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SUMIVEARV

PRINCIPLES AND HISTORY OF POPERY,

FIVE LECTURES,

THE PRETENSIONS AND ABUSES

dttfUVCtt Of Uotm.

BY JOHN BIRT.

iiONDOitr;:
PRINTED BY J. HADDON, FINSBURY.
SOLD BY WESTLEY, HOLDSWORTH, W. JONES, AND HAMILTON, LONDON;
ALSO, BY BARTLETT AND HINTON, OXFORD; AND BY
WADGH AND INNES, EDINBDRGH,
1823.

CONTENTS.

LECTXTHE I.
THE CLAIM OF THE CHURCH OF ROME TO THE
APPELLATION " CATHOLIC."
1 JOHN IV. 1. BELOVED, BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TRY THE
SPIRITS, WHETHER THEY ARE OF GOD  page 1
LECTTTHE II.
THE CONNECTION OF THE PAPAL USURPATION WITH
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
MATT. XX. 25 — ^28. JESUS CALLED THEM UNTO HIM, AND SAID, YE
KNOW THAT THE PRINCES OF THE GENTILES EXERCISE DOMINION OVER
THEM, AND THEY THAT ARE GREAT EXERCISE AUTHORITY UPON THEM.
BUT IT SHALI. NOT BE SO AMONG YOU : BUT WHOSOEVER WILL BE
GREAT AMONG YOU, LET HIM BE YOUR MINISTER ; AND WHOSOEVER
WILL BE CHIEF AMONG YOO, LET HIM BE YOUR SERVANT : EVEN AS
THE SON OP MAN CAME NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO, BUT TO MINISTER,
AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY  page 39
LECTURE III.
THE GENIUS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PAPAL
ASCENDENCY.
1 PETER V. 2, 3. FEF.D THE FLOCK OF GOD WHICH IS AMONG YOU, TAKING
THE OVERSIGHT THEREOF, NOT BY CONSTRAINT, BUT WILLINGLY ; NOT
FOR FILTHY LUCRE, BUT OF A WILLING MIND ; NEITHER AS BEING LORDS
OVER god's HERITAGE, BUT BEING ENSAMPLES TO THE FLOCK, page 71

IV

LECTURE IV.
THE CHURCH OF ROME, VIEWED WITH REFERENCE
TO THE PAST.
1 JOHN II. 18. LITTLE CHILDREN IT IS THE LAST TIME : AND AS YE HAVE
HEARD THAT ANTICHRIST SHALL COME, EVEN NOW ARE THERE MANY
ANTICHRISTS ; WHEREBY WE KNOW THAT IT IS THE LAST TIME. p. 105
LECTURE V.
THE PROSPECTS UNFOLDING TO THE CHURCH OF
CHRIST.
REVELATIONS XXII. 20. HE WHICH 'TESTIFIETH THESE tHINteS SAITH,
SURELY I COME QUICKLY; AMEN. EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS, p. 139

LECTURE I.

THE CLAIM OF THE CHURCH OF ROME TO THE
APPELLATION " CATHOLIC."

1 JOHN IV. 1. BELOVED, BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT, BUT TRY THE
SPIRITS, WHETHER THEY ARE OF GOD.
Human nature though fallen, still exhibits some
portion of its original character, in a quick sen
sibility and profound reverence of that which
appears to come from above. Yet, even this,
the only remaining link of the golden chain,
which once united man to God, furnishes the
very means of inserting and rivetting those
fetters by which Satan binds the understanding
to error, and the heart to idolatry. Such are
the weakness and vanity of the once perfect
intellect of man ; such is his reluctance to men
tal effort, and such his propensity to receive the

obtruded falsehoods of a moment, rather than
to search after eternal verities, that the work of
impostors is always easy, and the multitude, un
able or unwilling to penetrate a well covered
fiction, surrender themselves implicitly to almost
every plausible pretender. Thus verisimilitude
is almost invariably preferred to truth, and men
choose, rather to deify that which is human than
to adore that which is divine.
It is not surprising that in ordinary times,
individuals should be found ambitious or co
vetous enough to avail themselves of this uni
versal credulity of error, this willingness of
mental bondage; but we should not readily look
to the apostolic age for examples of religious
imposture. The credentials of the Apostles
were so clear and authoritative, the truth from
their lips was so cogent and convincing, their
miraculous powers were so confirmatory of their
divine commission, and so formidable to their
opponents, that one would scarcely suppose any
professors of Christianity to have had, either the
boldness to become their antagonists, or the
weakness to be seduced from their fellowship.
With what possibility of success (one is ready
to say) could any man during the life-time of an
Apostle, venture to teach a contradictory doc
trine, while he pretended to be under the same

inspiration? Yet this was attempted, and the
attempt succeeded.
For a while the apostolic testimony prevailed,
and the Gospel maintained its ascendency; but
in proportion as the number of the "ambas
sadors for Christ" was diminished by death, and
teachers of another character were multiplied,
the " spirit of error" became the rival of the
" spirit of truth," and the last survivor of the
Apostles, when approaching the close of his
protracted life, saw the poison diffusing itself
through all parts of the church, and preparing
to seize on the vitals of Christianity. The
disciple whom Jesus loved, who witnessed his
transfiguration, leaned on his breast at su'pper,
and shared so largely in the triumphs of the
cross, lived long enough to have occasion to
exclaim, "already are there many antichrists!"
If the admonitory language of the text were
necessary in that age, much more so is it now,
that error has had so long time to invigorate
and multiply itself, and by antiquity to acquire
a sanction which renders it venerable to unin-
quiring minds. We therefore, especially in re
ligion, should take nothing for granted, but
weigh and examine every proposition with a
sober and impartial judgment, receiving no doc-
li 2

trine as from God, and no inspiration as from
the Spirit of Truth, but that which will beax
the test of a thorough and scriptural investi
gation. It is the want of this trial of the spirits,
which has admitted so many prejudices into
the world, and so much superstition into the
church, and has given circulation and authority
to the most irrational and absurd opinions. To
this rash and inconsiderate propensity to re
ceive human pretensions, however destitute of
proof, we may ascribe that inveterate obsti
nacy which resists the truth of God, though it
come in- the, clearness of light, and the evidence
of demonstration.
Let us apply the test to the present question,
taking with us these precautions : No spirit
can be of God, which teaches for doctrine—
any thing inconsistent with the truth revealed
in the Holy Scriptures, — or which has a ten
dency to impair the credibility of the apostolic
testimony, — or which substitutes the worship
of the creature for that of the Creator.
While, however, these words prescribe a wise
and prudent distrust of others, they teach us
that we ought to be equally jealous of ourselves.
We are to apply this rule to internal prejudices
and passions, as well as to external claims ;

and to beware, lest the mote Svhich appears to
exist in a brother's eye, be merely the reflec
tion of the beam which darkens ours. Self-love,
ever a fruitful source of partial views and vio
lent resentments, becomes increasingly sq, when
provoked by opposition to that which we have
habitually regarded as true and excellent; there
fore, " beloved, believe not every spirit," even
though it be your own, " but try the spirits,
Avhether they are of God."
When the examination of any subject assumes
the form of religious controversy, it is certain
that it should be approached with extreme cau
tion; we ought to be fully satisfied of its import
ance ; and above all, we ought to cultivate the
very spirit of that religion to which it refers. It
is equally certain, however, that when the cause
demands our aid, to shrink from the conflict
would be cowardly and dishonourable. OurLord
himself says, " he that is not for me is against
me;" and we ought never to forget, that they
who are truly " with him," possess the noblest
attributes of the military character, for they are
" called, and chosen, and faithful." He who
adds to the intrepidity of the soldier, the wis
dom and meekness of the disciple, possesses in
perfection the legitimate spirit of controversy;
that man " shall abide in the tabernacle of the

Lord, and shall dwell in his holy hill. He that
doeth these things shall never be moved." On
the ground of importance, there can be ho he
sitation to examine the question before us ; and
in order that we may not yield on the one hand
to unholy passions, or on the other to weakness
and fear, let me exhort you to unite with me in
fervent supplication to " the Father of Lights,"
that he will be pleased to fill our souls with
" the wisdom that is from above, which is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be en
treated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality and without hypocrisy."
The members of the Church of Rome apply
to themselves the term "Catholic" in two senses.
When they- speak of their church only, they em
ploy it in its original signification, "universal;"
but when they speak in reference to other
churches, they use it to signify the " trme
church." By the first, they pretend that their
community includes the whole multitu(ie of
Christians; and by the second, they determine
that all churches professing Christianity, ex
cept their own, are heretical and false. These
pretensions, not extremely modest in them
selves, are advanced with unbounded confi
dence ; and it is even treated as a point indis-

putable, that the Church of Rome is the Holy
Catholic Church.
Connected with this, is their assumption of
unity, infallibility, and perpetuity. They de
clare their church to be like the seamless coat
of Christ, one and indivisible, and claim to be
received as infallible interpreters of Scripture
and deciders of controversy. Boasting an un
interrupted succession, they anticipate a per
petual existence. " Are not these," say they,
" the undoubted attributes of the church? Did
not the Saviour pray for his disciples, ' that
they all may be one, as thou Father art in me,
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us :
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be
made perfect in one ?' Does not an Apostle say,
' ye are all one in Christ Jesus ? ' Is not the
* church of the living God the pillar and ground of
the truth?' And is it not built upon a rock against
which the gates of hell shall not prevail ?" All
this, -we reply, is beyond dispute, and is the
joy of the believer's heart. We cheerfully ac
knowledge the church to be the immaculate
spouse of Christ, the object of his unchanging
love and incessant care, the depository of his
promises, and the mirror of his glory ; but then
we must " try your spirit," before we admit,
as you pretend, that the Church of Rome is the

church 6f Christ, and that none but Papists are
Christians. We agree with you, that the Chris
tian edifice is the perfection of symmetry, beauty,
and splendour — that its foundation is wide as
the world — that its summit shall be lofty as the
skies — and that it shall eternally outlive the
universe : but we cannot suffer you to drown
the small still voice of reason and of truth, by
vociferating " the temple of the Lord, the tem
ple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we!"
On the contrary, we require argument and
proof; and forewarn you, that we shall admit
none but that which accords with the express
language of the Scriptures, or with the unques
tionable analogy of faith. We are perfectly
aware, that with a rigour equal to that with
which the Impostor of the East has forbidden
his followers to examine the Koran, you have
prohibited to your votaries the means and ex
ercise of investigation ; but we " have not so
learned Christ." The shackles of religious des
potism were never imposed upon our minds ;
and, standing "fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made us free," we assert our inalien
able right of unbiassed inquiry and private judg
ment. We have resolved to embrace and main
tain nothing but that of which we are " fully
persuaded in our own minds ;" and therefore
have no hesitation, fearlessly, yet seriously and

9

impartially, to examine your high and impos
ing claims. We " believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits, whether they are of God."
In order to this, I shall place under two heads,
that which the Church of Rome has included
in one appellation; and propose to you, my
brethren, to inquire — First, Is the Church of
Rome the Universal Christian Church? and. Se
condly, Is the Church of Rome the True Church
of Christ?
These two heads present the amount of their
claim, or rather leave nothing on their part
unclaimed. I. Is the Church of Rome the Universal Chris
tian Church?
As this is their pretension, the labour of proof
legitimately devolves on them : as they, how
ever, have not condescended to attempt this,
but require us to take their own word ; and as
we ought to entertain no great respect for bare
assertions, or detected forgeries, or the testi
mony of interested witnesses — we must con
duct the inquiry as best we can, taking for our
guide the authority of Scripture, and the un
doubted monuments of antiquity.

10
I observe to you in the first place,
1 . That no church, which is not coeval with
Christianity itself, ought to pretend to be the
Universal Christian Church.
Thje contrary sentiment ^s evidently unrea
sonable and absurd ; for it supposes, that some
thing which has already a distinct and complete
existence, may be a part of something else which
is not to come into existence until a future pe
riod ; or, what is equivalent to this, that what
is entirely the creation of to-day, may include
that which was created yesterday. This would
be in opposition to all analogy ; and therefore,
if the Church of Rome had not an earlier com
mencement than all other Christian churches —
if the origin of that church be not coincident
and simultaneous with the first moment of
Christianity^ then the pretension of the Church
of Rome to be " the Catholic Church," is al
together vain.
Now it is clear frjom the Acts of the Apostles,
that many Christian Churches flourished in the
East, before the Gospel was even preached at
Rome. It was enjoined upon the Apostles, that
their ministry should begin at Jerusalem, and
in that city the first Christian Church was ac-

11

tually constituted. Until the persecution which
arose about the stoning of Stephen, Christ was
not preached beyond the borders of Palestine ;
and even then, with a scrupulous discrimination,
" to the Jews only." In fact, churches were
formed in Jerusalem and Judea, at Damascus
and Antioch, and the Gospel was sent even
into Ethiopia, before there is any evidence of
its being known at Rome. A considerable time
elapsed, before the idea of admitting the uncir-
cumcised to a participation of spiritual blessings,
ceased to be repugnant to the Apostles them
selves; but at length, the same Apostle who had
first preached to the Jews, is commissioned to
" open the door of faith also to the GentUes."
His scruples being overcome by a heavenly
vision, he goes and preaches Christ, to a Roman
military officer indeed, yet not at Rome but at
Gesarea. Without professing to ascertain the
puecise date of the Church of Rome, it is in
dubitable that many of the apostolic churches
had a long priority, and thus the Church of
Christ existed when as yet the Church of Rome
was not, and when of course, it bore infinitely
less proportion to the Catholic Church, than
an atom does to the Universe. Thus were a
pretension founded on antiquity, every thing
the Romanists imagine, it would avail them
nothing. Were the highest antiquity sufficient,

12

indeed, to establish such a claim as theirs, the
palm must at once be conceded to the Church
of Jerusalem ; but that church has long ceased
to exist, and the distinction would avail no
more, than the insignia of royalty which adorn
the bier and the tomb of departed moriarchs.
Here it will be proper to noticethe ecclesias
tical fable, on which the Popes rest their title to
an apostolical succession, I mean the tradition
that the Apostle Peter was the first Bishop of
Rome. This is a fundamental tenet, and in
virtue of this, the Popes call themselves the
successors of Saint Peter; they denominate
their throne his chair, and their possessions his
patrimony. He being esteemed the chief of
the Apostles, and having received from our
Lord the keys of the kingdom of heaven, the
Bishops. of Rome have sought their advantage in
the shadow of his mighty name ; and ascribing
to him all the power and authority which he
really possessed, and much more, the very
thought of which would have penetrated his
humble and holy breast with horror, they mo
destly appropriate the whole as their legitimate
inheritance. But the man is yet unborn, who
is to prove, I will not say merely that Peter
was Bishop of Rome, but that he ever visited
that city. That he did so, is unsupported by

13

historical evidence, and depends at best, but
on probable inference and conjecture. Here
then the matter might rest, and the controversy
determine : but I ask, by what authority could
an Apostle become a bishop ? The very ety
mology of the terms implies that they could not
coincide in the same person. The Bishop was
of necessity for the more part resident; the
Apostle, by an equal necessity, for the more
part itinerant. Besides, the episcopacy was
inferior not only to the apostolate, but also to
all those offices which being peculiar to that
age terminated with it, such as the prophetical,
evangelical, and others. Now to all these
offices belonged miraculous endowments, with
duties and powers which were quite irrelative
to the episcopal station. I ask, therefore,
would it not have been as great an act of dis
obedience, and as complete a denial of the
authority of Christ, for Peter to have relin
quished his apostleship in order to descend to
the inferior rank of a bishop, as for Titus to
have forsaken the church of Crete, in order to
usurp the title and functions of an Apostle ?
No authority but that which made Peter an
Apostle, could divest him of the corresponding
credentials and responsibility ; of the exercise
of that authority we possess no intimation, and
therefore are bound to conclude, that as the

14
apostolical character is incompatible with the
episcopal, Peter neither was, nor could have
been, a bishop. Thus the apostolical succession
of the bishops of Rome, which if real, could
confer no authority in the Church of Christ, is
altogether imaginary and void.
2. No church which has sustained and ac
knowledged the relation of a part to the whole,
can be the Universal Church.
It is matter of undoubted historical fact, that
centuries of the Christian sera had elapsed,
before the Church of Rome pretended to be
more than a particular church, having a com
mon fellowship with the other churches in " the
Body of Christ;" and nothing can be more
opposed to the rules of judgment, and the
common sense of mankind, than that the iden
tical church, -v^rhich was once a part can become
the whole, or that what was once particular,
can by any process of transubstantiation, be
come universal.
In the days of the Apostles, the Church of
Rome, like the other churches of Christ, was
distinguished " by pureness, by knowledge, by
long suffering, by kindness, by love unfeigned."
Then,> existing as a distinct and independent

15
Christian community, she aspired to no emi
nence but that of piety, and desired to exercise
no power but that of an active beneficence;
then, she considered it her dearest privilege
and highest honour, that her members were
" fellow citizens with the saints, and of the
household of God." Oh! that she had never
departed from her original character, that she
had not impaired and defiled the simplicity and
purity of " the faith once delivered to the
saints !" But what do I say ? The Church of
Rome " that now is, and is in bondage with
her children," has no spiritual relation to that
church which the city of Rome did once con
tain, but which the heavens have long ago
received. In the age immediately succeeding that of
the Apostles, we hear indeed of the Church and
Bishop of Rome; but we hear also of other
churches, and of other bishops, who would
" give way by subjection " to the Bishop of
Rome, " no, not for an hour;" and even when
the primitive simplicity of church government
had considerably declined, nothing was more
strenuously maintained than the equal dignity
and authority of all the bishops. It is well
known, that on one occasion, the opinion of a
Bishop of Rome, delivered with great arrogance

16

and imperiousness, was rejected by the other
bishops with the utmost, indignation, and with
profound contempt. When Constantino, by
identifying the profession of Christianity with
the laws and political institutions of the Roman
Empire, had rendered ecclesiastical offices meet
objects of worldly ambition, the Roman church
acquired a certain pre-eminence; but then it
was in connection with the bishops of Antioch,
Alexandria, and Constantinople. If the Bishop
of Rome indeed surpassed his brethren, it was
not in rank and authority, but " in the magnifi
cence and splendour of the church over which
he presided — in the riches of his revenues and
possessions — in the number and variety of his
ministers — in his credit with the people — and
in his sumptuous and splendid manner of living."
Whatever preparation might have been made,
by the alliance attempted between the church
and the world, centuries passed away, even
after the reign of Constantine, before the title
of Universal Bishop was given to the Roman
Pontiff. The earliest date, connected with a
shadow of probability, is the seventh century
and the reign of Phocas, one of the most ini
quitous tyrants that ever disgraced humanity :
but it was reserved for an age still less remote,
to give form and consolidation to the Papal
power. How idle, therefore, and absurd is it.

17

for the members of the Roman communion to
tell us, that theirs is " the One Holy Catholic
and Apostolic Church !"
3. No church which, in its greatest extent
and comprehension, does not include even a
majority of them who bear the Christian name,
can be universal.
This is exactly the case with the Church of
Rome; and it may throw some light on the sub
ject to observe, that the title " universal bishop"
is not original to the Roman Prelates. Though
it is a title purely fictitious, they have not even
the credit due to its invention. This title was
first assumed by the bishops of Constantinople,
whose arrogance provoked the just and holy in
dignation of their brethren the bishops of Rome:
but when, after a long and often doubtful struggle,
the bishops of Rome had succeeded in the trans
ferring of that title to themselves, it immediate
ly ceased to be a mark of presumption and pride,
and adapted itself to the character and style of
" the servant of the servants of Christ."
Notwithstanding the perpetual outcry against
separation and schism, the Church of Rome
owes its existence in its present form, to the
most violent schism the Christian world ever

18
experienced. It is not complete in itself, but
is a fragment, torn by a convulsion equivalent
to an earthquake, from the mass to which it
once belonged. Were not the whole matter so
serious, it would provoke a smile to compare
the most extensive limits of this church, with
the pompous and sonorous titles of the Pope.
He styled himself " the Father of all Christen
dom," but his paternity was disowned by all
the churches of the east ; he called himself " the
Universal Bishop," but, with the exception of
Western Europe, the universal church rejected
his episcopacy. Even in that portion of Chris
tendom which did not openly disallow his
claims, although his authority afterwards be-'
came, and continued for a season, more despo
tic than that of kings and emperors, yet it was
for a long time exceedingly disputed and un
settled, and had the appearance of being real,
only where he suffered it to be nominal.
Were pride at all admissible, we might in
dulge it, on account of the ardent and perse
vering struggle for religious liberty, maintained
by our own forefathers. The British churches
never entirely yielded to papal domination, and
were among the foremost to break the dis
graceful yoke. France and Spain also, were
slow to submit to the aggressions and encroach-

19
ments of R(Sme ; and the Galilean, or French
Church, always vindicated a kind of indepen
dence. Even in Italy, and among prelates, the
usurpations of the Pope were lohg resisted ; and
his reign was no whei'e more precarious and
disturbed, thatt in the very city of Rome. In
the profound midnight of the modern world,
when the Church of Rome held the church of
Christ in the greatest degree of obscuration — ¦
when pontifical pride and tyranny were at the
highest---and when the whole West was appa
rently subdued to the silence and apathy of
death, and of the grave^— even then the spirit of
liberty was awake, and ready to breathe upon
the dry bones.
Then was it, that a pfecichis band of spiritual
pratriot^ withdrew from the vicinity of the Pojie,
and sought refuge in the glens of Piednlont, in
older that they might there enjoy the ttuth and
the ordinances of Christ. Cold is the bosom of
him, whose heart is not inflamed by the st6ry of
the heroic deeds, and rtiore heroic snfferings, of
those^ gfeat confessors ; and dead to every nobler
passion must he be, whose very soul is not
roused by the mighty achievements of the de
scendants of those illustrious men. These were
the champions of the faith, who devoted them
selves for their fello\s^-soIdi'ers, and presenting
c 2

20
their own bodies as a bulwark, against the mul-
titudittous hosts, and sanguinary assaults of the
Papists, occupied, and occupied not in vain,^
the Christian Thermopylae. Nor was this spirit
confined to one spot, for in^ almost every eoun'
try of Europe there were those who rejected the
dainties of Rome, and refused to drink of her
eup-^ — who, scorning her maifk, and not partak-
ing of her abominations, had no share in her
plagues,- In- fact, this self-styled "Catholic,"
but really schismatic church, never comprehend
ed the half of the professors- ©f Christianity in
the world; and her dominion, though exceed
ingly arbitrary and powerful, was held by a
tenure very feeble and fluctuating. Wherever
the course of human affairs removed the weight
of civil and ecclesiastical authority, the rebound
of the human mind invariably shook ofi" the pa
pal oppression ; yet, notwithstanding many na
tions have burst her bonds asunder, and .the
thread by which she retains the remainder is-
Feduced to a fibre, her claims are as high and
as arrogant as ever. Before, however, we can
allow these claims,, we must admit, that what
is formed subsequently may become that which
existed previously — that a part may ,be trans
muted into the whole of that of which.it is a
part — and, that a- fragment contains the whole
of the mass from which it was separated.

