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 NINTH LECTURE, 
 
 BEroBE TRt 
 
 PROTESTANT ALLIANCE, 
 
 OF NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 B*V RB-v". ROBERT "W-IIjSOig-. 
 
 PRICE fOUR-PENCf. 
 
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PROTESTANT ALLIANCE LECTURES. 
 
 THE 
 
 PAPAL SUPREMACY EXAMINED. 
 
 T 
 
 NINTH LECTURE, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE PROTESTANT AULUNCE,' 
 
 OP NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 ..^^ 
 
 AT TEMPERANCE HALL, HALIFAX. ON FRIDAT TtVKNINa. 
 APRIL 29lh, 1850. 
 
 B'X- REV. HOBBRT WlLiSOWr. 
 
 A 
 
 •.'• 
 
 HALIFAX, N. S: 
 
 VBINTBD AT THB WB8LBTAN C01WEBKNCE STBAX PBISI. 
 1859. 
 
a 
 
 c 
 
 
^//nl 
 
 THE PAPAL SUPREMACY EXAMINED. .. 
 
 BY V^jV. ROBERT WILSON. 
 
 Among the reading and thinking part of the commXiftity, 
 there has been for some time past one en^ssing/topic of 
 conversation. That topici need scarcely siy. is Tj«| P>pacic. 
 It is generally regarded as a question pu 'which every man is 
 bound to speak 'who loves God and His truth; who loves 
 his country and wishes her p'rosperity ;*and who ^Joves his 
 fellow-men, and wishes to see their libeijtie* consolidated and 
 extended, and their circumstances imjjroved. Hence, in the 
 delivery of this lecture, we are only discharging' what we 
 regard as a solemn and imperative duty to God, t& you, and 
 to our country. >'• 
 
 We are about to speak of a system, not of men, except as 
 they are its exponents, or its advocates, or as,thej are'influr. 
 enced by it.- We have to deal with things, rather than., with 
 persons ; and with both only as they may serve to disclose 
 the character and viralcnce of a system. Thft adherents of 
 that system we are very far from wishing either to wound or 
 to grieve. Our wish is to speak the truth, an4 to speak the 
 truth in love. We hold firmly, as sacred truthsv^the princi- 
 ples,— that the Bible, which wfe believe to be the. Word of 
 God, is the only and all-suflBcient nile of foith and practice; 
 that it is the right and duty of. every man to search and to 
 interpret the Word of God for himself ; that no man is 
 accountable to his fellow-man for his religious Sentiments; 
 
 r-6 1 
 
. "^'Ctesar's due be ever paid 
 
 ^ To C«sar and his throne. 
 
 • . ^'"^o^ciencos and souls were made 
 To be the Lord's alone." 
 
 »»«. is a settled one nLfTT .°^- ^'"'' °"l>» 
 Msi.ss.at.-rC^V „ '«.*f""-W while re«„ 
 
 ,: Protestant ooramunitie " P««=npt,o„ „f any „f ft', 
 
 ,f . • rJfoWig- „ade .this avowal ». .i ii 
 
 P?Wi. these Colour \v TT"' '^ «™'''«>'=y«f 
 
 ^:w. have to ours, o' „ ,t ';:^:^r"! °""-' -«.-» 
 
 ™, taking part in a meeting t„ p ft" V ,°"' ''""'° '* 
 removal of the civil disablH.iL TTT ^'"■'"'"'™t, for the 
 
 rigit in -itself; aoTtf i ' T "T ^'^ ''^"™ " "- 
 «spo«siWo for it than we are f„"°,T T'' ""^ "" "° •>"'^'> 
 
 G^. which we labour rpti^totT'-r/'*" '^""^ °f 
 >"r Pope, or „„v tWha " '""'*'■ J*"' against ' 
 
 ^.ardmal, or any ArcM>;»l,„„ ^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ihbishop, 
 
 any 
 
■\ 
 
 flict pain or 
 >tber he bo 
 1- " Ven- 
 
 raise, on 
 ainst our 
 
 deprive 
 the body 
 
 1 us the 
 !e reason 
 siastical 
 exist, or 
 berefore, 
 proscrip- . 
 y of the 
 
 to l)e 
 we are ' 
 ahcy of 
 Roinao 
 ohgion 
 lie life 
 for the 
 abour- 
 it was 
 
 more 
 Td of 
 gainst 
 
 any 
 
 Bishop, or any Priest, exercising any kind of authority over^ .*■ 
 U9, we enter our indignant protest ; as a manifest violation IR f^ 
 British independence and British freedom, and as a wantoa -..k 
 insult to the British crown and British subjects. We hav« • • 
 no sympathy and no respect for those who would assign to . . , 
 Popery a liberty in these Colonics wliich no Roman Catholic 
 State on the continent of Europe that is desirous of preserving 
 the least vestige of indepondeiice is able to allow. France, 
 Austria, Bavaria, even Spain itself, tind it necessary to enter 
 
 . into formal concordats with the Pope, wliich is neither moro 
 nor less than a binding of his Holiness to keep the peace ^ith 
 their respective dominions. We, as ix Prptestant people, can 
 enter into no sucii arrangements. Are we, then, to bo left a 
 prey to the cupidity and ambition of Rome? Are we to 
 stand silently by and see our dearest liberties wrenched from 
 us by tlie njaudlln cry " Do'nt persecute"? Away with 
 such insane ftillies — su(.'h treacherous and dastardly counsels. 
 Let Roman Catholics, we repeat, have the same political • 
 privileges and the same religious freedom as other men; 4et 
 them be.free to build chapels, to perform eereinonies, to ipako 
 <'on vents, to endow monasteries, or to do ought elsp that they. / 
 UKiy be taught to believe connected with their spiritual ^el- ■ 
 
 ■ fare. J}ut woe with the day when we» shaU, forg' ' ihat, 
 however ipiiet and peaceable subjects Roman Catholics jaiay , 
 oftentimes .be, we have no deadlier foe than that • (jglo^l 
 jjower, to whose authority and .to whose intorests ours 'are 
 ever subordinated in eveiy true papist's heart ! Let the hour 
 come when that power shall have full sway -over us, and oar 
 liberties shall be scattered to the wind, to be Repurchased 
 only by years of toil, and at the e^cpense of .conflicts and 
 agonies which will furnish matter for a aecond " Book of 
 Martyrs." ' . 
 
 Many around us sneer at the cry of ." No Popery," as if 
 it werfe the most wicked or -silly cry that could jwssibly bt 
 
'fc may not spread and pm.ner amon.m • .1 • 
 
 our bumble judcnent hat t .. ^ " "' '''^' '" 
 
 rotestants Having a deep sense, therefore, of the ^ravifv 
 
 Pernicious !!„ L Tu" """'""' '""'^'^ P"»'™ ''» 
 pergonal indoZd" nT «» ""^ '" "'" "''•'"^"°" °^ 
 
 religion, sentimem ''™f ^ P""",""'' "■« »n-nptio„ of the 
 
 wuare it nas no motive to conciliate foPs nnrl \.i, 
 Ireland, m Spain, .„ p„„„gal, i„ Austria, i„ Italy, /nj 1" 
 
you "UM»k arountl," ' 1»< l"tl'l the inomimoiits of i>!ii)al power I ' 
 Italy is the ('hained victim of tlio iiios^t horrid ae^^lJoti.snl. 
 Komo is a casi; <»t' priests,— H'vcry twenty-tliinl iiuin iiu't in 
 her stroets is a priest ; the I'opo and a wretclifd set of ('ardi- 
 nals arc her systematic misgoveriutrs ; her prisons arc full of 
 state oft'enders ; her best and nohlest si»irits are living in sad 
 exile, and her populace sunk in degradation and uiisery 
 Kirwan says,— '• There is tu.t a worse-governed, less-religious, 
 «.r more innnoral iteoplo in Christendom tiian in the Holy 
 City." And again,—-' What are, in Italy, the fruits of the 
 Papacy at this hourV Swarms of priests, monks, nuns, and 
 beggars ; poverty, ignorance, and superstition. The press is 
 fcihaeid.'d ; no liberty, civil or religious ; no secairity of pro- 
 peity ; no IJiblc ; no Sa1)batli ; splendid Churclies, conv(«rted 
 into opera houses, with no congregations ; and lying wonders 
 without lunnber, and without end." 
 
