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JwftlZZ T "^ '^'""^ '^'^''^^^''^ *« presbyter merely old ;:ier:r:o:::d"'"""^"- ^'^" ^^^°^™^^ ^^^^P^^ LECTURE I. -■ <•> ■»- Any Roiniinism, real or supposed, of the Covenanters and Puritans of as existing in the English Church in Britain in presenting jjopuhir ideas Canada, or iu that branch of it called as to what is Romish, the J'rotestant Ei)iscopal Church of Romanism lurks under many visi- the United States, is well looked after ble things, and as a straw or a feather not oidy by the ministers and lay- may show how the wind blows, so members of that church, but also ])y the [)resence of certain visible things the vavious I'rotestant denominations may be indications of the presence of whose many voices are heard, all the that unseen and si)iritual thing which year round, lanu-nting that both the rrotestanls call the myatcry of in- ministei s and members of the English iquity. Churcli are drifting towards Rome. 1. The Modern Protestant Temple If it be kindness and charity, on of Romish architecture and with lio- the part of these Protestant denom- inish decorations. inations thus to M'arii the members Places of worship of gothic archi- of the English CHuirch against the tecture and its peculiar ornamenta- deadly evils of Romanism, it surely tions, have been considered as the fo- becomes us as Churchmen to extend vorite haunts and lurking places of the same charity, sympathy, and Romanism. The pointed arches, brotherly kindness to these Protes- clustered pillars, traceried and pic- tant d(!noniinations, by pointing out turod windows of stained-glass, cross- to them whatever Romanism, real topped spires and cross-to[)ped gables, or supposed, wc may find existing and the ever-recurring cruciform, tri- among themselves. angular, and other symbolic outlines Professor Cunningham, of the Free have all been denounced as the inven- Presbyteriim Church, Edinburgli, tions and handiworks of the man of says truly, that "all is not Komish sin, whereby the minds of professed that is called bv that name," and he Christians l.ave been diverted from woukl restrict the term to things spiritual worship and from the sim- which had been formerly iu the plicity of the gospel, and enslaved Romish Church, but which were re- with what was merely outward, sen- jected by the great body of Reform- suous, idolatrous, and Romish, ers in the 16th century. He admits, Hence the Covenanters^ Puritans, however, that this definition is open and other Protestant reformers de- to objection. — {Historic. Theol.) molished the crosses and stained-glass Perhaps we cannot do better, windows of the Romish and Episco- therefore, than follow the opinions pal Churches, and filled the windows 6 with unstained glass. Even such things U3 steeples and bells, and all ornamental carvings in wood and stone, wei'e classed among the super- stitious and idolatrous abominations of Popery. "There was no religion in stone or lime." The plainer the meeting-house, the purer and more Protestant the religion of those who met in it. The largest and best of the new churches might be built of one of the pagan five orders of architecture, or of ''The Augustan Style" Avith bare walls and sqi.are-topped win dows of unstained glass, or in the style of a barn, but the gothic was generally avoided as the ally of Rome. But, what a change ! Almost all the new places of worship pertaining to the Protestant denominations, in Britain, Canada, and the United States, ai'e gothic. Thirty years ago there was not, pi'obably, in Scotland a single modern church having stain- ed-glass windows, or cross on steeple or gable; but such things now are quite common there. In Glasgow, the venerable "Hie Kirk," still used for Presbyterian \vorshi[),ha3latterly been filled from crypt to clerestory with costly pictured windows of stained- glass, the larger pictures representing historical scenes from the Old and New Testaments. These windows indicate a prodigious change Rome- ward since the year 1828, when, in the same city, the new St. Enoch's Church having been adorned with one pictured window, representing Christ blessing little children, it was summarily denounced and removed as " an idolatrous image !" In the same city may be seen, quite com- monly, new Free Kirks and United Presbyterian Kirks, whose lofty, gothic spires are decorated with the Roman cross. And as in the old Romish times, it was customary to have the hood-mouldings of church windows and doors terminated with some ornament of carved flowers, or foliage, or head of saint, so we see there the hood-mouldings of the fine gothic Free St. John's Kirk, Glas- gow, each terminated with a carved imago of some leader of the disrup- tion of 1843. There is the head of St. Thomas Chalmers ; and there is the head of St. Patrick McFarlane ; and there is the head of St. Robert Candlish ; and so on through all the calendar of the sainted fathers of that branch of Presbyterianism. Pass up to Edinburgh, and the same change is noticeable there. In the very city where covenant- ing heroes and martyrs suffered tor- ture and death for protesting against such things as crosses and pictures, you may see on one United Presby- tei'ian Kirk no fewer than four or five stone crosses ; and on the face of a Free Presbyterian Kirk two very noticeable stone carvings, — one representing the good shepherd leading forth his sheep, while the wolves are kept at bay in the dis- tance ; and the other carved picture representing the faithless shepherd asleep, while the wolves are devour- ing his flock. Who could have be- lieved that even the famous Rev. Dr. Guthrie, of Edinburgh, who be- longed originally to one of the strict- est sects of Scotch Presbyterians, (called Seceders), but latterly a. lead- er of religious opinion in the Free Kirk, should have become an advo- cate of church decoration, including crosses and other things formerly re- garded as Romish ! He says, " 1 am one of those who think that a church should be ornamented. * Ha !' you will say, * what has the house of God to do with ornament]' My answer to that is this : Go to your mountains, and pick me up a flower that is not an ornament, &c. *♦***• Yes, God has poured beauty on everything he has made ; and I say, it is a right and a proper thing that the house of God should not ofiend the taste that God has given me. I don't believe there is any sin in beauty, and neither do I believe there is any holiness in ugliness." Then speaking of his former sect, the Seceders, he says : " They have changed wonderfully of late. What with their former aversion to (ministers') gowns and bands, to crosses on the outside of the church, or any ornament what- ever within, there is no denying it, my (Seceder) friends were a little narrow." — -(See Anecdotes and Sto- ries of Dr. Guthrie. Houlstou &. Wright, London. Pp. 17, 18, 165, 166.) Yes, Dr. Guthrie and the Seceders have changed ; and the Presbyterian ministers and people of Scotland generally must have changed — changed toonderJuUy Romeward during the last thirty years ! P'or, could any man imagine the Covenanters, or the old Seced- ers, or even the members of the Presbyterian Establishment, thirty years ago, thus ornamenting their places of worship with crosses, stained-glass pictures, and images carved in stone ! Why, we have known, in our young days, some pious Presbyterian.«i who maintained that it was a sin against the Second Commandment to possess a picture in private, or to receive a photo- graph of a near and dear relative. How sadly, or how angrily, as the case might be, have true Protest- ants looked at the picture of Mary Queen of Scots, with her small cross suspended from her neck, and lamented over the blind bigotry and Romish superstition that could lead a professed Christian to wear such an ornament ! The cross — the ma- terial cross — has, ever since the Reformation in Scotland, until late- ly, been regarded as the symbol of Popery, and the mark of the Beast. It has been treated there with the same kind of scorn, contempt, and hatred with which it is yet treated by Jews and Turks. But how vast the change Romeward, when the daughtei-s and wives of Presbyte- rians, Ba])tists, Methodists, and Con- gregationalists, now wear, like Mary Queen of Scots, a cross on the neck or breast, or wear it suspended from a belt on the waist, as nuns and monks are accustomed to do ! But we need not travel so far as to Britain for illustrations of our subject ; nor to the United States, where Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Congregationalists, build magnificent gothic churches, and ornament them with pictured windows and cross-topped gables and steeples. Let us look nearer 8 home, even to Toronto ! Not Icng ago I stood there looking at what the Methodists call their Metropli- tan Church, with its gothic towers and pinnacles, and j)ictured memo- rial window, the whole thing re- minding me much of a Methodist l)reacher in clerical costume, when 1 was accosted by an old man, who proved to be of the Methodist per- suasion, lie seemed to take me to be of the same persuasion myself, for he talked confidentially, exclaim- ing, as he looked at the building, — " What [)ride and vanity ! Ah ! Methodism is changed ! changed for the worse, since I remember !" But let us take a little ramble north- ward from this building, and use our Protestant eyes. Here is a Congregational oliaj)el, having a ga- ble facing the street ; an.] in the gable an elaboi-ate gothic window, the tracery of which is so construct- ed as to form fifteen distinct crosses ! Well, that, we think, may be regard- ed as even ultramontane in Eoniish- nesa. A little further north, we come to Gould Street Presbyterian Kirk, which is also a gothic struc- ture, and has a gable facing the street. On the top of the^ gable is a substantial stone cross ! Still fur- ther north we come to Yorkville, where we behold, on the top of a Methodist stee]de, a most wonder- ful cross, more imposing and ornate, if I remember aright, than even the large gilded cross on the steeple of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Cathe- dral ! So much for even a short ■walk in Toronto. But we need not go for illustrations even so far away. We have a notable one at our own door. The Presbyterians of this place have lately erected a kirk of the gothic order. The coi'ner slone was laid with most imposing cere- monies — symbolical ceremonies, very similar to those in which the Pope himself engages, when he, as Ponti- fex Maxiraus, with apron and trowel, commences the re-closing up of the holy gate of St. Peter's Chui'ch, at the end of the Year of Jubilee. Then the spire of our new Presby- terian kirk has been topped with a most expressive symbol of *' con- cealed and increasing Romanism." It is a cross, the four arms of whicTi ai*e intersected b}'^ the symbolical circle. The concealment is inge- nious, but is, of course, defective. It consists in having something like a spear-head, placed on the top of the upper arm. TJiis Presbyterian cross is not, however, the only architectui'al proof of concealed and increasing Romanism among us. We have another one at the north end of the village : it is found on the face of the New Connection Methodist chapel. There we behold a large, shadowy, deformed cross, constructed by indentation in the brickwork. We have also two other arcliitectural crosses in our village ; they are on the top of the Roman Catholic chapel. These are decided, unmistakable crosses ; thei'e is no concealment about them. The men who placed them there were honest and consistent in doing so. They said virtually by their act, "We are, as you see, Romanists ; and we are neither ashamed nor afraid to declare ourselves such by placing is dedicated to God is, in Scripture, these crosses on our chapel." But called holy. These places of wor- what shall we say of our Presbyte- ship, although dedicated to God, are rian and Methodist neighbours who nevertheless erected quite commonly profess to be the enemies of all such in honour of some saint, such as St. things as are called Romish, Pusey- Peter, St. Barnabas, St. Andrew, &c. ite, and Ritualistic, and who, on Now, the Covenanters— those true public platforms, and elsewhere, de- Protestants detested and abhorred Bounce the Church of England, and " the dedication of kiiks,'' and applaud the Covenanters and Puri- scorned the idea of there being any tans who battered down the crosses holiness connected witli them. John and carvings of the English churches? Knox di-clares exja-essly, in his Trea- Are our friends honest in their ])ro- tise on Vraycr, that the place of fessions of Protestantism % Are tliey public prayer is not mure holy than consistent with their claims to Pro- any other place, " 'i^)X tlio whole testant purity % If so, what have earth, created by God, is equally such ])eople to do with crosses on holy." Knox, however, seems to their places of worshij)? Has not have modified his views somewhat the material cross been hitherto re- before he died. Me had seen the garded by you as the distinctive vast possessions of the Romish symbol of Hie 'Maw of Sin % and Church seized by the nobility and even tlie transient sign of tlie cross gentry of ScotlaJid for their own as the mark of the .Beast] What ])rivato and secular use, or rather as would your Covenanting and Puritan Knox ex|)ressed it, '■ two parts free- heroes have said and done on seeing ly given to the devil, a)id the third such decorations on your ]»l;ices of jiart divined betwixt God and the worshij) ? They would have de- devil ;" and therefore the Reformer nounced them as Popish and idola- and his fellow-workers preached and trous images ; and they would have published sermons ugainst the sin of shown their sincerity and their zeal sacrilege, or the stealing of holy by utterly destroying what they things. In these sermons they speak thus denounced. All, you must have of dedicated lands as "holy posses- departed fir fi'om their 'principles, sions," and of the ))lMces of wor.ship, and wnndered far toward Rome! as " temples " that should be " rev- In words you may deny it ; but erently rei)aired." Yet the truly your practice contradicts your pro- Protestant doctrine is, that of the fessions. Covenant, and this doctrine is re- 2. Consecration of huiUings re- affirmed in the Presbyterian Direc- sultlng in sancticaries or holy places tory for Worship, which was drawn in u-hich God resides. up by the Westminster Assembly of Roman Catholics dedicate their Divines, in the year 1G45, In the churches ; itnd hence call thera holy Appendix to it, these champions of places, and holy temples ; for what Presbyterian and Independent Pro- 2 10 testantism declare that, " no place is capable of any holiness, under pre- tence of whatsoever dedication or consecration." These men were true Puritans, and their doctrine was ex- tensively put in practice by the Armies of the Commonwealth under Cromwell, who thought nothing of turning cathedrals and other churches into barracks, where they ate, drank, and made merry, and wherein they stabled their horses. But how far astray are professed Protestants now ! They are now as Romish in this matter as Kome itself! At " the opening, " as it is called, of Presbyterian places of worship, the prayer of 8olonion, at the dedi- cation of the temple, is almost invariably read ; and if read devo- tionally, as it ought to be, then is the kirk as much dedicated as was the Jewish temple itself, or rather more so, because of some additional and apjiropriate extempore prayers, which are usually offered on the occasion, and which have commonly something of a dedicatory character in them. The Presbyterians of the United States have left out the Appendix to the Directory, in which the protest against holy places is found, but in their modern Direc- tory expressly call places of worship "sanctuaries," that is, "holy places." Scotch T*resbyterians, in singing the Psalms of David, are quite common- ly engaged in calling the place of woi-ship by the very titles applied to the Jewish Temple — namely "the House of God — the holy place— the sanctuary — the Temple." Methodists usually announce in the public prints, "the dedication" of their buildings. The Baptists go very thoroughly into this matter, having thirteen hymns for the express purpose. A few sentences from these hymns may shew their general character : — Hymn 932. " Lord of Hosts, to Thee we raise Here a house of prayer and praise." Hymn 933. •* Great King of glory, come And with Thy favour crown This temple as Thy Home." Hymn 934. " We build this earthly house for Thee, choose it for Thy fixed abode." •• But will indeed Jehovah deign Here to abide, no transient guest." Hymn 937. " Spirit divine attend our prayer, And make this house Thy home." Hymn 944. "To Thee this temple we devote Our Father and our God ; Accept it thine, and seal it now Thy Spirit's blest abode." If these sentences, and others like them, be not Romish, then we have utterly mistaken the meaning of Protestantism, as held by the great body of the Reformers of the 16th centuiy. Were I a Baptist, holding such views as these, not only would I enter the chapel with head uncov- ered, but with all the solemn and reverential feelings with which the Jewi.sh priests of old entered the holy of holies, or with such feelings of awe as Romanists approach the altar on which, they believe, is the real presence of Christ. If I be- lieved that a Baptist chapel was- 11 announce in t'edication " ' thoroughly ^S thirteen "rposo, A ^ymns may ter ; — God's " fixed abode," " his home," '* His Spirit's blest abode," 1 should feel justified in doing what pious Roman Catholics do in parsing their places of worship, I would take off my hat, and offer a short prayer to God. who had a s[)ecial and a gracious presence in that house. But how could I be guilty of such conduct without protesting against Protestantism, and without symbo- lizing with Romanism'? Does Mr. Spurgeou, the renowned Baptist preacher of England, ap- prove of the doctrine of these hymns'? Does tliis champion of Protestantism, this man who glories in being one of the sons of the Puritans, this man who is for ever shouting " Po- pery in the Church of England," docs he believe in the dedication of churches, and that they become holy places by virtue of such dedi- cation or consecration '? Here I give his own sentiments in his own words, as contained in Sermon vii. 2nd series. He is speaking of the pui'ification of the Jewish tabernacle by the sprinklinj^ of blood. Then, turning from the Jewish tabernacle in the wilderness, to his own taber- nacle in London, he says, '' It was a sweet reflection to me, as I came here this morning. I thought, * 1 am going to the house of God, and that house is a holy place': but when 1 thought how many sinners had trodden its floors, how man}"^ unholy ones had joined in its songs, I thought "Ah, it has been defiled : but, Oh ! there is no fear, for the blood of Jesus has made it holy again!" And these are Spurgeon's medi- tations as he was going to his tabernacle ! Had they been the meditations of a pious Roman Cath- olic, or of an Anglican Ritualist, they would have been consistent, or at least creditable to his heart, whatever they may have been to his head ; but such meditations in the mind of " a son of the puritans," prove him to be a degenerate son indeed, who ought to blush every time he howls against Ritualism and Romanism in the English Church. There is, as yet, a wholesome diversity of opinion among Presby- terians concerning "the holiness of churches and of the material things connected with them." The ques- tion is known as The question of relative holiness. The late Rev. Dr. Burns, Professor in Knox College, Toronto, seems to have been much more in advance Romeward than some of his brethren, for in a sermon of his in the Scottish Pulpit, vol. i., he says, "We do say that certain times, and certain places, and certain vestments are represented in the sacred word as consecrated to the Lord — as taken out of the ordinary range of human objects, and invested with a relative sanctity/. * * And although the state of things under the Christian economy is greatly changed, still we may affirm of every Christian church and place sacred to religious worship, that it is the habi- tation of God's house, and the place where His honour dwelleth." And the reason why such places are thus to be regarded as holy or sacred is, " that they are invested with this 12 peculiiir attribute of being given up or dedicated to Cod!" Such doctrine is the doctrine of Rome, and is in direct opposition to that of the Directory for Worship : and to a genuine follower of the divines of the Westninster Assem- bly, it must be sad to think, that, if teachers of Presbyterian ministers hold such views, the taught are not likely to be sound in the faith. And see the number of saints' churches in Canada ! Some excuse may be made for the old oountides, where Romisli churclies remained undeniolished, and retained, in s})ite of Protestantism, tlieir old Romish names. But there can be no such ex- cuse made for continuing the Rom- ish practice in Canada, by giving to new churches the names of saints. Predbyterianse?[)Ocially are charge- able with this kind of Piomauism. Churches held fuvth or erected in honour of St. Andrew are quite com- mon. In Scotland they go through with the whole collogi; of apostles in naming the city churches, whether they be Fi-ee Church or Established. And a Free St. George's, or Free St. Columba's, or Free some other sanit not mentioned in the Bible, is quite common. While in Canada, they have not only many chiu'ches held forth to the honour of John Knox, and s^ome to the honour of such dei)arted saints as the Presby- terian ministers Erskine and Mel- ville ; but they have outstripped Scotland and Rome itself, by giving to their ])laces of worshij) the names of saints while the saints were yet living ; hence, we have Chalmers' Churches, Burns' Churches, a Cooke's Church, a Willis' Church, and prob- ably some othei's, all indicating a reckless return to that jjractice which our Protestjint forefather so bitterly opposed. 3. Roman Catholics maintain that it in not the Jewish synagogue, but the Jewish temple that should be the model for the arrangements and the worship of the Chi'istian church. And therefore, as the temple of old had a laver of holy water for divers washings or baptisms, so the Chris- tian church should have its font of holy water for baptism : and as the temple of old had its altar for sacri- fice, and that altar was separated from the court of the people by a fence or low wall ; so the Christian church should have its altar for sac- rifice, and that altar separated from the body of the church by a rail or fence of some kind. Protestants, on the other hand, have maintained that the synagogue, not the temple, is the model for the Christian chui'ch ; that an al+ar in the chui'ch is Popery ; chancel rails is Popery ; and holy water is Pope- ry. So far from encouraging the idea of an altar, the Westminster divines had a discussion for three weeks as to whether communicants should even rise out of their seats in church to go up to any table to receive the Communion — the In- dependents contending that there should be no leaving of seats, but that every communicant should be supplied with the Communion just wherever he might be sitting at the time. The Presbyterians, however, 13 I'ches, a Cooke's irch, and prob- 1 indicating a that practice it forofathei-s maintain that magogue, but at should be ngenionts and istian church, temple of old ter tor divers so the Chris- '0 its font of : and as the tar for sacri- ^ separated people by a lie Christian iltar for sac- aratcd from 1 by a rail th er hand, synagogue, )del for the ^n al<-ar in ancel vails T is Po])e- *giiig the estminster for three municants heir seats y table to - the In- liat there leats, but hould be lion just ig at the however. being in the majority, voted down the Independent mode of Commu- nion, and carried their own plan. That plan was to have several Com- munion tables in each place of wor- shii), to which communicants should go up, and at which they should sit while receiving the bread and wine. Hence Presbyterians, until quite latelv, have talked of " table seats" in their places of worship. Only one table, however, namely, that at which the minister stood, had bread and v.'ino j)laced on it ; the other tables, covered with white cloth, were merely for sitting at, and for receiving the elements. But changes Eomiiward are now rajjiflly taking place. Table seats are being abol- ished In some places the ordinary j)e\vs, having the book-board cov- ered with white Hnen, were substi- tuted ; but the white linen is also being gradually withdrawn, and has nearly di«ap})eared both here and in the TInitod States. What a change in this respect has come over the minds of Presbyterians since the year 1638 ! In that year the cele- brated Glasgow General Assembly met, and deposed, that is, turned out of their olhce and ministiy, the Ejiiscopal clergy of Scotland ; and one of the heavy charges against them, and for which they were de- posed, was, their having an altar with rails— that is, a Communion table with rails before it. Thus, the record says, <' The Rev. Francis Hervey was deposed for erecting an altar with rails at his own expense ; and the Rev. Thomas Forrester was deposed for having made his altar and rails himself." Therefore, to avoid the very idea of an altar iu the church, it has been a custom among Presbyterians to remove, im- mediately after the Communion, the table on which the bread and wine are placed. But what a change now even in Presbyterian Scotland ! I am credibly informed that in some of the tine, new carved gothic chui'ches, with cross-topped s})ires, and stained and [)ictured glass win- dows, the Comm\inion table, with rails, instead of being removed, stands all the year round in the place whei'e the Communion is adminis- tered, and nobody o[)poses this Rom- ish innovation. In Canada we have seen more than one instance of the same kind; and as