- pressively instructs us, that until tne illumination of Christianity is generally diffused among them no hope of their improvement can rationally be admitted. The late " shaking of the nations" among the Greeks, is a future sul)ject of discussion. CEKTURICS aVI, XVIil. 289 //. Mysterif^ Btthylon the great. After the complete organization of the Jesuits, thej vrere despatched to all the accessible regions of the glt>be, professedly to convert the nations to Christia- nity; but really to extend the Papal jurisdiction, aiui to procure those revenues from a distance, of which, in Europe, tiiroug^h the liefornjation, the hierarchy had been despoiled. ft is unnecessary to review fliese various attempts to extend the pontifical do- minions; tboy were ciiaracterized by every princi- ple, which contradicts the pin-ity, the candour, and the philanthropy of Jesn^;. The researches of mo- dern Christians have verified the fact, that these ef- forts of the Romish cons:regalion for the propagation of the faiih, whether bv Jesuits, Dominicans, Fran- ciscans, Capuchins, Carmelites, Sulpicians, or by those of any other Monkish denomination, have only tended to render the heathens subject to their sway, more artful and mischievous, but not less Pagan. The papal system occupies a vast space on the map of prophecy ; it is indispensable therefore, brief- ly to delineate its modernized condition. 1. The Doctrines. — These have been maintained in all their corruption. Papists of the present day, 1 in nothing differ from their ancestors of the leaden I age : they contend for the autliority of the Pontiff's I decisions as equivalent to tlie demands of divine re- velation: they deny the utility and importance of the sacred oracles : they plead for the perfection of ! human nature; they disregard the necessity of the Holy Spirit's infiiiences : they derogate from the va- lue of the Redeemers work, as the sole Mediator between God and man; they implicitly bow down to the Pope, as visible God on earth ; they have con= trived to render the truth of Christianity doubtful ; :md they combine a fallacy of opinion, and a barba- rism of feeling and action, with a pertinacity, not less than that which they exhibited, who justified the Inquisition in all its horrors. Of this truth, a recent fact is irrefragable evidence. During the fruitless 2 N 290 ECCLESIAJ^TK AL HISTORY. LECTLIie XV. rebellion in Ircliuul, about twenty live years since, the Northern Protestants arrayed tljeniselves in all their force, to procure from the British government, the recognition of their inalienable rights. It speed- ily appeared, however, that the Papists mingled ci- vil and religious questions in their prospects; and ill the ebullitions of triumph arising from primary success, the ostensible chieftains &crnpled not to decl.ire, that the extitiction of the enemies of the church, would naturally follow the exclusion of the English predominance. The descendants of the Covenanters, of course, withdrew from persons who had resolved upon this outrageous close to their at- tempt to recover civic freedom; and the Irish still grovel in penury, and groan beneath military coer- cion. But this result might rationally have been anticipa ted i'v'Kn that wondrous corruption of moral principle, which has been introduced into the boundaries ot the Romish Hierarchy, by the Jesuits. It must not be forgotten, that the present rulers ot the Beast's domains; jare generally of this tribe : " who diminish the guilt of transgression, disguise the deformity of vice, loosen the reins to all the passions, nourish corruption by their dissolute precepts, and render the way to heaven, as easy, as agreeable, and as smooth as possible.'" " It necessarily follows, that the practice of the clero;yand people could not be amended, while they admitted tliese defding tenets ; and the annals of the papal rei^ions testify, that in every nation where po- pery has hitfierto predouiinated, and where it still rules without control ; the utmost debasement of cha- racter ise\!iibited withoui remorse, and that nothing can meliorate tlif ir degraded condition, but the light of eva'.gelical truth, and the individualized applica- tion of tlie gospel of Jesus. 2. Th" Controvf.nirs. — The most famous, extensive and pcrinanent disputation, originated in the doc- trines and morals of the Jesuits. So abhorrent was CENTCKJf.S XVI. XVII[. 29 I {he coiiiiptiori of both, ^vliich the disciples of Loyola introduced; that dccoiit persons oftlie Romish com- munion could not admit the boundless depravation of theoretic truth atid practical decorum, which these vile debauchees affirmed and promulged. A second controvcrsj' arose respecting the nature and necessity of divine grace, in which the Domini- cans and Jansenists defended the doctrines of Augus- tin, and the Jesuits supported the old Pelagian opin- ions : this contest agitated France and Spain partic- ularly, during more than a century ; and was finally ended, partly by the tergiversation and sublilty of the Pontes, and by tiio isitervcnlioEi of force, accom- panied with persecution against the Jansenists in every varied form. It is unnecessary to repres'ent the intestine discord which has continually raged among the adherents of the Hierarchy in an augmenting ratio since the peri- od of the Reformation : — the consequences of these collisions are of more importance. The influence of the system has been wonderfully impaired, and the temporal authority of the Pope is merely " the shadow of a shade"; still it is undeniable, that the heterodoxy of doctrine, debasement of morals, and superstitions of worship, are diminished in a very small degree in those countries from which the en- trance of the Protestant or Reformed principles was originally excluded. To this may be subjoined the fact, that the lives. of the Popish clergy, in tlje do- minions of the Man of Sin. are not by any means purer than in the dark ages ; but rather, that tlie Priests are intidel E|)icureans. 3. Opposition to tite Proieskmts. — This is tlie most interesting portion of the Popish history, since the actual and aiitboritative settlement of the Reforma- tion in the dilTerenc nation^ in which it was intro- duced. As to the pretended attempts to propagate the Christian faith among the heathen, they have been attended witli bttle success, and with no melio- ration of the professed converts ; they are conse- quently altogether unworthy of review. 292 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV. '• Rome, long accustomed to dominion, and bloated with insolence, contrived pchemes, engtiged in cabals, excited commo[ions,\vit}i uninterrupted and mischiev- ous industry, to oppress tiie Protestants, atid to ex- tinguish the light ol'tlie ghjrious Rel'orniation. The resources of genius, the lorce oiarms, the seductions of promises, the terrors of the most formidable men- aces, the subtilty of disputation, the iniluence of fraud, and the arts of dissimulation ; in short, all possible means, open and concealed, honest aiid disingenuous, "vvcre employed lor the destruction of the Protestant and Reformed churches." In the Austrian dominions, commenced the oppres- sions and persecutions of tije seceders froin the Popedom. The most sacred obligations and treaties were violated ; while in Bohemia particularly, a res- olute military resistance was organized, which was displayed in the election of a Protestant king, and the rejection of the Austrian authority : — but this event which, if it had proved successful, would liave been almost tantamount to the demolition of the Papacy, was, by a mysterious Providence, rendered abortive. James, king of England, refused to aid the new monarch, although Frederick haoiis!jed ; but the antichristian errors I f ../aii!;-d . hei.ce Lufh.r jocosely reniarked, that ^:e'.^^y kilhd the Pope's ])ody his supremacy, but ■. ^ rv^-d .'is soul the fdse dccirines." During >.d's reign ; (he p'.i.h.bi*io;« agaiist the marriage iests was aiiijulied ; masses were forbidden; CENTURIES XTI. XV III. ilO I !',o communion in both kinds was administered ; the popish altars were removed ; the images were ex{)cl!ed tVom the churches; the Scriptures and the forms of prayer, with the Avhole service of the liturgy were pubhcly read in the English language ; contin- ual amendments were introduced into the whole ec- clesiastical polity, and the progress of the Reforma- tion was unceasing and irresistible. "'■ One sinner destroyeth m\ich good." Edward hav- ing been translated to Paradise, his sister, appropri- ately called, Bloochj Mary^ reversed all the legal c- naciments : repealed all the evangelical ordinances : displaced all the married ministers of the gospel ; restored tlie whole mass of superstitious ceremonies ; re-established the papal authority in all its terrific majesty ; and eventually promulged the great excom- munication against all those who possessed the lands of the Monks and Nuns and Friars, provided they were not surrendered without delay to their former occupants; thus resuscitating the iniquity which had been entombed. The consequences of this latter measure, had it been carried into efTect, no person can divine : as a large portion of the confiscated domains had been so transferred, that it would have involved the kingdom in one genei'al commotion and confusion. She died, prior to the adoption of the measures necessary to accomplish her design ; and the elevation of Elizabeth to the throne, dissipated all the schemes and expectations of " the unclean spirit, who like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet." Although these vicissitudes appear to us most stupendous, yet the then existing system admitted of such changes with the utmost facility. The distinc- tion between Protestantism and Popery was then scarcely discernible : for the unenlightened multi- tudes had never seen the Bible ; they perceived no- thing, but the identical buildings called churches, with the same men arrayed in theirgorgeous drapery,- 302 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV. they heard the same prayers mumbled over in their usual order ; and their ignorant capacities were too obtuse to comprehend discrepancies without a diffe- rence. Except the comparatively few ecclesiastical dignitaries, the mass of the clergy and laity were impelled solely by the arbitrary mandate of a tyrant armed with the means of irresistible coercion. Many persons commenced infuriated Papists with Henry; became Semi-Protestants in accordance with his op- position to the Pope ; were almost reformed Puritans under Edward ; exhibited the highest features of Dominican malevolence while Mary swayed : aud under Elizabeth, lived and died staunch Episcopa- lians of the established church of England. This marvellous and mysterious masquerading can only be satisfactorily unravelled, by the recollection, that the characteristics of both systems as then exhi- bited and felt , were immensely different from their influence and operation at the present era ; and that self-interest was almost universally the sole spring of action. Elizabeth discovering that the predominance of the Protestant religion was indispensable to her per- sonal safety, and the security of her throne ; at length directed, that all ecclesiastical affairs should be re- appointed as in the. reign of Edward. But the Queen was a Semi-Papist in her principles and prac- tice ; for she long retained tlie most senseless and infantile appendage of the Romish idolatry, the crucifix with the liglited tapers pereiniially burn- ing before it : she affected to be vehemently incen- sed against all the married preachers of tfie gospel; she would never hear any sermons, but during the popish season of Lenf. , and in short preserved, as far as it was possible for her to perpetuate the resem- blance, all the exterior pomp, and superstitious appa- ratus of the Apostate hierarchy : the same authority, and the same diocesan episcopacy which the Roman pontiff had ordained, was scrupulously retained, and have been as invidiously and pertinaciously prolong- ed even until this generation. CKNTURIES XVI. XV 111. 1503 Among the abominable measures which this she Pope enacted, for Elizabeth was not less tyrannical in England, than Hildebrand at Rome, the ad of mn^ forinity is pre-eminent : by the operation of this law, every person whether of the clergy or laity was obli ged to conform to her requisitions in doctrine or wor- ship, or was exposed to the imputation of heresy, with the assurance of this termagant's displea- sure. By her directions, the censures of the Pope in the liturgy were erased, and the corporal presence of Christ in the bread was tacitly admitted ; the va- rious sacerdotal vestments, the marks of the Beast were prescribed ; the several orders of the clergy were established : the cathedral services, fasts, fes- tivals, the sign of the cross in baptism ; the reading of the apocrypha; the divine right of the Bishops; with a vast catalogue of the Romish trumpery were all incorporated in the national church as essential to her existence. These however were opposed by' the Reformers without effect. The men who were designated as Puritans, had migrated from England to Germany speedily after Edward's death ; and these imbibed an unconquera- ble'prediliction for the purer and more simple forms of worship, adopted in Switzerland and at Geneva. After Elizabetli's accession to the government, they returned to England, trusting that they should enjoy peace and liberty of conscience as a remuneration for their sufferings ; but the Queen's haughty temper and Popish attachments disappointed their anticipa- tions. The first source of discord was the papal garments; these the Puritans wisely judged ought lobe banished, as they were always associated with the remembrances of popery, and served to prolonjr its controul over the ignorant multitude, who were more easily deluded by sensible magnificence, then af- fected by spiritual truth. As the continuance of con- troversy mvariably amplifies its original boundaries, so these dispulers were speedily involved in contentions upon a more important subject, the mode of church !30d ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LlXTUIlE XV government ; and as this has been the barrier be- tvveen the modern episcopahans and ahno.st ;>li tlie other existing denominations ; it is necessary lu de- velope jM-ecisely the topics of altercatioi , The first English Relbrmers contended, diat only two ollices existed in the church by Christ's ap- j)oinl[nent ; that of Bishop or Presbyter, for the "vvords are syrionymous in the New Testament, and that of Deacon. But since Bancroft propagated his fallacy, that the Bishops in England are an order superior to priests, jure divino, by di\inc right ; the Eiighsh Episcopal church has denied the validily of the ordinations of all other preachers, except the Papists; thus exhibiting a novelty on earth; a church excommunicated by the Pope from whom they pro- fess to derive tfieir authority, and for whose speedy destruction they constantly pray ; and at the same time, declaring that all who unite with them in re- jecting the papal sway, and the anti-christian abom- inations of Rome, have no part in the covenant of mercy ; and if it were possible to exceed this almost incredible absurdity, it is Ibund in the fact, that, neither the Episcopalians in Scotland and Ireland, nor those in the United States, are recognized by the E iglish hierarchy as true sons of the Church ; none of them being legally admitted into an English pul- pit or bcnelices, wilhout re ordination by a Prelate who boasts of his regular descent from Pope Joan. The Episcopalians under Eliz^^ibetli contended, that the removal of corruption and the extermination of error from t!ie churc^h was the prerogative of the governing civil magistrate — this principle the Puri- tans ilatly denied; and affirmed that it was the sole duty of the olficers and members of the church to ef- fect the necessary reformation. This was interpreted, to imply a want of allegiance to the tyrannic Queen's supremacy. Elizabeth's commissioners afllirmed that in all questions of theology, respecting doctrine and dis- pliue, not' only the scriptures, but the wrxtings CENTURIES XVI. XVllI. 395 t)f the Fathers of the primitive ages ought to be ad- duced as oracular . In reply, the Puritans declared ; that the sacred orac'es are the only standard of truth, and the sole directory of worship : and that neither anc'ent institutions nor hiiraaji writings however val- iiable, except as evidences of facts, are of any autho- rity, upon subjects vvhich the word of God alone can decide. 'This was stigmatized as rebellion against the divinely appointed rulers of the church. These pretended successors of Peter asserted, that the Romish liieriirchy was a true church; that the Pontiff of the Vatican was a lawful and veritable Bishop ; and that the persons ordained by him were duly authorized Pastors of the church. This posi- tion was evidently necessary to justify their semi- blasphemous titles — yoyr Grace, most reverend and n'vht reverend Lord and Father in God. and also to se- cure their terrestrial dignities and princeli/ revenues and power: thus deriving their honour and emoluments, by uninterrupted succession from " the Prmce of the Apostles." Qn the contrary, the Puritans reproached the apostate system, as a mere political contrivance of spiritual despotism, altogether alien from the gos- pel ; the head of it as " Antichrist and the Man of Sin;" its destructive doctrines and discipline as idol- atrous, and diametrically opposed to " pure and un- defiled religion ;" and consequently, they discarded all communion with it, and considered all similarity to it in theory or practice, as dangerous, and a fla- grant departure from genuine Christianity. The episcopal controvertists alleged, that the form of church government established by Constantine and his successors was more perfect than that which had been instituted by our Lord and his Apostles — the Puritans repelled the unholy insinuation ; and main- tained, that every necessary ecclesiastical rule was revealed in the New Testament the only standard of order, discipline and devotion. Elizabeth's sub-tyrants proclaimed, that things in themselves indifferent, which are neither enjoined 2 P 306 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV. nor prohibited in scripture ; particularly external ceremonies of vvQrsliip, the robes of the ministers, forms of prayer, rehgious festivals, with other simi- 'lar ii)Stitutes. mis^ht be authoritatively enacted by the civil magistrate; and that disobedience to such regulations was an act of rebellion against the state. In reply to this position, the Puritans retorted, that it was an ir.de<;ent usurpation to impose as mdispen- sable, that which the Redeemer had revealed, and which the llierarchs themselves admitted to be indif- ferent ; and especially that those rites and ceremonies which had already been incorporated with an idola- trous system, and tlie use of which revived and per- petuated superstitious impressions, instead of be- ing estimated as indifferent, should be discarded as anti-evangelical and impious. This was pronoun- ced contempt for the regal and episcopal jurisdiction. To enforce uniformity and obedience to tliese claims, a court was established called the high com- mi>si">n ; armed with spite and myrmidons, to subdue the 'Conscientious and refractory Puritan. They wer;' authorized to extort answers to every inquiry whioh they propounded, by the rack, or any other torture or impriso!jment — their sentence was perfect- ly arbitrary ; ajul they exhibited in the audacity ot their impositions, as articles ot Jaith, and in their refin-rments of cruelty, ail the iniquitous barbarity and appalling torments of a consummate Dominican Inquisition. One circumstance connected with this subject, stamps the ecclesiastical governors of that period with indelible infamy ; that the Puritans whom they robbed, starved, scourged, mercilessly afilicied, imprisoned, eyiled, hanged or burnt, most sincerely b'*!ievpd all Ihe articles of christian faith, publicly est'^blished and promuiged, as the theologi- cal cn^jd of the Kiiglish nation. Hence at th ■ period of Elizabs^th's dea'h, the people were sciircelv more reformed from Popery, than when Mary assumed ihW government. CENTURIES XVI. XV11(. * 307 The doctrines of the established church of England are decidedly calvinistic ; and no persons of contrary opinions were admitted to ofiiciate as Ministers among them, until the latter end of James' reign.— This monarch, it had been hoped, would moderate the arrogance of the episcopal claims, and aflbrd peace to the persecuted Puritans. A few years prior to the death of Elizabeth, he publicly declared that " the English liturgy was an evil said mass ; wanting nothing but the elevation of the host," and having charged all the Scotch to stand sledtast in the pres- byterian faith, he added, '• as long as I brook my life 1 shall do the same." But immediately after he was established king of England, his popish predi- lections were developed ; his motto was, " no bishop, no king ;" and a resolute design to introduce popery was evinced. Every measure which the ecclesiasti- cal usurpers supposed was accommodated to counte- ract the Puritans was adopted: the Calvinistic doc- trines were denied — high-toned arminianism was substituted — the objectors to the antichristian cha- racteristics of the estabhshed church were persecu- ted in every possible form — treaties with the Popish princes were ratified for the most abhorrent objects, the overthrow of civil and religious freedom; and as if the royal and episcopal governments had resolved to secure the effusion of divine w rath upon themselves and the nation, they issued " //<« book of sports •'' by which all persons were commanded " immediately after public worship on the Lord's day, to engage in ^''Sports and pastimes^ revelling and drinking,'''' to verify that they were not Puritans. Charles I. proceeded upon his father's system, and sedulously endeavoured to extend the royal preroga- tive above all law ; to subject every person to the episcopacy ; and to restore the national church as nearly as possible, to the exterior appearance stomp- ed upon it by the Dragon's Beast. To accomplish these objects -, he attempted to introduce the episco-^ pal hierarchy into Scotland by military force ; thr^ 308 ECCLKblASTICAL HIST©RV. LECTURE XV. Puritans were disgraced with every species of pcrsor iial indignity, and tormented by every kind of sutier- ing ; and the most larcical portions of all tlie ceremo- nial buflfoonery practiced at Rome, were publicly em- bodied in the legalized ritual by Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. These outrageous proceedings, in connection with the attempt to exterminate the Refor- mation in Ireland in 1641, by the butchery of the Protestants; which was sanctioned if not absolutely commanded by Charles ; and during which slaughter, it is supposed not less than 100,000 Protestants were massacred in the most inhuman and execrable forms ; eventually excited resistance in arms. After a civil contest, which continued with prodigious fury during several years, which desolated the kingdom througli all its departments, and in which. Laud and his prin- cipal coadjutors were executed under the forms of law, or died in battle ; Charles himself was beheaded ; and a military government controled the affairs of the nation. To evince the necessity of this change, however deplorable were the means by which it was effected ; it is not superfluous to state, that Laud and his inferior ^geiils. promulged that the Pope is not Antichrist — in the church of Rome is no hazard of damnation — no idolatry exists in that church. Crucifixes, altars and images were erected in the houses of devotion, and adored; the invocation of saints was pronounced lawful; (lie seven Sacraments and all tlip orders of popish minis- ters were declared seriptuial; extreme unction was affirmed lo be laudable ; purgatory was maintained ; the corporal presence of Christ in the wafer was de- fended : the superstitious celebration of festivals was asserted; the most licentious abuse and profanation of the Lord's day was regularly inculcated by the Ministers, enjoined by law, and practiced by the episcopal royalists, under severe penalties; sermo- nizing was contemned as uimecessary ; and the Li(- tirgy which Charles and Laud endeavoured to impose upon the Scotch nation was filled with the venom of CENTURIES XVI. XV 11 1. 3Qd popery. The temporary demolition of the regal and episcopal supremacy exterminated the poison.— During Cromwell's protectorate, the puritans in- creased in numbers, opulence, learning, and inliu- ence ; and firmly laid the corner stone of that templf of freedom in Britain, which no subsequent machina- tions of despotism have been sufficiently powerful to subvert and raze : and it must also now be admitted, that ihe revolution of affairs which occurred from the death of Charles I. to the inauguration of his son, was indubitably necessary to deliver the nation from papal gloom, and the debasing fetters of an absolute monarchy. Charles ir. was established upon the throne of his ancestors; and one of his first laws was an " act of uniformity," enforcing upon all ministers, to sub- scribe " to all and every thing contained in the book ofcomm©n prayer;" declaring the ordination of all ihe Puritans null and void ; and requiring them to submit to be re-ordained by the bishops. This out- rageous "violation of all laws, human and divine," ejected 2000 of the most pious, enlightened, and laborious preachers from the national church ; who suffered every species of contumelious injury and deprivation for their adhesion to the principles of the gospel of Christ. To avoid the suspicion of Puritan- ism and Non-conformity, the religious principles and devotions of their friends were caricatured in the theatre, and ridiculed in the church ; and the Court and Clergy, with their adherents then first denomina- ted Tories, to avoid the charge of hypocrisy, exhibited the utmost debauchery of manners, and a heterodoxy of sentiments which can scarcely be classified. With few exceptions, it was a sceptical indilference on poi'its of christi;: '^ doctrine; wliile the standard of morals was little superior to that which Cicero had pvoi:inlo-«^rl. The retrogression to the Romish aposta- sy s". vs :,':raducd ind had J:imes been equally artful as Cr '"K .V it might have succeeded ; but the Lord graci- OMsly permitted " Judas t© display his cloven foot." 310 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV before the national hierarchy had imbibed a sufficient attachment for his Satanic majesty, voluntarily to sub- mit to his jurisdiction. James, after a short reign, abandoned the government to William of Holland, who had married his daughter, a decided reformed Protestant. Since that period, the established church of England has preserved much similarity of character; which was never more accurately deli- neated, than by the famous Lord Chatham ; " JVe have a Calvinistic erectly a popish liturgy^ and cm Arminian cler- gy.'''