21
Let us now proceed to the second inquiry.
II. Is the Church of Rome the true Church of
Christ? This her votaries intend by the appellation
" Catholic," when they employ it to distinguish
their church, from other -communities professing
the Christian faith. Ours, say they, being the
true church, is therefore universal, because it
comprehends all true Christians ; for all others
calling themselves churches, which are out of
our pale, are heretical and false. Undoubtedly
the true church, is of necessity, the universal
church ; but we must bring their pretensions to
the test I -observe,
1. No community, whose constitution and
spirit, are utterly opposed to the essential prin
ciples of Christianity, can be the true church
of Christ.
Our Lord delivered this confession before Pi
late, " my 'kingdom is not of this world," to
-which he added, " every one that is of the trut3i
heareth my voice." The Church of Rome, tried
"by this test, will appear to be every thing which
the true church is not. So far from being " not
of this worid," it is of this world, and of this
world alone. Its very existence is owing to

22
worldly policy and power, all its maxims of
government are those of state craft and intrigue,
its law^ are mere hurnan devices, its rewards
all secular, and its punishments poverty, im
prisonment, tortures, and death. In vain do
we seek one spiritual and heavenly principle,
motive, or feeling. Faith is absorbed and lost
in superstition, hope in the ambition and ava
rice of an earthly mind, and charity in the in
tense pursuit of sensual delights.
It is impossible, my brethren, to discover any
ch3,racteristic difference, between the history of
the See of Rome, and that, of any of the king
doms of this worid- The principles, the po
licy, and the vicissitudes, are just the same.
When we read of aspiring prelates assuming
lofty titles, and surrendering themselves to, the
lust of einpire— when we trace theni through
the labyrinths of fra,ud and treachery by which,
serpent-like, they insinuated themselves into
seats of pride and power, we ask, are these the
ministers of him who is "meek and lowly of
heart ?" When we read the story of bitter and
sanguinary wars, of hqllow truces and wars
agaj^n — When told of one Pope, that he ejothed
himself in, armour and carried war into the ter
ritory of his er^emy — ^and of another, that he
fled from the Vatican in order to escape the
fury of-^oldiers who, though of the Romish faith

23

and serving a popish prince, were pillaging the
city of Rome, we exclaim, can this be the his
tory of the church of Christ? Impossible. Hear
Christ himself, " if my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight ; but now
is my kingdom not from hence." " If," says the
Scripture, " if any man have not the spirit of
Christ, he is none of his ;" and if any church
have not the spirit of Christ, that church is none
of his. The spirit of Christ is the spirit of hu
mility and love ; but in vain do we seek it in
the community of which we now speak. While
the Church of Rome has boasted her unifor
mity, the appearance of which she has not al
ways been able to preserve, she has ever been
essentially deficient of charity, the indispen
sable characteristic of the church of Christ.
Notwithstanding the efforts employed to pre
sent an exterior of uniformity and agreement,
the intestine struggles which have continually
agitated that church, have very frequently caus
ed the cloak to fly open, and the mask to fall
from the face. The schisms and broils of the
candidates for the papacy, disfigure the very
pages which record the history of the popes,
and time would absolutely fail, to enumerate the
perpetual contentions which have endangered
the very existence of their system. Including
within its pale as many of the nations as possi
ble, and receiving with pride the homage of "the

24
princes of this world," the members of this
church have been perpetually at war with each
other, and Papists have been the most mur
derous enemies of Papists. - Men sustaining
spiritual titles have been found on the field of
battle, clothed, but not " in the armour of
God;" wielding, but not "the sword of the
spirit;" and dying their garments, not in their
own blood by a holy martyrdom, but in the
blood of their brethren the members of the
Church of Rome. It is impossible to discover
in the whole history of its. affairs, one exempli
fication of that saying of the Lord Jesus, " by
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one towards apother,"
Nor are its pretensions to uniformity of doc
trine and worship laid on a better foundation.
All the different ecclesiastical orders of the Ro
man hierarchy, are so many different sects, or
rather factions, conflicting in sentiment and
modes of worship, and having but one common
and reciprocal feeling, a cordial and implacable
hatred.* The magnitude and weight of the
mountain may, for a season, repress the discor
dant and tumultuous elements within, and the
* Well might " one of their own poets " exclaim —
 " Quae nos igitur dementia torquet,
¦Ut studeamus in his consumere litibus annos?"
Mantuan. in S. Fest. Decembr,

25

surface remain clothed with verdure : but when
the overcharged caverns refuse longer to conceal
the awful secret, it bursts forth on the surround
ing country, in the tremendous explosion and de
vastating eruption. Thus in the bitter controver
sies between the Jesuits and the Jansenists, and
in the ruins of demolished Port- Royal, we dis
cover the true character of papal uniformity.
Let them cease to reproach the Protestants
with variety of opinion, until they themselves
are agreed where to place the corner stone of
their own building, their ecclesiastical infalli
bility. Up to this moment, it is a point of
vehement dispute among themselves, where this
infallibility rests, and their doctors are actually
involved in all the absurdity, of offering a title
to an estate, the locality of which has never
yet been ascertained. Let them withhold this
reproach, until they have determined the num
berless questions, which no two orders, and
scarcely two individuals of their communion,
would answer alike. If Protestants differ, it
is seldom on fundamentals, they unite to " hold
the head ;" if Papists agree, it is only in mat
ters of form and ceremony; they are continually
opposed to each other on subjects which affect
the very principles of faith, and the essence of
morals. You may seek among them for uni-

26

formity of sentiment and unity of heart, but you
will find Pope against Pope, council against
council, order against order. If it be a building,
it is not " fitly framed together ;" if it be a body,
wherefore does the foot continually say to the
hand, " I have no need of thee?" They call
themselves " one and indivisible," but they are
many and disunited ; they form an assemblage
without coherence, a chorus without harmony ;
they sit down at a banquet where every one
looks at his fellow guest with suspicion and
mistrust. When one of the Popes, in sordid luxury,
surveyed the vast treasures accumulated in his
exchequer, and exclaimed, " The church, nc
longer can say ' silver and gold have I none,' '
the reply was well, " Neither can she anj
longer say, ' take up thy bed and walk.' " True
the Church of Rome boasts many things whicl
the Church of Christ neither possesses nor de
sires, but then she is deficient of that whicl
the true church can never lose, charity, anc
what is she then? "She is nothing." Wher(
is the charity of those, who impose on the con
sciences of their adherents,^ the heavy burthei
and galling yoke of their own inventions, anc
that on pain of temporal punishment and etema
perdition ? Where is the charity of those, whc

27

call for fire from heaven, and devote to endless
misery the whole Christian world, because
" they follow not with them?" Was it charity
that laid the deep foundation, and reared the
heaven insulting battlements of the Inquisition?
Did charity construct its black tribunal, inspire
the infernal dissembling of its familiars, and
produce its racks and flames? Are the sighs
and groans which, with feeble and melancholy
reverberation, echo from dungeon to dungeon,
and the shrieks, which issuing from the chamber
of torture, pierce the ear and penetrate the
heart, to be received as testimonials of the
charity of the Church of Rome? Here at least,
charity shall perform her part, by drawing a
veil over these insufferable enormities.
I observe,
3. No system which tends to supersede the
necessity, and prevent the existence, of piety
in the human heart, can be divine; and conse
quently no church which identifies itself with
that systeiHy can be the true Church; of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ says, "The hour
cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth,
for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

2S

God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must
worship him, in spirit and in truth." The whole
scope of the New Testament teaches, that re
ligion is a personal and individual concern ;
that every one is distinctly and separately re
sponsible for himself, and for himself alone.
" So then every one of us must give an account
of himself unto God." It is therefore, that we
are furnished with the means of knowledge,
that we have the promise of the Holy Spirit,
and are exhorted to a diligent use and im
provement of the advantages We enjoy. The
tendency of the papal system is directly and
continually to counteract all this ; and first and
chiefly, by the distinction it makes between the
clergy and the laity. If, my brethren, you
suppose that the Romish doctors in their zeal for
the immunities and privileges of their church,
mean to include the body of their adherents
and followers, you are exceedingly mistaken.
All they claim for the Church of Rome, they
claim exclusively for the clergy of that church.
Let not any of the people imagine, that they
possess a share in the authority and infalli
bility of the church. No, these are the in
communicable prerogatives of the priesthood.
They condescend, indeed, to act as the almoners
of Christ, and dole out to the people just such
a measure as seems meet unto themselves. The

29

laity are, therefore,, taught that they can receive
nothing except through the channel, and by
the intervention of their priests ; who, taking
under their own entire management and control
the understanding and conscience of the flock,
impose this maxim, " He alone is safe, who
believes as the church believes," that is, what
the clergy teach. The people are forbidden to
investigate the ground of their belief, or to
question the authority by which they are go
verned; and an implicit faith in the dictates of
their superiors, is an indispensable article of
their creed. It is evident, that under such a
system, personal religion is out of the question ;
and the Roman priesthood have accordingly
invented a substitute, for the requirements of
the Gospel, and for the operations of divine
grace. The Holy Scriptures teach us, that in order
to the salvation of man, it is absolutely neces
sary that he be pardoned, justified, and made
holy; that these blessings are enjoyed by all
them who exercise repentance towards God,
and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, ex
plicitly declaring, " He that believeth shall be
saved ; he that believeth not shall be damned."
All this clearly and necessarily supposes, per
sonal, distinct, and habitual intercourse between

30

God and the soul of man : but this would Su
persede the purposes of the Roman clergy, and
therefore they supersede this.
Thus, when a sinner seeks forgiveness, instead
of directing him to "the Lord, the Lord God
gracious and merciful," they delude him with an
absolution uttered by a priest.' In the matter
of justification, instead of " the righteousness
of God which is unto all, and upon all them that
believe," they substitute the righteousnesses of
men, which are " as filthy rags ¦" and for " ho
liness, without which no man shall see the
Lord," they supply their votaries with conse
crated water and unmeaning ceremonies.
Nor are they less suitably and amply pre
pared to furnish a substitute for the dispositions
necessary in the sinner's heart. God requires
a sincere and deep repentance in bis sight,
with the contrite acknowledgment of sin; they
accept a confession made in the ear of a fellow
sinner, with a penance enjoined at his caprice,
and which may' be performed by proxy. God
requires a cordial and affectionate faitlt in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and a willing subjection 4o
his authority; instead of which, they on the
other hand, demand an implicit feith in their
own doctrine, and a passive submission to- their

31

own decrees. Can you in all this, discern any
resemblance to the conduct of the Apostle who
made this appeal, " We have renounced the
hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness, nor handling the Word of God de
ceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man's conscience
in the sight of God ?" Do you not on the con
trary, perceive too accurate a resemblance to
the melancholy picture he then proceeds to
draw, " But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost, in whom the god of this
world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel
of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them."
One cannot fail to observe, the close and
almost identical resemblance between the pre
tensions of the Romish clergy, and those of the
ancient Pharisees, so unsparingly disallowed,
and so severely reprehended, by the Lord him
self The pharisees, like the doctors of the
Church of Rome, usurped the seat of ecclesi
astical sovereignty; they delivered their own
opinions as the standard of orthodoxy, and the
rule of faith, while they made void the Scrip
tures by their traditions. They also, " trusted
in themselves that they were righteous, and

32
despised others," and bound heavy burthens on
the shoulders of the people which they them
selves refused to share. Theirs was a spirit of
monopoly and exclusion, and though to increase
their dominion, " they would compass sea and
land to make one proselyte," their concern was
not for the salvation of souls.
Amidst all this, the spirit of true religion
evaporates and disappears. Piety towards God,
which consists in just conceptions of his nature
and attributes, and becoming affections for him;
as " the Father of mercies, and God of our
Lord Jesus Christ," can have no place in minds
and hearts thus subjugated to priestly influence;
Thus, some rest entirely on the forms and ce^
remonies they are taught to observe; others
become infidels in disguise; and those of a warm
and elevated imagination, indulge in childish
fancies, and the most visionary extravagance.
The records of the Romish Church are full of
examples of the wildest enthusiasm, which are
held forth to admiration as the loftiest flights
of piety and devotion. In those productions,
we read nothing of a calm and settled confi
dence in God, of a consistent and habitual de-
votedness to his service and fear, of a cheerful
and ready acquiescence in his will, whether re
vealed in the Scriptures, or indicated by the

33

course of Providence : but we find every page
stuffed with visions and apparitions, of the
blessed Saviour, of the Virgin Mary, of angels
and departed saints. Sometimes Christ comes
to crown them with a garland, or to present
some token and memorial of his love ; at others,
with all the formalities of the nuptial ceremony,
he espouses some seraphic sister of a convent.
The blessed Virgin also, appears with the Sar
viour in her arms, as if he were still a child ;
and thus she visits the sick, dresses their
wounds, administers medicine, and performs
the meanest and most disgusting offices ; and
these fooleries are styled the extacies of piety
and love. Oh miserable substitute ! Oh awful
delusion !
3. It is impossible that that can be the true
Church of Christ, which teaches doctrines con
tradictory to his revealed will, and destructive
to the souls of men. It is clear, tha,t whatever
tends to introduce and perpetuate superstition,
to weaken the authority of the Sacred Scrip
tures, to impair the sanctions of moral obli
gation, and above all to promote idolatry, can
not be from God : for " what fellowship hath
light with darkness, Christ with Belial, or the
temple of God with idols?" It is equally
certain, that there is not one doctrine or precept
D

34
of Christianity, which the system of Popery
does not explode or corrupt. The worldly
pomp and splendour of their worship, the mul^-
tiplicity of their rites, their processions, their
numerous lights, the tonsure of their clergy,
their lustral water and sacerdotal vestments,
with other institutions of human invention,
appear to be merely childish,, and scarcely
to deserve serious regard : but they become of
vast importance, when we consider that they
are the offspring of principles and sentiments
which tend to frustrate the grace of God and
the salvation of souls.
It is needless, and would be almost endless,
to recapitulate the errors and anti-scriptural
sentiments of Popery ; it will suffice to notice
a few. What, for instance, can offer more dis
honour to God, or be more injurious to man,
than the popish doctrine of the insufficiency of
the Sacred Scriptures? In vain is their wor
ship, " teaching for doctrine the commandments
of men." " Faith cometh by hearing, and hear
ing by the Word of God." Alas, for them who,
having entrusted their souls to their clergy,
instead of confiding in him who is " able
to keep that which is committed to him,"
are prohibited from searching the Scriptures,
which, . in the testimony they bear to Jesus,

35

contain the words of eternal life ! Alas, for
them, who, bewildered in the mazes of hu
man speculation, oppressed by burthens they
are unable to bear, and sick of a disease for
which earth affords no cure, are thus excluded
from " the true light," are not suffered to hear
the voice of him who invites to rest " the weary
and heavy laden," and who are held in igno
rance of the balm of Gilead, and the physician
of souls !
I aski can the solemn sanctions of an immu
table morality, proceeding from the paramount
authority of the eternal God, move and regu
late that breast which admits the dispensing
power of the Pope? Will that man feel and
acknowledge the exceeding sinfulness of sin,
who regards papal indulgences as matter of
bargain and sale? What sort of dependence
will he who assists at the repeated propitiatory
sacrifice of the Mas^, exercise on the offering
of Christ " once for all?" The doctrine of the
real presence of Christ in the Eucharist by
Transubstantiation, is surely the grossest absur
dity that was ever imposed on human beings —
well were it only an absurdity ! It derogates
from the dignity of Christ, both human and
divine; it invalidates his sacrifice; it throws
discredit upon the apostolic testimony to his
D 2

36

death and burial, to his resurrection and ascen
sion ; and destroys the soul of the worshipper, by
giving to his worship the character of idolatry.
Thus, the very purpose of " shewing forth the
Lord's death" is defeated, and the attention is
entirely withdrawn from that indispensable re
quisite to salvation, a spiritual participation of
the body and blood of Christ. In the same pro
portion, is the obedience of him who " thought
it no robbery to be equal with God," degraded
and vilified, by the popish doctrine of human
merit, and of justification by the imputing of
human righteousness. Ah, how many who have
paid to the priest an exorbitant price for a
supererogatory human righteousness, will be
driven away at last in shame and confusion,
because they have " not a wedding garment !"
m
Time would fail, now to speak of the invo
cation of saints, so opposed' to an exclusive
reliance on the intercession of him who " is
able to save unto the uttermost, all that come
unto God by him ;" of the distinction between
mortal and venial sins, a distinction so fruitful
of immorality and impiety; of extreme unction,
and absolution of the sick and dying; of pur
gatory, which takes away the fear of hell ; and
of prayers and masses for the souls of the de
parted. All these, and many more, spring from

37

the false and corrupt notions and principles of
the Romish superstition, and indicate the true
character of the soil in which they thrive.
Ah, my brethren, how evil must be the tree
which bears such pernicious fruit ! Yet this we
are called on to acknowledge as the true Church
of Christ, or if you will, the " Holy Catholic
Church." Shall we obey the requisition ? God
forbid! Is that the true Church of Christ,
whose spirit is altogether anti-christian, where
superstition and idolatry exclude piety towards
God, and faith in Christ, where the evidences
of Christianity are obscured by " cunningly de
vised fables," and where the will of Christ is
altogether contradicted and opposed ? A com
munity in which God is dishonoured by daring
invasions of his prerogative, in which the
atoning sacrifice of the Son of God is made of
" none effect," in which the Holy Spirit is
quenched, and in which men are led blindfold
to perdition — styles itself " The Church of
Christ ! " Shall we assent to this ? again I say,
"God forbid!"
Gracious God ! We bless thee for thy sacred
Word, we cast ourselves on thy mercy in Christ
Jesus, we implore the influences of thine Holy
Spirit; and, while we " stand fast," and rejoice

38
" in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us
free/' we pray earnestly and affectionately, for
the deliverance and salvation of our unhappy
fellow creatures, immured in this dark and dis
mal prison house, bound in these cruel fetters,
and prepared thus as sheep for the slaughter!!

LECTURE II.

THE CONNECTION OF THE PAPAL USURPATION WITH
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

MATT. XX. 25 — ^28. JESUS CALLED THEM UNTO HIM, AND SAID, YE
KNOW THAT THE PRINCES OF THE GENTILES EXERCISE DOMINION OVER
THEM, AND THEY THAT ARE GREAT EXERCISE AUTHORITY OVER THEM.
BUT IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU : BUT WHOSOEVER WILL BE
GREAT AMONG YOU, LET HIM BE YOUR MINISTER ; AND WHOSOEVER
WILL BE CHIEF AMONG YOU, LET HIM BE YOUR SERVANT: EVEN AS
THE SON OF MAN CAME NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO, BUT TO MINISTEB,
AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY.
Thus said he, who spake as never man spake,
and who exemplified in his own person, all " the
gracious words that proceeded Out of his mouth."
Thus said he, who spake as " one having autho
rity," and whose words " shall not pass away."
The Lord Jesus Christ, in his church, is both
the lawgiver and exemplar, the object equally
of obedience and imitation. In this view, the
words before us will much assist our present in
quiry, because they so clearly and fully de-

40

scribe the spirit and character of true greatness,
and because that description is so beautifully il
lustrated by the demeanour of him who " in all
things hath the pre-eminence." As it was by
the iiifusion of pride, that the great Enemy pol
luted and destroyed the world, so by visiting
and exploring the depths of humiliation, the
Almighty Redeemer sanctifies and saves ; and
his followers like himself, are elevated by their
humility, and rule as the reward of their obe
dience. This scale of excellence, so different
from that of the world, is inscribed by the Sa
viour's hand, and authenticated by every period
of his history. " He being found in fashion as
a man, humbled himself and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Where
fore God also hath highly exalted him, and
given him a name which is above every name."
Is it not astonishing, that a church formed under
such an auspice, should ever undergo an unfa
vourable change — that such a voice should cease
to command, such an example to attract ?
The sons of Zebedee, ambitious of the highest
stations in the approaching kingdom, had through
their mother, presented the strange request.
Jesus replies in the language of compassionate
and, tender reproof; he sees the error, he pities
and forgives. Not so the other disciples, " they

41

were moved with indignation against the two
brethren :" but he who knew what was in man,
penetrated the secret motives of their hearts ;
he perceived that the indignation of the ten was
prompted by an equal pride ; and in the re
peated struggles for pre-eminence, among the
disciples attached to his person, he beheld a
type and specimen of the fearful contentions
which, in following ages, arose amongst those
who called themselves by his name. This is
" the evil that is in the world," from which he
restrained his disciples while he was with them;
this is the evil from which he prays his Father
to preserve them, when he should be with them
no longer.
During the earlier years of the apostolical
period, the church presented to a great degree,
a transcript and reflection of the law and the
image of Christ. Contrasted with what follow
ed, we may call that age of the church paradi
saical. Whatever their external circumstances,
believers, during that state of uprightness, inha
bited a spiritual Eden. For them, the fairest
plants of grace disclosed their beauties and ex
haled their odours, and every tree of the gar
den bent with rich clusters of celestial fruit.
On them, the Sun of Righteousness shone, with
rays bright yet mild and serene, and they ex-

42
patiated in an atmosphere of holy love. To
them, the voice of Christ sounded more musical
and sweet, than that of all the singing birds of
the terrestrial paradise ; and his frequent visits,
were flelightful in the anticipation, and extatic
in the enjoyment. Happy, thrice happy, had
this state continued! But the same evil spirit
who envied and destroyed the innocence and
bliss of the first of human kind, beheld not this
scene unmoved. Defeat and disgrace had taught
him, that to assail the master was hopeless : yet
he who, when the Son of God in omnipotent
majesty led forth the army of heaven, had been
hurled to the flaming abyss — and who, when
the Son of man in the weakness of exhausted
humanity, and the solitude of the desert, uttered
a rebuke, had fled with dismay from his frown;
still insatiable of revenge, attempts a less des
perate enterprize. Having insinuated himself
into the church, and assumed the form of an
angel of light, he perverts the truth of God,
closes the ear against the voice of Christ, and
directs the eye to other objects. Then, while
the palaces of the rich, and the thrones of the
mighty, are regarded with feelings similar to
those with which his first victim looked on the
forbidden fruit — the poison enters, it pervades
the heart, his work is done, and the Deceiver
exults in the completion of his designs. Thus

43

the old Serpent, by a second temptation, pro
duced a second fall. The clouded sky, the
howling tempest, the soil prolific of thorns and
briars, and the prevalence of spiritual disease
and death, soon indicated the awful chtinge:
but these things were unheeded equally by
haughty ecclesiastics, and by an infatuated
people. The evil proceeded, until at length the
strides of ambition, the accumulation of wealth,
and the boast of power, brought to pass that
tremendous consummation foretold by St. Paul,
the revelation of " the man of sin, the son of
perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or is worshipped;
so that he as God, sitteth in the temple of God;
shewing himself that he is God."
It will be neither your expectation nor your
wish, that every incident of ecclesiastical history
should be recapitulated; I shall therefore, with
as much brevity as may be consistent with
clearness, attempt to trace the various steps
which terminated in that usurped supremacy
which forms the subject of our present investi
gation. And let me intreat you to unite with
me, in humble and earnest supplications to the
" God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
that he will be pleased by his Holy Spirit, to

44

assist and regulate our inquiry, and to impress
on our hearts, the words and the image of his
Son! In order to elucidate this subject, it will be
proper to refer, in the first place,
I. To a very considerable change in the Govern
ment and Discipline of the Christian Churches,
which was almost contemporary with the death of
the Apostles,
Universal history consents with the explicit
language of the New Testament, to shew that
the first churches were distinct and separate as
semblies of the faithful, partaking of the Lord's
Supper at one table, and under the pastoral
charge of one overseer, or more, according to
the number of the communicants and the neces
sity of the case. These societies were entirely
independent of each other, owning no authority
but that of Christ, and connected by no bond
but that of charity ; and this period was cha
racterised by purity of doctrine, simplicity of
manners, and holiness of life — by a forbear
ing and patient, yet vigilant discipline, arid by
a mighty growth and prevalence of the word of
God.