 We believe that all our own grertnoss, freedom, and 
 prosperity, as a pe(»ple, are, under God, the result of tho 
 free circulutioji of the Bible amongst us, and the diffusion 
 of its pnnciples. We know, on the other hand, what rivers 
 of blood tho Konum Catholic Church has shed. Its whole 
 history proves it a horrible Ecclesiastical Desiiotism, under 
 whose domination neither civil nor religious freedom can 
 live — and whoso arguments have ever been the rack, the dun- 
 geon, the gibbet, and the sword. It makes the priesthood 
 everything, and the peoi»le nothing but drudges and slaves 
 —hewers of wood and drawers of water to the Church. To 
 believe implicitly what tho priest says— to do without a 
 munnur what the priest bids— to confess to the priest— to 
 do the penance he commands— and to pray for the absolution 
 he grants, are all the privileges it allows to the people. To 
 think for themselves, or to doubt the dogmas of the Church, 
 subjects them to eternal damnation. Indeed, except they 
 are baptized by the priest, and confirmed by the priest, and 
 
aMved by the pHest fl 
 
 "^* Within the r,l J y '*^""«fc »^« saved H 
 
 'none in th. '^ ^"^'^* "Pon them fi '^ ^°''"b'« 
 
 ■I Hat we may n-i/- J.„ . 
 
 under r ' '«'»»''"™ieated r^ , ^ ""'S'"'"" juslifi- 
 Chureli ci ji » required ■.«,] „ 7 . " ^^^ 
 

 
 be signified to the Chief Pontiff, that then he may proclaim 
 his subjects absolved from their allegiance, and bestow hia 
 kingdom upon any good Catholic, who, the heretic being 
 exterminated, shall possess it without any contradiction." 
 
 Such is the acknowledged law of the Romish Church, in 
 which you perceive the Pope claims the right to set up and 
 dethrone kings ; to compel them to punish heretics, and to 
 dispose of the nations of the earth according to his sovereign 
 will. All this he has repeatedly done, as in the case of 
 Henry IV. of Germany, and John of England. In mil, 
 published in the year 1197, by Pope Innocent Hi., he 
 declared : " That it was not fit any man should be invested 
 with authority who did not serve and obey the Holy See." 
 At another time he proclaimed : " That he would not endure 
 the least contempt of himself, or of God, whose place he held 
 on earth, but would punish every disobedience without de- 
 lay, and convin(?e the world that he was determined to act 
 like a sovereign." Such to this day are the lofty preten- 
 sions of the Pope — nor is he slack to carry theih out where 
 he has the power to do so. Indeed every Archbishop of the 
 Romish Church, on receiving the pallium, takes an oath to 
 this effect : " All heretics, schismatics, and rebels, against 
 our lord, the Pope, or his aforesaid successors, I will per- 
 secute and attack to the utmost of my power." Still more 
 horrible is the oath said to be taken by every Jesuit priest. 
 And yet, forsooth, wo are charged with being political in 
 our movement. In one ense we cannot help ourselves. 
 The Church of Rome is essentially a political Church. It 
 does actually interfere, and professes a Divine right to 
 interfere with the civil magistrate. The Pope is a temporal 
 as well as spiritual prince ; and hi| whole system is in favor 
 of temporal as well as spiritual despotism — the temporal 
 being always held to be subordinate to the spiritual, and 
 comprehended by it. The Canon Law Is clear and decisive 
 
10 
 
 on these points. ,„^ . , 
 
 words are in the p„„er'of T''""' '!''"l^ ^-d temporal 
 fc^n-f^oftheprio^tC ,h° ott ^''?''-«'o one is ,^^ 
 »oMie„,_(,„t the latter he' '", ""= '"'"''» "' """gs »d 
 «o™™a„d of the fo^eV oT ^'^ "' "" *»"' "^^ 
 ""■er-the temporal rnderth?,":"','""^' ^^ "*r L 
 
 "-"^Vof faith that 11^ ^.f/^^'™' """ it is 01 Z 
 *» power and jurisdi^ r.tTrJ""'"'^™'^ ^ 
 Tl.™,a,tothe/ao,,„efearle°L ^^ ^ »' Kome." 
 
 ■"■■"^-es they planned sef^Tf,,"''- '" '«'-««on to other 
 yi era, and excellent Xlt^'^f "^ 'bould seen J 
 »ffoet,„g the eonseientions tri ;„ ^ ^''°"'' ^'tout 
 espeeialiy arranged as a T "^ ""y- This wa, 
 
 population. Did\he;;:oi^;™ V''° ^°"'» Cath* 
 D.d the clergy meet at a 1,, "'* S"'""''" »"<i joy? 
 "'<"'• fet.iudg„,ent deterlii? , T""' "'«" '" ">o ™e of 
 - -ot? .Nothing of the™ "d T' ""' ""'" -4 . 
 w .ted the j„dg,„e„t „f the P^e?"^ '""' '» ^"'"o. «nd 
 
 -.:. : ^joiir- -"^^^^'"n^t-"- 
 »o. ^ne^etit'Tcrrrr"^"- ^ ~x 
 
 Sovereign an.I l,. ' ""'^ Revised bv nnr i, i f 
 
 fe" ana her couneiilnr« n. ^ ^^ beloved 
 
 ^^'"an Catholics of Ireh , u '^'^'^^ ^'^'^^ to the 
 
 -r^^ei. f,ee. Not t^v d """ ''^^^ ^^^ -s 
 
 //"•^'^^^ ^and that has no n^o^ T''' ^''''' ^ut by a 
 
 '^^^ the l^Vror of cC ''''' '^ -le in Engird 
 
11 
 
 Such are the principles and workings of that Church, 
 which is lifting its head among us, which, before high 
 heaven, is claiming our submission to its authority, and 
 which tells us, if we do not receive its dogmas, we are 
 damned. What then shall be done? What is our duty 
 as Protestants? 
 
 1. Manifestly, it is our duty to unite with all who have 
 the truth in its defence and diffusion. But what means 
 shall we employ ? Shall we unite with those who manifest 
 their Protestantism by making and burning effigies of Popes, 
 Cardinals, and Bishops? By no means. These are the 
 foolish exhibitions of foolish boys or more foolish men. 
 Shall we unite in the ciy, "The Church is in danger"? 
 We cannot do that, because we believe we belong to a 
 Church founded on the " Rock of Ages," against which 
 " the gates of hell shall never prevail." " Our Redeemer 
 is mighty, the Lord of Hosts is his name." 
 
 "Empires may fall, and sects, and states; 
 But tmth's inviolable gates 
 
 Defy each hostile shock. 
 The Church of Clirist can never fall, 
 Strong stands her heaven-protected wall, 
 
 'Tis founded on a rock. 
 
 Shall we then, unite, with those who would petition 
 Parliament to deprive the Roman Catholics of their civil 
 rights as subjects of the British crown ? By no means. The 
 Roman Catholics have as much right as ourselves to the free 
 exercise of theu- religion, without let or hindrance. Shall 
 we petition Parliament to grant no money for the support 
 of their system ? With all our heart ; but at the same time 
 that no money be granted by Government for the support of 
 the religion of any denomination. We say emphatically, No 
 Government grants for the rearing of Roman Catholic prieiti. 
 
12 
 
 This is a subjoct on which we can nffi. . ■ 
 wl>-el.itisourdmy,„,p,J" ?" ''^'^ •» speak, and „„ 
 of Government favor Ttv t ""T' "'^'- O"' '"y 
 
 "tier had or »„ght. v,'' ZT "'^ ""= '""'« -ever 
 
 "■e large an,oun.°„f fre'd ' ^ ," """"•^- ^^° '*« m 
 tbe blessing of God, wHavr 1„ ^^P^"'? "Wch, ,L„gh 
 not shine on anofe^o n^" ^luft' ^'° ™ "- 
 .«>a of Britain. We homiZl l c ""^^ '" *e free 
 
 ■s not another c„wned held "1 Z 7 ^""'•^- ^^^ 
 to be compaml with Vxci T "' "" ""'■* ^-l-y 
 ««ry attempt on the part of 1{„„. . •" "^ P"^"'' »S^nst 
 '°-»»- But. at the same ITo '""f " '^' ^"'^""^ 
 
 Breth.n,we.ellthem,Xal TLT 'k °" ^""^»'»"' 
 ttat they mnst not Wfe ,„ L^'"*'» fandness and love. 
 