* At present, however, the condition of the Brit- ish episcopalians is meliorating; their doctrines from the pulpit are becoming more consistent with their thirty nine articles, and a higher strain of evangelical unction is commingling witli their expositions of the gospel ; the number of faithful zealous ministers rapidly augments, who combine a liberality of senti- ment, and an urbanity of intercourse with the des- cendants of the Puritans, uisknown to former gene- rations ; that Laodicean lukewarmness which had overspread the whole estabhshment during more* than a century, is gradually disappearing ; and the freshness and vigour of active exertion to promote and extend the spiritual kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, begin to unfold themselves in a copious eniission of the terrestrial fruits of righteous- ness, with the verdant foliage and enchanting blos- «oms of a blissful immortality. The reformed churches of Switzerland— Geneva — France — the Yandois — Bohemia — Poland — the^etherlcmds — - and the established church of Scotland^ from the Refor- mation to the commencement of the nineteenth century. It has already been recorded, that among the dis- senters from the Romish hierarchy, "who appeared at the commencement of the sixteenth century, an important division in sentiment existed upon three general topics : the nature of Christ's presence in the Sacrament of the Supper ; the external forms of de- votion ; and the mode of church-government. The doctrine and practice of Luther and his disciples on these subjects, constituted an insurmountable barrier to general union, and hence arose the various bod- ies, although not equally restricted, accurately de- nominated Presbyterian. ^^hen the scattered adversaries of the Pope com- menced their spiritual warfare ; they were in a great degree ignorant of tlie subjects which afterwards excited such violent controversies among them; and it is probable, that they were principally interested in one point only, their secession from the aposlacy ; for however widely they subsequently differed ; in their invincible antipathy to the Man of Sin and his antichristian abominations, they all were unanimous. But w^hen the success of their primary opposition per- mitted them to review all the diversified traditions which the gospel condemned ; an inquiry arose res- pecting the extent to which reform should be limited. The Lutherans and English episcopalians, from a variety of causes which have been narrated, were arrested in the work of renovation ; but the churches 31 2 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XVI. generally designated as reformed, not being obstruc- ted by the same impediments, enlarged their vievs and piirilication ; with an inflexible resolution if practicable, to assimilate the modern church to the primitive apostolic exemplar. This august system was originally adopted by Zuingle in Switzerland, who decidedly and equally opposed the transubstantiating absurdities of Home, and Luther's not less preposterous consubstantiation. He was also determinately averse from all the cere- monial insignificant apendages to devotion, which the Roman Pontiffs had successively consecrated; im- ages, altars, wax-tapers, exorcism, and auricular confession; and the whole episcopacy was virtually abrogated by the tendency of his doctrines. Calvin, (piickly after the death of Zuingle, removed to Ge- neva ; and extended the theory of the *Swiss reformer, until it assumed nearly the same conformation which it still displays; the spiritual character of the Lord's supper, the total exclusion of every attempt to im- press divine truth by the medium of the senses alone, and the perfect equality of all the Ministers of the gospel. To these points was superadded the insti- tution of presbyteries and synods, to whom was con- fided a high degree of legislative and judicial autho- rity in the government of the church. In minor doctrinal principles, in some forms of worship, and in unimportant ecclesiastical regula- tions, tlie churches, enumerated as reformed, varied ; but in every essential characteristic they were uni- form ; and notwithstanding they recognize dilTerent authorities as standards ; the French, Genevan, Hel- vetic and Bohemian confessions, the articles of the Synod of Dort, and the Westminster Assembly's Con- iession of Faith, may be easily admitted by all those who receive Calvin's Institutes, as a correct explica- tion of evangelical truth. Consistory and session, classis and presbytery, synod and assembly, are merely divers appellations for the same bodies, who e,Yercise similar powers in their churches, with one CENTURIES XVI. XVIIl. 313 ^list'mction only; the Scotch Presbyterian hierarchy and their descendants claim a more unhmited juris- diction over their congregations, than that which the others assume. This usurpation arising proba- bly, from the supremacy which the civil law allotted to them, and their total exemption from persecution, since William's accession to the throne of Britain. 1. Switzerland. — The churches whicli were primarily collected, in consequence of the labours of Zuingle and others in the Swiss cantons, have retained much of their original character; anfj amid all the com- motions of three centuries, have evinced a great degree of stedfastness and purity. At present, they rank among the most efficient and active propagators of the sacred oracles on the European continent. One remarkable proof of their christian principles is evin- ced by ihe fact; that although from the period of the reformation, they have been divided into Refor- med Lutherans and Papists; yGt after the first colli- sion subsided, they have all remained " at peace -among themselves ;" thereby demonstrating, that the love of civil liberty extirpates the spirit of religious persecution ; that even their ancient popery was of the mildest form; and that their modern attachment to the truth has not exterminated their evangelical piiilanthropy. 2. Geneva. — The church of Geneva and the theo- logical college which Calvin established in that city, long maintained an undisputed pre-eminence : but af- ter the lapse of a century, it began to decline ; and latterly has been the temple of error. A departure from christian truth, approximating open inhdelity, during a series of years, has been the avowed char- acter of those w^ho teach where Calvin lectured, and who read heresy w^here that mighty reformer en- forced the gospel ; so that even at this period, it may be said in the bewailing language of the tearful Jere- miah, " how is the gold become dim, how is the iiiosl fine gold changed ! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street." 2Q 314 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. LECTURE XVL 3. France. The history of the Hiigiipnols in Franco has been almost narrated in the review of their tortures. . From the revocation of the edict of Nantz, the reform of religion in thai nation has been virtually cruslied. Those who reniained in theii' na- tive country were preserved from total extinction merely by their obsc^urity. Alter the revohilion in 17B9,they began to appear in public, and duringthat tempestuous season were exempt from an tions, except as they have appeared in their modern Moravian descendants. 6. Poland. — In Poland, the light of the Reformation early diffused its lustre ; but its glory was soon tar- nished by the propagation of innumerable errors, respecting the character, offices, and work of the Me- diator ; and the eclipse gradually extending its gloom, the influence of the truth was of minor efficacy. The late commotions and disunion of that unhappy nation, will probably be in some measure beneficial ; as they have transferred a large portion of its territories to a Protestant Prince ; and the present generation view with an extremely abhorrent countenance, all at- tempts at religious coercions. Peacefully to permit the adversaries of the Romish hierarchy to worship God, and to promulge the glorious gospel in the ver- nacular languages, will most effectually demolish ♦' that great city, which ruleth over the kings of the earth." 7. The JVetherlands. — The blessings of the gospel were diffused among the inhabitants of the Nether- lands, not long after the secession of Henry VIII. from the .Popedom. Charles V. engrossed by the tumul- tuous concerns of his wide-spread dominions, very slightly interfered in the religious changes of the Bel- gic provinces. But his son, Philip, discerning the spirit of liberty and independence which the low 318 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTSRV. LECTURE XVr. Dutch had imbibed through their liberation from pa- pai vassalage, resolved to destroy v by the most vio- lent oppression. By his com-T>and, ihe iiiqiii^^ition was erected, armed with the most extensivelv tre- mendous authority, and denouncing unlimited \en- gence agr.inst all the reformed. Cruelt)' and an- guish at last exasperated all orders of the community : the nobles associated to obtain by force the rep.e :1 of the tyrannical and merciless decrees u hich Ifiihp had issued against them,"aiid the unequivocnl resto- ration of their religious rights and liberty; while the ungovernable and irritated multitudes proceeded in a more summary manner to obtain r( dress. 1 liey razed the monasteries, burnt t!je images which were placed in the churches, and having emitted iheir r,;(yo against the oihcers of the inqnisitiois expelled them from the country. Philip transported a large nimy from Spain, to reduce the revolted provinc^t^s to the most debasing subordination. His general, the Uuke of Alva, commenced his sanguinary career, by an in- discriminate slaughter of r:\ll those who were opposed to the Pope ; 18930 of the rel'ormed were hanged by the common executioner, during his commnnd. The conflict was finally terminated in the triumph of the seven northern united Belgic provinces, nnd the Genevan system became the established religion ; wii!i a universal toleration of nil who obeyed (he goveniment, and who disturbed not the public tran- quil'ity. From that period, the internnl history of the Dutch churches comprises no importa t circumstance, ex- cept the eveiits connected with the .'"ynod of Dorts. The controversy which eventually agitated the uni- ted provinces, and which so deeply i'lterested all die European reformed churches, origiiiated with Ar- minius, at that period, in the year 1590. and subse- quently, theological professor at Leyden. Ha\ ing imbibed sentiments at great vnrinnce with the Cal- vinistic doctrines respecting the nature and subjects of divine predestination; the extent of the Redeem- CENTURIES XVI. XVIII. 3l9 er's atonement; the elficacy of saving grace, and the perseverance of the saints ; he resolved to pub- lish his newly adopted theory. Those who adhered to tlie ancient fidth of the reformed Dutch church, resisted the atteinpt to disseminate these opiiiions; the contest extended its rage, until all the provinces were enveloped in the combustion. During this pe- riod. Arminius died ; but the contention was prolong- ed by his disciples, who, perceiving their exposure to persecution, as a consequence of their departure ironi the national fiith, presented a remonstrance to tlie states, imploriug toleration. This, with other cir- cumstances, entwined national politics with the ec- clesiastical discord. i\I;*urice, the stadtholder of Holland, widely differed from some of the most influ- ential men in the republic; among these, were Gro- tius and Barnevedt, who were united with the Armin- ians : nevertheless, he endeavoured to promote for- bearance and concord among the disputatious eccle- siastics, and refused to inflict any penalties upon the Remonstrants, as they were then denominated al- though a formal toleration was denied. Several con- ferences were held, and other pacific measures to recoltcile or quiet the restless theologians, were in vain adopted ; until the States General, dreading the political consequences of this infernal fury, assented to the request of the Calvinists, and convoked a na- tional Syi'od. at Dort, in I6l8; in which assembly, were present deputies from the Belgic provinces, England. Switzerland, Hesse, Bremen, and the Pala- tinate. Episcopius, at that period, profiessor of divi- nity at Leyden, a man of profound learn-ng and great capacity, appeared to defend the Arminiaiis,and com- menced the synodical proceedings by an ingenious, tempere^te, and elocj^ueot address. All the objects for which the synod convened, wee immediately after excluded; it had been previously decided, that the Remonstrants should open the conference, by evinc- ing the truth of the Arminian doctrines from rea- son and scripture. Thii mode they rejected, and .^l1() ecclesiastical HLSTORY. LKCTURE XVf. proposed to refute the Calvinistic system prior to the establisment of their own articles of faith: this order of proceeding was refused by the sjnoth upon the general principle, that in all controversies, the disputant is obliged to demonstrate the rectitude of his own sentiments, before he can confute the opinions of those who dissent from him. As the .Synod were immovable in adhering to the order which had been antecedently prescribed, and the Arminians were unalterably determined not to comply with the ar- langement ; after every expedient had been tried in vain, to induce them to exhibit and defend their own sentiments, as it was impossible for the Synod to proceed in the duties which they were enjoined to fulfil ; the Remonstrants were expelled from the Sy- nod ; and their writings being ai'terwards examined, they were declared " guilty of pestilential errors, and condemned as corrupters of the true religion." Religious persecution is ever identical. In conse- quence of this decision of the Synod, the Arminians were excommunicated, as " enem'cs of their country and of its established religion ;" and all the evil ef- fects of intolerance, supported by the civil magis- trate, ensued. From every office of honour and emolument, they were ejected ; their ministers were precluded from preaching ; and all their congrega- tions were destroyed^ To these enactments, obedi- ence was peremptorily, and without doubt conscien- tiously refused ; but resistance to this ungodly man- date only augmented their vexations ; as ignominy, fines, imprisonment and expulsion, w^ere successively their allotment. To escape from these otherwise unavoidable miseries, many of the Arminians migrat- ed into the neighbouring states, and especially into Holstein : but after a few years had elapsed, Fred- eric, the successor of Maurice, annulled the sentence of banishment ; invited the exiles to return to Hol- land ; re-established them in their former peace, honour and enjoyments ; and guaranteed their secu* rity by an unrestricted toleration. CENTURIES XVI. XVllI. 321 The Arminians of that period excited just aversion: they proposed to enlarge the boundaries of the church so as to include all those who simply assent- ed to tlie trutii of the Holy Scriptures ; and it is in- disputable, that many of them were almost Socinians juid Pelagians. After their toleration, the remon- strants appaiently declined, as many ecclesiastics of the established church coalesced with them in o- pinion ; while, in fact, their doctrines and spirit were rapidly, allliouoh secretly extending their influence. From the middle of the seventeenth century to the present era, the Reformed Protestants in Holland furnish no interesting annals ; they have preserved an uniformity of exterior features ; but an insipid iormaiily of devotion, a lukewarm lifeless unconcern for vital godliness, and an indifference to evangelical truth, have generally pervaded their congregations. Tliis aberration of theological sentiment is the more remarkable in the Hollanders, on account of their proverbial identity and adhesion to antiquated prhiciples and forms; and the solution of the mys- tery can be derived solely from the fact; that a defec- tion in doctrine has been the prominent and unvary- ing characteristic of all established churches. The Lutherans retain, at present, little of their Founder's system of divinity ; the modern clergy of the Epis- copal church of England altogether, and almost uni- versally deny their own articles and the creed of the Reformers; a large majority oPthe Genevan Minis- ters are very little superior to philosophical infidels ; the church of Holland has lost much of its purity of doctrine; and in Scotland, the venom of heterodoxy lias diffused its malignant effects, through every part of '' the ancient kirk;" thus verifying all the trutli of the Lord's declaration, '• my kingdom is not of this world ;" and cautioning us against that unhallowed, impure, and debasing admixture, which admits the interference of terrestrial governments in the admin- istration of the affairs of the church. Ill 322 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LKCTURE XV!. 8. Scotland. — Tlie insuperable aversion of the Scotch from the Papacy, and their equally ardent attach- ment for the Presbyterian system, may be imputed to two circumstances connected with the introduc- tion of the Protestant principles into that country. The last generation of Romish priests in Nor{h-P>rit- ain were renowned for perfidy and cruelty, so invet- erate, that the record of llicir treacherous barbarities cannot, even now, after th.c lapse of 300 years, be perused without the most indignant emotions. Their detestable enormities enraged all classes of the com- monwealth ; whose exasperation was increased by the remembrance, that all the calamities which they suffered, were augmented by the devas- tation? of a French Popish army introduced into the land, intentionally to abridge their civic rights, and also to conline them in spiritual bondage. Tlie nobles and grandees maintained the Protestant cause by military ibrcc ; while the mixed multitudes razed the altars, destroyed the images, removed all the monuments of idolatry from the churches, and demol- ished vast numbers of the monasteries ; acting upon the oracular adage pronounced by Knox, " the best way to keep the Rooks from returiiing, is to pul! down their nests." When the French army retired from Scotland in 1560, the dismayed Popish Priests either accompanied dio troops, their sole defenders, to France, or irom timidity altogether ceased to mum- ble their masses and klolatrous ritual ; so that, in fact, the whole kingdom was almost totally deprived of the regular institutions of the gospel; for when the first Cienevan Assembly met, .5 months after the treaty with France was signed, six preachers on- ly were present : consequently, the Protestants ex- perienced no eflfectual opposition, in universally es- tablishing the system which Knox had imbibed at Geneva. The rise and progress of the established church of Scotland require a fiistorical detail, in addition to the cursory notice, which has already been devoted to CENTURIES XVI. XVlll. S23 that interesting topic. (1) James V., King of Scot- land, on account oi'his partiality to the popish eccle- siastics, zealously persecuted the reformed ; asui the inquisitorial fires were universally kindled, i^atrick Hamilton was honored by God, as the instrument to introduce the principles of the RelbrmatioB ; and in the 24th year of his age, lo27, he became the Scotch proto-martyr; " l]is youth, learning, virtue, magna- nimity, and sufferings excited the strongest attach- ments of the people. Alexander Campbell having insulted him at the stake to which he was bound, in readi'iess for the fire ; he reminded him of his traitor- ous duplicity, and solemnly cited him to answer be- fore the judgment seat of Christ ; the persecutor, a few days after, having been sozed wilh madness, died; to the entire conviction of the witnesses, that Hjxmilton was innocent and consumed for the truth." General indignation pervaded the whole kingdom ; and the reformed multiplied with astonishing celerity. Seton, the king's confessor, himself a Papist, boldly propagated, that " not one true and faithful Bishop existed in Scotland;" but for the sake of his person- al safety, he was obliged to depart from the kingdom. In 1533, Henry Forrest was burnt for declaring that " Hamilton was a pious martyr, and that his principles were defensible." In addition to this abominable her- esy, he owned a Nev/ Testament in the English lan- guage. In 1539, Russeland Kennedy were burnt at Glas- gow, the latter being net IS years of age ; just before the fire was kindled, Kennedy, having been encour- aged by Russel, uttered his triumph over mortality in this transporting language : " Now, i am ready, I praise my God ; Death, I defy thee." Beaton, the Cardinal primate of Scotland, was an insolent, perfidious ecclesiabtic ; without justice or pity; inordinately haughty; inhuman, crafty, super- stitious and profligate. By him a court of Inquisition was established, and Hamilton, an ambitious, blood- (1.) Appendix XV, 324 ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTOKV. LECTURE XVf. thirsty monster, was appointed to frupcrintend ils transactions; whose sanguinary assiduity would soon have tilled all the prisons in the kingdom, with the noble, the opulent, and the more enlightened among the Pfotestants ; hut in the midst ol" all his fancied successtul mischief, he was indicted for a conspiracy to assassinate the King : aud Hamilton died as a traitor. " From the year 1 r)40 to the end of l.'J12. the numbers of the rei'ormed rapidly increased. The clergy twice att-empted to destroy them by one acl. They presented to James, a list of some hundreds of persons of wealth and dignity, whom they denounced as heretics; and endeavoured to procure their slaugh- ter, by enumerating the immense wealth which he might thus confiscate. So \iolent was h's antipathy against the nobles, and so completely was he inllu- enced by the clergy," that his own miserable death alone, probably obstructed the consummation of their execrable design. As Mary, his daughter, was a child, the Regency of the kingdom was transferred to the earl of Arran, a Protestant, who encouraged the Preachers to de- nounce the Pope's supremacy, image-worship, and the invocation of saints ; the beneficial eflecfs of which were inconceivably promoted by a law, which was enacted at the same period ; that the Bible should be dispersed in the vulgar tongue, and that no guilt should attach to tlie possession and perusal of the sacred scriptures. New measures to persecute the reformed were devised ; but the political commotions in a great de- gree impeded the execution of the Cardinal's con- trivances until the year 1544; when Beaton entered Peith, and commenced his inquisitorial career by the most abhorrent murders. The aggravation produced by the slaughter of persons of inferior rank, was in- flamed to the highest degree, by the deliberate, inde- cent and ap|)alling barbarities, M'hich attended the seizure, trial, condemnation and burning of George Wishart, the most learned and eminent preacher CJENTURIES XVI. XVIII.' 325 whom the Scotch reformed had then heard. The cardi- iial, with the inferior prelates exalted in a balcony of the tower belonjring to the castle, insolently triumph- ed over the suffering martyr ; neither feeling their own inhumanity, nor comprehending the value of a magnanimous christian. This, it is supposed, affect- ed even the superiority of the saint ; for in the midst of his mortal agonies, he declared that " his liaughty enemy would perish in a few days, and be ignomini- ously exposed in the place which he theo so pom- ously occu])ied." The prediction was fulfilled ; al- most immediately after the martyr's exit to Paradise^ a conspiracy was formed against Beaton, his castle was captured, himself immediately assassinated, and as the excluded adherents of the Cardinal were anx- ious to behold him, they who slew him, suspended his corpse from the identical place, where he had so shortly previous exulted in the inconceivable tortures of the consuming Wishart. In continual vicissitude the Protestant cause waver- ed, during the civil dissensions which afflicted Scot- land ; although the truth probably acquired more sta- bihty, yet the reformed professors of it experienced a great variety of persecution. At length, in 1557, the first covenant was formed, by which, all those who adhered to it, renounced idolatry, and devoted themselves to establish the pure word of God, The confiagration of Walter Mill decided the dubious and the hesitating; the horror was so inexpressible and universal, that it was evident, nothing less than the extirpation of the popish authority, or of the Reform- ed principles, could restore harmony to the nation. As the emergency of affairs required, one covenant succeeded another, until the Protestant power be- came so strong, that the Romish party and the French army who had been transported to Scotland to up- hold the expiring hierarchy, both being totally de- feated,consented in 1560 to withdraw from the realm. Immediately after this triumph, the legislature as- sembled ; and without delay, rejected the Pope's an- 326 FXCLF.SIASTICAL HISTORY. LECT'JRE XV.. thoritj', confinned the reformed confession of faith, and abolished tlic idolatrous worship. These meas- ures liaviiig been legahzed, an addilionc«.l act of Par- liament was passed, by uhich '^ every meiiiorial of Popery whatsoever found in the kingdom was com- manded to be finally overthrown and demoHshed." The civil distractions which agitated Scotland, during many years, produced no material edect in- jurious to the cause of the Reformation: the extinc- tion of Popery had been so complete, and the nation- al enthusiasm was so fervid, that the papists scarcely attempted to display their superstitions. A remark- nble innovation, however, was introduced into the kingdom in the midst of these tumults ; the substitu- tion of Episcopacy for the Presbyterian system ; but as this change Was obviously the result of a combina- tion, between some of the nobihty and their syco- phantic ecclesiastical adherents, that the former might possess the ancient revenues of the pap;icy, and the latter the honours which the dignified Monks had enjoyed, it w^as universally disapproved, and these successors of Pope Hell-brand were continual subjects of reproach, contempt and ridicule. James VL having assumed the government of Scot- land, commanded all tiie ministers to acknowledge the king's ecclesiastical supremacy, and to submit to the episcopal jurisdiction. This edict filled every district of the land with the most violent disputations. The disciples of Knox peremptorily refused a compliance with the king's injunction ; and contended, that to admit the king to be head of the church was exalting a new^ Pope, and higii treason against Jesus Christ ; and that to ac- knowledge the episcopacy, w^ould destroy the influ- ence and sway of religion and the gospel. This fiery collision of opinion and action existed during the whole of James' reign. After Elizabeth's death, he was also enthroned King of England ; and his addi- tional power augmented his acrimonious vehemence against the Presbyterians and Purilans, who were CKNTURIES XVI. XVllI. 327 invincibly altachrd to the cause of civil and religious liberty; and increased his partiahty for the Episco- paliaiis and Papists, who maintained his amplest claims to despotic prerogatives. At an early period after he commenced his reigii over the hvo kingdoms, he resolved to establish the episcopacy in Scotland, and visited his native coan- try for this avowel purpose ; but every effort was a- borrive. All the royal authority, menaces, flatterf, and coercion, were inetlicient, either to procure a sifi- gle admission of principle, that he, as king, was in- vested with any ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; or the introduction of the most insignificant ceremony in- corporated in the English Episcopal ritual. The result was the same in bolh countries; additional obstinacy in adhering to their opinions on the part of the Puritans and Presbyterians ; and perfect disgust with a monarch, who displayed in equal proportions, puerile versatility, and mental weakness, and tyran- nic arrogance. The church of Scotland continued in this feverisfi state of discontent, until Charles I. who had oscended the throne on the death of his father James, issued in 163.5, a bull of canons appointing re-settlement of the bishoprics in Scotland. Twoyearsnfter anattempt was made to introduce and read Laud's popish Lit- urgy in the ancient cathedral church of Edinburgh; but the tumult which it produced, evinced that a re- ])etition of the experiment would be dangerous to the innovators. A universal combination against the royal aiid episcopal measures was instantaneoosij formed ; which Kav^ng assumed all the consisterscy of an open and rcgul : insurrection, issued their comma])ds which were constantly obeyed, and the celebrated Covenant was Grsacted ; by this compact, popery and episcopacy were renounced; and to if, was superadded a bond of union, which obliged the subscribers to mcintain tlieir cause, against all oppo- sition ai'd to the last extremity. Charles alarmed at this resistance, sent a commissioner to the covenant- 328 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORV. LECTURE XVl. ers, who proposed, to suspend tlie operation of the royal canons and popish liturgy, and to remove the *• iiigh conimis'sion," or bastard court of inquisition ; provided, that the Scotch annulled their covenant. The covenanters sternly and scornfully replied, thai they should prefer a renunciation ot their baptism : and solemnly invited the King's deputy himself to ra- tify their engagements. Bailled in a^ his arbitrary measures, Charles iinally summoned an assembly and parliament, for the redress of national grievances and the restoration of general harmony. A counter cov- enant was also dispersed by Charles and his papis- tical adherents, for the sole purpose of dividing the Reformed, but it was received with equal contempt and detestation. The Assembly was convened in 1638. Tiie Bisli- ops were accused of every species of criminality; all the acts of the previous Assemblies and Parlia- ments in favor of episcopacy were declared null and void r and the universal signature of the covenant was enjoined with the menace of excommunication for disobedience. At this juncture, Charles having resolved to enforce subjection, levied a large army : but when he arrived upon the borders of Scotland, he consented to a peace, and the convocation of a- riother ecclesiastical assembly and parliament. The former instantly proclaimed " episcopacy illegal in the church of Scotland ; the. canons and liturgy were stigmatized as popish ; and the high commission court was denounced as a tyrannical Inquisition." The parliament were engaged in diminishing tlie power of the monarch, and in ratifying the decisions of the assembly ; when the king suddenly dissolved their sessioii, and the contest was recommenced. Impelled by circumstances, in 1641, Charles abol- ished the episcopacy in Scotland ; and exce{>t the agitations produced by the civil tumults in England, the nation enjoyed comparative peace. After the war between Charles aud the ParHament had existed during nearly two years, the Puritans implored tUc GENTL^HffiS XVI. XVlJl. 