45

The only office-bearers then in the churches,
were the bishops or presbyters, and the dea
cons. That the terms bishop and presbyter de
signate one and the same office, is evident from
the whole scope and language of the New Tes
tament, which uses them interchangeably, but
never distinguishes between them. The name
presbyter, which signifies elder, was given in
respect of personal character, because they were
venerable by their age, or on account of their
judgment, piety, and gifts. The term bishop,
which signifies overseer, respected their office,
in virtue of which they had the oversight of the
church in the Lord. Of these bishops or pres
byters, the smaller churches had one, the larger
churches two, or more, as circumstances might
require ; but they were all on a scale of perfect
equality. Concerning the origin of the appointment of
deacons, it is not very easy to determine accu
rately ; for the seven who were appointed to
distribute the funds raised by the church at Je
rusalem, and who are often spoken of as the
first deacons, are not so called in the New Tes
tament, and were evidently appointed merely
for the exigency of that particular occasion.
The existence and importance of that appoint
ment, however, is as certain as that of the

46
bishops or presbytefs, and their ministrations
appear to have very nearly resembled those of
the deacons of congregational churches at pre
sent in our own and other countries.
Although all the bishops were originally equal
in rank and authority, yet in those churches
where more than one presided, it might be
expected that he who possessed the niost
engaging disposition and manner, or the supe
riority in talents and eloquence, would surpass
his brethren in the esteem and affections of the
people. This soon became actually the case.
The opinions of the popular favourite were re
ceived with greater deference, his ministrations
were more punctually and numerously attend
ed; and this resulted in his actual elevation
above his fellows. As the New Testament re
cognised no higher title in the church than that
of bishop, and as the method of inventing un
scriptural appellations for ecclesiastical offices
had not yet taken place, they reserved for the
object of their preference, the exclusive right to
be called bishop, as implying greater dignity,
while the rest were content to retain the now
humbler style of presbyter. Thus arose the dis
tinction between bishops and presbyters, which
was the first deviation from the apostolical con
stitution and order. From this time, the pres-

47

byters were regarded as ministers subordinate
and assistant to the bishops, officiating only by
their direction, or during their absence.
The gospel was first preached in cities and
large towns, and in such places consequently.
Christian churches were first formed ; but in
process of time many • converts were made by
preaching in the villages, and some of these
were at so great a distance from the principal
towns, that their inhabitants could not conve
niently and regularly worship with the churches
already formed. In these cases, the practice
was, not to constitute distinct and independent
churches, but to regard these village societies
as branches and dependencies of the nearest
city or town. These country assemblies were
indeed governed by an overseer who had the
title of bishop ; but then he was called a rural
bishop, and accounted inferior to the city bishop,
although superior to all the presbyters. This
was the origin of the diocesan episcopacy:
for as the bishop of the city, would have many
country bishops with their churches dependent
upon him, he exercised the superintendence of
them all ; and thus, from being the overseer
of a particular church, he became a bishop
of bishops. The inevitable consequence of
this gradation among the ministers of the

church was, that every one attempted, in an
unscriptural sense, to " magnify his office."
The city bishop strove to raise himself still
higher above the rural bishop, who, in turn,
sought to rival his diocesan. The presbyters
were ambitious of resembling the bishops ; and
the deacons, that they too might have some
rank, appointed sub-deaeons, and other officers
inferior and subordinate to themselves. Thus
every one gave his share of impulse, to this me
lancholy acceleration of evil.
Under the influence of the principle and mo
tives forbidden by our Lord in the text, the dif
ferent societies of Christians began now to look
to the polity and civil institutions of the states
in which they lived, for examples and rules of
an ecclesiastical constitution.
The gospel was preached very early, and pre
vailed very considerably, in continental and in
sular Greece ; and the churches formed in those
provinces, anxious to reCal even the shadow of
their pristine state, and stimulated by the po
litical advantages which had arisen from the
confederation of the ancient Grecian republics,
resolved to form themselves on the model of
their ancestors. The Grecian churches, there
fore, met together by their delegates, in order

49

to legislate for the whole body ; and this assem
bly of representatives was called a Synod.
Although the Romans were the conquerors
of the Greeks, they considered themselves the
pupils of the conquered, from whom they had
received their jurisprudence and mythology,
and to whom they still yielded the supremacy
in the arts, in literature, and philosophy. The
Christians of Italy, therefore, eagerly followed
the pattern thus set before them, and the
only difference arose from their respective lan
guages; for what the Greeks called Synods
the Latins called Councils. These synods or
councils, necessarily required a chairman or pre
sident, to preserve the order, and declare the
result of their deliberations. This president, at
first elected for the time and the occasion, be
came at length a permanent officer, and was in
vested with perpetual authority. Thus arose
the appointment of metropolitans.
The injurious tendency of these changes ap
peared first in a great laxity and decay of
Christian discipline, which, by admitting and
fostering a large accession of false professors,
produced a lamentable deterioration of the piety
and purity of the churches. It is true, that in

50
a church formed and governed according to the
example of the New Testament, it is impossible
to prevent the intrusion of every one who is in
sincere and unworthy of its privileges ; but then,
being placed under constant and close inspec
tion, he is easily detected ; and if forbearance
be fruitless, and remonstrance fail, he is sepa
rated from the fellowship of the saints. By the
extending of the episcopal jurisdiction, the ob
servance of this wholesome discipline was great
ly impaired, and it gradually sunk into neglect
and oblivion ; for it was impossible, either
to observe a due discrimination in the admis
sion of candidates, or, when they were admit
ted, to exercise over them a vigilant and effec
tual superintendence. Thus a door was opened
for the promiscuous entrance of all pretenders,
and they whose walk was unworthy of the
Christian profession, by mixing with the crowd,
Were either concealed from observation or shel
tered from reproof From this time it could no
longer be said, " they are not of the world."
These alterations very naturally led also to
the introduction of ungodly men into the minis
try and the episcopal office : for as the eccle
siastical employments became objects attrac
tive to worldly ambition, there were not want-

51

ing worldly men to occupy them. This pro
duced an enormous aggravation of the evil ; and
by rendering it as much the interest, as it was
the inclination of these unholy rulers of the
church, to protect and patronise all those who
most resembled them, it polluted the source
from which otherwise would have proceeded
the legitimate and effectual remedy.
At this period, ecclesiastical history ceases
to be the history of the Church of Christ ; and
that portion of it which is not fabulous, and to
be rejected with the contempt due to fraud and
imposture, is merely a record of the intrigues
and struggles of violent and factious men, who
most unjustifiably assumed a name the very op
posite of their true character. Some writers,
such as Milner and Jones, have indeed deserved
well of their fellow Christians, by separating
the precious from the vile, and extracting frorn
the rubbish and filth of antiquity, materials of
a truly Christian history"; but these materials
are so few and imperfect, as, notwithstanding
the ability, research, and piety of the histo
rians, and the undoubted value of their labours,
necessarily to render their work incomplete.
To, supply this deficiency would require, in all
probability, inspired writers, and a new re
velation. E 2

5^

You are not, however, to suppose that even
in those times, piety was totally extinct, that
faith hope and charity, were no more. There
were still men who had " the Spirit of Christ,"
and who were illustrious examples of primitive
Christianity. Some of, these were confessors
and martyrs, and the writings of others con
tinue to instruct and edify the church. These,
however, were not the prominent and prevailing
men of their age ; they were hid from public
view, and wept in secrecy and retirement, the
degeneracy which they had no power to restrain.
The great multitude of ecclesiastics, regarded
the Christian religion merely as an avenue to
wealth and honours. This leads me to observe
secondly, II. That this infusion and predominance of the
Spirit of the World, produced a corresponding
change in the aspect of the Church, and in the
conduct of its affairs.
While the chief inducement to a religious
profession was the love of Christ, and to the
ministry of the Gospel the love of souls, few
became candidates for either, who were not
really actuated by those sentiments; and du
ring that period, the church exemplified the
" obedience of faith." The course of this world

53

did, indeed, pass before them, but it was only
to remind them that their Lord and Master had
said, " So shall it not be among you," and to
affect them more deeply and tenderly with the
condescending love of him, who " came not to
be ministered to, but to minister, and to give
his life a ransom for many." In that golden
age, external afflictions and trials served but to
realize, to purify and heighten their spiritual
enjoyments. The beauty and lustre of true
Christianity shone resplendent, while Christians
were "as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as
poor, yet making many rich ; as having nothing,
yet possessing all things." But at the period
of which I now speak, the voice of the great
lawgiver was overborne by the clamours of
venality and pride ; the birthright of the saints
was bartered for a mess of pottage, and the
pearl of great price was relinquished for a
paltry bauble.
The first concern of men who had obtained
ecclesiastical offices by arts and stratagems,
such as those by which they sought preferment
in the state, was to increase their revenues, and
aggrandize their influence. For this purpose,
among other expedients, they drew a specious
and imposing parallel between the Christian
ministry and the Jewish priesthood. They were

54

sufficiently artful to persuade the people, that
the bishops had a dignity and authority cor
responding with that of the high priest, that
the presbyters represented the priests, and the
deacons the levites. The natural consequence
of this was, an increase of tyranny on their
part, and of superstitious subserviency on the
part of the people. Indeed it would be im
possible to enumerate the evils which, in va
rious forms, have been produced by fancied and
feigned analogies to the old oeconomy.
The clergy, that they might increase and
perpetuate their hold upon the public mind,
employed every device to gratify the appetite
and excite the feelings of the multitude. In
order to render their places of religious worship
more attractive, they constructed them in imi
tation of the beauty and magnificence of heathen
temples, furnished them with the relics of de
parted saints, and adorned them with the most
splendid works of art. Lest those who had
been accustomed to the pomp, and incense,
and lustrations of the pagan worship, should
be disgusted with the simplicity of the Christian
liturgy, they introduced such a multiplicity and
variety of rites and ceremonies, as sufficed to
please the universal taste, and to fill the uni
versal imagination; and in order that their

55

converts might find the transition from the old^
idolatry easy and pleasant, they invented a
'number of religious holidays and amusements,
corresponding with the various festivals of the
heathen mythology.
In order yet more to exalt and extend the
ecclesiastical authority, the bishops added to
their spiritual dignity and functions, those of
the earthly magistrate. As the municipal ju
risdiction was for a long time principally in the
hands of the heathen, the professors of Chris
tianity were commanded to refer all their liti
gations to the bishop. This began with treating
civil disputes, and even criminal offences, as
matters purely of ecclesiastical censure; so that
the robber, the adulterer, or the murderer,
calling himself a Christian, and performing a
suitable penance, escaped all legal punishment.
At length, however, the sword taken up in the
professed design of defending the Church, was
employed as the instrument of cruel and san
guinary persecution.
In the mean time, the spirit of rivalry and
emulation gave fresh impulse to episcopal am
bition, and renewed with tenfold violence, the
old contention " Who should be the greatest."
In vain did the Lord say, " So shall it not be

56

among you;" in vain did he add, "Even as the
Son of man came not to be ministered unto but
to minister, and to give his life a ransom for
many." They were too much occupied with
other feelings and other pursuits, to listen to
his voice, or regard his example. Indeed, my
brethren, Christ was not more scornfully re
jected by the Jews themselves, than by the
rulers of the church at this period. They em
ployed the sacred name of Jesus, only as a cloak
for avarice and pride ; and had he who was once
put in competition with the Saviour of the
world, appeared then, with greater riches and
higher honours, there had been a universal
outcry, " Not this man but Barabbas!"
In this strife for rank and precedency, the bi
shops of the three principal cities of the Roman
world, were the most prominent and conspi
cuous. These' cities corresponding with the
three parts of the then discovered globe, were
Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria, and their bi
shops, as each of them presided over a synod
or council, were styled, sometimes Metropo
litans and sometimes Patriarchs. It is not
surprising that the Bishop of Rome, which was
then the chief of cities, the mistress and queen
of the world, should, in virtue of his see, the
largest, the richest, and the most magnificent

57

of the whole, claim a certain precedence of
rank. This point, however, was warmly con
tested by the other patriarchs, and thus it be
came the sole employment of each, to enlarge,
to enrich, and to adorn his own province, in
order that it might equal and surpass those of
his rivals.
What a melancholy spectacle is here, my
brethren! Is this, can this be, the Church of
Christ ? No : it is rather his empty sepulchre.
To seek Christ here, is to seek " the living
among the dead." You may, indeed, behold
" the place where the Lord lay;" but "he is
not here; he has risen," and has departed. From
scenes so uncongenial with the spirit and cha
racter of his kingdom, Jesus, the " meek and
lowly of heart," withdrew to those secret places,
where a few of his hidden ones were even then
to be found. He was permitted to go — no
efforts were made to detain him — his presence
would have been to these proud and contentious
prelates an irksome and intolerable restraint.
Nor did they choose to hear the sound of his
voice ; and, therefore, when he repeated the
prohibition, " So shall it not be among you,"
they drowned his accents in the tumultuous
vociferation, " So shall it be among us."

58

III. These struggles for Ecclesiastical Supre^
macy, were brought to a crisis by the establishment
and preponderance of the Christian Profession,
under Constantine the Great and his Successors.
When Christianity first appeared in the Ro
man empire, it was regarded as a mean and idle
superstition, which was merely a matter of dis
pute among the Jews themselves, and therefore,
unworthy the attention equally of the magistrate
and the philosopher. This was evidently the
opinion of Pilate, of Gallio, and of Festus. It
was long before the professors of Christianity
were considered otherwise than as a sect of the
Jewish religion, and contemporary historians,
frequently write of them by the name of Jews.
At length, however, the Christians became so
numerous, as to excite the apprehensions both
of the priesthood and magistracy ; who endea
voured to suppress them by most cruel per
secutions. These persecutions were renewed
at intervals during the reigns of the pagan
emperors, with more or less of severity ; but it
is more easy to reconcile the precise number
Ten, by which they are usually denominated,
with certain mystic symbols deduced from pro
phecy by a process familiar to the learned,
than with a sound chronology and historical
fact.

59

A letter written by a Roman magistrate to
the emperor Trajan, less than two hundred
years after Christ, represents the Christians as
abounding, not only in cities, but also in vil
lages and fields, outnumbering the worshippers
of the heathen deities, and almost annihilating
the sacrifices offered in the temples. It was in
vain for their enemies to kindle and re-kindle
the flames of persecution ; like the children of
Israel in the days of Pharoah, " the more they
afflicted them, the more they multiplied and
grew," until they diffused themselves through
all ranks of society, and acquired such an in
fluence even in matters of state and government,
as materially to assist or depress the various
competitors for the Roman empire. This the
later emperors well knew, and they either con
ciliated or persecuted the Christians, according
as they were moved by sentiments of interest
or revenge.
Constantine, afterwards surnamed the Great,
received the full contribution of their mighty
help, by which, having vanquished all his rivals,
he became the absolute possessor of the throne
of the world. Mindful of his obligations, and
obedient to the dictates of the wisest policy,
he decreed the abolition of Paganism, and the
establishment of Christianity as the religion of

60

the empire. By vesting in the professors of
Christianity the enjoyment and expectation of
the chief posts of honour and profit, he dis
charged a debt of gratitude ; he identified with
his own interests, those of the most powerful
body in the empire ; and imparted to them, for
his own advantage, an incalculable augmen
tation of strength.
The history of the conversion of Constantine,
is too remarkable to be entirely omitted. While
contemplating an approaching and decisive
battle, he beheld in the heavens at noon day,
a luminous cross, outshining the splendour of
the meridian sun, and bearing an inscription to
the following effect : " By this be victorious."
Having gained the victory, he afterwards avowed
himself a Christian, and, from that time, ordered
his military ensigns to be made in imitation of
the cross which he had thus miraculously seen.
This vision, which so much resembles that of
Saul of Tarsus, was not immediately disclosed.
For many years, the emperor hid the strange
occurrence in his own breast, until, at length,
near the close of his life, he revealed it to Euse-
bius the ecclesiastical historian.
The first remarkable event after the imperial
establishment of Christianity, was the cele-

61

brated Council, held at Nice, under the auspice
of Constantine. This council, having approved
the doctrinal sentiments of Athanasius, and
condemned those of Arius, gave both political
and ecclesiastical sanction to the appellation,
" Catholic Church." By this appellation, were
intended all who held orthodox opinions con
cerning the Nature and Sonship of Christ,
in opposition to them who maintained senti
ments on those subjects, which the majority
had decreed to be heretical. The Catholic
Church knew nothing of the supremacy of the
Bishop of Rome ; indeed, the slightest attempt
at prerogative was watched with jealousy, and
resisted by the united energies of the whole
body. Of one thousand eight hundred bi-
shopricks, into which Christendom was then
divided, there were in the Greek provinces one
thousand, and in the Latin Church eight hun
dred. It does not appear what share the Bishop
of Rome had in this council ; and the change
of affairsy by raising up a rival more formidable
than any he had previously encountered, seemed
at first altogether unfavourable to his views.
Constantine, having transferred the seat of
government from Rome to Byzantium, and
having there built a city called after himself,
Constantinople, he employed all his efforts to

62
augment the beauty and magnificence of the
new metropolis of the world. The Patriarch
of Constantinople did not suffer so favourable
an opportunity to escape. Occupying the
ecclesiastical throne in the capital city, he
claimed the supremacy of the church, and as
the Romans asserted universal empire, so he
styled himself the universal bishop.
This gave fresh impulse to the unchristian
strife, which became more and more furious.
Sometimes it raged in the West, and tore
asunder the Church of Rome, while popes and
antipopes discharged their curses on each others'
heads — sometimes the East and the West were
arrayed in hostility : then all the elements
were in commotion, and the lightnings flashed,
and the thunders roared, in reciprocal ana
themas and excommunications. At length, near
the close of the sixth century, a council held
at Constantinople, formally confirmed to the
patriarch of that city, the title of Universal
Bishop. Although the title was, in that case, con
nected with no temporal power, it was quite
intolerable, and elicited from Pelagius the
Second, the Bishop of Rome, a just and
indignant Protest. In his protest, that pope

63

declares, " That the title of universal bishop
is altogether profane and inconsistent with the
equality of Christian bishops, and that it is an
invasion of the supremacy of Christ, the only
head of the church." He ascribes it to the in
stigation of the devil, who knows that pride is
the forerunner of every other sin ; and having,
in the strongest terms, asserted the impossi
bility of this title being justly assumed, he
exhorts all Christians to die rather than to own
it ; and finally proceeds to excommunicate the
bishop to whom it was applied.
To this may be added, the testimony of pope
Leo the Ninth, who, chiding the Patriarch of
Constantinople on account of that appellation,
says, " That Peter himself was not called the
• universal Apostle, nor did any of his successors
take so prodigious a title^ for he is no friend of
the bridegroom, who would be loved in his
stead, but the Bawd of Antichrist." These are
the terms in which former Bishops of Rome,
inveighed against a name which their successors
have been so proud to wear ; and it must be
confessed, that such examples of Protestantism
among popes, are truly edifying.
It was impossible that this could be per
petual. Those elements of discord which had

64
continued to agitate the church by intestine
struggles, at length exploded, and formed a
chasm so wide and so deep, as effectually
to separate the Western portion from the
Eastern. Then was it that the Bishops of Rome,
who had the predominance in the West, found
occasion to assume the hitherto invidious titles
of " Universal Bishop," " Vicar of Christ," and
"Representative of God upon Earth;" and
since that era, the Church of Rome, in defiance
of history, of reason and of fact, has pretended
to be the " Catholic Church."
The history of the final separation of the
Latin from the Greek Church, is intimately,
and almost inseparably, connected with that
of the total downfal of the Roman Empire.
That event, which was exceedingly disastrous to
the Eastern Church, operated most favourably
for the Church of Rome.
The eastern division of the Roman Empire
was invaded and conquered, by men who prided
themselves on possessing a religion far superior
to that of the Christians, and who consequently
despised both Christianity and its professors.
The dignitaries of the Greek church were there
fore degraded, and their followers brought un
der the yoke; for the Mahometans have scarcely

