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IvIBRARY
OF THE
University of California.
Mrs. SARAH P. WALSWORTH.
Received October, 18^4.
zAccessions No.<::y^o^3y Class No.
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A PROTESTANT'S
THE DOUAY BIBLE,
ETC., KTC.
A PROTESTANT'S
APPEAL
TO
THE DOUAY BIBLE,
AND
IN SUPPORT OF
THE DOCTRINES OE THE REFORMATION.
REV. JOHN JENKINS.
I?
" Speaking tha truth in love." — Paul.
FOURTH EDITION". i^l>"^
MONTREAL :
VVESLEYAN BOOK DEPOT, GREAT ST. JAMES STREET
1853.
s-^^^n
Montreal r
R. & A. MILLEE, ST. FRANCIS XAVIEE STEEET.
^-^^
CONTENTS.
P«ge
DfiDrCATION 7
Preface 9
The One Source of Religious Truth 13
The One Head of the Catholic Church 49
The One Object of Religious Adoration 83
The One Sacrifice for Sin 129
The One Mediator between God and Men 17*7
The One Method of Justification » 219
The One Agent of Regeneration 263
The Christian Sacraments SOI
Purgatory , 345
Protestantism 387
TO
JOHN HANNAH, D. D.,
TEACHER OF SACRED THEOLOGY,
DISTINGUISHED
NO LESS
BY HIS CHRISTIAN VIRTUES,
THAN
BY HIS BIBLICAL LEARNING ;
DELIVERED
IN ILLUSTRATION AND DEFENCE
OF THE DOCTRINES OF
PROTESTANTISM,
ARE
GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY
INSCRIBED
BY
PREFACE.
Protestants need instruction as to the
Scriptural ground upon which rest the doctrines
of the Reformation.
Protestants are too ready to receive the
unwarranted assertion made by the defenders
of Romanism, that antiquity is altogether on
the side of the Papacy.
Protestants are not sufficiently aware that it
is impossible to sustain the peculiar dogmas of
of the Roman Catholic Church, by an appeal
even to her own versions of the Bible.
Protestants, iporeover, entertain a too lenient
view of the principles and practices of Roman
Catholicism.
Impressed with these facts, the author, in the
course of the last Winter determined to present
to the members of his Congregation, in a series
X. PREFACE.
of Lectures, a connected view of those doctrines
of Protestantism which directly bear upon the
errors of the Papal Church. He hoped also,
that by making known his intention, some
Roman Catholics might be induced to hear
what a Protestant can say in defence of the
principles of his Faith.
The author was not disappointed in this
hope. Hundreds of Roman Catholics heard
these Lectures, and some few were convinced
that Protestantism is The Old Religion.
Many Protestants also were confirmed in that
Faith for which their forefathers had laid down
their lives.
It is at the request of large numbers of the
Protestant portion of his audience, which
swelled, as the course proceeded, to four
thousand persons, that the author has been
induced to give these Lectures to the public.
In preparing for the press, he has strictly
adhered to the forms of expression which were
employed in the pulpit. The reader, therefore.
PREFACE. XI.
will not look for that precision of style which
would mark a simply didactic treatise.
The author wishes to record his indebtedness
to a valuable work on a portion of this
controversy, by the Right Reverend Bishop
Hopkins, for the assistance, both in argument
and in authorities, rendered him in discuss-
ing the subject of the second lecture ; also
to the works of the Reverend Dr. Gumming of
London, and of the Reverend Dr. Elliott of
Cincinnati, for some of those illustrations of the
character of Roman Catholicism, which are
found in others of the Lectures.
Montreal, 15lh August, 1853.
LECTURE I.
THE ONE SOUROE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTR
It has been already announced to you that my object
in delivering the series of Lectures upon which we now
<enter, is to expound the principles and doctrines of the
Protestant faith. I rather desire to inform the Pro-
testant mind than to contend, much less cavil with my
■Roman Catholic friends. It will, I need not say, be
impossible, in addressing myself to such a subject as
that whose discussion is now proposed, not to refer to
the Church whose errors gave rise to those Lutheran
remonstrances which resulted in the system denomi-
nated " Protestantism :" but, in doing this it will be
my continual purpose to avoid the utterance of a single
word that will even offend the taste, much less wound
the feelings of any person who may hear me. It is
possible, so at least I believe, to deal with error without
descending to personal abuse ; it is possible to expose
the inconsistencies of a system, without infringing
towards its adherents, the law of love.
I ask for these Lectures the candid consideration of
every Roman Catholic who may favour me with his
presence and attention. Whatever I shall say of the
doctrines and worship of the Church of Rome will be
derived from acknowledged standards or authorities of
14 LECTURE r.
that Clmrcli. What I shall say of Protestantism, will
be, so far as I know it, in faithful accordance with
its nniver&ally acknowledged principles. And I will
farther say, that if any Roman Catholic who may hear
me, seek additional information on any subject which
shall be discussed, and will take the trouble of writing
to me a note, I will do my best, in the course of the
series, to bring out the information which he needs. In
order to this, however, it will be necessary for the
wi'iter to subscribe his name and address, as it has been
a rule with me for many years to commit to the flames^
without reading, every anonymous communication that
I receive.
And now it only remains to invoke upon this under-
taking the Divine blessing. Let us remember that no
exhibition of the truth of God can be uninfluentiaL
Edification and sanctification are the fruits of a docile
and prayerful attention to the word of God. To exhibit
the truth, is to communicate light to the darkened
conscience o^ the guilty: To exhibit the truth, is to
plant a guide-post in the way of the sinner who wanders
over the wilderness of error, seeking rest and finding
none : To exhibit the truth, is to erect a light-house
within view of the tempest-tossed mariner, who seeks
in vain a harbour of repose for his troubled conscience.
The subject announced for exposition this evening is
The words which I have selected as the foundation
of my remarks upon this vital question, are found in the
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 16
xvii. chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, at
the I7th verse. They occur in that sublime prayer
which our adorable Saviour last offered for his dis-
ciples : " Thy word is truth."
This is the first principle of Protestantism. The
word of God is the fountain of religious truth, — the
one only source from which is derived all that we
know of God which is not revealed to us by his works ;
and all that we know of man's relation to God, of man's
position in the sight of God, of God's disposition
towards man as a sinner, of man's duty to God, and of
man's future destiny. "We do not, be it remembered,
assert that the word of God is the source of all truth,
for there are mathematical truths, w^hich are derived
from sources independent of the Bible ; and there are
physical truths which have been ascertained by the
investigations of science; and there are divine truths,
such as the eternal power and Godhead of the Creator,
which are revealed to us by the vast and glorious works
of creation. What we assert as a fii'st principle of
Protestantism is this, — that of all revealed truth, the
Bible is the sole fountain. — " Thy word is truth."
We wish to remind you of a doctrine which is
too reasonable to be disputed, and to which we shall
frequently refer in the course of this discussion, viz.,
that truth is never inconsistent with itself ; that truth
never contradicts truth ; that physical truth and ma-
thematical truth, and the truth of natural theology,
and the truth of revealed theology are all in perfect
harmony with each other. Independent they are, but
contradictory they never can be. This evening we
16 LECTURE I.
have to do with the source of all revealed truth. Let
me then announce a doctrine kindred to that now
adduced, a doctrine which is no less philosophical, viz.,
that revealed truth can never contradict itself. If (e. g.)
I draw from the acknowledged fountain of revealed
truth any doctrine whatsoever, I am bound to reject as
false every dogma which does not accord with that
doctrine. Truth is as immutable as Divinity, truth is
as consistent as God. No change in society, no mea-
sure of antiquity, no discovery of science, no variation
of climate or of language affects truth. What was truth
in Jerusalem when Christ was crucified, was truth in
Rome when Paul was crucified; what was truth in
Rome 1800 years ago, is truth in America, in Montreal,
in 1853. It will be acknowledged by all parties, that,
so far, this is an advantage to us in our present inquiry.
Another thing favourable to our present investigation
is this, that between the Church of Rome and Protest-
antism there is no dispute as to the plenary inspiration
of those Scriptures or writings which we call the Bible,
including the Old and New Testaments. The Old
Testament in Hebrew, as handed down to us by the
Jews, and the New Testament in Greek, which every
Protestant student of the original uses, and from which
our present English version is taken, are acknowledged
by the Church of Rome to be the inspired word of the
living God. We speak now of the Scriptures in the
original tongues, and we would remind every Catholic
and Protestant present, that all the versions of the
Scriptures which are of any account in either of the
two communities, acknowledge one and the same ori-
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 17
ginal. There is certainly a dispute as to the veracity
of the translations from that original ; but no Protestant
need question the fidelity of the translators of King
James's Bible, when he remembers the care which was
taken to secure a perfect rendering of God's own word,
or while he has the testimony of such scholars as Lowth,
Horsley, and Selden, in support of the integrity of the
English text. Indeed we desire no farther proof of the
accuracy of the Protestant Bible than that which is
afforded by the fact, that there is so general a corres-
pondence between it and the Latin vulgate, a version
which the Council of Trent declared to be authoritative
and divine. In the course of these lectures we shall
advance no text, (without a distinct announcement to
the contrary,) in support of the principles of Protestant-
ism, that is not found in the Roman Catholic versions
of the Scriptures ; — in the Vulgate, in Martini's Italian
translation, or in the Douay version.
Protestantism enters its protest against any
ADDITION whatever TO THE OlD AND NeW TESTA-
MENT Scriptures, as binding upon the faith and
PRACTICE of the ChURCH, OR UPON THE CONSCIENCE
OF ITS MEMBERS.
First, — Protestantism rejects the Apocrjrphal books
or writings ; not as historical and moral writings having
the same claim to our respect as the works of Xenophon,
or Plato, or any other ancient historian or moralist ; but
it rejects them as inspired writings.
18 LECTURE I.
Observe 1. — The Canon of both Jews and Protest-
ants, as it respects the Old Testament, is precisely one.
In support of this position, I shall merely transcribe
a few sentences from the celebrated Catholic historian,
Dupin, who in his history of the Canon, vol. i. page 7,
quotes Jerome on this subject : — " All the books of the
Old Testament among the Jews are twenty-two, of
which five belong to Moses, eight to the prophets, and
nine to the other holy penmen; and we are to take
notice, that whatever is not contained in the number of
those books which we have translated from the Hebrew,
is Apocryphal. From hence, it follows, that the Book
of Wisdom, commonly ascribed to Solomon, Ecclesias-
ticus, said to be composed by Jesus, the son of Sirach,
Judith, Tobit and Pastor, do not belong to the Canon,
no more than the two books of the Maccabees." Did
Jesus Christ, or his apostles, ever charge the Jews with
the omission of any Canonical book ? No. And yet
if the writings which we call Apocryphal were inspired,
as the Church of Rome asserts, they would surely have
laid themselves open to that charge. Did Christ, or his
apostles, ever quote from, or refer to these disputed
writings ?
Observe 2. — The Apocryphal books were not admitted
into the Canon of .scripture during the first four centuries
of the Christian Church. The first catalogues of the
Canonical books made by the ecclesiastical- Greek and
Latin authors, comprehended no more than the Jewish
Canon in the Books of the Old Testament. In support
of this statement we again furnish the testimony
of our Catholic historian Dupin, whose statements no
T?HE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH, 19
candid Koman Catholic will be disposed to question,
" The first and most ancient catalogue of the Canonical
^ooks that we have, drawn up by a Christian author, is
that of Meiito, Bishop of Sardis. This catalogue is
mentioned by Eusebius in the 26th chapt-er of the 4th
book of his history. In it he reckons only twenty-
two books of the Old Testament. Origen, in a passage
extracted from his commentary on the 1st Psalm,
reckons also twenty-two. The Council of Laodicea,
which is the first Synod wherein the number of
Canonical books was determined, assigns only twenty-
two books of the Old Testament, including the book
■of Esther, and joining Baruch, the Lamentations
and the letters, with the prophecy of Jeremiah, This
catalogue is followed by St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his
fourth catechetical lecture, and by St. Athanasius in his
Festival epistle." The same historian says again that
" the first catalogue wherein the books of the Apocrypha
were admitted as canonical and as having the same
authority as the Bible, is that of the tliii'd Council of
■Carthage, (Africa,) held in the year 39*7 ;" he further
intimates that they were " received on condition that the
Church beyond the sea (Europe) should be consulted
for its confirmation." Taking then, the authority of a
Roman Catholic historian, it appears that during the
first four centuries the Jewish canon alone was received in
Christendom. The decision of the Council of Laodicea,
omitting the Apocrypha, was received by the universal
church. But the Council of Carthage in Africa decided
only for themselves, and besides they wished to consult
<ihurches in other countries on this subject At «
2:0 LEGTETPvE ?^
second Afriean council, held in 418, the- Apocrypha
taken into the Canonical catalogue, but they were so fay
from determining absolutely on this subject that they
thought proper to confer with the churches in- Italy.
It remained for the Council of Trent in 1545^
authoritativ^ely and definitely to add the uninspired
Apocrypha to the Word of God, and to pronounce its
anathema upon all who do not hold it as sacred and
canonical. Yet we are often asked, and this too in the
language of defiance, to show that the Christian
church previously to Luther ever held a different Canon !.
Secondly, — Protestantism rejects an unwi-itten word ;
it rejects all oral tradition as a rule of faith : It denies,
the necessity of an unwritten word to supplement the
deficiencies of the written word i It denies the existence
of an unwi'itten word, and it has in vain demanded the
proof of its existence in the Catholic Church.. Where
lie these oral traditions ? where is the evidence of theip
inspiration I Do they teach any thing diff'erent from
the preaching and writings of the Great Teacher and
His Apostles ? llien I reject them, and I say " ye make
the commandment of God of none eff'ect by your
tradition." But Protestantism goes farther,, it denies
the possibility, for any practical, authoritative puj-pose, of
an unwritten word. Take (e. g.) the histoiy of the Old
World : Primitive religious truth had to pass through
few hands, and yet how soon did the world forget the
institution of the Sabbath, and the doctrine of God^s-
Unity. What has oral tradition done for the descendants
of Noah? I need only refer to- those nations whicb
in the present day are destitute of the Gospel. But si
TME ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 21
Roman Catholic friend might be disposed to ask whether
we are not commanded to " hold the traditions which
have been taught, whether by word or epistle ?" Yes,
I grant that the Thessalonians were thus taught, and I
have no hesitation in declaring my willingness to accept
these traditions or deliverances of the Apostle's mouth,
if the Church of Rome can produce them, and furnish
demonstrative evidence that they are truly what they
profess to be. I cannot proceed to the next step in the
discussion, without inviting your attention to the opinion
of two of the Fathers on the comparative value of the
written and unwritten word. Theophilus Alexandrinus,
who died in 412, says plainly, "It is part of a devilish
spirit to think any thing to be Divine that is not in the
authority of the Holy Scriptures." Jerome, who died
eight years after Theophilus, writes thus in his controversy
with Helvidius : " As we deny not those things which
are written, so we refuse those things which are not
written. That God was born of a virgin, we believe,
because we read it ; that Maiy was married after, we
believe not, because we do not read it."
Thirdly, — Protestantism rejects the authority of the
Fathers as a rule of faith. They were but men, fallible
men ; they aspired not to inspiration ; they were in the
habit rather, as we have already seen, of appealing to
the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as their
rule of faith. Protestants esteem the Fathers, many of
them at least, as men of piety and learning, and reject
not their testimony when it agrees with the teaching of
the Scriptures ; but it is as necessary to establish the
Scriptural authority of the doctrines of the Fathers by
b2
22 tfiCTURE J.
an appeal to the AVord of God, as it is to establish the
scripturalness of the teaching of our own divines, by an
appeal to the same standard. We spoke just now of
immutability as an essential attribute of truth : does
the teaching of the Fathers, or their exposition of the
Bible possess this attribute ? Is there no contradiction
amongst them ? Is there even a general consistency of
opinion? By no means. Not only is one Father
opposed to another Father, but not unfrequently to
himself. The creed of Pope Pius IV. contains the
following vow or oath, which every Minister of the
Church of Rome takes upon himself : " Nor will I ever
take or interpret the Scriptures otherwise than by the
unanimous consent of the Fathers." But who ever found
the Fathers unanimous in their interpretation of the
Word of God ? It would surprise if not amuse you,
were I to quote their differences of opinion even on that
simple passage of Scripture, " the Lord's Prayer." But
I have only time to refer to their various interpretations
of a passage which is considered of some importance by
our Roman Catholic brethren : and lest it should be
surmised that my own representations of the views of
the Fathers might be swayed by previously formed
opinions, I shall give you an epitome of these views
furnished by one of the most learned writers, and eminent
authorities in the entire Roman Catholic community,
Cardinal Bellarmine. The passage occurs in the 3rd
chapter of 1st Corinthians, and is thus rendered in the
Douay version : " According to the grace of God that
is given to me as a wise architect, I have laid the
foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every
THE ONE St>UlRC£ OF B^ELloroUS TR\JTn. 23
toan take heed how lie buildeth thereupon. For other
foundation can no man lay but that which is laid, which
is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this
foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble, every man's work shall be manifest ; for tho
<iay of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be
revealed in fire, and the fire shall tiy every man's work,
of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he
hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward ; if any
man's work burn, he shall suffer loss ; but he himsdf
shall be saved, yet so as by fire."