3^9 assistance of the Scotch; the result of this confede- racy was the sole?)!}! league and covenant^ which effaced all prior obligations, and retained its authority, until the union of the two kingdoms rendered the provi- sions of that famous instrument nugatory. The presbjterian system triumphed during the protectorate of Cromwell; but immediately after Charles II. occupied the throne, in 1660, a more vio- lent attempt was made to introduce episcopacy into Scotland, than had previously been exhibited. — ■ Fiom this period, every species of malignant torture was experienced by the inoffensive covenanters. — Sharpe was their deputy to complain to the king of their miseries, and to procure some alleviation of their distress; that unprincipled brother of Judas betrayed his constituents, and for his treachery, was rewarded with the pomp, dignity and opulence of an archbishop. His relentless enmity was unbounded ; ten were gibbeted together in Edinburg ; many were hanged at the doors of their own habitations ; and all these murders were perpetrated solely because these harmless sheep wouM not renounce the cove- nant. Charles himself, was eventually induced to com- mand that the incorrigible, those who obstinately ad- hered to the covenant should be transported to the distant colonies. This order was transmitted to Sharpe, and by him secreted. Amid these persecu- tions, it had been customary to inflict upon those christians, the utmost severity of excruciation, that they might be coerced to acknowledge as false, that which they believed and knew to be true. Hugh Mac- cail was thus tortured ; and so excessive were his an- guish and laceration, that he expired under the handg of his tormentors. He died in an ecstacy ofjoy and christian triumph) uttering his tinal expressions with an accent, M'hich filled all his auditors with the ut- most astonishment. — " Farewell ! sun, moon, and stars — farewell ! world and time — farewell ! weak frail body— welcome, eternity !--welcome, angels and saints ! — welcome, Saviour of the world ! — and wel- 2 S 33d ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV*. come, God the judge oi'all !*' — Blessed arc the dead 7cho die ill the Lord ! These measures were speedily after exchanged for an indulgence ; bui. the people rejected the bribe; and- usually met in arms for divine worship ; it was therefore resolved again to coerce submission to the episcopal jurisdiction by royal authority. By ai* ju- cient gothic enactment, any person who was accused of crime, that did not appear for triftl, inigiit be publicly outlawed ; and all who held intercourse with iiim were subject to the same penalties as the delinquent, if guilty. This atrocious regulation was enforced against the covenanters; so that crimes, punishments and miseries were extensively and in- definitely multiplied. The rage produced by these unintermitting wos, at length was effused upon tht- malignant renegado, Sharpe, who was deliberately murdered in 11579; in consecjuence of which, the covenanters experienced a more serious persecution, that provoked them to a second insurrection. Intestine war, with all the additional calamities of religious opposition, was continued with temporary intermissions until the ab- dication of James; after which the Presbyterian sys- tem resumed its unrestricted domination; and has hitherto maintained its pre-eminence in that portion of the British isle ; for the first parliment which met after the revolution in 1688, abolished the prelacy and the kiisg's ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; ratified the Westminster confession of iaith and Presbyterian form of government and dicipline; extirpated patro- nage; and transferred the election of ministers to the heriiorsand elders, with the consent of the con- gregations. From the reformation to the peace made at this ppriod, the church of Scotland had enjoyed but few intervals of real tratHjuillity. When not in a state of actual conflict with the civil rulers who wished to deprive her of her existence or her power, her situ- ation was so precarious, as to produce a constant CENTURIES XVI.— XVUI. 3-31 alarm : but her internal and spiritual condition appears now to have been exceedingly prosperous ; it is asserted by some to have excelled every former pe- riod in the number of devoted, active, and zealous pastors, and in the superior measures of knowledge and ;>iety among the people. If we form to ourselves the pleasing representa- tion of the humble presbyters of the Scottish church, labouring with assiduity and perseverance among their docks in prea^cl^ing, catechising, and pastoral visits ; and multitudes under their care imbibing divine knowledge and the spirit of the gospel, and adornir,'^- their christian profession by a holy life, we shall have a full idea of what was taking place during the early part of this period, in hundreds of parishes and among ten thousands of the people. But peace has its ieraptations wh^.ch were powerfully felt, and proved greatly injurious to the purity and prosperity ©f this highly favoured church. For however favourable the exiernal state of a community may be, events will occur to caibitter the sweets of life, and to furnish trials to the wise and good. Such was the effect of a measure needlessly adopted by the British government in the end of queen Anne's reign. The oath of abjuration, which at the union had been required of Scotchmen in civil offices, was in 1712 imposed on the clergy, under a penalty which involved their utter ruin. Not one of the body was disaffected to the existing government; but many of them were enemies to an oath except in cases of absolute necessity; and some scrupled at par- ticular clauses as binding them to express their ap- probation and support of episcopacy, and prevent- ing them from seeking the farther reformation of the land. So widely were these sentiments extended, that more than a third part of the ministers refused to comply with the requisition of government, and became liable to a penalty of five hundred pounds, a sum which perhaps not fifty of the whole body would have been able to pay. In this distressing situation, 332 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XVI. thrust out of the protection of the law, these nonju- rors remained from year to year. In 1715. and again four years after in 1719, the subject was brought for- ward, and the oath with certain alterations coninian- ded to be enforced. The stern principles of tlie old presbyterians, dictated by conscience, relbsed to comply ; and they continued to the day of their denth, discharging the duties of their office with the naked sword of the law hanging over their heads. Another evil effect of tlie oath was, that between the ministers who submitted to it, and tliose who re- fused it, not only coldness, but an alienation of heart was produced; and at one time but for the wisdom of principal Carstairs, a schism was likely to have taken place in the Scottish church. The people too entered into the subject w^ith the ardour characteris- tic of Scotchmen in disputes pertaining to religion. Being in general hostile to the oath and its adherents, they viewed with suspicion and dislike many excel- lent men because they were on the opposite side.*' The Tory administration of Q,uee Annne, also resenting the attachment of the Scotch to the fti- mily of Hanover, upon whom the hereditary title to the throne devolved, revived the old Lw of patro- nage ; by which under certain prerogatives inhe- rent to the possession of the lands, the principal proprietors of the soil were empowered to introduce any minister at their option, without the choice and against the consent of the congregation. This regu- lation eventually produced the Secession. 2. About the middle of the eighteenth century, Scot- land exhibited the marrow of ecclesiastical history — an extensive revival of religion, which took place within the bosom of the church. After a long sea- son of comparative inefficacy, in which nnnisters complained that they had laboured in vain, a spirit of attention to divine truth was excited through different parts of the country in an extraordinary- degree ; and multitudes who had been walking 2. Appendix XVI. CENTURIES XVI. XVIll. 333 according to the course of this world, were convert- ed by the preaching of the gospel. This revival first appeared in 1745, at Cambers- lang, a village in the neighbourhood of Glasgow. During a course of sermons on the doctrine of rege- neration by Mr. MCulloch, the minister of the pa- rish, the people began to be impressed in an unusual manner and degree ; religion occupied their whole attention; they were convinced that they had not been regenerated, and with the most painful anxiety of soul they inquired, " what must I do to be saved." Seasons of worship were immediately multiplied ; and the minister's time was occupied from morning to niglit in giving spiritual counsel to his awakened flock The consequences were infinitely delightful: in the space of a few months, 300 persons displayed unequivocal evidences of the christian life ; nor did future years give occasion to object, that it was a transitory emotion of religious feeling; for the gene- rality of them continued faithful unto death. The divine flame spread from place to place, and the most zealous ministers, in different parts of the coun- try, had the joy of seeing 'n their own parishes the same spirit of revival, though scarcely any in an e- qual degree. Mr. Whitfield who soon after visited Scotland, contributed by his powerful labours to promote the glorious cause. While the friends of religion rejoiced in this re- markable display of divine grace, it was violently decried and attacked by many of the clergy, as the quintessence of enthusiasm and folly. They spoke and wrote against it ; they warned the people against its baleful influence, and displayed a zeal scarcely inferior to that of its friends who believed it to be the work of God. In every revival of religion a similar spirit has been exhibited ; the cause of vital piety, however, was not left without defenders. Unhappily the seceders, from whom better things might have been expected, vehemently opposed the work, publicly testified against it as a delusion of 3;J4 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XVI. the devil, and appointed a day of fiisting and pr;iyer that by the interposition of heaven it misciit cr' »se. They conceived tliat if any great vvorJt of relia;ion was to be accomplished in Scotland, it must be by them ; and because this revival had not taken place in their communion it could not be from above. Their conduct on this occasion gave great offence aiid contributed to degrade them exceeedingly in the eyes of those who had formerly viewed them witji high esteem. When the gospci is preached in its purity, the Spirit of God demonstrates by the influence with which it is accompanied, that he does not lay so much stress upon the peculiarities of an external system as its votaries." It is requisite only to subjoin; that notwithstanding these defects which have bren enumerated ; in lu- minous theology, moral purity, spiritual fervour and doctrinal orthodoxy, the churches of Scotland shine pre-eminent among the reformed Protestants ; 3. and although they have not escaped the contagion infused by worldly associations, and the chilling infi- delity so predominant throughout the last century ; still they concentrate a considerable portion of" the light of the world," and have always been a •' city set on a hill that cannot be hid" — esto perpdua. Amen. 3. Appendix XVII. THEOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES. From the fall of man, the world has been the thea^ tre of contention; and the permanence of strife to the present day, not only among nations, but between families and individuals, proclaims the lamentable depravity of human nature. If the church betrays the same spirit, we are not to wonder ; for some who make a profession of religion are still under the da- minion of evil dispositions, and have nothing of Chris- tianity but the name and the external garb; while others, the sincere disciples of Christ, exhibit the too evident remains of imperfectioiL There are, per- haps, but two states of the church from which con- troversy will be entirely excluded : the one is, that of extreme ioi^orance, in which men have neither talents nor knowledge to dispute : the other is that of tiie redeemed in heaven, in which they shall all be perfect in knowledge. Whether it will be so in the milleiiium. admits of no decision, till the children of that favoured age arrive in heaven, and inform their elder brethren of the spirit and pursuits of those whom lliey left behind on earth. Till that timf\ controversies will continue : we may, however, assert, that in proportion to the prevalence of truth and piety, the number will decrease. But it may be laid down as a general rule sp.nctioned by the scrip- tures, and confirmed by reason, that wherever an important doctrine of the gospel is perverted or denied, it is not only lawful, but a duty of no mean raiik to stand up in its defence.'' 1 he diversified collisions of opinion, which have resulted from the freedom of thought engendered by Ih^ reformation are of the utmost interest and impor- tance, because they have ordinarily been the founda- 336 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XVII. tion, upon which some new denomination of chris- tians has erected its standard. It is desirahlc there- fore, to develope the essential topics which consti- tute the barriers between the discordant sects, prior to a dehiieation of their progress and present state. Two oi the distinctive subjects of contention are re- vived from the sepulchre of antiquity, and tv, o are peculiarly modern ; yet under these four divisions, a few non-descripts excepted, may be classified nearly all the predominant dissentients. The former comprize the fundamental inquiry respecting the person of Jesus Christ, involving the disputed j)oints between the Arians, Socinians, Unitarians, and the christian worshippers of Immanuel ; and the inexpli- cable mysteries connected with the prescience of God and the responsibility of man, ordinarily designated as the Calvinistic or Arminian controversy : the lat- ter include, the various modes of church gvernment, or rather the reasons of dissent from the Episcopacy ; and the dispute upon the mode and subjects of bap- tism. Without an accurate understanding of" the various subjects of debate involved in each of these general divisions, themoderij history of Christianity is a perfect chaos ; and the large number of different sects is an inextricable enigma. A controversy of essential importance has been prolonged during a considerable part of the period since the reformation, relative to the celestial au- thority of the sac.r;-d v:icripUires. This is thr? contest between the infidel rejection of revealed truth, and a confidential subjection to that which God com- mands. Christian faith has been assaulted nith eve- ry possible weapon ; the malignity of ridicule, the farce of caricature, the array oif' pretended facts, and the sophistry of false reasoning, have all been disphiy- ed in every diversified form against the rock upon which Christ has built his church; but the puny wit- less efforts of the assailants have only recoiled upon themselves ; they being similar in wisdom to him, who discharges his pistol against the adamant, which CENTURIES XVI. XV II I. 337 lepels the bullet to the injury or destruction of him bj whom it is fired. During the greater part of the eighteenth century, the machinations of the opponents of the Most Hio;h, were incessantly developed in all their force and acrimony. The volcano burst in the French revolu- tion, and illustrated the divine origin, the efficacy, the importance, and the permanency of the Christian system, so as to supersede al! future caril or dispu- tation. All that natural geiiius, acquired learning, unequalled artifice, paramount corruption, ceaseless falsehood, and infernal enmity combined with resist- less human power could attain, was effected ; but the triumph of the Destructionists was short, and of no more stability and duration, than '• the crackling of thorns under a pot:" so that the preteH>i ;ns otan infidel are only remembered with horror; a; id if now professed, solely excite commiseration, and inquiry, what is the reason that the Blasphemer is permitted to roam beyond the guardianship of his keepers or physicians ? Among all the catalogues of sinners, to the Sceptics may be peculiarly appropriated, two declarations of the wisest of men — " I saw the wick- ed buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done ; for the name of the wicked shall rot." The following delineation of the Infidels ancl their principles is necessary, merely as a beacon to warn the thoughtless from the shoals on which so many have been wrecked and destroyed. " Ignorance of the nature and principles of Chris- tianity is a general characteristic of the deists, and it may be asserted, that few among them understood the gospel sufficiently to be able to form a rational judgment whether it was good or bad, or of its evi- dence to know whether it was true or false. Upon any other topic, men, who had written against a science of which they had so little knowledge would kave appeared ridiculous, and have been ashamed to 2 T 338 ECCLESIASTICAL IIISTQRY. LECTURE XVI i. hold up their face before society. But the nature of their subject, the scope of their writings, nnd the facihty they gave for the indulgence of every appe- tite and passion, have procured not indulgence only but favour. The enemy of human happlnes has obtained cur- rency to a maxim on the subject of religion, -which i^ not allowed on ar.y other. If a person has not studied languages or sciences, he does not profess to under- stand them, and he acknowledges his ignorance. But without having studied religion; he thinks that he understands what religion is, and that he is qua- lified to speak, to argue, to judge, to decide, and to write upon the subject. How he will write may be easily conceived, and may be seen in the books of the deists, who for (he mostpart under- stood as little of the principles ofthe gospel of Christ, as tlicy did ofthe lajjguage of the Chinese. '^ The sentinieF)ts and temper, which the writings ofthe deists exhibit, give the attentive reader but toojust cause to conclude that Ciu'istianity was too good for them, and that they wished for a religion which would be more indulgent to the cravings of their appfMites and passions. Scarcely an indivi- dual among them can be found who is pleased with the chara(;ipr of God as exhibited in the scriptures. He is too holy and too righteous ; they cannot bear the effulgence of his glory. On this account, they strip him of his perfections according to their plea- sure, and remove every thing which they dislike ; or turning away from him with aversion and dread, they frame an idol to themselves, to which they give the name of God, and which they place upon his throne. An extermafion of the evil of sin is another coiispicuous part of deism, and spreads itself over every p:ige. Disobedience to the divine authority loses in the eyes of deists almost all its atrocity, and they behold it with calm indifference. For some vices they stand forth as apologists or advocates ; but the whole standard of Christian morals is lowered CENTURIES XVI. XVllI. 339 by Iheii* system in an inconceivable degree. Over the future state they generally endeavour to throw a thicker veil. Uncertainty concernifig its existence is frequently hinted at ; eternal happiness is never exhibited by them as an object of w irm desire : and great pains are taken and most fervid eloquence em- ployed to disprove the punis;hm8nt of the wicked. That pure philanthropy, which burned in the he^^rts of the prophets and apostles, will in vain be looked for in the volumes of the deists. To promote with zeal the cause of piety and virtue, to improve the moral state of man, and augment his happiness, it may be plainly seen is not their aim. Freedom from the restraints of religion, not a felicity arising from goodness, is the object of their pursuit. " The manner in which they treat the subject and their opponents, produces a still more intimate ac- quaintance with their character, and teaches in Avhat degree of esteem, the men, their system, and their writings are to be held. By persons who treat on religion, which is infinitely the most important of themes, there should be a bold and frank integrity that speaks truth with plainness ; and if it gives of- fence, yet from a conviction of duty, submits to any consequences which may ensue. For that integrity in the works of the deist, the reader will look in vain» Most of them profess great respect for Christianity, while its destruction is evidently their object. These Joabs, with apparent cordiality kiss this Abner, w hile their design is secretly to smite him under the fifth rib. Instead of coming forward manfully to the at- tack, and professing a just cause of enmity, they lie in wait like the assassin to stab in the dark. Subtle insinuations are whispered into the ear; the shaft of ridicule is artfully thrown; and then it is pretended that the wound whicli it inflicts is mortal. P}!de, arrogance, and conceit are but too prominent ir every page ; and Christian writers are looked down upon with contempt as their inferiors in talents, in learning, in e^ ery thing. The cry of priestcraft irf 34§ ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XVIL incessant, and in their esteem efficacious as the shout of ancient Israel, and makes the walls of" this ancient city of God fall, to the ground. An advocate for de- ism, who is desirous to make men honour Cod and love one another, practice virtue, and hate and shun vice; and who discovers an esteem for goodness wherever it is found ; who is grieved that the religion of Jesus which exhihifs such noble views of God, which tends so much to the improvement of the hu- man character, and presents to the hopes of the be- liever a state of eternal happiness in every respect to be supremely desired, is yet destitute of evidence suflicient to convince an imparlial inquirer — where shall he be found .^" This controversy has been attended with the most desirable effrcts; it has rendered all additional inves- tigation of the topics in debate, if not impossible, total- ly superfluous ; and Grotius, on the truth of Christian- ity. Sutler's analogy of natural and revealed religion ; Halyburton's natural religion insufficient, and re- vealed necessary to mari's happiness ; Lardner's cr'^j^ious duties ; 2 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XVII. tlic elevation of the Popedom, and excluding the in- termediate 900 years of superstitious darkness, una- nimously deny the correctness of their unsocial posi- tion. Nearly a century elapsed, after Menno, in 1. ";>(?, organized his first society of exclusive commutionists, before his novel opinions attracted any peculiar no- tice, or opposition ; but from the period when the chief topics of the controversy, began to excite pub- lic debate and constituted another ingredient in the theological babel, few subjects have elicited such a parade of useless learning, and so large a quantity of acrimonious uncharitableness and vehemence. It is not wonderful, thot the grand adversary of God r.nd man should have fanned the flame of contention afler it was once enkindled ; but how that most abhorrent doo-ma, close communion, as it is at presi^nt held hy those who for the sake of distinction, denon iiate themselves the regular Baptists, could have bee^. in- vented, credited, and propagated, is among the unac- countable mysteries of human depravity and stupe- faction. Latterly, however, the strongholds of (hill- ness and delusion have been battered with gig-.)iilic force, by Robert Hall in his terms of communion; and by Dr. Mason in his plea for christian comniu- nion; — so that the prospect brightens, and sanc(i( ns the indulgence of hope that these mountains of intol- erance will ere long " be made low," A severer censure upon the abettors of this principle and prac- tice, was never uttered, than that pronounced by William Ward, the Serampore Missionary, in liis farewell letters; after describing the state of Chris- tianity in the United States from his own inspection, he observes, "that he had not discovered in liis journeys, one Baptist church which practized open, that is, christian communion." On the mode and subject of Baptism, the discrepance is no less sin- gular; the close communionists confine the ordniance to adults by immersion ; while their more pltilan- thropical fellow-disciples, are willing to enrol both CENTURIES XVI. XVIII. 353 the parents and their ciiildren, in the. service t)f the captain of salvation ; and are unable to discover in the New Testament, either a definite injunction res- pecting; the metliod in whicli baptismal water shall be applied, or an authoritative restriction of the ordi- nance only to adult professors. During the present generation, the controversy has been very keenly and extensively agitated ; and it must be admitted, tliat the modern combatants in behalf of Antip«do- baptism, have been unusually discomfited; at least a very superior and much enlarged spirit of liberal- ity to others, and a fraternity of temper altogether unprecedented in former periods characterize the most enlightened and inilucntial members of the Baptist denomination; which authorizes the antici- pation, that ere long the pacific pi-edictigm shall be completed in all its beauty, eniargemenl and force, ^'Ephraira shall not envy Judah, and Jud :ii s'kiH not vex Ephraim ; and the people shali ci[i uj);)^: !!ie name of the Lord, to serve him with one col!S'?;l" 2. IV. The controversy upon the Government and Disripluie of the church. The origin of tfiis divison among the Protestants, has already been briedy narrated, in the history of the English Episcopalian estab!is!>:rient. From its results, however, it has been attended with the most important consequences ; and the extension ot the opinions upon which the Anglo-Puritans primarily dissented from the religion enacted by law, has veri- fied several most momentous facts incoimection with the progress of pure and undefiled religion. Two hundred and fifty years have elapsed, since the op- ponents of the national church in England assumed a distinct and systematic character ; and their in- crease has been regular, until they comprize not on- ly the incomparably larger portion of the existing piety in Great Britain ; but also, including those who have descended from them, and who adhere to them in theological and ecclesiastical doctrines, at present, 2. Appciiilit XX. 2 W 354 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XVll. embody the vast majority of evangelical christians throughout the globe. I'he annals of the Puritans, the Non-confoniiists, and their modern successors, in connection with the state of religion in our Repub- lics, have demonstrated in a superlative degree the noble qualities of Christianity ; and have evinced beyond all cavil, that the coalition between church and state is destructive of vital godliness, and that all spiritual authority, when supported by the civil pi>wer, is a sanguinary, and doubly traitorous despot- is. n, equally injurious to national prosperity, inimi- cal to the bodies and souls of men, and derogatory to the supreme King inZion. No complaint has more frequently been uttered by the Episcopalians in every age, and no sounds have been more generally reverberated, than their peeling outcries concerning schism; notwithstanding they, at the same time, the close communionists excepted, are the only distinguished tribe of schismatics in the Protestant domains, while they admit the sanctity of Popish ordination, and the validity of the sacraments administered by a Jesuit ; they derjy the ministry, de- votions and covenant membership of all other denom- inations. Lutheran, Presbyterian and Congregational, The basis on which they erect this alliance with Po- pery, and their aversion from all other Protestants, is one of the most senseless absurdities w hich folly, fanaticism or wickedness ever invented to conceal the turpitude of tyranny — the divine right and unin- terrupted succession of Diocesan Bishops. 3. Hence, it is proper to define the word schism, according to its genuine scriptural import. Schism denotes a separation in heart and affec- tions from those who walk according to the institu- tions of Christ, or an entire departure liom their communion. Who is guilty of this offence ? Thej who deny that Jesus is the only liead of the church, and assume a right to alter, to superadd, or to take away from what he established — not those who as- .1. Appeudix XXI. I CENTUHIES XVI. XVIII. 