65

ever treated their subjects professing Chris
tianity, with less rigour than the Egyptians
did the children of Israel.
With the Church of Rome it was quite other
wise. The idolatrous barbarians who overran
Italy, and acquired the possession of the Wes
tern Empire, could not fail to perceive how su
perior to their own rude and clumsy supersti
tion, was even the sort of Christianity they wit
nessed at Rome. Seeing also the great in
fluence of the priesthood over the people, the
Goths, surprised at their own easy victories
over the former conquerors of the world, and
fearing suddenly to lose what they had hastily
acquired, were very desirous to gain the priests
to their party. In this affair there was little
difficulty; for both sides proposed an advantage.
The bishops of Rome were very willing to re
ceive for themselves and their clergy, an acces
sion of wealth and power ; this the Goths were
equally willing to bestow, as the price of such
important patronage and co-operation. They
willingly also assumed the profession of Chris
tianity; for it was easy to exchange their own
mode of idolatry, for a form of worship requiring
as little intellectual exercise ; and which, while
its pomp and ceremonies gratified their pride
and elevated their feelings, did not oblige them

06
to be less sensual than before. Thus the fall of
the Roman Empire, while it laid in the dust
the honours of the Patriarch of Constantinople,
raised still higher the majesty, and diffused
more widely the influence, of the See of Rome.
Thus have we traced the progress of the
Church of Rome, through the changes of eccle
siastical government and discipline, and through
the tumult and disorder of human affairs, until
at length, having attained the summit of her am
bition, " she glorified herself, and lived deli-
ciously, and said in her heart, I sit a queen
and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
The rise of the Papal power was obstructed
and retarded by many difficulties, arising prin
cipally from the repugnance of the churches to
the surrender of their independence, and from
the competition of formidable and powerful ri
vals j but by policy, by intrigue, and by the fa-
yourable conjuncture of affairs, these difficulties
were all surmounted. When Charlemagne con
sented to receive the crown of the West from
the hand of the Bishop Of Rome, the sera of the
Papal dynasty may be said tP have commenced ;
and notwithstanding the continued resistance of
those churches which were most distant from
Rome, and of those which existed in the coun
tries making the nearest approaches to civil

67
liberty, and even in Italy — the bishops of Rome
held for ages, the greater part of Europe in awe
and subjection. Not content with the supre
macy of ecclesiastical affairs, the Popes claim
ed the superintendence of those also which were
temporal and political. This claim was to a
certain degree admitted ; and the history of this
quarter of the globe, during a long period, is
little else than the history of Papal compromise
or Papal tyranny. The spirit of the Vatican
penetrated the cabinets of kings, pervaded all
orders of the hierarchy, and gave a predominat
ing impulse to public affairs.
From this elevation, the Popes and Cardinals
looked down with contempt, on the original cha
racter and condition of the Church of Rome :
but the degrees by which they had thus gained
their imaginary ascent, were, in fact, the mea
sure of their degradation; that which formed
their pride and boa.st, was the mark of their
disgrace and shame ; and the splendid pa
laces in which they dwelt, and the lofty style
which they assumed, were the monuments of
their apostacy from the truth and simplicity of
the gospel of Christ. Yet they had their re
ward: dominion, power, and, wealth, were all
they desired; dominion, power, and wealth they
enjoyed. F 2

68

Thus were the words of the Saviour verified,
" Abide in me and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine ; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches : he that
abide th in me and I in him, the same bringeth
forth much fruit ; for without me ye can do no
thing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast
forth as a branch and is withered ; and men ga
ther them and cast them into the fire, and they
are burned." So long as the ministers of the
gospel abode in Christ, by purity of doctrine
and fidelity of heart, so long did Christ abide in
them by gracious and fructifying influences, and
so long did they "bear much fruit." Three thou
sand converts on the day of Pentecost, a great
augmentation speedily afterwards, with a vast
in-gathering of Gentiles, attested their disciple-
ship, and glorified their heavenly Father. But
when, by erroneous sentiments, and alienation
of the heart, they were severed from " the true
Vine," they became as a branch " cast forth and
withered;" Without Christ they could do no-,
thing; and therefore they ceased to " bear fruit."
There was an increase, but not "the increase
of God ;" proselytes were multiplied, but sin
ners were not converted ; a kingdom was esta
blished, but not " the kingdom of heaven."

69

All this applies but too forcibly and justly, to
the general and early declension from the pri
mitive constitution of the church of Christ, and
with accumulated force, to the Church of Rome
in her elevation and ascendency. Her usurped
dominion had undoubtedly a wide extension ;
yet always within such limits, as to render the
pretension of universality absurd and ridiculous.
Although the greater part of Europe was long
overshadowed by this death-like cloud, and the
very attempt to disperse it was treated as un
pardonable heresy, yet even here, was " a rem
nant, according to the election of grace." The
true light was never totally extinguished : it il
luminated the vallies of Piedmont, and some of
the secret retreats of Germany; a few rays
penetrated the mist which occupied our native
land ; it grew and diffused itself, until it burst
forth in the happy Reformation. But this is not
the moment to dwell on these topics.
Can we, my brethren, can we be sufficiently
thankful to Him, whose abundant mercy has
preserved us from this gross darkness — who has
exempted our necks from this yoke, our shoulders
from this burden? " The lines have fallen to
us in pleasant places, and we have a goodly he
ritage." Remember, however, " where much
is given, there much is required;" and having

70
" received much," it becomes us to " love much."
" Let us therefore walk as children of the light
and of the day."
Reflecting on the condition of our fellowT
creatures, yet involved in this worse than Egyp
tian gloom, can we withhold our sympathy and
our prayers ? Ill would it become us to indulge
the feelings, or to employ the language, of aspe
rity and reproach ; rather let us on their behalf,
affectionately and earnestly supplicate the Fa
ther of mercies, that he will be pleased to de
liver them " from the power of darkness, and
translate them into 'the kingdom of his dear
Son." ¦
Finally, let me press upon you the spirit and
injunction of the text. Remember that pride,
ambition, and the love of the world, have no le
gitimate place in a Christian's heart. In the
world, it is true, they are the great moving
principles : "So shall it not be among you," says
he who is at once a perfect pattern of humility
and of true greatness, " even the Son of man,
who came not to be ministered unto but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many."

LECTURE III.

THE GENIUS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PAPAL
ASCENDANCY.

1 PETER V. 2, 3. FEED THE FLOCK OF GOD WHICH IS AMONG YOU, TAKING
THE OVERSIGHT THEREOF, NOT BY CONSTRAINT, BUT WILLINGLY ; NOT
FOR FILTHY LUCRE, BUT OF A WILLING MIND; NEITHER AS BEING LORDS
OVER god's HERITAGE, BUT BEING ENSAMPLES TO THE FLOCK.
There is nothing in the history of the whole
world more extraordinary, than the various
events connected with the name and the terri
tory of Rome. The first studies of our youth,
acquaint us with the valiant deeds of Roman
patriots and heroes, the splendid victories of
Roman armies, the profound policy of Roman
senates, and the almost boundless dominion of
Roman emperors ; and such is their impression,
that every thing great in intellect and enter
prise, every thing patient in endurance, mighty
in operation, and brilliant in success, becomes

72

in our feelings, identified with that which is
Roman. These are the subjects which roused
the enthusiasm of our early days ; and which, in
spite of ourselves, command the admiration of
maturer age.
Yet all these things are far outdone by the
history of Rome in modern times. Her ancient
records contain nothing equal to the stratagems,
the achievements, and the unconquerable per
severance, which elevated the Popes to eccle
siastical sovereignty, and gave the ascendency
to Papal Rome. The champions of the Church,
have surpassed the heroes of the Republic — the
subtlety of the Conclave, has exceeded in depth
and refinement that of the Senate — the thunder
of the Vatican, has rolled more terribly than that
of the Capitol — and though within a narrower
boundary, the tyranny of the Popes has been
more despotic and intense, than that of the
proudest of the Caesars.
Ancient Rome was purely and avowedly, a
military power. Without disguising the pur
pose of extending her own territories by appro
priating those of other nations, she steadily pur
sued the path of war, conquest, and negocia-
tion, until her object was attained, and she be
came the mistress of the world. The design was

73

apparent, the means were evidently suitable
and effectual. The Roman Empire was more
extensive and enduring than other monarchies ;
but its principles and operations were of the
same order, excelling only in magnitude and
success ; and although the mind labours to ac
company a career of victory so rapid, and to
comprehend so vast an extent of conquest, it is
not difficult to assign the causes of the Roman
triumphs. Other nations were vanquished and
subdued, because the Romans had a govern
ment more politic and ambitious, a people more
free and enlightened, and armies pre-eminent
in bravery and discipline. All this was per
fectly natural ; and the premises being known,
the result was easily foreseen : but the Popes
had an enterprise of another kind, and in that
enterprise they were successful.
Had the profession of Christianity retained
its native purity and simplicity, there would
have been nothing wonderful, in its subduing the
whole earth to its spiritual and celestial in
fluence. From the mighty growth and preva
lence of the word of God when preached by
the Apostles, we may infer what would have
been the rapidity and extent of its victories,
had their spirit fallen with their mantle upon
their successors. Or, if the Popes had avowed

74

the principles and designs of earthly mbharchs,
and professed to enforce their creed and extend
their empire, by war and bloodshed, even their
great success had not been without example in
ancient times ; and in later days, had been ri
valled, and even surpassed, by that of Mahomet
and the Saracens.
The ancient Romans, by martial prowess,
subdued a hemisphere ; but they boasted only
warlike virtues. The Mahometans reduced the
nations they conquered, to the faith of their Pro
phet; but they professedly employed as argu
ments, the strength of their limbs and the sharp
ness of their sabres. The Bishops of Rome
have maintained a perpetual alternation of force
and fraud ; but they, by that very conduct, pre
tended to exemplify the gentleness and since
rity of Christ. Can you conceive of any design
more seemingly chimerical, than that of the
Popes and their clergy? It was nothing less
than to persuade mankind, that he who is every
thing that Christ is not, is the vicar and coun
terpart of Christ ; and that every principle and
law of the kingdom of heaven, may be violated
in the name and by the authority of its Sove
reign. It was to gain the practical assent of
rational beings, to propositions such as these —
that to amass incalculable riches is no breach

75

of a vow of poverty — that the necks of kings
may be trampled on in a spirit of evangelical
meekness — that all rights, human and divine,
may be annihilated by men who themselves
claim no right but that which the gospel con
fers — and finally, that refractory nations may
be reduced by fire and sword, consistently with
the exclusive employment of spiritual weapons.
The mere projection of this scheme, appears a
wild and capricious start of the human ima
gination : but this scheme was actually realised .
To have achieved this victory over the un
derstanding and common sense — to hold a tem
poral dominion by a spiritual tenure — to enforce
an earthly authority, in the very act of profess
ing to be the representatives of him whose
" kingdom is not of this world" — and to " lord
it over God's heritage," in the name of the
Apostle who inscribed the words of our text,
is surely unparalleled by all the mightiest deeds
of antiquity. This elevates the renown of the
papacy far
"/Above all Greek, above all Homan fame."
It will very naturally be asked, how was all
this effected? and this is a subject worthy of
further investigation.

76

As the answer to that question, I attempt an
illustration of " the Genius and Characteristics
of the Papal Ascendency;" and for that pur
pose observe to you, that the rulers of the
Church of Rome accomplished these seeming
impossibilities, I. By enslaving the Mental Faculties to Human
Authority. II. By giving to Superstition, the semblance and
the sanctions of Religion ; and,
III. By administering the affairs of their Go
vernment, in the corruptest principles of worldly
policy. By these arts they acquired their dominion ;
and these were their arts of reigning.
I. Authority was in every thing substituted for
Reason. The dictates of the priesthood, formed the
standard of truth ; and the will of the Pope, the
supreme law. Within the sphere of the Roman
hierarchy, the understanding was neutralized,
and the judgment had no functions to. discharge.
No one was allowed to examine, to weigh, to

77

decide, or even to form for himself the same
opinions as those taught by the priest. Every
thing was to be taken purely on human autho
rity. The least disposition to inquire, was ac
counted sinful ; and they who knew not what
their church believed, were assured of salva
tion, if prepared to believe all that the church
should teach. To assert the right of private
judgment, was resented as intolerable heresy ;
and all innovation, was either averted by fraud,
or repressed by violence. As the security, and
even the existence of their empire, depended
on the ignorance and passive credulity of their
subjects, they forbade nothing so strictly as ar
gument, discussion, and the elucidation of truth.
They therefore identified popery with Chris
tianity; and taught, that to question the truth of
any one papal dogma, was the same as to ques
tion the truth of the Christian religion. Hence
the appellations, " Our Lord," and " Holy Fa
ther," and sometimes, " Our Lord God the
Pope ; " and a moment's hesitation to obey his
injunctions, was accounted an act of rebellion
against the Lord Jesus Christ. A zealous ad
vocate of papal authority (Cardinal Bellarmine)
has even asserted, that it is in the power of the
Pope to change and transmute the very nature
of good and evil, of vice and virtue. Thus "he

78

as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God." It was impossible for
any by whom these claims were admitted, to
think and judge for themselves s Thus the hu
man mind was rendered altogether inapplicable
to its highest purposes ; and thus, the dark and
gloomy shadow of popery, produced an awful
eclipse of the light of ^ God on the intellect of
man. Do you say, " how could the people read
their Bibles, and yet fail to detect the impos
ture and assert their liberty ?" Do you add,
" how is it possible they could mistake such a
communion for the church of Christ ?" Is it not
written, " Every one that doeth evil hateth the
light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved : but he that doeth truth
cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made
manifest that they are wrought in God ?" My
dear brethren, the great majority had no Bibles;
and had they possessed, they could not read
them — they were in a language unknown to the
common people.
The Popes and clergy knew well, that their
system and the free circulation of the Holy
Scriptures could not exist together; and there
fore, the Holy Scriptures were not suffered to

79

circulate freely. The translating of them into
the vernacular languages, was prohibited ; and
they who understood the learned tongues, found
them not free and unfettered, but encumbered
and buried, amidst a heap of silly traditions and
fanciful commentaries. By these, the meaning
was commonly smothered ; and very often the
truth of God was changed into a lie. Could
the Scriptures have been entirely withdrawn,
it had been done : but as that was impracti
cable, care was taken that they should be read
by as few as possible, and under such restric
tions as should expose their artifices to the least
probability of detection. While their traditions
were held to be of equal validity with the words
of Christ, and while they were regarded as the
infallible interpreters and guides, it might be
supposed they had little to apprehend : but
guilt is ever timorous ; and even with all this
precautionary apparatus, they were exceedingly
sparing of permission to resid the word of God.
But you will say, " had they not public wor
ship and the ministry of the gospel?" They had
the semblance of both,, but the reality of neither.
Had this been the case, light would have en
tered their minds, and the yoke would have
fallen from their necks: but these privileges
were then unknown. Priests indeed there were;

80
but in character, condition, and interest, alto
gether peculiar and distinct. The fundamental
principles of the papal system, require the ex
tinction of all community and sympathy be
tween the clergy and the laity — of all recipro
city between priest and people. Thus the best
pastor is he, not who best feeds and guards the
sheep, but he who shears the largest and the
richest fleece ; and the chief saints of the Ro
man calendar, are those, not who best exempli
fy the spirit of our text, but who have most ad
vanced the prerogative, and most augmented
the revenue, of the See of Rome. The design
of their ministry was, not to enlighten and edi
fy, but to enforce a passive and implicit sub
jection to papal authority.
This is the true reason for the celibacy of the
clergy. Were they allowed to marry, and thus
to ally themselves with the families of the laity,
they would have something of a common feel
ing, and, no longer calling the people servants,
would call them friends. The interest of the
See of Rome, is so decidedly hostile to that of
the people, that it is impossible for any one to
be the friend of both; and, therefore, every
thing is so arranged, that the priest has no in
ducement to prefer the welfare of the flock to
the good of the church. On the contrary,

8t

^very priest, as the steward and agent of the-
Pope, is bound to make as much as possible
for his employer.
Their public worship, conducted in an un
known tongue, could impart no light, could
afford no edification. The congregation might
look and wonder, while the priest performed
his genuflexions, dispersed the incense, ate the
wafer, and swallowed the wine : but no ac
ceptable worship could be presented to him
who "is a Spirit," and who requireth those
that worship him, to " worship in spirit and in
truth." Their preaching seldom occurred, and
when it did, they proclaimed any thing rather
than the Gospel. The clergy altogether re
versed the resolve of St. Paul, and determined
to know every thing, " save Jesus Christ and
him crucified." There was much about them
selves and the Virgin Mary, about saints and
legends, false miracles and relics ; but nothing
to awaken the careless, to direct inquirers, to
heal wounded hearts, to establish the faithful.
And all this mummery, and all these tricks,
were declared to rest upon authority equal to
the word of God himself
It is very natural you should remark, " But
the human mind must have some way of escape
G

•82
If a stream be stopped in its course, it will
break out some where, and unless there be a
suitable outlet, will overflow, the surrounding
country." All this is true, and the father of
popery knew this well ; he thejefore devised
another employment for the reasoning faculty.
The Church of Rome had an invincible ob
jection, to knowledge, but not to, disputation on
topics foreign from religion. The schools of
the Peripatetic philosophy were therefore re
vived, where men might dispute and wrangle to
the end of life, but could never learn. Within
a small and thorny circle, subjects innumerable,
and of the most trifling kind, might be dis
cussed; hairs might be split, grains of sand
numbered, unanswerable questions proposed,
and distinctions without a difference indefinitely
drawn out; yet even here, the badge of slavery
remained. So jealous was the Churcli of Rome
of the independent exercise of iuman reason,
that no one was allowed to proceed a step be^-
yond, the mystic line. One ray of scientific
light, was enough to put the whole Vatican in
commotion; and to make a discovery in phi
losophy, Was scarcely less dangerous than to
innovate in religion. Who could believe, were
it not matter of undoubted historical record,
that the illustrious Galileo, for maintaining an
opinion which is now received as the soundest

83

philosophy, was consigned to a dungeon of the
Inquisition. His offence consisted in affirming
that the Earth goes round the Sun, in oppo
sition to the opinion then accounted orthodox,
that the Sun goes round the Earth. Thus did
the See of Rome maintain its ascendency, by
a^ unmitigated despotism, both in religion and
philosophy. Imitating the policy of the Phi
listines, they employed their utmost efforts to
destroy the mental vision of the public, that
they might the more submissively grind at the
mill. Nothing can be more fatal to genuine piety,
than the influence of human opinion. It be
clouds the understanding, stupifies the con
science, and hardens the heart. On human
opinion^ however, the Popes and clergy of
Rome, suspend the credibility of Christianity
itself, and will not allow that it has any evi
dence, but that which they themselves confer.
According to them, it is impossible for any one,
without referring to their decisions, to prove or
to know, that the Bible is from God, or that
the statements of the Gospel are " faithful
sayings." After this, it is little for them to
aver, that the most perspicuous and plain pas
sages of Holy Writ, are unintelligible without
their interpretations. G 2

84

Having succeeded in imposing the strarigfe
belief of the omnipresence and omnipotence of
human authority, it was easy for them
II. By substituting for the Precepts and Insti^
tutipns of the Gospel, the Traditions and Inven
tions of Men, to displace the Religion of Christ,
and to introduce the grossest Superstition.
Our Lord describes the essence of true reli
gion, by saying, " This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent :" but where divine
teaching is so completely superseded by that
which is human, the knowledge of God is im
possible ; and it is by the dissociating of the-
mind and heart from God, that the Church of
Rome prepares her votaries to receive her
whole mass of superstitious absurdities. One
beam of " the true Light," one accent of " the
good Shepherd's" voice, they well know would
dissipate the delusion, and destroy their in
fluence : and were not immortal souls at stake,
one might almost applaud the ingenuity and
art, with which all the avenues whereby man
might draw near to God, or behold his face,
are closed and guarded : a priest or a ceremony
meets him at every turn, so that, finding no

85
alternative, he shrinks into the cell which
opens to receive him.
No longer were " Cherubims and the flaming
sword, which turned every way," needed to
"' keep the way of the tree of life ;" their posts
were occupied, and their duty more than dis
charged, by cowled Monks and mitred Prelates.
The relation which our Lord Jesus Christ
sustains to his church, may be referred to
his prophetical, sacerdotal, and regal offices.
There is no point of view in which he can be
regarded, and there are no feelings which can
be rightly entertained concerning him, but
must accord with one of these. The first, ap
plies to the understanding, the second, to the
conscience, and the third, to the whole course
of human action. As our misery and danger
arise from ignorance, guilt, and the bondage
of iniquity; so Christ effects the salvation of
believers, by teaching, atoning, and reigning;
while they, on their part, receive his doctrine,
embrace his sacrifice, and submit to his go
vernment. This reciprocity is essential, equally
to the existence of the Church, and to the glory
of the Saviour. Whoever, therefore, would
dispossess him of these offices, or alienate from
him the human heart, can be neither the friend

86
of man, nor the disciple of Christ. This, how-.
ever, is the true character of the Romish su
perstition; it is an usurpation over man, and
against the Lord's anointed. For, as every
thing which tends to supersede the offices of
Christ, is destructive of human salvation, so
every thing by which men are resti^ained from
an exclusive and affeotictfiate dependence on
him, resists his government, and obscures his
glory; So far, however, as the Roman Pontiffs
have succeeded, Christ is no longer recognised
as prophet, priest, or king. To the extent of
their influence, he, on the one hand, is not
suffered to teach, atone, or reign; and the peo
ple, on the other, are not permitted to learn,
believe, or obey. They have virtually sealed
the lips of Christ, abolished his sacrifice, and
abrogated his royalty. What then is to become
of the church? — and how is the world to be
saved ? They have made a provision, they have
found a substitute. The church is still to enjoy
her prophet, priest, and king: but where?
Some will tell you in the Popes, others in
councils, others again, in the union of Popes
and councils. Many will very gravely say " the
church." But wherefore is the Lord Jesus su
perseded and displaced ? I will tell you, my
brethren : Did they suffer his voice to be heard,
the empire of ignorance would be overthrown ;