for Methodists, they not only have this arrangement of altar and rails, but quite common- ly speak of the table as a7i altar. Thus, at their protracted meetings in school-houses they speak of the 2>enitent bench merely, but in their churches they invite penitents " up to the altar." In proof of this, I quote from three well-known Meth- odist books, namely, Rev. Dr. Pot- ter's Compendium oj Methodism ; Daniel Wise's Poptdar Objections to Methodism Answered ; and Mrs. Palmer's Incidental Illustrations of the Economy of Salvation. Dr. Pot- ter says, " For many years we have practised inviting (penitents) to come forward to the altar or front seats and kneel, while we commend them to God in prayer, that they may be converted." Then speaking of the mode of receiving pei'sons into full connection, he says : '* Some preach- u ers call the candidates forward be- fore the altar." Daniel Wise, per- suading a young convert to become a Methodist, says to him : " Why did your heavenly Father select a Methodist preacher to be the in- strument of your awakening, and a Methodist altar to be the scene of your conversion?" Mrs. Palmer, who is a notable preacher among the Methodists, makes frequent mention of the altar. In pages IGl, 102, she tells of urging a young woman to go forward and be jirayed for ; the young woman, yielding *o a sense of duty, " went forward, says Mrs. Palmer, '' and with several other seekers of salvation, who had pre- sented themselves, she knelt at the altar of prayer." Then, speaking of a newly married couple, she says (p. 235): ''Only three evenings pi*e- vious, had this newly married pair, before the altar, pledged themselves to each other." And in page l.'JS she describes what she calls '' A flight to the altai'." It is the case of a young girl who, with others, was seated in the gallery of a Methodist place of worship, and who seemed to Mrs. Palmer to be one of " the votaries of fashion and folly." Mrs. Palmer goes up to her, speaks to hei', and finally says to her, "If you wish to have the united prayers of God's people, I will go with you from the gallery, and we will go forward together to the altar of prayer." The young lady finally rif-es, ](j-\(^lnblic worship, and in the presence of the congregation ;" and (2) That " Prayer is to be joined to the word of institution, for sanc- tifying the ivater to this spiritual use." Therefore Prcsbytei'ians are re- quired to use " holy water " in their temple. It is very noticeable that old Presbyterian ministers are very care- ful to pray God for the sanctification of the water in baptism, so that the greater number of persons of that denomination in Canada, have pro- bably been baptized with holy ivater, and in that respect are as Romish as the Romans. ^, In the year IGCl, King Charles II, gave commission to some twenty of the leading Presbyterian divines who, in the Westminster Assembly, had drawn up the Directory for Worshi}), that they should meet at the Savoy with ministers of the English Church and make amend- ments, alterations, or improvements in the Book of Common Prayer. Among those Presbyterian ministers were such men as Richard Baxter, Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Lightfoot, and other celebrated men. They pro- posed many improvements, some of which were adopted, but they found no fault with, nor proposed any alteration of the prayer of the Baptismal Service — '■^ mv;riicious words invite." Hymn 811. *' We eeel< the consecrated grave, Along the path he trod: Receive us in the halhiccd wave. Thou holy Son of God." Hymn 823. " Down to the hallowed grave we go, Obedient to Thy word ; 'lis thns the world around shall know, We're buried with the Lord." How the Baptists halloiv or sanc- tify the water which is here called " the hallowed or holy wave," " the sacred or holy flood," the consecrated hallowed, or holy grave into which every one of them is di[)ped or im- mersed, I know not. But certain it is, they regard the waters as holy waters. It is customary, according to Scripture to sanctify the good crea- tures of God, by the word of God and prayer. But there seems to be a speciality, judging from these hymns, in the sanctification of water among the Baptists. Hymn after hymn implores the Holy Spirit of 16 God to descend upon tho waters ; thus — Hymn 803. "Sliine o'er the wivtorH, Dove divine, Anil HCdl the cliccrful vow." Hymn 807. ••Come Holy Spirit, Dove divine, On these buptidinal waters shine." Hymn 810. ••Move o'er the waters, Dove divine, And all Thy grace reveal." Hymn 810. "Eternal Spirit, heavenly Dove, On these baptismal waters move." Hymn 8l'0. •' Come, Bacrcil Dove, in peace descend, As once Tliuu didst on .lonhm's wjive." Now tliis invocation of the Holy Spirit to descend on the Ixiptismal water, is thoroughly Romish. The Church of Eiigliind had something like it in tlie year liHO ; but the celebrated German Reformer, IMartin Bucer found much fault with it ; saying that, "altliough it was indeed very ancient, yet it created in peo- ple's mines the notion of magic and conjuration." Tlierefore the Church of Eiiirhuid laid it aside. Stranfje, that the Baptists should revive i\ a Romish i)ractice ! The Romish priest sings the Benedictio Fontis, that is, the blessing or sanctifying of the ba])tismal water. And in that liyuni he alludes first to the Spirit of God at the beginning of the world, moving on the face of the water : he alludes to the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan : he j)rays, in this hymn, that the water may be " a living fotnitain, regenerating wa- ter, a purifying wave, and that all who shall be washed in this health- giving bath, may enjoy by the operation of the Holy Spirit in them, perfect cleansing : and he tinislies the hymn by imploring three times, in the same words, that the *' virtue or power of the Holy Sjjirit may descend " 07i the water. The resemblance between the Baptist and the Romanist in this respect, is. remarkable, not only in the singu- larity of the thing which is prayed for, but also in the very maimer of asking it, namely by singing. 4. Having glanced at the outside and inside of the modern Protestant temjjle, let us now observe its ollicers or those who are its minis- ters, and we may probably observe here also a tendency Rorneward. The Roman Catholic clergy have titles which we cannot ftnd in Scrip- ture, such as Cardinals, Archbisliops,, Archdeacons, Metropolitans, Deans,, Rural Deans, Vicars, Sub-deacons, Acolytli.s, Priests, ly means Jather. In Italy the Pope is called papa, and hence English Roman Catholics commonly call him Holy Father, llomish priests are also called fathers. Hence we say that it is Rouish to call a minister '* father," or "father in God." Yet the Larger Catechism of the Presbytei ians would teach us to do .so. For thus it instructs us : " Ques. 124. Who are meant by father and mother, in the fijtk com- mandment ? '• Ans. By father and mother, in the fifth commandment, are meant, not only natural parents, but all su- perior in age and gifts, and especial- ly such as, by God's ordinance, are over us in ])lace of authority, whether in family, church, or com- monwealth." So, according to this, such minis- ters as are over us in the church have a divine right to the title, or to be called father. Congregations are to regard their pastors sts fathcr.' ""tliority to " ''J« Jicud. So '^"'- ^"^ onlHined ■'^''"i'«. no elders '''''] ^" 'ay their ;"''■« >vith u„. ' '"« P»Csl,yto,.3 ^^"'"">t moot ■ t'ccle,sf„.sf,,-cal "ft'on or pre- ^^••^■«» [.astor fi^*^ '^f ill's eld- ^^y carujot '^ of bu.siiioss ^^' P'-esence. ^'■'''^op alone ""^^yteva and ^rs nor dea- power. So alone has ''yters and '^ deacons ^o Jnem- '1 can be ■oiy Oom- '^ of the ^onfirnia- denomi. itted for iion but ' r pastor corres- bishop and in tJirone from ' >rorni. ■ by a 19 ''M canopy. Thci I'rcHbytcriiin i)astor prcsidi's in the conj^rcgation ; and lie haH a throuc! or soiit callod a pul[»it, which is not only [iroininont and cost- ly al»ovi> all oth(*r seats in the place of \vt»i'ship, hiifc which, in these modern times, lar surpasses in its costlincHs, its carvings, its guildings, its cushions, its canftpy, its sola, or other appointments, the most sr Home's prelatic ihiones, and might even 1k^ a formidable rival to the throne of Solomon in all his glory. The llomish bishop lives in a respectable l)uilding, called, by wiiy of dignity, a palace : the Presbyterian i)astor lives, not un- commoidy, in a building equally re- spectable, called, by way of dignity, the mansion or nianae. The Romish bishop has a high salary or stipend, compared with that of his presbyters and deacons : the Presbyterian pas- tor has also a salary or stipend, which, in some cases, is great, in other casps, small : but his presby- ters, or elders and deacons, get no salary or stipend whatever for all their trouble and work. The Rom- ish bishop is distinguished outside and inside the church by a peculiar dress, which distinguishes him from his presbyters and deacons ; so the Presbyterian pastor, is, while on the street, dressed commonly in black, with white neckerchief; and he only in the church may be dressed in gown and bands. The office of Roman Catholic bishop is not only higher than the office of presbyter and of deacon, but is nominally the highest office in the church: so according to the formularies of Picsbyterianism, tlie pastor's olHce is the highest in th(t church. Thus the American Con- fession of Faith says, "The ordinary and perpt'tual officers in the church are (1.) Bishopn or /*(i/itors, (2.) the representatives of the people, usual- ly styled Ridlnij /'Jlders, and ( 3) Dedc.'jiiA. The 'paxtornl office is the first in the church, Ixtth for dignity and usefulntj.ss." '^rhe Roman (Jatholic bisho|) is not merely the Bishop of the laity or people, but he is also the bishop) of his (hii'ijy : called preshytera and deacons : so the Presbyterian pastor or Vnshop having the highest and most dignified office in the church, is likewise not only bishop of the people or laity, but is bishop also of his presbyters and his deacons who are all, according to Presbyterianlsm, in reality clenjy. Thus, the Rev. James Derdiam in The Plea foi' PreS' bytery, repudiates, in the strongest terms, the idea that Presbyterian elders and deacons are laymen; and the Rev. Professor Miller, of Prince- ton, devotes a large portion of chap. IX. in his book On the Riding Elder, to pi'ove, that, their elders and deacons are clergy or clergymen, and that Elders are in fact only an inferior order of bishops. He also maintains that both elders and deacons should have " seats in a cons])icuous part of the church," duriuir divine service. The Roman Catholic clergy, es- I)eclally the presbyters, commonly called priests, are spiritual officers whose duty is to assist the bishop in council, to aid him in carrying 20 out the discipline of the church by suspetiding or excommunictiting nn- nily members ; by hearing the con- fessions of ])eJiitents, and granting them absohition ; to assist him also in giving instruction, rebuke, and •warning to the people ; in praying with and for the people in j)ublic and in ])rivate ; in visiting the sick ; and in the administration of the sacraments. Very similar are the duties of the Presbyterian elder or presbyter. He is represented by such standard writers as Miller, (chap. IX,), Lorimer, and King, as a spiritual officer, whose duty is to assist the pastor in council, to aid him in carrying out the discipline of the church ; to visit the sick officially, and pray with and for them ; to give instruction, rebuke, and warning to the people in private, and also in Sunday schools, and in meetings for social prayer. Also to meet with the pastor in the private judicial court, called the " Kirk Session," for the purpose of dealing with unnily members, either by sus- pending or excommunicating them, or else by hearing their penitent confessions of sin, and granting them absolution ; and, finally, it is their duty to assist the pastor in the administration of the Lord's Suppei". The Roman Catholic bishop may or m!iy not have more than one congregation, and consequently he may or may not have many pres- byters and deacons to assist him. The more congregrations he has charge of, the more such helpers he needs, and the higher, we presume, will be his dignity. In like manner, a Presbyterian pastor may or may not have more than one congrega- tion, especially in the country ; but he not uncommonly has two or three, and upwards of twenty pres- byters and deacons to assist him ; the greater the number of these the greater, we presume, is his dignity also. The Roman Catholic bishop, al- though nominally holding the high- est dignity in the church, may nevertheless have superiors, such as archbishoj)s, metroj)olitaus, patri- archs, cardinals, and Pope : so a Presbyterian i)astor, although hold- ing nominally the highest office in his church, may nevertheless also have superiors in office, such as the Moderator of the Presbytery, the Moderator of the Synod, and the Moderator of the General Assembly. Roman Catholic presbyters and deacons are called reverend^ a title formerly objected to by Puritans and Presbyterians, and the bishop is called Right Reverend : even in our own day the Presbyterian elders or presbyters and deacons, although clergy, and worthy of reverence, are not called reverend; they are not supposed to have any right to that title. But Presbyterians, with one consent, give the title of reverend only to the pastor, implying that he only has the right, he only of all their clergy, is rightly called reve- rend; in other words, that, he i.s right veverend. The Roman Catholic bishop is called Lord Bishop, that is, in the language of Scripture, master-bishop: so the Presbyterian elders or pres- 31 tor may or may n one congrega- lie country ; but 'y has two or of twenty pres- to assist himj t't^t- of these tJie ' is his dignity Jic bishop, al- -'i'lg the high- church, may '•■iors, such as litans, patri. ^ope; so a 'though hold- '»est office in rtheless also such a,s the ^'^ytery, the *f^ and the ^ Assembly, 'byters and ^nd, a title y Puritans the bishop ' •■ even in "an elders I, although erence, are ' are not ^^ to that with one reverend that he Ij of all led reve- st he is shop is in the bishop; I r prefi- '^ byterp, occording to their view, being thouiaelves bishops, and the pastor being their official superior or chief, he is, in the language of Scri[)tnre, their master or lord ; and he is, therefore, in reality their Lord Bishop. So that, it matters not how strongly he may repudiate such titles, and denounce them as Romish, the Presbyterian pastor is virtually, in relation to his clergy and his people, their prelate, their Right Reverend Lord Bishop, and Father in God ! It could be easily shown that all Methodist, Baptist, and Congrega- tional pastors, having assistant deacons and preachers, are involved, more or less, in the same condemna- tion with the Presbyterian pastor. Such being the case, the much vaunted parity oi- ecpiality of minis- ters in the so-called non-e})iscopal denominations isa sham or a delusion ; which illustrates the ex[)erience of a a man who had left the English Church, and gone over to the I'les- byterians for a time ; but having finally gone back to the Englisli Clnirch, he gave this as his reason : " I went over to the Presbyterians to get rid of my Lord Bishop, and I went back to the Churcli of England to get rid of my Lord Presbyter." The celebrated Isaac Taylor, who writes an impartial book, entitled Weslei/ and Wedeyan Methodism, declares in it, that Wesleyan minis- ters ai"e " irresponsible lords of God's heritage. "~(p. 245). Finally, let me introduce — merely introduce — at present, to your notice the most objectionable ot all the three titles of the Christian ministry namely, that of Priest. The Presbyterian minister, Albert Barnes, one of the best known and most popular of modern commenta- tors on the Scriptures, uses the fol- lowing language in reference to Hebrews v. 2, "Among the Papists there is consistency — though gross and dangerous error — in the use of the word priest. They believe that the minister of religion offers up the real body and blood of the Lord. But why should this name be applied to a Frotestaiit minister, who be- lieves that all this is blasphemy, and who claims to have no sucrifice to offer when he comes to minister before Godi" But with singular inconsistency, in his note on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans xv. 16, whore the Apostle speaks of his beinc "a minister of Jesus Christ, ministering the gospel of God," this same Albert Barnes says, that the Apostle means, "performing the office of j)7'ie.i)Osm^ that there can bono priesthood with- out offering the real body and blood of Christ. It is not necessaiy or essentiid to the priestly office to do so. The Jewish hierareliy or priest- h()i>d did not make sueli an offering, and yet tliey were (ru'y jmesti,: But do Protestant ministers claim to do jjriest's work I Are we to be told and ex[»t'etve, exhort. tvme niys- "rauients. '"" God, as I^evites. or (nver over le ilock is ^'sts: but ])i-iest or ' claims ■'^ leave roni the iincil of *e nance, to the us you Jrgiven hall re- tain, they are retained." — John xx. 22, 23; and therefore the decree affirms, tliat "Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was about to ascend from earth to heaven, left his priests in his place, as presidents and judges, to whom all mortal ol- fences, into which the faithful might fall, should be submitted, that they might pronounce sentence of remis- sion, or retention of sins, by the power of the keys. For it is plain that the priests cannot sustain the office of judge, if the cause be un- known to them, &c. We all say that this power of the keys — this power to forgive and to remit sins — is a very formidable power indeed which is claimed by the priest of Rome. His ruling power is indeed great ! But how the rresbytei-ian pastor is to exercise Ma ruling power, and other powers vested in his office, we learn from chapter xxx of the same Presbyterian Confsnon of Faith, entitled, Of Church Censures, and is in the following words : — " The Lord Jesus, as King and Head of His CMiurch, hath therein appointed a government in the hand of church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate, "I. — To these officers //ic Z;<;//. 9 o/ the kingdom of heaven ai-e commit- ted, by virtue whereof they have povvci', respectively, to retain and remit sins, to shict the kingdom against the impenitent, both by the word and censures ; and to open it unto penitent sinners, by the minis- try of the gospel, and by absohUion from censures, as occasion shall re- quire." The tremendous power thus vest- ed in the pastor's office may be bet- ter understood by considering what this Confession of Faith, in chapter XXV, says of the visible Church, namely, that " The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children ; and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary p'issibilitj/ of scdvdtion." Let us also bear in mind that this Confession of Faith, in chapter xxvii, tells us that " The sacraments of the Old Testament," namely, the bloody sacrifices, and purifications by blood and water, "in regard of the spiritual things thereby signified and exhibit- ed, were, fur substlo, but to be their mouth itnto God; and to bless them from God: to administer to them snhst'intiaUf/ the same sacra- ments as did the Jewish priest in the temple; and further, to retain or re- mit the sins of the jjcople; authorita- tively turning human beings out of that kingdom wherein alone they might exi)ect salvation ; or, again, by absolution re-admitting them to that 1.1 24 kingdom and to the favour of God ! mon sense, and common honesty to Tliat man may repudiate the name say of him, that he is as much as- of priest, but he is nevertheless, by suming to be a prient as though he profession, siihstnntialli/, and very officiated at a Jewisli altar, or at the fvlly performing all the acts of priest altar of the Church of Rome. hood. And it would be but com- LECTURE II. The various topics to be noticed in this lecture are numerous ; iu fact, too numerous to be properly illustrated and disposed of iu one lecture. But T find that such .subjects,with- ont much searching for them, grow so rapidly in number, and the mate- rials for illustrating tljcni become so perplexingly supcrabumlant, that I have neither the time, the ability, nor indeed the willingnes.-*, at pre- sent, to gather and arrange more, for public inspection, than wl^at I now submit in the jn'eseat lecture. To bring so many subjects before the mind, and illustrate each, requires the illustrations to be very brief, and very much to the point. Even could I be eloquent on such themes, there is no scoj^e for any eloquence •whatever, excepting that of simple truth or matter of fact. As iu the last lecture, so in this, we shall specify certain Romish doc- trines and practices which Protest- ants are in the habit of denouncing as erroneous and wicked, while at the same time, the Protestants, who so denounce them, are themselves guilty of the same or similar doc- trines and practices, and are becom- ing more and more chargeable with them. It is not my duty in these lec- tures to ofFer any opinion either for or against the things called Roinish, but simply to show that the drift of Protestantism is towards Rome. T. Roman Catholics believe in Apos'olical succession ; that is, that Roman Catholicbishops are the lineal, the lawful successors of Christ's first Apostles. The Apostles having laid their hands on the head of certain men, thus ordaining them to be bishol).^; and giving them authority and commission to ordain, in like manner, other bishops to succeed them, these bishops did so. They ordained others, and these again, as need re(iuired, oi'dained yet others ; and this process of ordaining bishops by bishops has thus been continued, without break or interruption, from the days of the Apostles until the present day. Now, that doctrine is commonly nion honesty to '^^ as much as- ^ '-IS though he altar, or at the I Rome. e themselves similar doc- ' are becom- '•geable with » these lec- m either for Jed Koiuish, t'le drift of Rome. beJieve in '^atis, that e the lineal, '^^''^^t'^ finst laving laid of certain 'm to be aiithoritj J in like ' succeed 0. They again, as i others; : bisho2)s n tinned, m, from ntil the Qmonly reckoned Romish. In fact, it is de- nounced, sneered at, laughed at, and called by some very ^Jgly names; and Metliodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Congregjitionalists, and others have been in the habit, hitherto, of joining in this repudiation and denunciation of aj)ostolical succession. I'o be con- sistent with past opposition to it they still oppose it : but with singular in- consistency they are now claiming to have apostolical succession them- selves. The doctrine formerly held "was this, namely, "that Christ gave the ministry to the Chur6l ," that is, to the people ; and that the {)eople themselves could make as valid a ministry as the Apostles could ; therefore apostolic succession was not needed; and, in fact, it would be wrong to have it through the corrupt Church of Rome. Now-a- dajs, however, the cry is, ''We have the succession — an unbroken lino of succession from the Apostles; and although it has come to us, from the Reformers through the Church of Rome, yet we i-egard it as Apostoli- cal in its origin ! I h.ive before me a Presbyterian pampl:let, entitled The Apnstoliclly of the Church of Scotland, written by the Rev. Hugh Cam|)bell, of Manchester, England, in which he says to the Rev. Dr. Hook, of the Church of England : " Our Presby- terian reformers were in orders — they were what I have denominated presbytcr-lnshops ; they had re- ceived their orders from those, who, if there be any truth in the ' aj)os- ioUcal succession,' had received their oi-ders by an unbroken succession 25 from the Apostles. But if the Reformers had the apostolical suc- cession, then we (the Presbyterians) have it still, for no break has taken place in the chain since their day. I may therefore claim an apostolic succession as well as you." Here is another pamphlet, entitled Exclusive Claims of Prelacj/^ and issued by the Presbyterian Board of Publication in the United States. The author, the Rev. B. M. Smith, says, " We reject the theory of a prelatical succession, but it is not to be inferred that we rej(>ct a succes- sioii. We can satisfactorily shew, that up to the period of the Refor- mation, our ministers have been set apart by ministere, and that the reformers to whom we trace this succession, had also been set apart. It is admitted on all sides, that the orders of the Roman Catholic Chui'ch were valid. Her presbyters became Protestants, and thus Presbyterian ordination has been transmitted. Then the Rev. Dr. Willis, lately the Principal of (the l*resbyterian) Knox College, Toronto, closed the Session of that Institution, in 1S<)3, with a Lecture on AfhdoJical Suc- cession, in which he leaves us in dou1)t as to whether the Reformer John Knox, regarded liis own ordi- nation in the Popish Church or his call to the ministry in the Presby- terian, as his real ordin:ition. Bul after expatiating on the corruptions of Popery and Prelacy, and putting but small value on succession thi'ough either of these channels, the Dr. says, nevertheless, '*we believe in an important sense in 2') ecclesiastical doscent,— we jjlease our- selv(!s with tlie thought tlmt in regular succession ivom Knox's tinio, we Presbyterians can trace an unin- terrupted ccclrsids/ical pedigrea — a laj'ing on of, we trust, lioly liandts in the transmission of office from one to another." These words of Dr. Willis suggest a comparison between Eomish and Presbyterian hands in the transmis- sion of the clerical office. The Dr. cautiously ''trusts" that the hands were "holy" which in imst ages transmitted to the i)resent Presby- terian ministers their ordination ! The Doctor is fully aware of the long, dark reign of Presbyterian ]Moderatism, as recorded in the History of the Church of Scotland, by Hethei-ington, a Free Church minister. During that long period a vast majority of the ministers were Moderates. And what was their character ? i\lany of them were Arians or Unitarians, mere Deists, denying the divinity of Jesus Christ; denying that the Holy Spirit is a divine person ; denying that our Saviour made an atonement for our sins ; denying the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures ; and instead of pi-eaching the gosi)el, teaching a cold, dead, lifeless morality. These men oi)posed missions to the perish- ing heathen ; opjiosed Sunday- schools ; and all pri\ate meetings foi- prayer. Hetherington sums uj) the system of Moderatism in the following words : — ' Jt was worldly, despotic, unc(uistitutional, unpresby- terian, unchristian, and spiritually dead — the negation of everything free, ])ure, lofty, and hallowed, — if ind(."ed, it ought not rather to be said, that its essence was antipathy to everything scriptural, holy, and divine." No wonder that Dr. Willis only trusts that holy hands had transmitted his ordination to him. The chances are few indeed, con- sidering how few, very few evange- listic ministers were found at the time among all the Presbyterian ministers of Scotland. If a Romish priest has not much to boast of as regards the holiness of the hands by which through successive ages in the ])ast, has been transmitted to him his ordination, as little, we fear, has the Presbyterian minister anything to boast of as regards the holiness of tile hands of his predecessors in office. In both cases the ordina- tion has come through Rome, and the Presbyterian one subsequently through the unholy channel of Moderatism. But other denominations of Pro- testants also claim the apostolical suceession. Thus, Rev. Dr. Potter, of the Episco[)al Methodists, first calls "apostolical auccession a ^fiction which is too funcifid to merit sober treatment." Then he calls Wesley (p. 331) a bishop; (332) a bishop not only in ministerial order, but in jurisdiction — a bishop of two hemi- spheres : (333) the only bishop of Methodism: (33o) the father and governor of the whole connection ; and that from liim they derived their apostolical succession, or succession of bishops ; so that. Dr. Potter finally says, (p. 339) " Our episcopacy is valid, and weave in the succession!'