355 serl his sole authority and who plead for the integrity of Christ's constitution. He is not guilty of schism, who associates with persons that acknowledge Im- manuel as their Lord, believe the pure doctrines of the Gospel, worship Jehovah as the Son of Man pre- scribes, and evidence their title to christian disci- pleship by their philanthropy to them who love the Lord Jesus, and by their separation from the ser- vants of Satan. How can that be schism which con- sists merely in disjunction from a system which had no existence prior to the year I'^eO; which bears a resemblance to nothing called christian earlier than the tburth or fifth century ; and which in its head and organization is altogether papistical ; in very impor- tant doctrines, such as baptismal regeneration with all its appendages is radically erroneous ; in its wor- ship, services and sacraments is either formal or su- perstitious ; and is totally anti-evangelical in its disci- pline ? Is it schism not to declare unfeigned assent to all the multifarious code imposed even in its abridged form by the episcopacy in this Union? Assuredly, it is full time that this accusation ceased. Schism is an alienation of heart from Christ's institutions, not from man's inventions. They who would imposr- such fictions on the disciples of Christ, instead of his appointments, are the schismatics, not those Avho separate from them for conscience' sake. The sacred scriptures reccommmend union among christians, with the energy and pathos of divine au- thority : and while the church remains in its purity, separation from it is an heinous crime. But what- ever men touch they defile ; and the whole stream of history discovers a tendency to corruption in the best institutions. This takes its rise from the depra- vity of human nature, which mistakes or dislikes, what God has ordaiued ; and lops ofl" what is dis- pleasing, or adds what appears beautiful and vene- rable. From this propensity flowed the syst':!!! of superstition and temporal domination which ended in the abyss of popery. 356 ECCLCSIASTlfJAL HISTORY. LEdl'Rt: XVU. ^Tbe refonnatioi) arrested this progress of evii. liglii increased : questions were agitated which sharpened men's minds, and led to the discovery and evidence oiiivan}- important truths, which had not belbre engaged the attention olthe learned and religious world. These, as they were discovered and beheved, formed a part of the mental system. and produced trains of reasoning, modes of senli- incnt, mid rules of conduct unknown before. In consequence of these advantages, pious and enlightened men learned to examine matters with a more penetrating judgment and nicer discri- mination. Their virtue and goodness kept pace •\vith their improvements in knowledge. Little to the honour of the English character at the era of the reformation, the mass of the clergy changed backwards and forwards, shifted with the wind, and moved vvitli the tide. But in a century after. England could boast oi a far more enlightened and virtuous clergy, the principles of thousands of whom would not bend with external circumstances, and the changing decrees enacted by the authority of the state. The act of unilbrmity required them to do what they conceived to be contraiy to the iion- ourofthe glorious Head of the church, and hostile to the purity aiid integrity ofhis institutions. In con- sequence of this, they made a stand, separated them- selves irom the establishment, and Ibrmcd those societies which remain to the present day. That people may differ about triiles is too frequent- ly seen ; and when they break ofl'from the communion of a church on account of these, their conduct is highly reprehensible. But there is an extreme on the opposite side. When men yield, for the sake of peace, to impositions against which conscience re- volts, and which conscience condemns as sinful, they merit at least an equal degree of blame. In the midst, between these extremities, there are great and important principles, for the sake of which good men may justly make a stand, and which they may refuse CENTURIES >V1. X\!ll. ^ i) i to part Avilh : and if thcj caiuiot ol.hv':^r\\ ise retain them, they are warraiilecl to wiliidiaAV IVom tlsat chuich which will not allow that they should be re- tai;ied by private christians in her communloii. and by the ministers who otHciate at her altars. Those who stand ibrward as confessors for truth, claim a hiojh rank amon«- the benefactors of the human race. Their reward indeed may at the time be from heaven alone; and what they receive from man con- sist rather in the approbation of succeeding genera- tions, than that in whicii they lived. To I hem the w^orld is indebted lor the progress w hich it has made in pure principles, and in the virtues resulting from them: arid it is from a succession of such men, that ne have derived all our advancement in those invalu- ble truths which ennoble the soid and exalt the char- acter. It may perhaps be deemed improper toinscribe in this list the names of the Apostles of Christ, as their wisdom came immediately from heaven, and their oppositioi] to establ'shed systems was by divine commaiid. But their conduct was a stand for princi- ples : and in this respect they take their station at the head of the reformers of the world. Tlie men who, in different countries, lifted up their voice against the monstrous superstitions of popery, merit the praise of every succeeding age, for their undaunted appearance in times of the most imminent danger, in bfdialf of these glorious principles of divine truth, which had long been trodden under foot. But they still left much to be done, and a rich harvest of laurels to be reaped by those who should come after them. In England, during the reigns of Elizabeth, James, and Charles the first, hundreds of excellent ministers, and ten thousands of pious laymen exposed themselves to the tremendous storm of arbitrary pow- er and ecclesiastical tyranny; and rather than yield to what they conceived to be injurious to tlie honour of God, and his revealed truth, they submitted to the loss of office, of affluence, and their country; and many sought refuge in the wilds of America. 358 ECCLESIASTICAL HlSTORV. LECTURE XVIF. But it was reserved for the nonconformists to stand forth, as a body, in defence of what they ac- counted truth and duty, and to suffer the loss of eve- ry thing but one — their principles. They are re- garded with the highest veneration as the founders of that building which has remained in its original strength to the present day, and appears one of the fairest structures on the face of the earth. A brief outline of the fundamental principles which all those maintain, who deny the peculiar and haughty assumptions of the professed descend- ants from*- him who sitteth in the temple of God as God" IS requisite to elucidate the foundation on which the disciples of religious liberty have erected their spiritual temple, and which they are convinced will at some future period circumscribe the whole world. ''Jesus Christ is the sole head of the church — the sacred scriptures are the only rule of faith and prac- tice— private judgment in all matters of religion is an inalienable right — every man may publicly pro- fess that religion which his private judgment dictates to be from God — the church ought to have no con- nection with the state, for Christ's kingdom is not of this world." The objections which the Puritans and the Non- conformist* originally made to the Episcopalian es- tablishment of England, and which have augmented their force with every succeeding generation, may be subdivided into two classes ; those which advert to that monstrous coalition, church and state alo'ie ; n!id those which are equally applicable to episcopicy as a system, whether at Rome. Canterbury or in this Union. The national church of Engla»id is the off- spring of state policy, created a?»d preserved bv the civil government, merely as an addilionid ins;regational, and so would have continued, had they not been desecrated by the ear- ly corruptions, and swallowed up by the spirit of am- bitious domination over the consciences of men ; and upon a tew funda;nental axioms, they build their house, which tliey assert is founded upon a rock. The sacred scripture contains the whole of reli- gion ; and it alonv h is an authoritative power to bind in matters of faith »nd prictice. Nothing ought to be inserted in any creed, or system of religion, which is not f^vidently to be found in this book. Things not enjoined ii.\ the sacred scriptures, they insist, should be left indiflferent ; so that Christians may I GENTURIES XVI. XVllJ. 369 praclice or abstain from them, as conscience dic- tates or expediency directs. The civil iiif^gisli-ate, they saj, has no authority in the church ofChrist. The Christian religion is entirely spiritual, and not blended witfi the smallest mixture of political institu- lioiis. Its offices are to be filled, and its duties are to be performed by disciples ofChrist, in an indi- vidual capacity. It interferes not v\ith the regula- tions of human government : " Christ's kingdom is not of this world.'' It is fitted to subsist under any government without interleriiig with their operations. And in llie exhibitions of Cliristianity through the whole of the New Testament not a single hint is ever <;iven, that the civil rulers of tiie country are at all to interfere with tlie church of Christ, so as to frame regulations for his disciples, or to exert an authorita- tive influence in its affairs. Nothing more, they assert, should be required, in order to Christian communion, than Christ has re- quired ; and all terms ol human invention, in addition to Christ's, authoritatively enforced on the conscien- ces of men by civil or ecclesiastical rulers are ex- ceedingly sinful. They maintain that every man has a right to judge for himself in matters of religion; that all are on a level with respect to the right of enjoy- ing liberty of conscience and of worship; and that each is under equal obligations to yield to one an- other, for the sake of peace, and in order to the maintainiijg of brotherly affection and Christian com- munion. It has already been intimated, that the Puritans originated in a controversy respecting the extent to which the reformation in the church of England should be extended. The priestly robes furnished the first subject of contentio i. The garments in which they were commanded to officiate,, were worn by the popisli priests in the days of superstition, and were considered, both by priests and people, as essentially connected with the wonder-working part ^f their office, and without which these marvels 2 y S70 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOKV. LFXTURE XVIlJ could not be done. When bishop Latimer, in the course of liis degradation, on being stripped of one ot" liis garments said, " Now I can make no more holy water," he spoke both the sentiments of the multitude and the sentiments ofthe prelatei of theRomish church The pomp and authority of the diocesan bishops, ihe number of clergymen who were unable to preach, the want of discipline, and the popish remnants in the system, were loudly censured and a reform was implored. The puritans w vote admonitions to jjirlia- ment^ Whitgift answered them, and Cartwright re- plied ; the tbrmer was paid for his heterodoxy, by being elevated to tlie archbishopric of Canterbury ; -the latter who was the champion for the truth, was remunerated for his services, with poverty, exile and imprisonment. At this period, 1580, Robert Brown propagated his opinions with great zeal in England, and after having been confined in thirty two dungeons and prisons, he fled to Holland, and there established a church. Persecution raged against the adherents of his opinions; they were scour- ged, robbed, confined, and some hanged ; but in vain, the doctrines were immortal, and were diffused with astonishing rapidity. In 1.592, another church was formed in London; these were obliged to change their place of meeting continually, as the high commission searched for them with the keenness of blood-hounds ; they were finnllv discovered, on the same spot where the pro- testants assembled for fear of the Papist tormentors during Mary's sanguinary government. Fifty-six of them were sent prisonere to different jails about London, where they had the melancholy consolation of finding many of their brethren confined for the same crime of worshipping God. When they imagined that twelve months confinement had suffi- ciently broken the spirit of Mr. Smith, they asked him whether he would go to church. He answered, " that were he to do U, he should only play the hypo- crite, to avoid trouble; for he judged it utterly uii- QKNTURIES 1>.\1. XYlll. 371 lawful." To this one of the commissioners replied, " come to church and obey the queen's Invis; and be a dissembler, a hypocrite, or a devil ii'lhou wilt." These much-injured men complain of such treatment as was worthy only of a Spanish inquisition. By these cruelties, many of them perished in piison. On the coffin of one of them, whose name was Roger Rippon, his fellow-prisoners inscribed the words of the royal preacher, " oppression makes a wise man mad." They were beaten, and doomed to still se- verer confinement, for not atlendinf^ the service of the established church in tiie jail, to which they were brought for renouncing that service as unscrip- tural. Barrow requested that he might be allowed a con- ference, to investigate the truth. But this was refu- sed ; for it was not truth or reason, but submission, which the persecutors wished to obtain. He, as well as Mr. Greenwood, his companion in suffering, w^ere condemned to die, and were hanged at Tyburn, breathing such a spirit of piety towards God, and such loyal prayers for the queen's prosperity, that when she was told in what manner they died, she discovered a momentary pang of regret. Shortly after Mr. John ap Henry, was seized and condemned for the same crime. Though he decla- red, that not a day passed over his head, in w hich he did not commend the queen's estate to God, his death-warrant was signed by the archbishop. It was immediately sent to the sheriff! who erected the gallows the same day, seized the victim at din- ner, and hanged him in the afternoon. The controversy was continued. Hooker devoted a large part of his life to writing his ecclesiastical jao/i/y, which contains all that ingenuity and literature can adduce in favour of episcopacy and religious establishments. "The architecture of the fabric re- sembles Dagon's temple; it rests mainly upon two grand pillars, which as long as they continue sound, will support all its weight. The tirst is " tliat the 37: ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOUY. LECTUP.E XVlll church of Christ like all other societies, has power to make laws tor its well br'ing ;" and the second, that where the sncred ScripUncs are silent, luiinnn authority may interpose."' But if some Sampson can be found to shake these pillars from their base, the whole edifice, with the lords of the Philistines in their seats, and the multitude with which it is crowded, will be involved in one common ruin. Grant these two principles, and his arguments can- not be confuted. S^ut if a puritan can show that tlie church of Christ is diiferent from all civil societies, because Christ hnd framed a constitution for it, while he left them entirely to the exercise of their own wisdom r and that where the scriptures are silent, and neither enjoin nor forbid, no himian association has a right to interpose its authority, but should leave the matter indifferent ; in such a case the sys- tem would not be more stable than that of the philo- sopher, who rested the earth upon the back of an elephant, and that upon a tortoise, and that upon nothing." But as error is progressive, so it appear- ed in this disputation: the primitive Reformers de- clared, that the episcopal establishment, was merely a creature of state and expedient. Whitgift defen- ded it, because it was conformed to the church in the fourth century ; but Bancroft, boldly proclaimed that the order of diocesan ^bishops was of divine au- thority ; which, with the zeal for the ceremonial mummery borrowed from their Romish Mother, dis- played by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, increased the number of Puritans, and rendered all communion and harmony utterly impracticable. The independents from this period continued to worship in secret, and were often obliged to remove, so that in England they were almost unknown, except from the press, by which they maintained and pro- pagated their principles. John Robinson gathered a church on these prin- ciples at Leyden; in his apology, he writes, erery CENTURIES XVF. — XV 111. .iTil particular society is a complete church; and ns far as regards otlier churches, immediately aiul inde- pendenliv under Christ alone. "Hence they were called independents. The churcli at Leydcn «rrtd- u;illy diminished; for while the aged members were removed by death, their children married into Dutch families ; it was therelbre determined after much consuhaiion, that the younger pnit of them should remove to America, where they might at oiice pre- serve their church from extinction, and attord aa asilum to their brethren from Ei;g!nr.d. The independent divines who had lied to Holland, were allowed to assemble in the Dutch churclies, after the [lours of the national worsliip. Here they availed tlicmselves of the liberty and leisure of their exile to stud} the doctrines of the scriptures con- cerning church government. But when the change of the times invited their return, and afforded an op- por'unity for the declaration of their principles, ihey published an apologetical narration which they pre- sented to the house of commons in the year one thou- sand six hundred and forty-three. The presbyte- rians, who were now labouring to establish their dis- cipline, in the place of the old hierarchy, vvere much offended with this step, which tended to obstruct their schemes. The parliament appointed the grand committee of accommodation, to accomplish an union between the two parties, if possible; but if not, to contrive some way in which the independents might enjoy liberty. These efforts for accommodation came to nothing ; for the presby terians reflected severely on the indepen- dents for asserting that uniformity ought to be pressed no further than is agreeable to the consciences of men, and the general edification. The leading men in the army either avowed themselves i:)depei:dents, or patrons of that toleration, which had been de- nounced as the idol of this communion. Cromwell espoused the same cause, and nominated theijr principal divines to be his chaplains, as well as 374 EOOLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV III. to fill the most important places in the universities. As their churches had much increased in En2:land, -they requested leave of the governmpfil to hold a sy- nod, in order to publish to the world an account of their faith and order. To this the protector consent- ed. The meeting of the synod was held at the Savoy. inl658. The pastors and delegates of more than a hundred congregational churches being assembled, drew up their confession of faith. It much resembles the Assembly's catechism, but has for an appendix, a chapter on the institution of churches, and the order appointed by Jesus Christ. Public theological disputations were appointed, but without harmonizing the disputants ; and many volumes were issued in this warfare. The most fa- mous work was Calderwood's AUare Damascenuni ; which very much displeased King James. One of the Bishops to comtort him, promised to confute it; he retorted, "Man, what answer can you give, here is no- thing but the Scripture, reason, and (he Fathers." During Cromwell's tolerating protectorate, little was written upon the subj<'ct of church government. From the restoration of Charles IF. to the revolution by William, a period of nearly 29 years, the history of the non-conformists in England, of the dissentiprised rules of discipline generally considered as obligatory, they have no standard for doctrine or practice, but the sacred Scriptures; and notwith- standing,nosocieties in the records of the Redeemer's kingdom, have maintained or do combine so com- plete an identity both in theological sentiment and ecclesiastical regulations, as these churches'which are only united by th:; general communion of saints. This unii^ue fact admits of one solution only, their house is built upon the rock of ages ; and evinces one truth beyond all contradiction, that persecution for ccxTuniKS XVI. — xviii. 377 conscience' sake is as absurd and inefTeclual, as it is iniquitoac-. At present, the essential principles o^ the English Dissenters predominate throughout the Proteslaal portion of Christendom, and tliese con- federated slates, with the South American Rppubhcs, having adopted ihcm as the corner stone of a!! their political iribric, they may safely be declared inexiin- guishabie, coeval wifh the existence of tlie human family, and equally predominant and extensive a^- the gospel of Christ; until during the Millenium, all sectarian distinctions will be absorbed by " the uni- ty of the spirit m the bond of peace," and there shall be '• one God, one faith, and one baptism." In Eng- land and Wales, the Independents now number near- ly 1500 Congreoations ; many of them the largest bodies of worshippers in the Christian world ; be- sides a continually increasing extension of their soci- eties in Scotland and Ireland. The Baptists. It has already been remarked that those who main- tain the peculiar tenets of this denomination, in all points assent to the Iridependents. except on the mode and subject of Baptism, and the qualitication for an admission to the Lord's Supper. During the early period of their history, they were obliged to contend against persecution in all its horrors, but they perse- vered ; and eventually obtained a share of the bless- ings ol legal toleration in Great Britain. The promi- nent characteristic of the early Baptists was a deci- ded opposition to all literature in their preachers ; as an luiavoidable consequence of which principle, they continued to maintain but a xevy minor propor- tion to the other sects. Since their ministers have blazoned forth in meridian splendor, and especially since their most honoiu'able missionaries at Seram- pore have astounded the world with the exhibition of the most splendid human qualities, the Baptists have mn.ch enlarged their numbers ; but their increase has followed, not from their adherence to their principles of exclusion, but chiefly from their departure from 2 Z 378 ECCLKSIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XYlif. the original dogmas of the bigots of the past genera- tions. The first Baptist church such as it is at present or- ganized, appears in the history of Menno, nearly 20 years after the commencement of the Reformation ; but this society was so buried among the struggles for freedom and the Gospel in Holland, that the pri- mary interesting remembrance on record is, the detail of their persecutions. From Holland they fled to England, and similar tortures were their allotment under Henry Vlll. which they had suliered in the Netherla!ids. Even under the Protestant ascenden- cy while Edward was King ; his ministers destroyed the Anabaptists. Mary, with equal greediness exter- minated all parlies who did not dance before her idols; and Elizabeth banished and burnt part of a congregation which in 1575 had been discovered in London. Fro?Ti Etigland, they all subsequently mi- grated to Holland, and were originally all in commu- nion Avith the first Independent churches established in that republic. The parties at length began to dis- pute respecting Baptism, and John Smith, their lead- er, conceiving that tliere was no person at that time duly qualified to administer, the ordinance, to pre- serve the unbroken succession from John the forerun- ner of the Lord, baptized himself, and afterwards be- came the father of the general Baptists. The Baptists are first noticed as a distinct sect in England about 1G08; these sent one of their church to Hoi 1 anil to be baptized ; after his return, he bip'izf^d the minister and these twothe wholecliurch. consisting of nearly fifty members. The printed works in (his controversy commenced in 1618, and dui'i')^: all the changes to which the Puritans were subj^'cted, they experienced their full share of the tyranny and agonies exercised over them by the va- rious despots of the 17th century. Three facts will forcibly illustrate the nature of the faithful sufTerings for God to which all the Puritans were exposed ; and the ahnost miraculous interposition of divine provi- dence in behalf of the oppressed. 1 GJhLSTUIlIES XVI. XVllI. 379 A congregation of seventh day Baptists in London nas disturbed, and the preaclier John James, was ac- cused by a despicable wretch of uttering treasonable words. Though it was solemnly sworn by those who were present that the words were never uttered, he was condemned. His wife presented a petition to Charles, who, on iiearing the name of the petitioner, said, " O, Mr. James, he is a sweet gentl.-^man." But he afterwards so completely changed his tone, as to say, " the rogue shall be hanged." For once thfe king remembered his promise, and James was sent to join the noble army of martyrs. Ten men and two women, taken at a meeting near Aylesbury, xverc required to coiitbrm to the establish- ment, or abjure the realm. Declaring that they could do neither, they threvwtbemsclves on the mercy of the court : but as the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel, they were condemned to die. Aylesbury was thrown into the utmost alarm at the bloody sen- tence ; for the rest of the Dissenters, who w ere the principal part of the inhabitants, expecting that their turn would come next, shut up their shops, and aban- doned all attention to business. The son of one of the condemned persons rode up to London, where he laid the case before William Kiliin, who, though a Baptist, had some interest at court. When chancel- lor Hyde laid the case before his majesty, Charles seemed much surprised, and promised his royal par- don. But as the son was afraid his father would be pardoned after he was hanged, he begged for an im- mediate reprieve ; which having obtained, he return* ed with sufficient speed to save their devoted lives. Andrew Gilford was a Baptist minister of high re- pute in the west of England. At Bristol, the princi- pal field of his labours, he w\as three times confined in 1 Newgate, and once was hurried away to Gloucester, lie had been preaching among the colliers in the for- est of Kingswood, where his son, who was the sentinel, was prevented from giving notice of the approach of the informers, by being frozen ii>the ground. An in- 380 t.CGLCbiASUCAL HISTORY. LECTURE XV III. dependent minisler, who, pursued by the sr'.me har- pies, had been preaching in anotlier p.irtoftlie wood, lost his life inaltenipting to escape across a river. But the colliers hearing that GiiTord was taken, rose in arms for his deliverance. This, however, lie de- clined, saying, that he would ralher leave his cause with God, who, he doubted not, would order all ior the best. 1 he justices gave him permissioi; to visit his wife, and to settle his alFairs. But tiie inloi'mers, as soon as he readied home, seized hini and hu. ried hi;)) away to Gloucester, a distance of tiiirty 'iiil<"^s- Thus it was ordered, that he entered the casile, just as the public ch mes announced tv.elve o'*clock at night. When tlie six months, for which his mittimus had condeniiU'd him, was expired, he desired to be dismissed. The keeper objected tiiatit was unusud to open the gates at midnight, to which GilTi^rd re- plied, that they were opened at that hour to let lii'n in, and therefore why should they not to let him oul } He was discharged, and the next morning about six o'clock, arrived an express from London, with a;: or- der to contine him duritiglife. from which hard ftte he escaped by the relentless fury of his enemies, who hurried him away to prison at midnight. In the Britisli domi^^.ions, th • Particular Baptists, at present number nearly TTiO churches, and the Gen- eral Baptists 120 congregations, but svhile the latter rather diminish, the increase of the former is rapid and contiruial. On the continent of Europe, it is im- practicable to form any accurate opinion of them, though it is believed their number is small. The Moravians. "The unity of the evangehc brethren," the gener- al name of all the churches and missions usually call- ed Moravians, comprises three distinct classes of members. Tlie hrst consists of those who belong to the ancient church of the brethren, which conceives itself to be superior in antiquity to all rther protes- tants. Jn this class also are arranged all those, whoi before they joined the unity, were of a communion CENTURIES XVI. XVllI. 