87
were his atonement clearly and fully exhibited,
the fabric of superstition would fall to the
ground ; and were they to allow an appeal to
the throne of Christ, they are well aware obe
dience to themselves would be out of the
question. Therefore, as it is impossible for
the influence of Christ and of the priesthood to
exist together, he must give way to them. But
how is this accomplished ?
By pretending to be infallible in matters of
faith, to be the arbiters of controversy, and
interpreters of the Scriptures, while the very
words of Christ are not suffered to be believed,
except in the sense of the Church of Rome,
they evidently disown the great " Teacher come
from God," and daringly usurp his prophetical
office. Again, by teaching for doctrines their
own " commandments," and by restricting the
exercise of faith to their own fictions and mis
interpretations, they forbid their followers to
learn of Christ ; as if it were unnecessary, that
he should be a prophet, and as if the influences.
of the Holy Ghost were of no value, except as
matter of privilege to the clergy.
The Roman Pontiff, in virtue of his title and
office, is the rival, and so far as his church is
concerned, the successful rival of the high

88

priest of the Christian profession. This is tc
be. antichrist. As well might two suns shine
in the same firmament, as two high priests
officiate in one dispensation : but the Pope is
the high priest of the Roman Church, and,
therefore, Christ is not. This invasion of the
sacerdotal office, leads also to the desecrating
of the great atoning sacrifice. The principal
argument of the insufficiency and temporary
duration of the Jewish sacrifices, was derived
from their repetition ; and the chief confirmation
of the reality and validity of the sacrifice of
Christ, appeared in that it was " offered once
for all." The Romish priesthood, however, by
the perpetually repeated sacrifice of the mass,
by their various penances, meritorious fastings,
and bodily macerations, by their lustral water,
and innumerable rites and ceremonies, do their
utmost, to depreciate and degrade the atone
ment of Christ. By these contrivances, they
so bewilder the imagination, and so perplex
the conscience, that the priestly office and work
of Christ, are treated as altogether superfluous
and unnecessary.
As they do not suffer him to teach, lest the
people should be instructed and learn, or to
officiate as priest, lest their own senseless ce
remonies should be disregarded ; so they usurp

89

his regal office, and suffer him not to reign.
True he bears on his vesture and on his thigh
a name written, " King of kings, and Lord
of lords:" but says the Pope, " I, the Vicar
of Christ, am the visible head of the church,
and God's vicegerent on earth ; and, therefore,
to me every knee shall bow." Thus is the kingly
authority of Christ annulled, in the very name
of Christ himself The loyalty of the Popes
scarcely equals that of an ambitious regent,
during the minority of a prince, who, in the
name of his sovereign, monopolises the prero
gatives of the monarchy. Our Lord Jesus
Christ declares, " all power is given unto me
in heaven and in earth," and proclaims himself
Lord of the visible and the invisible world : but
this is no more than is assumed by the Bishops
of Rome. According to them, the power of
bishops is as high above that of kings, as hea
ven is above the earth; they have even sus
pended the inheritance of kingdoms, and the
allegiance of subjects, on the will of the so
vereign Pontiff. They claim also, the empire
of the world of spirits, pretending that no man
can escape from hell, or enter heaven, but by
their favour and permission. Is not all this in
direct contravention of the royal majesty of
him, who " openeth and no man shutteth, who

90

shutteth and no man openeth," and who has
the " keys of death and hell ?"
Having thus excluded the Lord Jesus Christ
and his Gospel, from what they still chose to
denominate his church, it was necessary, by
the substituting of some adequate and un
failing principle, to supply the vacancy. For
this purpose, they availed themselves of a rich
legacy, bequeathed to them by certain phi
losophers, who embraced the profession of
Christianity in the second century. These
philosophers were sometimes called Platonists,
because they professed chiefly to follow the
great disciple of Socrates, and at others Ec
lectics, because they boasted of selecting and
adopting the purest materials of all the philo
sophical systems. The design of this sect ap
pears to have been, by the reviving of the
obsolete, but intellectual and elevated senti
ments of Plato, to purge away some of the
grosser absurdities of the mythology of Greece
and -Rome ; and those of them who were con
verted to Christianity, employed themselves
but too diligently, in the attempt to refine and
to adorn its divine simplicity. Thus the intro
duction of the Platonic notion of the purifi
cation of souls by fire, gave rise to the Popish

91

doctrine of Purgatory ; and to the same source
is to be ascribed the double rule or doctrine,
which, under the management of the Church
of Rome, while, on the one hand, it utterly
exploded true religion, and, on the other, de
stroyed the very essence of moral obligation,
became fertile of all kinds of superstition. This
rule had two parts, one called Precepts, the
other Counsels. By precepts they intended the
common and invariable law of morality, which
was necessary and binding on all mankind;
by counsels, they meant performances and suf
ferings of a higher order, which were not ne
cessary or matter of duty, but voluntary and
meritorious. The precepts, were for the multi
tude, and men of common mould ; the counsels,
for superior spirits, for minds which soared
above the flight of ordinary mortals.
These counsels, became the source and spring
of the whole system of will worship, that is,
of withholding from God what he actually de
mands, and presenting before him, that which
he neither has required, nor will accept. For,
you must not imagine that any of them, having
first fulfilled the precepts, and thus discharged
the obligations of the common morality, then
surpassed their competitors, by superadding
the voluntary and meritorious observances of

92
the counsels : on the contrary, they chose to
consider the Counsels, as exonerating them al
together from the duty of keeping the precepts.
They did not embrace them both, but chose
between the two; and, selecting that which
man invented, they refused that which God
enjoined. From this it followed by natural
inference, that as they were relieved from all
personal obligation, every thing they did and
suffered was completely supererogatory; and
thus was formed by degrees, a vast accumulation
of merit, which might be distributed as occasion
should require.
To the influence of this rule may be traced
the various tribes of ascetics, who, under pre
tence of superior virtue, but in reality to ob
tain distinction and gratify their pride, forsook
their fellow-men, and sought the solitude and
practised the austerities, of the hermitage and the
cloister. They rendered themselves quite use
less to society, renounced all the duties and the
charities of civil life, and secluded themselves
from the possibility of an active piety — and for
what purpose ? That the ignorant might won
der, and the superstitious revere. Surely it may
be said of them, in the expressive language of
the Liturgy of the Church of England, " they
have left undone what they ought to have done..

93

and they have done what they ought not to
have done, and there is no health in them."
Although these austerities and mortifications
were deemed unnecessary for the individuals by
whom they were endured, they turned to good
account for the benefit of others. While these
sublime devotees considered the precepts as
beneath their aim, the ordinary class of mor
tals, on whom they were still binding, were
deplorably deficient in their observance ; and
this deficiency it became necessary to supply.
A repository for works of supererogation was
therefore established at Rome, which furnished
the materials of a most lucrative traffic. For it
is the business of the priest, when seated in the
confessional, to ascertain the deficiency of his
penitent, and on stated terms, to pass to the
credit of the defaulter, so much of the precious
store as may be required to set him right with
his conscience and the church.
Thus fares it with religion and morality.
One class need not observe the precepts, be
cause they are above that necessity; the re
mainder are equally free, because their failure
may be otherwise supplied. This is not merely
to pervert and abuse — it is to destroy: for
surely, where there is exemption for all, there

Q4
can be i)0 obligation on any. This spirit of
superstition is rendered yet more inveterate,
by the extending of this scheme of imputed
human righteousness, to the souls of the de
parted; so that by the efficiency of money
and of masses, spirits are emancipated from
purgatory, and domiciliated in heaven.
III. The Church of Rome having subjugated
the Understanding by Authority, and the Con
science by Superstition, administered the Govern-
rfient thus acquired, on the corruptest principles of
Worldly Policy.
" My kingdom is not of this world," said our
Lord, "niy kingdom is of this world," is truly the
sentiment of the Pope ; and here lies the differ
ence. The only consistent view of this church is
that of a political establishment, employing in
deed religious: terms and denominations, but only
as the pretext and colour of aninordinate pursuit
of secular and temporal objects. Read its history
as that of a Christian church, you stumble at
every step, and every period shocks you by the
grossest incongruities : read the same history
as of one of the kingdoms of this world, all is
natural and easy, and the various proceedings
and events are just what you are prepared to
expect. The papal supremacy was conceded

95

by an earthly monarch- — all its interests have
varied with the fluctuations of human affairs —
and when the princes of this world shall with
draw their support, it will fall, and great will
be the fall thereof The bishops of Rome have
ever pursued, under the guise of religion, some
earthly advantage ; and thus Pope Leo the
Tenth exclaimed most appropriately, " Oh how
profitable is this fable of Jesus unto us !"
The first object of these subtle politicians
was to provide a revenue, ample and perma
nent : kings and nations were accordingly laid
under tribute ; and to the utmost extent of pa
pal influence, the treasures of Christendom
flowed into the Exchequer of Rome. On every
hand, art, fraud, and intimidation, were equally
and successfully employed, in transferring the
wealth of the world to the coffers of the church.
This was effected partly by regular ecclesi
astical taxes, but principally by selling every
thing the Church of Rome had to bestow, and
by perpetually inventing new articles of bar^
gain and sale. Hence the multiplying of sacra^-
ments— hence the sale of pardons, indulgences,
benefices, dignities, and of prayers for the liv
ing and the dead. Every thing was prostitut
ed; and under the pretence of being the " bride

96

the Lamb's wife," this church became the " mo
ther of harlots." In the same spirit, the death
beds of the rich were besieged, that they might
bequeath their property to the clergy ; and the
consciences of opulent criminals were appeased,
in return for liberal donations to the ecclesias
tical fund. Thus an amount of riches almost
incredible accrued to the papal treasury.
For these purposes, they organised a system
of spiritual police, and a well-disciplined host
of ecclesiastical spies. By means of auricular
confession, to which they had the address to
give the sanction and obligation of a sacrament,
they probed the secrets of every heart, and
thrust their hands into every purse. You are
aware that by auricular confession is intended
that papal ordinance, by which every member
of the Church of Rome is enjoined to make an
unreserved acknowledgment of every sin in
thought, word, and deed, in the ear of a priest,
who then prescribes the penance and pronounces
the absolution. Judge what must be the power
and influence in society, of a numerous and vi
gilant clergy, familiar with the workings of
every bosom, prescribing a penance at their
own discretion, and retaining or remitting the
S(ins of their penitents at their own pleasure !
This penance, which usually consisted in some

97
bodily mortifications, such as fasts, vigils, and
scourgings, or in the repetition of certain prayers
and external acts of worship, might, with the
consent of the priest, be commuted for the pay
ment of money, or might even be performed by
proxy. This gave to the priesthood unbound
ed power over the minds, bodies, and purses,
of a people already imbued to saturation with
superstitious credulity. While this continued
in all its force, the sacerdotal influence was ir
resistible. It was inevitable, that the most
dreadful abuses and enormities should attend
this system. I will not wound your ears by
adducing any examples of the horrible impuri
ties and abominations which sprung from this
source : but let me intreat you to bear in
mind, that whatever is introduced by human
authority, as matter of religious obligation, al
ways tends to injure the moral character of
man. Be assured, it is as essential to the
purity of the human heart, as it is to the
glory of God, that this prediction of our Lord
should be fulfilled, " every plant which my
heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be root
ed up."
Little did the apostle Peter, when in the spi
rit of humility and disinterested affection, he
gave the exhortation now before us, little did
u

98
he think, that men calling themselves his suc
cessors, would, in his name, employ these arts
of extortion and tyranny ! -
Yet even the cupidity of wealth, was a pas^
sion less intense than the lust of dominion. No
thing short of subordinating all the kings and
princes of the earth, would satisfy the ambition
of the Popes. Proceeding on their favourite
maxim, that the authority of bishops is as high
above that of kings as heaven is above the
earth, monarchs were laid prostrate by the ex
ercise of ecclesiastical power. Witness the em
peror Henry the Third, dispossessed of his em
pire and the allegiance of his subjects, by the
decree of a haughty Pope, who concluded the
sftitence of deposition: in these characteristic
terms, " It is meet that he be deprived of dig
nity;, who endeavoureth to diminish the majesty
of the church." Witness the same emperor,
after he was deposed, waiting barefoot in the
frost for three days, at the entrance of a city
where the Pope, " clothed in purple and fine'
linen, fared sumptuously every day," while the
fallen monarch begged with most abject entrea
ties, a pardon which he with difficulty at length
obtained. Even in our own happy country,
the land of liberty and independence, kings;
have been made to pass iunder this disgraceful

99
yoke. Did not our Henry the Second perform
penance at the shrine of a haughty and domi
neering prelate ; and was he not, in order to
obtain absolution frOm the ecclesiastical func
tionaries, obliged to endure scourging by the
whips of monks ? Was not another of our kings
constrained to surrender his regal dignity into
the hands of the Pope's representative, and to
hold the crown of England as a tributary to the
See of Rome ? Listen, I beseech you, to the
very words of the Pope, " Is not the King of
England our vassal, and, I say more, our slave,
who can with our nod imprison him, and en
slave him to reproach ?" Yet this Pope boasted
of his succession to Saint Peter, and with sin
gular propriety, quoted as his warrant for de
posing princes and absolving subjects from their
allegiance, the injunction of Christ to that
Apostle, " Feed my sheep ! " Another of the
Popes, inflamed vsrith ambition and maddened
by a military spirit, disdaining the employment
of weapons " not carnal," fliing the keys of
Saint Peter into the Tiber, and declared that
henceforward he would wield only the sword of
Saint Paul. Their whole history proves, that
as they had no object but earthly aggrandise
ment, so they adopted no principles, and pur
sued no methods, but those which were as con
genial to that object, as they were contradictory
H 2

100

to their professions of humility and benevo
lence. When prompted to war by passion and
pride, war was instigated or proclaimed ; when
war was no longer prosperous, peace was nego-
ciated : if the effusion of human blood was de
manded by the papal interests, human blOdd
was shed ; when tKose interests changed their
aspect and relations, then blood ceased to flow^
These unjustifiable invasions of earthly prero
gatives and immunities, will however shrink
into nothing, when brought into comparison
with awful impieties, and insults offered to the
majesty of heaven. Of this I dare instance only
one example. A certain Pope (Julius the Third)
having ordered a cold peacock for his supper,
and not perceiving it on the table, expressed his
anger in a most horrible blasphemy. When one
of the Cardinals remonstrated with his Holiness
for giving way to so violent passion on so trifling
an occasion, the reply was, " If God could be
so very angry about an apple, as to turn our
first father Adam out of Paradise, why should it
not be lawful for me, who am his vicar, to be iii
a passion for a peacock, since a peacock is much
more than an apple ?" My brethren, compare
these instances with the text; and say, are these
Christian bishops ? Is this a Christian church ?
To these pretended successors of Saint Peter,

101

our Lord reverses his congratulation, and says,
" Flesh and blood hath revealed these things
unto you, and not my Father who is in heaven."
Where, I ask, is the resemblance between the
ungovernable pride of these lordly prelates, and
the spirit of him " who came not to be mi
nistered unto, but to minister, and to give his life
a ransom for many?" Christ humbled himself to
save ; Antichrist exalts himself to destroy.
Hence those cruel and sanguinary perse
cutions, which so distinctly mark the true
character of Popery when unrestrained and
undisguised. In the Church of Rome, every
thing is pardonable except heresy, and every
thing which savours of truth and liberty is
deemed heretical. The perpetration of the
most horrible crimes has found a speedy and
easy atonement; when to translate the Scrip
tures, and to preach the Gospel, were offences
expiable only by dungeons, racks, and flames.
Indeed, the persecution of heretics has been of
itself, accounted sufficiently meritorious to re
move guilt of the blackest die.
Who can estimate the sufferings of the poor
Waldenses, the Albigenses, and Bohemians,
who were gentle and unoffending as sheep, yet

102

were hunted, driven, and . slaughtered, as if
they had been beasts of prey. While the Ro
man Pontiff and his Cardinals were revelling, in
luxury, and triumphing in pomp and power,
these devoted servants of Christ, "of whom the
world was not worthy," wandered about in
sheep skins and goat skins, seeking refuge in
dens and caves of the earth, being " destitute,
afflicted, tormented." These are the martyrs
who lie and expostulate beneath the altar, and
whom God will assuredly avenge. "Shall I
not visit for these things saith the Lord ?"
How awfully characteristic of the spirit and
temper engendered by Popery, was the diabo
lical exultation of the Court of Rome, which
proclaimed a jubilee, when tidings were rcT
ceived there, of the treacherous massacre of
the Protestants at Paris, on the ever infamous
day of Saint Bartholomew! Nor till English
Protestants shall have suffered the history of
the fires of Smithfield to pass into oblivion, will
they cease to entertain a vigilant and salutary
jealousy, of the bigotry and cruelty of the papal
superstition, which always tends to debase the
understanding, and to extinguish the very seeds
of human sympathy and benevolence. This
subject is too appalUng to pursue : but what, I

103

ask, must be the character of a system, which
has brought such an accumulation of plagues
on man, and has offered so many indignities to
the eternal God ?
Does any one say, " Well, but after all, Po
pery is Religion arrayed in her richest dress,
decked with her brightest ornaments, fragrant
with her sweetest incense, and enshrined in the
most magnificent of her temples ?" I answer.
What, my brethren, of ornament, and pompj
and splendour, what of gorgeous apparel and
sparkling jewels, when beneath all these; there
is a carcase giving no indication of spirit and
life, retaining no one feature of an animated
body, but swollen, and rendered hideous, by
approaching putrefaction and decay! A se
pulchre may be painted, and the colours pre
sent a gay and gaudy appearance ; but it is a
sepulchre still, and vain the attempt to beautify
its residents with garlands and costly attire,
or to overcome its noisomeness by all the
spices of Arabia! What, though the temple
stretch its massy porches, and rear its lofty
dome ; what, though the eye be charmed with
exquisite proportions, and every thing in sight
and sound contribute to the banquet of the
imagination, and the feast of taste; the Christian
will retreat from the scene of these enchant-

104

ments ;— he sees a hand that beckons him^way,
and hears a voice through all its arches, saying,
" Here no man hath seen God at any time !"
The state of things I have attempted to de
scribe to you, could not always continue ; the
constituent principles of human nature became
instrumental to the purposes of God ; and the
Earth, groaning and travailing under this into
lerable burden, accelerated the crisis. Of this
crisis and its issue, we shall speak in the fol
lowing Lecture, observing for the present, that
the all merciful God heard the cry of his people,
and with an high hand and an outstretched
arm, -wrought deliverance for many nations.
To him be all the glory. Amen!

LECTURE IV:
THE CHURCH OF ROME, VIEWED WITH REFERENCE
TO THE PAST.

I JOHN II. 18. LITTLE CHILDREN IT IS THE LAST TIME: AND AS YE HAVE
HEARD THAT ANTICHRIST SHALL COME, EVEN NOW ARE THERE MANY
ANTICHRISTS; WHEREBY WE KNOW THAT IT IS THE LAST TIME.

There is nothing more constantly associated
with our ideas of earthly things, than their mu
tability. Every thing with which we are con
versant, whether of body or mind, of opinion
or performance, not only changes, but remains
scarcely for one hour the same. He who ob
tains the pause of a moment, to contemplate
the condition of the world, is like a man who,
on the brink of some rapid stream, snatches a
glimpse of the sticks, and straws, and bubbles,
as they pass along in precipitate and endless
succession. Thus the term we so frequently

106

employ, " the state of human affairs," however
sanctioned by usage, is scarcely a propriety
of speech; for where is that which continues in
one stay ?
Many ages have elapsed since papal Rome
attained her zenith ; and, during that interval of
time, how numerous the vicissitudes which che
quer the page of human history ! Empires have
appeared and disappeared, almost with the ge
nerations of men; and dynasties of the mightiest
combination, have been formed, and almost
immediately dissolved. Sovereign princes have
wandered forlorn and destitute, through terri
tories which once they governed; while men
from the dregs of society occupied their pa
laces, sat upon their thrones, and swayed
their sceptres. Manners and customs have per
petually changed their aspect and observances;
while the political relations and intercourse of
the world, the arts of government, philosophy,
commerce, the spirit of enterprise, and the di
mensions and influence of nations, have varied
almost with the phases of the Moon. What
can be more natural, therefore, than to in
quire, " How has it fared all this while with
the Church and the Bishops of Rome ? Has
this church partaken of the common vicissitude,
or does she still retain her original constitution

107

and character ? If there be any difference from
her former self, to what does that difference
amount, and what effect ought it to produce on
our reasonings, feelings, and conduct?" To
answer these questions, requires a brief review
of the principal incidents which have influenced
the condition and circumstances of that church,
because the historical connection of events,
will best illustrate the actual posture of affairs.
For that purpose I refer you,
I. To the Point of Time, when the Pride and
Power of the Roman Pontiffs had attained their
greatest Elevation.
This appears to bave been about the year of
our Lord one thousand five hundred. From the
time of the accession of Charlemagne to the
throne of the West, the Church of Rome en-
joyed an almost uninterrupted course of pros
perous events ; for the Popes well knew how
to make advantage of all the changes which
perplexed the nations, and to subordinate to
their own aggrandisement, alike the prosperity
and adversity of others. Thus, whoever was
impoverished, they became rich ; and whoever
was degraded and overthrown, they rose and

108

were established : until, at the period of which
I have spoken, they seem to have had nothing
left either to desire or fear. In ecclesiastical
matters, they then possessed an authority almost
without limit or dispute ; and they had power
to control the destiny of kings. The long ex
ercise of arbitrary government, had brought
them to dismiss every apprehension of suc
cessful resistance, and to entertain no antici
pation that any thing could arise, by which
their dominion might be abridged, or their arm
restrained. This feeling of security pervaded all the ec
clesiastical orders ; the inferior as well as the
superior clergy, accounted public opinion a
thing of no moment, and lived only to gratify
their appetites, and display their pride : but
they were treading on ashes which concealed
subterraneous fires. The elements of a mighty
explosion were then accumulating; an explo
sion, which caused the throne of the Pontiffs
to totter, and tore from their grasp the fairest
portion of their empire. Like Belshazzar and
his lords, the Pope and his Cardinals passed
the night in licentious festivity, and to give a
greater zest to their carousal, they profaned
" the vessels of the Lord :" as with Belshazzar

109

too, an enemy approached the gate ; but no
Daniel was there, to interpret the hand writing
upon the wall.
It is not in human nature that tyranny and
extortion can long be patiently endured ; and,
at this time, no country, no class of society,
was exempt firom intolerable burdens : so that
while the Popes and their partisans were
sunk in security and ease, the whole commu
nity was dissatisfied, restless, and complaining.
Princes and sovereign states, were the first to
exclaim against the papal oppressions ; and
even among the prelates, , were found a few
zealous opponents of the lordly ambition of the
Bishops of Rome. The wealthy were wearied
by exorbitant and lawless exactions ; the dili
gent were disgusted by the idleness of the
monks and friars, who swarmed like locusts,
and like locusts, devoured every green leaf;
while the people at large, were shocked and
alienated, by the gross and glaring immorality
of the popish clergy.
While those abuses occasioned universal mur
muring, and produced a general outcry for re
formation, Leo the Tenth, who filled the papal
chair early in the sixteenth century, utterly
disregarding the indications of public feeling.