The Cardinal first enumerates the difiiculties of the
passage, and then furnishes an epitome of the differences
•of the Fathers : —
" The difficulties of this passage are jive in number>.
1. What is to be undei-stood by the builders ? 2. What
is to be understood by gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble ? 3. What is to be undei-stood by
the day of the Lord. 4. What is to be understood by
the fire, of which it is said, that in the day of the Lord
it shall prove every one's work? 6. What is to be
understood by the fire, of which it is said, he shall be
saved, yet so as by fire ? When these things are explained^
the passage will he clear,
" The first difficulty, therefore, is, who are the archi-
tects who build upon the foundation? The blessed
Augustine, in his book on faith and works, c. 16, and
in his ' Enchiridion,' c. 68, and elsewhere, thinks that
all Christians are here called by the apostle architects,
and that all build upon the foundation of the faith
either good or ba'd works. Chrysostom, Theodoret,
24 iECTtTRB 1^
Theophylact, and (Ecumenks, appear to me i& U&ck
the same upon this passage. Many others teach that
only the doctors and preachers of the gospel are here
called architects by the apostle. Jerome insinuates thi&
in his second book against JoTinianus. The Messed
Anselm and the blessed Thomas hold the same opinion
on this passage, although they do not reject the former
opinion. Many more modern thi^ik the same, as Dio-
nysius the Carthusian, Lyra, Cajetan, and others.
" The other difl&culty is rather more serious, for there
are six opinions. Some^ by the name of foundation,
understand a true but an ill-digested faith ; by the name
of gold, silvery and precious stones, good works ; by '
the names of wood, hay, and stubble, mortal sins. Thus
Chrysostom upon this place, who is followed by Theo-
phylact. The second opinion is, that Christ, or th*
preaching of the faith, is to be understood by the name
of foundation ; that by the names of gold, silver,
precious stones, are to be understood Catholic exposi-
tions, as the commentary of Ambrose and even Jerome
seem to teach. The third opinion, by the name foun-
dation, understands living faith ; and by the name of
gold, silver, and precious stones, understands works of
supererogation, &c. Thus the blessed Augustine, in his
book on faith and works, lib. 6. The/owr^A opinion is
that of those who explain by gold, silver, <fc;c., to be
meant good works ; by hay, stubble, &c., venial sins.
Thus the blessed Gregory, in the fourth book of his
dialogues, c. 39, and others. The fftk is the opinion
of those who understand by gold, silver, &c,, good
hearers ; and by stubble, &c., bad hearers. Thus
tllE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 2i>
Theodoret and (Ecumenius. The sixth opinion, which
we prefer to all, is, that by the name of foundation i»
to be understood Christ as preached by the first
preachers ; by the name of gold, silver, &c., is to be
understood the useful doctrine of the other preachers,
who teach those who now received the faith ; but by
the name of wood, hay, <fec., is to be understood the
doctrine, not indeed heretical, or bad, but singular, of
those preachers who preach catholically to the Catholic
people, without the fruit and usefulness which God
requires.
" The third difficulty regards the day of the Lord.
Some understand by the name of day, the present life
or the time of tribulation. Thus Augustine, in his book
of faith and works, c. 16, and Gregory, in the fourth
book of his dialogue, c. 39 But all the ancients
seem to have understood by that day, the day of the
last judgment, as Theodoret, Theophylact, Anselm, and
others.
" The fourth difficulty is, what is the fire, which in
the day of the Lord shall prove every one's work 2
Some understand the tribulations of this life, as Augus-
tine and Gregory, in the places noted ; but these we
have already rejected. Some understand eternal fire ;
but that cannot be, for fire shall not try the building of
gold and silver. . . . Some understand it to be the
pains of purgatory; but that cannot be truly said.
First, because the fire of purgatory does not prove the
works of those who build gold and silver ; but the fire
of which we are speaking, shall prove every man's work
what it is. Secondly, the apostle clearly makes a dis-
26 LECTURE i. .
tinction between the works and the workmen, and says,
concerning that fire, that it shall burn the works, but
not the workers ; for he says, ' if any one's work shall
remain, and if any work shall burn ;' but the fire of
purgatory, w^hich is a real fire, cannot burn works,
which are transitory actions, and have already passed.
Lastly, it would follow that all men, even the most holy,
would pass through the fire of purgatory, and be saved
by fire, for all are to pass through the fire of which we
are speaking. But that all are to pass through the fire
of purgatory, and be saved by fire is clearly false ; for
the apostle here openly says, that only those who build
Wood and hay are to be saved as if by fire : the Church,
also, has always been persuaded, that holy martyrs, and
infants dying after baptism, are presently received into
heaven without any passage through fire, as the Council
of Florence teaches in its last session. It remains,
therefore, that we should say, that the apostle here
speaks of the fire of the severe and just judgment of
God, which is not a purging or punishing fire, but one
that probes and examines. Thus Ambrose explains it
on Psalm 118, and also Sedulius.
" The fifth and last difficulty is, what is to be under-
stood by the fire, when he says, ' But he shall be saved
yet so as by fire V Some understand the tribulations
of this life ; but this cannot be properly said, because
then even he who built gold and silver would be saved
by fire. Wherefore, Augustine and Gregory, who are
the authors of this opinion, when they were not satisfied
with it, proposed another, of which we shall speak by-
and-bye. Some imderstand it to be eternal fire, as
ttlE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 2^
Chrysostom and Theophylact. But this we have already
refuted. Others understand the fire of the conflagration
of the world. It is, therefore, the common opinion of
theologians, that by the name of this fire is to be under-
stood some purgatorial and temporal fire, to which,
after death, those are adjudged, who are found in their
trial to have built wood, hay, and stubble."
I ask you, then, in view of this illustration, to*
consider the absurdity of that pledge which is so
solemnly given by every Roman Catholic minister, not
to interpret the Holy Scriptures, otherwise than "by
the unanimous consent of the Fathers."
But I cannot refrain from directing your attention to
the opinions of the Fathers upon another text of Scrip-
ture. And, when I read it, you will not think it
presumption in me, to say that, of all the passages of
the New Testament, we have a right to expect, on this
one especially, that the consent of the Fathers should
be unanimous. I refer to Mat. xvi, 18: — "I say to
thee : that thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will
build my Church."
Remember, I am not now discussing the meaning of
our Lord's lang-uage, I merely announce the views of
the Fathers. Some of them say that the rock is
Peter's faith ; as Cyril of Alexandria, (dial. 4, on Holy
Trin.) " He called nothing but the firm and immovable
faith of the disciple the rock upon which the Church
was founded, without the possibility of falling:" and
thus Chrysostom (serm. de pent.) — "He did not say
upon Peter, for he did not found his Church upon a
man, but upon faith. What, therefore, is meant by
28 LEOTUHE 1.
' upon this rock ?' Upon the confession contained in
his words." Also (Chrys. seim. 54, on Matt.) " and I
say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my Church ; that is to say, upon the faith
of the confession." Augustine sometimes interprets the
rock to mean Peter, and sometimes to mean Christ;
and referring to his contradictions in his book of retract-
ations, he leaves tlie reader to choose for himself
whichever of the interpretations he prefers. His words
are to the following: (Retrac. lib. 1») "I have said,
in a certain passage respecting the Apostle Peter, that
the Church is founded upon him as upon a rock
But I know that I have frequently afterwards so
expressed myself that the phrase ' upon this rock' should
be understood to be the rock which Peter confessed.
For it was not said to him, thou art Petra, but thou art
Petrus ; for the rock was Christ. Let the reader select
which of these two opinions he deems the most pro-
bable."
I might, almost without end, multiply examples of
the differences which exist amongst the Fathers upon
passages of Scripture and doctrines of faith ; passages
and doctrines that are allowed, by even Roman Catholics,
to be of vital consequence in the system of Christianity.
Am I surprised at this want of unanimity ? By no
means. It is to be expected that fallible men of
different degrees of learning, educated in different
schools, born and trained in various countries and
climates, surrounded by dissimilar influences, should
variously interpret texts of Scripture. I do not wonder
at these differences, but I do wonder that a church so
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 29
prudential as that of Rome, should have enjoined this
absurd exigetical . law, and that any reasonable man
should consent to be governed by it.
Now, I think you will agree with me that we have
reached thus far in our investigation : — that the
introduction of the Apociypha into the Biblical Scriptures
was not sanctioned by either Christ or His Apostles, or
even by the early church ; that, indeed, it was not
until nearly the commencement of the fifth century
that it was received by any portion of the church, and
then by only the African portion ; and that, therefore,
the voice of antiquity is against its reception into the
inspired canon. I have also shown that oral traditions
are not only not authoritative, but are entirely fabulous ;
and have asserted, without fear of successful contradiction,
that no saying or miracle of Christ or His Apostles not
found in the New Testament has ever been disclosed by
the Catholic Church on indubitable testimony. And
lastly, that the Fathers disagree amongst themselves as
to some of the most important passages of Holy Writ,
and therefore give an uncertain sound, rather than a
sure word of testimony. We are driven back from these
shifting sources of doctrinal instruction to the pure
truth of God. They furnish no sure foundation upon
which we can build our hopes, and in the midst of that
which is so changeful and uncertain, we feel that we are
only safe when we plant ourselves upon this rock — the
Holy Bible. " I profess plainly," said the immortal
Chillingworth, " that I cannot find any rest for the sole
of my foot but on this rock only. I see plainly that
there are popes against popes, councils against councils.
30 LECTURE r.
some Fathers against others, the same Fathers against
themselves ; a consent of the Fathers of one age against
a consent of the Fathers of another age, the church of
one age against the church of another age. ... In a
word, there is no sufficient certainty, but of Scripture
only, for any considering man to build upon. This
therefore, and this only, I have reason to believe ; this
will I profess, and according to this will I live. Propose
me any thing out of this book, and require whether I
believe it or no ; and seem it ever so incomprehensible
to human reason, I will subscribe it with hand and
heart, as knowing no demonstration can be stronger
than this ; ' God hath said so, therefore it is true.' In
other things I will take no man's liberty of judgment
from ■ him, neither shall any man take mine from me.
I will think no man the worse man nor the worse
Christian, I will love no man the less, for differing in
opinion from me. And what measure I mete to others,
I expect from them again. I am fully assured that
God does not, and therefore that men ought not to
require any more of any man than this, to believe the
Scripture to be the Word of God, to endeavor to find
the true sense of it, and to live according to it."
Protestantism asserts the absolute sufficiency
OF the Holy Scriptures for the guidance of
the Church in all matters of doctrine and
practice.
On this subject, the standards of the churches of
England and Scotland, with which all other Protestant
churches agree, are sufficiently explicit.
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 31
The Sixth Article of the Church of England reads
thus : —
" Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to
salvation : so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor
may be proved tkereby, is not to be required of any man,
that it should be believed as an article of Faith, or be
thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the
name of the Holy Scripture we do understand thos6
Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of
whose authority was never any doubt in the Church."
Not less clear and peremptory are the ninth and
tenth sections of the first chapter of the Westminster
confession :
" The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the
Scripture itself ; and therefore, when there is a question
about the true and full sense of any Scripture, (which
is not manifold, but one,) it must be searched and
known by other places that speak more clearly.
" The Supreme Judge, by whom all controversies of
religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils,
opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private
spirits are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are
to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in
the Scripture."
But why need I refer to ecclesiastical standards, since
the Word of God abundantly declares its own sufficiency.
I appeal to a few of the many texts which may be
adduced in support of this assertion. The first occurs
in the 8th chap, of Isaiah, ver. 20. "To the law and
to the testimony ; if they speak not according to this
Word it is because there is no light in them."
32 LECTURE I.
(Vulgate) "There will not be to them the morning
light." Here the people of Israel were commanded to
test even a prophet's message. " They have Moses and
the prophets, let them hear them. ... If they hear not
Moses and the prophets neither will they believe if one
rise again from the dead." . . , " But though we or an
angel from Heaven preach a Gospel to you besides that
which we have preached to you, let him be anathema."
. . . . "The Holy Scriptures are able to make thee
wise unto salvation," — "to instruct thee to salvation."
And if this could be said of the Old Testament, much
more may it be said of the New. "What want I more
than to be instructed to salvation ? What work of
supererogation is that which requires that I receive
as truth necessary to salvation, more than that which
is able to make me wise unto salvation ? For myself I
want no more than this — only give me the incorruptible
seed of the Word, which is able to save my soul, and I
want naught beside. No! I will not wander away
from this sure word of prophecy, I will not put in its
place any word of man, no tradition shall have with me
the same authority as the MTitten word of the Livii^g
God, and when I am in doubt of its meaning I will go
to no uninspired authority, but following the apostolic
maxim, I will compare Scripture with Scripture ; no
private interpretation shall satisfy me, no interpretation
of Bishop, or Cardinal, or Priest; the Scripture is its
own, its best interpreter, and will make all things plain.
Our Roman Catholic friends sometimes say that the
Protestant rule of faith is the Bible explained by every
man's private judgment. This is not a fair representation ;
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 33
— our rule of faitli is the Bible alone, without note or
comment, or any thing indeed, extrinsic from itself.
This is the only standard of appeal which the Protestant
can recognize. As long as he keeps within the
circumference of the Bible he is on impregnable ground ;
but the instant he goes beyond the Bible, and allows
that the opinion of Henry, or Scott, or Wesley, or the
comments of the Anglican, or Scottish, or any other
church, are part and parcel of the rule of faith, he has
left the munition of rocks — he is unsafe, and is in
momentaiy danger of being carried away with every
wind of doctrine.
Protestantism asserts it to be the privilege of
EVERY MAN TO APPROACH THIS SoURCE OF TrUTH,
THE Bible, and to draw freely from its streams.
There is presumptive evidence that the Divine
Author of the Holy Scriptures intended the Bible for
all men. Moses promulged the law of God and the
will of God to the Israelites generally : Joshua did the
same : Ezra, after the return from Babylon, followed in
this respect his great exemplar Joshua : The prophets
spoke to the people generally in the vulgar tongue, and
wrote in the vulgar tongue : Christ spoke to the
multitudes, addressing to them, (as, for instance, in his
sermon on the Mount,) some of the sublimest mysteries,
and some of the hardest sayings of the Christian
religion : Peter addressed the multitudes in Jerusalem
on the day of Pentecost, and Paul preached almost daily
to large assemblies of Jews and Greeks. They as well
34 LECTURE I.
as the other writers of the apostolic epistles wrote to tlie
brethren of the Churches — ^to " all the holy brethren."
Seeing then, that the }?ible is made up of these several
parts, who can resist the conclusion that it was designed
without let or hindrance for the whole people? Yes,
my brethren, the Bible, like Christ, was given for the
World.
But we have direct evidence from the Bible itself
that the Holy Scriptures were designed by God to be
read and investigated by all. " Search the Scriptures
for you think in them to have life everlasting, and the
same are they that give testimony of me." Now,
whether you regard this as a command, or as an
assertion, you are in either case bound to acknowledge
that it was both the duty and the privilege of the
Jews to "search the Scriptures." The Bereans were
applauded by the inspired historian in the following
language : " Now these were more noble than those in
Thessalonica, who received the word with all eagerness,
daily searching the Scriptures whether these things
were so." We have quoted from the Douay version,
and the words remain a standing reproof to every
Roman Catholic Minister who refuses to his fellow-man
the opportunity and privilege of emulating the nobleness
of the Berean Christians.
" They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear
them." "From thy infancy," said Paul to Timothy,
"thou hast known the Holy Scriptures," a statement
which clearly shows what was the domestic practice of
the Jews as to scriptural instruction. The last passage
which we furnish in support of the Protestant principle
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 35
that man's inalienable right is to read the Bible, is
from one of the Apostle Peter's letters, in which,
speaking of Paul and his writings, he says, " As also in
all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in
which are certain things hard to be understood, whiph
the unlearned and the unstable wrest as they do also
the other Scriptures to their own destruction." I
direct your special attention to this passage, because
it proves that St. Paul's epistles were read by the
unlearned members of the Christian Church ; and
because also, though these unlearned Christians wrested
the Scriptures of Paul to their own destruction, the
Apostle Peter does not command other unlearned
Christians to desist from reading them lest they also
should similarly wrest them.
But we have the testimony of the ancient Fathers
also in favour of the general reading of the Holy
Scriptures.
"Search, the Scriptures," says Clement of Alexandria,
in his celebrated epistle to the Corinthians. " Who is
there," observes Chrysostom, " to whom all is not
manifest which is written in the Gospel ? Who that
shall hear, 'Blessed are the meek, blessed are the
merciful, blessed are the pure in heart,' and the rest,
would require a teacher to learn any of these things
which are here spoken? As also the signs, miracles,
histories, are they not known and manifest to every
man? This pretence and excuse is but the cloak of
our slothfulness. Thou understandest not those things
which are written : how shouldst thou understand them '
w^ho wilt not so much as slightly look into them?
36 - LECTURE r.