 support, bnt put their tml il? "T™' &■• Pecuniary 
 »»d wield „„ otier weapTn 27 f "L ""^ """> S»™„r: 
 ■f 4ey intend effectual yto" |"»' "' "-e Spirit, 
 Thus, siraply, fo„iM J^ " "PPo^' Popery and infidelity, 
 ■"ony 'o the spiritnalL ot onTRlr ^^l *" ^"^ »« <es«. 
 tbe great principles o/^hZ^^^'T' ^'°«^°"' '^<' «« 
 *h we are Lled byTT, ™'t-*y''' "^^ ''"'^ '» 
 Let US go forth with the simnleT ?' P™™' "'"'es. 
 truth and Gespei institutirtv nf th"'- *"° °' <^-P<" 
 banner,-" The Lord is ou^'k" ^, mscriptioa on our 
 giver, lie wiU save us " Ti,l ^^' ^'^ '^ our Law- 
 Thou comest against' u, tvt "' f " '"^ *» the Pope,- 
 ders, and th.a.fn ta^ ,11°"^'":? ^»°™S^- »/«. n- 
 Bridget, and Peter' imd P uTTJg^ *'°''^''"-^> ""■' 
 s«mt8 m the calender. AnrI i. ""^ ^Soiy, and all the 
 
 us influenced and encoural fc? tt^ """f °°'"'* "S""^' 
 despots of Spain, i^, ^If «>« e™el and e«crable 
 
 butchered many of 2- 1" '..""'^ ^™'=«' "ho have 
 
 -der foot thi LZ\7,l 'T:^\"' '-P% 
 
on 
 
 13 
 
 thee in the sevan-hilled city. But we come against thee in 
 the name of the Lord our God, with the armor of righteous- 
 ness, and tlie sword of the spirit; and through the grace 
 of God, we will prevail against thcc, utterly destroy thy dark 
 and despotic system, liberate thy slaves, and join with tl.em 
 in the triumphant shout, — Babylon is fallen, and the nations 
 of the earth are free. 
 
 2. We are called upon to "Search the Scriptures," 
 and especially to labor after a clear understanding of those 
 Scriptures which Popery has perverted to the apparent sup- 
 port of her system. The first principle of Popery is, the 
 Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome. That supremacy she 
 professes to found on Matt., xvi, 18, 19, — " And I say unto 
 thee that thou art Peter," &c. 
 
 This passage is regarded by the Church of Rome as the 
 main pillar of the Papacy, and as affording a Scriptural war- 
 rant for the supremacy which the Bishop of Rome claims 
 over all other pastors and churches, and which he has been 
 enabled to maintain, during many ages, with singular arro- 
 gance and confidence, over a great part of the so-called 
 Christian world. We, as Protestants, consider all such 
 presumptuous claims as an impious invasion of the Divine 
 prerogative of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sole Head of the 
 Church, and as a flagrant usurpation of the privileges of the 
 Christian people; and we therefore refuse to acknowledge 
 any such right, on the part of a foreign prelate, to lord it 
 over our consciences ; but yet it may be interesting to know 
 by what arguments the adherents of the Papacy justify these 
 pretensions in appealing to this Scripture, and how they con- 
 trive to find in our Lord's Words to Peter the key-stone of 
 the lofty arch of their hierarchal system. And we trust it 
 will not bo considered as an unprofitable waste of time if 
 we devote a single hour to the investigation of this subject, 
 
 especially when we reflect how many millions of souls are 
 2 
 
(,/ 
 
 ill 
 
 14 
 
 « '-n spiritual bondage bv th. 
 
 fabric of P«n!]T ^^''^'^tiien ami mn , ^''"•5' «"^ 
 
 % these vrorrT '^''"'^ ^'^''^-^ ^^V. off, 
 ^«ter the fo„!?.: ''? ««i^/^«« that 0^1!/ ''^*^^^^- 
 
 flubfecter] r ^^ supremacy over H,l .r *^^ ®«^''our 
 
 "»IK.^omI to/f?''» a" matter ff J' t ''° ™' 
 f«i. stall be !»,„„,, ™\ ^'"'"««*ver ttou .4ail " ', 
 
 I 
 
5*s, and what 
 ^o^o"y and 
 'ate the vast 
 treating this 
 
 ^e passage. 
 
 constjtutecf 
 '<^ supreme 
 resentativo 
 *^Je whole- 
 '■s of con- 
 'd wij] of 
 Saviour 
 ^tJes, an(i 
 is autho- 
 ^ claims 
 
 sajs he 
 e name 
 sfituted 
 urch so 
 
 Words 
 3J fur- 
 power 
 i that 
 >m of 
 
 Was 
 ■ and 
 that 
 5ins, 
 ven 
 U^ 
 
 Oft 
 
 ait 
 
 35 
 
 The Romish writers further assert that Peter being investoS 
 with these extraordinary powers, in the course of his ministry 
 repaired to Home, and laid the foundation of the Church 
 there, wliere he presiJed as Uishop, and finally sealed his 
 testimony with his blood ; and that the whole of the privi- 
 leges and prei-ogatives thus couferrerl upon hinj wei-e trans- 
 mitted to the Bishops of Rome, as his successors in that 
 Church ; and by virtue of this right they are to be acknow- 
 ledged as the supreme rulers of the Church— universal pas- 
 tors and vicars of Jesus Christ. Consequently it is the duty 
 •of all Christian pastors and Churches to honour and submit 
 to them as such ; and those who refuse to do so cut themselves 
 off from the body of Christ, are ipso facto excluded from the 
 communion of the faithful, are to bo regarded as heretical 
 and schisraatical, and virtually endanger the salvation of 
 their souls. In this predicament all Protestaets are supposed 
 to be placed, and being out of the pale of the Church, are 
 abandoned to the uncovenanted mercies of God — for out of 
 their Church they pretend " there is no salvation." 
 
 II. We shall now endeavour to expose the fallacy of this 
 reasoning. 
 
 These are no doubt high pretensions, and the inferences 
 drawn from them are of a very grave and solemn character j 
 •but if we examine them with a little attention we shall see 
 sufficient reason to reject them, as in the highest degree arro- 
 gant and unfounded. For in the first place, it cannot be 
 ■conclusively shown that our Lord refers to Peter personally as 
 " the rock " on which the Church is built. Long before the 
 xise of ^ho Papacy some of the most enlightened Fathers of 
 the Church, " including some of the early Bishops of Rome, 
 particularly Gregory the Great, and also the famous Augus- 
 tine, Bishop of Hippo, maintained that it was the faith which 
 Peter professed, and not the apostle personally, that our Lord 
 
F;f: 11 
 
 Hi 
 
 •" Ji'sus as the Christ tj T f '""■ ''"-''""^^ Im M: t 
 
 ™''*P, .. the .nointe/jwtf " "' *^™- »'' l.« C 
 Ch°rch. Take away any o7 L' ™"' "»'' «"'«. «f t ho 
 
 J°;»«y and iarmonio^,/ ;^ "f;- 7''-»n of these uZ 
 
 Wdnessid t.„trif i;:'^7°««<i natural), great 
 •Joes in Greek, a reek ^^ "*'• "■"'»'' "'Med hif, 
 
 loir ^ '^-r'- *r:.i-itrfr-' ^ ^ 
 
 tlV?'''''°°''l««''«on given ,fL, ^"•' *'»' I'cter 
 
 ^-^./.hfeh&Tr """""^ "'^ '-'^ ■ Ho" :'"• 
 »'tention to hi,„ St ' °"' ^°"' 'looted n,„eh on ■' 
 
 »'«™e„taadC'te r;:f""^ -"^'.--gui:;: f ,• 
 
 » «.nspic„„„, p,„,, ;„ °^*; « '"» n,„s,er. He also ooeupied 
 Cta«t. But as to w, L '^ '"" "" il'Mrious ser™! !^ 
 
 *m without eentradietlr He^""^ ^"-Mi,, .d,„, * 
 ^oM c^ God. Christ h^,etf isT" '°^"'"™^ "^ Ao 
 ^o^foundation of ,he Churr jV. ""^ "^'"'"•'«' "^ "'o 
 Therefore thus saith the W, r .' '^ ^'""'''' "^i«. lU 
 '" » f-"a«oo a stone, a li^l^"^; f^'* ^ % in .> 
 
 «>ne, a preeions corner-stone. 
 