^ °t rather <^ b^ 'f ^«« antipathy ''"[«^' ^oiy. aod rtWDr.WiJJis .<^J^ hands had ^'^^«on to him. "^ ^«deed, con. ^J^ ie\v evange- ^<^"ncl at the I'resbyterian ■ff a Homish ^o boast of as ^he hands by ^« ages in the 'tted to him '^^ ^^ar, has '^^^^ anything ® hoJiness of decessors in *^« ordina- ^o»ie, and bsequentiy »7 hannei of »s of Pro. apostolical r- Potter, '«te, first ^ '■^.fiction "it sober V^esley ' l>i.sli02j ■» but in ^ henii- ihop of ^f and iction ; i tlieir ession 'UaJJy cy is CoiigregationaliHts get the succes- sion theoretically thi'ough the j)eoi»le, but take good care to have their ministofs set apart by rainiHters al- x'eady in office. Such ordination implies a succession, as all ordinations by ministers must necessarily do ; go that all these denominations, while professedly repudiating apos- tolic Kuccessiion as a Romish fic- tion, in reality act on the principle involved in it, and claim, in their own denominational ways, to have a ministerial succession from the Apostles. II. Let us now contemplate what have bec;n called Romish Rags, in the official dress of Protestant min- isters. The surplice and stole : the bLick gown and bands : a certain style of the black coat, vest, and hat ; and the square ca[) of the University, have all been denounced as Romish. Pugin, the Roman Catholic ai'chi- tect, anticpiarian, and author, in- foi-ms us that the surplice is not a priestly garment : Romish [>riests do not wear it. All the stutlents of English and Irish Universities wear it in College cha[)el : it belongs also to church choirs, but Romisli priests wear a totally diflferont kind of vest- ments. In fact, the surplice is not Romish at all, but came with the gospel from the Holy Land. It is simply the article of dress called a coat, both in the Old and New Testaments ; and the scarf or stole commonly worn with it, is doubtless the s;une article, which is called, in Scri[)ture, the girdle. These things have always been in the church, ever since the chui'ch was founded ; and they have been retained in it for the same reason that the Quaker wears plain clothes, and that the ])ious *' men " of Jlossshire wear long hair and an old peculiar garb, namely, because, they are not dis]»osed to change the fashion of their dress with the ever changing fashions of this vain world. Yet the surplice has been, and is yet, denounced fis Romish. The Puritans, both Presbyterian and In- dependent, reviled it ; and their descendants generally do so in some degree still. Yet what Ji change is taking i)lace ! I am credibly in- formed that some Dissenting minis- ters of difierent denominations, in England, wear it ! The Irvingites clothe the men and boys of their choirs with it, while their diffiireiit grades of ministers are clothed in robes of all the colours of the i-ain- bow. Congregational missionaries, who were sent from the American Board of Missions to the Eas^, have arrayetl themselves in the I'obes of the Episcopal Church, and used the Book of Common Prayer in their public religious services ! Then th(! black puli)it gown, gently called the Geneva gown, and college gown, has been denounced as Romish. Its Romish origin can- not be well d(;nied. Rome doubtless introduced it into Geneva, and into colleges ; and the black preaching monks are commonly supposed to have introduced it into the pul[)it. Yet it is worn now by Presbyterians and others; as the j)erfection of Pro- testantism ! ■ w 28 Old Elder S. told me that tlie Seccdors in the north of Ii'olaiid, taught him to bcdiovo tliat the white bands worn under tlie chin, by ministers, wore merely " rags of the Pope's skirt." Goodrich, the historian, tells us that the Puritans were furiously 0])i)osed to the wearmg, especially by ministers, of the squai'c caps such as are worn by students in the Toronto University. They denounc- ed the wearing of them as " a sinful renuiant of Popery." Alas, that theological students of Knox Col- lege, etc., attending the University should bo taught to reverence the pious wisdom of Puritans, and yet go, day by day, capped, crowned with what their forefathers denounced as *' a sinful remnant of Pojjery ! "' Only a few years ago, when a minister was seen, on the street, wearing a standing-u]» coat collar, or a long cassock vest, or a hat with the brim turned considerably up at the sides, he was regardt^d as an Anglican High Ohureluiiau, a Pusey ite, a Ruin;>iiist at hearr, or a Jesuit in disguise. Put all this has been changed : so much so, that, a certain Anglican nn'nister, who is not a Low Ciiurchni.in, persistently avoids all these )> ^^uliarities in dress, allef- iiig as his reason, that " if he indidged in such things, he might be mistaken for * Methodist." II r. The Pul(! of Christian Faith. Roman Catholics maintain that we are to take the Holy Scriptures and the (raditiofis of the Church, including the decisions of Councils, to guide us in our faith or religious belief : a>id further, that these tra- ditions are of equal authoj'ity with the Holy Scriptures. By traditions, they mean certain doctrines and practices, which, say they, have been handt'd down from the Apostles, either by word of mouth or by writing, and which have been be- lievftd by the whole church always and everywhere. The Council of Trent, which met in the year 1545, and closed its twenty -fifth and last session in l.")63, gathered together into its decrees the things to be believed by the Catholic Church, During these sessions, which, with several interruptions, extended over a period of eighteen years, the bishops and others who sat in the council, debated theological ques- tions, discussed the passages of the Scripture which had reference to these questions, and then decided generally according to the majority of the votes pro or con, and htiving prayed of course lor guidance, their decisions are considered by faithful Roman Catholics to be those of infallible truth. These decrees or decisions were signed by 255 mem- bers of the Council, chielly bisho])s. In the year lt)43 a Protestant Council met, at Westminster, in England. It consisted of 121 divines and 10 laymen. The pur- jiose of their meeting was, the refor- mation of religion in doctrine, wor- ship, discipline, and government. The daily attendance of the members was between 60 and 80. They con- tinued to meet during 5 years, 6 months, and 22 days. They debated theological questions, discussed pas- 29 that tliese tra- lauthority with % traditions, doctrines and fh«y, have been the Apostles, 'mouth or by pave been ba- sh urch always le Council of 'le year 15i5, fifth and last i-ed together filings to be >Iic Church, which, with "ftonded over ys'i'-s, the o sat in the ogical (jues- Images of the reference to hen decided ho majority !"i(l havinw darico, their ^y f'iiithful e those of decrees or 2o5 mem- y bishojis. fi-otestant linster, in of 121 The pur- the rofor- fJne, wor- 'ernnient. members 'liej cou- years, 6 ': debated 5ed 2>as- sages of Scripture having refcn-nce to tliese qut'stious, and then decided generally, according to the ninjority of the votes, either pro or co7i, ami having i)rayeii, of course, i'ov guid- ance, their decisions, called The Coiijession nj Failh, with Lar'jpj' and Shorter C(ttechts7ns, Directory for Worship, (£"c.,are considered by faith- ful PreBl))^^terians, if not absolutely the infallible, at least something ap- proaching the decisions of infallible truth. The Council of Trent, instead of being content with tlie three short and simple creeds, which had been the creeds of the Catholic Church, added a Book of Decrees to them, which Book was epitomized and added to the Niceue Creed by Pope Pius IX. The Westminster Assembly of Divines, instead of being content with the same old Christian Creeds, also added a book to them, which every Presbyterian minister must declare, at his ordination, to be the Confession of his Faith. The 255 divines of the Council of Trent, decided on certain doctrines to bo believed by every member of the Catholic Church, under pain of anathema. The sixty or eighty divines of the Westminster Assembly decided on certain doctrines to be believed, as divine truth, by every member of the Established Church in England, Scotland, Ireland, and the Colonies, under pain of excom- munication. The Council of Trent incorporated tradition in their decrees ; the Westminster Divines incorporated in their decrees or decisions, what is essentially the same thing, "tlie use and wont of the chui'ch," that is, the traditions of the Presbyte- rians on the old continent and in Scotland. The Conyregationalists, in New Englaml, have repeatedly sanctioned and approved of this Confession of F;iith, and especially in what they call the Say brook Platform, of 1708. Methodism, especially what is called Wesleyan Methodism, also takes the Bible for its religion ; but it has also something else as the rule of its faith, especially for the preach ers. Their Creed is said to be 53 of Wesley's Discourses, and his Notes on the New Testament, with some Questions concerning the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ, and concerning Christian Perfection." Eadie p. 424. The theory of the Protestant de- nominations is, that the Bible alone is the religion ol Protestants ; but what is the common practice ? Take a hundred of them promiscu- ously, and question them individu- ally, as to whether they went first to the Bible, as the rule of faith, before settling themselves perma- nently in any denominational con- nection, and how few, perhaps not over five in a hundred have done so. Ask, ''VVhy are you a Presbyte- rian]" The common answer is, '' My parents, and grandparents were Presl yterians. So, if your parents had been Mohammedans, yoTi, ac- cording to this rule, would have been a Mohammedan also. I thought 30 that your nth of faith had bfon the Bible. ''Atitl wliiit is your b(^licf1" •*I believe what the I'rcsbyteriati Church believes, au«l at the appointed hour — it was twi- light, lamps were lighted, and but few peopla in attendance. Eleven were baptized — who also received that evening the right hand of fel- low^ship, instead of on Sunday, at the communion. He asked the minister, " Why all this on a Thurs- day evening, and at such an hour when 80 few could attend ? " The answer was this — "About one-half of the congregation are Pedobaptists, anil therefore fhc evrniny and tht /lour were carefully selected who there would be no other meeting or • ■ngagfiiifnt, lest the Pedobaptists might think they had been enlraj)- p»'d to givt! their presence at the baptism." Again, he says, ''One of the largest Bai)tist Chui'ches in Liver[)oul has a I'edobaptist for one of its deacons : and I was told the pi star iif that c'uurch his (ill his chiUlfpn spfink'ed. He is one of the nK)st influential ministers of our denomination in England, and was <;')niniissi(iued lately, by the Baptist Mi.ssion Society, to jtroceed to the West Indies, to set in order the C'oloui'ed Baptist Churches in Ja- maica." (Copied from 'The Free Ch. MagarAw, Jan 1848). So fnlo or infant bnptisin and. -ipi in/din:^, which Baj)tists ri'gard with such abhor- rence as liomish, are now quite common even among the largest and most influ»!ntial of their congrega- tions in England ! Roman Catholics could not speak more strongly in favour of adult haptis.aal regfneration than the I3aptists do. Our true creed is apt to come out in our devotions. So here is the true article of baptis- mal regeneration in the Baptist hymns, to be sung at the time ot immersion : — Hymn 103, entitled •' SelJ-conse' oration in Baptism, intended to be Hung, of course, by peraons, immedi- ately before their immersion : — " To Tliee we gladly now resign, Our life and all our powers ; Accept us in this rite divine, And bless these hallowed hours. 32 itiny wo die to enrlli ami .-in, lieuea'h thf MyatiC Fl'iml ; Ami whi'ii we rise, may we bf^in To live aitfw for God." Hymn 81 'J. " Buried witli our Lord, and ri'diiff To (I itj'e (liviiiclj/ ueu\" In hymn 813, the church thus j)rays for those about to be baptized: ■' Let faith, afshled now by ai/jns, Tbe wonders of Tiiy love explore, Ami u-tifhcl iv Th;i redf.cmmy Idoo'l, Let them depart, aud sin no more " And, then, when they have been actually baptized, the church wel- conu'S them in sucli language as that of Hymn 829 : — " Now saved from nin ai)d Satan's wiles, Though by a scorning world abhorred, Now i'hare with us the Saviour's aimlcs ; Come in, ije blossed of the Lord." Thus, it is prayed for aud ex- pected, that, in baptism, or when heneath the U'ater, called tJis mystic flood, they shall therg and thefi die to sin, aud be washed in redeeming hlood : and that when they rise out of the mystic flood, or water, they shall begin to live a new or divim life; wliich rising is but another name for a birth to a new life, a being born again, or regeneration. Baptists have no iuclinatiou to con- tradict the girl who declares, that, " when she had just come out of the water, it seemed as though a veil had been suddenly taken away from her eyes." Presbyterians, in their doctrinal standards, do not believe that any are regenerated except the elect. They admit that infants may be regenerated in baptism ; but of such baptismal regeneration there can be no certainty. They say, in the Con- fession of Faith, chap, xxviii., that persons, whether of age or infants, can l)e reg(^nerated without baptism; and in chap. X., that •• elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit." Such is their theory ; and wo niiu'lit leave it there, were there not some other doctrines, as well as practices, which seem at variance with it. For example, the Confes- sion of Faith says, that Baptism is "ordained not only for the solemn aduii.ssion of the party baptized into the visible church, but also, to be U7ito him a sign and seaf, of his engrafting into Christ, of regenera- tion, and remission of sins." Now this looks extremely like the very doctrine which Roman Catholics call Baptismal Regeneration : so much so indeed that a Roman Catholic would say, that it is exactly what he believes, namely, that, when we are baptized, it is signed and sealed to us, that we are made members of Christ's Church, our sins are remitted or pardoned, and we are regenerated, which can only be by the Holy Spirit. No wonder, that, pious Presbyte- rian mothers and fathers, are un- willing to allow their dying infants to leave the world without being baptized ; and no wonder that, Presbyterian ministers go sometimes many weary miles, to administer to such infants, that holy ordinance ! Shall Scotch Presbyterians, " sing to the praise of God " and yet dis- believe what they sing when uttering the following lines of their 47th Paraphrase 1 — 33 ). xxviu., that iigo or iiilants, ithout bajttlsm; " eloct inliuits, egenerattid and iglithe Sinrit." )ry ; and wo were there not s, as well as 1 at variance B, the Coufes- at Baptism is >r the solemn baptized into It also, to bo sea/, of his I of regenera- sins." Now like the very Catholics call 'n : so much nan Catholic exactly what lat, when we d and sealed ade members jur sins are and we are only be by us Presbyte- ers, are uu- lying infants thout being ander that, ;o sometimes Iminister to ordinance ! rians, '* sing and yet dis- lien uttering their 47th " U'lu'ii to the sdcred font wo Civmo, Dill imt till' rito proclaim, 'Unit wiisjit'il iVoin Hill, ittii| hII itit Htiiiui), New creatures we beciirne." I'li'liaps no Human Catholic coul*' fiinl ;uiii>ii;r ill! the hymns and sacred poi'tiy ul' his cliurcli, any four lines that ex|>ress UiOro clearly and con- cisely than these font' lines ol' the j)ai'ii[»hrase do, his nun ehei-jslied doetl'iiu^ ot" l»;iptisiii;d re^^'eiinal ion ! Ave l*iesliylei'i,ui niini^li'is he- Coniiu^ less l'i'ute-(;iiil thitii the Westminster Assojiibly ol' Divines, wJiose C'niifession of Faitli, they Jildfess to believe 1 ivt us see. The Ecv.Dr. lSniyLli,ol' Charleston, U.S., u ])r(i)'ess.'d (.,'alvinist, has issued an ailniiciMi voliiun' eiitilleil, Sohicp fur l)Vi\nviiil Piircnls ; ', I/ijan.t>i die tit I'lvr;. The M>lunie eoiisisls of selections, in piose and \ci'se, from a variety of writtTs. Here a:'- fViui- verses from one with tiie title, Bit.iiUm at tltn CoJJlti's Held : — '• IJiiiif.' it to tlie Cofliii's ilci.il, Knee!, while Holeinn wofl is salJ, In the prosuncc of the deail. Peaceful doth that mother lie, Closed utlVctioii's ear niid eye ; Heedless of her baby's c.y, Water — of blest purity', Emblem -do wo pour on tlicc ; Little one ! regtmrate be — Only by the crimson flood Of the Sliotlcsd ; in the blood Of the very Son of God ! " Here are two things which look veiy lJou\isli, tianicly, "kneeling in presence of the dead," and " regene- ratioji in baptism." How strange that a Presbyterian Dr. of Divinity should jivesent such a poem for comfort to bereaved parents ! But this is merely poetry. "Well, here are a fe^v lines of a selection in 5 prose, and that prost! should cotn- mand the respect of all Presbyterians, for it is the prose of the renowned Kev. Dr. Chalmers, Professor of Theology, and most elixjueiit (»f ])reachers. The title is, The. 1 njant in Ui'.ai'nn, The Dr. is givin;,' rea- sons why we may warranLably be- lieve, that the dead infant has gone to heaven He .says, '• On it, too, baptism was impressed as n >cal ; and as rr. . «,■/'/'(, it was never filsilied. Thei(( was no positive unl)elief in its bosom : no resistance yet put I'orth, &.O." Again he says, '• should the child di(! in inlaucy, the u.se of baptism, as (i sign has never Ijeen thwiii'ted by it ; ami may W(,' not be permitted to indulge' a hojic so pleasing, as that the use of b;iptism, as (I. ,seid remains in all its caitire- ness ; tliat He who sanctioned the allixing of it to a b;ibe, will fulfd upon it, th(! wliole exi)re.ssion of this oriliuance." It would be mere pre- sumption in us to attemj)L putting tlio Rev Dr.'s meaning into pliiiner words than his own. The oidy re- mark I have to make in reference to them, is this, namely, that had Dr. Chalmers been a Romanist or a PuscyiLe pleading on behalf of ba[)tismal regeneration, he could scai'cely have employed more a[)pro- priate language for that j)art of the argument of which he treats. And here I cannot but honestly avow my own sincere belief in the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. Baptism is our ''dedication" or " giving up " unto God the Father. Son, and Holy Ghost : and unless we ourselves put some hindrance, or "a 34 bar, or 'Hhwart" in the way, to prevent our acceptance, God does accept IKS. I slionld be guilty of unbelief, I should be an intidel, if I supi)0sed that Jesus is less willing and able now to receive and bless little children, than ho was when visibly present on earth. I believe that he is as much dlsp/edsed now as he was tlien, at those who forbid the little children to be brought unto him. Jesus reci-ives them, and receiviuti: them, liis b^ood cleanseth them from all the guilt of Iheir native sinfulness. And us Je^J^l:^ is the way to the Father, tl)e Father being in Iiim, so those infmts whom Jesus receives, :ire i-eceived by God the Fiilher, and arc therefore his children, or children of God. And beiiiLC thus received of God tlio Father, and God tlie 8un, they are also received by God t!ie Holy Ghost to whom also they have been given up. The reception of them, by the Holy Ghost, into the family of (iod, is their new birth by the Sjiirit, and he lits tljcm by liis grace for the dutii's and ])ri\'ih\ges of theii" new ])osition. They may in iil'trr years, liowever, re.-isl the Holy Ghost ; they may grieve the Sjiirit of God ; and go so far as finally to forsake God utterly. As children of the kingdom they may finally be cast out. They have nevertlieless been God's children, by a second birth — the new birth, called ba])tis- mal regeneration. If Roman Catlio- lies, or Baptists, or Presbyterians hold this doctrine, T thank God for it. They are holding a precious truth, which Jesus and his Apostles preached l)efore there was anyrhiirch at Rome. With regard to 77ie Si/n 0/ the Cross in baptism, it is not yet prac- tised, so far as I know, among the Prcsbyteiians, Methodists, or Bap- tists: but why the transient sign of the cross, on the fu'ehead, should be so objectionable to these denomina- ti(jns, and yet crosses of stone, of Wood, and of nndal, ho. so common among tiioin is a curious fpi(\stion. The popul.ir opinion among thi'tu is, tliat tlie sign of the cross, oi' letter X, on the firehead, at baptism, is th'' iiini'k of the hei'-nf. m(Mitioned in the book of Revelation ; that the bf'ast is tlie Pope of Romi\ and tliat all wlio have this mirk bidong to him ! A Roman Gatholie may be bolh {ih'ased and disph'astMl with this view of ih(; subject. Jit! may be both astonished anrn or Greek Church, who are all signc^d with the sign of the cro.ss ; the innumerable millions .also of Christians who have lived .and died throughout Christendom, from at least the third century, if not from ^ 35 tlie first, till the present clay, all signed with the sign of the cross j and the great multitude which no niuti can number, who shall see Christ's faoc in heaven, and whose name shall be in their forelieads — these also the Roman Catholic is very much pleased to claim, because the ei'oss, or letter X, signed on the tbrtihcad in baptism, is the fij-st letter, the initial letter of the tSa- viour's Greek uame, Chrintos. Thank you, says the lioinan Catliolic, you Protestiints ai'c more generous than you imagine yuurseives to be ! In wliat remains of this Lecture I cau only intimate, and that very brietly, what miglit be said at great length., (concerning the many Romish things which uow-a-days distinguish ]'rulestants. Other pens and tongues will, r trust, follow up these imi)ort ant investigations, und lay them fully b(>fore the ))ublic. I can only give a few lines to matters which demand a few pages : indeed some of the things now to be noticed would require singly a whole Lecture for themselves. Our next topic is — V". Tlte Protestant Confessioiud. Roman Catholics practise what is called auricular confession. They go to the priest and whisper into his <'ar the sins they have committed, so that he may give them absolution or panlon from God ; and all this is don*? ])rivately, and under the seal of secrecy. -Have Protestants any thing of this kind among them 1 Let us notice some things which ai)i)roach very near to it. Daniel Wise, the Methodist writer, says, " The class meetincj is 7iot a confes- sional, but a place for the communi- cation of religious experience. It tniiy lead to conjesslon, or it may not. That depends very much on the spiritual health of the personri present.'' The kirk session of the Presljy- terians^ consisting of the minister and two or three elders, is a court which commonly meets privately. As we have already seen from their book. called The Confession of Faith, these officers claim to exercise the keys of the kingdom of heaven : to have power to retain and remit sins -. to shut the kincfdom against the impenitent, and to open it unto penitent sinners by ahsotu'ion from censures. Many are the conJessio7is of da in these private meetings ; and these confessions are generally addressed to the minister, in the hearing of the elders, and it is his duty alone to pronounce the absolu- tion. Tlie ])rescribed form used by Presbyterian ministers in the United States, in al)solving penitents, is the following : " Tn the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by his au- thority / di^clare you absolved from the sentence of excommunicatiou formerly denounced against you ; and / (Id receive you into the Com- muni'in of the (MiuiTh, that you may b(; a partaker of the beuetits of th(> Lord Jesus, to youv eternal salvation." Here is something that comes a little nearer to our idea of the Romish confessional. The spiritual adviser thus relates how he, in liir 36 secret, dealt with tlie female pen- distressed conscience is advised to iteut. He says: "I tliouglifc she visit the minister for relief, ''.'hus needed some friend to lean upon, every Presbyterian minister is cli^rge- and, oflering her all I could do, I able with being aya/Ae/- cv;/*/esw and had no hesitation in promising to mi ahsolc I iivil-(l;K!rs, hope. • ♦ « J yjj(,,j cli.scovered, such as by causing them to go on as I thought, that T had not yet j^ilgrimage with peas in their .'