Take the book into thy hand; read all thy history;
and what thou knowest, remember; and what is
obscure, go often over it." This Father yet more
plainly corroborates the antiquity of the Protestant
doctrine and practice, for he says, " The Philosophers
speak obscurely, but the Apostles and Prophets make
all things delivered by them clear and manifest ; and,
as the common teachers of the world, have so expounded
all things, that every man may, of himself, by bare
reading, learn those things which are spoken." The
same author, in his Homily on Lazarus, says, " I do
always exhort, and will never cease to exhort you, that
you will not here only attend to those things which are
spoken ; but, when you are at home, you continually
busy yourselves in reading the Holy Scriptures, which
practice also, I have not ceased to urge upon them
who come privately to me. For, let no man say, ' Alas,
I am taken up with lawful causes, I am employed in
public affairs, I follow my trade, I maintain a wife and
children, and have a great charge to look to ; it is not -
for me to read the Scripture, but for them which have
cast off the world, which have taken up the solitary
tops of mountains for their dwellings, which live this
contemplative kind of life continually.' What say est
thou, O man? Is it not for thee to turn over the
Scriptures, because thou art distracted with many
cares ? Nay, then it is for thee more than for them ;
for they do not so much need the help of the Scriptures
as thou who art tossed in the midst of the waves of
worldly business." He says' again, " Wherefore hath
the spirit of God so dispensed this word that publicans,
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 37
fishers, tent-makers, goat-lierds, and shepherds, plain
unlettered men may be saved by these books : lest any
of the simple sort should pretend this excuse, that all
things which are said should be easy to discern ; and
that the workman, the servant, th^ poor widow, and the
most unlearned of all other, by hearing of the word
read might get some gain and profit." The same
Father says elsewhere, " I beseech you that you como
speedily hither, and hearken diligently to the reading of
the Holy Scripture ; and not only when you come
hither, but also at home take the Bible into your hands,
and by your diligent care reap the profit contained in
it." Once more, in his Homilies on the Colossians, he
exclaims, " Hear I beseech you, ye secular men, provide
you Bibles which are the medicines for the soul : at
least get the New Testament."
I ask, is this accordant with the present teaching of
the Church of Rome ? Is it the common practice of
the Ministers of that Church, thus to exhort the laity ?
Who ever heard a Roman Catholic Priest or Bishop
beseech his flock to provide themselves Bibles, especially
the unlettered and the poor of his flock ? Yet, this
celebrated Father, as we have seen, did this ; and others
of the Fathers are not less explicit, not less " Protestant"
in the enunciation of their views on the general reading
of the Scriptures. Jerome says, " It is for the whole
people that the Apostles wrote. The laity ought to
abound in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures."
Isidorus affirms, ^' That the heavenly oracles have been
written for the whole human race ; even husbandmen,"
Jie continues, " are in a condition to learn there what
c
38 LECTURE i
it, is fitting for them to know. The learned and the
ignorant, children and women may equally instruct
themselves there." I might multiply quotations, hut I
forhear. I have furnished these for the purpose of
demonstrating to both Protestants and Catholics that
the boasted reverence of the Church of Rome for the
Fathers is not so supreme as it is sometimes assumed
to be, and that antiquity is against her in her present
practice of restraining the laity from a free examination
of the word of God.
Abundant testimony, therefore, is at hand in favour of
the reading of the Sacred Scriptures by the people.
Prominent members of the Roman Catholic Church
frequently assert that the Bible is not withheld from
them, or from the laity generally. We acknowledge
that there may be found in the decrees of the Council
of Trent one or two clauses favouring such a permission,
but then these permissory clauses are so fenced around
by restrictions, that they become tantamount to a direct
refusal. And here, let me observe, that the authorities
of the Roman Catholic Church are not at one on this
subject of Bible reading. A conclave of Bishops
meeting at Bononia gave the following counsel or
advice to Pope Julius m. : " By all means, as little of
the Gospel as might be, especially in the vulgar tongue,
should be read to the people ; and that little which is
in the Mass ought to be sufficient ; neither should it be
permitted to any mortal to read more, for so long as
men were contented with that little, all went well with
them."
Pope Pius VII. published in 1816, a Bull against
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 39
Bible Societies, in whicli he represents the circulation
of the Scriptures by Bible Societies " as a crafty device,
by which the very foundations of religion are under-
mined ; a pestilence which must be remedied and
abolished ; a defilement of the faith, eminently
dangerous to souls; impious machinations of innova-
tors ; wickedness of a nefarious scheme ; snares prepared
for men's everlasting ruin ; a new species of tares, which
an adversary has abundantly sown." In the same Bull
the Pontiff says, " It is evident from experience that
the Holy Scriptures, when circulated in the vulgar
tongue, have through the temerity of men, produced
more harm than benefit."*
But I must not longer detain you with extracts
corroborative of a fact which, despite the occasional
denials of her members, is stamped upon almost every
page of the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
That the ecclesiastics of that community generally,
are opposed to the circulation of the Bible, is too patent
to the world to demand accumulated proof. The Word
of God is not read by the great body of Roman
Catholics ; it is not even circulated amongst them ; it
is not permitted to a Roman Catholic to buy or sell a copy
of even the Douay Bible, without an order in writing.
Should a Roman Catholic bookseller infringe this law,
he would subject himself to heavy ecclesiastical
penalties. Yet we are told the Bible is not withheld
from the members of the Church !
Lastly, I ask you not, " Are you a Roman Catholic ?"
" Are you a Protestant ?" I ask you not, " Are you an
* See note at the end of this Lecture,
40 LECTURE 1.
Episcopalian? a Presbyterian? a Metliodist?" But I
ask you, " Are you a man ?" Then has your Divine
Creator vested in you the right, which it were unjust to
withhold, of reading, for yourself, the Holy Bible. Do
you feel that you are in darkness ? This Divine Word
will be a light unto your feet, and a lamp unto your
path. Would you become acquainted with the cha-
racter of the Great God with whom you have to do ?
With his attributes, with his will, with his law? All
the information which you require may be found and
obtained in this Blessed Volume of truth. Are you a
sinner ? In this Bible and in it alone, is disclosed the
method of pardoning mercy through the atonement of
Jesus. Are you in sorrow and affliction ? The Bible
reveals to you the only fountain of consolation. Are
you an immortal spirit rapidly journeying to the eternal
world ? In this Bible, this book of books, you have
opened up to you the path that leads to immortality
and eternal life. By whatever motives men may
attempt to draw you off from the study of this Bible,
heed them not, for it is God's great gift to every man,
and therefore to you. It is your light in the darkness
of the wilderness; it is your chart in the voyage of
life ; it is your anchor in the storm of distress ; it is
your armour in your conflicts with your enemies ; it is
your bridge of safety over the river of death. Love
your Bible — bind it to your heart — cleave to its
truths — foUow its instructions — obey its laws — ^trust its
promises. " Search the Scriptures," — for they are
they which testify of Christ : " Let the word op
Christ dwell in you richly in ah wisdom" : " The word
THE ONE SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 41
of the Lord endureth for ever, and this is the word
WHICH BY THE GoSPEL IS PREACHED UNTO YOU."
" Here may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find ;
Riches, above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.
" Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a free repast ;
Sublimer sweets than nature knows,
Invite the longing taste.
" Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around ;
And life and everlasting joys
Attend the bUssful sound.'
NOTE TO LECTURE I.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
RESPECTING THE READING OF THE SCRIPTURES BY THE LAITY.
1. The fourth rule of the congregation of the Index contains
the following provision : " It is, on this point, referred to the
judgment of the Bishops or inquisitors, who may, by the advice
of the Priest or Confessor, permit the reading of the Bible,
translated into the vulgar tongue by Catholic authors, to those
persons whose faith and piety, they apprehend will be
augmented and not injured by it; and this permission they
must have in writing. But if any one shall have the presump-
tion to read or possess it, without such written permission, ho
shall not receivd absolution until he have first delivered up such
Bible to the ordinary."
2. Propositions of Father Quesnell expressly condemned in
the Bull Unigenitus. Translated from Dens Theology. (Vol.
viii. pp. 315, 316.)
" The reading of the Sacred Scripture is for all.
" The obscurity of the sacred word of God is no reason-for
laymen to dispense themselves from reading it.
" The Lord's day ought to be sanctified by Christians for
reading works of piety, and, above all, of the Sacied Scripture,
It is damnable to wish to withdraw a Christian from this
reading. (Acts xv. 21.)
" It is an illusion to persuade oneself that a knowledge of the
mysteries of religion is not to be communicated to women by
the reading of the sacred book. 'Not from the simplicity of
women, but from- the proud science of men, has the abuse of
the Scriptures arisen, and heresies have been produced.
(John iv. 26.)
**To take away the New Testament from the hands of
Christians, or to shut it up from them, by taking from them the
44 LECTURE I.
means of understanding it, is to close the mouth of Christ io
them, (Matt. v. 2.)
" To interdict from Christians the reading of the sacred
Scriptures, particularly of the Gospel, is to interdict the use of
the light from the sons of light, and to cause that they should
Buffer some species of excommunication. (Luke xi. 83.)
'* To take away from the simple people this solace of joining
their voice to the voice of the whole church, is a custom contrary
to the apostolical practice and the intention of God. (1 Cor.
xiv. 16.)
The following are amongst the closing denunciations of this
well-known Bull .- —
" We declare, condemn, and reprobate respectively, by this
our Constitution, pei-petually in force for ever, all and singular,
the propositions before inserted, as false, captious, ill-sounding»
offensive to pious ears, scandalous, j^ernicious, rash, injurious to
the Church and its practice, neither against the Church alone,
but also against the secular power, contumacious, seditious,
impious, blasphemous, suspected of heresy, and savouring of
heresy itself, also favouring heretics andheresies,and evenschism,
erroneous, approaching to heresy, often condemned, and again
even heretical, and manifestly renewing various heresies, and
chiefly those which are contained in the famous propositions of
Jansenius, and indeed being received in that sense in which
they were condemned. Commanding all the faithful in Christ,
of either sex, not to presume to think, teach, or preach concern-
ing the said propositions, otherwise than contained in this the
same our Constitution, so that whosoever shall teach, defend,
publish, or treat even in disputation publicly or privately, unless
it may be to impugn them, or any of them, conjointly or
separately, shall be subject ipso facto, and without any other
declaration, to ecclesiastical censures, and the other punishments
decreed by law against the perpetrators of similar things.
" We command also the venerable brothers, the Patriarchs,
Archbishops, and Bishops, and other ordinaries of places, also
the Inquisitors of heretical pravity, that they may by all means
NOtfi. 45
cnefce and compel gainsayers, and rebels, ^vhatsoever, by
censures, and the aforesnid punishments, and the other remedies
of law and fact ; the aid even of the secular arm being called in
for this purpose, if necessary."
3. Translation of the Bull against Bible Societies, issued June
29th, 1816, by Pope Pius VIL, to the Archbishop of Gnesen,
Primate of Poland.
" Pius P. VII.
" Venerable Brother, — Health and apostolic benediction.
In our last letter to you we promised, very soon, to return an
answer to yours, in which you have appealed to this holy see,
in the name of the other Bishops of Poland, respecting what are
called Bible Societies, and have earnestly inquired of us what
you ought to do in this affair. "We long since, indeed, wished
to comply with your request; but an incredible variety of
weighty concerns has so pressed upon us on every side, that, till
this day, we could not yield to your solicitations.
" We have been truly shocked at this most crafty device, by
which the very foundations of religion are undermined ; and
having, because of the great importance of the subject, conferred
in Council with our venerable brethren, the Cardinals of the
l)oly Roman Church, We have, with the utmost care and
attention, deliberated upon the measures proper to be adopted
by our pontifical authority, in order to remedy and abolish this
pestilence as f^ as possible. In the mean time we heartily
congratulate you, venerable brother, and we commend you
again and again in the Lord, as it is fit we should, upon the
singular zeal you have displayed under circumstances so
dangerous to Christianity, in having denounced to the apostolic
see this defilement of the faith so eminently dangerous to souls.
And although we perceive that it is not at all necessary to
excite hira to activity who is making haste, since, of your own
accord, you have already shown an ardent desire to detect and
overthrow the impious machinations of these innovators ; yet,
in conformity with our office, we a^ain and again exhort you
that whatever you can achieve by power, provide for by counsel,
C2
46 LECTCKS I.
or effect by authority, you will daily execute with the utmost
earne.-^tne.:is, placing yourself as a wall for the house of Israel.
" With this view, We issue the present brief; namely,
that we may convey to you a signal testimony of our appro-
bation of your excellent conduct, and also may endeavour
therein still more and move to excite your pastoral solicitude
and diligence ; for the general good imperiously requires you
to combine all your means and energies to frustrate the plans
which are prepared by its enemies for the destruction of our
most holy religion ; wlience it becomes an episcopal duty that
you, first of all, expose the wickedness of this nefarious scheme,
as you have already done so admirably, to the view of the
faithful, and openly publish the same, according to the rules
prescribed by the Chuich, with all the erudition and wisdom
which you possess ; namely, ' that the Bible printed by heretics
is to be numbered among other prohibited books, conformably
to the rules of the Index ; (sect. 2, 3 ;) for it is evident from ex-
perience that the Iwly Scriptures, when circulated in the vulgar
tongue, have, through the temerity of men, produced more
harm than benefit.' (Rule iv.) And this is the more to be
dreaded iu times so depraved, when our holy religion is assailed
from every quarter with great cunning and effort, and the most
grievous wounds are inHicted on the Church. It is therefore
necessary to adhere to the salutary Decree of the Congregation
of the Index, (June 13th, 1757.) that no version of the Bible in
the vulgar tongue be permitted, except such as are approved
by the apostolic see, or published with annotations extracted
from the writings of holy Fathers of the Church.
" We confidently hope that, in these turbulent circumstances,
the Poles will give the clearest proofs of their attachment to
the religion of their ancestors; and, by your care, as well as
that of the other Prelates of this kingdo n, whom, on account of
the stand they have wonderfully made for the depository of the
faith, we congratulate in the Lord ; trusting that they all may
very abundantly justify the opinion we have entertained of
tliem.
NOTB. 47
** It is, moreover, necessary that you Bhould transmit to us as
soon as possible the Bible which Jacob Wulek published in the
Polish language, with a commentary, as well as a copy of the
'edition of it lately put forth without those annotations taken
from the writings of the holy Fathers of our Church, or other
learned Catholics, with your opinion upon it ; that thus, from
collating them together, it may be ascertained, after mature
investigation, that certain errors lie insidiously concealed
therein, and that we may pronounce our judgment on this
affair, for the preservation of the true faith.
" Continue, therefore, venerable brother, to pursue this truly
pious course, upon which you have entered ; namely, diligently
to fight the battles of the Lord for the sound doctrine, and warn
the people intrusted to your care, that they fall not into the
snares which are prepared for their everlasting ruin. The
Church demands this from you, as well as from the other
Bishops, whom our rescript equally concerns ; and we most
anxiously expect it, that the deep sorrow we feel on account of
this new species of tares, which an adversary has so abundantly
sown, may by this cheering hope be somewhat alleviated ; and
we always very heartily invoke the choicest blessings upon
yourself and your fellow-Bishops for the good of the Lord'a
flock, which we impart to you and them by our apostolic
benediction.
"Given at Rome, at St. Mary the Greater, June 29th, 1816,
the seventeenth yeai- of our pontificate.
"Pius, P. VII."
4. Extract from the Bull of Pope Leo XII., to the Irish
Clergy, dated May 3, 1824.
" It is no secret to you, venerable brethren, that a certain
Society, vulgarly called The Bible Society, is audaciously
dispreading itself through the whole world. After despising
the traditions of the holy Fathers, and in opposition to the well-
known Decree of the Council of Trent, this Society has collected
all its forces, and directs every means to one object, — the
translation, or rather the perversion, of the Bible into the
48 LECTURE I.
vernacular languages of all nations. From this fact there is
strong ground of fear, lest, as in some instances already known,
so likewise in the rest, through a perverse interpretation, there
be framed out of the Gospel of Christ a gospel of man, or^ what
is worse, a gospel of the deviL"
LECTURE IL
THE OITE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,
I CANNOT proceed to tlie subject of this evening^s
discourse, without expressing the gratitude which I
felt last Sabbath, at the interest which was taken
in the subject of the opening Lecture of this series, —
"The one source of religious truth." — And for the sake
of those who were not present on that occasion, as well
also with a view of refreshing the memories of those
who were, I will repeat, in few words, the conclusions
to which we came ; which, I am bold to say, must
have been undeniable in the view of every candid
Catholic or Protestant who was present.
Our time was chiefly occupied in defending three
Protestant principles :
First, we .entered our protest against any addition
whatever to the Holy Scriptures as binding upon the
faith and practice of the Church.
We showed (1) that Protestants reject the Apocrypha^
on the authority of the Universal Church of Christ for
the fii-st four centuries of its existence, and on the dis-
tinct authority of the earliest fathers; in support of
which statement we adduced the testimony of the
celebrated Catholic historian Dupin.
We showed (2) that Protestants reject all oral
traditions as a rule of faith, because there is no satisfac
§0 LECTURE 11.
tory evidence that such traditions exist ; and we farther
quoted the opinion of Theophilus Alexander and Jerome,
that no truth or doctrine can be established but by the
authority of the written word of God.