. and on this 
 
 's confeKsion 
 
 <Ji« Church 
 
 ^^n of the 
 'J Jiis 3It's- 
 ing. of the 
 ^ou under. 
 
 rest upon 
 parato the 
 result will 
 so truths, 
 t'jcr said 
 a falJinnr 
 
 b great 
 
 Jiipi to 
 idniitted 
 t Peter 
 ^■Jien ho 
 u wij], 
 G Was 
 of Jlis 
 for his 
 Jupied 
 lurcli, 
 nt of 
 vhich 
 
 this 
 
 the 
 
 tho 
 10, 
 (iofi 
 ne» 
 
 17 
 
 a sure foundatic>ti." Again in Psalm cxviii. 22, 23, wcrcarl, 
 "The stone which tho builders refused is become the head- 
 stone of the cornet. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvel- 
 lous in our eyes." And it is ol)scrvablo that Peter himself 
 appeals to the passa.qc in Isaiah in ])roof of this doctrine, in 
 the first Epistle, ii. 4, 0: " Wherefore also it is contained in 
 the Scripture, IJchold I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, 
 ■ elect, precious ; and he tliat lielieveth in him shall not be 
 -confounded." Ami that no other can share in this honour is 
 ■evident from what Paul says, (1 Cor. iii. 11,) "For other 
 •foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is 
 Jesus Christ. ' ' What a poor basis would Peter himself have 
 •been on which to rest the Church ! In this same chapter we 
 find our Lord addressing him as an adversary, and reproving 
 him for his aversion to the mention of his sufferings, (verses 
 •22, 23,) "Get thee behind me Satan," &c. On another 
 occasion, when we 6nd him rashly requesting that Jesus 
 would suffer him to come to him on the water, on seeing the 
 •wind boisterous, overcome with fear, he cried out as he felt 
 himself sinking, " Loi-d save me." At another time we find 
 him, under the influence of false shame, repeatedly and 
 solemly denying all personal knowledge of that Saviour whom 
 ho now so nobly confessed. And long after the effusion of 
 tlie Holy S-pirit, he was openly rebuked by Paul for his dissi- 
 mulation in the matter of eating with the Gentile converts, 
 (Gal. ii. 2, 11.) 
 
 Peter himself claimed no such prin)acy over his brethren 
 as has been demanded for him. Though he .proposed the 
 olection of a new apostle in the room of Judas, he Mi the* 
 •choice of the individual to the 120 disciples, (Acts i. 26,) 
 though he spoke at the assembly held at Jerusalem respect- 
 ing the circumcision of the Gentiles, he does not seem to have 
 presided at the meeting; that, however, appears to have been 
 /?oufcrrcd on James, who speaks, of him, with true primitive 
 
r pi ' 
 
 18 
 
 simplicity by bis onVinal name. •' SiU^on." and proposed tho 
 law which was aftemard. agreed to. (Acts xv. U, 21 ) 
 
 1"« first Ytlo, ho s.n.ply designates himself as a follow-elder 
 or co-presbyter, (chap v. 1). His chief distinction was bis 
 bemg specially sent to the ,/ew,, as Paid was to the Ge.ti/es. 
 And as Peter himself claimed no such ,,rerogative. so nei- 
 W was It yielded to him by his brethren or by the churches; 
 thus he was commissioned alr.ng with John, by the apostles. 
 
 hem m the faith Acts viii. U, 15.) Wo have also seen 
 that he was rebuked by Paul in presence of the Church at 
 Antioch which does not look like the recognition of supre- 
 |»acy. The same apostle asserts that in no respect was he 
 inferior to, yea, that ho was " not a whit behind tho chief of 
 the apostles;" which, even allowing there is a reference to 
 1 eter, is a claim of equality at least. (2 Cor. xi. 5.) And 
 the sanae thing is implied when Paul says. '' For he that 
 hath wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the- 
 creumcision the same was mighty in me towards the Gen- 
 tiles. (Gal. ,.. 8.). that is they were both equally endowed 
 and distinguished in their respective spheres. 
 
 But, further; all claim to such supremacy is virtually 
 condemned by our Lord as inconsistent with the spirit- 
 uality of His kingdom, and with that humility and equa- 
 lity which bo ii^ulcated on his disciples. When James 
 and John had raised the indignation of their brethren by 
 claiming the precedence in his kingdom, " Jesus called them, 
 and said, \e know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise 
 dominion over them, and they that are great exercise 
 authority upon them ; but it shall not be so amon. you • 
 but who,,oever will be great among you, let him be your 
 minister, (or attendant,) and whosoever will be chief amon<^ 
 you let hira bo your servant." (Matt., xx, 25 28 > 
 
Dposed tlio 
 18,21.) 
 inrclit'8 ill 
 llow-cldor 
 »n was hin 
 Gentiles. 
 e, so nei- 
 chnrches; 
 3 apostles 
 I eonfirm 
 ilso seen 
 hureli at 
 af supre- 
 was he 
 chief of 
 ;renco to 
 ) And 
 he tliat 
 } of the 
 le Gen- 
 ;ndnwed 
 
 irtually 
 
 spirit- 
 d equa- 
 James 
 ren by 
 d theni; 
 xercise 
 xercisc 
 gyou; 
 } your 
 unong 
 
 284 
 
 19 
 
 And still more explicitly, when exposing the prido and 
 vanity of the Jewish Sevihes, ho says, "But be not ye 
 called lliibbi, for one is your Master, even Christ, and all 
 ye are brethren, (or equal,) and call no man your father 
 uiKju the earth, (the very title arrogated to himself by the 
 Bishop of Tiome,) for one is your Father, who is in heaven ; 
 neither be ye called master, for one is your Master, even 
 Christ. (Matt., xxiii, 1), 10.) 
 
 Allowing that Peter was, in a limited sense, the rock or 
 foundation of the Church, it was only as ho was inspired 
 to deliver the doctrines and institutions of the Christian 
 faith, which constitutes the true basis of the spiritual edifice ; 
 but tins, however, ho holds, not exclusively, but in onnnon 
 with the rest of his brethren. Thus, Paul, in speaking of 
 the Church as a temple, represents it as " being built on 
 the foundation "—not of Peter only, but—" of the Apostles 
 and Prophets." (Ephesians, ii, 20.) And in the sublime 
 description of the New Jerusalem which we have in Revela- 
 tions the wall of the city is said to have twelve foundations, 
 "and in them the names of the twelve Apostles of the 
 Lamb." (Chap, xxi.) 
 
 We proceed now to an examination of the " keys," and 
 the " binding and loosing." When our Lord said to Peter, 
 " I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven," 
 it was doubtless a figurative expression; but its proper 
 meaning may easily be discovered. A key is to open and 
 fasten a door — it is not a Churclvdoor, either of Homo or 
 any other in this case, but the door of the kingdom. When 
 we do not understand a sulyect wo require a key to the 
 difficulty — in other words, an explanation. A key to Arith- 
 metic is a book that explains how to do the sums we could 
 not do alone. So a key to the kingdom of heaven is an 
 explanation of its terms, — letting us into a subject \Vhich is 
 naturally beyond us. The Gospel is frequently described 
 
n 
 
 120 
 
 ;'"«'• oye I,a,l „,t .seen n, .1.1/ ' ^''''^''' '' ^cl, 
 
 . " Which Chn«t gave thV;:'';,: ";''•'' ^"r^"-^*^'"«"^ '-' 
 
 thus unlock tho «ocrot,s of the I 1 .f'^' ^'''"^^ ^''^'^ '"'ght 
 
 J^ook what was for a<.s lo . ,, "" 'j'^' "'"' P"^ '"^o GodC 
 
 « opened l,y DiWn n ' ''^ " '"^''^'^'^ --f^Ty^ 
 '-«-' "...I l.i, „i|l.-„„ I,,. " " ■ '*'" "'"'I'l no. n,„| „„t 
 
 "■Men,, ,„ ,,„4 :•:,;;- ";«'vc. „,e ,.,, „,. „,„' 
 '°7- A„,i a, ,1,0 jr„,j, s ,,: ! ; ",""' <™'" ""' 'I* 
 
 "ii'oA^.tH .0 „,„ S:',;:; - % o. „,,„„„„,„„ 
 
 , '" "'« word, ,vl,i,|, ,„„ „1 7. '""■■ '«l"™ll'c,l ,„ „,, 
 '"<'»'. Ilm^ g™„.| „„,k „f ,^ " ' ""'■% .1.0 New To,,,,. 
 