-hoes, reached the bottom of tin.' matter, or to walk to chapel on their bare Something seemed to be lockcnl up knees ; also by causing them ti: say in lier own mind. 1 told lier so. i so many ]ira}ers, or pay so riuch begged her to tell me if it were not money, and all this for the go'.d of so. .After niucli hesit;ition on lier tlieir souls. Formerly the pen ;ents part, and urging on mine, she con- appeared at tlie church door cK.ithed fessed it was so." And who is t'u' in nackclotli and ashes. But such spiritual adviser who wrote tlie-^e custom.s, of a public kind, seem to words 1 He is the late Jiev. iJr. be tilings of the past ; they u)'e not Spencer, a Presbyterian minister, of i^een now-a-days, I think, eitb.n- in Biouklyn, N. Y. State, wliose two Bi'itaiu, or in tliis part of the v.'in-ld. volumes of Pastor's SketcJies would I'rofes.sor .Kadie gives, in his Kcvle- affi'rd any desired number of Siich ulasllcal Cijrloptdla, an account of illustrations in dealing .secretly with Romish In(Jidjt'i,ces. When a sin- penitents, ner has repented and confessed his But are such private interviews sins, his guilt and eternal punish- rerpiired by the disoij)line of Presby- nuut are remitted ; but some tem- terians ? Undoubtedly they are, poral punishment or penance miiy be judging fron) what the Scotch " Di- due him. An indulgence is <'ither rectory for Wor.ship" says of the the lesslic exposure bare- hea.ded, bare-footed, and clothed iu sackcloth, at the church door or at the market ci-oss, ov on the stool of repentance in church, were common things, as the records of the kirk sessions abundantly testify. The kirk session of Perth paid a weekly salary to a man whose business was to sliave the heads of those who violated the Seventh Commandment, and who were to ai)p(»ar on the stool of re|)entance. in 1587 the kirk session of Glas- gow enacted the following fines : — '' Servant women, for a single breach of chastity, 20s.; men-servants, 30s., or else to be put in prison eight days, and fed on bread and water, and thereafter to be put iri the jugs. The better class of servants, and honest men's sons and daughters, to be punished as the kirk might pre- scribe. Harlots to be carted through the town, ducked in the river Clyde, and put in the jugs (that is, iron collars attached to chains fastened to an outside wall), and exposed thus on a market day. The punishment for adultery was to satisfy six Sabbaihs on the stool of rej)ent- ance at the ])illar (in church) l)are-footed and bare-legged in sack- cloth, then to be carttid through the town, and ducked in the Clyde from a pulley i)laced on the bridge. Tlio release from excommunicaticn was as follows : " A man excommuni- cated for relapse in the afhrfx.iid -nn, was to pass from his dwelling-house to the hie kirk, six Sundays at six iu the moriiing, at the first bell, con- voyed by two elders or deacons, or any other two honest men, and to stand at the kirk door I) ir(>-footed and bare-legged, in sackcloth, with a white watid in his hand, bare- headed, till after the I'eading of the text. In the same manner to repair to the pillar till the .sermon was ended, and then to go out to the door again and stand there till after the congregation pass from the church, and after that he is released." Thus we see that, besides confession of sin to the kirk session, the session reipiired penance, or temporal pun- M'liS 38 ishment, as a satiMfaction for the sin. Such are, or were not a great while ago, Protestant penances and indul- gences. And, as for absolutions, wo ])ave seen iiow the Baptist gets ab- solved by imuiersiou : how the Pres- bytei'ian gets absolved b}' confession in the kirk session ; and, we have only to remind you, that when a Methodist minister shouts over a j)enitent sinner, in some protracted meeting, such words as, " Anotlier soul saved !" he is declaring and pronouncing to that sinner the abso- lution and remission of his sins. TlitM'c is a I'einarkaVde reseuiblance, therefore, in sucli inatLei's, between the doings of Protectant priests and the doings of tJie [jriests of Home. YII. The Frotr.hvtt Sncrifir" of the Miar. \ye have se.ni that Presbyteri:ins and Methodists have altars in their temples. It matters not that ]\[rs. Palmer calls it tlie "the altar of prayer," for eveiy altar is an altar of pravei". An altur is a material structuie on wliicli to [)laee material olfeiiu'^'s, anil at wliiijh ))ray('rs are ollered. Indeed, Professor Fairbairn (a Presbyteriiin), in his 7///>'.' '",///, shews thiit ev(;rv sacrifice and oiler- ing laid on the altar is an einhoiHol prayer of thanksgiving, or petition, or intercession. Carey, th(> Ba[)tist missionary, cai'ried one of his nt^wly translated versi(ms of the Bible into the chapel, and })resentcMl it, on the (jonnnunion table, unto the Lord. Why on the Communion table ? Vv'hy not some- whoio else I He evidently regarded that table as the proper place for offerings unto the Lord ; in other words, it was, in his view, an altdr. The Bai)tists have hymn.s to be sung at the LnnVs JStippar. The last of these, viz., hymn 851, has only two verses, the first of which is in these words : — " To Him wlio loved tbe souls of in en, And washed us in His blood, To roi'iil honours raised our head, And made ua priests to God." And have these Baptist ;5/-/r,s.',s- a SACRIFICE ] O yes ; for thus they sing in hymn 84:7 : — " Broad of heaven, on tlice we feed, For thy flesh is meet indeed , Evor le'' our souls hi" fed With this true ami living hvond. Vine of heaven thy blood supijlies This blest cup of iacnjice." But lest wo should be in any doul)t as to what the sacrifice is, we hav;; only to turn to the — Tfymu 8-3!). - in which they sing — " More lit Till/ T:i!>!,; Loid, we nu'ct, To feed on f od divine : T/n/ bodi/ is the hrend uc eat, J'hjj priCious it'ood the wine. It does not mend the matter, that the Baptists, or other Protestant denominations speak of the t'tb'e of the [jord. instead of the altar of .the Lord : because, the Jewish altar of of burnt ottering is expressly called, in tlie same place of holy Scripture, both altar and table of the Lord; as ill Mai i 7, 12. Concerning which tlie jjious and learned Presby- terian commentator.Matthew Henry, says, that the table hero mentionefO[)lL' did, as it wore, feast the sacraments, as to tlieir obligation ' ' " '"'• together on the sacfiiiees, in token of ani] importance, I did not expect to *^* "^ friendship." Henry says also, on liear assei'ted or maintained by a 'V''''\ The Exod. xxiv. 2-1, "God admitted Aa- Protestant divine." How rojnsb ' ^'"^^ ron aiid his sons to be his serviints, then must the saintly MoCheyno ^*"^ ^'"^ and wait at his table taking the have been v/ho begins his tract on meat of Lis altar from their hands." the Lord's Sup[ier with this sentence, s of men, Prof<^ssor Fairbairn very cautiously '* The Lord's Sup[)('r is the sweetest ,,""!' , expresses the same view as that of of all ordinanctjs." And how Foidsh God." Matthew Henry, that the alta7- of must the great Dr. Chalmers have the Lord, and the table of the Lord been to begin his address at the con- are Dames for one and tlie same elusion of the Communion, by saying, thing. The Roman Catholics com- '' You have now finished the great- monly spccdc of the altar, but they est solemnity of our blessed faith?" ive feed, also speak of it as the iah/e of the (vol I. ser. ix.) Tim Presbyterian ' Lord, or holy table. For, txample Fathers oj R'ss^-^j/ire are supposed to "'Olid. in The Lttanij of the Bhsscd Sacra- have been Protestants of the most ^ ^upp.ifs meat, they ]'ray, saying, "From perfect type ; but according to their neglecting to .-■.pjiroach this Italy historian and mouth[)ieee, the Rev. ' in any table, deliver us, O Lord'' And J. Kennedy, of Dingwall, tluy must ic(> i.s, -vve one might almost suppose lliem to have been far gone in Romish be I'res'yterians, wh-n in tlio same superstition. "For," says he, ''They nysiiig — Litany, they speiik of '• Til.' glorious beheld, in the symbols of Christ'.s Kin-c of heaven and earth eallin considereil Runii-li, and their common customs oomieeted <^'''"<-'d, as teiidint' to the sacrifice and wor- with this ordinance. One of their 'Jpture, ship of the Mass, to exalt the sacra- own ministers, the Rev. Alex. White, Loi'd ; meat of die Loi'd's Su[i[)er al)ove the of Fettereairn, in his book on the •^'■'li'ig other means of grace. TIius the Lord's Supper, mentions these cus- resby- Ple-i for Prexbytert/ takva tu inslc \he tonis. In the week befoi'o a com- "^^'Ui'y, " the Rev. ]\rr. Boyd, of the English munion Sabbath, there is preaching lonod, Church in Derry, for having atlirnied on the Wednesday or Thursday, 'lit'ead in a sermon that '■ the Lord's Sup- called the Fast Day. The same on ''"■'■ of })er was the highest ordinance in the Saturday, wdiich is called the Prcpa- J f^te ;' Church of Jesus,'' and the Plea says, rallon Day. On the Sabbath, the '^"<-'sts, : "This Popish distinction between P,salms, the Scri[ttures read, and the ' if 40 sermon preached, have reference to that we may receive by faith the the Communion. After the sermon body and blood of Chrint.'' The there is another address from the following expressions also occur in pulpit, called /enemy eatedly calls the conse- crated or sanctified bread and wine holy and the holy table. (3.) The bloody sacrifices of the IT 42 Jews were signs inteiuled to nhaw forth file (Imfh of Ohn'.tt until lie should come; t lie consecrated breiid and wine of the Presbyterians are ^\gm intv.nded fa shew forfh also the death of the Saviour until he come the second time. (4) The Jewish i)riest, at the altar or table of the Lord, broke (by piercing, cutting, rending), th" body of the sacrificial lamb— emblem of Christ's body : and he inured out, and sprinkled upon the altar the victim's blood, emblem of the blood of Him who is the true Lamb of God, and who taketh away the sins of the world; the Presbyterian minister standing at tlie altar or table of the Lord performs similar sacrificiid and priestly acts towards the bread and M-ine, by brenJchv/ the bread—cmhhm of Christ's body; and by 2yo-inng out the idne-~i\ie emblem of Christ's bkxxl. (5.) The Lord p.romised, in Exod. xxix. 42, 43, to vvvt the ehi.Mron of Lsracl. and to sp-ak or commune with thorn at liis holy altar oi- table on which lay the sacred syml)ols of Christ yet to be criicitlod ; so thit coming to the altar is frequently called, in the Old Testament, cnndw/ near to God. So the Presbyt. riaus maintain, as we have already se(;n, that they come near to God at the holy table ; that they '• make the nearest approach to the Lord tliat can be on earth ; " and that there they hold communion with him. (6) The pious Jewish worshippers approached the altar or table of the Lord to give God thanks for all his mercies : to confess sins : to ask and receive forgiveness from God : and to be admitted to the enjoyment of his gracious ])resence at his own table. In answer to such desires God gave to his people a certain visible, tangible token, proof, or pledge of his mercy, forgiveness, and favour : and, this he did, by the hand of his servant the priest, con- veying, as it were from the Lord's own table, to the worshippers a jiortion of the sacrificial feast, con- sisting of the consecrated elements of human food— the sacred symbols of Christ's sacrifice for sin ; God thereby assuring the penitent and believing communicants at his own taltle, that he did indeed forgive tlieir sins, and that he did receive them to his Fatherly affection and fa\()ui'. In like manner the Pivsby- terian worshippers are instructed by their Directory to come to God's own holy table to give God thanks for all his benefits ; to confess their great un worthiness, sins, and miseries ; (o come esjtecially if they are labouriixr under die sense of the bur den of their sins' and fear of ur.tfh ; that in this sacrament in {)articular, all Christ's benefits are applied and sealed up to such penitents, who are consequently forgiven and accepted of God ; and th(! tokens, pledges, proofs, or assu- rances of this forgiveness and accept- ance are conveyed outwai-dly to such couimunicants, by their receiviu"- at the hand of the minister, a portion of the consecrated elements or sacri- ficial feast, consisting of the broken bread and poured out wine, the sacred symbols of Christ's body and d. 43 blood, wliicli he offerod in saciiticc for Hiniicrs. The Confession of B^iitli is can lul, liowever, to say that " Jn this siicia- nient Cln-ist is not ofleivd u|» to his Father, nor any veal ^aorifne made at all for the remission of sins, but only a commemoration of the one oflering nj) of Christ himself for \is on the eross, once for all." 'J'lieso words are, of course, a protest against Romanism, and the only force of the protest which may be noticed at |)re.sent is, that it eou- firnis the declaration concerning tlm suljstantial sameness of tlie J('\.isli and (.'hristian sacraments. '• Thu blood of bulls and of iroats could not tak( » away sui a lamb .^^lain in sacriticii \v;is not " rc"/ .s^a'/ //''•' for sin, in the sense of adviing f^r human guili : so tlie brcidtind vine of llu? Lord's Sui)per an; not n "••*/ sarrifhv that can take ...i'.y sin, or make atonement for \is, JbiL as th(.-re was a sacramental lilaliou or connec'iou beLweeo tli(^ .bu'j.sli siuai- fice and ilie .saerilice of Chi'i^.t, w!i'e]i resulted in the remission of sins to the penitent Jew; so tluM'i- is a sacianu'idal i-clation or connection between the bre.id and wui(> (4' (lie Loi-d's Supper and the saoriliee of Christ, which resulrs in the; remis,sion of sins to penit;.'nt Christian.^. Thus we ar(^ brought, necssarily, by the teaching of the Presbyterian Coii/hssi(//f. of' Fitilli to regard the table of the Lord as an altar, and the bread and wine on it as a sarrl- fice. Such teaching i.s, no doubt, very ancient, and in the primitive church was considered quite ortho- dox, although now gcuierally be- lieved to be Romish. Indeed .some of the leading divines of the West- minster Assembly and their col- leagues were quite outspoken in the advocacy of Huch views. The cele- brated Richard Baxter (Presbyte- rian), the learned and pious author of about 140 books, but bi'tter known as the author of A Call to the U?iconvcrfcJ, and The Sid?its^ Everlasting first, thus s]ieaks in one of his treatises: '' Question. What tliiidv you of the names Sacri- iiee, Altar, and I'riest ? Answer. The ancient churches used them all, without any exce|)tIon from any Christian that T ever heard of. A.s the bread is justly called Christ" s br,(h/, as signifying it, so tin' action de.scrii)(^l w;is of old called a sacri- fice, as rcpriisentinL!; and commcnio- rating it. And it. Is no more im- pri)pe;' than calling our liodies, and our alms, and our pi'ayer.s sacrifices. Ami the naniim'' oi" the table an 'ilfar, as reli'.ied t saer.unent >1 conjmuniou." — [ <' '!i ■ i:!!:! II l:>sii;ii •■ .;. - - A collec- tion of 'I'raets, by Christopher Wnnlsworlh, ! ).D., Master of Tri- nity.] 3b>dern Presbylerianisir, how- ever, does not stoj; short at this point, but his advanced much nearer than this toward the Sac- rifice of the J,^/,svs-. Let me exiilain and prove what J now say. Since things devoted to God. or 44 set a))art, and sunctifiofl to His wor- ship luid .s<;rvice, are necessarily sac- rifices to Him ; and when snch con. seci'ated things are i^ymhnfs of ChriaCs suffi'rlmja and (hafh for our sins ; and when, moreover, ac- cording to Professor Fairbairn, every sacrifice was nn vmh'xtied fraji't of thanksgiving, petition, or inter- cession ; how shall we regard the consecrated elements on the Com- munion table of the Presbytei-ians, according to their own inter[)reta- tion of it % Shall we regard the consecrated bread and wine, on the table, as an embodied prayer 1 Shall we go so far as to say that I'resby- terians embody their prayers in the consecrated symbols of Christ's body and blood, so that these holy things — the bread and wine — as they lie on the holy table or altar, are in fact a most solemn and ex- pressive means of pleading with God the merits of Christ's death for the pardon of sin, and the means also of giving God thanks for his mercy in Christ Jesus 1 That indeed would be a sacrificial idea ! That indeed would bi' Romish ! Presbyterians cannot, as you imagine, be charge- able with any such Romish su[)ersti- tions ! Well, Judge not before the time. First hoar the truth, and then judge. I shall now quote a few sentences from a book wi'U known to intelligent and pious com- municants of the Presbyterian per- suasion. It was written by the Rev. Dr King, of Glasgow, Scot- land, a divine of no mean order, and who lived, and I presume has died, in the full odour of Presbyte- rian orthodoxy. His book, which treats of the Lord's Supper, has been read by thousands of Presbyte- rians, both ministers and people, in the old world and in the new ; and not a whisper, T think, has been ut- tered acainst its soundness in the faith. No presbytery or synod ever called the Rev. Dr. King to ac- count for any statement in it. The book has been regarded as a high authority on the important subject of which it treats. The Rev. Dr., speaking of the Lord's Sui»per as a i'nhimcmnvndve institution (Sec. IT,), says, " I may remark, in general, that as a token of Christ's regard, it is calculated to foster in us a recip- rocal attachment. We discern in it a pledge of his steadfastness : for he will not surely require us to be more mindful th.an himself. Indeed the enuiniand, ' This do in nmiembrance of me,' is literally rendend 'This do for my memorial ;' and may signify not merely ' Tiiis do, that you may renuunber nu^,' b\it as naturally, ' This (iota put, 7m; in tniufl of you.' Perhnps this latter interpretation bc-L consists with the an.Ungy of Scripture. God said of the rain- bow, ' The bow shall be in the clouds, and / loill louk upon if, that / niai/ rcnir.mher the everlasting coveiiMut betw(!en God and eveiy living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.' Here the bow is s[)oken of as if it were a I'cmcm- hrttnccr — not for man — but for Jc- horah Jiinisr/f Similar language is used respecting the blood of the pas- chal lamb sprinkled u])on the door- posts : ' Mhen 1 see the blood, I will II 45 pass over you, and tlic plague sliull (Jatliolic Cliurch, to which vouchsafo not be upon you to destroy you when to <::;rant peace," iVc He then luUls, I auiite the land of Egypt." ^^ Be mindful, O Lord, of thy ser- So, according to the Rev. Dr. vants, men and women, N. and N." King, and according to tho thou- Then praying silently, he says. Be sands of J'rcsbyteriaus, both minis- Wii!r?(^//«^ '' of all here present, whoso ters and [ieo])Ie, who agree with faith and devotion are known unto him, the sacramental bread and thee, for whom we offer, or who wine, on the vJomnniMiou table, are oiler up to thee this sacrifice of intended to Ite a memorial, that is, a praise," itc. Then after i)ronouu- remeiubrancer /or (he Lord Idniidf ; cing tJie ivords of consecration, or, as that the Ldrd may hiolc iiji'Jii these the Presbyterians call them, the endilenia or symbols of Christ's aton- ivonls of inatituiinn, the llomish ing sacrifice, and thereby (kj put in priest says, in pi'ityer, '• O Lord, mi)itl, or he niindful of ills pinph: we oll'cr unto thy m')st excellent who seek thus to draw near to him, ^lajcsty . . . the holy bread and to commune with him at his of eternal life, and llic chalice (or holy table : so that the desire or cup) of everlasting salvation. Upon jirayir of the people is really c/zi- which vouchsafe to I'lok. with a pro- huditd in the l)roken I)n'ad and pitious and serene coiuitenanco, and poured out wine of the (Sacrament; to accept them," ite. ^^ Be mi/idfiii, and the prayer is and must be this O Loi'd, of thy servants," &c. Then, — '' 0, Clod, look iipnu these memo- in those manuals of dijvotion called rials of Christ's atoning death for us, Thu ll»_y ((j H>'i.vrii and T/ic Kry to ii\id Iic mindful of lis, and forgive us Hcmei', in which are prayers for for His sake." the p^u/plc to say at the cclebra- Now, this vicjv of the Lord's Sup- tion of Mass, we timl the following, per is llomish ; and, the Id/i^ucu/e namely ; in which the view is expressed is L B'fore M(i»A. "As this our so thorougldy llomish that one is Christian sacrifice contains all the teraptetl to believe that it is bor- virtue and perfection of those of the rowed from the Mass book. For old law, so we ofier it up to Thee in the Romish priest, in celebrating th(! manner of the four-fold oblations of sacrifice of the Mass, says the ft)l~ the ancient sacrifices." lowiug prayers, concerning the bread (2). After the eUvation of the Host and wine: "We therefore humbly {or consecrated Wafer.) "If with pray and beseech thee, most merciful a favourable eye Thou has regarded Father, through Jesus Christ, thy the sacrifices of Abel, of Abraham, Son, our Lord, that thou wouldst and of Melchisedeck, louk likewise on vouchsafe to accept and bless these ours ; for however weak our faith gifts, these presents, these holy un- may be, yet our sacritice is greater spotted sacrifices, which in the first than theirs, and only worthy of Thy place we ofier thee for thy holy heavenly altar. 46 (3.) Wlion th<' Prufit hows fl>in». tor calls it "an injurioiiH sfiociila- — "Almiglity Ocul, who art infiiiit(*ly tioii," and " a at, crnu-," which is good, lo ik not on our siiiH. l»iit o/i t.lir the foiiii(latioii of ti-ansiihstantiatiou, inJiiiUc rdHtiom \y.\'\(\ for thcti) ; and a|iriviI(';^(Hl jiricsthood, apostolic sue- now while /it js "^'♦vrV on our 'if 1(11'$ cfs-iioii', " "rising in tlici prido of here hcl'iw, ilo thou receive it on Thy man, until it- prosunios to doty Jeho- altar above," ifee. vali hiniselt'!" These extracts arc sufKeient, 1 Siieli being the drcjulf'ul results of think, to ))rov(> that modern Presby- coiiscerntion, we are anxious to Iciiow terianism agrei's with Ronianisni in how to avoid it, and enjoy, nevertho- viewing the Lord's Su[)p('r as a less, wliat the iloctor culls the I^ord's aacrifieial memorial to Cotl himself, Supper. Speaking of the ('oiinthian to be pii'S(>nt(Ml l)efore him, that he Ohristians, the doctor says that ** St. may /o'l 'ip.m it, and A;«, Itccn visited, were manifestations of of the lircad ami wine of the Sacra- the Diviiu; displeasure for the pro- ment 1(m"•, we ask, do the// become imagination that Christ did any act hnl// ? Dr. Morgan calls these which could be fairly interpreted as things the Lord's Supper ; but implying what has been called ronse- whe.n and hoio does the bread eration of the (dements." The doc- pass from the condition of being I 47 ms sjtcciilii. I'," whicli is >stiiiitiatioii, )()st()lic Hiic- Kl ])l'iilo of ► ihl'y Joho- il results of lUH to know /, lU'vertho- < the Lord's C?oiiiitliiiin ^s that ''St. I'staud that h tlioy liad i'statioriH of )r the pro. oe." Now, or is right nust sup- ?s, or cliief tlio bread upper, and h'tlj/ ; for •e pru/'tned sacred or dictionaiy is the act. oly things, uitempt or 'a II a f ion of profanation e pro/ana- ures. Dr. the Loi'd's d." Now, the Sacra- ings, v'Jien te// become ills these iper ; but the bread of being ctiunnon bread, so a.s to become the brtad of the Lord, representing the Lonl's l)ody '? And when does the wine jiass from the condition of being conunon wine, so as to b(H;oni(' the eup of the Lord, representing the Lord's blood ? By what moans or in what nianner do the elenuMits of bread and wine cease to b(! coin- nion tilings whii' iliirei- in practice tVoni his Presbyterian brethi-en, and espei-iuUy from that of the Romish prit'st i 'J'he Ivomish priest places or pre- sents the bread iiud wine on tlie tabic! or altar of God. So does Dr. Morgan. The Romish priest utters the words of Christ, " This is my boily,'' and then considers the eon- secration complete. Ho does Dr. Morgan. The chief difference between the Dr. and his Presbyterian brethi-en, and between him and the Koiuish priest is tins : he (the Dr.) professes to otfer no consecration ja-ayer. P>ut the Dr. in this omission is guilty of not only disobeying the Directoiy of Worship, wiiich he is boimd to fol- low ; and guilty of disregarding the Holy Scriptures, which encourage us to sanctify or consecrate even oar oi'dinary food by the word of (tod and prayer ; but he is guilt/ of dis- olxying ihi e.Ki of our blessed Lord hunself, who, in instituting the Sacrament, olfereil ui) that prayer of blessing by which the bread and wine, .it that time used, were sot apart and smctified, or consecrated to i\w holy use or purpose ititomled ; and, lastly, he is guilty of disobey ing the Saviour's cx/ircis command, which is : " This do in remembrance of me ;" that is, " Do as I now do — take bread and wine, place tliem on a tal'le. ojjer up a praijar in reler- enee to them,'' ifec. The Dr., however, must bo re- garded as a thorough going Protest- ant. He scent-' Romanism from afar, and, in his op[)Ositi()n to it falls loul (nen of John Calvin and of the whole Westminster Assembly of di- vines, not only in regard to the consecration of the elements, but in regard also to their teaching couctn-u- ing Christ's presence in the Lord's Supper. 