381 different from the two principal protestant churches, tiie l.iuheran and the Reformed. The second class of peri^ohs Uiio compose the grand body of the uni- ted biothren, consists of those who were cducctud in the Lulheran profession. The third is formed of such as have- b«'[oi;g< d to flie reformed, or calvinistic pro- teslaiii coiiiSiiunion ; who. as well as the Lutherans, are ilh^sved to retain their former connexion. Hence, tlie tilie of united brethren designates a body compo- sed of vaiious materials ; not amalgamated by a sac- rihc'r of all distinctions in order to conform to any exclusive creeds, but compacted by the adhesive in- due ce of a certain spirit diffused through the whole iinss. " Living faith, vital religion, love for the mu- tual communion of christian brethren, zeal which a-i-'i^ by united efforts to propagate the religion of Jesfi.T, bind together," say they, " these diifereiit classes of Christians." This communion must not, therefore, be supposed to resemble an individual, composed only of subordinate members, which have no separate existence ; but should be compared to a church, formed of members who all retain their own perfect individuality, though associated by attach- ment to attain a common object. The ministers of the unity receive ordination of dif- ferent kinds, according to the countries in which they labour. They have, indeed, discovered the rare and arduous way of combining episcopacy with liberality, so thcit if a brother of the ancient episcopal church should be placed in a congregation where the minis- ter has been ordained by presbyters, he will not hes- itate to receive h'om him the Lord's Supper, or bap- tism for his children. Abhorrence of controversy is trharacteristic ofthe united brethren. To cement the union of the brethren they convoke, at certain periods, synods, which are composed of the brethren who were entrusted, for a time, with the general direction ; of those persons who are at pres- ent employed in the public service of the community ; „ and ofdeputiessentby the different congregations. This 382 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTUPE XVIH- council watches over the state of religion, the con- duct, education, doctrine, preaching, printing, and ap- pointment to charges in the chnrch. The members oTthe church are divided, according to their sex and state of life, into different classoe, called church bodies. Unmarried men, nnd those who are termed lads adolescent, remain in the liousc of the single brethren. Unmarried women, whether elder or younger, live apart in the single sisters' house. In the more numerous churches there are similar abodes for the widows and widowers. They are under the inspection of an elder of their o^vn sex, and work for their support. The marriage of the Moravians is always under the direction of the church. If the parties have pre- viously made no ct'.oice the elders point out whom they judge suitable : but where an attachment has been formed, it is submitted to their final decision. When unable to determine in any other way, they seek to know the divine will by casting lots, which, however, are considered as deciding only what shall not be done. This community adopts the practice of washing each other's feet once a year, previously to (he cele- bration of the Lord's Supper, The women wash those of their own sex in a place apart ; and the men thefeetof their brethren. The dying receive a ben- ediction, and the imposition of the hands of the elders. In some of their meetings they give the kiss of peace, men to men, women to women. " The crown of glory and diadem of beauty," which adorns the united brethren, is their zeal for the propagation of the Gospel amo ig the heathen. In this noble career they hnve outstripped almost every other communion ; and though thfv are neither nu- merous, nor wealthy, nor powerful, th^y have ac- complished what would have seemed to >f^quire the treasures of princes, or the power oi s- »verrign stntes. Th'^ united brethren are uiidou!>t''d!y a p;irf oi' ihe surviving chain of the two witnesses who have pro- I CENTURIES XVI. XVIU. 3S3 phesied in sackcloth from great antiquity. In the year 890 Bohemia and Moravia received the Gospel from two Greek monks, who are thought to have diffu- sed pure principles, because, ^vhen the emperor O- tho united Bohemia to his empire, and brought the Greek Christians under the see of Rome, they suc- ceeded in obtaining for themselves a liturgy in their own tongue, and freedom from several popish corrup- tions, in the year 1176 the Waldenses arrived in Bohemia, and contributed to the preservation of pure religion. After having combined purity and zeal, with concealment from the rulers of the apostate church, for more than two hundred years, they were discovered, in the year 1391, by the imprudence of two of their preachers, and dispersed by the blast of persecution. Re-animated by the exhortations of one Gregory, in the fifteenth century, they attempted to combine in closer union, and took the name of breth- ren of the law of Christ. But. perceiving that they were thought to be one of the new orders of monks, they assumed their present title oi unitas fratrum^ the unity of the brethren. While they were studying truth and purity in the very bosom of ignorance, corruption, and bigotry, the persecuiioii which they endured, induced them to cast their eyes around for an assylum from the drag- on's rage. Seeing no retreat within the sphere of their own knowledge, they sent four deputies to trav- el, and inquire, '•• if there were any where a living church free from errors and superstition, and regula- ted according to Christ's laws, with which they might unite." Failing in this research, they resolved that if God should in future raise up reformers of the church, they would make a common cause with them. Wiien Erasmus began to attract the attention of the Christian woild, the united brethren sent their confession of :.:i'.h to this distinguished scholar, who, with 'lis chTrncterlsiic indecision, professed to ap- prove, but refused to espouse their cause. 38-1 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURK XVIJI. The fame which Luther acquired as a reformer, induced the bretliren to send to him John Horn and Michael Weiss, Luther, dehghted to find that a peo- ple yet remained to co-operate with him. hailed them as brethren, and said, '' be ye apostles of the Doiie- mians. an7 The imprisonments were long, often terminating on!^ with tiie lite of the prisoner. In this reign also, the crowds sliut up together, increased in many pla- ces the common sufferings of conlinement ; which in some were also augmented bv the violent tempers of magistrates, or by the barbarity of jadors. The fines imposed by the new laws were exacted with a rigour that generally oppressed the sufferer, and soraetimes left him -iiearly destitute of household goods; and several families experienced a separation of the near connections of lite, by the execution of that law which subjectevl our friends to banishment. James II. to fovour the religion to which he was at- tached, suspended the operation of tiie penal luvs a- gainst disse iters. Our Friends had their share in the benefit arisi;;g from tiiis measure ; but it was not un- til the reigii of king William, that they obtained som!^ degree of legal protection. fhe doctrines of the Quakers are tluis geiierally stated : " We agree with other prot'essors of the chris- tian name, in the belief of one eternal God, 'he Cre- ator and preserver of the universe; and in Jesus Christ his son, the Messiah, and Mediator of the new covenant. When vve speak of the gracious display of the love of God to mankind in the miraculous conception, birth, life, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascen- sion of our Saviour, we prefer the use ot such terms as we find in scripture ; and contented with that knowledge which divine wisdom hath seen meet to reveal, we attempt not to explain those n^ysteries which remain under the veil: nevertheless, we ac- knowledge and assert the divinity of Clwist, who is the wisdom and power of God unto spJvation. To Christ alone we give tlie title of the Word of God, and not to the scriptures; althou^zh we highly esteem these sacred writings, in subordinaiio:) to the spirit, from vvh'ch they were given forfh; and we hold, with the Apostle Paul, that they are able to make wise unto saJ ation, through faith which is in Jesus Christ. 388 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOKV. LECTURE XVIl;. We reverence those most excellent precepts whicli are recorded in scripture to litive been delivered by our great Lord, and \vc tiridy believe that they are practicable, and binding on every christian ; and that i[i tlie lite to come, every man will be rewarded ac- cording to his works. And lurther it is our belief, that, in order to enable mankind to put in practice liiese sacred precepts, many of which are contradic- tory to the uaregenerate will of man, every nmn com- ing into the world, is endued with a measure of the light, grace, or good spirit of Christ ; by wliich, as it is attended to, he is ejiabled to distinguish good from evil, and to conect the disorderly passions and cor- rupt propensities of his nature which mere reason is altogether insufficient to ov(M-conie. For all that be- longs to man is fallible, and within the reach of temp- tation ; but .this divine grace, which comes by him Avlio hath overcome the world, is to those who hum- bly and sincerely seek it, an all-suthcientand present help in time ol" need. By this, the snares of the ene- my are detected, his allurements avoided, and deliv- erance is experienced through faith in its etfectual operation ; whereby the soul is translated out of the kingdom of darkness, and from under the power of Satan, into the marvellous light and kingdom of the Son of God.'' The Friends by their inflexible adhesion to their principles, obtained from the British government, an exemption which no otiier denomination in England enjoys, the celebration oi their marriages without the Episcopalian ceremonial. To them belong the un- divided praise, of being the only community, who in their associated capacity have practically exempli- fied the peculiar philanthropy of the Gospel ofChrist, upon all the questions originating in the three grand pestilences of the human family; national wars; fo- rensic litigation; and involuiitary perpetual servitude. Many individuals have successively appeared who u- uited in all their theories ; but with the exception of a smxll modern division of the German Baptists and CENTURIES XVI. XV'IH. 389 Moravians ; it is believed that the Quakers alone, as a sociely, merit the imperishable eulogy, wliich belongs to an unceasiug combination oi" eflort to im- pede the ravages of general war, to extirpate the cbuiiiiions of private discord, and to destroy the miseries engendered by kidnapping and slavery. In tiicse points of view, the Friends are the only living professors of Christianity who bear a striking simih- tudo to the millenial philanthropists. How kuig shaii it be, er^a continuaj display of the most abhor- rent spirit of cruelty, revenge and injustice, shall be proscribed and condemned as totally antichristian f Upon this topic, the address may be made to al- most all other Christians, '• Dost thou approve the Friends' opinions of the iiicurable iniquity of Negro bondage, the anti-evangelical nature of legal dispu- tations, and the unmeasurable guilt of wiiolesalo murder by the armed myrmidons of tyrants in the field of battle .^ ihen — "Go thou and do likewise." The Methodists. This Society which ranks the third in number of all the larger denominations of Christians who dis- sent from the Episcopalian hierarchy, appeared in 1729, having originated in a meeting held by the Wesleys, Whitfield, Morgan, Ingham, Hervey, and others, in the first place to enlarge their knowledge of the scriptures, and subsequently to improve their own characters by religious conversation and other devotional exercises. The commencement of the Methodists as a distinct body may be properly im- puted to the results ofGeorge Whitfield's preaching in the open air: excluded from all access to the episcopal churches, he determined "• to do the ser- vice of his Creator, who had a mountain for his pulpit, and the heavens for his sounding board, and who sent his servants into the highways and hedges." The society primarily assembled in Fetter lane, but several years elapsed before the increase of their numbers induced John Wesley to summon the first Conference. In the British dominions are two clas- 390 EfCLESlASTICAL TTISTORV. LECTURE XV m. ses of Methodists ; those who wore disciples* of George Whitfield, denomiimtcd C'llviiiistie, but these are 2;rada;allj declining as a distinct body, and are now amalgamating with the indepcndcnls ; the others, and those to whom the apellation is generally given, are the followers of John Wesley. During sevei al years the early Methodists were all united in one body ; they finally separated, in conseo,nence of doctrinal disputations respecung the five points already stated — Whitfield adhering to the Calvinis- tic, and Wesley to the Arminian intei^retation. The grand points of distinction between the Me- thodists and the oth« r denominations are their theo- logical tenets; their government nnd dicipline. On the Ibrmer topics, in all tiiat is essential they coincide with all the other bodies of Christians : resperfiiig the latter, during the life of John Wesley, the Me- thodist societies were the popery of Protestantism. The extinction of nearly all the rights of the mem- bers, and the unlimited sway of the preachers have already produced a division both in England and the United States; which must unavoidably extend, un- less the irresponsible aristocracy of the Conferen- ces be removed. But notwithstandiiig this del^^ct;' to the Methodists is the world indebted for the grand impetus impressed upon the means adopted by the church of Cod to evangelize ma -.kind. They, have also used the typographic art with great sectarian eifect ; and it must be regretted, that their measures tend, even in diffusing intelligence, to cir- cumscribe the boundaries of its extent. More pecu- liarly than any other society, the Friends alone ex- cepted, have they long fostered a bigoted spirit, which is at length beginning to disappear; but the most curious facts in the history of the foundera ofthe Methodist Societies are, that while tliey pro- fessed to subscribe to the truth of the thirty nine Articles of the English establishment, they were' always opposing them in the pulpit and by the press ;i while they professed to believe in the divine right i CENTURIES iVI. XVllI. 391 I of epiacopacy, they became the most alienated Dis- isetiters; aad while they proclaimed their fellow- I ship lor r..ll '-who desire to flee (Vom the wrath to I coiuC'," they have organized a sect emphatically dis- ; linguished lor their dominant proselytism, and their ! indiscriminate opposition to all wlio will not admit that Wesley and Fletcher were infallible oracles. This temper however, is gradually meiiorating; and j in proportion as their ministers oi" the sanctuary be- come iliumirh-tL'd, will indubitably be banished from among them, i'ijcy continue to augment in numbers, learning and usefulness, and now number in both hemispheres upwards of more than half a million of members in their churches. 2 Tlie minor denominalions have been nearly included in this review — they are either Cahinists or Armi- iiians ; Trinitarians or Humanitarians ; Pedobaptists, or Anlipedobaptists; in theology; and Episcopalians, Presbyleiiaas or Congregatioiialists in government and discipline. Oiie bo iy might havi^ been noticed with more distinctness, the . -iceder.borgians ; on ac- coaiit of their essential diif'-rences, but as the reve- ries of their founder are rapidly hastening to obliv ion; it ^vas supertluous to revive the remembrance of the clFusioas of delirium, either in the delusions of their author, or the unaccountable corresponden- ces oi'his whimsical disciples. In tlius briefly narrating the principal associations of existing Christians ; we are induced to admire those wondrous dispensa'iions of divine Providence wliich has even made the strife of sectarians conduce to the extension of his Gospel, and through the restraints of persecution, excited a zeal for the truth, with an amplitude of intelligence and sanctity, which has been augmenting with accelerated force during the last century, until the soberness of christian exertion, has assumed all the noble qualities of cru- sading enthusiasm, without tlie smallest admixture of its desolating evils. 2 .n^pendix XXin. 3ii2 ECCLESIASTICAL HlSTeRY. LECTURE XMiI, Tlii^ review of llie characteristics of" the modern sects should impress upon us one important truth ; the absohite necessity ofevangelical charity. Amoiiij t(,c Christians, who have attracted our regjartls. of all t!ie principle denominations, which belie\e ilio '• truth as it is in Jesus;" we discover the •' lights of the world, and the salt of the earth." F3igotry, pre- judice and error, would seize the hallowed roll in nhich are recorded the names of the departed dig- nitaries ; and erase all those wlio had not pronounc- ed their party Shibboleth ; and of course under their combined and amplified operation ; scarcely an individual, according to human estimate, would escape the tremendous blottings, to be honoured as a resident in paradise. The present general co- operation to reform the world, has demolished the barriers which formerly existed to the harnioiiy ot' Christians. One of the most illustrious triumphs of gospel philanthropy was lately celebrated. Jay, an Independent, preached to the Baptist Missionary Society, in a Methodist place of worship in London ; thus branding with utter contempt, and dooming to the same fire, all the thorns of a sectarian proselyting spirit, and all the chafTof bigoted ignorance. But when we consider that all the party strife of the Missionaries in their o'^vn natal soil, is absorbed inanoverllowingsolicitudetoen'ighten the minds and nfTect the consciences of the benighted Heathen pe- rishing in gloom before their eyes; we are bound to rejoice, that the Episcopalian, and the Congrega- tionalist, and the Moravian, and the Baptist and the Methodist all march in the same ranks, fight under the same baimers, and remembering the might and the number of their idolatrous enemies, almost for- get that they ever admitted a sentiment or serisa- tion ofdiscord ; only anticipating that glorious period when every minor distinction having been removed, nil the " righteous sliall sliine like tlie sun in the king- dom of our Father." May we cultivate that temper on earth, and realize this enjoyment in heaven, lor ever and ever ! Amen. i;HKISTiANlTY IN THE UNITED STATES. The landing of tlie Puritans at Plymouth, combines in its results, the most important and eventful occur- rence in civil or ecclesiastical history, subsequent to the Reformation. It is the primary, or in connec- tion with the other republics north of the Potomac, the only existing instance of a nation commencing theirsocial compact with pure and undefiled religion; and animated to the erection of a political edifice iVom their inextinguishable attachment to religious treedom. The providence of God, which triumphed over the persecutors of his servants, by rendering their rage the means of establishing the oppressed Puritans in a land which should in future become an asylum for the persecuted, demands our grateful a- doration. The rapid advancement of the United Stales in the comforts of civilized life, paid the ab- sence of all exclusive establishments of religion, with the attendant prosperity of different communions, render this country so inviting to all who are oppress- ed for their dissent from a dominant religion, as ei- ther to preclude the attempt to re-kindle the flames of persecution, or to mock their fury, by snatching from their rage, all who were intended to feed the lires. The first American colonists v/ere members of a society of christians in the north of England, who, in the year 1602, entered into a covenant with each o- ther to study the scriptures as the only rule of reli- gion, and to follow this sacred light, rejecting ail hu- man inventions, and adopting every institution of the divine word. But finding that it was impossible to pursue witli siic-vss in their own country, a design 3 B 30 t ICAI. HISTORY. LECTURE XIX. which was so hatefiil to the reigriing powers, they removed to Leyilon, in Hoiiand, withiji about seven or eight years after the first ibrjiiatioti of their church. In this place of vohiutary o^ile they enjoyed great privileges and were hi.2;hly respected ; lor the tua- gisl rales once said to the Walloons, who appeared before them for redress against their brethren, ••ihtse English have lived now ten years among us, ai'd we have never had ati accusation against any oiie of them, whereas your quarrels arc continual." j^nt this English church was wounded with the manner in wh'ch the Sabbath was kept, or rather was profaned in i^olland, agaisist which they found all their remonstrances ineflectual. They perceived also that their children were incorporating with the Dutch families, or else were drawn away by the evil exam- ples of the country. For these reasons they deter- mined to pursue their origin:^.! design of planting a scriptural church in the world, by removing to Amer- ic*. They agreed that the younger pnrt of the so- ciety should go first, while Mr. John Robinson, the pastor, remained with tb.e elder and major part till it was judged p.^'oper for them to follow. On a day of fasting an.d prayer, to implore the divine blessing on their great smdertaking, Mr. Robinson, preached to them irom Ezra viii. 22 : " then I proclaimed a fast tliere, thai we migiitatllict ourselves before our God, tG seek oi" liim a rigfit wr,y for us and for our little ones, and for all our substaLiee." The voyagers tlien look leave of the land wliich h.;id kindly receivr'd them " as strangers and sojourners;" and on July 2, 1620, parted with their bretliren at Delft haven. Their beloved pastor having, like Paul, knelt down on the seashore, and poured out his prayers to God for them, they embraced, and wept i:; each others arms, till the wind and tide compel' vS them to rend themsebes asunder, le iving the Dutch, who were spec'; fors of tho -^-cne, drowned in tears ol" sympathy, 'i; he vr«- srlr^ which fliey hiiod fo;- the voyage, first to icfied at Soutliair.pton, to joiii those who were coming from CENTURIES XVI.— XVUl. 395 London to accompany them in their expedition. They encouiitercd various hardships and dans^ers on the seas ; and instead of arriving; at Hudsorrs river, as they intended, they were, by. the treacheroihs compact of the captain AAith some Dutchmen, who wished to reserve that spot lor themselves, cosiduct- ed to cape Cod, which however the kind providence of God rendered the meaiis of" preserving tliem from the Indians by whom they had otherwise been mur- <^ered. i'rom the cultivated fields of I'liropa the first col- enyofa huiKlred persons arrived tiie ninth of No- vember, in tlie year J620, O!) tile shores of th" vast desarts of Ameiica, where they behehi a most alarm- ing contrast of every tiling wliich had been familiar and dear to them in theii- native country. But they had learned, from liieir pious education, to value the pure ordinances of (he Gospel as the first blessings on earth, and to abhor a false and superstitious religion, with impositions on conscience, as the greatest evil on this side of hell. They, therefore, determined to endure the miseries of a desart as lighter than the moral ills of a depraved society, and to encour.ter the naked savages, whom tiiey less dreaded tLan the cultivated heathens, who, ciotiied with the robes of oifice, had tor years abased the forms of law to deprive them of all that was dearest to them in life. The In- dians also had been much diminished by sickness be- fore the arrival of the colony, so that those who were left were less formidable to the English, who, after examining the coast, founded, on the twenty-fifth of December, in the year 1620, the tovv.n of Plymouth, of which John Carver was made governor. The first settlers endured vast suflerings from (lie climate, famine, disease, and the hostile neighbour- hood of the Indians. But the accelecoted course of oppression drove across the Atlantic frish bajids of emigrants, who sought to share wilh their brethren the quiet enjoyment of civi] riglits and religious priv- ilejjes. The colonv was much strenfrthened. in 3i!'t> ECCI.ESIASIK AL HiSTOKi. "LECJ L KE Xi\. one summer fifteen hundred persons landed \n the new world, many of whom were possessed ol biK h properly asenahied them to add greatly to the coni- forts of the new Heltlement. What lano;ua contiguous churches exclaim, what hath God wrougiit.-' tiat why should this spot only be wet with (he dew of heaven, and the surrounding country remain dry aiid barren .'^" Freehold, in New Jersey, was the scene of another remarkable triumph of religioiL The gosj)<'! had been introduced here bv Waller Ker, who \va» driven Ci:iNTURIES XVI. XV 111. 399 from Scotland, under sentence ofperpelual banish- ment, by the iron sceptre of James tlie Second. Af- ter a long- life of more successful l.ibours, than it is probable he \^ould ever have enjoyed in his native country, he entered into his rest. His charge be- came in a few years unhappily notorious for an in- decent contempt of religion and morals. Mr. John Tennanl, a pious youth, having consented to preach to them lor a season, was so shocked with their im- piety, that he told his brother, he repented of having engaged to labour among a people whom heaven seemed to liave abandoned. But the labours of a month, produced sucli a change, that he then said, '• I would beg my bread to enable me to realize the hopes I have ibrmed." Multitudes of both sexes confessed with tears their former iniquities; and those who remained unchanged, were so ashamed of being thrown into a disgraceful minority, that they gladly retreated from notice. Two years after his death, the town of Northampton was disiingdished by a most remarkable blessing iVom heaven. The American custom of commen- ■::ing the Sabbath on Saturday evening, and ending it at six o'clock the following dny^ was unhappily a- bused by devoting the remaining hours to parties of pleasure, wliich completely obliterated the > decided al- teration must eventually be displayed in Europe : doubtless, the revolution is at a greater distance than our impatience or desires would place it ; and it will be attended with immense difficulties ; but the movements of the Protestant world to counteract the delusions ol sin and Satan are now irresistible. vV ith- out a remarkable change in the affliirs of the Gre-^ks, whicii cannot rationally be anticipated : tlie Pelo- ponnesus and the Archipelago, especially as the ty- pographical art is now developing its mysterious won- ders among them, must become Reformed. The des- cendants of the Huguenots are beginning io unioul a high degree of that character which, in the sixteenth century, rendered them the greatest glory of the re- formed religion, and the purest church which th mi existed in Europe. "A larger stroamof christian blood has been effused in France for the testimony ol 'iie truth, than in any other country ; and howeve" 412 ECCLKSIASTICAL HISTORY. LFXTURE rX. tremendous was the retribution thirty years since; it is a subject of great gratitude, that like the fabled Phoenix, issuing from its aslies. the 2050 former Pro- testant congregations with their faithful ministers^ have experienced a revival, and are arising from the concealment imposed upon them by the revocation of the edict of Nanlz. The seat of the Beast at present, includes the Aus- trian dominions, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal ; but all the Protestant nations are alive ; and however secret and Jesuitical the attempts of the Papal de- votees, it is hoped the iniluence of the gospel will in- terrupt their ungodly designs : notwithstanding, it is truly remarkable;, that Popery subsists in all its gloom and malevolence in its ancient domains, and that it is exteiiding its odious leaven among the Protestants, especially in Great Britain, so as to excite very se- rious and just alarms for the pernicious effects. The institutions which have been organized to promulge the doctrines of the cross of Christ, may be generally classified; -a^ Missionary ; Typographical; or Education Societies. Education. — The Scotch and the Puritans were the only people among the ancient Reformed who at- /tached to the education of youth its superlative im- portance; hence their characteristic superiority to the rest of ihe world in morals and illumination was the natural effect of their general solicitude for menial culture ; their example, however, is now very extensively followed. In many of the United States, elementary learning is the object of legal provision — in Great Britain, Ireland and France, the Lancastrian method of tui- tion is rapidly erdarging its intluence; in the Protes- tant portion of the continent of Europe, its results are commencing to be manilested ; and the instruction of the juniors forms a very interesting and prominent department of the Missionary's exalted and self-deny- ing labou/s. I CENTURY >.1X. 413 If we regard the objects of education in a more serious aspect, we instantaneously discover, that the Sunciay-Schoois combine a most eificient adjunct to the general endeavours for religious improvement. The beneiicial consequences of this system in dimin- ishifigthe profanation of the Lonl's day, in extend- ing the knowledge of the sacred volume, and in forming the juvenile mind to devotional habits, ex- ceed all that imagination can grasp; and facts have amply verified, that the morals of the rising genera- tion are in a very iiiiportant degree iniluenced by their attendance id the Sunday-School- Every en- largement of this plan to do good will necessarily be accompanied with the most delightful advantages, uiitil the labours of the Teachers and the studies of the Pupils shall all be absorbed in the splendours of the latte.