 °^=»«I by i„ „„„ wi, „fl',i t;-^. "'"" "'» «'W "over 
 
 -I'lis IS ,1,0 Uoet,i„„ of ,. ; , 
 yvy spiri,, are now i„ Cj^f T, '"'f '' """ "''"- 
 
 wLoreof «,ey (tho K„^,i,,, ;, " ", ^T''^''' »»^-'. "^0 koy, 
 'kem,oIvo, aro „„ „„■;;„, ^ ,?'"'!">• » g«»"y '«,t 
 
 C^o^d, \t^ny ,„a„ f„ ,r/'7' "'!'' "/ "«/"•<"»,•« „/ ae 
 
 - '«) te,>o /u.Lori,y f ,t:',rr"' '"",■"' ^^^ » -"»> 
 
 (m proof). If am man l! ""'' "'« °M fetor. 
 
 Wers, for yo |,„™ ,?' ' "'^ " ^^« "« to voa 
 
 "■"d'ton, no,..,, and fifeo \;'";'^: " '" "-"^ing it undo; 
 yomolve,, and then, that oo" '' '''^ '" ""'^ "»' in 
 
 '*<'//>^ ietteth into the will 
 
01 Goil, 
 lined; hut 
 ''t'y might 
 nto God's 
 'i<l this is 
 
 t find out 
 III could 
 s of file 
 not di.s. 
 •Jiination 
 '1 to us, 
 »nii the 
 
 Testa. 
 ;ho kc'jr 
 
 never 
 10 sou], 
 
 whoso 
 
 1 cjirJy 
 
 keys 
 
 thinff 
 fthe 
 arnal 
 etors 
 ority 
 you 
 ok; 
 ider 
 in 
 is, 
 •e8, 
 rill 
 
 'J I 
 
 of (Jod." Thus, also, John Hales, of Katon Coliego, in ii 
 tract concerning the power of tiie keys, dated " from my 
 Ptudy, this Mth day of iSfurch, l';'}7," confirms these views: 
 " The kingdom of hoaven is eomiiared to a house, from which 
 all tho sons of Adam an by nature excluded; whatsoever 
 then it is that u;ivos us way, that removes all obstacles which 
 hinder us from entrance, that must be understood by tho 
 namo of keys. Now, all these means of entrance were all 
 laid down in tho gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ, committed, 
 by him fully and first of all to tho Apostles, to bo reported 
 all the world over." 
 
 To whom, then, do these keys belong? To whom does 
 the light of tlie sun belong? To whom does tho air of 
 heaven belong? AVo ans-wer, tho light belongs to all who 
 have eyes to see, and the air to all who have lungs to 
 breathe. So these keys belong to ill who have souls to save. 
 But tho professed successors of Peter set up an exclusive 
 claim or monopoly, and they found this exclusive right 
 
 to the keys on these words, " Thou art Peter and I will 
 
 give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." It 
 would certainly have fitted better if our Lord had said, — 
 " Thou art tho Pope of Rome— thou art Pius IX ;" but as 
 he mentioned only Peter, quite another individual, plain 
 men will wonder what that has to do with tho Pope any 
 more than w f'l llie Emperor of China. But they get out of 
 tuis by saying, they are I*eter's successors. It is, however, 
 very unfortunate for the Pope and his Church, that if he 
 were proved Iter's successor the passage would not help 
 him, since it happens to make no provision for successors. 
 They ai-e not mentioned in the deeds. The only plan, 
 therefore, left for his holiness is to extend the doctrine of 
 transubstantiation, and prove that as tho wafer is turned into 
 Christ so the Pope is turned into Peter. The one is just as 
 good as the other, and there is no othei" defence ; for whilst 
 
i 
 
 the Catholic head reciter «< Ti 
 
 "nd there the matter end, ' ^'""' ""■' "<« Pelei-," 
 
 »p Of Christ-. k4j„„ cirz:' V ' '"° "'"•"« 
 
 »f ft-th, both to ,l,e J,„, „„j IT' r "l^""' "'o J"' 
 <»»>-«•„„ of Ae three tluld ^^' ™' ''« "^ *e 
 through h« instrumentalitv • ZV n .''"^ "^ ^'™'^« 
 ^ P-eh the Gospel to ci'nZ twhw Y ''^ "*» -"' 
 
 3'l>«e „ore the first fruits of Ae r\ ''™'"'- '^^'^ "• "•) 
 
 M. classes; and m thjs t^J *V^'™'™ Ctu-h among 
 
 to %th„ foundation otZcL 7 ' '"''^^' ^ »« 
 
 «>« kmgdom. But it t „„e « 1' f •" "•*" ""' <>"' "f 
 
 -*r .0 i, ,te foundatL „nd "f «> " ''""""». -'1 
 
 "O^d have no sueeessor. " ""' ™^I»« ""^ aj^tlo 
 
 »ever the" d'^ Ci,'^^^"'' i" "^'''^'"^ P*"-. " VVhat- 
 fcj binding and loosing, „7fi„d1hU ""^ """^ '"' "■'"'"' 
 
 "d elsewhere .„ all thf.Zi^t T^ ™"' '»''''■• ""?"«- 
 "■« *ve„ after his res.™ ' Z "'f """"^ "Pi*"™' '» 
 ever sins *« remit , bey reZii f'" "'™ " «^''««>- 
 
 ''e^ndingit:;-^^^^^^^^^^^ '» '»' e,uivS 
 ^^ We commission of Je^ 7 , ^ ™' "^ ^"''■ 
 
 '.« ««^P«1; and whato r,ll l"""^""' ™ '» P»bM 
 '"■d down as the law. Chr t Jul, .™"°"""*'''' '-'«" "-ey 
 ^;ap™.iso, He would faririrr'.'"'-'" "^^Savo 
 What, therefore, they did X' , '■'■'"°''' "' '"■'"'on. 
 
 '» declare the hw-,o bl /, 7 "'"' °"'' '""^d 'vas 
 P™«tly servitude, and Zl t ' "' " ■^"'■"■^'' "•'-1 and 
 
 ^^i^-yandhishilSTliltr^ir^^'''--^' 
 
 "'snc- If men were 
 
itestant in^ 
 ot Pet 
 
 
 er,' 
 
 evidentlj 
 he setting 
 ' the door 
 'St hy the 
 Pentecost 
 'ing sent 
 equently 
 I XV. 7.) 
 I amonff 
 be said 
 door of 
 on, and 
 a2)ost]o 
 
 What- 
 meant 
 mpart- 
 red to 
 oseso- 
 rhose- 
 ), an 
 at to 
 
 Wish 
 
 they 
 
 ?ave 
 
 I'cn. 
 
 was 
 
 and 
 
 rist 
 
 ero 
 
 ih carelessness and sin they were to bind this law upon them, 
 
 •' but now God commandeth all men everywhere to repent '' 
 
 If men were pricked to the heart, and desirous of salvation 
 
 they were loosed on this principle which is ratified in heaven' 
 
 " believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'' 
 
 If men continued impenitent, then this law is binding, " he 
 
 that believeth not sliall not see life, but the wrath of God 
 
 abideth on him." And thus whosesoever sins the apostles 
 
 by this Gospel law have remitted, they are remitted in hea- 
 
 ven; whosesoever sins by those laws are retained, are retain- 
 
 ed in heaven. So that we have not to go to priests, to none 
 
 of whom has Christ given power to absolve from sins, but 
 
 to the apostles, whose writings are the Gospels, and the 'laws 
 
 of which are ratified by Christ,— bound in heaven. 
 