48 LECTURE III. p .iff We have soon, in tlio la.st loctuve, Protestantism ami Romanism walk- ing together in groat harmony, as far as to tlie helief that the broaJ and wine in the Lortl's Su])jK'r are a sacrifice ; and tliat tlie sacrifice is of such a nature tliat it pleads with God for the pardon of our sins. Wo found the Presbyterian Confession of Faith teaching lis that the Old Tes- tament sacrifices and the Lord's Sup- per are substantially the same. We found I'rofessor Fairl)airu teaching that the Old Testament sacrifices were embodied prayeis ; and Rev. Dr. King, teaching (hut the Lord's Su])per w;is a memorial to God, jjre- scnfed uido him that he might look uj)on it, remember the sufTorings of Christ for us, and have mercy upon us for whom Christ suffered and dieil on the cross. It is fpiite in accordance with these principles that the justly cele- brated Presbyterian author, the Rev. IToratius Bonar, in his book called The Story of Grace, chap, xii., says of the sacrifice of our first parents, east of Eden, ■•There lay the sacri- fice, as if knocking at the closed gate of Paradise for man and pleading for his re-admission, ofleriug to bear his sin and pay his penalty ; and each new victim laid upon the altar was a new knock at that awful gate, a ii(>w cry of intercession lifted \ip in mi Ts behalf And, during four iliousand years, that cry continued ;u;c(Midiiig from many altars." These words of Jjonar exj)lain what Fairbairn means by embodied prayers ; they explain what the (A)nfession of Faith and Rev. Dr. fCing must include, when they tell us that those Old Testament sacri- fices and the Lord's Supper are substantially the same in me:iuing, pur[!ose, and results. But how incal- culably intensified and availing with rjod for pardon and admission to the heavenly paradise would be the knockings and intercessions ari.sing from the ordinance called the Lord's Supper, provided that the doctrine of Ivomanism were true, namely, that tile bread and wine on the Com- iiumion table are, by consecration, changed into the real body and blof^d of our Lord Jesus Christ! Then indeed would the Communion table be an altar on which W(; })rc- sented to God for our sins, not only Christ's atoning sacrifice of His body and blood, but also His soul and His divinity ! Has Protestantism, in our day, gone so far in their ideas as that ? Let us see, and then judge. This is, indeed, a most solemn and awful subject, and nothing short of 49 lifted up ring four 3outiimcd OXJ)liUll eiiilj(j(lied v'liat the FJov. Dv. they tell ut Kiicri- )pov are nieauiiig, o\v i Heal- ing witli is.-^iou to I be the ari.siu'' Lord's loutriiie y, tliat Com- eration, ly and Christ ! minion we ])re- t oidy is body ul and inti.sni, thtfir d then ]D and lort of i i what I believe to bo imi»orative duty could induce me to treat of it in this connection. Roman Catholics believe that when the })riebt, in celolirating Mass, utters the words of Christ in reference to the lireatl, "This is m^ l)ody," the bi'ead is no lon^^cr bread, ))nt the real body of Christ ; and, when the priest utters the words of Christ, in reference to the wine, "This is n)y blood," it is no I'lnger wine, but the real blood of Christ. Tliis docti'ino concerning the changi^ of the sub- stance of bread and wine is called trimsubsl'i.nt'udioii^ and, because this alleged change must result in 'lie real ■presence of Christ's Ijody and blood in lh(^ Conimutiinu, it is quiti^ eoiu- mon among botli Protestants and Roman Catholics to inclu<]i' the whole doctrine in the single expres- sion or phrase — " tlie re.dl pri'sence." The Covenanters speak in their '•National Covenant" of transub- stnntiation or the i-eal presence of Christ's body in tlie .^[(uneiits ; but, the common jmictice of the great writers on Cliristian doctrine, both befcn-e and since the Itjth century, is to use f^'viply tlu; exjires'-ion, ''The real prescnici-." Tt is a phrase which includes transubstantiatiou and its results. Thus, Professor Eadie, in his Cyclopedia, says, " ViV a/ prr,^^eiicc : a term conimordy em- ployed to denote the supjiosed pre- sence of the body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine at the Lord's Snpper. * * * This doc- trine is generally associated with thi> idea that the bread and wine become the ))ody and blood of Christ, by 6 virtue of, or in connection with, certain words of consecrati i pro- nounced over them by a divinely appointed priest." Without any difficult search, we find in the doctrines and practices of certain Protestant denominations the acknowledgment of belief in tran- substantiatiou and the real i)resence, or at least some modified views of them . That we may cojitrast the purely Prot(>stant doctrines with what is Romish, let mr hevr mention that the true Protestant doctrine is con- cisely statiul in the few following wo)'ds, a])pend('d to the Church of England Communion Service, namely, '' The natural body and I)lood of our Saviour Christ arc in heaven, and not her(! ; it being against the truth of Chtist's natural body to be at one time in moiv places than one " The Roman Catholics, however, believe that the body of Christ is not only gloriously present in heaven, but that .also it can be, and is, miracu- lously and corpoi'eally. though in- visibly, present in this world on thousands of altars at one and the sanu» instant of time. I need scarcely say that my own conscientious views of tliis most solemn aiul mysterious sul)ject are thos.' of tlie Church of England, whnse decided testimony I have just quoted. Tt is thensfore with feelings much more [lainful than that of mere astonisliment that I find certain re- lil'ious denominations, while claiminir pre-eminently the title of Protestant, nevertheless maintaining substanti- ally, without naming it, the doctrine I w 50 'U of the real presence, as already described. But to \inderstaiid this matte i' projtei'ly, let us here distinguish between the foxir different view-i held by ])rofessed Christians cor.- cerniug the Lord's Supper : — (1.) The Roman Catliolic— that the bread and wine are changed in llioir substance into the very body an 1 blood of Christ ; and, because the body of Christ is now inseparable from His soul and His divine naturi , there is therefore on the altar, nt the Communion, the real presence of Clirist, both as God and man. (2.) The Lutheran view or doc- trine called con-tiii.O,-ita?itiii me as to the mode, I will riot be ashamed to confess that it is toi> high a mystery either for my mind to com[>rehend, or my words to exjircss ; and, to s[ieak more plainly, I i-ather feel than understand it. The truth of God, theirfore, in which I can .safely vest, I here embrace witliout controversy. He (the Lord) declares that His Hesh is the meat His blood, the drink of my soul : I give my .soul to Him to be fed by such food In His saci'cd Supper He bids me t.ike, eat and drink His body and blood undisr the symbols of bread and wine. I have no doubt that He will truly give, and I re- ceive; only, I reject tlie absurdities which a[»pear to be unworthy of the heavenly majesty of ('hrist, and .ai-y inconsistent with the reality of His human nature." Calvin's views, so far as now ex- presseii, I can only parti.illy endorse ; and I believe that it would have been well for the peace of the Chris- tian family if theologians generally, including Calvin himself and his pro- fessed followers, had gone no fulher, or but little furtluir, in attempting to explain a high and holy mystery, which is confessedly incomprehensi- 51 ble or, at least, inexpressible iu words, namely, the mode or manner in which the body and blood of Christ are present in the Sacrament of" the Slipper. The Presliyterian Confession of Faith is undorstuod to be Calvin- istic in its doctrine. In chai)ter xxvii., section 2ud, it says, "There is in every sacrament a spiritual rela- tion, or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified.'' And in chapter xxix, section 7tli, it says of the Lord's Supper : '' Wor- thy I'cceivers outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this sacra- nu'ut do then also inwardly by f lith really and indeed, yet not car- nally and corporally, but .s|»iritually, receive and fiM'd upon Christ cruci- fied, and all btuit.'fits of his death ; the bndv and blood of Christ bein" tlu'U not corporally or carnally in, with, or uiidfi Ihe bread and wine \ yet Its rcaUij, but s'lnritually, present to the f lith of believers, in tliat or- dinance, as tlie ( leiuents themselves are to tlu'ir outward senses." Here we are taiight — 1. That tlii-rt' is a rndl presence of Christ''s boilji and hlwid. This doc- trine is affiiaiifd in op|iosition to the Zuinglians, who maintain that the only presence of these is in our own thoughts of them. But tln^ Conf 's- sion of Faith teaches that the body and blood of the Saviour are really jnrsent, that is, that the very things themselves are ])resent as realities. Tlu y are not UK-ntal images of the things, but the things themstilves. Thev are not inward in the mind, but outward in the sacrament They are not the creations of the imagina- tion or memory, nor even the pi'o- ductions of the believer's faith ; but they are the true body of f'hrist crucified, and the true blood of Christ shed on Calvary ; and are now presented to the believer's faith, that his faith may see or discern them, partake of them, and feed ujjon them. They are as re/dly present to faith as the bread and wine are jiresent to the senses of sight, touch, and taste : and when a believer receives, worthily, the sa- cramental bread and wine, he th(>n receives, " really and indeed," the I'eal body and blood of Christ cruci- fied. When it is atfii-med that the body and blood of Christ are reidly present to the faith of believers, the id(^a intended to be conveyed is evi- dently this, namely, that faith dis- cerns the real body and blood of Christ, not as things absent in heaven, but as things present in the Lord's Supper, — the body of Christ related to, and in union with the bread ; and the blood related to and in union with the wine : for, says the Confession of Faith, tlu^ body and blood of Christ are really ])re- seni in. this oi'dinance ; and in this, as iu ev(uy sacrament, there is a spiritual relatioti or sacramental iiiii'i>i l)etween the sign and the thing signiti(Ml. The bread being fhr s(';//, and the body of Christ die t/iiiii/ siyuijied, these two things, namely, the bread and i)ody of Christ, are, in the sacrament, i-e- lated to each other, and united with '11 II' f"' 53 eacli other : and the wine being the sign, and the blood of Chiist being the thing sig?njiecl, these two tilings, namely, tlie wine and the blood of Christ, are also I'elated to each otlier, and united with each other in the sacrament. But, says the Confession of Faith, tho body and blood of Christ, although really in the Lord's Sup- per, are yet oidy spiritunlhj ])resent in it. If so, they must then be pre- sent in a sjjiritual condition : they arc, and must be, spiritual ciist- encles in the sacrament : for how could they be present in it. if they had no being or no existence in it ? But, says the Confession of Faith, they are not present locally. Lo- cally means in place, in a place. So we are to believe that the body and blood of Christ are j)resent in the sacrament, as reaU spiritual cxistcii- cia-i, and yet have no place in the sacrament, in which to exist ! I say, with all reverence, that this is not merely incomprehensible, but utterly impossible. A body, whether it be spiritual or material, must have a i)lace ; it cannot exist at all with- out a place : it must be somewhere. If it have no place, it has no exist- ence : it is a mere fancy of the mind; and even such a fancy itself must liave a place, and that place is in the mind. To believe that body and blood can be really present in any condition, and yet not locally present, requires a much greater de- gree of imi)licit I'aith than the Ro- mani.>»t requires to believe in Tran- substautiation ; and the leading ar- guments which we emj)loy in refut- ing the doctrine of Transubstantia- tiou apply with equal or greater force against the doctrine we are now considering. Protestants affirm lliat Transubstantiation is unscrip- tural, contrary to our senses, and Ci>ntrary to our reason, aud leads to idolatry. So we may well say of this Pres- byterian doctrine, that it is iinscrip- tural. The Holy Scriptures men- tion certain things which are called ajniitual ; but every spiritual thing has, and must have a place, a locali- ty, a local presence. Thus we read of the spiritual rock in the wilder- ness, from which the Israelites were miraculously sup|)lied with water : but that rock bad a place. The manna from heaven is called sipir- inial meat, but it had its place on the ground, aud in ves.sels, and in the tents of Israel The resurrec- tion body of the Christian shall be a if the substance of his Mother, the V^irgin Mary, tit his in- c irnation ; for, said the angel Ga- l ri(d to her (St. Liilo' i. :]r,) : " The ]}o!i/ Gliosf ^hdll conic vpon tliee, and the pnirer of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; tiierefore :d.so that holy thing which .shall be born of t.iee shall be called the Son of God." Ask any intelligent Romau Catho- be how it is possible that the bread and Mine become changed into the body and blood of Christ ? and he 6% will tell you that it is by " the liea- racuts of broad and wine ; but tlio vcnly art " of tlie Holy Cliost ; for prayer of consecration ''is so worded,' the ])vie8t prays in the Ordinary of says I'l-octor, **as to exclude all no- the Mass, saying : " Come, O Al- tions of })hy8ical change in the ele- mighty and eternal CJod, the Sancti- meiits by virtue of which they might fier, imd bless this sacrifice prepared be identifnid or confounded with the for the glory of Thy name." body of (Christ." And because some But Methodism is even more ox- of my hearers may vvish to know plicit than Itomanism in describing my own opinions on this whole sub- this " hoavoidy art " of Transub- joct of the Lord s Supi)er, I may stantiation ; for it teaches that "Me here state, and I state it with all li/e of tlie Holy Ghost is in/'uacd the soleiiuiity becoming the place, info (he breiul,''' so that the sacra- the jiosilion I now occu])y, and tlie mental broad must become " living subjoot itself, that my own views bread," or as our English New Tes- are cloavly cxitrossed in what we call tiunent exi)resses it, '' the broad of Tlw Artivlcf of Rcli'i/iou, the 2Sth, life" -the very title of Christ. And 29lh, .'lOtli, and 31st, which anybody M(!thodism here loaches that the may road for himself, in the Book of power of the Holy Ghost is injused Common Prayer, into the icinc. It is the language With regard to knooling at tlie used concerning the incarnation of Lord's 8aj)por, I may liere notice, Christ — " the power of the Highest" that it has been considered by the — " the powo' of the Holy (Jliost," Covenantors, by the Puritans, and by which the . i-iloss blood of Christ by rrosbyterians and Congregation- was formed, and which was thus alists of our own day as a Romish made " the fit channel of conveying practice. If so, our Methodist to every faithful heart the love of friends arc all, I presume, charge- God." able with it, for I supjtose they all Methodism teaches that this hea- knoel at the altar in receiving the venlv art i-oalizos the n/'Z/v. The broad and wine. But I do not sign is bread, but when realized, or blame them fur it ; I merely call turned into the reality, it is no their attention to the fact, that if longer the mere sign, but the thing th< y would escape the charge of Ro- signitied, namely, the body of Christ, manism, they must give up that having the life of the Holy Ghost pi-actioe, and sit, rather than kneel infused into it. at the Communion. For my own Such manifest Romanism, under part, I believe, with tlwc Rev. Dr. the guise of evangelical J'rotestant- Chahiiors, that the Lord's Supj)er ism, is too painful to contemplate is " the greatest solemnity of our longer, and I here dismiss it. But blessod faith ;" and I believe, with I carmot do so without noticing that the J^vsliyteriau fathers of Ro.s3- the Church of England does not in- shire, that in this greatest of solem- voko the Holy Ghost upon the elc- nities we "make the nearest ap- I M iU 57 all tlie not all if ^o- hat leel P- proach to the Lord than can be on earth," and as we are only miserable and needy sinnere approaching the Lord to receive the very highest favours and blessings, whicli we do not deserve, it becomes us to ap- proach him in our humblest posture y — a posture as humble at least as that which men assume in approach- ing earthly monarchs, or in receiv- ing knighthood, or a college degree, or ordination to the gosj)el ministry. In what attitude the apostles re- ceived tlie communion from tlie Sa- viour is an open question ; but [ think that not until the day of Pen- tecost, when the apostles received cleirer views than before of divine things, is their example to be our guide. If kneeling be Romish, so also is sitting at the Communion ; for if books be true, the Pope of Rome receives the Holy Commu- nion in the sitting posture. It may be here worthy of no- tice, tliat in the year 1018 the Epis- copal clergy of Scotlaml, and otiiers, met at Perth, and agreed to con- form with the Church of England in observing the following rules, namely : 1. Kneeling at the Com- munion. 2. The observance of cer- taiti holydays, viz : Christinas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost. 3. Episcopal Confirma- tion. 4 Private Baptism, and 5. Private Communion. These regu- lations are known, in Scotland, as the Five Articles of Perth. P>ut in the year 1638, at the General As- sembly held at Glasgow, Episcopacy and the Five Articles of Perth were abrogated ; and the Moderator of 8 that Assembly, Alexander Hender- son, closed the session with the dreadfully solemn warning. " We have now cast doivn the walls of Jericho; let him that rehuildrth them heivare. of the curse of Hiel, the Bethelile.'" The Eev. Thomas McOrie (Pres- byterian), in his Skptches of S'Ottish Church Uistort/, says : " The fourth and fifth articles, viz., the private administration of the sacraments of Ba{»tism and the Lord's Supper seemed to our forefatheis not oidy piconsistent with Scripture, but fit- ted to revive those Pojjish louhrines against wliich humanity and reason alike protested— that all uubaptized infants are excluded from bliss, and that the reception of the conseeiMtiid host on a death-bed is essential to salvation." What a change in our day ! In Canada private Presbyterian bap- tisms are quite common ; and in tlie United Slates both privat(! baptism and communion are among I'r(!sby- terians, IMethodists, and Oongrnga- tionalists, considered quite orthodox and evangelical I And what is very remark r»'e in the circumstances i.i this, namely, that, so far from the curse of Iliel, the Bethelite, falling upon these denominations, they seem to 'flourish like a green bay tree." 2. Siii Jits' Days and Rclifjious Processions. The observance of holy or saints' days, and of religious processions, was considered by the Covenanters and Puritans as Romish ; they therefore abolished all such days, and forbade, under pains and penal- r 58 il ties, (iitlier feasting, or fasting, or cercnionics foruK'i'ly oUsltvoJ in con nt'ction with sucii days. To call the Lord's day Sundai/, has long been considered Romish ; and only a few- years ago, Pi'esbyterians, Congrega- tionalists, I^aptists, and others kept thi'ir i)laces of business ojxmi, in Canada^ and })lied their ordinary ■work as a ]»rotesb against such Popish superstition as the obscrv- anee of Christmas and Good Friday. But what a change is passing over such people ! A professor of the Presbyterian College in Toronto has lately been instructing the students, and others, not to call the Lord's day the Sah- htith da}*, but to call it Sunday. The Puritans of Connecticut, in New England, made the following law : " No person shall read Com- mon Prayer, kee[) Christmas or saints' days, make mince ]iies, i)lay canls, dance, or ]»lay any kind of music except the trum[)et or Jew's harp." But now how changed is public opinion among \.\w descend- ants of those verv Puritans I Con- neeticut is one of the strongholds of the Protestant Episcopal (vhurch, in which not only is the Common Pra\ er read by many thousands, who iir(; yearly increasing in num- ber, but by wIkuu saints' days are duly observed, and Christmas is celebrated, not only 1)y that church, but by all denominations ; and that even with mince pies, and with no- bler instruments of music than the trum]iet or Jew's har[). And so it is all over Canada, not only in Rom- ish Lower Canada, but in Upper Canada, in cities, towns, and vil- lages, among evangelical Protest- ants, who glory in their Protestant- ism ; they now observe Christmas, and Good Friday, and St. Andrew's Day, and St. George's Day ; and not a few of them are seen observing the days of St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist. The saint's day is, with the exception of that of St. John the Baptist, the day of the saint's death ; .so, in ac- cordance with tills general rule, the Scotch Presbyti.-rians duly observed, in 1S72, the 2'J-th of NovembcM-, as the commemoralion of the death of St. John Knox. The present g;'neration of teachers and scholars in uwv common Protest- ant schools are as familiar with Easter holidays, and Christmas holi- days, as though the education given wcn-e that of the Romish Chui'ch. What would the Pre.sl)yterian and Puritan forefitliers have thought of such a state of things I and more especially when Protestants can wil- lingly observe such days, and see no haruj, no sin, no Romanism in doing .so ! Religious processions have been den)uncod as Romish. .Doubtless the objections to them have been, like the objections to saints' daj'^s, exceedingly silly, frivolous, and ab- surd : but our business at present is not to answer the objections, but sim])ly to notice things considered to be Romish. Romish priests, monks, nuns, and other members of the Romish church, walk in re- ligious procession, both outside and inside the church, and have music, mrcli. :vikI ,'lit of more wil- ^(\ no uiug been )tloss l)een, (lays, .1 ab- •c'scut >, but Jo red •icsts, nbei's n ro- ! and uisic, 59 and souietlrne.s, if not generally, car- ry son)etliiug sacred in the proces. sion, .such as a cross, a saint's ban- ner, or tlio consecrated host, or some sacred relic. Now, what do we see among Protestants on St, John's days and other days 1 — a procession, with music, carrying a banner of some saintly hero, the Jfoly Bible, and symbols of Christian truth. And mark that procession from the Pres- byterian session-lionse or vestry to the communion table ! It is a ])ro- cession ol' ehhirs. The first elder is carrying a vessel containing the sa- cramental bread, covered with a white lim.'ii clt»th, whieli, says |)i\ Guthrie, reminds ns of the white linen cloth in which ihe dead body of Christ, was wrapt; then follows anothei' <'l(ler. caiTving a tlagon of wine ; and Itehiiid him cmnes one or two mure, carrying communion cnjis, and all this while some psalm m- hynui is being sung. Now, if these elders were only dressed in white in- stead of black, their lilth,' procession to the table or altar would l)i,' very nuieh like what is commonly seen in a llomish church or cha])el when the jtriest and his assistants enter in procession, carrying with them what is needr, j)rocessions must, and ever lave been necessary, llenoe I'unera! pro- cessions, and military pi-ocess ons. Even the Free Kirk ministeis b 'gan tlunr disruption, in [>>•['.), by a pro- cession of about 200 of their i um- ber, from St. Andrew's (.^hurcii to the Canuonmills Hall, in Edinbr.rgh; and nobod}', I jn'esunie, thoight them wrong in doing .so. 3. R())H'iuisin la K.iiciiiji'irc P/' tjov, 1 have to touch on the subj. i t of jmblic pi'ayer. Not a few pi i sons imagine that the reading ol' I'lrnis of prayer in public is lvonii.>h Imt if such were the ease, then 'Veiy one oi' tlie Kitbrme 1 cliurc]ie>. at, and since the Iicrorniatinn, in the liitli century, ha-' Iiecn Ron ish ; ibr they all have used, an 1 the most of them still use fonns of pri.yei". Calvin gave a praviM'-bool; to ( .'iie- va ; Luther gave a pi'ayer-booc to (ierniaiiy and oili:-r places ; John Knox gave a piMvcr-book to Scot- land. The J)utch liel'iirmed, and the \yaldensiaii Chrislians 'lave ])rayer-books also for ]iul)Iic wor- shi[) ; so that if it is Jvomisli lo ase forms of pi'ayer in puldic, hese -Protestants must have b(;en, and are y<'t, very fir astray. .But the J'uritans arid Wesl.ain- ster As.sembly of Divines deela nied against forms of prayer in piblic, regardless of the fact that such forms have been in the church ever since a[iostolic days. But whet we now particularly notice are the three following facts, namely : 1st. 60 11 That if Wf arc to hclicvc Iho liisto- riiiiiH of tli«' I7lli ct'ntniy there were ineri represent iiitf tlieiiiselveH as Pti- rilaii prciu'Iicrs, who travelled up am] (h)Wii l'!iij,'IaiHl, jtreacliliiiij and lectiirin;,' a;,Miii.st the (Mnuvh of Kiig- liiud I'rayer-ltouk, and ai,'aiii.st all forms of prayer in p»il>lie, and yd Jesuits as Coleman, Button, nillinL,'Iiaui, T'cMson. Cum- min, and llc.ith Were pioCessefl F'uri- tuns, and railed against the Romish - ness of the I'rayer-book, the great object being to weaken, and if pos- siitle, to destro\' tlu! 1'!ii!'Iisli < 'jiureli. Heath called the English Prayer-book the Engiij-h Miiss book. .Icsuitism is still working, and some I'roteat- tints are giving (hoin aid and com- fort bv railinj; against the Pook of Common Piayer. '!'h(! second fact is, that e,\tt>in- pore prayer, by the niiidster, silences the Voice of tlie p'oiilc in public vorship a^' eti'ectualiy as (h)cs the of- fering of ]i)\iy(r l)y the Pomish prit'st, in th.^ I, it in l;i:i:T;ua!'((. Tn the m'ost iiiicieiit stylo of i)ublic ])rayer the jieople's voice was heard as well as tliai of thc^ minister. But among many i'resbyteriaiis, Baptists, and Congregational ists, (although not among !