110

and, supposing his power to be irresistible, re
solved to raise a large sum of money, by the
sale of indulgences. You are aware, that papal
indulgences are prospective pardons of sin.
They are articles of merchandise ; and the pur
chaser is considered, by their virtue, to be freed
from the guilt and punishment, of those sins
which he may choose to commit subsequently
to that purchase, just as if, after the committing
of the sin, he had performed due penance, and
received absolution from the priest. These in
dulgences varied in price, according as they
were designed to authorise more or fewer sins,
or to be in force for a longer or shorter time.
There was a difference also, proportioned to
the greater or inferior magnitude of the crimes
to be committed. Thus, if a man required an
indulgence for adultery, incest, murder, or
treason, he must pay an adequate sum of
money ; but for an offence of less enormity, he
might buy at a cheaper rate.
The invention of these indulgences, appears
to have taken place about the year of Christ
1100, when they were found of great service
to the Crusades, at that time proceeding from
Europe, in order to rescue Jerusalem and the
Holy Sepulchre from the Saracens. The sol-*
diers who assumed the badge of the cross, and

Ill

engaged in what was called this Holy War,
received a plenary indulgence; and this very
acceptable privilege, operated according to the
intention of the donofs, by exceedingly mul
tiplying and strengthening their armies. The
Romish divines founded this power of indul
gence on the following most rational propo
sition : " One drop of the blood of Christ,
being enough for the salvation of the world,
all that he shed, both in the garden, and on the
cross, with the exception of that one drop, is be
come the property and treasure of the church, and
may be sold out in indulgences to the people."
You may take this as a fair specimen of popish
logic. This traffic, though it never commanded
the sanction of universal suffrage, but on the
contrary, was always objectionable to the more
conscientious and upright, was exercised with
more or less of moderation, and with a cautious
ambiguity of expression, until the period of
which we now speak. Leo the Tenth, however,
needing (as I have observed) a large sum of
money on d sudden emergency, determined to
sell indulgences with a more' open avowal, and
on a larger scale. Previously to this time, the
employment of selling indulgences, had oc
casionally been divided among the various men
dicant orders, whether Augustines, Dominicans,
Franciscans, or Carmelites ; though it had long

112
been almost entirely confined to the Domi
nicans. To the order of Dominicans belonged
friar John Tetzel, who, on this occasion, was
commissioned to go forth, and preach these fa
mous indulgences, " which administered the re
mission of all sins, past, present, and to come,
however enormous their degree, to all who were
able and willing to buy them." This Tetzel, ex
ecuted his commission, with zeal and impu
dence equal to its iniquity; and, in order to
allure customers, he employed expressions too
blasphemous to be quoted. As an example, I will
mention one of the least offensive. He boasted
that " he had saved more souls from hell by these
indulgences, than Saint Peter had converted to
Christianity by his preaching,"
To this man were assigned many subordinate
agents, who visited the different countries of
Europe, in order to sell their iniquitous wares ;
and every where, by the licentiousness and
profligacy of their conduct, outraged the prin
ciples of decency, and the feelings of the people.
Nothing, indeed, but the avarice, the fraud and
tyranny of their employers, could surpass the
scandalous impurities of these pardon mongers.
Who can wonder that such proceedings occa
sioned universal disgust and abhorrence ?

113

This was the crisis, which called forth the
appointed instrument of the great and blessed
Reformation. Martin Luther, a native of Sax
ony, having received his education in the Ro
mish communion, became a monk of the order
of Saint Augustine, and Professor of Divinity
at Wittemburg. This man, whose mind was
formed for penetration, and the discovery of
truth ; and whose heart beat high with all those
feelings which constitute the champion and the
martyr, occupied at this eventful period, the
honourable post of danger. Roused by the
insolence of Tetzel, and alarmed by the crying
abuses of this unholy traffic, his faculties were
awakened to examination and inquiry; and
those principles which had remained dormant
in the cloister and the college, sprung into
vigorous and successful action. The light of
truth broke gradually upon him, and the holy
and undaunted resolution of his heart, kept
pace with his discoveries, until the fallacies
of Popery were all detected; and then, ad
dressing himself to his high destiny, he disowned
the usurped authority of Rome, and became
the intrepid and invincible leader in the cause
of Christian Liberty. In vain did the growl of
displeasure and of menace issue from the Va
tican ; in vain did that growl deepen into the
thunder of excommunication ; in vain was every
I

114
effort to entrap and to destroy : he was unhurt,
for God was with him. This great proceeding,
in which Luther occupied a part so conspi
cuous, and in which we so clearly discover
the hand of God, restored evangelical freedom
to many entire nations, raised up Protestant
churches in others, and has not been destitute
of advantage even to the Church of Rome.
To that church,, the effect of the Reformation
was indeed somewhat severe, and altogether
unpalatable; yet as far as it proceeded, it was
wholesome^ and mifghit have been highly pro
fitable. Up to that timje, the ecclesiastical authorities
had been amenable to no earthly tribunal j
there were no objects of comparison before the
public ; there was no inspection or control.
Thus the P(*pes and clergy, were abandoned to
all the wildness and the wantonness of absolute
and irresponsible power. After the Refor-
ni^ion, all this was changed. It was no longer
tolerable^, toi elect for Popes, men who disgraced
humanity by their impiety and their crimes;
or to connive at the open profligacy of the
clergy w Theiit political influence also was greatly
impaired ; for monarchs who hald been wont to
ask them leave to reign, were now enfranchised;
and they were coiastrained to recognise the
existence of a public opinion, and a public

115

voice. The former preponderance of the priest
hood, had now a counterpoise ; and every thing
underwent a close and vigilant examination.
In order to meet Protestant divines in the field
of controversy, and in the sight of the world,
it became necessary, that they should cultivate
learning, preserve the aspect of piety, and
maintain a general decorum and consistency of
behaviour. Thus, while the countries which
were emancipated from spiritual bondage, en
joyed the full benefit of the Reformation, it
was not unproductive of advantage, even to
them who did not reject the papal yoke.
I am constrained to add,
II. That the Change then effected, was more of
Condition and Circumstances, than of Character,
The Church of Rome, being less powerful,
was consequently less formidable and injurious :
but, little alteration had taken place in the
spirit of the system. The rulers of that church,
so far from taking complacency in the general
melioration, and claiming their portion of the
inestimable boon, turned from it, as from the
bitterest aggravation of their defeat and loss.
" The light shined in darkness, and the dark
ness comprehended it not." I 2

116
As soon as the Pope and his clergy, had
somewhat recovered from the disorder occa
sioned by this alarming shock, they began to
examine, with a view to repair, the injury they
had sustained. They could not conceal from
themselves, that the most important and flou
rishing portions of their dominions were lost,
and that in those which remained, they had
no longer the entire possession of the public
mind. These were the evils they deplored,
and for which they devised a remedy. In
order to recover their despotism over the un
derstanding and the conscience, they enlarged
the powers and operation of the Inquisition ;
and to compensate the loss of territory in Eu
rope, they resolved on foreign conquests, by
the style and title of Missions to the Heathen.
The form and office of that most hateful of
all institutions, the Popish Inquisition, are
ascribed to Dominic, a Spanish monk, who
flourished in the thirteenth century, and founded
the monastic order called after his name.
This man, whose fierce and malignant temper
was exacerbated by the heresies which then
abounded, assailed the Albigenses and other
opposers of the corruptions of Rome, with
bitter and violent invectives ; to which, as more
effectual, he added, the terrors of the Inqui-

117

si tion. After the Reformation, the Roman
Pontiffs, in order to suppress the rising spirit
of inquiry, introduced this terrible engine to
every accessible country; hoping thereby, to
extinguish the light which they hated, and to
bring back the darkness they loved. It would
be impossible within the time allotted us,
to give even an outline, of the cruelty and
treachery, of that detestable tribunal. Suffice
it to say, that the object of suspicion was
usually seized in the depth and darkness
of the night, and torn from his family and
friends, who were not permitted to know
where he wcis to be conveyed. The wretched
prisoner, when immured in these abodes of
horror, was not informed who were his accusers,
or even what was the crime with which he was
charged. Torments invented with a diabolical
ingenuity, were then inflicted, without regard
to sex or age, in order to extort confession ; and
at length, with every joint dislocated, and every
nerve quivering, the poor victim was released
from the dungeon, only to be burnt at the
stake. To those who have ever read the soul
moving details, by which, in some instances^
have been unmasked, the hypocrisy and blood-
thirstiness of this infernal society, the very
name Inquisition will make the flesh creep,
and the heart recoil. Yet, by this means did

118

the Church of Rome seek to confirm and
strengthen her tyranny, and to enslave the
consciences of her votaries : while to mark her
complacency in this compound of fraud, ma
lice, and cruelty, the Inquisition was styled
" the Holy Office," and the burnings of its
victims " Acts of Faith." Thus is it awfully
exemplified that, " the dark places of the earth
are full of the habitations of cruelty." " O my
soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their
assembly, mine honour be not thou united.
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce ; and
their wrath, for it was cruel."
As the various monastic orders were great
assertors of the power and majesty of Rome,
and as they laboured incessantly, both to main
tain the influence of popery over its professors,
and to increase the number of proselytes, they
naturally became very favourite institutions of
the Popes. At different critical periods before
the Reformation, new orders of monks, such as
the Dominicans, the Franciscans and others,
had been erected as buttresses to prop the
tottering fabric : and as that illustrious event
produced a dilapidation greater than was ever
known till then, it became necessary to resort
to some extraordinary measure, proportioned
to the unprecedented exigency ; and accordingly

119

the Jesuits arose to occupy the breach. As
the founder of the Inquisition was a Spanish
monk, so this order derives its origin from a
Spanish soldier. Ignatius Loyola, having been
severely wounded during the siege of Pampe-
luna, by a Cannon shot, which broke his right
leg, fell, during the time occupied by the heal
ing of his wound, into the dreams and reveries
of mysticism ; and at length, exchanging the
fanaticism of the camp, for that of the church,
came forth an ascetic and a pilgrim. Having
in that character visited Jerusalem, and under
gone many mortifications and perils, he settled
at Rome, where he yielded himself the instru
ment of establishing the Society of Jesus, or
as it is generally denominated, of the Jesuits.
Of this order, Ignatius became general in 1541 ;
and, remaining himself at Rome, dispersed his
emissaries all over the earth. That this society
might be more effectual, it was not like other
monastic bodies confined to particular places ;
but its members were at perfect liberty, to go
whithersoever the interests of the church might
require. Of the adaptation of this mighty ex
pedient to the design of its construction, some
idea may be formed from the fact, that the
Jesuits, in addition to the vows usually taken
by monks, made the following : viz. " to go
without deliberation or delay, wherever the Pope

120

shall think fit to send them." The new order
was soon distinguished, by its zeal to confirm
the wavering and declining influence of the See
of Rome; and speedily surpassed and super
seded its predecessors and competitors. The
manners of the Jesuits, were gentle and insinu
ating; their doctrine, such as best suited the
pride and selfishness of human nature ; and
their system of morals, the most flexible and
accommodating imaginable. Seeking first and
principally, to gain access to the courts and
cabinets of princes, from which emanate the
decrees which govern mankind, they knew how
to render themselves far more agreeable than
the sterner casuists, who previously had the
direction of royal consciences ; and the Do
minicans were dismissed, to make way for
the Jesuits. These crafty partisans, were like
wise very sedulous in the instructing of the
young; and contrived to become, both accep
table and formidable to the common people.
It is unquestionable, that the Court of Rome has
derived greater accessions of profit and power,
from the agency of this single order, than from
all its other ministers combined. The others
indeed, readily, though reluctantly, made way
for them ; and they appeared foremost and al
most unrivalled, as the arrogant champions of
the Popish hierarchy, and the implacable per
secutors of heretics.

121
The success of the Jesuits at home, encou
raged them to extend their efforts to the other
hemisphere, in order, by foreign acquisitions,
to supply the loss of European territory. For
this purpose, was formed what they chose to
call " the Society for Propagating the Faith ;"
and missions were appointed to the remotest
parts of the earth. Well had this been a
Christian society, and had these been Christian
missions! But mark the event. Their mis
sionaries went forth, they compassed sea and
land, they explored the most secluded regions,
they encountered every form of hardship and
of danger ; but they did, and endured all this,
not to impart the Gospel of Christ, but to ex
tend the dominion of Rome. The object of
these missions was as purely secular and po
litical, as the enterprise of Cortes or Pizarro,
and the character of their proceedings essen
tially the same. Their converts were required
to be, not Christians but Papists. Wherever
these missionaries found churches already pro
fessing Christianity, they required an imme
diate and implicit submission to the See of
Rome, of which few of those churches had ever
heard; and a refusal, or even hesitation, was
censured, and if possible punished, as an act
of rebellion against legitimate authority. In
Japan, in China, and in all countries where

122
they were alone and unprotected, they em
ployed every art of insinuation and deceit, to
cajole the inhabitants into an adoption of the
ceremonies of the Church of Rome. Some of
the lies and tricks by which they imposed on
the understanding and imagination of the hea
then, would be altogether incredible, had they
not in their own writings, recorded them as
proceedings for which they expected applause
and imitation. In other parts. South America
for example, where they were in pride and
power, and could command a military force,
they propagated Christianity just as the Turks
did Mahometanism, by fire and sword. The
poor ignorant Indians, inveigled by the most
specious pretences, into a profession of Popery,
were afterwards plundered and butchered, as
heretics to a faith of which they scarcely knew
the name. If a prince, with his people, be
came voluntarily the subject of Rome, well ;
if not, he was invaded, stripped of his territory,
and put to a cruel death. Even submission
did not always avert the barbarities of these
monsters ; offence was taken at some unguarded
expression or action, and the deluded wretches
who were incapable of understanding the nature
of their alleged transgression, were seized and
tortured till life was extinct. The Inquisition
was first planted in the European soil, its pesti-

123

lential odour first tainted the European air : but
its malignant influence reached and pervaded
those distant and ill fated lands ; and the limits
of the territory usurped by papal Rome, like
the poisonous effluvia of the fabled Upas tree,
may be measured and ascertained by the ashes
of its victims.
At length, however, the Jesuits overreached
themselves ; and the nations, no longer able to
endure their intrigues, and their injurious in
fluence on the frame and morals of society, ex
pelled them with ignominy from Europe. It is
only of late years, that in this, and in some
other countries, they have been permitted to
hold up the head.
The Reformation produced a great change in
the condition of the Papal Church, and elicited
the promise of considerable and permanent im
provement in her character: but those bright
hopes, like the day dreams of a vivid imagi
nation, passed hastily away. The clouds which
for a moment, separated to transmit one gleam
of light, then closed ; and, uniting in a mass
as dark and as dense as before, hung lowering
on the Roman mountains. The light, was
exhilarating but evanescent ; the darkness, was
portentous and abiding ; and the storm - burst

124

in hailstones and flames of fire. The good
done to the Roman Church by the Reformation,
was soon undone by the Inquisition and the
Jesuits. I shall be obliged to pass more hastily than
on many accounts I could have wished, over
some important historical incidents, by which
the course of events extends to the present
time. I therefore only glance at those fiery
persecutions, by which the professors of the
Reformed Religion in Spain and Italy, were
destroyed or driven into exile; at the hor
rible massacres of the Protestants in France
and Ireland ; at the cruelties of Queen Mary
of England, and her popish bishops ; at the
Spanish Armada, which, under the special
benediction of the Roman Pontiff, was designed
to impose popery on this country, and to transfer
the English crown to a Spanish head; and at
the futile efforts of the infatuated and flinty
hearted James the Second, to reconcile Great
Britain to the See of Rome. There is one
event, however, of so great importance, that I
must claim your patience for a moment : I
mean the French Revolution. It is evi
dently and altogether out of the question, that
I should here attempt to investigate the prin
ciples, or to detail the history, of that strange

125

and momentous occurrence. It took place
within the recollection of many, and all know,
that from this source proceeded a wide and
wasting torrent, which, breaking down esta
blished institutions, overflowed and desolated
empires ; which, dissolving the cement, and
disconcerting the arrangements of society, con
founded all its elements, and, for a season,
filled Europe with disorder and dismay. The
See of Rome felt the full force of this sweeping
tide, which at one moment threatened destruc
tion ; and even though its reflux have restored
some things to their original condition, yet the
political power and importance of the Papacy,
are utterly carried away. In all probability,
there never before occurred an event, which
produced so great a vicissitude of human things.
By an irresistible concussion, it shook and
overthrew the most settled opinions and habits ;
and so involved and perplexed the interests and
the feelings of mankind, as to render it im
possible for the various ingredients to return to
the same predicaments and relations as before.
The Reformation affected Rome much ; but
the French Revolution affected her in an un
speakably greater degree. The reason is ob
vious. The Church of Rome is a political and
not a religious establishment; religion gives

126

indeed the name and the colour, but it is a
matter of exceedingly inferior and subordinate
concern. The motives and objects of the Re
formation were piincipally religious, and by
them all its political transactions were regu
lated and restrained. Therefore, although it
gave a powerful blow; yet the Church of Rome,
having mighty kings on her side, among whom
she still retained her political ascendency, was
able in a great degree, to retrieve her influence.
The French Revolution, on the contrary, caused
a tremendous political convulsion ; and its emis
saries, having rased the bulwarks, and pillaged
the patrimony, of Papal Rome, dispersed the
Conclave, and drove the then reigning Pope from
Lis palace, to die in exile and dishonour.
Hurling popish princes from their thrones, and
expelling popish priests from their altars, mul
titudes were compelled by its terrors or its
scourge, to seek refuge in the shelter of Pro
testant lands, and relief in the commiseration
of Protestant hearts. For many years, the
present Pope was the dependant and vassal of
a great military leader; and the world was
entertained with an edifying example of popish
Unity and Infallibility. While the Romish
clergy at a distance, anathematized Bonaparte
as an usurper and the enemy of the church,
Pope Pius the Seventh at Paris, called him

127
his Son, pronounced on him his benediction,
and crowned him emperor of France.
The fierce and wide spreading conflagration,
scatters anguish and horror through the po
pulous city ; yet in the issue all may be well,
and terror give way to delight, in the fair and
salubrious edifices which adorn the place, once
choked by the receptacles of filth, discomfort,
and disease. The flood which overwhelms and
lays waste the labour and the hope of the
husbandman, may, by obliterating the memo
rials of ancient prejudices, by impregnating ne
cessity with invention, and giving opportunity
and excitement to industry and innovation,
cause fields to appear more lovely and fertile
than before.
Thus the French Revolution, though terrible
in its aspect, and destructive in its course, has,
by an overruling Providence, resulted in great
and general good. It has roused the human
mind to thought and inquiry , and has largely
contributed to the growth and influence of
public opinion. On many subjects, particularly
OH religious liberty, it has diffused very en-
lighteraed sentiments; and has unlocked the
fetters of intellectual slavery, by giving the

128
death blow to the Inquisition. What heart but
rejoices that this horrid tribunal is no longer
suffered to exist ! After continuing more than
five centuries, it has at length fallen, amidst
shouts of universal execration, and by the
hands of Papists themselves.
Of the sister Island, it is impossible to speak
with ordinary feelings. All the lamentable
accounts we receive, of the ignorance, and the
bigotted and credulous superstition of the great
mass of her population, I consider as so many
blots and stains on the national character of
England. These evils are to be ascribed, prin
cipally to past misgovernment, to a want of
sympathy on the part of the governors with the
feelings and interests of those over whom they
ruled, and this too well sustained, by an un
worthy commercial jealousy. But for this,
far other had been the history of the fertile
soil, the happy climate, the brave and generous
people of Ireland. A brighter day, however, has
dawned upon her ; it already illuminates and
tinges the summits of her hills; and though
the dark shadow of papal superstition yet re
poses on her acclivities, occupies her vallies,
and beclouds her fields, that day- shall become
broader and broader, until it fill the whole

129

expanse; then shall Ireland and her friends,
with joy exclaim, " The darkness is past, and
the true light now shineth."
In some countries belonging to the See of
Rome, and in both hemispheres, there has re
cently been an extraordinary excitement and
impulse, occasioned by a struggle for civil
liberty. With the political issue of these con
tests, we have at present no concern ; nor can
we fully ascertain their operation on the Roman
superstition. I fear that not much good of
this kind has yet arisen. The ardor of their
spirits seems to exhaust itself in the pursuit of
civil immunities; spiritual liberty has no charms
for them, nor do they appear willing to concede
it to others.
While the face of the world has undergone
so many changes, while the course of human
events has advanced, retreated, and diverged
in almost numberless directions, and the ex
ternal circumstances of Popery have corres
ponded with every change, there is no evidence
of the slightest improvement in its essence and
nature. Its doctrines are as corrupt, its cere
monies as absurd, and its spirit as antichristian
as ever. Of these particulars, I shall attempt
a brief illustration. K

130

I. The Church of Rome teaches the same cor
rupt Doctrines as informer times. The doctrines
of Popery now, are identically those of the
Middle Ages, when the reign of darkness and
ignorance was acknowledged to be of divine
right, and received universal and passive obe
dience. The same dogmas are now inculcated,
as when kings stooped to kiss the toe of the Pope,
and emperors held the stirrup when it pleased
his holiness to ride. Well, had this pertinacity
respected the truth of God, and not the inven
tions of men: but these are the very corruptions
against which Wickliffe bore his testimony,
which roused the holy indignation of Luther,
and for opposing which, an innumerable army
of martyrs fell by the sword of persecution.
To this very day, the papists maintain as a fun
damental article of faith, the insufficiency of
the Holy Scriptures, " contradicting and blas
pheming" the Word of God himself, in order
to substitute for that " sincere milk," the miry
puddle of their own traditions. Never, even
in the darkest and gloomiest days of monkery,
did they more earnestly contend for the divine
authority of human commandments, than at
the present moment. They attempt, indeed,
to disguise this sentiment, by asserting an equal
authority of unwritten tradition to the written
word, but they actually assign to it the supe-

131

riority : for in all disputed points, the appeal is
to tradition; and instead of the voice of God,
they impose, as the standard of truth, the fic
titious infallibility of fallible men.
The monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation,
so repugnant to common sense and common
reason, and which sprung up in the corruptest
ages, is, with all its absurdities, held as firmly
as ever. At no time did the papists insist more
strenuously than at this moment, that the body
of Christ is really and locally present in the
consecrated wafer; that the same body is at
the same time one and many ; that it is really
and entirely in heaven, and yet at the same
time, really and entirely in ten thousand places
on earth. They still believe, that as often as
the priest elevates the host, so often is the vi
carious sacrifice of Christ repeated ; and that
the communicants, when pressing the wafer be
tween their teeth, are actually masticating the
flesh and blood of their Creator and Redeemer.
The same may be said of another capital ar
ticle of their creed, the merit of works of su
pererogation. Their church still boasts its rich
fund of the meritorious deeds and sufferings of
saints and martyrs, out of which they dispense
k2

132

pardons to all who are able and willing to buy.
Purgatory and prayers for the dead retain their
full place in the papist's faith ; and continue to
be a fruitful source of emolument to the church.
Images and relics, still receive the veneration of
the devout ; and legends, pretended miracles,
and pious frauds, are still, without mitigation or
remorse, administered by the clergy, and swal
lowed by the laity. Do you ask, how it is that
amidst the general increase of light and know
ledge, and the expansion of the human mind,
not one of these incredible and preposterous
fictions, has been exploded ? The answer is
plain : it arises from the surrender of the right
of inquiry and private judgment. From the
moment that a man commits his understanding
and conscience to the keeping of his fellow
man, and bows his neck to the yoke of priestly
domination, he incapacitates himself alike, for
the discovery of truth, and the detection of
error. He may be a philosopher, he may be a
scholar, he may be a wit, he may be a " dis-
puter of this world ; " but he cannot be a
Christian : for he is in bondage, and " where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
" He is the freeman whom the truth makes free.
And all are slaves beside."