 No minister in the world, and no church in the world, has 
 power to forgive sins,— tiie form of absolution in the Ro'mish 
 Church is a blaspliemous forgery; a priest is no more than 
 another man ; Christ gives him no power, no authority at 
 all : no church has any power in these matters; all that any 
 one can do is to tell men what Christ said by His holy apos- 
 tles and prophets. The apostles never jorgave any sins. 
 Peter himself did not pronounce absolution on Simon Magus, 
 but exhorted him to repent and pray to God for forgiveness ] 
 and it is awfully presumptuous in any man to take it upon 
 him, as the Pope and his clergy do, authoritatively to absolve 
 another from sin, or to decide his future destiny. This is 
 the prerogative of God. Would you know, then, whose sins 
 are remitted? Look into the promises of the Gospel, given 
 by the apostles, and ratified by the Saviour. Would you 
 know whose sins are retained? Examine their declarations, 
 —the law they have made binding on the world— the only law 
 by which wo shall bo tried before the judgment seat of Christ. 
 This is the meaning of being " bound in heaven ;"— the sen- 
 tence of the apostles in the New Testament about each one 
 

 'M 
 
 of «,, „m aland g«Hl ,„,1 be carried out at the last ™t 
 
 else s fal«,. here ,s our true ground of absolutioa-all else i, 
 
 a delus,o„. So much, then, for the ■• binding a„d lolt " 
 
 Now supposing „ ,„„ „,,^ „ = J^^o. 
 
 fo low that he was to have any successors in .ho possess rof 
 he p,.rjga.,ves; far less can it bo shown that L B hop' 
 
 si! Tr„-r '■'«'" "> ''•'P^P"'"^ .h-s power to Hem 
 W rhe B,shop of Antioch or of Jerusalem cou d a,^ 
 f umshed a much better claim to this distinction if .U 
 .rcumstanee „f Peter, residing or lablrrt l tmu 
 h d as a suffieent plea in a matter of such « npor „c^ 
 
 a£::^:rf ^-::rh:fiher.r:- -:t 
 
 apostle ever was in R„„e at all has been doubted by so ! 
 oiher stdL >"' "• «™"""^ "''"■'« *»' 1- 
 
 -^rtit:?rr;i:r:drrr; 
 
 marfvrflnm h,r « -c • J^*^* "'^, ana there sufFored 
 
 niartjrdom by crucifixion, under the Emperor Nero Fv.n 
 
 pastor, we have no evidence : there is in fact J r ■" 
 
 scriptu. by „*« .1,0 ch„eh L ^„^iz:::^Tz 
 
 H.^ seems to have been purposely eoneealer Mo JlX 
 J aul wrote his hpistlo to the Komans, about the venr 5S 
 ™ ''''""° ™™» "^ l--^ ^«' been there, for he s^uZ ht 
 
25 
 
 anxiety to "impart to them some spiritual gifts," whicli 
 oiKlowments were generally eonferrc.l l.y the laying on of the 
 hands of the apostles. On his arrival' thither, as^related in 
 tlie last chapter of the Acts, no mention is made of his bein^ 
 introduced to Peter, which would hardly have been omitted 
 had that apostle been there. In the epistles addres.sed by 
 Paul fr(Mn Komc to the Ephcsians, Philippians, Colossians, 
 Phdemon, and Timotliy, no salutation is sent from Peter,' 
 though several inferior persons are mentioned ; and among all 
 the names enuruorated in Romans xvi, amounting to between 
 twenty and thirty, no notice is taken of Peter, which seems 
 clearly to prove that when that epistle was written he was not 
 there. From all this it is evident that if Peter ever was in 
 Home he came thither to die, not to reign; but the connect- 
 ing link being wanting, the whole chain falls to the ground. 
 The earlier Bishops of Pvome were humble, devoted men, 
 and some of them suffered martyrdom under the heathe.i 
 emperors ; they claimed no authority over their brethren re- 
 pudiated the title of universal bishop, and denounced those 
 who would lay claim to it as anti-christ. But with the pro- 
 gress of Christianity the number of professing Christians in 
 Home was rapidly multiplied, and through the injudicious 
 largesses of the wealtiiy members, the power and influence of 
 the bishops gradually increased. They also encouraged 
 appeals to themselves fi-om other churches, which gave them 
 a plausible pretence for deciding in matters of controversy. 
 After the civil establishment of the Christian faith by Con- 
 stantine the Great, they rapidly rose in pomp and splendour 
 under the patronage of the imperial convert; and it is related 
 that such were the emoluments connected with the office of 
 bishop soon after this time, that it became an object of ambi- 
 tion to worldly men, and was contested with all the koennesa 
 incident to a political election. 
 8 
 
•26 
 
 We need only read tho preface to Jjowcr's ' Ilisf ..v nP .i 
 Popes/ to find illustrations of the inZ us ,.^''^^°^V " 
 
 -s growth of the Papal power/i:t3;':::^ r 
 one po,ut, that in tlio be-iunin^ of il... f fi !° 
 
 ti- year my i3o„ifacom;,t :'";:".''' >^''*;>; ('" 
 
 »lf in,„ ,1,0 favour of Pl.ocao nine f ,',"?"'"'"' '''"'■ 
 Sn,. of 7.>„™ ■ '^■■'•"l'-. iottlriig ,1,0 Eiii„cuiafy on the 
 
 two „va, oi,io.), Ko,„e an,, Co„s,ami„opl tZ ^ Z 
 &00 of IW, l,coau.o of hi, l,a,,oa t„ CKiac, 1 1 .f 
 
 Eo,„a„ Bi.h„p3 had' all' r.: c, : Til vr"'" ,'": 
 >.,.oahi„,^f ,oi,„,o.ai,i..o„o:^;h„^;;::^^ 
 
 children ho caused ,o be inl,„u,a„ly lbu,el,e,«l in ,1, , 
 souce of their father ;, . •'""."■""■"-" ™ <ne TO- 
 
 «-— e,t.hiet'r::::s';!-:,rs 
 
 Such IS the testimony of one who had ample opportunities 
 
 S,a,e»„f ,1,0 Ch„,,,l, were «„:!^„! ' T" "' "'" ""' 
 
 title of ..the Pa,ri,„„„; , g K, ^ , , ''"' ""''"' ""^ 
 '««y or i5t. J eter; and he was raised to 
 
lli 
 
 the rank of a tcniporai Sovereign by Pepin, King of Franco, 
 uiid his son Charlunmgno, about the year 755. With tlio 
 atniuisition of temporal power, a right was chiimed to the use 
 of the tcniporai sword, and thus that Church whoso "faith was 
 .spoken of thnnigliout tlie wlmlc world," wliich was "planted 
 wholly a right seed" and whicli was "espoused as a chaste 
 virgin to Christ," at last assumed the character of a cruel per- 
 secutor, and appeared as the mother of harlots, drunken with 
 the blood of the Saints and 3Iartyrs of Jesus. The IJishop 
 or chief Pastor was transformed into the Pope, or Father, })y 
 way of eminence, and styled ' his Holiness,' or ' tlie Holy 
 Fatlier,' a name appropriated to the Most High, (John xvii. 
 11) ; ilie Presbyters and Deacons were converted into Cardi- 
 nals, or Ecclesiastical Princes ; the Kings of the earth wore 
 re(|uired to bow to tho autJiority of the Sovereign Pontiff; 
 refractory kingdoms were excommunicated or interdicted from 
 religious ordinances ; princes were crowned, and bishops 
 invested in their office by the haughty prelate of the Vati- 
 can, who claimed the power of deposing or suspending them, 
 and of absolving subjects from their oath of allegiance to 
 their lawful sovcreion, — as in the case of Elizabeth of Vm"- 
 land : and presuming " to change times and laws," the same 
 "lawless one " published dispensations and granted indul- 
 gences, as if he wore literally empowered to open or shut the 
 gi'.tes of heaven at his pleasure. The mystery of uiiquity is 
 described by the proj)het Daniel, under the symbol of " tho 
 little horn," (Dan. vii. 20-'25); it is further developed in 
 Paul's second epistle to tho Thessalonians (chap. ii. 5-12), 
 under the character of "the man of sin, the son of perdi- 
 tion ;" and it is drawn to the life by the apostle John in the 
 lie volutions, under tho two-fold chai'acter of " tho beast with 
 horns like a lamb and speaking as a dragon," and " tlie gor- 
 geously arrayed harlot, sitting upon the many waters." (Uev. 
 xiii. 17.) IJut tho same prophecies which reveal its rise set 
 
i'8 
 
 limits to its (h 
 
 '^^ ^^"''a^'on, and predict its fall -T},.. t w 
 it iu Lis time." "» lau. -l"o Lord iiasten 
 
 (!■) A„,l, at tho fi,-,t »W ' ."%<■■' «V'™«<y. 
 'ivo „„ earth, h"' ™"f ■"l"""^ "» visible r„,„.oso,„a. 
 
 a."l fallible n,a„ ^2 :!• ''•'^■rr"'^^"' '"*" "-^ » ^'^W^ 
 ». wbat shall ;e,„afe;- /p*" ''" ^'"f" '' '"'""'Wo •• ^ 
 
 -1. other; I i-owi , : ti^rr" -""■■"""««->« 
 
 tradietory decrees tlmt „, "y"""'- '" 'I'" «Pt«smg „ud eo„- 
 ™c»ssiv' Sk!!l. '":;""""' ''"^ I-"™ -»od by 
 
 «"-• or ord:i*^"i,st>" "'r """"" "»^ -' 
 
 twenty.four trand »I • *"''''° ' ""J K' no fewer (ha„ 
 
•if) 
 
 ten 
 
 power and usurpation — hytlie votes of the Roman Christians, 
 bv the voice of the Roman multitude, by the election of 
 priests, by the mandate of an armed mob, by the aiipolnt- 
 ment of the civil magistrate, by the choice of cardinals, by 
 the imperious will of eourtezansr by the ])urchase of money, 
 and by the assassination of predecessors ! Infallible ! and 
 yet some popes, testina; them by the Romish creed, were 
 crrorists, respecting apocryiiha, image-worship, transubstanti- 
 ation, half-connnunion, and almost, if not absolutely eveiy 
 peculiar doctrine and rite of Romanism ; and otiiers, tested 
 even by tlie aggregate orthodox creed, were either heretics, 
 anti-beatitudinarians, sailducecs, monothelites, pelagians and 
 arians I Vet cacli of these popes was the successor of Peter, 
 and (Jiu'ist's vicegerent upon earth ! 
 