\rethoilists), the people ai<' not expected to say even '• Amen " in an audible voice. And the third fact is, that extem- pore prayer makes the minister even more thoroughly the mouth of the l)eople to Ciod, and the mouth of God to the })eople, than the Romish priest is. Presbyterian ministers claim this for theniHelves, ns we liavo already se«'n, fronj their Directory f»)r Public Worship, and from tluiir Form of Church (loverniuent One of their nuiuber, tlie Rev. i\Iatth(>w Henry, in his (Commentary, on 2 Chron. .xxx. 27, say.s of the .T((w- isli priests, "It wius part of their office to blss the people (Num. vi. 22, 23), in which they were both the people's mouth to God, by wny ol pnti/cr, and God's mouth to the people by way of j)romise, for tluiir blessing included both. What a comfort to a eongr(>gati()u to be sent home thus crowned !" And the same great I'resbyterian commcMita- tor savs, in his note on tht; Book of Numbers vi. 22, 23, "The j)riests, among other good offices, are so- leundy to Itless the ])eople in the naitie of the ZiOnl. Hereby God honoured the ])riests, and gave great comfort to the people. Though the ))rii'st of himself could do no more than beg a l)lessing, yet being an in- tercessor, bij office, anil doing that in His name who comiaands the ble.ss- ing, the prayer carried with it a promise. I. This (ollico of the Jew- ish j)riest) was a type of Chi-ist's errand into the world. 2. U wis a pattern to gospel ministers. The same that are GoiVs mouth to his people, to teach and command, are his mouth likewise to bless them ; and they that receive the law shall receive the blessing." So that, according to ^Sfatthcw Henry, and according to the Direc- tory for Public Worship, the Pres- byterian ministers are intercessors, hy ojjice, between God and the peo- , 61 , |)1<' I PrcHhytcriiiiiism has taken away from the pcophi their ancient upoHtolit; privih'ge of liaving their voice heard in puhlie |i.nyer — Acts iv. 24. ft lias rohheil tlie jieoplt; of their ancient litur^'it s or piayer- hooks, in which tht* |ieojih> an* priviU'geil, and required to pray tdoiul, in cliurch, as well as this minister : and it has placed into the hands of its ministers alone a diiTCtory which niei\ ly tells the minister what \w may say or do in pnblic worsliip, \,\\i which presu]»])oscs that the pi ople are to be silent, and simply to follow tin* niiiiistt;r in whatever he is pleased to say to God, arnl not tlic worships Mveu in some few portions of the Honnin ('atholic Church, I am told, the people have still their Liturgy in their own ancient language, and there, according to the ancient apos- tolic practice, the [X'ople join their voice with that of the minister in j)ublic prayer. But when wo think of the doctrine that the nunister is the month oi' the peo[»le unto Goil, and the mouth of God unto the peo- ple : thai/ the minister i.s, by olUce, an inteivcssor or mediator between Goil and the people ; and when we mark the efl'ect of such doctrine iu silencing the j)eople's voice in public j)ray(;r, not only do we tliink of the contrast between this modern reli- gion, as compared with the jaiini- tive church Sfn'vice, when the re- sponses of the people in prayer burst forth ever and again like a claj) of thunder, or as the voice of many waters ; l)iit we think, also, and can- not br.L think th;'.t Tresbyterianisni, and Congregationalism, and all the the other isms that have taken away the ancient foi'nis of responsive prayer IVoni the j)eo[)le, are as guil- ty of silencing the people in ihat all- important privilege and duty of pub- lic prayer as the Roman C'atholic Church is guillv of tlie same tliinjf, by retaining its public services in the dead, Latin languag^^ In secret or private prayer, we may need no form whatever ; but in 62 public prayer the Clunvh always has hud its forms for various good rea- y:)Ms : oru! hoiiig, that the p(!0|ile uiiglit join vocally in them, which th(!y could not possil)ly ition, and tin; Ivonianisui which is inhcrr-book in partictdar. It is one of th(! signs of the times, how- e\(i, that tlie \ery denominations who liave been loudest in their de- nunciations against forms of prayer are now eag<'rly adopting them, both in the family and in jiuUie. Tn the I'uited States f)rms of prayer for private and fimily use have been prepared by such i'resby- teriaii nn'nisters as I'arnes, Smith, Winchester, antl • Spring. IJcsides many forms prepared by single au- thors, in Scotland, the Established and Free Kirks are each represent- eIic worship except the Psalms of David — an " iiispinul psalnioily," by which they meant Rouse's Met- rical N'ersiiin. We have heard of a voun": minister havinij uone to pri'ach for a Sunday in (»ne of those congregations in whicdi this opinion was held, and having given out a hymn or ])ai'aphrase, in the morning, to lu; sung, was sur|)rised to find, in the evtuiing, that all the paraphrases and hymns had been se- curely sewt'd together with waxed thread during the interval of wor- 63 shi|>. We have several times .seen, or rather heard, an old Covenanter giving his public protost in a Free Kirk congregation, when a para- phnuie or hymn was announced to be sung, which prot.jst consisted in suddenly clositig his 'tsahn-book with a slap which could be distinctly heard in the furthest corner of the building. 'i'hc singing of hymns was considei-ed to be Ro- mish ; it was will-'vorshij), it was an insult to the Word of (Jod, and therefore to Ood himself; and tiie deliant saying of a celebrated min- ister of the English Church was fpioted, preached, lectured, and juib- lislicd in pamphlets and prriodicals — '"iSliow me till' man who can make better hymn; than the ll<»ly Ghost has already made in the Jjook of Psalms !" Ibit tinu's have,' gri-atly changed of 1 itc The United I'l-t sl)yterians, a boily made uji of two or three dilferei t deTionn'nalious who li»ng I'esisted hvnnis. have now a large volume of them, including tlu! Tc Dr.nm in melici, which rivals ihe Homish metrical version of it in English. If such a ])ra<'tic(! was Homish a few years ago, it must, we think, be Romish still ; and the ^Methodists, the Bai)tists, and Con- gregationalists are ; 11, in this pai'- titd.ir, ecjually guilty, for tiny .ill sing hymns. Tn .sonu" old Episco- p.d churches it has been common to sing the Litiiny. The fatauy has been considered as .something super- latively Romish, aiul those most solemn j)a.s.sages in it, in which ww plead the merits of Christ's suffer- ings and death, have been consid- ered to be the most Romish and ob- jectionable of all. John Knox num- bers it among " diabolical inven- tions ;" foi- he say.s, speaking of "the mark of the beast," '' A portion of these dregs of Papistry, which were left in vour Greek Rook of Enjj- land — one jot of which I will never counsel any man to u.se. One jot, 1 .say, of th(^se diabolical inventions, vi/,.: crossing in baptism, kneeling at the Lord's table, and nniml)ling or singing of the Litany." (Plea, 2;}').) And Rev. Dr. McCrie, a Presbyterian, say.s of the Litany, '• Wc regard it as the mo.st objec- tionable part of the whole (English Cliuich) Liturgy : we duist not re- peat it so long as we keep the third eommandn)ent in mind, — many parts of it b(>ar mori! re.sendjliuice to an art whii-h we shall not name, th.iu to either prayer or pi'ai.se." Sneh assertions ;is these from Knox ;iiid Me^'iie we know are the results of ]Hf judiee ; and in so far .as tliey refer to the liit.my as it now stands in the English I'rayer-book, such assertions arc the result of blih I, furious bigotry ; but they ai'e popnlar with a certain class of profe.s.-scd (Mnistians ; ;uid it reipiires a little eoiuMge, and some exercise of the Proiestant right of private judgment to withstand tluim. Now, the |],i})tists have doiu' so, and T <'ommend them li)r it. They have actu.ally had tlu; courage to ;tdo|tt into their hymns the meti'ical ver- sion of this dreadfnlly Romish pro- duction called the Litany ! True, the}' hav(! ch.ingcvl the list line iu each verse, which ends with the 64 word fjitdny, and substituted the words '' we cry." But there it is, the most solemn, the most cbjection- able, the most Romish portion of the Litany in metre ! Let ine (juote a few lines of it from the Baptist hymn-book : — Hymn Gr)2. '' By Thine hour nf dark cJcspiiir ; H}' 'I'liine iigony of prayer ; \\y tliii iross, the null, the thorn, Piercing speur, and torturiii'^ scorn; By ih'! {^looin that veiliil the .-'kica, O'er ihc 'Irea i.ful sacrifice, — .lo-iJs I'ldk with pitying eye; Listen to our humble cry. V>y the deep, expiring groan ; l?y the S!id sepulcliral stone; Jiy the vavilt, whose dark abode llehi in vain the rising God," Thus have the Baptists thrown theiuselvi's open to the charo;c of Roni;niizifig. They are, according to John Knox, taking upon them tlie mark of llie beast ; thev are adopting the dregs of Papistry • they have adojtted into their wor- ship a diabolical invention ; a dread- ful sometliing -wliieh the Rev. Dr. McOi'ic? eould not (hire to repeat so long as he had in his mind ihe third eoniniaudnient ! If one. might l)e permitted to of- fer a word of comfort to the Bap- tists in such i' in- ureat Organ Question, in which he as- serts that the use of tlie organ is " sinful, and profane ; a breach of the second cominandinont ; and that the use of this instrument in pubh'c worship is a part of Pofjish ritual- ism, originating in the growing su- perstition of the dark ages."' But wliat a fliange ! The barrier to the dreaded priestly system has been broken down. A part of Po- pish ritualism has b(;en transferred into the Presbyterian worship ! '"The devil's bagpipe " now drones in many a Scotch I'rL'sbyterian place of wor- ship. What the Scotch used to c:dl, contem[»tuou;s]y, ■' The kist o' whi.s- tles," has turned many of their town and coii'itiy eluirches into wliat they were formerly accustomed to sneer at as "whistlin' kirks," .Vnd hero, in Canada, the same innovation, originating in the superstition of the (l.irk ages, is i-apidly appearing among all kinds of Presbyterians. The nnisic of the '' ten-horned beast" has so charmed the descend- ants of Covenanting forefathers, that there is really no saying when? this woufltM'ing after the beast may end. Till! late Dr. Binney, of London, P^igland, a Congregationalist, had th(! Psalter or Psalms pointed for chanting; in Toronto, one of the l*re,sbyterian churches has chants, also, iu public worship ; and in St. P;'tei''s Old School Presbyterian Church, in Rochestei', N. Y. State, chanting of j)salms has, for .several years, been practised, with the re- jHMting of the Creed, the Lord's Priyer, and the Ame?i, by the peo- pl(\ .\rc such things Romish ? Then Pre.sbvterianism and Con^re- gationalisui are on the highway Pomeward. e, or iliees • the 1 the nt iK For j)er- itted, Mj)le, estly) gainst whole si)i- reab chlan, It lat- Cana- n the LECTURE IV. Our next topic is Religious Rev- erence for Relics and Holy Places, and Protestant Pilgrimages to them. The following letter, on this sub- ject, appi'ared in The Khujxfon Whiff, Saturday morning, Ajiril 9th, 1873:— " Protkhtant Revkrf.nob for Reli- oioiis Rkmcs. — Rov«reiico for tlio renuiins, especiiilly of tlio great, the g''0(J, or tlie beloved, is very mitural to the humnn beurt, and arises, doubtless, from " the asaociatioo of ideas." The well-knowQ Mrs. II. B. Stowc gives, in the following lines, ii good iliustnitiou of it: — Iliith nit oiicli common household tbiog, I'hat once of old was tiieirs, Been gifted with a huly charm To aid U8 in our prayers ? Sweet frapranco from the heavenly land Falls siittly from the skies, And tills the conunou household room, Once halloweil by their eyes. The book, the chair, the pen, the glove, To us are more divine Than crucifix or rosary. Brought from the holiest shrine. 66 The curl of hair, the faded leaves, The riag, the flower, the i;em, Speak with a tender wnruiDg voice, And bid us follow them. High thoughts, brave deeds, and firm re- solves, And zeal that never faints, Come to us by these simple things, — These relics of our saints ! " According to Mrs. Stowe, and all who think with her, relics must be of im- mense value in a moral and religious sense, forming, indeed, 'a meauH of grace.' It is no wonder that the modern Romish Church attaches such importance to them, With the exception of accomplishing mi- raculous bodily cures, which are nothing, compared with the cure of the soul's dis- eases, no Roman Catholic could ascribe greater virtue than this to relics. The Fathers of the Council of Trent simply afSrm that ' the holy bodies of the holy martyrs and others living with Christ, are to be venerated by the faithful, since by them God bestows many benefits upon them.' liut tliosti same fathers append a caution to their decision in the-ie words: — 'Let all superstition in the veneration of relics be taken away, and all base gain be abolished.' Late English papers indi- cate that veneration for relies is not con- fined to Mrs. Stowe and the Ilonian Catho- lics. The following is from tiie Lnnilon Wffkh/ irisf.atch of March VMh, 1H70 : — ' The foundation .stone of a Wesleyan Cliapcl was laid at Uurslem, the other day, and it was announced that portions of the coffin, shroud, and the hair of John "VVesley, had lieen deposited in a bottle to be fixed in a crevice.' On reading such a statement as this, one is forced to ask hiniseU" can this really be true? Have they actually viol.ited the grave of John Wesley to ol)taiii these relies ? Will other such relics he taken away from the grave for other new chapeLs? Since John Wes- ley lived and died a churchniun, and never belonged to the sect now called ' Wes- leyan Methodist.' what rifiht have they to a single hair of his head? What 'benefits' do they expeet to derive from these relics ? Do they helii've, with .Mrs. Stowe, that such tliinijH will ' aid them in their prayers,' ami briii^ down ' sweet fragrance frc)ni the heavenly land ' upon their souls? Or is it a triek to make ignorant people believe more firmly that John We,sley left the Church of England, and set up what is calleil 'The Wesleyan Church?' Would it not have been more honest to have obtained .some relics of Clarke, or Pauson, or Coke, who, after Wesley's death, led the Methodists out of Wesley's beloved Church? The robbers of graves, however, have always been de- tested, and the death penalty was for ages adjudgeil to them, even when the motive was to obta-n relics for religious use. A people professing godliness are to be pitied whose piety is dependent, in any degree, on 'dead men's bones.' What a hue and cry of Popery would have been raised ngainst the Church of England if one of its congregations had been guilty of the escapade of the Burslem Method- ists? Are John Wesley's prophetic words of warning becoming more and more veri- fied: 'If you leave the Church, God will leave you!' Be that as it may, I protest as a churchman, against robbing my brother churchman's grave, and remain, steadfastly, A PUOTKSTANT CHURCHMAN." This letter wii.s replied to by an- other cominuiiicatioii, signed ''Meth- odist," and which admitted the facts, but gave only the apology for them, that " there were some foolish Meth- odists in Biir.slem." We find the same kind of fooli.shne,ss, however, quite prevalent in Canada and in the United States to an alarming extent. I know a clergyman who posses'.ses a piece of John Btniyan's })ulpit, whicli relic was given to him as a very precious article, and a very great mark of friendsliip, by a Bajttist lady, whose father had often preaclied in tin; |)uli)it of the im- mortal dreamer. Knox College!, To- ronto, [»()s,s(!sses some rare religious relics. There are in its mnsciiin, I think, a pi(>ce of Sanuud Ruther- ford's [nilpit ; a couple of pens which were used by the fathers of the Dis- ruption, in 1843; a vial of wat(!r fnnu th(! Dead Sea ; atK)thf'r vial of water from the river Jordan ; a piece of the rock of Mount Zion ; some olive leaves from the Garden 67 ill of Gethsemane, and otlier things of the same religious character. And although these articles are not the objects of what we usually call wor- ship, they are nevoi'tlieless cherished with considerable respect, if not rev- ei'ence. In the United States tlie Reli- gious Tract Society ik)s.s('ssl'h, or did possess what is regarded as a very jnecious relic indeed ; it is an old arm-chair — a chair whicli, on one occasion, was held up us high as hu- man arms could hold it, in the old Tabernacle Church of Broadway, New York, that it inight be seen by the admiring multitude of Protist- ants convened on the occasion. It was brouglit all the way from the Isle of Wight, in England, and is the chair in which the ])i()us and celebrated Dan-y man's Daughter used to sit during her long sickness ; and even tlie leii^-es from the box- tree which her saintly hands jdaiited, are carried over to tla; United States, and treated with reverence as holy things ! When the Town Council of Edinburgh, Scotland, a few y(;ars ago, determined to pull down the old, rickety house of John Knox, the ))eople of the Free Kirk immediately came to the rescue, and bought it, site and all. with as much zeal, liberality, and reverence ius llo- man Catholics niiglit be supposed to have done, had it been the holy liouse of Lorelto threalcncd with similar desecration. The graves of the Covenanting martyrs, in Scot- land, are also cherished with pecu- liar reverence ; and they arc con- sidered, in some parts of the coun- try, as possessing a sacreduess of character which fits thetu for a yearly or periodical religious cele- bration. In the absence of other and stronger proof, which time could afford me to adduce, I turn to vol. V. of the Scottish Pulpit, p. 421, where we have a sermon entitled, The Mirfyr's Grave, preached by the minister of the Parish of Iron- gray, Dumfriesshire. Two Cove- nanting niaityrs are buried at the place. The sermon was accompanied with humiliation, fasting, and })rayer. The remains of the martyrs are dis- tinctly described by the preacher as bo/ies and relics, and the place of their burial as a smrcdsp,t. I have also before me a volume, published by ( 'arter. New York, which is much admired by Presbyterians, and entitled lj(tys oj the Kirk and Cove- nant, by Mrs. A . Stuart Mentcath, One of its ])icture5 represents the celebrated Alexander Peden, a j)er- secuted Covenanting minister, seated at tilt! yrave of his martvred fellow- minister, Richard (Jameron, at Airs- moss ; anil with eyes turned heaven- ward, exclaiming, " O, to Ijc wi' thee, Ritchie !" W this be not a [jrayer to St. Richard, it sounds very much like it. Mrs. Menteath, as well as other historians, relate that these wen; the very words used. She adds greatly to them, however, in lu-r lay or poem, and thus con- cludes it: — " Upon tlic will! ami lone .Virsmoss, Down sunk tlie t\vili^;lit jrriy, In sforni timl cloud the cveninii closed Upon tlmt clioerless diiy ; Bill i'cdon went hi-* wiiy r.-IVe-shi'd, For |H'!ice nnd joy were {jiven — And (.'liincron'.s gnive Imd proved To liitu the very giito of heaven." Such beini' the case, need we won- 68 l>i dcr that Covonnntors and Roman Catholics slioukl both bo agrood as to tho bonctit of praying at tho graves of tho martyrs 1 Wo woukl all liko to got an occasional peep through tho gate of lieaven, but un- forttmately tho martyrs' graves are far away from tho most of us ; and sometimes the weiitlier is not very favourable for visiting tliein, even if they were near to us. These and other considerations render it more conveni''nt to bring tlie relics of saints .ind martyrs from their graves into tlic phtce of public worship, that vc may, through such means, enjoy eomtortMbly our peep into the vorld of h;i|'|)iness. Tli(» Roman < 'atlmlics have long ja'actiscl this plan ; a'ld have pheed such relies within or un- der the i'.Utir, taking, doubtless, their authority for so doing from the I'ook of Heveiation vi. 9 : '' f saw un- der the idtar the souls of tluMu that were slain for the word of Cod. and for the testimony which they iield." The word .^uufato be umlerstood here in the sens(« {>f Ifxhrs, as in the Acts of the Apostles ii. 2') L'7 : ''My flesh shall i-est in hope, because tlaai wilt not leave my ,s'o/// in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thinc^ Holy One to see corrupMon." The* iloman Cath- olics also appeal to the practice of tlic primitive < hristi.uis of the lirst cent,nri(>s. in holding religious festi- vals at the tmnbsof the martyrs, and in ilie churches wlna-e they were biu'ied, in conHnemorafion of their virtues and death ; much in tho same stylo as do the Covenanters and other Presbyteriaiis ol Scotland at the jiresent day. (Bingham, B. XX. c. vii.) Hence, every fully oquip- l)ed Romish altar lia.ssonie holy relics in or under it. Rut Protestantisai denounces all this as rank suj)ersti- tion and idolatry. Hence the Cove- nanters and Ruritans demolished such altars and destroyed such relics. How degenerate then must be their descendants who, ])rofessing to have abolished saints' da 's or comnuMno- rations, now hold commemorations of Covenanting saints ; and, who, while denouncing reverence for I'cli- gions i-elics as Romish, are as enthu- siastic as 0/(1 MortdUtij himself, in paying Scotch martyrs' graves and bones the most affectionate respcfct ! ** Ah, but do we bring relics into churcdi ?" you say. Yes, you some- times bring, especially tho bodies of beloved ministers, ijito the house of prayer, and bury them there under the pul|iit, or under the communion table or altar, as in St. Andrew's Church, Col)ourg ; where may be seeJi a tablet on the wall, stating very plainly that such is the ease. See also '* the auld Kirk," in ^Far- tintown, where Rev. Mr. Connell's bones are buried und(!r tho altar. St. Ceorge Whitfield's bones also lie under the altar at N<;wburyport, II. S., in a Congregational Chajiel, where I'rotestant pilgrims often touch and handle them with revor- eiu'c. Close beside them, lie the bones of Rev. Mr. Par.sons, formerly a ])astor of the congregation. Tht! age of pilgrimages to holy pi. ices, has revived. Not oidy lioman Catholics, but Protestants (lock in tliou-iinds to P.-ilestiiu' to visit Bethlehem, and Jeru.saleni, and e9 •ly i Calvary, and tho Holy S(!|mlcliro, where our Lord is siipjiosed to have been buried ; and other jjlaccs ren- den'd or considered sacred by having been the scenes of His visible pres- ence. The Covenanters and Puritans d(!nounccd what they called prrci/n'- ■luitlims^ or pilgrimages ; and it has been considered, until recently, the ])ink of I'rotestantism to denounce the Crusaders as a pack of supersti- tious fools and fanatics, in attempting to rescue the holy places of l^destine from the grasp of tlie infidel .^^oham- laedans. 'I'lurc were no (.'hristian holy places ; all the earth was now cipially holy. But how ehangod the sentiments of I'rotestants now in regrird to the holy place.-, nf P.ilcstiue I A^oliimes i»f extracts might lie col- leeteil illustrating this change, and proving that pilgrimages iire now tjuite commonly made to these places, and prayers ollered in ihi'iii willi all the j'litli and fer\i>iiv of devoiit Ro- inaii Catholics; and lli".e I'l'i lestant pilgrims anl devotees, some o! wlmm are ministers of religion, publish to the world their unprot '-tint esca- pades v.'ilhout fear or censure ! J^^t nuf illustr;ite by a few lirief extracts from a book written by t<\\>- ui' these ))ilgrims. Here is whiit. lie did in the gaiihii of GethsemaU''; " I wnlktnl petif-ively nroniil aiel iMTi*;-? nsjisin niid nji'iin, riiiil nicilitiitce :ipil pcun e.l forth the inotital priiy*'i", liunililc;! juicl eloviiteil toil with tlie th.mi^iit tlutt this ■w.'iH the phific where our L'lnl walkeil tnnl wept ntnl wiis nnoiiized, and 1 felt us if tlio Bpot posscsaed a chnriii uiiiro lialiowed and severe thim even ciilvury it~el('. Hero for aj^es the pilj^rini has knelt :uid ki-^.«ed these Olive trees, carryin;:,' tiience a few of tlie fallen fruit, or a twi;:; or a portion of the bark, to remind liim at his distant home, of tho spot where Christ was sor- rowful unto death. Having got a few twigs from the olive treea, which I havo carefully preserved, 1 was conducted northward from the gardea to the tomb of the Holy Virgin." Speaking of the aup[)osed Holy Se[)ulchre, he says : — ''Without and around tho door of the sepulchre, hut still under the dome, there was a crowd of pilgrims — Copts, Abyssin- iann, Syrians, .Maronites, Greeks, Arme- niiinf, and Roman Catliolics. all prostrate on the marble flior. Deeji silence ob- tained. Every boily seemed piile and as if Htrufrrjlhig for breath. As each trembling traveller was admitted to the jrrave, he seemed to feel in tho uervousne.-.s of his frame, as if he were about to puss into the presence of God face to face. When I entered, I felt almost as if I had been .summoned by death to jtive an ncC'iuot of the deeds done in the body. I kneeled over tlie tomb, treinblod. wept, and mut- tered a short prayer for huiniiity, rcpea- tance. faitli, and mercy, for niy.si'''t. my family, my tlick, and fiiends. And in so far as I knew my heart. I may siy tiiat the irr.ititude of ir a^cenlil wit!i a ri-eu Saviour to the throne of tii(i Father ou lii;ili. Alone, and in silence, at th'^ sup- po-e 1 centre of the world, and far, far from home, I tried fervently to remember my sill-; iK-fnre O'ni, and all the pljici-s and pei-sioi-; in the K.ist Iii'lies .and in ilurope, most near ao 1 dear unto me. 1 rose, pulled a tliiwer wliicli was afteiwards .sent home lo my deir ilau^nter .Majrgie, and eame b.ick from this scene of iiniie, joy, and sorrow, tn give room to other visitors, for lilt more than tiufe or four can be ad- mitted at a time." And who may the pious devotee lie whose words I have now quoted? lie is a i're.-.byterian minister, the Rev. Dr. Alton, parish minister of Dolphiuton, r^cotland, and wno de- dicates his volume, entitl(;d " The Lands oj On; Mcasiuli, M(thvinet, and the Pd]"',' to his brother ministers who kindly su})plieti'!