-day glory. Typographical — This combines two classes of as- sociatior;s : the dissemination of religious tracts; and the Bible societies. The publication of cheap edi- tions of valuable religious books, for sale at a very low price or for donations to the poor is not of late origin ; the society for the promotion of religious knowledge has existed more than a century; but its aflfiirs were never conducted with zeal, or with due consideration respecting the actual state of the mass of the community. Mr. Wesley with his usual perspi- cacity, immediately comprehended the vast influ- ence of the type, and attached to his society a spe- cial printing and publishing concern ; it disseminated a prodigious quantity of works at a cheap rate ; and deducting for its large proportion of controversial divinity, promulged saving knowledge to a wide ex- tent, among the most ignorant and thoughtless multi- tudes in Great Britain. To the religious Tract So- cieties we are principally indebted for the grand and appropriate use of the press ; they have seized the weapon by which infidelity and licentiousness with- ered and polluted the human intellect and sensibili- ties, and by the immensity and versatility of their 414 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XX. Operations have proclaimed revealed truth in everj possible form, and suited to all ages, conditions, seasons, occasions and circumstances ; so that it propagates the liglit and the heat of the oracles de- livered by the Sun of righteousness, in the most un- expected and yet resistless manner. Some of the most remarkable events in the history of man are in- corporated with the mysterious travels of religious tracts. A delightful feature of the present era is the acce- lerating increase of regularly issued religious publi- cations, devoted exclusively to theological discus- sions and missionary intelligence; this has transfor- med the reading character of the christian world: these maintain the truth in all its vivid /leshness, and constitute the fuel by which the illumination and the fire of an ardent zeal for God, and an inextinguisha- ble love to man are enlivened to continual brightn'^ss and activity. Thirty years ago, it is believed, but two strictly religious ma2:azines were dispersed, the Evangelical and Arminian, and those both in Lon- don ; at present it is impossible to enumerate them. It is sufficient to remark, that they surpass in num- bers all the other merely literary repositories of in- telligence, valuable as many of them undoubtedly are, and that in this Republic equally with all the Protestant countries of Europe, they comprize an essential, and in truth, a necessary portion of the daily mental food of every family which realizes a due solicitude for the glory ofGod, the salvation of souls, and the amplitude of the church of Christ. But these powerful instruments to demolish the empire of Satan, are in some measure obliterated ; when contrasted with the irresistible atchievmeits of that most mighty invention, the Bible Society. Twenty years have not elapsed since these institu- tions were primarily organized ; and already in the various languages spoken by a large majority of mankind, the wondoijbl works of God, as declaim d in the sacred scriptures, have been translated. So CENTURY XIX. 415. stupendous, magnificent and multiplying are the op- erations of this immense machine, that it is utterly impossible for the pen of the historian to detail its unparallelled triumphs, with a celerity equal to that with which its irruptions into the regions of error, iniidelity and idolatry are commenced and sustained ; to one event and that the most splendid in ecclesiasti- cal history, the progress of these institutions bears a striking analogy, and similar effects have partially resulted— the effusion of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost; and it may be merely subjoined, not only that ail the commercial intercourse of nations is now indescribably affected by the missionaries of differ- ent sects and countries ; but also that a person who remains ignorant of the diversified modern reports from the Bible agents, and the missionary explorers, within the last 30 years, continues wilfully destitute of a larger quantity of und-eniably correct geographi- cal, statistical, and historical information respecting our globe and its various inhabitants; than all the w riters of travels combined, during the prior eighteen centuries, can communicate. The principal Bible Societies are the British and Foreign — the American — the Russian — the Nether- lands—the Prussian — the Swedish— the Danish— and the Paris Protestant, with their respective auxilaries'; but a very large number of minor institutions are ac- tively employed in more contracted circles to dissem- inate in their own vernacular languages the word of God ; and these are increasing so extensively and rap- idly, that like the children of Israel when the man af- ter God's own heart reigned, we can only pray "now may the Lord God add unto this people, how many soever they be, a hundred fold, and may our eyes see it !" Amen. Missionary. — Notwithstanding all the joyous effects which have resulted from the labours of Missionaries, it may still emphatically be declared, "the world li^ eth in wickedness?." Africa, with the exception of a small southern district is a land of gross darkness : jlG F.rCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XX. America, the United States and part ofthe Jjritish colonies alone excluded, is either immured in Jiidian idolatry or llomish superstition : Asia, except where the voluntarily exiled servants of Jesus roam and preoch and teach, is "Satan's seat, wheie .^ati.i dwollcth ;" and even of Europe, a large majority ofiis inhabitants are apostates uith Mohammed, or stamped with " the mrfk of the Besst : prr:j yc therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will sent, forth labourers into his harvest." The work perfor med by Missionaries, according to the presentsystem, is surely modern. Moravians commenced this ener getic warfare against the hosts of darkness, seven!} years ago: in 1787. the Methodists established { mission, which confined its labours chietly to th( British West India islands: and thirty years since the Baptists instituted a society, which when con templated in the feebleness of its original means, thr gradually augmentifig and incalculable benefits i has produced, or the astonishing extent of influenc( in the world, which the Brethren of the mission a Seramnore have justly attained, we are not onlj constrained to exclaim, "what hath God wrought ?■' but are obliged to admit, that viewed in all the cir- cumstances, no men in modern history have surpas- sed them in indefatigable exertions, vast learning, exalted philanthropy, and that constellation of evan- gelical virtues, wliich have filled the whole christian world with their irradiation. Nevertheless it must be admitted, that the estab- lishment of the London Missionary Society in J79.5, forms the epocha whence to date that uruntermitling vigour and quenchless zeal which have subsequently characterized, not oidy the institutions which liad been previously founded, but also those .which have subsequently been formed. In the very comn.ence- ment of that society ; its general basis, including all sects of believers, its imposing patronage, its ini- mcnse funds, its grand objects, and its liberal spirit excited a perfect concussion among all them who CKXTURY XIX. 417 l(tvetl '• the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." Its iiiaojnitude of luunbers, aiul inimenbitv ot"operatiot]s sooM attracted i^eneral attention ; but this was aided by the £vanii;e!icrj Magazine, which, becoming ihe vehicle of all religious intelligence ; disseminated tiie missionary spirit until a llame of devotedness to the God of Israel, in publishing the knowledge of Jesus Christ and him crucified, has been enkitidled, which authorizes the expectation that it will never more be smothered, mucli less extinguished. At all events, now, it would be more practicable to exterminate t'ne slumbering fires of either of the volcanos with a bucket of water, than to extirpate that temper so highly eulogized by the inspired Apostle, " it is good to be zealously aiTected always in a good thing." Since that period other societies have been con- stituted by ditierent denominations: but their do- mestic controversial contests are all closed when they enter the regions of idolaters : — the watchword there is, the Lord or Baal, and in the momentous strife to rescue immortal souls from present satanic bondage, and interminable ngony beyond the grave, they forget sectarianism, and live arid " fight the good fight of faith," as brethren. The principal existing societies and stations for missionaries, with the pubVicalions which record their proceedings are comprised in the following catalogue. The Church Missionary Society have devoted their large funds to promulgiite the gospel tSirough the British dominions in India, the western coast of Af- rica, and to the introduction of Christianity into west- ern Asia; combining the expenditures attached to the translation and printing of the Bible in various languages : they issue a Missionary Register. The London Missionary Society occupy many of the South Sea Islands, Catlraria, Pvlalacca. Ce\ Ion, and Madagascar, with numerous otlier miiior sti: tio* s in I'litidostan. Their Missionary, Dr. Morrison, at C ai- ton, has completed a most gigantic work, the tran-la- tion of the Bible into the Cliinese language, and is al- 3 E 4li3 ECCLKSIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XX. SO establishing a college at Malacca, to extend the knowleclge of eastern literature ; and especially to institute a seminary where the Chinese converts may attain such an acquaintance with revealed theology; as eventually to (juality them to introduce the gos- pel of Jesus, into the inmost recesses of the temples, *vhich are dedicated to Satan's earthly representa- tives, in that immense region of idolatrous corruption. In the islands of the Pacific, the labours of their Missionaries, by the divine benediction, have achiev- ed the most triumphant display of the grace of the Redeemer over the strongholds of Satan, since the Apostolic century : theirannals are published in the Evangelical Magazine. The VVesleyan Missionary Society have employed their energies with great success in evangelizing the slaves in the West India Islands; but they also have stationed missionaries in India, Caflfraria, Ceylon and in the North American British territories : their pro- ceedings are detailed in the Methodist Magazine. The Baptist Missionary Society have confined their efTorts chiefly to British India and Ceylon; where Dr. Marshman, by translating the Old and New Testaments into tlie Chinese language, which, in connection with Dr. Morrison's publication, is one of the most eventful occurrences in the history of the translations of the Holy Scriptures, and by printing the sacred volume in nearly all the tongues and dia- lects spoken by one hundred millions of Hindoos ; by the increasing number of their missionary stations; and by their education of native converts as ministers of the gospel, they have undoubtedly infused into the abominable mass of Brahminical ignorance and cor- ruption, a redeeming spirit which at some future pe- riod by the etTectual operations of the Holy Ghost, will develope the most splendid consequences: their periodical accounts and the Baptist Magazine fur- nish the details of their success as christians, schol- ars and preachers. A society has lately been organized by the Protes- CENTURY XIX. 419 tants of France, who have selected Palcsline for tiie primary field of their labours : and whose strength and ardour encourao;e tlie hcpe, that ere lo!i<^, thev will march with similar brightness and expansion, by the side of their European and Columbian associates : they have also commenced a publication for mission- ary intelligence. These constitute the principal foreign societies, including tticir auxiliary associalioiis ; in the United States five societies exist for the same august object. The American Board of Foreign n}issions was in- stituted about 10 years since, and already have assu- med a very distinguished statioii amoiig these evan- gelical labourers. Palestine, the Britisfi dominionfi in Asia, the Sandwich Islands, and our aboriginal In- dians participate in the benefits of their philanthro- py. Among the latter especially, their progress has been highly important and exliilarating ; and ihey are gradually augmenting in all the capacities to melio- rate mankind. It is not a little extraordinary, that the citizens of these states, the soil of which was not cultivated until nearly 1(500 years after the Saviours resurrection, should rank among the first Protestant christians, to attempt the restoration ofMessialrs honours in that land, where his godlike wonders were displayed ; and to explore the scenery of Judea, where " Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good." Probably, the most lucid and devoiionally ailecling description of Palestine from Joppa to the river Jor- dan, and the most accurate and impressive delinea- tion of the present state of the seven churches of Asia have been furnished by Mr. Parsons lately disembod- ied and removed to the New Jerusalem, and Mv. Fisk their honored Missionaries. The expenses of this Board are contributed chieily by the Congregodoii- alists: they publish the Missionary Flerald. The Baptist r;oard ofForeigrs Missions. in adilfiion to great exertions to extend the gospel amorn^'rlije tribes of Heathen Indians on the bonlers of the lie- public, have niaii'tiined a missioii in tfie Burman em^ 420 ECCLESIASTICAL H1ST0KV. LKl lUHE XX, pire; wliere tlie transbilion of ijic .Scriptnros and the operations of the pre^b have been pr< paring:; the way lor a larj;e harvest in the Lord's appointed time : they issue the Latler-diiy Luminary. The United i^'oreign JNiissionary Society, compo- sed of the Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed denom- inations, have as yet, coniined their attention to the Indian tribes around us; ihcy occupy five missionary stations, and are xery rapidly extendirjg their noble elForts : they print the Missionary Register. The Methodists have also hitely established a general society for tfie , purpose of dilfusiijg the knowledge of the Redeemer among the Heathen ; and its labours are commencing with their ciiaracter- istic eartiestness and zeal. A very interesting institution has bv-^en organized in this union, vvliicli, if properly conducted, may be very iiiduential in improving the condition of the Ai- rican desarls; the colon hal ion aoc'iciy. Although not expressly founded lor religious purposes ; yet popu- lar opinion has combined so much christiatj feeling with Its adoption and plans, that under the auspices of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions particular- ly, the most inilucntial of the tirst emigrants are de- cidedly believers in Jesus, and all the measures whicli the society has adopted tend to the predominance of gospel principles, as the corner stoFie of the settle- ment. Should the colony enlar^-e like the Puritaii districts of New England, in its pious characteristics as well as temporal prosperity ; it may then in some measure be instrumental to commute by the donation of the Gospel and its blessings, lor the numberless and indescribable miseries wliich through the slave trade, tliesons of Africa have suffered from the civil- ized wdUons of Europe and America. A christian spectator, who correctly reflects, while enumerating this catalogue of evangelical in- stitutions, cannot avoid acknowledging with grati- tude the connection between them, and the most in- fluential characteristic of the present period : that CENTURY XIX. 42! I'catiire nhich unfolds a striking cor.ti-ns( with nntc- lior nj;es of the clmrch, even since the Relbrnintion ; the gfnera) diffusion of the spirit of grace and suppli- cation for the lulfilment of all those wonders which prophecy declares shall at some future era be dis- played, when '' they shall fear the name of the Lord iioiiithe west, and his glory from the rising of the suti." The monthly meeting devoted expressly to prayers for the unction ironi the Holy One to descend upon the churcii of God ; upon the instructioiis of mission- aries and pastors ; and upon the illumination convey- ed by Bibles and Tracts ; and for a larger experience and manifestation of the divine faithiuiness in tiie con- summation of the Redeemer's promises and in pro- pitious answers to the ardent petitions with which •• the throne of grace" is incessantly beseiged, con- stitutes a remarkable and an infiillible precursor, of the approaching day of the Lord ; for it is like the voice of him of old crying in the wilderness, " make straight in the desart a highway for our God; every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall bemadelow^; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain ; and Zuir and Jerusalem that being good tidings shall lift up tlieir voices with strength and shall not be afraid ; and shall say unto the cities of J udah, Behold your God !" One unexpected effect has been adduced by the progression of the principles upon which the Puri- tans originally separated irom the ancient and mod- ern hierarchs. Ail the attempts to investigate many portions of our globe, either through commercial cu- pidity, or by military force have been totally unavail- ing ; but we are at present as intimately acquainted with many of the diversified tribes of men through the missionary researches, as if we had personally in- spected, their unsocial habits, and their irreligious principles; for it appears that God has prepared a way for these " sons of peace" where others in vain have attempted to explore; thus overthrowing a very specious objection which sceptiscism has alleged to 422 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XX. the scriptures, that they contain a system not only of error, but of ignorance. Infidels have ever affirmed, as an oracular truth, that by the propagation of the Gospel, the civil con- dition of the human family would not be meliorated ; while lukewarm and formal professors ol Christianity, have also asserted, that the sole mode to evangelize mankind, was by their previous civilization and as no momentous facts, could be adduced against the the- ory ; the enemies of the cross of Christ exulted in the assurance that the Gospel would not become the faith of the whole world. This deception is forever entombed ; as no position is now more self evident, than that which affirms, the indispensable necessity of divine revelation to deliver men from ignorance and brutal degradation, and to elevate them to the grade, sensibilities and character of rational creatures. The Puritans originally and all the revered mis- sionaries who now promulge " the glorious gospel of the ever blessed God," have consequently most en- tirely demolished by a practical argument, which the Defenders of the Faith have never duly illustrated and enforced, the deistical assault upon the sacred scriptures, that it is a system of superstitious gloom generating only human deterioration, for they have developed, that the anxiety and exertions to extend the arts and sciences, with all the blessings of civili- zation, are exactly proportioned to unfeigtied zeal in the service of the Redeemer; hence, philanthropy prays, that our modern missionary effijrts may be am- plified to an indefinite extent, and be iinpellod by a strong impetus. In reference to this subject, the spread of the Gospel, as the only means to disseminate knowledge, harmony, comfort, morality, and civil and religious Hberty throughout our globe; every chris- tian will unite his heart and voice in this hallowed petition to the Father of light, and Lord of peace and truth and law. God speed the Press, in this most holy cause, Till cvevy Pagan's son shall be supplied ; CENTURY XIX. 423 Obedience learn to Jesus' laws, And from his word of grace be satisfied ! God speed the holy men whose every power Is exercised in this divine employ ; And grant their prospects, brightening every hour, May fill their hearts with enviable joy ! God speed the cause of missions through the world! Still may it cheer its friends, convince its foes ; Be every idol from its altar hurl'd ; May every desert blossom as the rose ! — Amen. THE MILLENIUM. Faith exults in the expansive prospects of Chris- tianity. So oft(M), and so accurately have divine pre- dictions already been consummated in their most minute circumstance, that no believer hesitates res- pecting the unalterable certainty of the final accom- plishment of those still more splendid ev(Mily which are connected with the universal triumphsof the gos- gel, that in futurity shall constitute the latter day glory. All the means of communicating knowledge, that the Scriptures contain, are to represent the prominent characteristics of that auspicious period in the history of our world. Types, parables, commands, and promises united their force to depict a spiritual, sublime and felicitous state of mankind, even on this terrestrial globe, of which it may be athrmed in A- postolic language, " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." Nothing is more easy than for the ingenuity of cor- ruption to ask questions, involving ditlicnlties of boundless magnitude, and inextricably perplexing. Sceptical cavillers frequently inquire, Why was sin admitted into Paradise ? Why have the nations of the earth been immured so long in idolatrous deprav- ity } Why has one portion of the world received the gospel in preference to another ? Why has man- kind during nearly GOOO years remained in a night of gross mental and moral darkness; and why siiall the inhabitants ol the seventh millenial revolution of time enjoy a day of unr(Miiittii]g religious illumination.^ Myriads of questions like these may be propour>ded ; and one reply alone can be given by a creature who is a compound of fallibility and ignorance; but that IHE MILLENNIUM. 425 answer is in the language of him of whom it is writ- ten, " never man spake like this man" — " even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." The mjsteriousness of Jehovah's dispensations should teach us awe and reverence ; while the conviction that the declarations of God are truth, should inspire us with confidence in liim who has graciously assur- ed his followers, that in a paradisaical sense, it shall ere long be proclaimed, " behold the taberna- cle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." The predictions concernifig the church which ap- pear to have been fulfilled, have been examined ; and we have surveyed the present condition of the Redeemer's terrestrial kingdom ; our contemplations, therefore, are confined to only one additional inquiry, w hat are the future prospects of the believer in refer- ence to the glory of Immanuel ? All christians admit, that in the sacred books, God lias revealed to us, through prophecy, an accurate description of the christian church, from the morning when " the Holy Ghost was first sent down, from heaven" until the last " trumpet shall sound ;" and it is equally undeniable, that three different periods or slates of the church are distinctly enumerated. Of these eras, the first comprizing Christianity in its progress, until Constantine subverted the Heathen predominance, has elapsed, and its history we have perused — the second extends through the ages of darkness, corruption, and apostacy, and with its pro- perties vvc are experimental'y a-^quainted, for it exists — and the third presents a ma;iiiHnent display of pu- rity, intelligence, and prosperity, described in figures, combining all natural, paradisaical, and heavenly beauty, spirituality and enjoyment ; extensive as Ihe family of Adam, and perennial during the revolution of a thousand years. But this last is future; for the predictions of Scripture with respect to the over- throw of all the Anti-christian systems as they are 3 F 426 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XXI. recorded in the apocalypse, from chapter 14: 14, to 20: 3: obviously remain unfultiled ; and every endea- vour to apply part of them to any events posterior to the Rcibrmation has been decidedly fuiile. An ex- posilion of tlie following topics will therefore termi- nate our discussion. The commencement and (h'.rai ion of the Millmnium — E- vents anterior to the Millennium- — The characteristics of the Millsmwim. I. When will the Millennium commence ; and how long will it continue ? — in the Apocalypse, 20 : 1 — 6; John replies to these qn^siions; but our io;norance of the precise period, when Daniel and John's prophetic periods begin, renders all attempts to attain per- fect exactitude luigatory. That Daniel's 2300 days, when '• the sanctuary shall be cleansed ;" and his 1290 days, and 1335 days, and John's 42 months and 1260di\ys ; and " the time, times, and half a time'* ot boih the Prophets ref^r to the same periods can- not be doubted. It is evident, that those expositors are incorrect, who lixed tlic comniericement of the 1260 years in 47 1), when the Roman empire was sub- verted; because ^he period to which this calculation conducts us has elapsed nearly 100 years, and An- ti-Christ stiil retains his supremacy. They who des- ignate the year 606, when Boniface received the ti- tle of Universal Bishop and Pope, seem to err in also antedating the epocha : if any year can be presumed to mark llie course of the Mohammedan delusion, it must be llie Hegira, but that is sixteen years later th;in the above era ; and it must also be rememher- evi. that, the witnesses' pro])hesying in sackcloth, did not comjicnce in the eastern empire, until after Mohannned's success over the Arabians enabled him to extend his warlike conquests to the neighbouring countries ; and certainly the witnesses did not appear among "'- the ten horns of the Beast" until 40 years after the military desolations of Apollyon's scorpion- locusts. Besides, if this calculation be correct, 43 years only remain anterior to the demolition of all THE MILLENNIUM. 427 that is opposed to the cross of christ ; which renders the conversion of nearly 20 railHons of people annual- ly necessary — but where are the instruments, either Bibles or Missionaries, prepared for this august em- ployment? The last specified date, about 750 is founded upon the fact, that then the Pope was con- stituted a temporal Potentate — but it must be recol- lected, that the "- Man of Sin, the son of perdition," is not branded with infamy, and pronounced accursed because he ruled a small portion of Italy in vassalage, but on account of his spiiitual prerogatives, and his usurpations in the temple and throne of God ; which indubitably were consolidated about the year 666. The grand objection to those periods is that they de- stroy the distinction which Daniel marks in the 39, and the 45 years after the 1260 years have expired. It has been a tradition coeval almost with Christian- ity, that at the end of 2000 years, the Lord Je- 6:us Christ would unfold the period revealed by John in the passage already quoted; and if we reckon the Hegira in the eastern empire, and in the papal do- minions, the number 666 as the commencement of the 126*0 years we preserve the order of the prophecy, and exactly evolve the distinctive features of the a- pocalyptical visions. In chapter 16, of the Revela- tions, five angels in succession effused their vials up- on various parts of the Roman empire, denominated the earth; the application of these prophecies in spite of all modern ijigenuity, cannot be discovered. The purport of the sixth seems more obvious; as the great river Euphrates assuredly implied the Turks in chapter 9 : 14, so in chapter 16: 12, it must be similarly expounded — but if this be correct then the demolition of the Mohammedan government over the eastern part of the empire is distitK-tly proclaimed, and even the manner of its dissolution pointedly de- clared ; that the pow<^r of the serpent horsemen shall gradually die not from external assault, but merely from internal convulsions, until it shall be withered in perfect impotence. Does not the mod- 428 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XXI. ern, and especially the present prospective condi- ti<.n ol" that apostate deBpotism forcibly corroborate this interpretation ? This would transfer us to a pe- riod about the year 1832, before all (he obstructions to the progress of the Gospel and the return of the Jews to their own land shall be effbcluallj extirpa- ted. After this period will follow the commotions under the seventh vial, then will succeed the slaying ot the witnesses; the public regular profession and preaching of the true Gospel throughout the 10 horns of the beast will totally cease; in which persecutions, all those modes of despoiling them of life will be a- dopted, by which their bodies will be deprived of interment; and so complete will be the apparent ex- termination of the good seed, and of those who had imbibed it, that during three years and a halt^ all the governments civil and ecclesiastical will rejoice at the victory by which they silenced the witnesses, w hose prophesying " tormented them" in their sins. This event will happen at the expiration of 1260 years from the beginning of their testimony : and the death of the two olive-trees indispensably demands, the general suppression of the Protestants against the Latin church, the manifest, undeniable, and triumph- ant congratulations of those who hate genuine Chris- tianity over its supposed ruin, and the almost imme- diate and sudden resurrection of the witnesses. Immediately consequent to the resuscitation of the witnesses, at the same hour, will be the great earth- quake of one of the ten horns; for the " seventh vial shall be poured out into the air and the voice shall cry, it is done ;" " the tenth part of the city shall fall, 7^00 men shall be slain, and the remnant shall be af- frighted and give glory to the God of Heaven;" it is " a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and sogreat." The earliest appearance of the Waldenses being about the year 666, the commencement of the wit- nesses prophesying must be referred to that period ; whence, by the addition of the r260years,we calculate THE MILLENNIUM. 