 All !«uch arrogant pretensions are utterly inconsistent with 
 the Saviour's prerogative, who is repeatedly declared to bo 
 *' iiead over all things to the Cluireh." (Kph., i, 22 ; Col, 
 i, IS.) " Who Ijolds the stars in his right hand, and walks 
 in the midst of tlie golden candlesticks, and who has the 
 keys of death and of the invisible world." (Rev., i, 18 j 
 
 111, <•) 
 
 (2.) We have a right to expect some resemblance in ovt- 
 
 ward condition betv;ecn the pretended successor of Peter and 
 
 vicar of Jesus Christ, and those whose representative he claims 
 
 to be. Take the case of the Apostle Peter, and is there any 
 
 point of similarity between him and the Bishop of Rome i 
 
 Peter was an itinerant preacher travelling on foot from place 
 
 to place,— the proud prelate of Rome resides at his ease in a 
 
 palace, surrounded with armed guards, receiving or sending 
 
 ambassadors, and affecting the style and attriljutes of royalty. 
 
 I'eter, with the keys of the kingdom, opened the Gosptd to 
 
 the Jews and proselytes on the day of Pentecost, — the Pope 
 
 pretends to have the keys that he -may lock the Gospel up ; 
 
 ijrst, iu ii musty library ; second, in the second-hand vulgate 
 
7 
 
 J^^tin; third, intlicHfn.^ofjI... n , . 
 
 -«wm,, ,•„,,,,„,,,* :f^c..^^ 
 
 -"« » -nriod „„,„,_„,„ iw."^',, ;'''« f--'-. 1-0.0,. 
 y« tliat Potor i,„, ,„ . I,. , „ '"""'■^ ""'l 'l'»>vn, it, „„,, 
 
 ^''i'l. "led™, tl,o eUerfl"' ^^' ^"'"■» ^«''- I'^tor 
 « of 0„,1, „„, L,2: '.'7f "'>-»'''f »" oMo,.. f,.„i „,„ 
 
 J-...u*of.i~^^^^^ 
 
 forces hy virtue of yi^o.^/; ' / ,. ^ "^'' ^•"""".•.u.l.s ;muI 
 
 fi'^Jiy lucre of Pur-^Z "''^'"''^^' ^'"^' '•-('"•'-•^ "'o 
 
 I'ave I none, "-the Pope ,,,, j^'f' ^'^'''- «"«l «oI,l 
 •••"'1 tax the world pir .. ,1 \ ^u f '''T'' "^ ^^''"-^■' 
 to another, "-_the Pope «,v. il . ?"" ^'" '"'•''^''•^ ""'^' 
 
 J>'^- .ays, «. 1)0 not 1 t'o C T ^' •'''''' ""^'' -'• 
 lVsays,Ia,„ ^ lord 1 1 , ^'' ^^'"^••'o'-^"-InU, ,!„ 
 -'•<^' "I am a .'nfu T, " o , ^ .^''t^^'"'^^- J'^"-" 
 ^^^ylod '' His Holiness " ' ^^^^-^V'-l.ut the Pope is 
 
 olaimstobo. Thoono,!.., ,','"* ™'?™nt lio 
 "- one g„i„g „b„„ ft '!;.'„""" "' "''-^ '"'■■•''- 
 
 ^«o!u.io„ and ncvor an cW '=,'""'"''^ "'' "> ^"'^"o" 
 
 vaI,-.ho o„o HdinXra . t,Tl:" ,""" "«" f^"" 
 oai.ar.soned mule; or i„ a riw,/ °"'" °" " ''"I'lv 
 
 01.0 novor crowned h,t wit , 111™ ,, , "■"*' '"'"-•■ "'o 
 . '^"'■■>i%' to h, a j„dge or divider 
 

 the other gras])in;^ at universal doininiuii and treating kings 
 a< vassals and de|>endents, permitting them to ki.ss liis font (»r 
 to jiidd liis stirrup, as Alexander III. di<l to the kings ol' 
 h'rance and England, or to wait bare-footed at his gate, as 
 (Jregory AMI. did to Henry IV., or appearing under a gor- 
 geous canojiy home on men shoulders, or on an elevated 
 ])latforni so jnoved hy inaehinery as to give him the appear- 
 ance of heing suspended in the air, while he no sooner is 
 S(H;n at the great window of St. Peter's than the vast multi- 
 tude fall prostrate befitro him as to an incarnate deity, while 
 he stretclies out his hand anil gives thenj his blessing. So 
 true is tlie prediction of Paul that he " opposeth and ex- 
 aiti!tli himself abdve all that is ealled Glod, or is w<irshii»ped, 
 so that he as God sittetli in the temple of God, shewing 
 himself that ho is (j!od." (2 Thess., ii, 3.) Look on this 
 ])ieture and on that. Are they alike ? 
 
 {'•]. ) We have a right at least to expect some rcscnd)lancc 
 in point of moral character. ]Jut though there were un- 
 (|uesti(»nably some popes, especially in the earlier periods of 
 the Church's history, exemplary in their lives, others have 
 ))een infamous for profligacy. As early as the Sixth Cen- 
 tury Vigllius was exconnuunicated by a Council of Carthage, 
 and condennied as a heretic by the second Council of Con- 
 stantinople ; he changed his creed six times, and was distin- 
 tinguished as a traitor and an assassin. In the Ninth 
 (V'utury, Formosus was a simonist and a perjurer, and his 
 corpse, jirevious to sepulchre, was dragged through the 
 streets of Iconic and thrown into the Tiber. Stei)lien \ll. 
 and IJonifacc VI. wore contemporarics-^the former is called 
 by Paronlus "a most wicked man" — he condenmed his 
 jiredeccssor Formosus, unearthed his body and set it uj) for 
 mock judicial trial; but he was himself, in his turn, con- 
 demned, debased, and ignominiously strangled. The Tenth 
 Century plunges deep into thg. abominations of the Paj)acy. 
 
32 
 
 ^fanz u. Join, vrr „ • -^ "'^' ''^'"'ot 
 
 (^.".,,.11 , I., „„ „. .; ,'„ "'r •'';i"-"i ''.v « i!.»,>»n 
 
 ''--.."in .,oi:!:L:;\.!;i ;■'■;':;,;::"::, ■:;"--•;•" 
 
 »n ..i,.„o«.„ |,„,„i. j,„„„,|. . '] ' • '' »'l"l"'y l>y 
 
 tl.eo,,li„arylfrof ,/'";' ''° '''"'""' »W-"-» "> 
 ». for the «« ,1 t ''",'"'"' ™'-''»— -f «'. JMc, 
 
 Kvo„ .1,0 p OS , ' olX f 'Lo- Fotomlo,! vic.r, „f (;,,h,, 
 
 .o..po.,u „„.„.,, „,L., ,.;,,:;,xi,f ■«"■■■■'-' ""■• 
 
 "-'"'""""r^- ««' Whocxcl4«l 
 
oo 
 
 tlic imitation for the (liaiuoiul and soM liis filasri for a 
 ])rccious stone it would have been an infamous roUtory. 
 So our blessed Lord made Simon into a precious stone— a 
 gem ; but the Pope comes to pass off" uixjn the world a 
 most wretched and gaudy flash imitation, and charges dearly 
 fur it. It is time the eyes of his followers were opened ; 
 it is time that the nations repudiated, in the name of reason, 
 in the nine of liberty, in the name of our connnon numhood, 
 in the n^une of Christ, in the name of his Gospel, this 
 Popeshiji— this supremacy which holds the world in spiritual 
 chihlishness and bondage. 
 