>v I'nod or el(»tli- ing for the hundreos ot orjiliaus de- i)endent on him, simply betakes him- .self to prayer, and tht^ nei'ded sup- plies come in without fail. He says in his first 'Narrative.' p S.'), "About this tinn^ (18.3:i) I rei>catiMlly prayed with sick believers till they were restored. UnconditiomiKi/ I asked the Lord for the blessing of bodily health, and abnost always had the petition granted. In the same way, whilst in London. Nov. 18:31), in answer to my prayers, I was Imme- diidcly restored from a bodily in- tirmity under which I had been labouring for a long time, and which never has returned since." ^liraculous incidents in suj)er- abundance could easily be adduced from t.he histories of the Covenant- ers, the Methodists, the Irvingitcs, and the comparatively modern re- vivals of religion among the Pro- testant denominations. 1 rt;ft*r, for proof, to Howie's lives of Tin' Scut- tidfi Wurthies, The Cloud of Wit- nesses, John Wesley's Journida, Tlu; Year of I'rni/er, and the many pamphlets conceiuing Irvingism. Isaac Taylor, although finding sume "points uf comparison'" l>etweun ^Methodism and llomanism, never- theless write.i as the apologist for Methodism, and says, [». 74, that " Miiracles are neither now looked for. nor are they desired in that (.ouiuiunion." Yet he says, p. 7-"), then' is a resend)lance between the two .svstems, •' in the encouragement given at first by Wesleyan Method- ism, MS also by Romanism, to what- evei- touches Jii)on the su[)eniatural and miraculous. Wesley's most ]uo- niinent infirmity was this wouder- loviug errdulity ; from tin beginning to tli(^ end of liis course it ruled him."' And, "the personal histories of xUv Methodist worthies, their autobio(;r.i|iliies and obituaries, are rendered distasteful by the too copi- ou- admixture of incidents which try the faith of a cool-tempered reader. In truth, .Churv;h of Scotlaiul for tlu* publication of the works of Si-ottish Hefornu'rs aiid Divines : Kdinbui-gh, 184*). Concerning lliis Covenanting snint, Wodrow, is ([uoted at p. HI, as say- ing, " that great, ami T had alnuist said, apostolic servant oi" Christ, ^Ir. Hog." V. S9. :\fr. Hog, uniting with one or two other ](r')'sons (whom he frcfpiently employed on extiMordi nary occasions), sets apart a day for fasting and pi'.'.yci-, on bclialf of an ins;ine young woman : he then, on the next day, wrestled in j.rayer until "she recovered her senses, and became as iprief as evei- she was be- fore." A daughter of the Laird of Parks is taken with a high fever, and In r life despaii-ed of. Mr. Hog prays for her, when tlie tVvei* instantly leaves her, and she is restored tt» health." A child of the Eev. Mr. Thomas TJrqnhart is "at the very j)oint of death." :Mr. Hog ])rays, :ind the child is restored to health. " A like instance is found in his diary. with respect to ii child of Kininun- One David Dunbar, in a state of insanity, wanders into Mr. }{og's house. Mr. Hog bids him sit down; and saying to those jtresent, "The prelates have deprived us of money wherewith to pay physicians, we will theiefore use the Physician who cures freely :" " he then commanded till' districted man, in a very so- lemn, awful mannei', to be still," and ])iayed for him. when '*hewas im- nu'diately restored to his right wits." I*. 90. IVIr. Hog goes to sec *• a gracious woman in great extremity, and sad distress of both body and mind " Tfe j)rays foi her, saying, "() liOi-.l, rebuke this tentation, and we. in Thy name, r(!V)uke the same." •' She is imnieiliately restored tf) en- tire health both of boily and mind." !Mr. Irfog was also a ])roj»het, fore- telling with eeitainty future events. For example — I'. 9!). A funeial jirocession came to the church door intending to bury the coips(i within the church. INIr. ifog being opposed to this " vulgar superstition," [)ut his back to the chtireh dottr to pi'(n-ent th<'ir entrance, when a young fellow laid violent hands on Mr. IFog to pull him from the door. Mi\ Hog then foretold to tile people present, that they "should see the sudden repentance of the young man, or a signal judgment be- fall him ;" which accordingly hap- pened a few months afterwards, he having been stabbed in the body, "so that his bowels burst out and he died most miserably." Mr. Hog being engaged at family 73 worKliip in a private luiusc, obsorvos a servant man la(ij,'liii;4 once and again. Mr. ITog ))?-e»liols, Haying', that the servant "Hl)iill be visilily anil sinUlenly inmislied, uid shall ask for onr prayers when he cannot have them." Which aecn; lingly Imp- pened that very nijL^ht ; In:' the st^r- vant having biujii talvn suddenly sick, ci'ied bitterly for Mr. Hog's presence and prayers, but died before the latter reached his romu. Mr. Hog sent word to King James IT, that if he (the king) did not sud- denl}"- re[)ent of his Popery, '■ ilic land should spew him out ;" which accordingly came to pas;. When Mr. Ilog was iiutoutofliis parish, he fonitold that lie should be long ])r(!vented from ri' urniiig, but should livt> to !)(' I'l'edr I, and (o die there ; which also caine tn pas>. He foretold the glorious llevolu- tion of 1(!S8, and tin- i-oiuiu-- of William Prince of (Jraigc, with rhe great ])ublic delivtu-aufe which fol- lowed. Being a ])rison(M" in LDuddii, and his money having failed, a UiV^U'ri- ous stranger, "of much m.iji'sty ni\d sweetness," visits Mr. Iiolt, comfni'ts him, and suii]ilies hii i with the Deeded money. The stranLC'i- I'e- fu.ses to t(dl his name : jctires, and is nev(U' seen or In ard o!" mor(>. Wm. Balloch, ii gracious man, inclines to think the stranger was an augid. Such is a specimen, only a speci- men, of miracles by or on behalf of modern Protestant saints of the Pres- byterian or Covenanting order ; and I think that wo may cliallenge the Roman Catholic Church to shew a 10 more creditable record f(tr any one of tlicir saints of Uiodern times. But what .say the minisLi'rs of the Free Presbyterian Kirk anent these miracles ? They have published them to the woild l>y their highest authority — the rjini i-ai As.'^embly — and are tin (•'■fiiiT res|)iiiisil)le for their truthfulness. Mr. Ketnicily, Free Kirk minister of Dingwall, advo- cates such miiades in his book — r/ie J);(i/,-i (if t/u' Fitdtci'-i (if /'iiss- shin, — and ui linl.iins, (|i|i. ^^i, '2H'.\) that it is only btvMiis" mn.'n'ii Chris- tian:s hav.' " ba'-kslid leu "' froiudod that such mli'acU'saie not })erfonued in our times. A Roiua!i Catholic wouhl siniiilv sav thai it, was a want of fiith. But our Lnid liim.M'lf says (MHtt. vii ), '• :^Iany will s.iy to .Me in that tlay. ' Loi'd. Lnrd, ]\\y>' wo not prophesied in T!iy nainc ? and in 'I'liy name d(UH' niiny wonderful Work-; V And ih'U will 1 profe.--s unto them, I nmer knew you ; do- part from Ml-' ye tli li v.uik ini'iuity." "Judge not, th;it y>' !-■,' not judged." 1!!. Prdiicr.^ I'j (:!■ f,r fl'C Drtd. Witii rei'.-if.! to nr;i'\ ill.;" to or for the dead, it wouM l-e U!.jii.'t. I be- lieve, to charge wiih suili |.i'aeliees one or other of tlie l^-otestant de- nominations sjiecilly referred to in these h'ctui'es. Tli'.i-<' m:iy b(>, how- ever, among them exeej)tion;d eases — pLT.siMis of ]K'culi-ir views or senti- ments who indulge in >\\r\\ practices, but I'roiestants <.^'ni rally, including tlie Church of England, are agreed in the belief that jirayers oifered either to or for departeut this they never do. The jirayer in th.e Litany is not /o)' nnr forefnt/ici's at nU, but simply that we may ourselves be delivered from the consequences of the sins of our forefathers. The prayer is bused on tlie doctnne of the secon the Baptists or Presbyte- rians with praying toor for the dead, or with worshipping saints or angels, idthough tising sueh language in psalms or hymns. Tlu* kind of ad- dress eallecl nposfri plir, which con- sists in s|)eaking to inanimate things as though they heard or understood us, or to absent persons jis though they were ])r«>sent, is (jiiit(! perinis- sible in poi'try ov in hiL,'h-wri)Ught feelings. The Bible aboumls in this kind of address, as in l~)avid's laments for Absalom and for S;uil. Vet \vv would ask what the old ( *ovenanters, Presbyterians, .and Puritans wouM have said abont (liese IJaptist liynins ? Bringing liiivo gone to their fixed iibode, ill lieaveu or liell ! All such itleaa nnd practices wotild have Ixs^ii de- nounced as IJoiiii'ili. ][ere is 'lii' rule (oi- the huiial of tlie fh-ad, as given l)y the AVestinin- ster Asseiidily of Divines, and which lias, nntil not long ago, been uctf>d upon Ity the Pi'esliytenans, Inde- pendents or Puritans, and Baptists : '• When any person departctli this life, let tlio tlcml l)i)(ly, upon tlio dny of bnrinl, be (locfutly utteiuk'd from the iiouse to tliu iiliK'i' aiipiiiiiteil for jiublic burial, iiiul tlicrc iiimnjiliiiti'ly interrtd, without any conniniiy. '•And beciu.se tlie custom of kneeling down, and prsiying liy, or towai'ds, the dead corp.-c. and (itluT such usagi'S. in the place where it lies before it be carried to linrial, arc superstitions : and for that prayinir, reading, and singing, both in giiing to and at the grave, have been grossly abused, are no way benclicial to tlie dead, and have proved many ways liuivl'iil to the living: therefore let all eucli tilings lie laid a^ide. " 11 a minister be present he may put tlie people in mind of their duty." Then, that most hitter *»f books, tlie I'hii for l*i'fshij(vri/^ (pioti's with a|ipr(il»a(ioii the equally hitter Dr. MeCi ie in refei'eneo to the expurga- tion (tf the burial service of the Englislt Cliureh : — " All expressions in tlie service wliich involved prayers lor the dead were either expun;:ed or .'o/VcMn/: but tiie jtractioc of rending, ( r -inging, or praying, orer the dead was continued, and thus tiio false and dangerous idea tiiat this service was in M.iiie wiy or other available to the per- Bon interred, was fostered." But what '.vould the Westininster divines, or the Covenanters and I'ttritans, or the Pleaders, and Dr. MoCrie thiidv if they saw and heard the doings and the goings-on of their jirofessed followers in this our day and country ? Presbyteriana uud Congregationalists, as well as Bap- tists, have not only reading, pray- ing, and singing in the house v/here the dead corpse lies, on the day of burial, but also have prayer, and sonietiin(!s reading or singing also, both in the church and ovir the dead body when laid in the gi-ave I And what would these old Covenan- ters and Puritans say or think, if they but saw and heard these modern Presbyterians, CongregatitMialists, Baptists, and Methodists, as mem- bers of some secret societies, commit- ting to the grave the body of a deceased lirother, with ceremonies which faiily outromanize l-lome itself in ritualism ! What with reading and praying over the dead liody ; and the marching around the grave, and the dropping of this and that inlo it ; and i\w Homi.^h surplices and scarlet of some of the ollicials ; and the clasping and joining of hands and the crossing (U* raising of arms above the head — it is truly marvel- lous ! And not less marvellous are th(! words addressed by an onicial, ])eiha]is by :i Pres'-terian, Maptist, or Methodist minisi,,., to the dead man : " Fri.'iid and brother, we bid thee a long, a last farewell. Thou art at rest from thy labours : mill/ It hi' ic holy jicitce." And then all the Protestant brethreti respond, '• Amen, so mote it be." Now that is precisely what tin; Ro- mish prii'st and peoide do ! 'J'lie priest prays for the dead man, say- ing, ^^Rcijitii'scat in pare, may he rest in peace," and the responses is, "Amen," which means, so mote it be. But the Church of England, in 77 hor Burial Service, sanctions no sucli l)rayors for the dead. She ncithor addr(!^ss('H the deceased, nor prays /o/' the peace of departed bel'^vers. On the contrary, she affirms, in the Bu- rial Service, that "they who die in the Lord are blessed ; they rest fi-oui their labours ; they live with CJod ; and that they are with the Ijonl in joy anil folieity." She, indeed, oIUts the prayer that " we, with all thosn that are departed in the true faith aj IJi.s hithj name may h;ive our jicrfect consuniniation and bliss, botli in body and soul, in his eternal and everlastinij glory." But this is not a prayer for souls in unhappiness, or in want of peace. If it can be con- strued into a jjrayer for de[iartod souls at all, it must be for thost; who are now '* in joy and felicity," and for whose spiritual welfare our pray- ers are not required. We icnow tliat the bodies of dcjparted bt'licvtM's arc^ not yet in the enjoyment of perfect conaununation and blis.s, (llom. viii. 23 ; 1 Cor. XV.), and we may, per- haps, warr.mtably p!cui- i.ses in rcforencf to the resurrection and gliirilication of .■such bodies, and tluiir reunion witK the .souls of L".t^ dei)arted saints. Nevertlu'lc.s.s, it ap- pears to me (hat the pr.iyer in llie Hurial Service is not a prayer for llie dead at all, luit for ourselves ; that we may enjoy what de])ii:ied saints are now enjoying in heaven, and are certain of 'i-joying in tlie future, namely, perfect eonsumina- tion and bliss both in body and >oul at Christ's .sec(»nd coming. [l is substantially the suue prayer ih.it we olfer in the 7'c Dcuni, that wo " may be numl)ered willi the saints in glory cve.rlaf.titig ;" as al.^o that other petition which we oHer in the Vrayei jor the Chvrrh militant, tijat '• we may be pai'takcrs of th(; heavenly kingdoni with tho.se wiio have depart<'(l this life in the i'ailii and fear of (Jod." LECTURE V Cruel and bloody perserutlo//s'. T intend to speak oidy of eom- parativ(!ly modern persecutions by those who bear the name of Tro- testant Cin-istians : and here it may be as well to exempt from all Itlame, in (it /mst Ittood// pcrsu-utlnii, the de- nominations called Baptists, Quak- ers, and Method ist-?, and restrict that charge to Presbyterians and Congregationalists. We liave lo re- member, howevei', that there are othei' forms of eruel ]>ersoeution be- sides tliat which is c.alleil bloody. Evil speaking, or slandi-r, or in.-ult, injustice, and such uncharitable treatment on account of dilh'reiico in religion, as is intended to lea ('iiiiii--li oiic ;jiiv- enmrs with bl<)(i(l HiuTifu'i-.s wlu'icwidi to fo;i>t ilicir cyi'H : llio sciitl'oliis daily 8in"l A'i^i/m, liut were truly nolhiii)^ else but the biirharou^ execution- ers of theii- [the I'resliyierii.u] wralh and ven^ieaiice. Mv.Ty parir
  • rf/iH^ Mtid 77/- C/oiiJ <>/ Wif /ir.svis^ woiiM duiiiille iiilo coiiipiii' i- tive iiisigiiilicaiu'e. 'riiiiiic of sucli histoiic ficts as (he fojlnw in;,,', given ill the ,1/ ;/( "■,■,; (if tlir luinl hearted //■/r7//''7.- -" .biliii \r\a\ , who is ap. propiiatfl\- stvie I ',1 lijonily preach- er,' secoinii >I tiv Argy'e, persu.uled the ( 'o\-eiiaiitiii:,' (o'IU'ImI, I.e>Iie, to (lisariii the wiNt'diej p.asaiitry of Cjuitvre, aii'l put them all to tlie sword without, mercy. These de- fenceless people hail submitted to these tyrants on promise of life and liberty. Ibil tln' priMclier's advice 80 is followod ; jind wliile the hori'id bntcluMT is going on, Lf.slio sees Ne- V!iv and Aigylc coolly sui'Vtiyiiig tlie cni'iiiigf. Lcslio Innisclf is struck with liorror, iiiid cc.ising tlic bloody AVork, whf'ii too late, ('xol;»init;d to the prcacluT— ' Well, Moss-Jolui, have you not, for once, got your fill of blood V Tliose wonls saved eiglitt'cMi jktsohs who were carried prisoners to Invcrary, where they would have been allowed to starve in the duJigt^ons of the unfeeling a.nd treacherous Ai'gyle. if Locluel had not visited them ss and unresisting prison- ers who had sought and obtained quaiter. The Covenanting preach- ers complained of (piarter "given to such wretches as tluy, and declared it to be an act of most sinful impiety to spae them." The Covenanting nobles and their general, David Leslie, complying with the preachers' wish, let loose the army upon them in the ct>ui-tyard of Newark Castle, and cut them all in pieces. The preachers actually justified this mas- sacre l)y adducing the case of Agag and th(> Amalekites. and other allu- sions to the Old Testament, by which they enforced the duty and lawful- ness of their bloody work. In addi- tion to tlu! slaughter of the prisoners, hundreds of I, he unfortunate victims of Covenanting tyranny, men, to- gether with their wives and sucking children, wen; thrown h(;adlong from oti a high bridge and drowned in the river beneath '* — (Hee Lrtwtion, with (i.vthorit'uis C'ted, p. 047). Tfether- ington, tilt! I'resbyterian Kirk his- toi'ian, glibly glossi's over these hori'id cruel ies, nuM-tdy remai-king that "he do' s not think it necessary to occupy sp .ce with them, and ha.s no sympath} with those who luxuri- ate over tales of wholesah; butchery." The .same author, how(;ver, can ad'ord unlimited space to empty declamations in favour of the Cove- nanters, and h(! can luxiu'iate over the tales of their real or suppo.sed sufferings with wearisomi; reptititiou and particularity of detail. Hut, becau.se of his insane opposition to tlie Episcopal Church — th(; true, historic church of the eountiy, — ho refusers to (!X[iress the least sympathy for th(> un[)aralled sufferings of its pious and heroic members, both men aud women, who, because they could not conscientiously leavi; tlu; apostolic church, or become rebels against their lawful king, submitted to im- prisonnu'Ut, loss of property, and death its<'U" in its most appalling forms. But great is the tiutli, and it is now prevailing in Scotland, iu spite of dishonest historians. We were spiiaking of the gf)lden age of Cov(Mianted Presbyterian ism, and have had a glimpse, a mere gliuip.se, of its intolerant and cruel j)rooeedinga in Scotland, let us catch 81 also a glimpse of it.i doings in Engl iml during tho suun." period. I cjuoU' from a most impartial piiMiciilioii, namely, the Rev. B. B. Edwards's Enajclopedia of JifJiyious Know- leihje, edited l)y the llev. J Newton Brown. Under the word Persecu- tion, the E i^yelopedia notices the persi;cutions hy Jews, Pagans, Ilonian Cathnlicsaml l']pisci)[);diaus, ami then proceeds thus : — " Nor were the I'resliyti'riiiiis. when tht'ir jiiiveinmeiit came to l)e estalilNhed in Kn^liiuil. free from the clinriie of jier- sectuioii. In ]i')i^>, iin oriliniuice was pub- lished, snlijt'ctint; all who jireachcil or wrote against the I'reshyteriMn Piii-ctory for Puhlio Woishipto ii fine not exceedinn fift}' pounds ; and imprisonment for a year for the tliird oilVnce, in u.'-iiijj tlio Episcopal li'iok of C'unmon l'r(ii/ci\ even in a private family. In the followini,' year the IVi-sbyteri.ins applied to I'arlianniit to en/one iinifoniii/i/ in religion, and to ex- tirpate Tojiery, prelacy, heresy, Hcliisrn, &e., l)Ut their petition was rejected; yet, iu lf')4><, the arliaineiit ruled liy thetii, puldislied an nrdiiiiince against heresy, and determined tint any persoti wiio luaiuiained, [lulilisiied, or defended liie following errors should sulTer death. These errors were: 1. Denying the being of a Gnd. '_'. Denying His om- nipresence, omniscience, &i!. 15. Denying the Trinity iu any way. 4 Denying (hat Chiif»t had two natures. 5. Dotiying the resuriection, tho atonement, the Scrip- tures." I'homas Keiglitley's History of EiJgland. amt'inh'd hy ,J. T. Sniitli, the American editor, is notal)ly one of the most accurate tmd iinprcjn- diced authorities to wliieli we may apjieul in tliis inattfr. Jt is .s.iid, p. 14r>, tliat the Englisii Covenanting l*iirlianient " Ordered the Liturgy to be laiil aside, and a I) rct'inj for I'lili'ir 11' • /•.<.'('/', t i be Rulistituted t'i>r if. It hidng fmunl, how- ever, that many parishes persisted in using the Book of ('oininun Prat/er an nrdinance Was ))a«8ed (Aug. 2.'!, Kilo), imp' sing a fine of five pdunds fur the tir-it offence ; ten pounds for tlie second, and a year's imprisoMUient for tlie third, on any opa who in a church, chapel, or o»en private house, sln.uld use tlie prayer-book ; and all pi MS er-books remaining in churches and cliupels, were ordered to be given lip to the committees of counties. Such were the tolerant principle^ of those abhMrr(!r8 of the despiitism (d' (.\r(dibish(>p) Laud." The .sainc Parliament tippoinled a committee to empiire into the life and diictrine of the K|»iscop:d min- isters throughout till! kiiigdoni, that is, to ascertain whether the clergy were Covenanters, ('alvinists, dis- loyal to the king, and in t-ther re- spects confoiming themselves to the decrees of tlieii- [lai'liaiiutilaiy ty- rants. This committee, or holy ollice of (*()venanting iinpiisilion, ejected, tiirneil out nearly two thou- sand clergymen, tlieir wives and families from tlie livings and par.son- aues (d' Knicia'id. \\'hv \ llefause they were Noiiconlormists ; they would not, could not coutoiin to the new religion — a i-eligion which neither they nor theit fatheis ever believed in. ' 'oven.inting preachers wen; ])laced iu tlieir ste.id. ( )ne half of the professors and fdlow-, of the Fnivei-sity of < 'amhridge, were also ousted for iioiieoiifonniiy to the will v)f the (..'ovenanteis, and tlieiv places supplied liy lie interested fritMids (d' the new tyranny. (Sbc Keigh'! y, p. II •"».) Mac inlay, in his llistoiy (d' I'^ng- land, vol. I. pp 17. Hi, says {' the \nv laLif pally wjio had Imcii llii'irpcr- .St'lMltolS." TIh' niiha|i|iy virtinis of ( 'ovrnant- iii:; tyranny in S( oi land and l')n;.(land wtrc nnich indrlid d to the milder tyranny of Oliver Croinwcll for a mil i<,'ation of tlndr .snl]"ei'in;,;s ; and need we wondef, wIkii nionaichy was restored in the person (d' ( 'liarles I I., and with it the ri^dil.s of the ancient Episcopal Clnifch in F*jij,;laii(l, tluf .some two thousand ( 'oN'eiiaiitini' int rudt'i'.i into chureli pai'>ona^e,'<, in that country, should l)e tiirneil out, and the lawful ini'UiiilieiitH of par- islies restored to them, ami to the 82 onjoyment of those dwelUngs from wliicli they had been so long exclu- ded hy the injustice and rapacity of Covenanting interlopers. And need we wonder that during the reigns of Charles TI. and James TT. Episco- palians in Scotland should shew but little leniency towards tho.se blood- thirsty tyrants who, in the day of their power, ignored all the prin- ciples of justice and toleration, and who looked upon mercy to Christ's oppressed members, not Jis a t'hris- tian duty, but as a crime to be pun- ished with the severest penalties ! We cannot but pity the Covenanters when \\v read of their sufferinirs. We ciiinotbiit udmire their patience and their couragt!. Doubtless they thoiioht, as Saul of Tarsus did, tluit they were serving (Jod while pr'rse- cuting bis church ; but although thus deluded they were not the less, like Saul, hloody per.secutors. and if called on to sulfer penseeution themselvcH tln.'y could not, in strict justice, have much reason to com- plain. Their League and (\»vr.iant not only ignored tolerati(»n but pro- hiliited it, and compelled them to |iersecute. Many ytnirs of sad ex- perience had no elVect in curing them of their folly ami wickednes.s. Kven when tli(^ Ilevolution Settlement under William, tin; I*rince of Orange, liad ''ranted to the I'reslivteri ins of Scotland the prt)perty and privileges belonging to the national ('liurch, the old cruel persecuting spirit again sliewtid itself while depriving the Fipi.scopal clergy of their lawful pos- sess ictus. Macaulav descrihes their doings S( fa C( 15 w it as th la 83 of the on Christiaas-day, 1G88— "the bet- ter day, tht; better deed." He siiy« : " On Cliristinaa Diiy the CoveniintiTa held tirnicd iiiusterH by concert in many parts uf tliu wvHtcrn uliiruy. Kucli hand mnrcliud to the nearest inanMe, and Hacked the ciillar and hkrder of tlio minister, which, at that Hcason, were ]irol)ably hetti r istocked tha[i uisual. The |)rieied during some time as a mali'fai'tor Ni.s gown was torn to shrii|-i over iii'i head; if lie hail a jirayer- b'lok it) his |n oket, it was hurnoil, and ho was di>mi-sed witli a charge, never, as ho valued jiis life, to oiHiriato in the parish again. * * * 'j'he disor^ler spread fast. In Ayrshire, Clydesdale, Nithisdule, Annnmlale, every jiarish was visited by these uirliulent zealots. About two hun- dred euraie^ — so the Hpiscopal piirish ministers were called— -were expelleil. The graver ("ovenanters, while they ap- pl:iudfd the fervour of their riotous bre- thren, wer(! apprt'hensive that pri>ceedings BO irregular might give scanilal, and learneij, with especial cuticern, that hero and tiu'it' an Achan had disgru-e I the good eause, by ^timping to plunder the ('anaaiiites, wiioin lie ought only to havu smitten," &c. At th»! Kevoliition, in lii88, I'rcs- byteriiiiiisia bccatiie tlio rclij^ioii ostul'li.slied by law in .Scotland, but the "covcnantod work of reforma- tion " was .scouted as incompatible with the Con.stitntionof the Kingdom, and was even denounced in the l*rc.s byterian (ioiuiral Asseniltlies, (Law- son, |). 88')). ^'et the \ inis of that fanatical and malignant systeui sdll contiiMie.s to lurk in Presbyteriani.sin. A.s late as I7'>9 the u.se of the I^ook of Common Prayer in Scotland was visited with civil jieiialties and it was oidy tolerated by law so late as the year 17 1 'J. It is not long ago that an Epiiscopal minister in Scot- land could not legally preatih to nmre than four person.s at a time without sulijecting him.stdf to heavy penalties. Thus the pious, learned, and genial Rev. John Skinner, after the year 17l">, svii.s imprisoned si.\ months for pn!a(;hing to more than four persons. (f'/iiiinf/i-r-i's Cj/i/iif). I J IjiiiJ. Lit. p. I:i8; I'j'iii/li;\ K'tleii, ^yVcyi. p. 244). And Dr. Phoinas Houston tells ua in his Miinnrinl iif ('niiiiiiiifiiii/, pp. 71-78, that both the Ignited Presby- terian ('hni'ch and the I-'ree Cjiurch in Scotland contain resjicctablr nd- iiorities of ministers and iiieinltorsj who recognize the desceiidini' obli;;a- tion of the Solemn Li.'ague and t.'ove- nant, and wouhl gladly cany out its principh's at the pies<'nt day. .More- over, the many books now issued by the l'i-esl)yterian Hoards of Publica- tion in prai.se of the ( 'oven inters and their deeds. .i thc'ir conduct in the IJnitj'd Statcvs where their .system of reliL,'iiiu w.is for a long time fully develope i aii'l >Mijoyeil unrestrained liberiy. I'li^'V m tde I iws in C(jn- iiecticul ami flsewheie, commonly called ' I5!u'' fjiws," among which Wife t'e- f.illi'wing, which I copy from the pMl)li(! prints. (Cnhntrg Si>", l)ecenii)er lih, Istjli) : — •• N' I one ill til be a fri'iauan, or give a volf, uules.j hi! be a member in full eom- uiMiinm with one of the etiurehes fthat is, congregiitioiis) allowed in this dominion. ■' No lodging or food siliall be otFered to a Quaker, .V ianiite, or any other heretic. 