We showed (3) that Protestantism rejects the autho-
rity of the fathers as a rule of faith ; we pointed out
their inconsistencies with themselves and their disagree-
ments with each other ; and we gave you an illustration
from the works of Cardinal Bellarmine, of the manifold
difference of their views on texts of importance in the
Protestant controversy ; thus demonstrating the positive
inconsistency of the oath taken by every minister of the
Roman Catholic Church, — "I will never take nor
interpret the Scriptures, but by the unanimous consent
of the Fathers."
The SECOND principle of Protestantism which we
defended, was the absolute sufficiency of the Holy
Scriptures for the guidance of the Church in all matters
of doctrine and practice. This was supported prin-
cipally by an appeal to the Scriptures themselves as
rendered in Roman Catholic versions of the Bible.
The THIRD principle of Protestantism, for which we
contended, was thus enunciated : " It is the privilege
of every man to approach the fountain of truth, the
Bible, and to draw freely from its streams." This
principle was maintained on three grounds; on the
presumptive evidence derived from the facts that the
Scriptures were written in the vulgar tongue, and that
they were delivered either by mouth or epistle to the
people generally; on the direct evidence which the
Scriptures furnish by both precept and example, that it
THS ONE HEAD OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 61
behoveth every Christian to search the Scriptures ; and
on the authority of the ancient Fathers, who, as we
demonstrated from their own writings, enjoined upon
the members of the Church in their day the general
reading of the Word of God.
From these several considerations, arguments and
testimonies, we reached the conclusion that "the
Bible is the one only source of religious truth."
I most cordially repeat, this evening, the twofold
profession which I volunteered a week ago, namely,
that it will be my continual purpose to avoid the utter-
ance of a single word that shall even offend the taste,
and much less grieve the mind of any of my hearers ;
and that unless there be a distinct announcement to the
contraiy, every passage of Scripture quoted in support of
the principles of Protestantism wUl be taken verbatim
from one of the Roman Catholic versions of the Sacred
Scriptures.
And now I invite you to a serious and prayerful
contemplation of the subject to be brought before you
this evening, —
"The One Head of the Catholic Church."
This is a subject which will afford an opportunity of
educing some of the leading peculiarities of the Pro-
testant system, those I mean which especially distinguish
it from Roman Catholicism. I have chosen as my text,
a passage which occurs in the epistle of St. Paul to the
Cdossians, and which you will find in the first chapter,
52 LECTURE II.
at the 18th and 19 th verses. It is thus rendered in the
Doiiay Bible : —
" And He is the Head of the Body, the Church,
WHO IS the beginning, the first-born from the
DEAD ; that in all things, He may hold the primacy :
Because, in Him, it hath well-pleased the Father,
that all fulness should dwell."
Our investigation this evening will comprehend two
general enquiries : —
First, What is the Church, the Catholic Church ?
Second, Who is the Head of this Church ?
What is the Church? And it may be well to
announce at once, that the principle upon which I shall
pursue this inquiry is that which is laid down by St.
Augustine in his controversy with the Donatists : " Let
them," says he, " show me their Church ; not in the
councils of their Bishops, not in the writings of dis-
puters, not in the miracles and prodigies of which they
boast ; but let them show it me in the ordinances of
the law, in the predictions of the prophets, in the songs
of the Psalms, in the preaching of the Evangelists, and
in the canonical authorities of the sacred books. This
is our foundation, to which we inviolably attach our-
selves, reposing only upon this Scripture which is come
from the Prophets and Apostles."
As my special object in these Lectures is to expound
the principles of Protestantism, it will be necessary here
to state what Protestants mean by " the Church," as
well as by the epithet " Catholic," which they not unfre-
quently prefix to it. We mostly adopt that member
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 53
of the Apostle's creed, " I believe in the Holy Catholic
Chnrcli." But then what meaning do we attach to the
expression? As an answer to this demand I shall
transcribe the definition of the Westminster Assembly
of Divines, who met about the year 1645, and agreed
upon that celebrated " Confession of Faith," which was
afterwards ratified by both ecclesiastical and parlia-
mentary authority, as "part of the covenanted uniformity
in religion betwixt the Churches of Christ in the
kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland:" —
"The Catholic or Universal Church," say they,
"which is invisible, consists in the whole number of the
elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into
one, under Christ, the head thereof; and is the spouse,
the body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
" The visible Church," say they again, " which is also
Catholic or universal imder the gospel (not confined
(i. e.) 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
possibility of salvation."
The article of the Church of England on this subject
is as follows : —
" The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of
faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is
preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered
according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that
of necessity are requisite to the same."
The literal meaning of the Greek word eKKXri^ifn
54 LECTURE II.
which is rendered "Church" in both Protestant and
Catholic versions of the Scriptures, is assembly^ and was
indifferently employed, even by the inspired writers, to
assemblies in general. I need only refer in illustration,
to verses 32 and 39 of the nineteenth Chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles: —
"Now some cried one thing, some another. For
the assembly (^ EKKXrjtTia) was confused, and the
greater part knew not for what cause they were come
together."
" And if you enquire after any other matter, it may
be decided in a lawful assembly {eicK\rjffl<}.)
The word is derived from the verb £»c<caXlw to call
out. The English word. Church, is most probably
derived from a contraction of two Greek words, Kvplov
iind oiKOQ, signifying the house of the Lord.
Having given the Protestant definition of the word
" Church," I shall now transcribe from the writings of
Cardinal Bellarmine that definition which is most
generally adopted by our Roman Catholic brethren.
"The church is an assembly of men, united in the
profession of one and the same Christian faith ; and in
the communion of the same sacraments, under the
government of their lawful Pastors, but especially of
the Roman Pontiff." This is the Cardinal's exposition
of what the Church is. The Douay Catechism, (page
20,) declares in somewhat similar terms, that "the
Church is the congregation of all the faithful under
Jesus Christ, their invisible head, and His vicar upon
earth, the Pope" ; the same catechism goes on to say
&at the church consists of " a Pope or supreme head,
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 65
Bishops, Pastors, and Laity ;" and, on the next page,
we have the following sentence, to which I invite your
special attention : " He who is not in due connexion
and subordination to the Pope and general Councils,
must needs be dead, and cannot be accounted a member
of the Church, since from the Pope and general
Councils under Christ, we have our spiritual hfe and
motion as Christians." In the Canon law of the Roman
Catholic Church, we find the following : " The Roman
Church, by the appointment of our Lord, is the mother
and mistress of all the faithful."
And now you will be prepared for this general
statement or declaration.
That the Reformed Churches of Christendom protest
against the assumption, by any particular church, and
therefore by the Church of Rome, of the right to apply
to itself alone, the title of Catholic or Universal.
First, — ^They deny this right on the authority of the
Holy Scriptures. Let any Roman Catholic produce,
even from his own admired versions of the New
Testament, a single passage which in the smallest
degree favours the doctrine that the Church of Rome
was ordained by Christ and His Apostles, to be the one
only true Church on earth, the mother and mistress of
all Churches, and I will at once lay aside this Protestant
robe, and present myself to the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Montreal as a candidate for admission into his
communion. But is it so ? I open the Douay Bible
on the eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and
I read in the first verse, that at the time of Stephen's
martyrdom, "there was raised a great persecution
66 LECTURE II.
against the Church which was at Jerusalem^ Now
Peter founded this Church on the day of Pentecost ; it
was therefore the first Christian Church ever estabUshed;
in the midst of it was held the first Christian Council
that ever assembled ; and at this Council, though Peter
was present, and addressed its members, you do not
find either in the Acts of the Apostles, or in any
authenticated copy of the Fathers, even the shadow of
an intimation that he assumed authority over the other
Apostles. So far from this, we learn from the nineteenth
verse of the fifteenth chapter, that James pronounced
the decretory sentence — "For which cause I judge
that they who from among the Gentiles are converted
to God, are not to be disquieted ;" — ^which, as says
Chrysostom, whose authority ray Roman Catholic
friends at least will not question, means, " I with
authority say this," for as he immediately explains " he,
(i. e. James) had the authority of the Chu»ch at
Jerusalem committed to him." I pass on to the forty-
first verse of this same chapter, and I read of Paul's
going through Syria and Cilicia " confirming the
Churches^ In the fifth verse of the following chapter,
I find the same expression, "And the Churches were
confirmed in the faith." Such language would not be
tolerated by the Church of Rome in the present day ;
she rejects the notion of several chm-ches ; but you
have seen from her own version of the New Testament
that the Apostles spoke of various churches. I go on to
consult the epistle to the Romans. There was but one
Apostolic letter written to the Church at Rome, and
this not by Peter but by Paul ; our Roman Cathoho
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. ,5l
tends seem to hold it in high veneration on account,
as they say, " of the subHmity of the matter contained
in it" Now I think you will all agree with me, that
we have a right, a priori, to expect in this epistle some
reference to the position of eminence which the Church
of Rome now declares itself to have held from the days
of Peter and Paul. If Rome was, as is maintained, the
mistress of Churches, if Peter, as is also maintained,
was the founder of the Church there, and was withal
the Prince of the Apostles, might we not fairly look
out for some expression of deference to the apostolic
chief, and might we not anticipate that Paul would
say a word or two of Rome's exalted destiny ? I search
the Vulgate and the Douay version in vain for any
such expression ; there is not a syllable which, by even
the most refined torture, could be brought to support
this strange opinion. I rather meet with expressions
that overthrow the doctrine of the Universal dominion
of the Church of Rome, for in the sixteenth chapter,
the Apostle speaks " of the church that is in Cenchre."
He speaks also of " the Churches of the Gentiles," and
of " the Church which is in the house of Prisca and
Aquila," and as he draws towards the closing sentences
of his epistle, he says, " All the Churches of Christ
salute you." There were, then, other Churches besides
that at Rome, and they sent their ordinary salutations
to the Church at Rome ; ordinary T say, for a precisely
similar salutation was addressed by the same Apostle to
the Corinthian Church, — " The Churches of Asia salute
you." The Apostle does not call the Roman Church
" our Holy Mother," but addresses it in the same terms
68 LECTURE IL
in which he addressed eveiy other Church to which he
wrote.
The Roman Catholic Church, in common with
ourselves, believes that Paul was martyred at Rome,
and that immediately "before his martyrdom he wrote
his second letter to Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus. I
will turn then, to this epistle, for surely I ought to find
something about the supreme exaltation of the Church
at Rome, something about Peter its asserted founder,
and something about the necessity of Timothy and all
other Bishops submitting themselves to the authority
of the Holy See. Now, I wish every Roman Catholic
present, to read out of his own Bible this epistle, for he
will, I am sure, be completely baffled when I tell him
that in this, Paul's dying testimony for the truth of
Jesus, addressed to the Ephesian Bishop, there exists
not a single reference either to the pre-eminence of
Rome, or to the chiefship of Peter; he issues no
command requiring subordination to the decrees of the
Church there ; he speaks of several persons by name,
but he says not one word of Peter or of his work.
Secondly, — The. right of the Chyrch of Rome to
^sume for herself only, the title of Catholic or
Universal, is denied by Protestants on the authority of
the Ancient Fathers.
I feel sure that if you will only give me your attention
on this important point in the Protestant controversy, I
shall convince you that, appealing only to the best
authenticated Catholic standards, this assumption was
not by any means coeval with the establishment of the
Church at Rome.
THE ONE HgAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 59
(1.) The first proof that I shall adduce will be taken
from the Roman Catholic version of the epistle of
Clement Bishop of Rome, to the Corinthians, written
about A. D. 90. In this epistle he expostulates with
them on their having deposed their ministers, and
having permitted contentions amongst themselves. It
will be observed that Clement here affects no superiority
over the Corinthian Church, but addresses it as having
equality with the Church at Rome. The commencement
of the epistle runs thus : " The Church of God which
worships at Rome, to the Chm*ch of God which
woi-ships at Corinth, called and sanctified by the will
of God, &c.," a very different style of address from
that which is now employed by the Bishop of Rome,
when he wiites an ecclesiastical epistle.
" ' The A|x»stle^,' preached to us from Jesus Christ,
Jesus Christ from God. Christ, therefore, was sent by
God, and the Apostles by Christ; each mission was
performed in its own order, by the will of God.
Therefore, having received their command from him,
and being certainly assured by the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and confirmed in faith by the word
of God, with the plenitude of the Holy Ghost, they
went forth announcing the approach of the kingdom of
God. Preachiug, therefore, through regions and cities,
they appointed the first fruits of those whom they
approved in the spirit as Bishops and Deacons, over
* those who believed.'
" Our Apostles also, knew through our Lord Jesus
Christ, that there would be contention about the name"
of Bishop. Therefore, on this account, being filled with
60 LECTURE II.
perfect foreknowledge, they constituted those of whom
we have spoken before, and delivered a rule thenceforward
for the future succession, that when they departed,
other approved men should take their office and
ministry. Those, therefore, who were constituted by
them, or after their time, by other approved men, with
the consent of the whole Church, and who fulfilled
their ministry to the sheepfold of Christ, humbly,
quietly, and liberally, and through a long period,
obtained a distinguished report from all men, those we
think it unjust to depose from their ofiice. For it will
not be accounted a light sin, if those who offer gifts
without strife and with holiness, should be removed
from their episcopate."
(2.) The second patristic testimony which I shall
adduce is from the writings of Irenseus ; and here I
shall have to tax your patience for a little, because it is
to the authority of this Father that our Roman Catholic
friends so frequently refer in proof of the supremacy
and catholicity of the Church of Rome. Listen then,
to the following sentence from hjs work against
Heresies : " We have not known the system of our.
salvation, except by those through whom the Go'spel
came to us ; which th^n, truly, they preached, but
afterwards, by the will of God, they delivered to us in
the Scriptures, to be the pillar and ground of our faith."
Here at least, there is no reference to the Church
having been built upon Peter, but upon the Gospel
Faith — this is the pillar, this the ground of saving
truth.
But in the third chapter of this same book against
THE ONE HEAD 0^ THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 61
Heresies, there occurs the following passage, to which I
invite your candid attention, because it is the strongest
evidence from antiquity which the Roman Catholic
Church can adduce in favour of her claims. Irenaeus,
then, contending against the Gnostics of his day, says,
*' The tradition of the Apostles being manifested through
the whole world, it remains to be seen throughout the
whole Church by all who wish to behold the truth.
And we are able to enumerate those who were
instituted Bishops by the Apostles in the Churohes,
and their successors to our own time, who taught and
knew nothing like what these men rave about : — But
«ince it would be tedious," he continues, "in such a
volume to reckon the successions of all the Churches,
we confound all those who in any manner infer what
is unseemly, by the successions of the Bishops of that
greatest, very ancient, and universally known Church,
founded and constituted at Rome, by the two most
glorious Apostles Peter and Paul, which shows the
tradition which it has from the Apostles, and the faith
announced to men, and descending even to us. For to
this- Church, on account of the more powerful
principality, it must needs be that the whole Church
should resort, that is, those who ar^ faithful, from all
places round about ; in which Church, the tradition
which is from the Apostles, has always been preserved
by those round about it." This I grant is a strong
passage ; but let us fairly examine it, and see whether,
as Roman Catholics Say, it proves Irenaeus to be a
witness that the Bishop of Rome then possessed supreme
authority over the Christian World, and that the
D
62 LECTURE It.
Churcli of Rome was acknowledged of right to be tlie
mother and mistress of all Churches. Observe then,
First, — That this Father speaks of all the Apostles
indifferently, and expressly declares that the tradition of
the Apostles was given to us in the Scriptm*es to be the
pillar and ground of our faith.
Secondly/, — That he speaks of " the successions of
all the Churches," and expressly tells us that to avoid
tediousness merely, he selected one, and that one, in his
estimation, the most illustrious in the world.
Thirdly, — That he ascribes the establishment of the
Roman Church to the joint labours of Peter and Paid,
uttering not a syllable respecting the primacy of Peter.
Fourthly, — That with respect to " the more powerful
principality" of whi^h he speaks, Irenaeus does not use
one word which connects this principality with the
Church, or with its Bishops. He simply says, " to this
Church on account of the more powerful principality,"
not on account of its or her, but the more powerful
principality : — " Ad hanc enim ecclesiam propter po-
tior em principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire
ecclesiam.''^ I think the candid hearer will agree with
me that the fair interpretation to be put upon these
words is this : " That on account of the more powerful
principality of Rome, where was held the seat of the
imperial government, where was the Capitol from which
the decrees of the Roman Senate went forth throughout
the globe ; in which were concentrated all the wealth,
the learning, the ambition, the pleasures, and the
interests of millions, and which was at once the head
and the heart of that most mighty of empires, it must
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 63
iieeds have been that the Church founded there, and
flourishing there, was regarded with peculiar interest by
the minor Churches around it — that it was the richest,
the most numerous, the most influential, and the most
important Church in the general esteem of Christians,
by reason of its peculiar location." Nothing could be
more natural than that it should be so regarded.