 What, then, is to be done ? First, without controversy, let 
 us take Luther's p.salm, and sing it with more faith aud 
 fervor than we have ever yet done, ".God is our refuge and 
 strength, a very present help in trouble," &c. " The Lord 
 of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." ^ 
 
 This done, let us sit down to consider. Wisdom is the 
 fruit of reflection, and thought the parent of action. 
 
 There are two ways in which this mighty ecclesiastical 
 despotism concerns, and threatens most seriously to aflect, 
 us, and in reference to which, as in ancient Sparta, who 
 ever, when liberty was in danger, remained neutral, was 
 deemed a traitor, so now, whoever shall be found indifferent 
 must be held to betray a sacred trust, so far as in him lies 
 to place our liberties and religion in jeopardy, and to be 
 himself in peril of the awful denunciation pronounced on 
 some of old, who "came not forth to the help of the Lord 
 against the mighty." 
 
 As patriots, in-d lovers of our country, the throne, and the 
 constitution under which we live, we are most deeply inter- 
 ested in the present aspect of Roman affairs. We regard the 
 whole of the movement of the l^apacy, not only here but 
 throughout the world, as nothing more and nothing less Uian 
 a mighty effort to place us under the dominion of the Pope, 
 
 '■immimimiv'mtBfm' ♦>i*iO!S*«w''Mr-- 
 
3* 
 
 I- a d I J • ' :™,"-'"'"-^ ('""»"-■» not wl,oll,„. i, 
 
 "..aes wo ,1,„1| ,],,™ )„',,„,. '"• "'i'"" J«''jlo„ s 
 
 l)ut tho sl.rl, .P "^ I''^'""^ "^'*^' I'^'rU'^otl nought 
 
 "" tilt syl, of .successive generati..ns will bo ,r,r,l " \C 
 unto U8 for wo aro fallen " - u J , ^^""^ 
 
 To prevent such a (loom let us .,« win. .i i 
 
 ""i.e With ixi 'f ,:;r,ri'r""''t -^ '""'""■™- 
 
 liut, tl, ! ^ *"""»'" '""'"■ l"» sway- 
 
 iiut tiiere is anot 101- and even (■„■ „„ ,, 
 
 I» tola.,, of ,1,0 ,„ovo,„°l „ ,; """" T'T'"" '•'" '" 
 
 »ff«at t!,o interest, nf . . , "' °"'' """ '''• ■"* ''"'y 
 
 vital o,.j:::t:\iret,;;;;;:^^ 
 
ouo 
 
 85 
 
 Calvin >vroto, an.l Lutimor sufforcl. shall continue in this ^ 
 l,na unvitiatcl ami unol.cuvo.l. 1. the .aerili.MU aoa h o 
 the awful sufl-erer on Calvary to ho exehanj^c.l tor the Mas. . 
 T. tlie i.viesthood of the only IVIediator to he substituted l.y a 
 Vviesthood luude with hands V Is the spotless rol.e of unna- 
 l.uel'H ri.d.touusness to he touched and soiled hy an addition 
 of the .vorks of man v Ts the nien-y-'^eat to he ohstmcted by 
 tho confessional V Is i.uv^^atory to bo interposed between 
 heaven and hellV Is tiie supremacy of Christ to bo trans- 
 ferred into the han.ls of a vilo worm of tho dust ".^ J l.ese 
 are .luestions whieh, in all their solemn weight and nnport- 
 ance, are now before us, and it behoves us to deeule the.,,, 
 and to be up and doing ere the ark of tho W be n^ the 
 Philistines' hands. Pope'T •« " ^"•^*'»«^' S'^l'^'l- -;! l"^""' 
 tion of Christianity,-a perversion of tho glad tidings ot 
 re.leeming nierey to a lost world. It misrepresents the char- 
 ,,ter of (Jod. It earieatures the work of Chnst. It throws 
 a cloud over all tho sinner's prospects and cuts away the only 
 foundation on which he can build safely for eternity. Anu 
 .hall the " truth of the gospel," be yielded to such a system 
 as this, and the glorious verities of salvation exchanged for 
 such iictions as these V No, not for an hour. Our allegianco 
 to the Kin" of Zion, our obligations to the Saviour of snuiers, 
 our love to our fellow-men, an.l our responsibility to tho 
 judge of all foibid it and summons us with trumpet voice to 
 united enterprise and action »uu\ 
 
 Ours is the battle. The aggression is theirs. Ihey have 
 made the onslaught. We will repel it, repel it to a man. 
 father let us say "the battle is not ours, but the Lords 
 He calls us to it. lie has prepared the armour. He buls 
 us .'.., cmipped therein, to the field. The weapons of our 
 ^valfare are n..t carnal, but spiritual. Heason. truth, >^cr,p- 
 tu,e and prayer- wo disclahn all others ; but these we mean 
 
 to em 
 
 ploy 
 
 to the utmost of what our laws and constitution 
 
 
8G 
 
 will allow. No peace with l?ome. But we love to content 
 plate the war. and the resources to prosecute it wl.ich, as 
 thristirns, we enjoy. Wo want no other bond of alliance 
 than the "unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace" 
 among ourselves. We want no other instnuncnt than the 
 . sword of the Spirit wliich is the Word of God." We want 
 no other energy than that of wliich the prophet sjioke • •' x\ot 
 .y might nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord of 
 hosts And we want no otlier medium to bring it down 
 than that which the patriarch employed at Bethel, when he 
 wrestled with the angel of the covenant and prevailed. 
 J. rayer and correspondent action have won the victory before 
 they will achieve it still. ■ 
 
 Let us, then, fellow Christians and fellow Protestants of 
 every name, who love "the truth of Christ," unite at the 
 present emergency with that earnestness and afiection which 
 the crisis demands, to resist the corruption of Popery, and to 
 vindicate and perpetuate amongst us the great doctrines of 
 the "common salvation." Let there be no strife between 
 us, nor divisions, nor broken rank in all our borders. 
 Israel s tribes fought under different banners, but their 
 "Leader and Commander " was one. Their cause was one. 
 1 he spirit by which they were actuated was the same, ;ind 
 the Ixod under whom they were engaged is the "same yes- 
 terday to-day, and for ever." To us as to them there is but 
 •' one body, and one spirit, and one Lord, and one faith one 
 baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all' an^ 
 through all and in all." The watchword of-the enemy is 
 "Divide' and conquer:" ht otcrs be "Union is stren..th." 
 Ihus-the petty states ofGree'ce wasted their resources in 
 mutual wars; but when tb^ great King of Persia appeared 
 ot> their shores, followed by a million of men, they laid aside 
 their ancient grievances, united together as one man, and 
 drove back the common enemy with shame and dishonour to • 
 
a: 
 
 his own land. Nothing can he nioic appropriate to om- 
 subject or our position than the touching and dying prayer of 
 the young King Edward, " O Lord, heal the division<s of 
 Protestants and deliver the kingdom from Papistry." 
 
 It is our comfort to know that the true Church of (Un-ist 
 is indestructilK;. It i,. foiu.lud, not on Peter, not on Pojics, 
 but on the rock of eternal truth, " Other^ foundation can no 
 man lay," &(% It was prepared in heaven, laid on earth, 
 revealed in tlie GosihjI, and selected by Propliets, Ajwstles! 
 and righteou.s rnen as their own. "Behold I lay in Zion," 
 &c. On this true berevor.s of every age and of every clime 
 have built; and if resting on this, all Churches, all Apostks 
 and all Christians are equal. In this respect there is no 
 preference, and no superiority, among them. .\11 are saf«>, 
 and all are h(.norable. 8oon may that day conic, when every 
 nation shall be sunmioned, every heart awake, and every ear 
 open, U) hear the Eternal Jehovah, amidst the joys of saints, 
 the songs of angels, and the acclamations of* the univejse! 
 proclaim that glorious truth which the insj.rod I'rophet 
 delighted to record. -'I'he hands of Zerubabel have laid the 
 foundations of this house ; his hands shall also Hnish it ; and 
 he shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, 
 crying, Grace, grace unt» you." Let all the people ^y 
 Amen. 
 
 " What thougli the gates of hell withstood, 
 Yet must this huiUling rise : 
 'Tis tliine own work. Ahnifjhty God, 
 And wondrous m our eyes." 
 
 ■ ''i^'