84 " It fttiy pcr-^Dii turns Quiikor he sliall be hiiiiis'iftl ; uiul if li»; ictiinis lio sliull suffer death. " No I'l-ii'st sliiiU iibiiK' in tli»> ilominion : he sliall liu ii:ini8ht.M|, iin .-'nlibath, or wulk in tin' ^'H^(Il■n or eNi-wlien.' -cx- ccjit Corvenlly tn ami iVum im^'tit! ''No I cr^on hIiuII travel, cook ihIh, innke bciN, Himvc or cut Imir un the Sabbath. " Tlio Sabbiitli ;-liall boj;in iit sunset ou Saturday. " No pt'i'Hon shall read Common I'rai/er, keep ('liri.stni.i ■! cir Maint's ilay. luuke mince pien, play cimN ilanco, or play any kind of music, except the trumpet or Jew's harp. ''No mini-ler slnill join people in mar- riage: the mai^i-traie only shall join people in marriage, as they may ilo it with less Hcand.il to Ciirisi's ( 'iuircii " We learn fVoiu tlie reeufds calleil tlie Muif!^'!! luiiirKa //isfaricnl CoUcc- tioiis, iiiitl swell aiithors as CJouglt, Savage, Sewell, and Felt, that the.se intolerant laws were enforeed with the utmost rigor. Fines, iniprison- nu'iits, branding the naked hotly with red-hot irons, wliipjiing, cutting ofl" the ear.'<, huring the tongue through, public e.vposure in a cage, fastening the lindts, and exposure in the Mtocks, banishment from the set- tlement, and iianging, were the eout- mon penalties inilicted on person.s who dared to tliiler in roligion from those mueli applauded Pilgrim Fathers, who are |)opularlv' suppo.sed to have been the pioneer's and cham- pions of civil and religious liberty in the Uuitetl States. I heard, not long ago, a lecture by a cleigyniaii, proving and illus- trating, from till' hisLori.-al records referred to, all that is here advanced. Of the long, black list of cruelties perpetrated by theso Pilgilm Pnvi- tau8, and of the priuciplea ou which they acted, I wan able to make only a few hasty jottings, which I here present, believing them to be, for the most part, substantially correct: "The Pili^riin Fathers assert very strongly that toleration in religion is a sin, and is a curse to a Christian counuu- u\fy. " FINKM. " For needless absence from public worship five .■ihillings ; in another place, ten shillings. For spealung against a minister, tivi- pounds. For rel'u-ing to surrender a heretical book, live pounds. The lini'S exacti d, from diff" rent per-oii.'', at one tinn;. amountol to one hunored and sixty-nine poumls, ten shillings Tiiis amount was levied mostly from Quakers. " II ger Williams, a Uapti^t mitiisicr, w.is banished. I'hilip Kadcliife, a Hap- tist, was whipt. fuied forty pounds. Imd his ears cropped, and wa- then liani- III StiDii'i Defiiiiins to bclicvt' n L!r. Tn 2 'I'hess. ii. 11, we reatl, "God shall send tln'm strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." Protestants generally affirm that these awful words apply )»;irticu- larly, if not exclusively, to Uoman Catholics, r need not quote Scott, Bloomfu'ld, Doldriilge, McKnight, and others, who are all of this opinion, ibit, alas I it can l)e easily shown that this jiassage of Scrip- ture is equally applicible to IVes- byteri'Jns, Baptists, Methodists,Cuni- minsit»'s, IMymnuthites, arid many other Protestant sects, 'i'lie delu- sions and lies believed by these de- nominations are so numi.rous and varied that there is great dilficulty in knowing where to begin, which to select, and where to end, .so as to give a fair specimen of them. As it ia much more easy to tell or state Ii<'s briefly than to refute them, T can oidy alfird space here to specify a few of them, and in f'w words in- dicate the truths by which such lii.'S may be refuted. Common lies, among the Protest- ant di'MominatioiH, ;ire. That tho vi.sibl.' Church of Christ is imt one organized body, having ruhr-^ and ruled ; but th.it it includes all tho sects called evangelical, which, fVom time to time, have left it, and which fight against it. That these .sects are parts of the Holy Catholic Church. That Chiist has proniis.Ml to be with sects which have left His Clnirch, and to be in the midst of ev( n two or three liitter sectarians who nu'et, as tlu^y im.igine, in His namts That the Hoi}- (Iliost teaclufs and h>ads p(>ople to hfave the historic Church ; to i-esist the autho- rity of its divinely appointeil rnlei's, and to attempt its ovfU'throw ; and, that .schism is no sin, but, on the Contrary, a Christi.in duty and pri- vilege, and is very bcncHcial. Th.it the promises of grace and .salvation, recorded in the Fiible, are made to people .and l)elong to jieople v.ho have left theC'hurch ; and that we can be (piite sui-e of the pardon of our sins and of heaven hereat'ter, although we remain outside of the historic Clinrch of Christ. Now, the New Testament teaches us that the (,'hurch of Christ is a unity. ICvery term, title, or name by which it is mentioned in the Rcri[»ture.s, shows it to bo one thing, and not several unconnected and an- tagonistic things, such as the sects arc. It is the familv of God, the 80 kingdom of God, the one fold of Christ, the one body of Christ, and that body so thorougldy organizcul that ovory nieinlxir lias itH own office, and all the nicniborH are nienilxTH ono of anotlu'r. It is (»rgani/«!d by having rnlcrs and ruled, all undur Christ. The apostolic ministry and ajiostolic faith are essentials of tlu; true church ; if ono or other be wanting, it eammt be the Church of Christ. The ajiostolic ministry, e.siM'cially the a|iostles or bishops? have been, during those; eighteen hundred yeai's past, tin; visibh; centres of the church's unity. It is the duty of the private members to obey those who are set over tlicm» an di- rected, were all members of this one only church. So also were given to th(! church all other parts of the Bible. The members of the church, and they only, are the heirs of pro- mise. Therefore, such people as do not lu'long to the church, or who leave the church, have no right to a single promise of Scripture. They may have printed copies of God's will and te.stament, namely, tho Bible, and may read even devoutly what is therein promised ; but they cannot lay claim to what is promisetl, they not Ijeing heirs. "God atlds to the church such as nhall he savrd,'^ as we an; told in Acts ii. 17 ; and indeed God instituted the church for the very purpo.si; of gathering all into one loving brotherhood, for the puriMise of training them to- gether for unity in heaven. Uut if wo reject this heavenly institution, and take up with sonu^ rival institu- tion, some human invention, or .sect, or society, instead of Christ's fJhurch, then we can have no assurance of salvation, or of pnrdon of our sins, or of heaven hereafter. Christ has promisecl to be with Mis church alway, even unto the end of the woi-ld ; but it must be His Church, not a sect fight- ing against it. Chi'ist has pro- mised to be in tin; nnMst of two or three who gather together in I lis name; that is, by His authority, in accordance! wilh His laws, and for llis gloiy, as all Protestant com- mentators tell us. Hut schismatics hold their meetings in o])positii)n to His authority, in violation of Hia laws. Tluiy are not with Him, but against Him : they are not gather- inj; with Him into His Church, but .scattering abroad, and therefore have no promise! from Christ to be in the midst of them. To .say that the Holy Ghost teaches or inclines peo- ple to leave the historic Church of Christ, seems exceedingly like the awful sin against the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit Himself tells us 87 cxprt'Hsly ilmt tlicy '• who scuanit*- tlit'iuBelves from tlic Chinrli, liavt- not till- Spirit. "—Ju'l.' I'J. The wurhl is liMfil with rfli^'ioiis lies ainl (Iclu.sioiis, ainl tho groator piiri of thciii Jirisc, prnhiildv, from mis- taking,' tht' mi'i'o feelings aii>l pas sioiis of our fiiUfii iuitl sinful nature for the motions of the Holy (JhosL in till' soul. Sec Quakerism, Mor- moiiism, Quietism ; epileptic and hys- terical affections in excited religious meetings ; the retin-menL into hei-- Juitages and monastic cloisters ; the self-im|)oscd l)odily tortui'es ; the fervid worship addressi.'d to saints and angels, and the exlatic enjoy- m(!i)t arising from imaginary fellow- sliip with them I All those who are deluded with siu'h things are sup- posing themselves to he led hy tin; ][oly Spirit, whereas they are led by their own passions and imagina- tio!is. I heard Mr. (Jallaghcr, the Cumminsite, say in Toionlo, that it was the presence of the Holy Spiiit in the Evangelical Alliance, at New Y(uk, which led Dr. Cummins to leave the church, and t(» hegin his pres(Mit crusaile against it. The truth is, that there wore many ''.seduc- ing spirits " in that meeting of the su-.salled Evangelical Alliance, and these, with Dr. Cummins's own feel- ings, hn\e led lum into a most un •warrautahle and wicked apostacy. Let him and his coadjutors beware of charging the Holy Spirit with violating the commandments, and disregarding the warnings of Holy Scripture. In that same city of New York I have heard a man, who called himself the j)rophet Elijah, declare 1»efore a congrega- tion of luH f(»llowei*s that ho *' felt the Holy Spirit thrilling through every iiervo of his body ;'' yet that man was in the habit of ilenoiincring all the pasters of the city, without exception, as "hirelings," "hire- ling shepherds "' and ''wolves in sheep'.-, clothing ;" and this false prophet's follosvers I elieve(l him! antl believed that the Holy Spirit was speaking to theui by him. and Was leading them to leave their seveial denominations, and to follow th(! prophet Klijah ! 1 have seen, in the .same city, a considerable con- gregation, ehielly, tlinu;;h not ex- clusively, of colourc'l peoplt!, called, T think, .lumpers, who, in tlieir usual mode of worship, look tlnar frantic extiitement and violent bodi- ly gesticulation for the presi-ncc and power of the Holy Spirit among tluMu. 'IMuMr pastor, an immen.se negro, had oidy to voeift-rate for a few minutes, and exclaim, '' Now the Spirit of (jod hits come 1" when the shoulders of the congri-g.ition would become agitated ; some would leave their .st;ats, and spin pirouettes like tops in th(! pass.iges, while, .-ill ovi.'i' tile congregation, heads could bi- seen jerking backwards and for- ward.s, and flying I'rom siile to sid(!, as il' re.idy to i\y from their should- ers. And all this wa.s ascribed to the presenci! of tln' Huly Spirit, who absolutely forbids such unseemly conduct and confusion in th(^ aa- seniblies of Christians, and requires us to " do all things decently, and in order !" Dr. Cumniin.s, Mr. Gallagher, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) // 1.0 I.I ■-IM |50 ™^^ i;^ 2.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ., 6" ► A 7 Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ■"■^ 88 Mr. Cheney, and many other so- has neither part nor lot, even as a called cl(;rgy of their sect, having luyinrnn, in the kingdom or Church of been deposed from their ministry, Christ. And yet this dej)osed stew- are no longer clergymen or minis- ard is going about among his Lord's ters of Christ's Church. Mr. Galla- debtors pretending that ho has still ghcr tidks glibly of believing with authority to act officially in the the Church of Home :uid Church chuieh, and claims to be received of England in "the indelible char- into their houses as though he were actcr of the clergy," or '' once ii yet one of our Lord's true and faith- *'f clergyman always a clergyman. " ful stewards 1 Is he sincere iu But the truth is. that neither Ro- thinking himself to be yet a bishop '^ manists nor Protestants, worthy the Then he is given up to a strong de- name, believe that when a man is lu,;ion to believe a lie, and so are all de[)osed by lawful ;iuthority in the who hcliove and follow him. Let church he has any longer any ])ower nobody suppose that T am singular or authority to act r.'s a minister, in holding these views concerning Bingham (b. xvii.) ami all others the deposition or degradation of min- who have written on the disci[)Une ist(>rs, for these views are held sub- of the historic Church of Christ, stantially by Presbyterians, Baptists, prove that such deposed men, as Congregationalists, :ind Methodists, A Messrs. Cummins, (rallaghef, and Tf the doctrine lu-re set forth be not Cheney, are degraded to the rank of the truth, then ordination is a farce, mere laymen ; and that having left and the most solemn deposition is a the church they have not even the farce equally contemptible, and is rank of churcli laymen, but are by without effect. their own act strangers and aliens to The Cumminsite preachers profess the commonwealth of Israel, Dr. to have a great horror of sacerdotal- Cummins, the founder of tho new ism or priesthood, and have, there- sect, was an assistant bishop, but is fore, I understand, taken the words now neither bishop, presbyter, nor jniest. and sacrifice out of their deacon. He was a steward of the jn-ayer-book. They may well, in- mysteries of God (Titus i. 7), but deed, leave out the word priest, in- was found to be an unfaithful stew- asmuch as they are not even lay ard (1 Cor. iv. 2), and therefore by ^;?-?V.s-«.f, as all members of the churcli divine authority has been put out o^' are (1 Pet. ii. 5, 9) ; but Messrs. the stewardship, so that he is no Cummins & Co., to be consistent, longer steward (Luke xvi). The should cease to do officially those same divine authority which put priestly acts which, in a previous him into the ministry, has seen tit lecture, wo shewed were per- to deprive him of the ministry, so formed by the ministers of those that he is now not even iu the same various religious bodies, that are for- position as he was before being or- ever crying out against sacerdotalism. dained to the office of deacon. He These pretended reformers forcibly 89 *f f remind me of a question and answer in Peter Ten's Theology— the most Romisli ^^ all Romish books. Vol. II. |). ().') : — " Q. What if any one should be asked whether he be a priest, a monk, or a bishop, is he bound to confess? " A. No; because such titles are certain accidents of religion, and, therefore, by concealing them, a man is not thought to conceal anything essential to the faith, wherefore he who should deny himseff to be a priest (for example) ivhen he really is one, only tells a mere ojjicial lie." Let the Curaminsite and other preachers beware of tellintr this " mere official lie." It is a lie that leads lift to the suspicion that if they are not indeed Roman Jesuits in disguise,, they are at least (lisgtiisod Jesuits of the Protestant kind. The following are also common delusions and lies among .Ve'hodists and others, namely : Tiiat John Wesley belonged to a sect called Methodists ; that he left the English Church ; that he was put out of the Church J and was 'persecuted chiefly by the Church of England ; that he set up what is called the Methodist Church ; that he ordained ministers ; that he began what is called the Episcopal Methodist Church, by or- daining Dr. Coke to be a bishop . that Mr. Wesley did not like the Prayer Book or services of the Eng- lish Church ; that he advised his lav preachers and the members of his societies to leave the Church of Engf- land ; and that people will be more pious, and be surer of getting to heaven by leaving the church, and uniting with some Methodist society ; that Episcopal Methodists have not ^ham, but real bishops ; that l-*rimi- 12 tive Methodists are the sort that Wesley belonged to ; that the modern Methodists are the same good, holy, humble people that they were before Wesley died in 1791 j or before they left Wesley's beloved Church of England ; that Methodist meetin"-- houses are churches : and that Meth- odist preachers are Christian minis- ters or clergymen, to be called Rev- erends, having authority to preach and administer the sacraments, al- though Wesley told them to the day of his death, that they were not ministers, but mere laymen, and that if they dared to administer the sacraments, they would h(! guilty of the sin of Korah, Dathan, and Abi- rani. The following are common Bap- list delusions or lies, namely : That the P>il)le ivpresents the outward ceremony of })aptism as a dipj)ing or immersion ; that because we read of some persons to be baptized, going down to or into the water, they were therefore plunged, dipped, or wholly immersed in it ; that infants have no God given right to be admitted into the kingdom or church of Christ, and cannot be born into God's family or church by the baptism of water and the Holy Sjvirit. Whereas, the truth is, that in those j)assuges of Scripture where the mode of baptism is indicated, it is not dipping but pouring or sprinkling. For exam- ple—the "divers washings (in the original Greek Testament, divers baj)t'isms), of Heb. ix. 10, are de- scribed in verse 1 3, as the sprinkling of blood, and also the sprinkling of the water of purification which was 90 mixed with the burat aahes of the red heifer, of which we read in Nuiubers xix. And in Mark vii. •t, and Luke xi. 38, we read of the Jews washing (in Greek, New Tes- tament, baptizing) tlieir Iiands and household furniture, which we know from 2 Kings iii. 11, and Numb, xix, was done by pouring and sprink- ling. The Jews, however, had an idea that baptism was most perfectly ])erformed in a running stream, be- cause by standing to about tlio knees in the stream, and having the bap- tismal water poured on the head, it cleansed the body of its ceremonial impurity, and was then carried away by the stream, so that the person, did not come out of his own cere- monial defilement, but was considered l)erfect]y f reedfromit. Hence liie Jews, when it was practicable, '' went down into the water." — (See Armstrong, Taylor, &c., on BaptLsm, and the Bai)tist Commentator, Dr. Gill, on Acts ii. 41.) Jesus was displea.sed with those who would have kept in- fants out of his kingdom ; but he tells us that the only method by which we can enter that kingdom is, being born of water and of the Spirit— a kind of birth which the infants of the church have enjoyed ever since the days of the Apostles, as all true church history testifies. But here I must end these Lec- tures. I would fain have noticed the delusions of Presbyterians, — as for example, their imagining or be- lieving that the Scotch Culdees were Presbyterians ; that Presbyterian elders and Presbyteries, witli their mode of public worship, are of the same kind as those meutioned in the New Testament ; and the fiction of their preachers being clergymen, reverends, lawfully ordained, and having authority from John Knox to be ministers of the gospel ; the fact being, that John Knox had no such authority to transmit, and never laid his hands on any man for ordi- nation. But these delusions, with those of Congregationalists, Plym- outhites, &c., are unpleasant tilings to contemplate any longer, and I dis- miss them. But I would l)e wanting in my duty to the Protestant denomina- tions, and wanting in duty to the Church of England, were I to omit noticing a gross delusion in which many churchmen themselves are in- volved. The delusion is this, that the Cluirch of England in Canada, is going lieadlong into Romanism and Ritualism ! I ask for the ))roofs ; 1 demand, Avhere are they ? and echo answers " where?" I enquire of the i300 Clergymen of the dioceses of Hui'on, Toronto, Ontario, Montreal, and Q,uebec ; and I enquire of the twice as many congregations to which these clergymen minister, and there are only pointed out to me some three or four solitary congregations where any resemblance to Romanism or Ritualism can be found ; and the chief of these is supposed to be the Church of the Holy Trinity in To- ronto ! How unjust to blame the whole church for the misdeeds, if misdeeds they be, of a few excep- tional cases. It is not my duty here either to defend or to condemn what is done in these few exoeptional con- u j)le which other priests sustain ; and he presumes to perform every so-called sacerdotal or priestly act wliicli the ministers of the Church of England perform. In proof, I appeal to his Prayer Book. In his Dedaratio7i of rrincipl'S, p. X., he, indeed, denies that Christian ministers are "priests" in another sense than that in which all believers are "a royal priesthood;" but what is the value of such a de- nial in the face of the following facts 1 namely : — The Cumminsite preachers pre- tend to have official authority in the church because they have been ordained or consecrated ([). 572), that is, they have been separated from secular life, and have been given up or dedicated to God, to serve Him iu the holy ministry. They are therefore, relatively holij men (sacred men), or, as the Latins would call them, sacerdotcs, or the Greeks hiereis. When, therefore, they offi- ciate in a dedicated or consecrated building, they are by profession equally with the Jewish priests, hiereis en to hiero (" priests in the tem])le,") Matt. xii. o,— holy men in the holy house, performing priestly, that is, sacerdotal work. But why are not all the CuuHuinsite " believ- ers " ordained in like )nanncr to be bisli02)s, i)resbyters, or dea('ons, by the laying on of hands, so as to engage in j)ri,'stly work ? An; they not iu tlui same sense, as the preach- ers, "a royal i)riesthood ?" Then these preachers not only proclaim the CJospel to the people (p. 81), but they also "rehearse the Ten Commandments" to them, so thiiL the jieople may '■ liear the law at the priest's mouth:" j\[al. ii. 7 (p. 78). Whysliouhl the ]>]-eachers, Mes^srs. Cummins, Cheney, Galla- gher, &.C., not occupy the pew some- times, and allow their "believers" to take their turn in the ])ulpit and chancel, so as to hear the gosj)el and the law from the laic royal priest- hood ? Are not the people priests in the same sense as their so-called Christian ministers 1 Presenting offerings or sacrifices to God is considered to bo a specially sacerdotal or priestly work — a work which consists in dedicating, conse- 92 crating, or giving up to God either persons or things. So these Cum- niiiisite priests must have somewhat to offer : Heb. viii. ?>. So they " consecratf! or dedicate churches or chapels" to God (p. 581). They dedicate, ordain, or consecrate men to God as bishops, presbyters, or deacons — living sacrifices! They dedicftte infants or adults in baptism (pp. 496, .502.) — also living sacri- fices! They take "the alms" of the people, and " offer them unto the Divine Maj(>,sty," (p. 8.'5,)— which alms St. Paul calls a sacrifice : Heb. xiii. 16, And these C'.unminsite ])riests tak(> also bread and wine for the Holy Communion, and not only px'esent over them unto God "a prayer of consecration," but also per- form upon them "an act of conse- cration " (j). 99), which can mean nothing else than presenting, offer- ing, or making a sacrifice of the bread and wine unto God ! We a.sk again, wliy not allow tlie laics — the believing people — to perform such sacerdotal or priestly acts as these ] Are they not in the H;ime sense as their "Christian ministers, a royal priesthood V The granting or declaring of abso- lution or the remission of sins is also considered to be a sacerdotal or priestly function. The Cumminsite priests have left out the word abso- lution from their Prayer Book, and have changed the Declaration of absolution, iu Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, into a prayer for pardon. Great reformation ! Yet, with marked inconsistency, and with something like priestcraft, they per- sist in using similar declai'ations of absolution to penitent sinners, in the introductory sentences to Morn- ing and Evening Prayer, and in the Comfortahlo^ Words of the Holy Com- munion I Besides, they jiersist iu ffivins sacramental absolution, assu- ring parents that Christ will receive and bless their infants in baptism (p. 497), and assuring adults in bap. tism that, if they repent and believe, "God grants unto them the remis- sion of their sins !" (pp. 504, 505). So also in the Holy Communion (although they have presumptuously pi'etended to improve our Lord's language in the administration !) they act the priest in giving that which "preserves the body and soul unto everlasting life," which neces- sarily includes the remission or abso- lution of sin by virtue of Christ's sacrifice. Why are not the Cumminsite be- lievers allowed to administer the communion to Messrs. Cummins, Cheney, and Gallagher, and other- wise grant these fellow jnicststhe absolution, or as they call it, p. 498, the release and forgiveness of their sins ] Are not all the Cumminsites in the same sense, " a royal priest- hood 1" But these Cumminsite preachers also undertake to bless the people in the name of the Lord, and they call this kind of blessing a benedic- tion,' p. 69. Now, this is a tho- roughly priestly act. The blessing pronounced by the Pope or a bishop, or a priest, is supposed to be of value, and is an important element in sacer- dotalism. St. Paul tells us, Heb. I'i ( . ( vii. 7, that " without contradiction the less is blessed of the bettor." Now, the Cumrainsite preacher must arrogate to himself a better kind of priesthood than that of his believers else why monopolize the privilege of pronouncing the blessing? He must consider himself the better and tlioni the less— himself the superior priest, and them as having only a j)riest- hood of inferior quality and rank. If not, why do not the preachers occasionally kneel or Ijow their heads 93 to receive the benediction from the believers, who are in the sam.; sense as the Christian ministers, a royal priesthood ? If space permitted, 1 .slioidd notice; other inconsistencies and (>rrors of this new sect, an,l especially their gro.ss ign,n-ance, if imt hypocri.sy, in changing th,. langd.ag.- used i„ the ordinatiuii of priests in th.^ Clnirch of England. But a word to the wise is sufficient.