We meet daily with similar cases amongst every
denomination of Christians. We see, even amongst
ourselves, that it does not require a prelatical form
of government to impart to a Church influence and
power. Let a church, Presbyterian, Congregational,
Baptist, or Methodist, be established in any metropolis ;
let it rise to the position of a wealthy, a numerous, a
benevolent church ; let it be served by ministers of talent
and experience, and by oflacers of repute in the state as
well as in the church ; — I ask you what would be
the influence of such a church upon the surrounding
country churches ? Precisely that which Irenaeus ascribes
to the Church at Rome in the passage now under con-
sideration. It is a satisfaction to know that this
view of the language of Irenseus is taken by a cele-
brated Roman Catholic author, the learned Touttee,
the translator of Cjrril.
But we have the testimony of Irenaeus himself that
this, and no other must have been his view. In the
second century there was a controversy between Victor,
the Bishop of Rome and the Churches of Asia, about
the time of keeping Easter : and the eastern churches,
refusing to change their custom for the sake of con-
fonning to the practice of Rome, Victor undertook to
64 LECTURE II.
excommunicate them. For this high-handed stretch of
power he was generally censured, and amongst the rest,
Irenaeus wrote liim a letter of expostulation, of which
the following is a part : —
" But those elders, who, before Soter, governed the
Church over which you now preside, (i. e., the Church
of Rome,) namely Anicetus, and Pius, and Hyginus,
with Telesphorus and Sixtus, neither observed this
custom themselves, nor allowed those who were with
them to observe it. Nevertheless, although they did
not observe it, yet they preserved peace with those who
came to them from these Churches in which it w^as
observed,-— And when the most blessed Poly-
carp came to Rome, in the time of Anicetus, and there
was a little controversy between them about other
things, they embraced each other presently with the
kiss of peace, not greatly contending about this question.
For neither could Anicetus ever persuade Polycarp to
cease this thing, because he had lived familiarly with
John, the disciple of our Lord, and with the other
apostles, and observed their custom continually. Nor,
on the other hand, could Polycarp persuade Anicetus
to observe it, since Anicetus said that he retained the
custom of those elders who were before him. When
matters were thus situated, they communed together ;
and Anicetus yielded to Polycarp, as a token of respect,
the office of consecrating the oflering in the Church ;
and at length they depai'ted from each other in peace,
as well those who observed this custom, as those who
observed it not, keeping the peace of the whole
Church."
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 65
Now I put it to my Koman Catholic hirers whether
this letter, or its sentiments rather, is not utterly at
variance with the interpretation which their Church
seeks to put on the before mentioned passage. If
Irengeus had intended to teach that it was necessary
for the whole Church to agree with the Church of
Rome, how could he justify Polycarp in differing from
that church ? How could Anicetus be held out as a
worthy example for Victor, in giving the kiss of peace
to the Bishop of Smyrna, at the very time that he was
obstinately refusing to conform to the supremacy of
Rome ? If, according to your doctrine, Rome was even
then the acknowledged mother and mistress of all
churches, if the Bishop of RomC, as your canon tells us,
held by divine institution the place of God and of
Christ upon the earth, tell me, how Polycarp, the
disciple of St. John, and the companion of the apostles,
could be so ignorant of these mighty prerogatives as to
hold a controversy with the then Pope ? Tell me how
it was that Victor, Christ's vicar upon earth, as you call
him, gave the kiss of peac6 to One who resisted his
authority? And tell me, lastly, how it was that the
Bishop of Smyrna, was permitted to take precedence
of the Bishop of Rome in the consecration of the Holy
Sacrament.
Having thus produced the testimony of both Script-
ure and the Fathers against the assumption of the
Church of Rome, in applying to herself alone the title
of Universal, and in asserting her right to govern,
ecclesiastically, entire Christendom, — I produce
Thirdly, — The testimony of acknowledged history in
66
LECTURE II.
support of the Protestant view. Eusebius, in his invalu-
able history, has preserved several epistles of the
Emperor Constantino, through whose zeal and devotion
the Church obtained so signal a victory over Heathen-
ism. Two of these epistles throw considerable light on
this subject : —
" Copy of the Emperor's epistle, in which h^ orders
a Council of Bishops to be held at Rome, for the unity
and peace of the Church.
* Constantine Augustus, to Miltiades, Bishop of Rome,
and to Marcus. As many communications of this kind
have been sent to me from Anulinus, the most illustrious
proconsul of Africa, in which it is contained that
Csecilianus, the bishop of Carthage, is accused, in many
respects, by his colleagues in Africa ;- and as this appears
to be grievous, that in those provinces which divine
Providence has freely entrusted to my fidelity, and in
which there is a vast population, the multitude are
found inclining to deteriorate, and in a manner divided
into two parties, and among others, that the bishops
are at variance ; I have resolved that the same Cseci-
lianus, together with ten bishops, who appear to accuse
him, and ten others, whom he himself may consider
necessary for his cause, shall sail to Rome ; that before
you, as also Reticius, Maternus, and Marinus, your
colleagues, whom I have commanded to hasten to
Rome for this purpose, he may be heard, as you may
understand most consistent with the most sacred law.' "
" Copy of the epistle in which he commanded another
council to be held, for the purpose of removing all the
dissension of the bishops.
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 67
* Constantine Augustus, to Chrestus, bishop of Syra-
cuse. As certain persons, some time ago, pervei-sely
and wickedly began to dissent from the holy religion
of celestial virtue, and to abandon the doctrine of the
Catholic Church, desirous, therefore, of preventing such
disputes among them, I had given orders, that this
subject,"which- appeared to be agitated among them,
should be rectified, by delegating certain bishops from
Gaul, and summoning othei-s of the opposite parties
from Africa, who are pertinaciously and incessantly
contending with one another, the bishop of Rome being
also present, that by a careful examination in their
presence, that which seems to be in contest might be
thus decided. But since, as it happens, some forgetful
of their own salvation, and the reverence due to our
most holy religion, even now do not cease to protract
their own enmity, being unwilling to conform to the
decision already promulgated, it has appeared
necessary to me to provide that this matter, which
ought to have ceased after the decision was issued, by
their own voluntary agreement, now at length, should
be fully terminated by the intervention of many.
" Since, therefore, we have commanded many bishops
to meet together from different and remote places, in
the city of Aries, towards the Calends of August, we
have also thought proper to write to thee, that taking
a public vehicle from the most illustrious Latronianus,
corrector of Sicily, and taking with thee two others of
the second rank which thou mayest select, also three
servants to afford you services on the way, you may
meet them within the same day at the aforesaid place :
68 LECTURE II.
that by ihj firmness and tlie prudence and unanimity
of the rest that assemble, this dispute, which has con-
tinued incessantly until the present time, in the midst
of most disgraceful contentions, may be discussed, by
hearing all that shall be alleged by those who are now
at yariance, whom we haye also commanded to bd
present ; and thus the controversy be reduced, at length,
to that observance of faitli and frat^rngl concord, which,
ought to prevail.' "
I. appeal to you, could these epistles have been
consistently written, if the doctrine which is now con-
tended for by the Church of Rome, had been then
understood and prevalent ? How, if the Church and
Bishop of Rome were then pre-eminent, could Constant-
ine have committed the charge of a Council of Bishops,
meeting in Italy, to the Bishop of Syracuse? How
could Constantine have transferred to this council ther
decision of a question which another council, at whiclt.
the Pope was present, failed to settle ? Tell me, how
it is, if the Roman Catholic doctrine is true, that Con-
stantino writes to the Bishop of Rome conjointly witb
Marcus, and merely as an equal and a colleague with
Reticius, Maternus, and Marinus ? Tell me why it was
that the Bishop of Rome did not convoke these councils I
for, according to the Roman Catholic doetiine this was.
his prerogative. And tell me, lastly, if the Roman
Church, by the appointment of our Lord, is the mother
and mistress of all the faithful, how it is that the celer
brated Eusebius, one of the most learned men of his
day, from whom we have just quoted, writing a book on
the History of the Church for the first three hundred
THE ONE HEAD OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 69
and twenty years of the Christian era, honoured by a
place in the Canon law of the Catholic Church, placed
on her list of saints, and called by her the father of
ecclesiastical history, — tell me, I repeat, how it is that
that celebrated man knew nothing of this vast preroga-
tive which the Church assumes, that he records nothing
which at all resembles it, but on the contraiy records
so much which is utterly opposed to it ?
Fourthly, — The assumption for her sole dignity of
the designation Catholic, is inconsistent with the doc-
trine of the Church of Rome herself. You all know
how commonly the advocates of Roman Catholicism
insist upon unity as essential to Catholicity ; so much
so, that the want of visible unity in Protestantism is
the argument which they ply against us with greatest
frequency and power. Now we affirm, without fear of
contradiction, because we shall prove it from Roman
Catholic writers of authority, that the Church of Rome
is absolutely destitute of this mark of Catholicity ; out
of her own mouth, therefore, and not ours, are we pre-
pared to disprove her asserted right.
The Church of Rome is not united on the doctrine of
infallibility. Some place it in the Church virtual, or the
Roman Pontiff". This maybe designated the Italian
opinion, and it has been believed and propagated by
Popes, Cardinals, Councils, and Doctors of the Church ;
amongst whom I might mention Popes Pius, Leo,
Boniface, Cardinals and Doctors Bellarmine, Pole, Baro-
nius, Turrecremata, and the Councils of Florence,
Lateran, and Trent. The majority of those who adopt
this view, refer the infallibility to questions of faith,
d2
70
LECTURE II.
and admit the Pope's liability to error in fact. But the
Jesuit portion of the Church, which is rapidly extending
its doctrine and influence, acknowledge the Pope to be
unerring in both these respects. " The Pope," say they,
(I quote on the authority of Caron in his Remon-
strantio,) " is not less infallible, in questions of fact or
right, than was Jesus Christ." But the infallibility of
the Roman Pontiff, as maintained by the Italian School,
and supported by the Popes, Cardinals and Councils
already mentioned, has also been rejected by similar
authority. " It is certain," says Pope Adrian, " that
the Pontiff may err in those things which relate to
faith." " It is not to be doubted, that both I and my
successors may err," says Pa^. " The French and other
moderns," says Dens^ " impugn the infallibility of the
Pope." The Councils of Pisa, Constance, and Basil,
have also rejected these superhuman pretensions, and
place infallibility in a general council. An assembly of
this kind, in their estimation, is superior to the Pope,
who, in case of disobedience, is subject to deposition by
the same authority. There is a third opinion on this
subject, sustained by eminent names, which reposes
infallibility not in any general council, but in a general
council convoked, presided over, and confirmed, by the
Bishop of Rome. There is even a fourth opinion which
spreads the infallible power over the universal church.
To this opinion, how^ever, there are not many adherents.
Now, brethren and hearers, I ask you whether, if
Unity is an infallible test of Catholicity, the Church of
Rome can lay claim to be entitled the Catholic Church
of Christ ? Here is a doctrine of great moment in their
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. /I
ecclesiastical scheme, respecting which there is a com-
plete disunion of opinion : and I put it to my Roman
Catholic friends this evening, whether it is kind or just
to taunt their Protestant neighbours with want of unity,
while there is so great a division in their own commu-
nion on this, to them at least, vital question.
Again, there are diversities between the doctrines of
the Church of Rome as now held, and those which
were held in earlier periods of her history, that are
completely subversive of her claim to unity. I have
only time for one or two instances : —
The Council of Trent declares that the Pope of Rome
is Christ's vicar, and hath the supreme power over the
whole church ; and that without subjection to him, as
such, there is no salvation. Is there any unanimity
between this doctrine and that propounded by Gregory
the Great in his first Epistle, in which he says " For one
Bishop to set himself over the rest, and to have them
in subjection to him, is the pride of Lucifer and the
forerunner of Antichrist ? " I might multiply quotations
illustrative of such diversity, but the time fails.
What then is the Catholic Church ? I reply, — It is
the whole body of Christ's redeemed ones in earth and
in heaven. With Cardinal Bellarmine, I acknowledge
that the Catholic Church of Christ is divided into two
portions, — the Church triumphant, which is before the
throne of God and the Lamb, and the Church militant,
which is now on earth fighting its way through the
wilderness, towards the heavenly Canaan. And so we
often sing those simple but sublime stanzas : —
^2 LECTURE 11.
" The Church triumphant in thy love
Their mighty joys we know,
They sing the Lamb in hymns above,
And we in hymns below.
"Thee in thy glorious realm they praise,
And bow before thy throne ;
"We in the kingdoms of thy grace,
The kingdoms are but one,"
What is the Catholic Church on earth ? - It is the
■whole body of Christ's believing disciples throughout
the world : — It embraces all the branches of the living
vine united in our divine stock : — all the living stones
of that spiritual temple which is built upon the founda-
tion of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief corner stone : — all the members of
that spiritual body, of which Christ is the head and the
divine Spirit, the soul : — all those who, by faith in
Christ, are washed and sanctified, and justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spii-it of our God : —
all those scattered throughout the world who are
new creatures in Christ Jesus, and who live a life of
faith in the Son of God who hath loved them, and given
himself for them. Call them what you will, bring them
from where you will ; find them in any one of the mani-
fold ecclesiastical divisions of which Christendom is
composed ; bring them out of the Roman Catholic
Church, or out of the Protestant Episcopal Communion,
or out of the Presbyterian Churches ; I cai-e not : let thena
but be found trusting only in the merits of a crucified
Saviour, let them but be found bringing forth the fruits
of faith and love, let them but be found with an indwell-
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. IS
ing Jesus, as the hope of glory in their hearts, — on
the authority of the word of God, I call them members
of " the body of the Church." I believe with Chrysos-
tom, that " where pure faith is, there the church is ;
but where pure faith is not, there the church is not."
There is a church on earth, not always visible to men,
but like the seven thousand in the days of Elijah, known
only to God. There is a church on earth in which
Jehovah delights, and upon \\hich he sheds an
illustrious glory. Come with me this evening round
about her, and mark her foundations : see your
Divine Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the chief
corner stone ;— look at Peter and Paul, and. James and
John, making up with him the gloiious foundation ; —
see Stephen and his brother martyrs, see Timothy
and Titus, Polycarp and Clement, with their brother
elders in the church, imparting strength and height and
beauty to the walls ; — contemplate the myriads of
unknown spiritual stones that have been inserted by the
Di\'ine Architect, to give compactness and symmetry to
the whole. Walk about her, and see how century after
century has contributed its stratum of spiritual masonry,
see how each is bound to each, and all to Christ by
that love which is the bond of perfectness. And still the
structure rises ! one believer and another and yet others
are built upon it day after day ; its towers point towardS'
heaven ; already can we anticipate what it v/ill be ;
its beautiful proportions, its simple grandeur, its pure
and graceful ornaments stand out to view ; and oh !
when, leaving the spot from which we look upon its
exterior, we enter the vestibule and pass within, —
*!i LECTURE II.
what scenes of beauty and purity, of majesty and
glory, burst upon our astonished gaze ! The altar is
there, the cross in which we glory; the sacrifice is
tliere, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin
of the world ; the Piiest is there, the Great High
Priest, Jesus, the Son of God ; the incense is there,
the prayers of the saints ; the holy water is there
in the laver of regeneration; the spirits of the de-
parted saints are there, ministering with angels
for the heirs of salvation ; the Holy Spirit is there, like
a dove, hovering over the whole scene, and sending
forth his gentle and sanctifying influences upon the
assembled worshippers " Holiness unto the Lord" is
written over the altar ; and on one side we read the
inscription — " Glory to God in the highest," and on the
other side — " Peace on earth, good-will towards men."
And now we are to inquire " Who is the Head or
THIS Catholic Church ?"
The way to the solution of this question has been
so completely paved by our previous investigations,
that a few plain steps will lead us immediately to
it. " Who is the Head of the Catholic Church ? The
text answei-s the question, and I read it again : — " And
He is the Head of the body, the Church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all
things he may hold the primacy."
Protestants assert that Christ is the One Head of the
Catholic Church ; Roman Catholics, as we have already
seen, assert that there are two Heads; 1st, Christ in
Heaven ; 2d, His Vicar, the Pope, on earth.
I wish to read to vou an extract from a well known
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 15
Roman Catholic work, " Ferraris Bihliotheca Prompta^^^
which is an authorised standard of Roman Catholic
divinity. The extract may be found in the Frankfort
edition, printed in 1*783, under the word " Papa."
" The Pope is of such dignity and highness, that
he is not simply man, but, as it were, God, and
the Vicar of God. Hence the Pope is of such supreme
and sovereign dignity that, properly speaking, he is not
merely constituted in dignity, but is rather placed on
the very summit of dignities. Hence also the Pope is
* Father of Fathers ;' and he alone can use this name,
because he only can be called ' Father of Fathei*s,' since
he possesses the primacy over all, is truly greater than
all, and the greatest of all. He is called ' most holy,'
because he is presumed to be such. On account of the
excellency of his supreme dignity, he is called ' Bishop
of Bishops, Ordinary of Ordinaries, universal Bishop of
the Church, Bishop or Diocesan of the whole world,
divine Monarch, supreme Emperor and King of Kings.'
Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as King
of heaven, of earth,, and of hell. Nay, the Pope's
excellence and power is not.i)nly about heavenly, terres-
trial and infernal things, but he is also above angels,
and is their superior ; so that if it were possible that
angels could err from the faith, or entertain sentiments
contrary thereto, they could be judged and excom-
municated by the Pope. He is of such gi-eat dignity
and power, that he occupies one and the same tribunal
with Christ ; so that whatsoever the Pope does, seems
to proceed from the mouth of God, as is proved from
many Doctors. The Pope is, as it were, God on earth,
16 LECTURE II.
the only Prince of the faithful of Christ, the greatest
King of all Kings, possessing the plenitude of power,
to "whom the government of the earthly and heavenly
kingdom is intrusted. Hence the common doctrine
teacheth, that the Pope hath the power of the two
swords; namely, the spiritual and temporal, which
jurisdiction and power Christ himself committed to
Peter and his successors : ' To thee will I give the keys
of the kingdom of heaven,' &c. : (Matt. xvi. :) where
Doctors note that he did not say ' key,' but ' keys,' and
by this comprehending the temporal and spiritual
power : which opinion is abundantly confirmed by the
authority of the holy Fathers, the decision of the canon
and civil law, and by the apostolic constitutions."
Protestants deny that there is any authority in the
Word of God for these assumptions. The passage upon
whicli rests the whole claim of the Pope and Church
of Rome to so pre-eminent a dignity is found in the
sixteenth chapter of the Gospel by St. Matthew, at the
eighteenth and following verses : — " I say to thee that
thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth,
it shall be bound also in heaven ; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven."
Upon this passage I desire to make two or three
brief observations.
(1.) It is conceded on all hands that the literal
meaning of the text is, "Thou art a stone, and upon
this rock'^ (fee. The two words are diiferent^ — one is
THE ONE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. TT
verpoQ which means a small stone or pebble — the
other is irerpa which signifies a rock. The Yulgate so
far as the Latin language enables it to do so, main-
tains this distinction. " Tu es Petrus, et super hanc
JPetramy If our Lord had said thou art a rock, and
upon this rocky or, thou art a stone, and upon this stone,
we might be ready to allow that the literal interpreta-
tion of the words would favour the meaning that Jesus
Christ intended to affirm that he would build his
church upon Peter.
(2.) Observe, that this is withal a figurative expres-
sion, and one, therefore, upon which alone a vital
doctrine ought not to be made to rest.
(3.) Observe, again, that the Lord Jesus renewed
this commission of Peter to all the apostles after his
resuiTection. — (St. John, ch. xx. 22.)
(4.) Observe lastly, that neither our Lord nor Peter's
apostolic brethren, by their conduct at least, put such a
construction upon the words, as is sought to be applied
to them. When the mother of Zebedee's children made
a request on behalf of her two sons, you remember how
that the other apostles were filled with indignation
against the two brethren. And what said their Divine
Master ? — '^ You know that the princes of the Gentiles
lord it over tliem, and they that are the greater exercise
power upon them. It shall not be so among you." This
was spoken after the declaration concerning Peter, and
I ask, was it possible for the Great Teacher so to express
himself if it had been his intention to make Peter the
chief and prince of the apostles? We have already
seen that in the first apostolic council that was held,
78 LECTURE II.
Peter exercised even less power and authority than
James. Surely the apostles would have conceded all
authority to Peter, had they understood that he was
constituted by Christ their prince and leader, and if
they had understood him to be placed in the stead of
Christ, would have paid him that deference which they
owed to Christ And now I must beg you to look with
me into the epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, and to
read from the Douay Bible a few verses in the second
chapter.
" 9 And when they had known the grace that was
given to me, James and Cephas and John, who seemed
to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands
of fellowship : that tve should go unto ihe gentiles, and
they unto the circumcision :
"10 Only that we should be mindful of the poor:
which same thing also I was careful to do.
"11 But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I with-
stood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
"12 For before that some came from James, he did
eat with the gentiles : but when they were come, he
•withdrew and separated hhnself, fearing them who
were of the circumcision.
"13 And to his dissimulation the rest of the Jews
consented, so that Barnabas also was led by them into
that dissimulation.
"14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly
unto the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before
them all : If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner
of the gentiles, and not as the Jews do, how dost thou
compel the gentiles to live as do the Jews ?"
THE OKE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 79
I ask you then, seriously to examine this passage.
Do you find in it a syllable which could lead you to
imagine that Peter was the prince and ruler of the
apostles ? If it were so, how comes it to pass that Paul
entered upon his ministry and continued in it for three
years, without securing the authority and permission
of Peter for that act? (Gal. 18, &c.) What becomes
of Peter's headship in view of the fact that Paul with-
stood him to the face? What becomes of Peter's
infallibility in view of the declaration of the blessed and
inspired Paul that he was to be blamed ? How could
Paul, the youngest in ofiice of all the apostles, dare to
charge this chief of chiefs, this ruler of rulers, this
prince of princes, this foundation of the church, this
first infallible Pope of Rome, as he is called by our
Roman Catholic friends — how, I repeat, could he dare
to charge him with dissimulation? Brethren, the
whole theory which has been built upon this and one
or two other texts, is completely exploded by the conduct
of the apostles towards Peter.
But let us take another view of this passage. Much
as it may surprise you, I am prepared to show that no
minister of the Roman Catholic Church can give this
interpretation of the passage without a direct violation
of his oath. I showed you, last week, that every
Catholic Priest has solemnly sworn "not to take or
interpret the Holy Scripture, otherwise than according
to the unanimous consent of the Fathers." Now, I hold
my Roman Catholic brethren to this oath, and say,
that forasmuch as the fathers are very far from unani-
mous on the meaning of Christ in these words, they
80 LECTURE II.
have no right to interpret it at all, and much less to
build upon it an essential doctrine of their faith.
Tertullian was of opinion that our Lord conferred
this authority upon Peter individually, for he says,
speaking of the powers and claims of the church : —
" I would know from whence you doiive this right
which you claim for the church ? If, from our Lord's
saying, or observing to Peter, do you therefore presume
this power of loosing and binding to have descended
to thee, that is to the whole church wliich is related to
Peter ? If so, you are overturning and changing the
manifest intention of our Lord who confeiTed this upon
Peter individually. Upon thee, he says, I will build
my church : To thee will I give the keys, not to the
church."
Origen, in his commentary on Matthew, vol. i, says :
" If you suppose that the church is built by God upon
one single rock, Peter, what do you say of John, the
son of thunder, and every one of the other apostles ?"
St. Hilary, who also wrote a commentary on St
Matthew's Gospel, speaks of this passage as follows : —
"The confession of Peter obtained a worthy reward,
for that he saw the Son of God in man. O happy
foundation of the church, in the declaration of this new
name ! happy door-keeper of heaven, to whose will
the keys of the eternal porch are delivered !"
Ambrose says expressly: "Faith, therefore, is the
foundation of the church, for it was not said of the
flesh of Peter, but of his faith, that the gates of death
should not prevail."
Jerome is the last father, whose opinion I shall quote
THE ONE HEAD OP THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 81
respecting this passage : — " You say, says he, that the
church is founded on Peter, although the same thing
is elsewhere done upon all the apostles, and all received
the keys of the kingdom of heaven, so that the strength
of the church is consolidated upon all alike." Need
I ask if it be possible to interpret this passage according
to the unanimous consent of the Fathers ?
But supposing we were to admit all that Roman
Catholics say in relation to Peter, they would still have
to show us from the testimony of Scripture and the
unanimous consent of the Fathers, 1st, That he had
authority to confer the same powers upon others ; and,
2d, That he actually did confer them upon the Bishop
of Rome. Have they done this ? No ! Can they do
this ? Echo answers " NO !"
Who then is the primate of the Catholic Church ?
Jesus Christ^ and he shares not this dignity with any
creature. He needeth no vicar upon earth, for " where-
soever two or three are gathered together in my name
there am I in the midst." He needeth no coadjutor,
for "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily," and " to him all power is given in heaven and
in earth." Yes, Jesus is our glorious Head — our "wis-
dom, our guide, our life, om- beauty, our all;
"He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead,
that in all things he may hold the primacy." He
alone is that spiritual king to whose authority
we yield : We take upon us his yoke and reject
every other: We sit at his feet, and refuse to
listen to any words which are not according to his
gospel. He is our primate, our chief shepherd, the
82 LECTURE II.
bishop of our souls. We cast ourselves before this our
Divine Head, and were he present with us in body we
would kiss his feet in token of our subjection. To be
members of his body, to be branches in his vine, to be
stones in his temple, to be members of the spiritual
apostolic Catholic Church of Christ — this is the highest
honour and the greatest happiness that we crave. From
Him, as the giver of life, the church derives all her
being ; from Him, as the Sun of Righteousness, the
church derives all her glory ; from Him as the King of
kings the church derives all her authority. We know
no other ecclesiastical crown but that which adorns the
brow of our blessed Emanuel ; we recognize no other
ecclesiastical throne but that upon which the Son of
God is exalted a Prince and a Saviour ; we submit to
no ecclesiastical sceptre, but that which is swayed by
Him whose right it is to reign, even Jesus Christ. And,
believing, as the Douay Bible reads, that " he holds the
PRIMACY IN ALL THINGS," WC rcjoicC tO SlUg
" All hail the power of Jesus' name,
Let angels prostrate fall ;
Bring foith the royal diadem,
And crown him Lord op all."
LECTURE III.
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION.
That the Bible is the One Source of Religious Truth,
and that Jesus Christ is the sole Head of the Universal
Church, are propositions whose truth has been proved,
I venture to think satisfactorily, in the two preceding
lectures.
The ground, then, on which we stand has been dis-
closed, the foundation has been made bare. The Holy
Scripture is the standard of appeal in all matters of
doctrine and practice; and in this Protestants only
follow the example of the Fathers and the Church in
the first four centuries of the Christian era : — The one
only Head of the Catholic Church which comprises all
the spiritual members of Christ's body, is He to whom
all power is given in heaven and on earth, — our glorious
Lord, our Divine King, our Almighty Redeemer ; and
here also, Protestants are supported not only by the
Bible, but also by the most illustrious names in the
early church, and, I may say also, in the Roman
Catholic calendar of saints.
It is not necessary ttat I should farther recapitulate,
but proceed at once to the subject of my present
Lecture,
" The One object of eeligious Adoration,"
a subject which occupies a prominent place in the
84 LECTURE III.
controversy between ourselves and our Roman Catholic
brethren. Tlie Scripture, which I am about to read
to you as a text, is found in the twenty-second chapter
of the Apocalypse, at the eight and ninth verses. It
reads in the Douay Bible thus : —
"And after I had heard and seen, I fell down
TO adore before the feet of the Angel, who
SflEWED ME these THINGS.
" And he said to me : See thou do it not : fOR I
am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the
prophets, and of them that keep the words of the
prophecy of this book, Adore God."
In addressing myself to this dehcate and confessedly
difficult task, I distinctly avow my intention of advanc-
ing no statement in reference to the Roman Cathohc
view of the subject, except upon the testimony of au-
thorized Catholic expositors or liturgies. It is scarcely
needful to remind you that the discussion will embrace
one of the strongest grounds upon which the Reformed
Churches have protested, and still protest against the
Church of Rome. If the charge which Protestants
seek to bring home to her, in connexion with religious
adoration, can be sustained, then will she stand con-
victed of a most fearful violation of the law of God.
Protestants think that the principles and practices of
Roman Catholicism are idolatrous in their nature and
tendency. My desire is, that it may be found impos-
sible to make good the charge: great would be my
delight if the argument should fail, and if Protestants
should, after all, be convicted of injustice to their
" Catholic" friends. Let then Protestants and Catholics,
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 85
in investigating this subject, consider, at the very outset,
those particulars in which they agree.
1. We all acknowledge the existence of one Supreme
Ood, in whom we live, move, and have our being, who
created all things by the word of his power, and who
upholds all things by the same almighty word. I take
up any of the numerous prayer books which are
in use amongst the members of the Church of Rome,
and I rea^ in one of the acknowledged creeds of that
Church, the Nicene : " I believe in one God, the Father
Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things
visible and imdsible." I open the prayer book of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, and I read the same
words in one of their Confessions of Faith. I look into
the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and I find that
form of faith usually designated the apostles creed, in
which occur the words, " I believe in God the Father
Almighty Maker of heaven and earth." " Hear, O
Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord," saith the Catholic,
and the Protestant, taking up the same orthodox note,
responds, " The Lord our God is one Lord."
2. Protestants and Catholics equally acknowledge
the mysterious, but, ^s they think, Scriptural doctrine
of the Triune character of Jehovah. This doctrine I
do not feel it necessary to defend this evening, because
between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, it is
not a disputed point. It may be well, however, and it
will be only fair, to acknowledge that, in the Protestant
community, there are some few, I use the expression
comparatively, who adhere to the tenets of Arius, and
still fewer who follow the more extreme opinions of
E
86 LECTURE lit.
Socinus ; but it will be conceded, I think, tbat between
Roman Catholics and the great mass of Protestants,
there is a perfect agreement in respect of this sublime
mystery of our common Christianity. , I have more
than once read, and with delight too, Upon the altars
of Roman Catholic Churches in Spain, Malta, Sicily,
and elsewhere, " ^t in unum Dominum jesum Chris-
tum, Jllium Dei^unigenitum" &g. ; and 1 have rejoiced to
see it rendered into the vulgar tongue in the devotional
books of the Catholic Church; — "And in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born
of the Father before all ages ; God of God ; Light of
Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made
consubstantial to the Father ; who for us men and for
our salvation came down from heaven, and was incar-
nate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was
made man," &c. I go into a Protestant Episcopal
Church, and in the course of the morning service, I
hear, repeated by the minister and people, with a little
verbal alteration, the same beautiful passages. I go
into a Presbyterian Church during the ordination of a
minister, and I find him subscribing to a confession of
faith, in which the following passage is found: "In
the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one
substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of
none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is
eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost
eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son."
On this second subject, therefore, there exists a general
unanimity. The Roman Catholic Church chaunts
THE ONE OBJECT OP RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 87
forth the praises of the Triune God, in the words,
*' Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the
Holy Ghost" ; and the Reformed Churches rejoice to
respond, " As it was in the beginning, is now and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen."
3. Protestants and Catholics acknowledge also the
obligation of every man to worship, adore, serve, and
love this exalted Three-One Jehovah.
Indeed, each of the two systems is based upon this
elementary truth : " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God." This is tacitly acknowledged in all those prayers
and anthems of praise which are offered to the Divine
Being by members of both communities. For instance,
I find in a Roman Catholic book of devotion, entitled,
" The Key of Heaven," and which received the impri-
matur of the late Roman Catholic Archbishop, Dr.
Murray, the following devotional exercises : —
" God, to whom every heart is open, every will
declares itself, and from whom no secret lies concealed,
purify by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the
thoughts of our hearts ; ,that we may perfectly love
thee, and worthily serve thee : through," &c.
" Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace to
men of good will. We praise thee, we bless thee, we
adore thee, we glorify thee. We give thanks to thee
for thy great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, God
the Father Almighty."
Now I am free to acknowledge that more orthodox
evangelical or fervent prayers and thanksgivings, could
not be put into the mouth of any Christian, and I rejoice
88 LECTURE III.
to state that many such are to be found in the devotional
books of our Roman Catholic Friends.
There is, then, no question of dispute here : We
all acknowledge that God is a Spirit, and that they
who worship him must worship him in spirit and
in truth ; that indeed we ought to love him with all
our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.
4. Protestants and Catholics are generally agreed
as to the fearfully evil character of idolatiy in the sight
of God.
I open the Douay Bible, on the second command-
ment, and I read :
"Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing,
nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,
or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in
the- waters under the earth.
" Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them : |I
am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate me."
To which I find appended the following note :
" All such images or likenesses, are forbidden by this
commandment, as are made to be adored and served ;
according to that which immediately follows, thou shalt
not adore them, nor serve them. That is, all such as are
designed for idols or image-gods, or are worshipped with
divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures, or
representations, even in the house of God, and in the
very sanctuary, so far from being forbidden, are expressly
authorised by the word of God."
I take up Dr. Butler's Catechism, recommended by
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 89
the four Roman Catholic Archbishops of Ireland, and
find the following : " What is commanded by the firsfc
commandment? Answer, To adore one God, and to
adore but him alone." I read again : " What else is
forbidden by the first commandment? Answer, To
give to any creature the honour due to God alone." In
another catechism, I find this abhorrence of idolatry
expressed yet more forcibly ; and, though the copy of
the work now in my hand does not appear to be sanc-
tioned by ecclesiastical authority, I willingly quote from
it, forasmuch as it is published in this city by a Roman
Catholic bookseller, and, as I suppose, freely circulated
and used by the members of that communion. I
believe it indeed to be a reprint of an ecclesiastically
authorised catechism, bearing the same title, and pub-
lished and circulated in Ireland. On page thirty-seven
I read : " Do you then worship the angels and saints
as God, or give them the honor that belongs to God
alone ?" Answer, " No ; God forbid. For this would
be high treason against his divine majesty." In all
this, I need scarcely say, Protestants are at one with
their Roman Catholic brethren.