429 theirdeath near the year 1926 : after which threeyears and a half will elapse for their apparent extinction, and the earthquake shall separate forever one of the ten horns from the empire of the beast. Almost immecriately after this event ; " the cities of the nations fall ;" the former Protestants will again secede from the beast and leave to Rome three princi- pal sovereignties into which the great city shall be di- vided ; and a storm of hail, some northern irruption, siiall so torment and plague men, that they will blas- pheme God for the anguish which it generates. The earthquake is previous to the sounding of the seventh trumpet ; for the Apostle having seen the ef- fects oi that convulsion, declares that " the second wo is past, and behold the third wo cometh quickly :" which implies that a short period only will intervene between those occurrences ; and that the various changes that will succeed, shall transpire with over- whelming rapidity. Willtheblast of thethreewo-trumpds he eq ii-distant ? The fifth trumpet was blown about the year 622; the sixth about 650 years after; and the same intercedenlspace of time, points us to a date, sufficient to admit the temporary death of the wit- nesses, the earthquake of the tenth part of the city, and the final and complete organization of that horn upon evangelical principles. The seventh angel sounds; and great voices in heaven, the multitudes of revived Protestants shout the gloriously triumphant song, " the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."" Then the Apostle was called to behold the judgment upon Babylon. Those of the ten kingdoms which separate from her will begin to " eat her flesh and burn her with fire," will totally despoil her of her re- sources and punish her with famine and war. After the resurrection of the witnesses, the gospel will begin to spread during the remainder of the 30 years, previous to the final battle, with unexampled celerity ; a multitude of the Jews will feel its power; 430 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LECTURE XXJ. a desire to return to the land of their ancestors will animate thern ; and by the removal of the Turkish government, the nay will apear unobstructed. In this desigj), all the witnesses will co-operate. They who are impelled by-* the frogs, the three unclean spi- rits" of devils and of the Moliammedan and Papal a- postacies, '' with the beast, the false propliet, and the kijigs of the earth," will combine against the Lord and his annointed, oppose the saint's progress, and coalesce to "exterminate those whom the Anti-chris- tian conspirators denounce as Heretics. This mea- sure will eventua'ly introduce the concluding and de- cisive battle ; wiien the enemies of Christ '-shall be thrown down and found no more at all;" arid it will be truly a war for religion, between the servants of their Lord, for the preservation of their fliith and hope, and the agents of hell, irrecoverably to destroy Christianity. The scene of this conflict will probnbly be in Judea, where the christians and their allied Jewish converts shall be met by the Apostates and Pagans; and when the former shall be reduced to the utmost ex- tremity, the ''Word of God, whose name is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords," shall appear in a person- al manifestation ; by him the combat shall be deter- mined, and there he shall " make the supper of the great God." The immediate result of the conquest will be the settleinent of the already converted Jews in their own Canaan ; the excision of the Latin empire in church and state; ar»d the restoration of t!»e out- casts of Israel, from the various places of their ban- lishment, triumphing in the doctrines of the cross. This infallible demonstration of divine truth, in connection with the extraonlinary means which shall be adopted without opposition to disseminate the " glorious gospel of the blessed God," and which shall be accompanied with the efiiision of the spirit ofgrace and supplication among the saints, and the constant benediction of heaven, in the space of the i5 years ensuing, shall transform the moral character of man- THE MILLENNIUM. 431 kind; and regenerate the human family from the least to the greatest. " Every nation shall see the salva- tion of our God ; the glory of the Lord shall be re- vealed, and all flesh shnll see it together ; the Son shall have the heathen for his inheritance; the whole earth shall be filled with his glory ;" the millennial era shall commence ; and the innumerable hosts of the redeem^ed in heaven and on earth shall unanim- ously shout in the most fervid praise, " Hallelujah, the Lonl God Omnipotent reigneth." Amen. Of this glorious state, John says expressly, that it shall conlittue a thousand years ; and there is no phusihle argument offered, why the period should be prolonged by supposing that each year may be calcidated as a year of days, so as to make the num- ber 365,000. Besides, if the analogy be admitted, that the six days of creation typified the 6000 years of the world prior to the latter-day glory, and the succeeding Sabbath prefigured the millennial rest ; then the coincidences between all the dispensations of God cidiar to this mortal state. The lar- ger portion of oui- habitable world is probably an uri- cnhivated d'-sart, and even of that which is most nu- merously pf*oj)li (1. its capacities to furnish food are but imp«^i f'H^tly known. On this topic it is utterly im- possible to construct any ptausibb^ arithmetical t;ib!e — oie iact in the Jewish history overwhelms all our imaginations. After the division of the twelve tribes into'tvvo kingdoms, .ludah and Bei j imin which com- prised a space prob biy of not uiore than 1500 square miles, mustered during the reign of Jehoshaphnt, one million one hundred and sixty thousand men "ready prepared for war. b^^side tliose whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judab." The lar-- gest capacity atid powers of computation are lost in the immerjsity which results from adapting this nu- merical illustration to the landed surface of the gh-be; especially when it is renieniBered that this mighty force Was continually stationed in Jerusalem. merordors of the land were regularly guarded. It is admitted, that the provihiony adequate to their support were the cor»sequenceof a fertility especial- ly bestowed by God. but this iw also a peculiar portion ^jp,^':7e divine promise attached to the ufiiversal spiri- tii^i'v.^''-^'' of Jesus over the world ""in the last days." I<4tn ,b"beld them who enjoyed the final triumph or'.i'^iHMifli'''^'^' "^'*^'* ^^' ^^'^ enemies of Jesus and his chuVcl '^^"^ ^eclares, that they were '' a great multi- C'Hf: MILLENNIUM. 435 dvidie, Avhlch no mnn could number" — and stili more impressively to describe thorn, ho adds, that when they sung the sublime and extn lie chorus, '•Aileluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reij^neiSi," it was -'as 4he roice of many waters, and as t!ie voice ot mighty ;thunderings." May it not thf retbre be believed, that when the fina4 judgment shall have irrevocably de- termined tlie destinies of all mankind, that the pro- j3ortion of the lost to the redeemed, will be similar to ihat which exists between the good members of so- =ciety and criminals, or those who enjoy the exercise oi reason and lunatics ? Many characters given of the Millennium in pro- phecy, devejope the sources whence tliis extraordina- ry population sh ill be supplied, and by which they shall be consoled. " Then sliall the earth yield her iiicrease." This seems to declare that sterility of S'/il, blasting seasons^ and unpropitious climates shall be iinknown ; so tliat unexampled fertility and pleasant- ness will be experienced. " There shall be a hand- ful of corn in the earth upon the Lop of the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebnnon; and they /of the city sha 1 tionrish like gra^s of the earth — the mountains shall drop down new wine., and the hills shall l!ow witli milk — thf^ wilderrjess and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desarl shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom ^bundintly, and rejoice even with joy anonle van- quished by their myrmidons Inve uniforady immur-Ml them. This gloom wiiicij has so long oversluiM cd the nations, after the irradiations of the Holy C!)ost sliall have been gener;.l!y dispersed, will vanish : and it jnay easily be admitted, even from a survey oltfie modern improvements in all the meehinieal ;H>d trv^i- uficturing arts, in chemi-^try and «n*^dici?ie, and 'U:>]f continual progression in atjrJiierjtingtheconvenitMK'es of life, and the supplies of terrestrial comfort. ' ;t these sciences and Inim m attainments in thenj ^\\}l bs indefinitely exleruled ; t!iis furnishes an irresisti- ble additional argunent for the prodiirir/iis an^nent- ation of the numbers of tl.'e h'jm a) fnnily. But the information to which the predictions of scripture chiefly advert, is \h?\ \v\vch rn- kc-s us wise U!ito salvation, the excelleiicy of ihe kwo.v ledge of Jesutt Christ our Lord. THE BI1LLENT<1UM. 43^ " The hiowledge of the glorious Jehovah : his Char-" ^cter and his iiiliiiite pertections displayed in his re- iiitioiis, and in his vvorks, and in his word, present him in the most vivid colours beibre our eyes, and Inake us acquainted vvilh the greatest and best of beings — oi- nian, his original rectitude, his apostacy from God, and his mournlul condition under a load of depravhty, guilt, and wretchedness — of Jesus Christ the Saviour of sinners, his incarnation, obedience, and death, and his exaltation to glory, where he sits at llje Falliers right liand, as Mead over all things to his churcii, clotlied with Ahr.ighty power, and bound- less comp lesion — the method ol reconciliation with God, througti faith in the righteousness of t!4e Re- deemer, accoiiipanied with the renewing of the Holy Gljost — o-l liie various duties and exercises of the Ciiiisiiaii life, — ol tiiathighA'ay of holiness, in which the redeemed of the Lord do walk : of the world to come, ol tlie resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judg.iieuL; ol the blessedness of the righteous in hea- ven, and of the misery of the wicked in hell : — These are the ouiliries of that system witii which the world' stiall bo euhghtened itr the latter days " ij\ this knowledge, prophecy declares, that it will be inellably more abundant tiian has hitherto been known, that ils effects will be transcend&ntly effica- cious and excellent, and that its extent will be most minutely universal, so that as the uaters fill the ocean, no habitable spot on the globe will be excluded from ks radiance and operations: ••• through every Protestant land, this divine light will be most abundantly stied abroad. From coun- tries now sunk in Romish ignorance and superstition, will these dreadful evils be banished ; and the same exalted degrees of divine knowledge generally pre- vail, in Mohammedan kingdoms, the Koran, which for more than a thousand years lias deluded, and is still deluding hundreds of millions of the human kind, will give place to the writings of the prophets and apc.s- tle*. Their mosques will be converted into temples 440 ECCLFSIASTICAL HISTORY. BECTURE XXI. for christian worship, and thelmans be compelled to retire, and leave their place to preachers of the Gos- pel ; or themselves become such preachers, aiu! e\ e- ry where uitFuse tlic pure light ol evai'gelical truth : — and so great will be their success, that an equal measure ot the knowledge of the Lord shall till iUpf^e regions, as is to be found iti those which have for a- gcs made a profession oi the christian name. On Pagan lands also will the Sunof llighteousness arise, witli healing in his wings. Though now Ihev are mad alter their idols, with a love which is strong as death, and a jealousy which is cruel as the grave; yet the beams of divine glory darting into their minds Irom the faces of tiiose messengers of God, who bring to them glad tidings of great joy, will produce such a change in their spiritual state, as is made in the nntu- ral world, when the gloomiest and most stormy night is succeeded by the light of the morning, when the sun arisetli, a morning without clouds, and stiil more beautified by tiie grass springing out of the earl'n. by clear shining after rain. All those dark places of the earth, even to its remotest boundary, winch are now the habitation of ignorance as well a^ cruelty, shall be adorned with tho brightest rays of divine know- ledge : '• for their light is come, and the glory of the Lord hath arisen upon them." So wonderful shall be the change, that if the question should be asked, *• Whether is there a greater measure of divine know- ledge among the inhabitants of Hindostan and Tarta- ry and China, or in Great Britain and Holland and the United States of America .^" it will be dismissed as a doubt which it is impossible to resolve ; or if any one venture to hazard an answer, it will be '• that tlj-^y are in all respects on a level ; for every part of the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." The prevalence of universal peace, and the gener- al dissemination of saving knowledge will produce a degree of sanctity which the world had never before THE MILLENMUIU-. 44-1 seen exemplifietl. " Holiness is a conformity to the moral perfections of Jehovah — an imitation of his sanctity, rectitude, and benevolence ; consisting in o!>i"Hence to the divine commands, and involviiig ev^^iV duty we owe to God, our neighbours, and our- selves. Its excellence appears in love, worship, sub- jection, resignation ; in affection for others, and all I'le peaceful fruits of active benevoletice for the temporal and spiritual welfare of the whole family of man ; in self denial, purity, humility, contentment, and zeal lor tiie divine glory, — all constituting that char- acter which we should possess as ratimial and im- mortal b?ings. The Gospel, by reveialing new relations, has en- larged the sphere of our existence, and tiie circle of ©ur obligations. Hence, an unspeakably important but pleasing addition is made to the holiness of chris- tians,— comprising faith, love, obedience, and devo- tedness to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour ; a?)d ©f reverence, dependetice, gratitude, and profound submission of heart to the Holy Spirit, as our s.ii-j- tifier, comforter, and guide." Prophecy affims ih;^t this elevation of ch'dracterand purity of conduct, sliall pervade " every class of the community, extend over the face of the whole earth" and when it is said,'^ thy people shall be all righteous," does it not circu;n- scribe within its domains every individual ofthe in- habitants who shall successively walk the christian pilgrimage during the Millennium ? If we remember the providential and spiritual bh^F> ings which have thus been enumerated, we can easily conceive ofthe vast accession of enjoyments which shall be experienced by men, in all the diver* sified conditions of their terrestrial existence. How much more delightful will be the domestic reh^tior , the intercourse of friendship, the harmony ofneiglt* bourhoods, and the usefulness of social connectioi s; when all envy, malice, disputation, anxious cares, ad selfishness shall be excluded, and evangelical phi!;sn- thropy shall reign without obstruction. The labours 3 H PI* 412 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOHY. LECTURE XX*. cflifo will then b'^ liiliillcd, like the duties of devotion without lassilule or fatigue; and couscquerilly will co.itribute to the pleasurable emotions of those w!io are employed in tiiem. if as is usually supposed, with the general reriovatiori of man and his restora- tion to the image of God, while Satan is chained in the bottomless pit, during a thousand years, the curse denounced upon the earth as the punishment of sin shall be removed, then will our whole world become a terrestrial Paradise, and the garden oi Eden be ex- hibited in all its primeval beauty and magnificence; so that nature and art will conspire to augment the pure delights of the citizens. WJien to these are sub- joined the vast expansion of the mind, and the uncloy- ino- and hallowed enjoyments resulting from an ever abiding devotional spirit, and the seraphic exercises of religion, we caii without difficulty, although feebly comprehend the felicity, which shall be commensu- rate with the Saviour's kingdom, in whom all men shall be blessed, and who shall '•' have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." In thus surveying the perfection of the church of Christ, how illustrious does Jehovah appear in his management of the world ! That exalted being ulio created the world by his power, rules it by his pro- vidence. Infiiiitc wisdom a;id rectitude regulate the universe: and the great Governor is constantly c^urying on a plan, which will finally issue in the glo- ry olGod, and in the happiness of all his loyal sub jeets. The long, the constant, and to all appearance, the successful opposition which this government has met with iVom idolatry, error, wickedness and c;u"I ty. has sometimes shaken the faith of multitudes with r<'spect to its very existence. The groans of innocence, the torture^! of the righteous, and the si nughter of the disciples of Christ have tempted even good men to call the proud happy, and to cry out. ", I have cleansed my heart in vain." The tri- umphant efforts of lawless ambition, the extensive conqueats of knavery and power, and the domina- I THE MlLLtlNNU'M. 443 iion of t^ie wicked over prostrnie iiatiojis — havQ provoked lens of thoiisruids to exclaiin, '••Is theie verily a God that JLidgeth in t'ie cwvih ?'' Bill; the [jord reigneth ; and iihlioiigh the workers of iniquity do not perccisc Jehuv.dTs presence noi* the operation of his hands, the spi-ilu dly Avise ob- serve these things, aiid the prndeiit know that tlie w iys of the Lord are right. His interposition in hu- man aifiirs, the displays of his mercy aiid love in the deliverance of his people, and tlie exertions of his power and justice in tiie [jUiii-^hir.Gnt of the wicked have been manifest to theiii irom age to age ; — thus the proofs of the rigiueous governmetit ot God have been mrdtip'ied from generation to generation. Noah's preservation in the ark; the call of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees ; the deliverance of" Israel from Egyptian bondage, and their settlement in Ca- naan ; their return fi-om Biibylonish captivity; the birtli of Christ at BoLiriehem; the judgments of heav- en on the Jews for rejecting the Messiah; the main- taining of the Christian church in existence notwith- statiding the opposition of Pag-^'-^^ ^^^^ ^'^c persecu- tion of Antichrist ; and the freedom from its esieniies which it has now in part obtained — furnish the ihllest demonstration of the reality and excellence oft he ju- risdiction of God, But while the children of wisdom clearly perceive Jehovah's hand — what multitudes are biiiided and see it not ! Yet from those late dis- pensations of Providence wliieh liave shaken terribly the earth, million-; of m.iiikind arc constrained to acknowledge that •• the Lord God omnipotent reigti- eth." But wdien the Millennium shall have errived, all the difficulties ai'd objections of men with respect to the goverMment ni' Jehovali. will vrmish ns [lie sliades of night before t'le rising sun. As soon a-^ tlif' sever fh Angel sounds hi- trumpet, the mystery of (Jod -i.:.!! he fi.i'shed ; the d' . ' ; - governmoi'r ^vili shine iorui in all its lustre ! . sseiiil'l''»; ir.tiltitiides i-i r\-ery land will render, in their wof.^iijn the homp.ue duo (f :^M^- 441 F.rCLESlAS riCAL IIISTOP.Y. LECTURE XXF. hin oxalted name. From tlie rising of the sun to his goiiiir down, the Lord will bekiiigover all the earth. B^ tlip love aiitl tlutiiiiliicss of his subjects, and the com-jiuhicatiotis ol' extraordinary measures of"ha])i)i- ness to all who are under his dominion; the ex--- 1- lence of the ruler and his government will be dis- played. 'I'here shall be no more curse ; then shall the earlh yield her increase ; abundance shall every where reign; and contentmei t. peace and joy, till the hearts o( I'le peojde in every nation. Then will this hymn of"praise be sung in the loudest strains: '• tlie i^ord reigneth. let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of , the isles be glad thereof." How sublime are the views, which this consum- mation of tiie glorious (fleets of gospel grace imparts, of the redemption of siiuiers by .Jesus Christ! Tiiis is the greatest work of God; that which he most highly vdues, and to which all others are subor- dinate , that for which all other works were made ; and that which will be the grand theme of praise, and inlinitely the higliest source of blessedness to the saints \i\ heaven through all eternity. Redemption is that method ofdelivering men from guilt, depravily, and misery, and of restoriiig them to the di^'ine fa- vour, to the image of God, and to eternal blrssed- ness. which Jehovah in his supreme wisdom devised, and which was accomplished by the incarnation, obedience and death of the Lord .Fesus Christ — the brightness of the Fathers glory, and the express image of his person. From tlie day on which the Saviour died upon the cross, this glorious dispensa- tion, in the fiith of which saints from the beginnifig of the world had lived, has shed its saving efficacy on the souls of men ; and wherever it has been re- ceived, righteousness, holiriess, and happiness have been ever the infallible consequence. Since the day of Pt-ntecost, when salvation was first proclaimed to the world by the apostles of Christ, with the Holy Ghost sent down i'v&m heaven, it has THE MILLElNNIUai. 445 incessantly been attacked by potent and bitter Toes even to the present day. Jewish unbeiiefsdught to i^trangle it in its birth — persecuted the disciples of Jesus without mercy; and its champion Saul ofTar- suri, rather than be unemployed in a work of blood, kept the clothes of him who stoned to death the tirst Christian martyr. Wlien dirine justice punished the murderers of Christ and of his followers, by the de- struction of the Jewish nation, Paganism seized the weapons of hostility to the cross of Christ; and the patient sufferings of thousands under bitter persecu- tions, united with the hope of glory amidst their suf- ferings, displayed thegrandeur of redemption. Hea- then enmity to Immanuel was succeeded by Anti- christian superstition and idolatry, wliich under a pretext of superior veneration for a crucified Sa- viour, persecuted the friends of the pure doctrines of the Gospel with a keener hatred if possible than either Pagans or Jews. During Antichrist's reign, it is almost by their blood only that the partakers of salvation can be traced ; and in its stream wc view with admiration the excellence of its principles, in the meekness, the peace, and the joy with which they endured martyrdom in its most terrifying forms. Since the era of the reformation, the triumphs of re- demption have been more numerous and more exten- sive. Still however the gospel has found adversaries: heresies have obscured its lustre — the spirit of the world has despised its blessings — and the reign of iniquity among the mass of the people professing to be disciples of the Son of God has tarnished its pure and spiritual glory—yet Popery defaces its brightness ; and Judaism, Mohammedanism, and Paganism en- tirely conceal it from hundreds of millions of the hu- man race. But when the Millennium arrives, the redemption of sinners will be displayed in all its splendour. The divine plan from eternity ; the person of the Media- tor as God manifest in the flesh ; the infinite merit of kie obedience, the aionemeijt made by his sufferings 446 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. LLGTLRE XX!. u'Mo death, and his intercession at tho Fat!i"fs riliht hand ; the blessings rosuhing from tlie media- lion ot'Christ, pardon and reconcihation with God, the sanctiHcation oi'the soul by the IIo!v Ghost, com- munion >\ith Ichovah here, and eternal fcHcily in heaven — will be distinctly understood and cordially received ; and are truths that nil! produce sanctity of character, loyalty to God, benevolence to the whole family of man, harmony in private life, peace be- tween nations, and an extraordinary degree of hnp- piness; which will be extended with the gospel which produced them, over the foce of the whole globe. From generation to generation, the mass of mankind will share in these inestimable beneiits, the enjoyment of which will render earth a paradise, and prepare a multitude which no man can number for the bless- edness of the celestial state. The glory of the Millennium is the unrestricted operation of the Gospel of Christ upon every indi- vidual, in his personal experience and social rela- tions. Even now, the difTerence between some per- sons is so vast, that the contrasts of ihe latter day can scarcely exhibit a greater distiriction. Bring viv- idly before your imagination, the various iMissionaries and the semi-brutal subjects of their instruction. Walk with Carey and Marshman and Ward on the banks of the Ganges, around the funeral pile where the Indian widows are consumed ; and can you con- ceive of any thing more widely separated than tliose Eastern Luminaries, and the bond children of dark- ness w^hom they strive to enlighten ? Seat yourselves with Campbell and Read and Pliilip in a Hottentot's kraal, and you must be more besotted than the Caf- frarians themselves, if you can not discern the al- most incredible elfects produced by the instrumen- tality of Vanderkemp, Kicherer, and their Preihren. From the Northern Esquimaux to the Islanders of the South Pacific, wherever a Missionary «w/l"5, there the stupividous features of the Millennium may in some measure be discerned ; and your own Missionaries THE MILLENNIUM. 447 at Brainerd, Maj hew, Elliott, Dwight, Harmony, and Union present an exhibition in contrast v>\{h the Cherokees, Creeks, and Osages around them — some- thing like that wliich the present highest portion of chriaiiiiiiity will appear, when compared with the pre- emiuenlillnmination, unalloyed sanctity, and ceaseless consolalioiis which shall characterize that terrestrial day of the Lord, (he type of the New-Jerusalem, Chiistians oi" every denomination are urged to la- bour with .dl iheir might, that the principles of "• pure mii] undetiied religion'" may be exalted to their utmost Millennial extent and glory. In the methods adopt- ed to inlroJuce the benighted nations of our globe to the faith of Christ, we must co-operate ; by our ex- ertions, dojiaiions, and influence, and especially by our fervid and ceaseless implorations for the destruc- tion of Satan's Kingdom, and for the predicted amp- litude of Messiah's triumphs. Rejoice that you have seen the evangelizing of the world commence, and that you have assisted \n founding the divine fabric ; add stone to stone with all speed, and animate others also to work diligently, because ere long you shall hear the mandate of the Master: "-go thou thy way, for thou shalt rest :" for that season prepare ; and al- though you on earth may not feel the Millennium; you shall be admitted to the extacy of celestial bliss, and there behold the gradual progression of the church to the consummation of its promised glory: contem- plate the thousand years as they rapidly and delight- fully revolve; and then, after the dissolution of earth and ti'ne, you shall exult in the enjoyment of felicity without intermission and everlasting. '• The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you ally AMEN. THE END. NOTICE. ^i:^ The Aulbor rcjrrcts essential eiratta in the work ; they are now rr- reutf.ii.ible ; to obviate hyper criticism, lie tlierefoi*- statt^s, that lie lias not deemed it necessaiy to notice either literal mistakes, ivliether they involve the ofthogra}>hy, or the syntax: or vobal aUeratlnns mIk ii the word is merely a duplicate, or a iriaiiilest oyersight ; or in short, any error which does not affect the utulLMstanding of the subject. The. foUoming require correction. Page 1 1 9 line 2jrom the end ; insteailnj, its complete, Sic. tead, iras ihc complete itnd cunning adaptatioii of the doctrhies of the Komn to the depravity, kc. 167 hue :i7. After to. insert attempt. 