133
Connected with this, there is
2. The injunction and observance of exactly the
same ritual and ceremonies. The ceremonies of
the Roman Church are so multiform, and so
various in their character and analogies, that it
is difficult in many cases, to ascertain their true
origin. Some of them undoubtedly are derived
from the Jewish Economy, and the worship in
the Temple at Jerusalem ; some they profess to
have copied from the celestial liturgy described
in the Apocalypse; it is evident also, that
many of them are formed on imitations of the
apparel and ministry of the heathen priesthood,
in the service of idols. From whatever source
derived, they are, as it respects the worship of
God in the Christian Dispensation, purely of
human invention, or of human appropriation ;
yet they are still enforced as matter of sacred
duty ; from which nothing can exempt, but an
eccleliiastical dispensation.
Of these things we have little idea in our
own Island ; because all that would most en
gage the public attention, and offend the public
taste, is here withheld. On the Continent,
however, the tricks and the foolish pageantry
and processions, which we are sometimes ready
to think have become matters of history, are as

134

rank and as obtrusive as ever. English papists
have come in contact with so many beneficial
influences, and have shared so largely in the
general advance of the British character, that
among them, many of the most disgusting fea
tures of Popery are effaced. This sometimes
leads to the delusive opinion, that Popery itself
has changed for the better : but were we to go
where neither principle nor prudence impose
any restraint, we should find that it retains
its old characteristics to a degree, which
it would probably be long before familiarity
would render acceptable to English papists
themselves. In the French capital indeed, the ardor and
appetite for these worse than childish mum
meries, seems to have considerably abated:
but it has been impossible of late to peruse a
public journal, without being disgusted with
the attempts continually employed, by Certain
persons in France, to bring back that fine
country to the most stupid and dotish bigotry.
Thus it ever will and must be, where human
authority, auricular confession, penances, and
pardon for sin at the will of a priest, constitute
and enforce the religion of mankind. You may
as well expect a man blindfolded to see, or a
man in fetters to run a race, as that these vie-

135

tims of imposture should discover their real
circumstances, and assert their liberty. So
long as the popish clergy shall rule over the
consciences of their votaries, so long will
images and relics be revered, the Virgin Mary
honoured above her divine Son, holy water
sprinkled, and vain' and useless ceremonies
suffered to take place of rational and spiritual
worship. I know it is pretended, that these ce
remonies warm and elevate the devotional
feelings of the worshipper, but this pretence is
as futile as the ceremonies themselves. True
devotion consists, in the correspondence of a
renewed heart with an enlightened under
standing : but this vain and gaudy ceremonial,
by satiating and overstraining the imagination,
necessarily obscures the intellect, suffocates the
affections, and leaves the heart without interest
or sensibility. The only faculty accessible to
such a ritual, is the imagination ; and this it
retains, no longer than while every thing is
fresh and new. The lustre of novelty is soon
gone; and, as the varying hues blend, fade, and
disappear, excitement altogether fails. Depend
on it, my brethren, every departure from the
purity and simplicity of Gospel worship, de-

136
creases in an equivalent degree, the spirit of
true devotion. I have now only to observe,
3. That the Spirit of Popery remains unchanged.
If you will tell me what was the spirit of Po
pery before the Reformation, I will tell you
what is the spirit of Popery now. The Church
of Rome is as much as ever enamoured of dark
ness, and shrinks from the light as formerly,
with the sensitiveness and irritation of disease.
Breathing the old spirit of monopoly, ex
clusion, and intolerance, she denounces as he
retics, all who are not within her pale; and
repels from her communion, all who maintain
purity of doctrine, or simplicity of worship. The
papists still maintain that the Protestant faith
is fundamentally erroneous, that salvation out
of their church is impossible, and consequently
that all Protestants are in a state of perdition.
On this presumption, the members of this
church are actuated by the same spirit of
proselytism as their forefathers ; and in order
to compass their end, are as little scrupulous
of the ties of nature, the most sacred duties,
or the tenderest charities of human life. Of
these things, a neighbouring country, has re
cently presented some affecting examples.

137

Very few years have elapsed, since the Pro
testants in the South of France, experienced all
the fierceness of popish persecution. Driven by
violence or terror from their houses, stripped
of their possessions, basely and cruelly mur
dered, they present a bleeding testimony to the
unchanged character of the spirit of Popery.
The chief assassins openly boasted of the num
ber they had slain : but though their deeds of
blood were so notorious, yet by the scarcely
disguised connivance and partiality of the ma
gistrates, they escaped all punishment for their
crimes. Thus, although the attitude and influence of
the Papacy are now little formidable, except
to willing vassals, yet if we examine the in
terior, we shall find that, notwithstanding
the diminution of its power, and the annihi
lation of its terrors, it is at heart the same as
ever. It has the same principles, yields to the
same motives, and walks by the same rule, as
in former days.
You will not suppose, that by these state
ments I wish to excite any angry anA vindictive
emotions in your bosoms. No, my brethren ;
while it is my duty to draw as faithful a pic
ture as I can, that you may be able to estimate

138
the evils with which the popish superstition is
connected, I do it also that you may guard
against a similar spirit on your own parts. Our
indignation should be directed against the sy
stem, and not against the persons, many of whom
doubtless are ignorant of the motives by which
they are actuated, and " know not what they
do." Remember too, that a man may have the
name without the spirit of a papist, while the
essence of Popery may be found in a Protestant's
heart. Let it be ours to cherish " the spirit of
Christ," that sovereign antidote to the spirit of
Popery : then shall we love the souls of our
deluded fellow creatures, and pray and labour
for their salvation ; while, our own minds being
full of light, and our hearts of purity and joy,
we shall live in the constant anticipation of the
blissful moment, when our eyes shall open on
brighter scenes, our bosoms glow with warmer
and more elevated affections, and our souls
expand with " all the fulness of God."

LECTURE V.

THE PROSPECTS UNFOLDING TO THE CHUR(H OF
CHRIST.

REVELATIONS XXII. 20. HE WHICH TESTIFIETH THESE THINGS SAITH,
SURELY ' COME ODICKLY ; AMEN. EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESCS.
The Scribes and Pharisees possessed the pro
phecies, read them every sabbath day, and
expounded them to the people ; yet they knew
not Christ, nor the voices of the prophets, but
" fulfilled them, in condemning him." This
arose from no deficiency of mental capacity or
acquirements. They were the greatest scholars,
the acutest critics, the devoutest religionists of
their age. They occupied " Moses' seat," and
delivered all their opinions as oracles. To what
then, is this deplorable and fatal ignorance on
their part to be ascribed ? The holy martyr,
Stephen, assigns the cause, by declaring that

140
they were " stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in
heart and ears, and did always resist the Holy
Ghost." Thus will it ever be with them, who, in the
prosecuting of religious inquiry, fail to enter
tain a becoming frame and temper of mind.
To them, who, in the insolence of intellect or
of orthodoxy, neglect to implore the teachings
of the Spirit of Truth, the means of know
ledge will be but the aggravation of ignorance.
Without the abasement of pride, the extinction
of prejudice and the opening of the heart,
genius, learning, and study will be alike vain.
Hear the great Teacher himself: " Whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little
child, shall in no wise enter therein ;" and again,
" in that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and
said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, that thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
unto babes."
If modesty, humility, and teachableness, be
thus requisite, in order to the examination of
points of doctrine and of history, how much
more should they characterise our anticipations
of those events, which are yet " within the
vail" of prophecy. It behoves us likewise.

141

scrupulously to avoid those subjects, which are
either prohibited or impracticable ; lest we not
only fall into a misemployment and waste of
time, but reap, as the reward of our presump-
tuousness, a harvest of disappointment and
mistake. Without attempting to expound the " dark
sayings" of this mysterious book, or to com
pute, the number of the Beast, or the period of
the Millenial glory, which are not merely be
yond the sphere of the humble individual who
now addresses you, but as it appears to him,
are as yet beyond human power, it is purposed
simply, to consider the condition of the world
with respect to Christianity; and then, from
what is, in connection with what has been,
and with what is clearly revealed in the sacred
Scriptures, to infer what is yet to come. And
in order that we may conduct this inquiry to a
successful issue, let me entreat you to unite
with me in fervent prayer to God, that he will
be pleased, by his Spirit, to preserve us from
the indulgence of idle and fanciful conjecture ;
from every disposition rashly to interpret the
prophecies ; and above all, deeply to imbue our
hearts and minds with the sentiment of the
text!

142

This passage of Scripture, is, on this occa
sion, both suitable and comprehensive. On
the one hand, our Lord, as matter of royal
state and prerogative, reserves the future to
himself; yet graciously condescends to allay
the anxiety of his saints, by declaring, " Surely
I come quickly:" on the other hand, the church,
committing all to Christ, meekly acquiesces,
saying, "Even so;" yet, impelled by irre
pressible longings, she adds, " Come, Lord
Jesus!" So let it be with us. Let us con
tinually rely on the truth of his testimony, on
the acceleration which he has promised to
impart to the course of events, and on the
punctuality of his appearing: but, while the
assurance that he "comes quickly," strengthens
our faith, and animates our hope, let it also
excite to a vigilant and careful observation of
the signs of his approach, so that, come when
he will, we may receive him without surprise,^
being " as men that wait for their Lord." The
first point to which the mind attaches itself, in
an inquiry like the present, is
I. The Number and religious Denominations
of the Inhabitants of the Earth.
The computation of number, varies from eight
hundred to one thousand millions; and this

143

variation shews, that it is principally the result
of conjecture. This is inevitable, because many
countries, large and numerously inhabited, are,
by their situation or policy, inaccessible to fo
reigners; and, therefore, it is impossible to
collect with certainty, their amount of popu
lation. China, for example, is supposed to
contain three hundred millions, or, according
to the lower computation, three-eighths of the
inhabitants of the globe : but so jealous is the
government of that country, of the presence of
strangers, that it is impossible to verify the
supposition. These calculations, however, ap
proach sufficiently near to certainty, to justify
all the arguments which they are required to
support. Of this vast multitude, not one-fourth even
profess the Christian religion ; considerably
more than one half, are yet in all the darkness
and grossness of heathenism; while the re
mainder, belong to the different sects which
receive the Mahometan imposture. You will
say, this is a wretched and depressing state
ment ; yet, alas ! my brethren, there is no ex
aggeration. The world has existed almost six
thousand years, and yet this is its actual con
dition. Shall we, therefore, question the wis
dom, the providence, the grace of God ? Shall

144

we say. Is this consistent with the merciful
administration of a righteous government ? No,
my brethren, we will refer to its true cause,
Apostacy and Sin. Then, we shall rather ask,
why is a world devoted to destruction yet
spared ? Why is not the darkness total ? Why
is there any mitigation of suffering, any exte
nuation of despair? These are the questions
which it becomes sinners to propose concerning
"the world which lieth in wickedness;" and
the answer to them is — the Gospel. " God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life : for God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world ; but that the world through him might
be saved." Do you still ask why no more has
been accomplished ? Rather with wonder and
adoration, acknowledge the gracious energy
which has effected so much. Do you look to
the future, and say. But how long ere dark
ness, and sin, and misery, shall yield to uni
versal light, and purity, and joy? "He which
testifieth these things saith. Surely I come
quickly; Amen:" let the reply of our hearts
be, " Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
In approaching to a nearer view ; the hea
then, by their vast majority, first attract our

145

notice. In the esteem of the Christian mo
ralist, their diversities are of little moment,
for he knows that paganism, whether refined
or gross, is ever as inconsistent with philan
thropy as with piety; that it is in all cases,
equally hateful to God, and destructive to man.
However elevated and abstruse may be the spe
culations of heathen philosophers and priests,
the tendency and effect of idolatry in all na
tions, the learned and ignorant, the polite and
rude, have been, and must be, to darken, to
debase and brutalize. Bear witness Greece
and Rome, in your fairest, in your brightest
days ! With you, abode the wisdom of this
world in all her wealth and splendour ; for you,
science kindled and poured forth her most en
chanting beams ; and art, in order to endow
and to embellish you, exhausted all her stores.
Supreme in philosophy, in legislation, and in
eloquence, your groves,; your forums, your
schools, challenged the admiration of the world :
yet, alas! of you it was said, "Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools ! " It
was, my brethren, to this very people, that the
apostle Paul applied the following language :
" Being filled with all unrighteousness, forni
cation, wickedness, covetousriess, malicious
ness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit,
malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of
L

146

Cod, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of
evil things, disobedient to parents, without un
derstanding, covenant breakers, without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful." These ex
pressions, though severe, are justified by every
page of impartial history. At the same time,
there were other nations, styled by them bar
barians, whom they held in utter contempt,
and who indeed were ignorant of their specu
lations, and strangers to their literature and
manners; but who exhibited exactly similar
indications of the degrading tendencies of idol
atry. It is the same in heathen nations now.
There is every degree on the mental scale, from
the mystic and contemplative Bonze and Bra-
min, down to the gross and stupid. aborigines
of Madagascar and New Zealand: yet every
where, idolatry is the same, impure, ferocious,
miirderous; and this is the awful condition of
the greater part of mankind.
Early in the seventh century of the Christian
era, there arose in Arabia, a wily, hold, and
ambitious adventurer, named Mahomet ; who,
espying his advantage in the dissensions which
prevailed among the churches, and in the dila
pidated condition of the Roman Empire, re
solved to dictate a new religion, and to found
a new political dynasty. At first, his sphere

147

was contracted, and his success precarious.
After many vicissitudes, he found himself at
the head of an army far superior to the feeble
and dispirited troops by which he was opposed ;
and with soldiers for apostles, and scimitars
to enforce their doctrine, he pursued a rapid
and fierce career of victory, making the van
quished at once subjects to his empire, and
proselytes to his faith. His successors carried
these conquests still farther; and the taking
of the imperial city, and the subjugation of
the East, diff'used the Mahometan imposture
through a great portion of the globe. To this
day, the crescent supersedes the cross, in the
once proud city of the Caesars ; and the grand
Mufti of Constantinople, receives the homage
of more disciples than the Pope.
The religious system of the Mahometans (if
indeed it may be so called) is a farrago com
pounded of the following elements. Apocryphal
Christianity, Rabbinical Judaism, and some of
the least disgusting materials of Paganism.
They profess to worship one God, and to ac
knowledge Christ as a prophet ; but maintain
that Mahomet is a subsequent and superior one.
As far as sentiment is concerned, their whole
creed may be summed up in a phrase, which
they utter about as often as the papists cross
l2

148

themselves, " There is no God but one, and
Mahomet is his prophet." They treat the pro
fessors of Christianity of every communion with
the utmost scorn ; calling them dogs and infi
dels, and claiming for themselves exclusively,
the title of true believers.
Thus under the influence of pagan and Ma
hometan darkness, more than three-fourths of
the human race lie in the shadow of death.
If from these dreary scenes, we turn to those
countries where Christianity is professed, the
prospect at first seems scarcely less gloomy and
disheartening. The character of the Church
of Rome, has already been before us ; but there
is another church still the rival of the Western,
as vehemently as ever, disallowing the claim of
the Church of Rome, and pressing her own,
to the appellation "Catholic." Although the
ancient division of Christendom, will not now
be adequate, yet the Latin and Greek churches
still include the greater number of professed
Christians. The members of the Eastern or
Greek Church, who yield spiritual subjection
to the Patriarch of Constantinople, still inhabit
the states once composing ancient Greece and
her colonies ; but have been for many ages sub
ject to the political empire of the Turks, by
whom they are held in cruel bondage. At this

149

moment, the Greeks of the Archipelago are
struggling for liberty : but whatever of interest
may be excited by that struggle, (and who can
be uninterested?) its present aspect and cha
racter, furnish materials rather for a political
treatise than a theological discourse.
The profession of the Greek Church, pre
vails also in the vast Russian Empire : but it
has long subsided into the most groveling
superstition, in some of its forms, scarcely dis
tinguishable from paganism ; and it is to be
feared, that the accumulation of antichristian
sentiments and ceremonies has almost extin
guished the vital spark of Christianity. Dr
Pinkerton, however, has lately given a more
favourable description; and there is one fact
which speaks volumes, and assigns to her an
unequivocal and unmeasurable superiority to
the Church of Rome, which is, that the Greek
Church not only permits, but zealously pro
motes, the unincumbered and unlimited circu
lation of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible So
cieties of St. Petersburg and Moscow, in extent
and diffusion, are inferior to the British and
Foreign Bible Society alone.
In connection with the Eastern Church, it
may be proper to observe, that there are others

150
calling themselves Christian churches, such as
the Armenians, the Cophts, and Abysiimians ;
but whose religion bears scarcely a greater
resemblance to Christianity, than that of the
Mahometans to whom they are subject, and
among whom they live. It is matter of me
lancholy reflection, that the ancient aposto
lical churches, once the beauty and glory
of the Christian profession, are either extinct,
or have become so degenerate, as scarcely to
deserve the name. Where is now the Church
of Jerusalem, " the mother of us all ?" Where
the Church of Antioeh, from which the first
missionaries were sent forth to the idolatrous
Gentiles? Where the churches to which the
catholic epistles were addressed ? And where
the seven churches of the Apocalypse ? They
were "the salt of the earth;" but now, alas!
" the ''alt has lost his savour, and wherewith
shall it be salted?"'
Among the great variety of causes obviously
tending to produce this delusion and dege
neracy, must be numbered as one of the prin
cipal, the deficiency of copies of the Sacred
Scriptures. When, the gift of tongues ceased,
they were needed, in the version of every church,
and numerous as the individuals of whom those
churches were composed : but the want of

151

translators, with the difficulty, expense, and
delay of transcription, soon produced a lamen
table scarcity. Unhappily, the. heads of the
different churches proposed to themselves other
objects ; but had they been as assiduous in
translating and transcribing the Scriptures, as
they were in the pursuits of avarice and am
bition, we should not have now to lament such
a decay of piety, such a corruption of the true
religion. The worse than carelessness and in
difference of the clergy, had its natural effect
upon the people, the Scriptures soon became,
first rare, and then undesired, because un
known. For many nations, no versions were
provided or provided very late, and where,
because of greater facilities, they had versions,
yet copies were exceedingly scarce. To this,
therefore, greatly, if not principally, we must
ascribe the degenei:acy of the churches, which,
by losing the written word, lost the great pre
servative ; a loss worse to Christians, than that
of the Palladium to the Trojans, or of the Ark
to the children of Israel. The miserable sub
stitute provided by the clergy, was called
Tradition; and as we learn the value of the
Scriptures by the evils consequent on their ab
sence, so we ascertain the more than worth-
lessness of tradition by the injurious effect of its
presence. It has been tried in the balance and

152
found, wanting. Far from arresting, it hastened,
the progress of the church to decay and ruin.
During the dark ages, there was scarcely any
thing but tradition ; its reign was that of igno
rance, wickedness, and terror ; and it has ever
been found, that in proportion to the prevalence
of tradition, has been the prevalence of error,
impiety, and misery.
After all, what is this boasted tradition ? It
is merely a collection of fantastic expositions,
specious inventions, and sinful expedients,
casually contributed from different quarters,
and at different times, by men who, on a va
riety of accounts, happened to obtain repu
tation and ascendency in the church. If by
tradition is sincerely meant, the handing down
of unwritten truth from one generation to ano
ther, from the days of the Apostles, it is idle to
talk either for or against its properties and
claims ; — there is no such thing. The very term
tradition is a deception : and as that which it
ought to represent, has no existence, universal
tradition is universal imposture. Nothing is
more common, than for its advocates to perplex
their readers or hearers, by confounding to
gether the exposition of truth, the induction
of testimony, and the tradition of doctrine :
but what can be more different ? Because Pro-