At this stage of the discussion, it will be desirable
to detennine. What is idolatry ? Its existence we all
acknowledge. We acknowledge also the tendency of
the human mind, or we would rather say heart, in its
fallen state, to seek after visible objects of worship.
This, indeed, is proved by all history. First, the more
.glorious created objects — the sun, the moon, the stars,
were deified, were worshipped as gods : then, heroes,
men of renown in various pursuits, after their departure
90
LECTURE III.
into the spirit-world were deified, the localities of their
birth, of their exploits, of their death, were venerated,
rude likenesses of them were constructed in various
substances, and multiplied, until they came to be reve-
renced and adored, not in one place merely, but in
many places at the same time. Subsequently to this
the doctrine of the metempsychosis led to the deification
of the inferior animals, and thus to employ the language
of St. Paul, the world " changed the glory of the incor-
ruptible God into the likeness of the image of corrup-
tible man, and of birds and of four-footed beasts and
of creeping things." Thus originated the terrible, the
God-dishonouring sin of idolatry, which has been the
parent of so much cruelty and bloodshed, and moral
degradation, and which, like a pestilence, has swept
over the most august nations and the fairest spots of
our earth, leaving upon them and upon their people,
the impress of moral corruption and of spiritual death.
I have witnessed idolatry in various forms and sur-
rounded with different circumstances, but wherever I
have seen it it has been attended with the same demo-
ralizing influences — a thorough prostration of mental
\4gour, and an extinction of the moral perception, the
influence of which extends over every grade of society
and to every social relation.
In what, then, does idolatry consist ?
First. — It does not necessarily consist in a denial
of the existence of the true God. Such a denial is no
part of the system of Paganism. In Pagan nations, as
also in those which are Christian, you may now and
then meet a professed Atheist, but scarcely any man,
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 91
however ignorant, who worships an idol, doubts the
being of an infinitely supreme and glorious Spirit. I
grant that, in some of the ruder Heathen nations, the
prevailing notions respecting the nature of God, are
very crude and imperfect, but it is not to be forgotten,
that in those countries in which Paganism has reached
the ma^itude and the refinement of a religious system ;
the people hold doctrines concerning the divine nature
not very dissimilar from those which are entertained by
ourselves. For example, the eternity, the omnipotence,
the omnipresence, the omniscience, the holiness, the
wisdom, the benevolence of the Supreme Being are
held in their integrity by the Brahminical sects of
Hindostan; but not less, on this account, are they
idolaters, worshippers of images. Almost every form
of man, of beast, of bird, of reptile, is worshipped as
God by the intelligent, as well as by the ignorant
Hindoo. In the course of my missionary labours
amongst them, I do not remember meeting with more
than two who denied or even doubted the being of a
God.
Secondlly. — Idolatry does not necessarily consist in
witholding from the Divine Being supreme adoration.
That such an adoration of the true God is compatible
with the commission of the sin of idolatry, may be
gathered from the history of the children of Israel.
I turn, in the Douay Bible, to the Fourth Book of
Kings, and I read in the seventeenth chapter, at the
twenty-ninth and following verses : —
"And every nation made gods of their own, and
put them in the temples of the high places, which the
92 LECTURE III.
Samaritans had made, every nation in tlieir cities
where they dwelt.
" And nevertheless they worshipped the Lord. And
they made to themselves, of the lowest of the people,
priests of the high places, and they placed them in the
temples of the high places.
" And when they worshipped the Lord, th^ served
also their own gods according to the custom of the
nations ont of which they were brought to Samaria :"
Thirdly. — Idolatry consists in the transfer of any-
religious adoration to other than God. "I am the
Lord thy God, a jealous God." "The Lord thy God
shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve," i»
the language which our ever blessed Redeemer em-
ployed to resist the temptation of Satan, who had asked
Him to "fall down and worship him." More par-
ticularly, —
(1.) You all acknowledge that to ascribe Divine
names, titles, attributes, and works to any creature is
idolatry. Now, the Reformed Churches protest against
the Church of Rome, because she ascribes to the Virgin
Mary such names, titles, attributes and works.
In " the litany of our Blessed Lady of Loretto," I find
the title " Refuge of sinners," applied to the Mother of
our Lord. But David, in the forty-sixth Psalm says :
" Our God is our refuge." I find in the same litany
the title "Gate or door of heaven," applied to the
Virgin. Christ says "lam the door. By we if any
man enter in he shall be saved." " / am the way," he
again saith ; — expressions which intimate most clearly
that he regarded the title as solely applicable to him-
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 93
self. Other titles are ascribed to the Virgin which
certainly partake of a divine character, such as " Most
holy Maiy," " Queen of Angels," "Queen of Heaven,"
" Seat of Wisdom," " Mirror of Justice." These may
be found over and over again in the. devotional books
oi the Roman Catholic Church ; and I ask, do they not
savour too much of divinity to be applied to any crea-
ture, more than which I am not aware that any Catholic
ever contended the Virgin to be. It is possible, how-
ever, that you may not consider the ground of our
protest to have been made, as yet at least, sufficiently
clear. You may imagine that it is necessary to adduce
stronger proof of the ascription of divine titles and works
to the Virgin Mary. Let me then refer you to another
Roman Catholic publication, and as I wish to make
sure the ground on which I stand, I will mention the
name of the author, his reputation in the Church of
Rome, the name of the work, the place in which it was
printed, the date of its publication, and the authority
upon which it is circulated amongst the adherents of
the Church. The author then of the work from which
I quote is St. Bonaventure; his position as a saint,
should invest him with some authority ; he was more-
over a Cardinal Bishop. There is a special service to
his honour in the Liturgical books of the Roman
Church, from which service the following sentence is
extracted : " he, St. Bonaventure, wrote many things ;
in which, combining the greatest learning with ardent
piety, he affects the reader while be insti-ucts him." In
the same service there is the following prayer : " O
Lord, who didst give blessed Bonaventure to thy people
e2
94 LECTURE III.
for a minister of eternal salvation, grant, that lie who
was the instructor of our life here on earth, maj become
our intercessor in heaven." The work to which I allude
is the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin, published in Rome
as late as the year 1840, called the eleventh edition,
and having the imprimatur and re-imprimatur of the
ecclesiastical authorities in the Vatican. The plan of
the work is to introduce the name of Mary into each
of the Psalms, where now the name of God appears.
The work contains other pieces of devotion, from which
I give you the following specimen. It is printed in
Italian, which I will first read,* and then translate
literally :
" We prefer our praises to thee, O Mother of God.
We praise thee, Mary, Virgin.
" All the earth shall reverence thee, the spouse of the
Eternal Father.
" To thee. Angels and Archangels, To thee Thrones-
and Principalities humbly bow themselves.
" To thee all Choirs, to thee Cherubim and Seraphim^
exulting worship around [thee.]
" To thee all angelic creatures sing praises with in-
cessant voice.
" Holy, holy, holy Mary, Mother of God, both Mother
and Virgin."
You agree that creation is a work of God, and that
|o ascribe it to a creature is idolatry ; what then will be
thought of the following extract from the same book :
* 'The heavens declare the glory of the Virgin, and the
firmament showeth forth her handiwork?" I know
* See note at the end of this Lecture.
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 95
that these extracts must be oflfensive to the mind of
many a Roman Catholic in the congregation. I feel
persuaded that they are regarded by you as not only
idolatrous, but even blasphemous ; I am aware too that
some -defendei^s of the Church of Rome have sought to
remove the responsibility of this work from Bonaven-
ture, the celebrated Dr. Doyle especially; but if he
remove it from the Saint, he throws it upon the Church,
which, from 1834 to 1840, permitted eleven editions to
be published at Rome, the heart and centre of the
Church, with the imprimatur of her authorities. In
the face of this. Manning has asserted, without proof,
that this Psalter is found in the index of Prohibited
Books; which we deny; and, therefore, throw upon
him, and upon any one else who makes the same asser-
tion, the burden of proof. You must see the index
yourselves before you believe that there is to be found
in it, a book passing through two editions a-year for
six successive years, bearing the imprimatur of the
Vatican, and printed at Rome. But the evidence is
irresistible that this is an authorised Roman Catholic
work. Give me your attention, and I will convince
you that this is the case. The first formal and entire
collection of the works of Bonaventure was published
in 1587, under the patronage of Sixtus the Fifth, Pope
of Rome. The Psalter is included in this edition ; and
what is rather remarkable, there is prefixed to it a life
of the Saint, by Peter Galesinius, who, on page 19,
particularly specifies the Psalter as the production of
Bonaventure. If these are not the present sentiments
of the Church of Rome, she has changed since the days
96 LECTURE III.
of Sixtus v., and even since the date of the last edition
of this work, the last that we have- heard of, that of
1840. We have a right to hold the Church of Rome
to these sentiments, or to oblige her to confess that her
teaching is not uniform, and therefore that her boasted
unity is fabulous.
(2.) To offer sacrifice, prayer, or praise to any creature
is idolatiy. This is admitted by several authorities of
the Catholic Church. For instance, I find on page 40,
of the grounds of Catholic doctrine, a work from which
I have already quoted the following question and answer :
" Q. Do Catholics pray to saints ?
" A. If by praying to saints, you mean addressing
ourselves to them, as to the authors or disposers of
gi-ace and glory, or in such a manner as to suppose
they have any power to help us independently of God's
good will and pleasure, we do not pray to them."
From this it is clear, that the Church of Rome re-
gards positive prayer, and depend ance upon any creatm*e
as idolatrous and sinful. We accept this exposition,
and state that the Reformed Churches protest against
the Church of Rome, because its members are taught
in their devotional works to present absolute prayer
and praise to the Virgin, and to place absolute depend-
ence upon her.
I find in the litany of our Blessed Lady of Loretto,
the following prayer : " We fly to thy patronage, O
sacred Mother of God ; despise not our prayers in our
necessities, but deliver us from alT dangers, O glorious
and blessed ever Virgin." Is not this addressing
absolute prayer to a creature ?
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. Ol
My next proof is taken from the Encyclical letter of
Pope Gregory the XVI., dated August 15, 1832:
" We select for the date of our letter this most joyful
day, on which we celebrate the solemn festival of the
most blessed Virgin's triumphant assumption into heaven,
that she who has been, through every great calamity,
our patroness and protectress, may watch over us writing
to you, and lead our mind, by her heavenly influence,
to those counsels which may prove most salutary to
Christ's flock.
" But that all may have a successful and happy issue,
let us raise our eyes to the most blessed Virgin Mary,
who alone destroys heresies, who is our greatest hope,
yea, the entire ground of our hope. (St. Bernard. Serm.
de Nativ. B. V. M., sect, vii.) May she exert her patron-
age to draw down an efficacious blessing on our desires,
our plans, and proceedings, in the present straitened
condition of the Ijord's flock. We will also implore, in
humble prayer, from Peter, the Prince of the Apostles,
and from his fellow-Apostle Paul, that you may all
stand as a wall to prevent any other foundation than
what hath been laid."
I adduce, as another proof some petitions which
occur in a small devotional work, entituled, " II Tesoro
dell'Anima," The treasure of the soul. It was
printed in Naples in 1842, and is in general
use throughout the kingdom of the two Sicilies.
On page VO, we have the following specimens of
absolute prayer:
"0 most afflicted soul of the Virgin give me conso-
lation.
©8 tECTURE HI.
" O most adorable body of my dear Mother, comfort
me.
" most loving tears of the Queen of Paradise
purify me.
" Receive for thy servant me, who love and trust
thee. In the hour of my death aid me, to the end,
that with all the elect I may glorify thee for ever and
ever. Amen."
I now hold in my hand a work by Saint Alphonso
de Liguori, entituled Le Pouvoir de Marie, published
" with the approbation and under the patronage of the
Archbishops and Bishops of Paris, Tours, Nevers,
Lu^on, etc." From this volume, which is well known
and much read by the French Canadian portion of our
community, I shall read two extracts illustrative of
the teaching on this subject of eminent members of the
Roman Catholic Church.
The first is an absolute prayer to the Virgin :
" O Maiy, my refuge, how often have I not felt
myself to be, through my sins, the slave of Hell ! You
have broken my bonds, you have snatched me from the
hands of my fierce enemies ; but I tremble from fear of
again falling into their power, for I know that their
rage has no repose, and that they expect me yet to
become their prey. Holy Virgin ! be my buckler and
my defence ; with your aid I am sure to conquer ; but
grant that I may never forget to invoke you in my
conflicts, and especially in this last, the most terrible of
all, when the demon experts to betray me at the last
hour. Put you your name upon my lips and in my
heart, and may I expire while pronouncing this name
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 99
to the end, that I may find myself at your feet in
heaven. Amen."
The second is an account of a vision, whose teaching
is neither more nor less than an exaltation of the power
and mercy of Mary beyond those of our Divine Lord : —
" We read in the Chronicles of the Franciscans, that
Brother Leo, once had the following vision : ' He saw
two ladders, one red, at the top of which was Jesus
Christ, the other white, at the top of which the Virgin
Mary had placed herself. Several attempted to ascend
by the first ladder, they mounted a few steps then fell,
they again attempted it with no gi-eater success. No
one arrived at the summit. At this crisis a voice cried
to them to turn to the white ladder, and having done
so, they happily ascended, for the benevolent Virgin
held out her hand to aid them.' "
I know that my Roman Catholic friends will say,
" Such expressions as those do not escape our lips."
Some of them, I gi*ant you, do not, others of them,
however, are taken from devotional books which are
in common use in this city. But, in respect of those
petitions that occur in books, which, though you have
never seen them, are sanctioned by the proper eccles-
tical authorities, you surely will not venture to protest
against these, you surely will not reject the prescriptions
of your own Catholic Church, you will not surely
disavow the sentiments which I have now read from
the Pope's encyclical letter, you are bound by your
own vows, bound by every principle of your church, to
pay the same deference to these sentiments as you are
intending to pay to the Pastoral letter which has lately
100 LECTURE III.
reached this country from the sacred congregation, res-
pecting subjects that relate to the government of your
church. We hold you, my dear friends, and your
church, to the doctrines which we have gathered from
these works, freely circulated as they are in Catholic
Countries, until their authors shall have been denounced,
and the books themselves introduced into the Index
expurgatorum et prohihitorura.
We have then proved, satisfactorily, as I think, that
Divine titles and works, are ascribed to the Virgin
Mary by authority of the Church of Rome, and that
the members of that church present absolute worship to
her, and place an absolute trust in her. Against this,
the Reformed Churches raise their solemn protest.
First, — On the authority of the Word of God.
And here I will read at once from the Douay Bible
that passage upon which the Roman Catholic Church
chiefly relies for the honor and reverence, as she calls it,
for the adoration, as we call it, which she pays to the
blessed mother of Jesus Christ. It is found in the fii-st
chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, at the
twenty-eighth verse.
The chief stress is laid upon the 48th verse ; " Be-
hold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me
blessed." Now I ask what does this prove ? Is it
intended to be urged that this is a sufficient warrant
for those honours which are paid' to the Virgin ? The
argument proves too much. " Blessed are the meek for
they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the poor in
spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." But let us
turn to the Book of Judges. In the fifth chapter, I find
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 101
the canticle of Debora and Barac, and I read tlie fol-
lowing passage in the twenty-fourth verse : " Blessed
among women, be Jahel, the wnfe of Haber." Am I
then on the ground of this passage to regard Jael as
worthy of religious reverence and homage ? And yet,
so far as the text is concerned, we have as much autho-
rity for the one as for the other. But let us see how
Jesus, the Son of Mary, understood this passage. lie,
the founder of Christianity, knew what position his
Mother should assume in the church which he estab-
lished. He knew whether she was or was not the
Queen of Angels, the Queen of Heaven, the Gate of
Heaven, the Most Holy, the Seat of Wisdom, the Re-
fuge of Sinners ; and if the Roman Catholic doctrine
be true, I have a right to expect that, by both words
and actions, Jesus Christ would intimate, to his disciples
at least, the exalted reverence which was due to her who
bare him. Let us then search the Scriptures whether
these things are so. I turn to the Douay Bible, and
open it at the second chapter of St. John s Gospel. I
read in the fii-st few vii"ses :
" And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of
Galilee : and the mother of Jesus was there.
" 2. And Jesus also was imnted, and his disciples, to
the marriage.
" 3. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith
to him : They have no wine.
" 4. And Jesus saith to her : Woman, what is it to
me and to thee ? my hour is not yet come."
I will give my hearers the benefit of the note which
is subscribed : —
102 LECTURE III.
" What is to me, c&c. These words of our Saviour
spoken to his mother have been understood by some
commentators as harsh, they not considering the next
following verse : Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye
which plainly shews that his mother knew of the miracles
that he was to perform, and that it was at her request
he wrought it; besides the manner of speaking the
words as to the tone, and the countenance shewn at
the same time, which could only be known to those
who were present, or from what had followed: for
words indicating anger in one tone of voice, would be
understood quite the reverse in another,"
But look again: what a comment on the words "blessed
art thou amongst women," does our Lord Jesus Christ
furnish in the eleventh chapter of the Gospel by Luke
(ver. 27) «
" And it came to pass : as he spoke these things
a certain woman from the crowd lifting up her voice
said to him : Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and
the paps that gave thee suck."