201 line 1. For uid read a. 216 line 26. For snprccy, rrarf supremacy. 25i) Ini*' U. /or all, read half ot 257 line 1 1. For that island, read his diocesfi. 2t'U line 30. Insert a cdon : after protracted. 276 line 20. For imputatiou, read importation. 232 line 23 For they, read the Reformers. 30G luie 9. Jfter had, insert not. 322 line .12. For Genevan, read general. 421 line 23. For Zuir, read Zion. 422 liiu- 3(5. For law, read love. 424 hue 10. Jfter are, i/iSerU;oojoiued. 430 line 24. For personal, read powerful. 438 liae 26. for five- shavrcd, rhd ov rsh tdowed. APPENDIX. Page 6 Hue tj'rom bottom, instead of f?^ read, of Ministers. Page 42 line ^ 2 from bottom, iytsttfud .f ■:> ■ i-i^i , read last nott. Page 56 line 2 from bottom, after view insert liave. APi^ENDIX. The nature of these Lectures precluded the intro- duction of a variety of matter, which might tend to the enlarged comprehension of the multifarious sub- jects that have passed under review. Defect there- fore w as essentially combined with the whole plan ; but in some measure to obviate this unavoidable characteristic of the design ; after the publication of the Lectures had been arranged, it was determined to supply the most obvious deficiencies, by annota- tions appended to those subjects, which seemed to demand additional explanation. Distinct and con- cise illustrations were required upon a number of articles introduced ; especially to convey to those for whose illumination these lectures were principal- ly delivered, more accurate views of the diversified history ot the Church. These notes are still inade- quate ; but comprehension was one of the prominent objects ; and it was neither proposed nor practicable to condense within a sliort popular course of ad- dresses an expanded view of all that interests in the revolutions which the church of Christ has experien- ced. The following elucidations however, may have a tendency to excite a desire for more ample infor- mation upon the topics of which these Lectures form only a syllabus. The diificulty with the Author has not been what niatter he shall insert; the labour has often been very serious to ascertain what he shall reject ; and from the immense mass of materials to select that only which was compatible with the avowed purpose ; to embody in the smallest portraiture possible, the multiform features of the ecclesiastical world 1 2 iwPPBNPlX. since that uuy, when the followers of the Lamb be- gan " to continue stedfast in tlie Apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and of prajers," until the present period ; with a prospect- ive glance over.tlie evangelical landscape, as it is exhibited to us in the delineations of prophecy, when in him who is greater than Solomon, " men shall be blessed, and all nations shall call him blessed; and the whole earth shall be filled with his glory. Amen." /. Page 7. The Christian religion verified bj facts. Tlie argument introcluced iu the introductory lecture, merits adilitionc^ illustration lor the sake of those- who may never have inquired wiiether the Sacred Scriptures can be demonstrated to be authentic and divUiely ins- pired. Fact is the most easily coaiprehensibJe of all eyideuce, and its Jbrce has thus been very luminously stated. — " If the facts recorded in the Gospel are incontestable, and if the mira- cles of Jesus Christ are admitted, then his religion is substantiated by proofs more tbau sufficient ; and without adveiting to iateriuinable contro- versies respecting dottrioes, this point involves a general and aathoritative decision. Proofs of facts constitute the most weighty testimony, the most perfect certitude to wliich the human mind can attain, la things not scll'-cvjdcut ; because it is more congenial and proportioned to the feebleness of our con- ceptions— because the unitbrm vrrifioations of au ancient occurrence involve truths and principles esseirtial to jiuman nature, and of whith the impression is so general, profound and vivid, that they are a proiaiaent part of the basis upon which civil society is founded — because they are less subject to disputatious subtlety, or artificial ratiocination — because no energy of argument can balance, much less vanquish an (uuienlablf; fact — and because an event includes at least to the grasp of our knoivJcdge, the largest fertility of consequences evidently ceitain and regular. Now. facts thus demonstrate the truth of the Christian Religion : for Gnd infi- nitely good and holy cannot authorize imposture, or sanction by IiLs con- curFcnce the seductions of the adversary ; but by miracles, the apparent suspension of the laws which govern the universe, the powei of God is exhibited in the most impressive manner ; as it is obvious, that the ordi r established by Omnipotence, can be deranged only by him. Hence when- ever prodigies or evident interruptions of the general and pre-establishc {h>^ worship of the one living and true God; and the number and ibnitiule and the constancy of the Martyrs, Upon this last circumf^tr.ncc, it is ntf-ited, that not the hope full of immortality, but a lanatical dtlirium, or an ambitious desire of a great name, or their own simple credulity and facility to be deceived induced them to exult in incessant persecution. This reply falsifies all hist^y ; for the noblest devotees, the glory of the Pagan Mythology, abandoned their altars, embraced the cioss, confuted Cbe sophists, and iu their tortures blessed their tormentgrs. 4 appeITdix. Thus it is evi;]cnt, that upon a palj a^e Tact they could iint be drrr iveti : go wii-h respect to tlj« uiiracUs wliifii they thrmselvcs pt ifoinieti, it was impossiLile tor them to be df lnded. Ircuffiu?; a>siir«s us tt>at tht y haitished diseases, revealed (hou:;!its. spake in diveis !aiigu;ie»% and rai« dead to life. Origrn, 'IVrtuilian atid FCiispbiiis, cliiiclians ; Celsiis, pi>i|jliyiv, aii'l Julian. Atheist., all coriohoiale this wondrons nairative. 'lo tiHsn Idcts. let a third be suhjoincd : since the Apostolic rra, fel^^^m anM!i devoted to ih- ration confirms the fact, that the spiritual desoiatioo is almost total. v. Page 42. The independent or congregational system of Church gov, ernment established by the Gospel. Primitive Christianity in its regulations, discipline and Officers was spewlily deteriorated by the corruption and especially by the ambition ot men. However wonderful (he anomaly, yet it was elicited at a very early period, after the death ol the Apostle John. An occasional, or a voitm- tary, or an invited or a delegated A?sociationC?^Hnd Members of Chui-ehes assuming DO Jurisdiction, and exercising no Lordship over the Christian Societies conoected with them, is often beneficial, as such meetings pro- mote harmony and combiu^onconiormists, and the New- England Congregationalists will comprize a general exposition of their platform of church government, the subject is heiue transl'erred to that . narrative, as its more appropriate department. FI. FageG4. Extracts frcm the Letters of the Churches at Smijrna and Lyons Tcspceting their persecutions. The church cf God which is at Smyrna, vntn all the congregations throughout Pontiis, mercy, peace and the love of God the Father, and of our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied. We have written unto yon brethren, of such as suffered martyrdom, and of blessed Polycarp, who signed and sealed the persecution with his own blood. The beholders were amazed, seeing; the tksh of the Martyrs rent with scourges, even into the inner veins and sinews, so that tJie most secret entiails of their bodies, their bowels were piteously to be seen. Beholding again the sharp shells of sea fish, and pebble stones strewed under the Martyrs backs and bruised bodies, with every kind of torment that could be devised. Lastof all they were thrown to be torn to pieces, and be devoured of wild beasts. Germanicus valiiintly endured and overcame through the grace of God, that corporeal fear of death, grafted in the frail iiature of man : lor when the Proconsul exhorted him to relent, admo- lished him of his tender years, prayed bim to pity his own case being now in the flower of his youth ; he without intermission, desired that ivith speed he might be dispatched of this cruel and wicked life. Which patience and constancy of the blessed Martyr, and of the whole Chiistian nation, the multitude of infidels beholding, su t!i> III who V tre then prest-nt, plainly progiiosUcaling Ihat it sIkiKi'I come to pass, that bis lifeshmild be ended, that his body should he biiniKl lor the testisDoiiy oi" Christ. When the searchers were at"hiMid. ;it (lit- earliest iatrcaty of his iriends, he fled thence unto another village, where Ihe pursuers came, who took two boys of that plaee, and scourg,e(i thtai Jiotil one of theracontiessetl the circumstance, and led them to tlie loiigiiiti of Polycarp. When they had entered in, they fonnd him lying in an upper chamber where lie mi^jht have escaped if it pleased him. But he saul ; ffifi. nill of the Lord bcjulfillcd. l''or he understanding tht-ir pretence, lame down, communed witii them pleasantly and clieeriiiliy, so tiiat Ihrty which kne^v him not before, stedfastly eyed his eomcly age, mar- velling thai a man of sncli years should be taken- Ho connnandt^d the table forthwith to be covered, meat to be laid on, requested them to make merry, craved of tiiem the space of one hour lor prayer: that being granted, he rose up, went to prayer so replenished by the grace of God, that such as were present and prayed, hearing his devotion, were ravish* ed, and many sorrowed, that so honest and godly a father should die. When he had ended his prayer, they set him on an ass, and brought him to tiie city being on the great Sabbith day. There met him Hi-iod the jus- tice of peace, and his father Nicetes, who receiving him into their chariot, persuaded him, saying : •' what harm is it to say Lord Ca3>ar, to sacrilice, a:ul so l>e saved ?" At the first he answered nothing, but when they nrged him he said : " I will not condescend to your counsel." Tiiey per- ceiving he would not be persuaded gave him very rough language, and tumbled hira out of the waggon, to the bruising his shins : hut he as though he had been nothing hurt nor injured at all, went bolt upright, cheerful and apace towards the theatre. When he was come upon the theatre or stage, a voice came down from heaven, which by reason of the great tumult was heard of few : Bs of good cheer, O Polycarp, and play the man — The speaker no man saw, but the voice was heard by many of us- In the mean time the multitude was in a rage, seeing Polycarp brought tbrth . the Proconsul demanded of him whether he were that Polycarp^ beckon- ing that he should deny it, and saying.: "Tender thine years." with such like persuasions, ♦• Swear by the fortune ofCjesar. repent thee of that i!> past, say, remove the wicked," But Polycarp beholding with unmoval)(<; countenance the multitude round about the stage, pointing with the hand, and sigiyng, and looking up to heaven, said : " Remove O Lord these wicked." When the Proconsul urged and said, swear, and I will let thee go, blaspheme and defy Christ, Polycarp answered: Fourscore and six years have I served him, neither hath he at any time ever off ended me in anything: and hon can I reuHe my king who hath thus kept me! The Proconsul still urged and said, '• Swear by the fortune of C'jesar." — To whom, Polycarp : " If thow requires! this vaiu glory, that I protest the fortune of Cajsar, as thou sayest, feigning thou knowest me not who I am : here freely, I am a Christian : and if tboudesircst to kuow the doctriiu- ot Christianity, appoint the day and thoii shall hear it." When the Pro . consul said, '• persuade this people :" Polycarp answered . " I have vOiMJi- safed to confer with thee."- To this the Proconsnl said : I'have wil(5 beasts to devour thee urdcss thon repent. Polycarp answered, " hrin' them forth." Again the Proconsul said : "I will quiet thee with fire il thou regard not the beasts nor repent," to whom Polycarp answered • "Thou threatenest fire for an hour, which lasteth a while and quickly is quenched but thou art ignorant of the everlasting fire at the day of judgment, and endless torments reserved for the wicked. But why liiigeiest thou ^— dispatch as it pleasetli thee." Uttering these words, ha was coustaut and f heel Hil. anf] liis eoy.uenance so g/aoious. that the Proconsul being amazed, < o:nir,;u)(Jes ami booli;s. iIi^ baud;, beini thet) bound to his baei;. hi-, fit Ibraa aceeptab^e buiiu rayiiii'-t' i.iiU) Aiiiiigiity Gn.l, was ofi"e,red saying : O Fatijer ot'-tby ivbj! hclo.c.] aijd liI- s^.-J ?0!. J,"e«ii.>. Ci list, thioiigli'wbo!>! we Ivave koavvi! iheci : O God oithe. a-'iie!-; au.i powers, aud ofevery iivinsi crea- tiii-e aitd of all sor;\ oi' just iiicii w;jo i.-.e its thy pit s net , I thank thee ibat tbuii hast grat-iousiy vouchsalc'd lids day ajjd this hour, lo allot me a por- tjoii amoii^ the iHmib','r of Mailvis, among; the people nfChrist. iiiiti the resiine.clioo of the evnlasUiig liie. both of body and of sou', in t'.e iiicor- Miptio;iof liie Holy G;;o^t, aaK)ii'»; whom I shall be received iu fliy sl^itit this (lay. as a hidl-ul and aeceptabie saeritlee, t;s Uifiii hast lieretcfore preparotd, often levealed, and t.ow fnlfi'le*!, most (aitiiiul God who canst iio'. lie. VViierelbre tor all lliinss I praise thee, I bl.ss tiu'c. I glordy t!)ee, tiir'>oa;li tiie tverl.istina; Hi;i;h Trif st, Jesus Christ thy w'ell b( ioved Sun, to wiioiii, with thee and tiie Holy Giiost. be all glory, world v'.th'ot end, Amen." When he lud pioaoimced this Amen, auu finished his (lay- er, the executioners set the p;:e on fire. The flasne vehemently I'.siied about, framing itself after the ibrin ofavanltoi sail of a shi[» vvith the blustering blasts of wind, compassed the body of thv; Martyr within placed, as with a \vali : and thai which was in the midst of the same, seemed to our senses a fragrant and swc-jt smell, as of fraidDC -nse, or some such like precious peifnme. At lengih when the cruel pei -ecutors perceived the fire not lo cousnaie his body, they called for a tormentor and gave him charge to lance bun in llie side with a spear : w hlch when lie had (l.)ne» such a streaJD of blood issued out of his body, that the fire was therewith quenched, so that the whole multitude marvelled. The centurion caused the body to be laid in the midst, after their accustomed manner, to be biuiied. Thus it bappeiied unto Poiyearp that was martyred at Smyrna, togethef with twelve others out id" Philadelphia. The servants of Christ, sojourning in Vieime and Lynns in France, to the brelhren in Asia Piopria and i^hri/qia, ,tho hive the same faith and hope of redemption with J's, peace and glory and grace from Cod the Father and Christ Jesus our Lprd. We are not competent to describe with accuracy, nor is it hi our power to express the greatness of the afllirtion sustained here by the saints, the intense animosity of the hcalheu against them, and the complicated sufier- jngs of the blessed martyrs. The grand em my assaulted us with all hs might, and by Ids first essays exhibited int'-nfious of exercising malice irithout controul. He left no method untried to habituate his slaves tu his bloody work, and to prepare them by previous exc,-civ( s agiiu'^t tlu- ser- vants of God. Christians were absniuttiy proliibited from appearing in any houses, except their own, iu baths, in the market, or in any pia-o v,-!iateTer. The grace of God howevea- fought for us, preserving the wra>-, and exposing the strong, who like pillars were abb; l> withstand hiio i!i patience, and (o draw the whole fury of the wicked against themsi-'lves. These entered into the contest sustaining every species of p:iiL,aud re- proach. What was heavy fo others, to them was liiiht. while ^ey .vere fasteuing to Christ, eviaciug indeed, that "the sufferiu£s of tfcis present 10 APPEIhDIX. tiino are not worthy to be com|nrcd with the glory that shall be revealed ill lis." Tlif first trinl was Irom the people at large; shouts, blows, the dr;i2:Jiii)g ol' tiieir bodies, t!)P plundnrins; of tlu-ir goods, casting orstooe^, a')(l (III' coifinint orilitin v.ilhii) their own houses, anrl all thp indignities »vliicli may Uo exjx'ctci! IVom a fierce and oiitraKcrtiis multitude, these ner<'. magnanimously sustaiiipd. And now being led into the forum by the tribune and the nii^isiat-^s, they were examined before all the people, wiicth r they were cliristians, and ou pleading guilty, were shut up v.\ pri>-iin till the arrival of the governor Bef.re him they were at lenirtb br.'nght. a;i I he trpated thtni with great -avageness of manners. The spirit of Vrttiu« Fpagatlius, one ot the bntiiren was roused; a man full of charily both to God and man, whose conduct was so exemplary, though but -I youti-, that Up might ^^ejiistl) compared to old Z.ieharias ; fyr lie waike(l in all the coiriijimiiments and ordinancos of the Lord blameless, a man ever unwearied in a<"ts of lieneficence to hisneiiilibours, full of zeal to- wirilsGod. and firvciit in spirit. He could not bear to see so manifest a p» rv-Tsiou of ju t ce ; l,ut being moved with indignation, he demanded to be \w.\»\ in b'-iia f of h brethren, and pledged hiuiselfto prove that tlif re was nothing atlieisi cal or impious among them ; those about the tribu- nal shoiiiiiig ugaui't liiM, lor he was a man of quality, and the governor being impUitni of .so «cjuital)le a demand, aud only asking him if he were a christian, and he confe.ssiug in tiieinost o^en manner, the consequence was, 1 hit he wu* ranked among the martyrs. He was called indeed the ad vacate of iht> chri-lians ; but he had an advocate within, the Ho!v Spirit, more abundantly tii m Zacharias, which he demonstrated b> the 'ulnesH of hi-^ charity, cheer;"ully laying down his life in defence of his brethn-n ; for he was, \\u\ is still a genuine disciple of Christ, tbilowing the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. The rest began now to be distinguished. The capit I mat I vrs appeared indeed ready for the contest, aud discharged their part with ail alacri'y of mind. Others appeared also unready, une.Y- ercised, and as ycl weak, unable to sustain the shock of such a contest: of these, ten in number lapsed, whose case filled us with great grief and unracasuidble sorrow, and dejected the spirit)» of those who had not yet been appnhended ; who, though they sustained all indignities, yet deserted not the m.irtyrs in their distress. Then we weie all much alainud, be- cause ol' the uncertain event of confession, not that we dreaded the torments with vvliicli we were threatened, but because we looked forward unto the rnd. and feared the danger of apostacy. Persons were now ap- prt bended daily of such as wee counted worthy to fdl up the niunber of the lapse, 1. so that the most excellent were selected from the two churches, even hose by whose lab ur they had been founded and established. Th'ie vvf^re seized at t!ie sa:ne tiniesom' ol our heathen servants, for the governor had openly or<)ered us all to be songlit lor, who by the impulse o! Satan, learin^i the lorn)ents whici they saw infJicted on the saints, on the suiisestion of the .soldiers, accused us of eating hu ; an flesh, and of unnatu- ral mixtures, and of things not fit even to be mentioned or imagined, an-i such as ought not to be believed of mankind. These things being divulg»d. all Wire ineenserl even to madness against us; so that if some were formuly more moderate on account of any connections of blond, affinity or frieti Iship. tliey were then transported beyond all boinils with indignation. IVow it was that our Lord's word was fulfilled, *' the time will come whin whosoever killeth you will think that hedoeth God service." The holv martyrs now sustained tortures which exceed the powers of de. scription; S.itan labouring by nxsans ol them, to extort something slander- ous to rbristi.ioily. The »vhole fury of the umlliliide, the governor aud the soldiers, was spent io a particular mauuer ou Sauctus of Vieone, the APPENDIX. li deacon, aud oa Matiirns a hte convert indeed, but a lna2,nanimous vvrc«tlRr, and on Atralus of Per2;amiis. a man uhi harl over hprn the pillar and support of onr c'liurch, and on Blandini. Ihrong.'i whoia Chi ist shewed, that those thinics tliat appear iiu'sightly and co Ueinptihle unong men, are most honourable in the preseiicp. n> Gnd, on arco^ial o|' love to his name exhibited in real energy, and not hoastii)!^ in pamuoii^ prptedi-es. For while we all feared, and among the rest fir;- mistress accoidin:: to the flesh, heiself one of the noble army of mjrtyrs, t\ ts airaid that she would liot be able to witness a good confession, because o!' ihc weakness of her body, Blandina was endued with so much fortitude, tbdt those wiio succes- sively toi tnred her from morning to night, were quite worn out with f.uiine, and owned themselves conquered and exhausted of their whole ajipiratiis of tortures, and were amazed to see her still breathing, whilst h<'r body was torn and laid open, aud confessed that one species of torture had been sutticient to despatch her, much more so great a variety .as had been appi ed. But the blessed woman, as a generous ivr,..iipr 't>povered fresh vigour in the act of eoni'ession ; and it was an ;v . nt. support, and an annihilation of ail her pains to say, " .. ■.. . ; .. a'ld no evil is com- ■sniited amons ««■" In the mean time Sanctns, having sn'^tairied in a m. inner more than human, the most barbarous indignities, while the impious hoped to extort something from him injurious to the gospel, from the duration and intense- uess Off his suSTerings, resisted with so much firmuess thiC hf w )u!d neitiier tell his own name nor that of his nation or state, tior whethei- he was a freeman or a slave; but to every interrogatory he answered in Litin. '• lam a christian.'''' This he repeatedly owned was to him both name, and state, and race, and every thing; and nothing else, eou!d the h.athf ndr.iw from him. Hence the indignation of the governor and torfnreis w;is fiercely levelled against him, so that having exhausted all the usual mi-tho.is oi tor- lure, they at last fixed brazen plates to the most tfuder parts oi' his body. These were scorched of conrie, and yet he r? m:iined upriglit aiKi inO' xihle, firm in hisconfessio.'i, being bedewed and reiie^'itd Irom the her'Vt niy foun- tain of the water of lile. His body witnessed indeed the ghastly tortures which be had sustained, being one continued wound and bruise, alto- gether contracted aud no longer retaining the lorm of a human creature ; in whom Christ suffering wrought great wonders confounding the ad\ « r^ary. and shewing for tlie enconragemeut of the re>t, that nothing is to be feared where the love of the Father is : nothing palnfiii where the glory oi Chi ist is exhibited. For while the impious imagined, wiien after some days they renewed his tortures, that a fresh application of Ih;- same methods of pun- ishment to his \vounds, now swcdien and inOained, must either ovei come bis constancy, or by despatciiing liim on the spot, strike a terror into the rest, as he could not even bear to be touched by the hand, this was so far from being the case, that contrary to all expectation, his body recovered its natural position in the second course of toiture ; he was restored to his former shape and the use of his limbs; so that by tlie grace of Christ, it proved not a punishment but a cure ! Biblias, a woman who had denied Christ, was led to the torture, and though at first she accused the christians of horrid impieties, yet in the midst of her tortures, being admonisl)ed, by a temporary punishment of the danger of ettrnal fire in hell, she recovered from her apostacy, pro- fessed herself a christian, and was added to the army of martyrs. Many christians were thrust into the darkest and mast noisome parts of the prison, where they suffered all the indignities which diabi)!ical irial ce could inflict. Many were suffocated. Othcis t!)ongh greatly afllicted, remained a.live, strengthened by the Lord, and comforted and encouraged one another to constaacv in the christian faith. 12 AVPL^mx. Pothina*!. bhliop nl'Lvons, np'vards of niacts years of age, very iiiflrm and astliiriatic. pan(i;ig attrr in;ii!yi(loin was caiieil to slifier. Aster a g!«'at variety olabjise Iiotli Crom lliR pnj.u!ai-e and the magistrates be ■>vn'< UiioHo into prison anfl alter two d;iys «xpire'l. Those who bad iltnied Ctirist, were not hy tlu;ir dtnia! olltiin exempt from persecntioii. But in tlieir siiniciing;*, llwy had not tlie support^, Hhieli ciiii r; i\ho stood firm ia llie tiiith, experienced. They went to txeeulioii » ill! jiuilt depicted in theii cnnntenaiues. dejeeted, spiritless and' Ibrlorn. The heathen insulted tijern as coward* and poltroons and treated them as niurdrrers ; tlius seeking to save their lives they lost them, and failed of receiving the consolations of the relieion whi.Reri vast pecuniary resources, atul an ambition to cfni-ieciatc them entirely to the welfare of the disciples of the Kedecmer ; for we have full authority to uftirm. that this collection of books was niade merely for the use of the church ; and to lend to those who were desirous of being instructed in the grand prinei[)h!s ol' Christianity. And this is as Dr. A. Clark observes, 'tlie first notice we have of a circulating library being established.' Nor was the benevolr nl and philanthropic spirit of this emirent man to he less arlmired. His hand was always opened for the relief of the necessitous, ami Ins heart ever re.idy to sympathize with the tsisernble. If he .siw my emb.irrascd in Iheir temporal afl'airs, he gave bountifully of bis sabstvjace to relieve them. He devoted a considerable ■ APPENDIX. 13 portion of his property to these charitabJe purposes, and lived himsflfin thf! iTiost abstemious manner, to render his ability tiis greater. One of the inooncrientsoj his benevolence >vas the school which he established at C'.everal ohnrcbes were called Synods by the Greeks, and CrMncils by the Latins ; and the taws enacted in these genera! meetings we; e caliod mnnns, Ihati.s, rules. These councils, of which we find not the smallest trace before the middle of the second centmy, changed the face ol the whole clnirch, and gave it a new form ; for by them the ancient privilpgcs of the people were considerably diminished", and the power and authority of the bishops greatly auamented. Tlie humility indeed, and tb< prudence of these pious prelates, hindered them from assuming ail at once, the j)ower with which they were afterwards invested. At their first appearance in lii.'se general councils, they acknowledged that they were no more than the delegates of their respective churches ; and that they acted in the name and by the appointment of their people. But they soon changed this humble tone ; imperceptibly extended the limits of their authority; tur- ned their influence into dominion, and their counsels into laws ; :\nd at length openly asserted, that Christ had empowered them to prescribe to his people auihoriiative rules of faith and manners." nil. Page 124. Relics. Among other circmnstances of this kind upon record, the following will amply exhibit the true nature and extent of the superstitious excesses then so prevalent and universal. The possession of one of a fictitious Virgin's teeth called St. Apollonia, was proclaimed to be an infallible preservative against all the <;omplaiuts incident to the gums, and a certain antidote both to the decay and loss of the teeth. Nothing less than that APPENDIX. 15 ^\'mc.h happened could have been aniiiipated. At first osie tooth only was io ' t'ouiu! mdsi soltmnly dv^positc! nud mo=t s;iciTdly snarded in the utrii;-t mi;.fniiiceiict" iii sudu principal and very distiint Cathtdr.il; but in a siKitt lime they li -J been so miiKiplied by miracles, as the Monks and Friars irlio sol them 'mpuilently voeitVrats u.is measnreil. and in one mi all distret only, to the Saint warappro- pn. !.<<'. i!o less than Ihr' e bnsheis of Teeth, including the tenants of the nue.iih which api