153

testants expound the sacred text, and because
they receive the testimony of the Christian
Church to establish the fact that the canonical
books are genuine, the apologists of Popery in
premature triumph exclaim, " On your own
principles you cannot dispense with tradition."
But what resemblance do these things bear to
the tradition of doctrine ? The mere statement
sufficiently shews the distinction. To expound
a writing, to receive evidence to facts, are the
appropriate and ordinary exercises of human
beings : but the tradition of a divine doctrine,
is tantamount to a revelation from heaven ; and
all who pretend to it, are bound to produce a
divine commission. The preservation of the
truth before the writing of the Pentateuch, has
often been adduced in example ; but to say
nothing of the many indications, in the retro-
cessive arrangement and varying phraseology
of the book of Genesis, that it was compiled
from prior documents, and not to insist that it
contains little besides historical facts, and so
amounts only to tradition of testimony, there was
from Adam to Moses, a series of inspired men ;
and to inspired men alone, has the Divine Being
ever committed the tradition of unwritten truth.
The Papal Church, in her decadency, sits
among the half demolished monuments of her

154

former ostentation, the,; tottering memorials of
her ancient deeds. The fragments which re
main of the mystic Babylon, are like the
temples and amphitheatres of pagan Rome;
which, though now silent, broken, and de
caying, mark the spot, where unholy rites w;ere
administered at polluted altars, and where
human blood was shed for the amusement of
applauding multitudes ; and, which affect us
more forcibly than the page, of history can,
with the cruelties and the abominations which
have been perpetrated there.
The remainder of mankind, are either Jews,
who are scattered in various proportions over
the habitable globe, on the one hand testi
monials of the fulfilment of prophecy, and on
the other, the subjects of many proph,ecies yet
to be accomplished ; or Protestants of various
denominations. The majority of the Jews, ap
pear to have lost almost all traces of the reli
gious character, and to have become either
Deists or Sadducees. A, society for promoting
Christianity among this wonderful people, which
is conducted by members of the establisl^ed
Church of England, gives hope of a great
change in this respect. That excellent society
has published a Hebrew version of the New
Testament, which has proved very acgeptable

155

to the Jews ; and a ' considerable degree of
attention to Christianity has been excited, par
ticularly among those who reside on the Con
tinent of Europe. It is certain from the
Scriptures, that the Jews shall eventually be
reclaimed and restored ; and many divines are
of opinion, that their restoration will be pre
paratory and instrumental to the universal in
gathering of the Gentiles.
The Protestant Christians, are found prin
cipally in the Western and Northern parts of
Europe, and the United States of America;
and a few also, in some popish countries.
Under the common name of Protestant, there
are almost numberless diversities of sentiment,
and almost every difference, however minute,
leads to the forming of a distinct body, and
the assuming of a peculiar appellation ; so that
it would be almost impossible to recapitulate
the titles of the different sects. This is much
to be lamented, and doubtless has much im
peded the progress of the truth; yet the evil
is greater in appearance than in reality. The
differences among nominal Christians are of no
account ; and among real Christians, there are
no differences on subjects which are essential
to Christianity. However the points at issue
may be decided, the Religion of Christ re-

156
mains the same, and as the great Chillingworth
says, "their differences are never such as to
exclude the opposite parties from being mem
bers of one church militant, and fellow heirs
of one church triumphant."
Although Protestants differ on some points,
and although they most unnecessarily exaggerate
their apparent differences, it is easy to identify
the feelings of the whole; and that, by pro
posing the question with which I introduce the
second part of this discourse : viz.
II. Will Popery ever regain its Ascendency in
the World?
This with one heart and voice they deprecate,
as the most afflictive event which could befal
humanity, or indicate the wrath of an offended
God. They all tremble at the bare possibility
of the subjection of light, and liberty, and life,
to darkness, slavery, and death. Many learned
and pious men among them, are of opinion, that
before the bright and unclouded Millenial Day,
the darkness of popery, will again, at least for
a time, overshadow the earth : and this opinion
they derive from a careful and patient investi
gation of prophecy. On this subject, many
large and learned works are extant, professing

157
to explain prophecies yet unfulfilled, and from
them to ascertain that popery, though now
wounded and weak, shall have its wounds
healed, and that fresh power being given to
the Beast by the kings of the earth, he shall
revive to his former vigour. Others are inclined
to the same opinion by the view they take of
the present aspect of affairs at home and abroad ;
they argue from the greater prominence, bold
ness, and activity of papists in Protestant
countries, particularly in Great Britain, and
from the alleged increase of their adherents and
proselytes. If you will permit me to give the opinion
which I have ventured to form, it is that these
forebodings will not be realised. To me, it
does not appear probable, that popery will ever
regain its empire. Its influence, however,
may still be exceedingly mischievous, and Pro
testants ought to rouse themselves from that
state of apathy, to which they have been re
duced by their too great security and con
fidence. The very existence of popery is a
great evil, principally to its professors, but
also to the world at large ; permitted indeed by
the all-wise Master of the Universe, but to
which we ought not to be indifferent. As the
influence of popery is decidedly hostile to

158
Christianity, it behoves us carefully to observe
every indica,tion of its increased activity and
success; always remembering, however, that
no motives become a Christian, but such as
are congenial with the spirit of Christ ; and that
in the warfare against superstition and error,
no weapons are lawful, except those which are
" not carnal, but mighty through God." Nor
is the victory doubtful ; for notwithstanding the
local and temporary increase of popery, as a
whole it is daily and hourly declining. The
deadly wound has been inflicted, and it only
languishes out the remainder of a dying life.
The Church of Rome, like the house of Saul,
shall become weaker and weaker, and the
Christian Church, like the house of David,
shall become stronger and stronger, until Christ
himself ascend his throne, and possess the
undivided empire of the world. Yet as the
last convulsive struggles of -Leviathan, are
still forrhidable and dangerous, let us not be
off our guatd ; and as the adherents of Abner
long withstood the righteous claims of David,
it behoves us still to "watch," not knowing
but there may be many a battle yet to fight,
ere the crowning victory be wbn.
I do not profess to confirm these sentiments
by any particular predictions of Holy Writ,

159

thougb they appear to me to have the sanction
of the whole scope and tenour of prophecy.
For the present, I confine myself to the nature
of things, and the order of means. The only
atmosphere in which popery can exist in ac
tivity and enjoyment, is composed of unin-
quiring ignorance, and a passive subjection to
human authority : the infusion of any uncon
genial element is disease, torpor, and death.
But, ray brethren, a system is in operation,
daily unfolding its parts, and widening its range,
which will gradually purify this atmosphere,
and eventually abolish every vestige of super
stition. The basis of this system is knowledgCi
and its operation is threefold --by general edu
cation — by the free and universal circulation of
the Holy Scriptures— and by the preaching of
the Gospel to every creature. When the
people were utterly untaught, when the Bible
was locked up, and the preaching of the Gospel
prohibited, then was the empire of popery most
exteiisive and secure; and could the Popes
have rendered all this perpetual, their power
had remained unshaken: but "he who com
manded the light to shine out of darkness,"
cansed some particles to enter that chaos of
intellect and sentiment, and thus gave being to
the great Reformation.

160
1. If such were the , effect of knowledge
when Rome was in all her power and pride,
what shall not knowledge now perform, pos
sessing the vantage ground, acquiring new
strength at every step, and emitting, in every di
rection, the rays of intellectual, moral, and
Divine light ? Formerly, education was a pri
vilege extending very little beyond the clergy.
There was at that time, as little idea of iur
structing the great body of the people, as we
should now entertain, of imparting knowledge
to the brute creation. Of those who by com
parison might be called learned, very few
indeed had made any considerable acquire
ments; and even among the priesthood, he
who could translate the language of his bre
viary, and understood the meaning of the words
he pronounced while conducting the public
service, was a clergyman of distinction. A
man who could read Latin, was in some
capital cases, exempted by benefit of cftrgy,
from the punishment of death. Here and there,
a bright star shone conspicuous amid the sur
rounding gloom ; but whenever a man of genius
and true learning appeared, it was something
so extraordinary and unaccountable, as imme
diately to excite the suspicion of magical arts,
and a compact with Satan. This reign of ig-

161
norance, was the era of popish influence and
power. The Reformation, in connection with the re
vival of letters, and the invention of printing,
produced a considerable change. It soon be
came necessary that they who called themselves
teachers, should at least know something ; and
when learning opened the way to honour and
emolument, many learned men appeared. The
rubbish and cobwebs accumulated in the schools,
with the ridiculous jargon of the Dialecticians,
which for ages had been substituted for know
ledge, were all swept off and abolished. The
principles of a sound philosophy were laid as
the foundation of a new intellectual structure ;
and the building was replenished from the
rich, though long neglected stores of literature.
Still, however, education was the privilege of
rank and office, and learning was confined to
the few. It remained for the present generation,
to scatter the seeds of knowledge with liberal
hand, on the broad surface of the common
people. Never in the whole history of man,
were the blessings of instruction so extensively
and indiscriminately enjoyed, as at the present
moment ; and this produces an amazing acce
leration of the human mind, so that he who
formerly would have been quoted as in the
M

162
foremost rank, is now considered as having
merely escaped from ignorance. Our own
country is highly distinguished on this account ;
and our Sunday schools, and schools for the
daily education of the lower; classes, are pre
paring benefits more than we can calculate.
These things, however, are not confined to
Great Britain. On the Continent of Europe,
in America, and "the isles : afar off" upon the
sea," the high advantages of general education
are already appreciated^ and will gradually be
enjoyed. When the apostolic Latimer accompanied to
the stake his felloW" martyr Ridley, he ex
claimed, " We shall this day light such a candle
in England, as, by. God's grace, .shall never be
put out." The event verifies, the prediction;
and we live to. enjoy its , fulfilment. ; . There is
somewhere, a . painting, , which , represents the
Reformers from popery. sitting round a, table,
on whichi is plg,ced a lighted candle, . whack the
Pope, and Gardinalsi: iwith.iinfernalj aasistantsy
are endeavouring to ¦ extinguish, , while ; they
cry Que to another in accents of despair, " We
can't^ put it out! we can't put it out!" I augur
the same, my buethren, for theilamp of know
ledge, kindled by a spark of Divinetfirey and
fed by the precious oil of education. There

163

may be persons on earth, and emissaries of
hell, to make the attempt ; but they too shall
exclaim, " We can't put it out ! we can't put
it out!" The Almighty once stayed the sun
in the firmament, in order to work a greater
deliverance for his people : but he will not
arrest the progress of knowledge, in order to
give the victory to his enemies.
Let me observe to you secondly,
2. That it is the free circulation of the Holy
Scriptures, which renders education a blessing
to mankind.
It is this, that the Tree of Knowledge is
planted cldse by the Tree of Life; and thus
they interweave their boughs, and mingle fruits.
" That the soul be without knowledge it is not
good," saith Solomon; and the thirst of infor
mation is so strong in man, that were it not of
the very essenCe of ignorance to preclude the
idea of knowledge, no one could be satisfied
without it. The moment ignorance is so far
abated as to afford one glimpse of this " trea
sure hid in a field," a spirit is set at liberty
which can be neither satiated nor reclaimed.
If knowledge be good, however, it must be be
cause it respects that which is excellent and
M 2

164
useful. Without knowledge, no being can be
either good or happy: but knowledge does not
necessarily imply either goodness or happiness.
It was by seeking to satisfy this thirst, that
Paradise was lost ; and the evil and misery of
hell do not arise from a deficiency of know
ledge. Knowledge, undoubtedly, is power,
and gives a capacity for enjoyment : but every
thing depends on the employment of that power,
and the furniture of that capacity. It may be
only, the power of inflicting injuries, and the
susceptibility of anguish and remorse.
A greater than Solomon, says, " This is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent ;"
and there are no means of this knowledge but
the Holy Scriptures. He, therefore, who with
holds the Bible, withholds the greatest blessing
which men can possibly enjoy. Popes and
Cardinals affirm, that the word of God is
incomplete without their additions, and unin
telligible without their interpretations : but
that word itself declares, " The Holy Scrip
tures are able to make men wise unto salvation —
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, that
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly

165

furnished unto all good works:" and again,
" The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the
soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making
wise the simple, the commandment of the Lord
is pure, enlightening the eyes."
Suppose a papist to be in possession of a
Bible, and that he acknowledged it to be, what
it actually is, the complete and only revelation
from God, and a perfect and evident rule of
faith and practice to men ; suppose him to ex
ercise the divine right of every human being,
the right of free inquiry and private judgment ;
what would be the consequence? I do not
ask you to conjecture: the experiment has been
tried, and I ask you what has invariably been
the result ? In the first instance, the false pre
tensions of the Church of Rome have been
disowned; for it is impossible that any man
who understands his Bible, should mistake the
Romish clergy for the Christian Church, or
admit for one moment, that the Pope is the
Vicar of Christ ; and by the same process of
inquiry and comparison, he will discover that
the Church of Rome has corrupted every doc
trine she professes to retain, and has added
many which the Scriptures never knew.
Where will he find one truth or one ordinance
as it is delivered in the New Testament ?

166
To a mind so enlightened, it will be most
apparent, that, on the contrary, in the name of
the holy and undivided Trinity, they have
usui:ped the prerogative of the Father, the
offices of the Son, a,nd the illuminating grace
of the Holy Ghost — that their doctrines are all
erroneous — -their sacraments human inventions
— their ceremonies worse than childish — their
miracles evidently false— -their legends fabulous
and absurd— transubstantiation, purgatory, and
prayers for the dead, mere artifice and impos
ture. Who, therefore, can wonder, that the
Romish clergy should so inveterately have
opposed and condemned the reading of the
Sacred .Scriptures ? Who can wonder, that in
their zeal they should even calumniate the holy
volume, calling it an imperfect, a difficult, and
a dangerous book ?
What reason, then, my brethren, for joyful
anticipation, when vjre consider how great a
work is now going on in the earth! Twenty
yea,rs ago, in many countries even professing
Christianity, the Holy Scriptures were scarcely
to be found : but since that period ; thousands,
tens of thousands, I may say millions of copies
of that divine book, have been circulated in the
earth. In all the languages into which it had
previously been translated, has it been printed

167
and distributed ; and it has been translated into
many languages in which it was before un
known. Is it not a cause of delightful feeling,
to be assured, that at this moment, there are
more copies of the Sacred Scriptures, than
there have been at any one time, since the re
demption of man by Christ ? I speak not as if
the work were at an end; it is indeed only at its
commencment: but though we have scarcely
left the barrier, the goal is in our eye. The few
precious drops which now revive our hearts,
foretel and introduce the copious and fertilizing
shower; the sheaf which is now presented, and
waved over the world, is the earnest of an
approaching and abundant harvest.
Of the British and Foreign Bible Society, I
feel my utter incompetency to sp'eak, in terms
adequate to its opulence of mercy, its greatness
of strength, its exuberance of blessings. We
may say of the stream which issues from it,
what Ezekiel said of the holy waters of the
sanctuary — "Every thing shall live whither the
river cometh." Well may the Church of Rome
look with dismay and terror on that blaze of
excellence, on those mighty operations; well
may she fulminate her bulls and anathemas :
but every device shall fail. The Pope may
reiterate his incantations ; he may proceed from

168

' hill to hill, and from altar to altar : but, in the
end, he will have, like the son of Peor, to ex
claim, "How shall I curse, whom God hath
not cursed? or, how shall I defy, whom the
Lord hath not defied ?"
Already the slender plant has become a
great tree ; its top rises high towards heaven ;
^ts branches spread wide among the nations ; —
"its fruit is for meat, its leaf is for medicine,
because its waters issued out of the sanctuary."
Bible Societies now exist in every quarter of
the globe ; and, although at present, excluded
from countries entirely popish, the Bible shall
enter in even to them; and its "entering in
shall not be in vain." Let me now ask you,
have we not great reason to entertain the con
fident persuasion, that popery will no more
regain its ascendency ? A work is proceeding,
which no power, but that which is divine, can
retard ; and, surely, never will that power be
so employed. By the prevalence of education,
the time will arrive, when all shall be able to
read the Bible ; and, by the operation of
Bible Societies, every one will have a Bible to
read ; and then, shall the angel " cry mightily
with a strong voice, Babylon the great is fallen,
is fallen!!" These delightful anticipations
are yet heightened, when we regard.

169
3. The royal edict of our Lord, the fulfil
ment of which will be, the extinction of idolatry,
whether papal, mahometan, or pagan; the
establishment of the kingdom of Christ; and the
salvation of the human race. "Go ye forth,"
saith the Lord of the whole earth, " Go ye forth
into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature." So long as this royal decree
was the law of the church, so long was the
progress of Christianity rapid and glorious.
During the age of the Apostles and their
immediate successors, when all the responsi
bility of this large and unbounded commission
was felt, " the word of the Lord grew mightily
and prevailed." Europe, Asia, and Africa,
bore testimony to the zeal of the Missionaries,
and the splendid triumphs of the gospel. Soon,
however, the voice of him that "speaketh from
heaven," fell faint and feeble on ears and hearts
waxed dull and gross ; and was borne away
and lost, amid the disputings of sectaries, the
jargon of philosophers, and the clamours of
avarice and ambition. Then began the glory
of the church to fade; the fine gold became
dim, and the crown fell from her head. Other
affairs and concerns took place of a desire to
promote true Christianity ; — instead of preach
ing the gospel, other methods of making con
verts were employed ; and the darkness grew

170

thicker and thicker, until it deepened into
papal midnight. During the ascendency of
popery, the preaching of the gospel was totally
disallowed ; — the priests were free to descant
on the prerogatives of the Virgin, to pane
gyrize the saints, and to boast of miracles by
their relics, or at their tombs : but to preach
the gOspel, was denounced as heresy, and the
immediate alternative was, silence or death.
At the Reformation, the revival of true religion
produced the revival of evangelical pleaching ;
the voice of Christ was once more heard, and
his commission cheerfully obeyed. The preach
ing of the gospel, is the ordinance of God for
the conversion of the world; and, the best
days of Christianity have invariably been those,
in which the faithful and zealous preaching of
the word has most abounded.
Never, since the Apostles, has our Lord's
commission been more observed, than in the
present day. To this I call in testimony, the
various Christian Missionary Societies of our
own, and other countries.
Among modern Christian Missions, the pre
cedence in order, undoubtedly belongs to the
United Brethren, or Moravians. Descended
from the ancient Bohemian Christians, who.

171
long before the Reformation, suffered bitter
persecutions from the church of Rome, they
have always been a Missionary Society; and,
almost every climate has witnessed their la
bours, their patience, and success. The So
ciety for propagating the Gospel in Foreign
Parts, enjoyed the patronage of one of our
own monarchs ; and, the names of Swartz and
his companions — of Brainerd and of Elliott,
will long diffuse peculiar fragrance.
This, however, is the day of Missionary
labours and success. The British Islands, the
North, the South, the East, the West, are all
in life and motion. This work is of God;
and in its consummation, will surpass the
most sanguine anticipations of those who are
most eagerly " looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God,
even our Saviour, Jesus Christ." By the
blessing of God, not one Missionary Society
has failed. Scarcely a gale blows from our
coasts, but it conveys to the heathen lands
some heralds of salvation ; and scarcely a gale
returns, but it brings fresh tidings of gospel
victories. These Missionaries go forth, with the
Bible in their hands, and a holy philanthropy
in their hearts ; and with eloquence more
persuasive than philosophy can teach, they

172

proclaim the salvation, and assert the dominion
of Christ.
Let it not be supposed, that this spirit
exhausts itself in distant operations ; for do
mestic Missions were never so numerous, active,
and successful, as now. Our villages and ham
lets, the sister island, and the dark parts of
the continent of Europe, are visited and ex
plored, for the purposes of pious benevolence.
I ask once more, is the return of that super
stitious darkness, which all deprecate and many
fear, compatible with the growing activity and
energy of that spirit, by which ministers are
raised up and sent forth; with the actual in
crease of evangelical preaching; and the promise
of an incalculably greater increase still ? Assu
redly you will answer — No.
The preaching of the Gospel, prevailed
against all the authority and power of the
Caesars, and the still more formidable thunders
of the Vatican : it now proceeds with a quick
ened impulse and growing strength; and as
well might we expect the ark to fall before the
image of Dagon, as the ordinance of God to
be overcome by the devices of men.
It is true, the aspect of the world, at this

173

moment, presents much discouragement ; it
emphatically "lieth in the wicked one:" but
let us remember, the glorious change we anti
cipate, depends not on the feebleness of man,
but on the almightiness of God. The great
Agent who shall accomplish these things, is
the Holy Ghost. To him the Christian's heart
continually refers ; for he knows, that his in
fluences shall vanquish all the opposing powers
of earth and hell. He is able to illuminate
that which is dark, to purify that which is
polluted, and to gladden the hearts of the most
miserable. " Not by might, nor by power,
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Who art thou, O great mountain ? before
Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain." When
the Spirit shall be " poured out from on high,
the forest shdl become a fruitful field, and the
fruitful field shall be accounted for a forest."
In conclusion, I offer you one prediction ; "The
earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."
With this prediction you are all familiar; and
of its fulfilment you entertain no doubt — what
then does it include ? Undoubtedly, the abo
lition of every thing inconsistent with that
fulfilment. " Every plant which our heavenly
Father has not planted, shall be rooted up."

174
The pillars of the temple of Dagon, shaken by
a mightier than Sampson, shall give way ; the
edifice shall fall, and bury in its ruins, every
thing that offends, every thing that opposes
the Gospel of Christ. The course of Divine
Providence has invariably this direction; and
therefore, all kings and nations who refuse to
submit,' shall be overthrown and destroyed:
" these are they that make war with the Lamb,
but the' Lamb shall overcome them." Anti-
christianism in all its forms and degrees,
whether of the palace or the temple, the throne
or the altar, of the cottage or the conventicle,
of the market or the senate, of the multitude
or the few, shall disappear at the brightness
of the rising of the Sun of Righteousness.
Ignorance and superstition, persecution and
violence, shall then be known no more. The
heathen shall cast their idols of wood and stone
to the moles and to the bats : Mahometans
shall renounce the Impostor, and glory in the
name of Christ: the poor outcast Jew shall
look with compunction on Him whom he has
pierced, and place a crown of glory, on that
head which once wore a crown of thorns!
The corruptions which disgrace and defile
Christianity, shall all be purged away; and
Christ, and ' none but Christ, received as Pro
phet, Priest, and King.

175

These are the prospects opening before us ;
rendered daily clearer by the progress of events,
and confirmed by every page of holy writ.
Does the Christian, while his heart glows with
intense desire, exclaim, Ah, but when ? " O
Lord, how long ?" He which testifieth these
things saith, " Surely, I come quickly; Amen."
Be ours the reply, ** Even so ; come. Lord
Jesus."

FINIS.

LODNON -. PRINTED BY J. HADDON, FINSBURY.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 01266 4661

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