Not less forcible is the comment which he pronounced
on another occasion, and which is recorded in the eighth
chapter (ver. 19, 20, 21).
" And his mother and brethren came unto him ;
and they could not come at him for the crowd."
" And it was told him : Thy mother and thy brethren
stand without, desiring to see thee.
^' Who answering said to them : My mother and my
brethren, are they who hear the word of God, and do
And now let me conduct you to a scene upon which
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 103
angels gazed with holy reverence, and upon which many
in this Church have often gazed in imagination with
sacred joy and grief. I take you to the heights of Calvary
on the day of the Saviour's crucifixion ; see your Jesus
hanging upon the cross ; see there the blood streaming
from his temples, from his outstretched hands, from his
nailed feet ; contemplate his fearful agony ;
See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down ;
Did ere such love and sorrow meet,
' Or thorns compose so rich a crown ?
See at the foot of the cross looking on with mournful
anxiety, the mother of Jesus, and the wife of Cleophas,
and Mary Magdelene, and with them the beloved John.
Now mark the affection of the man Christ Jesus !
"When Jesus therefore had seen his mother, and
the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to
his mother, woman, behold thy son. After that he
saith to his disciple, behold thy mother." What
tenderness is here displayed ! what pity ! what kind-
ness ! Who can but admire the filial care of the Son
of Man, so strikingly exhibited at the very moment that
he was bearing the sin of the whole world ! But is there
any reference to the high dignity with which the
Church of Rome seeks to invest her? Does it not
seem to you impossible that such an address should
have been presented by the Lord Jesus Christ to Mary
and John, were the Roman Catholic theory scriptural
and evangelical ?
Again, in what light did the Apostles regard Mary
after the ascension of our Lord ? Did the Apostle John
104 LECTURE III.
even, to whose care she was committed, and in whose
house she dwelt, mention even her name, in any one of
the three epistles which he wrote ? No. Did Peter or
Paul refer to her in any way during any of their sermpns,
or in any of their prayers or epistles ? No. I put it to
you, then, whether such an omission is at all compatible
with that prominent place in the Christian ritual which
she has received from the Church of Rome. We are
commanded to pray, we are taught to pray, we have
examples of apostolic praying, but always to God
through Christ. This subject, however, of the invocation
of saints will be discussed in the lecture on " The One
Mediator between God and men."
Second, — We raise oiir solemn protest against the
Church of Rome for the worship which she pays to the
Virgin Mary, on the authority, not only of the Word of
God, but also of the Ancient Church and Fathers.
It was about the middle of the fourth century that
the opinion arose that in the days of Christ, and beioi-e
his birth, there were in the temple of Jerusalem, viigins
consecrated to God, among whom Maiy grew up in
vows of perpetual chastity. Her marriage with Joseph
was declared to be formal, and he was regarded as an
ascetic from his youth. This was Jerome's opinion.
At this time a sect sprang up whose peculiar tenet was,
that the Virgin Mary should be worshipped, and that
religious honours should be paid her. The members of
this sect were called Collyridians from Collyridse, the
cakes which , they offered to the Virgin. Whether it
were possible for these Collyi'idians to exceed the Saints
Bonaventure and Liguori in the homage which they paid
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 105
to the Virgin Mary, I leave you to judge : it is at least
evident that Epiphanius, and others of the Nicene
Fathei-s condemned them as heretics ; for in his work
a;gainst Heresies, Book iii., he says : " Some persons are
mad enough to honour the Virgin as a sort of goddess."
Might he not have said the same if he had lived in the
days of Liguori ? " Certain women, he continues, have
transplanted this vanity from Thrace into Arabia, for
they sacrifice a bread cake in honour of the Virgin, and
in her name they blasphemously celebrate sacred
mysteries. But the whole matter is a tissue of impiety,
abhorrent from the teaching of the Holy Ghost, so that
we may call it a diabolical business. In tbem is
fulfilled this prophecy of Saint Paul — ' Certain persons
shall apostatize from the faith, attending to fables and
doctrines concerning demon gods.' " After speaking of
idolatry in Neapolis, the natives of which sacrificed to a
girl whom he took to be Jephthah's daughter ; and of
idolatry in Egypt, whose inhabitants honoured Pharaoh's
daughter as a goddess, he further remarks : " We
Christians most indecorously honour the Saints. Rather
ought we to honour Him who is their Sovereign Lord.
Let, then, the error of seducers cease. The Virgin
Mary is no goddess. To the peril therefore of his own
soul, let no one make oblations in her name." Surely
the Father who penned these sentiments, would, were
he now amongst us, lift up his voice against the incense
and the prayers, and the gifts, and the homage which
ar« daily presented by the Roman Catholic Church-
not to Mary merely, but even to statues and images of
Mary !
106 LECTURE III.
Protestants are charged by their Roman Catholic friends
with dishonouring and despising the blessed Mother
of our Lord Jesus, and with disregarding her memory.
A note in the Douay Bible, appended to the forty-
eighth verse of the first chapter of Luke, reads thus :
" These words are a prediction of that honour which the
Church in all ages should pay to the blessed Virgin.
Let Protestants examine whether they are any way
concerned in this prophecy." I reply, that Pro-
testants are concerned in this prophecy. We do
call her blessed among women. We cherish her
memory in high estimation, as one of the most
humble and obedient of all the Saints of the Most
High God, and to Christians of every name we
commend her example of meekness, and patience, and
purity. Would that we all possessed the graces which
were exhibited by the Virgin Mary ! How privileged
was the beloved disciple to have been pennitted to
receive her into his own home ! Who would not with
him have rejoiced to hear her speak, as she doubtless often
did, of the Saviour's infancy, of His youth, of His man-
hood. We go thus far with our Roman Catholic neigh-
bours, but we cannot, we dare not, on so slender authority
as that which they adduce, pay her Divine honours. No,
my hearers ! we should imagine that we heard a voice
from heaven interrupting every prayer, every bow, every
curtesy, every prostration, interrupting the ascent of every
cloud of incense, with the words of the text " See thou do
it not, for I am thy fellow servant." We do not forget
him who hath said : " I the Lord thy God am a jealous
THE ONE OBJECT OP RELIGIOUS ADORATION. lOY
God." Amongst ourselves we see that jealousy is ex-
cited by' the surrender to others of a small part only of
that love and service which we owe to one alone. What
would avail the professions of attachment, the smiles,
the attentions of a husband to a faithful wife, should
she witness smiles and attentions conferred upon
another ? What would avail in the presence of a King
all the titles with which we should address him, and
all the homage with which we should present ourselves
to him, and all the obsequiousness which should mark
our conduct towards him, were we to select a favorite
courtier, and in the presence of the King himself
address to that courtier the same titles, and approach
him with the same obsequious bearing ? " The Lord
thy God is a jealous God;" — think of this, and
remember that he hath also declared, " my gloiy will
I not give to another."
And now I appeal to you, have we not clearly con-
victed the authorities of the Roman Catholic Church of
permitting the issue and the use of publications in
which the glory of the Most High God is transferred
to the Virgin ? convicted them too in the very face of
a passage from their own version of the Scriptures.
" I the Lord, that is my name, I will not give my glory
to another?" Have we not proved beyond the
possibility of a question, that eminent Saints of the
Roman Catholic Church whose days are kept, whose
works are admired, and to whom invocation is pres-
cribed, have given to a creature the titles, the service,
the prayers, the praises, which belong only to the
Creator? "The Lord thy God is a jealous God:"
108 LECTURE III.
See it manifested towards Israel when the golden calf
was set up to represent the Lord, and worshipped with
incense and offerings. See how the jealousy of the
Most High was stirred, " Let me alone, that my wrath
may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy
them :" " The Lord thy God, is a jealous God :" See it
manifested when Israel, in the days of Elijah, sought
to mingle the worship of Baal with the worship of
Jehovah ! " The Lord thy God is a jealous God." See
it manifested in the history of Herod, who, when he had
made an oration to the people, permitted himself to be
called a god ; and who because he did not give the
honour to God was forthwith struck by an angel of the
Lord, and being eaten up of worms, gave up the ghost.
And because the Lord our God is a jealous God we
protest against the presentation of prayer or any other
worship to a creature. Rather would we follow the
command of Jesus, who taught us to pray not to his
beloved Mother, but to " Our Father which art in
heaven." Rather would we imitate those apostolic prayers
in which the Father was addressed through the Son.
The Trinity which we adore is not that of Jesus, Maiy
and Joseph, as some Roman Catholics have taught, but
that of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The
refuge of sinners to which we fly is not Mary, but Jesus
Chiist the Son of God, who alone " saves his people
from their sins." The ladder by which we hope to
ascend from earth to heaven, is Jesus ; the door through
which we hope to enter into the heavenly city, is Jesus ;
with us Jesus and not Mary is the fountain of wisdom ;
with us the Eternal Word and not Mary is the mirror of
THE ONE OBJECT OP RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 109
justice ; with us God and not Mary is the Comforter of
the afflicted ; and we will content ourselves with the
exclamation of David, " Unto thee will I cry, O Lord,
my rock — unto thee O God do we give thanks, unto
Thee do we give thanks, for that Thy name is near Thy
wondrous works declare." " Truly my soul waiteth upon
God, from Him cometh my salvation, He only is my
Rock and my salvation, he is my defence."
It will not avail for any Roman Catholic present to
say, " I do not subscribe to those sentiments which you
have this evening read respecting the Virgin Mary." I
hold you to every sentiment that I can find in these or
any other books which are sent forth by the authorities
of your Church. You belong to a Catholic Church,
your profession is that your doctrines, your ritual, your
liturgies, your practice, are one ; this is the boast of
your great writer. Dr. Milner ; if then, they are one,
they cannot be diverse ; if you are a Catholic, how
dare you refuse to employ any authorized liturgy which
I can produce ? Will you resist the authority of your
Saints, your Cardinals, your Bishops, your Pastors?
If so, you are not obedient sons of the Church,
and there rests upon you her bitterest anathema.
Before I proceed to the next step in the discussion, I
would explain that I have confined your attention to the
adoration of the Virgin because she is the most emi-
nent Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. From other
devotional publications, ecclesiastically authorized, I
could have adduced passages to show that divine titles
and works are ascribed to other saints. This subject,
however, will be more fully expounded in a subsequent
110 LECTURE 111.
lecture. I therefore resume tlie discussion, reminding'
you that we have shown, that to ascribe divine titles,
attributes, and works, to any creature is idolatry; and
that the Roman Catholic Church has done and is doing
this to the Virgin Mary. We have shown that to offer
sacrifice, prayer or praise to any creature is idolatry, and
that the Roman Catholic Church has done and is doing
this also to the Virgin Mary. And now we take another
position.
That to bow down religiously, i. e. for religious pur-
poses before images, pictures, or other representations, is
idolatry.
And here I wish to refer to those refined distinctions
of adoration or worship which Roman Catholic Divines
have promulged. The following extract from the work
Ferraris Bihliotheca Prompta^ will convey to you the
Roman Catholic exposition of this graduated worship :
(Elliott p. Y56).
" That it may be fully understood what worship or
adoration is due to them, it is to be observed, that
adoration is an act by which any one submits himself to
another, in the recognition of his excellence. This is
the common opinion. And this adoration or worship is
civil or political, sacred or religious. Adoration merely
civil or political, is that which may be offered to Kings
and supreme Princes on account of the excellence of
their station, or the excellency of human power which
they possess beyond others ; as is mentioned in Scrip-
ture, where some are sajd to have adored Kings. So
David, falling on his face, adored three times. (1 Sam.
XX 41.) * All the assembly blessed the Lord God of
THE ONE OBJECT OP RELIGIOUS ADORATION. Ill
their fathers, and bowed themselves, and adored God,
and then the King ;' (1 Chron. xxix, 20 ;) where, as
you see, the same word adoration refers to God and the
King ; although, to God the worship is latria^ to the
King it is only civil respect. Sacred or religious
adoration is that which is ofiered to any one on account
of sacred or supernatural excellence, as the adoration
which is rendered to God, the blessed Virgin Mary, and
all the saints. Of sacred or religious adoration there
are three kinds ; namely, latria, hyperdulia, and dulia.
The adoration or worship of latria, is that which is due
to God alone, and is given on account of His uncreated
supremacy and infinite excellency. The adoration or
worship of hyperdulia is that which is due and rendered
to the blessed Virgin on account of the maternity of
God, and other excellent gifts, and her special super-
eminent sanctity beyond others. The adoration or
worship of dulm is that which is due and given to the
saints on account of the supernatural excellence of their
sanctity and glory. These are common opinions."
I think we have a right to ask for the authority upon
which these refinements have been introduced into the
Christian ritual. We deny their Scriptural character,
and require proof from our Catholic friends of the
existence in the age of the Apostles of such distinctions
and gradations. But we return to our position, viz. :
that " to bow down religiously, i. e. for religious
purposes, before images, pictures, or other representa-
tions, is idolatry."
In support of this position we adduce^
112 - LECTURE III.
First. The teaching of the word of God in the second
commandment. We have already read in the Douay
Bible the following words : —
" Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing,
nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or
in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the
waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them,
nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty,
jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children, unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me." (Exodus xx.)
And here I must enter my solemn protest against
those mutilations of this sacred decalogue which have
been allowed, by some authorities at least, in the Roman
Catholic Church. Several authorized Roman Catholic
Catechisms omit the second commandment altogether,
others I admit present it entire ; but one instance of
mutilation which came under my own notice while
residing in the Mediteranean, is worthy of more particular
mention. On the lectern in the Cathedral of St. John's
at Valetta there are two brazen tables, representing the
two tables of stone upon which the law was written in
the Mount ; on these tables are engraved ten (X) distinct
paragraphs, professing of course to be the ten command-
ments which God gave to Moses. I will read them to
you as I transcribed them into my memorandum book
in the Cathedral.
Diliges Dominum Deum ex toto corde tuo, ex tota
anima tua, et ex tota fortitudine tua.
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 113
II.
Non assumes nomen JDommi Dei tui in vanum.
m.
Memento ut diem sahhathi sanctifices.
[From the fourth to the eighth, inclusiv<J, there is no
variation from our commonly received version of the
decalogue.]
IX.
Non concupisces domum proximi tui,
X.
Nee desiderabis uxorem ejus.
Here then is a direct mutilation of the ten command-
ments. It avails not to say, that instead of the first
commandment we are furnished with an inspired epitome
of the first table — those laws, namely, which relate to
God : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength."
This is no part of the record which the Divine Being
incribed with his own finger upon the tables that were
delivered to Moseg on the Mount. That record contained
a distinct and elaborate proscription against idolatry,
and this proscription, the Church of Rome has not kept
prominently before the eyes of her members. Where
images and pictures abound as they do in Roman
Catholic Churches and dwellings, there is tbe greater
need of writing upon every wall of church, college,
convent, and school, the di&tinct commandment against
114 LECTURE III.
idolatry, (call it first or second, I care not,) which I now
quote from the Douay Bible.
"THOU SHALT NOT MAKE TO THYSELF
A GRAVEN THING, NOR THE LIKENESS
OF ANY THING.
« THOU SHALT NOT ADORE THEM, NOR
SERVE THEMP
I protest also against the note in the Douay Bible
appended to the second commandment :
" All such images or likenesses, are forbidden by this
commandment, as are made to be adored and served ;
according to that which immediately follows, thou
shalt not adore them^ nor serve them. That is, all such
as are designed for idols or image-gods^ or are worship-
ped with divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures^
or representations, even in the house of God, and in the
very sanctuary, so far from being forbidden, are expressly
authorised by the word of God."
We are referred in proof of this to the erection in the
tabernacle and temple, of the Cherubim. But were these
figures of saints ? No, they were not even figures of angels.
Besides, were they erected to be bowed down to by the
people ? No, they were hidden from the public gaze —
only the High Priest saw them, and that but once a
year. Is this circumstance then of sufiicient importance
to authorize the multiplication of images, and pictures
of saints, in ev^ery Roman Catholic Church and family,
for the purpose, to say the least, of presenting hyperdulia
or dulia to them ? That must be a weak and insecure
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 116
system whicli rests upon so narrow a basis ! This note
refers also to tlie erection by the command of God of the
brazen serpent, and argues from this that worship may
be paid to images. We deny that the serpent of brass
was bowed down to ; it was looked at, and thus the
Israelites were taught the simplicity of faith, but it was
not worshipped, at least until some centuries afterwards,
and then, so indeed I read in the Douay Bible, on this
account it was destroyed ; 4 Kings, xviii. " He destroyed
the high places, and broke the statues in pieces, and cut
down the groves, and broke the brazen serpent, which
Moses had made : for till that time the children of
Israel burnt incense to it : and he called its name
Nohestan."
But let me direct you yet farther to the teaching of
the Word of God on this subject. In Deut. xxvii 15,
I read the following fearful commination : — " Cursed
be the man that maketh a graven and molten
thing, the abomination of the Lord, the work of
the hands of artificers, and shall put it in a secret place :
and all the people shall answer, and say : Amen."
In Psalm xcvi, Y, it is said : — " Let them be all
confounded that adore graven things, and that glory
in their idols." And in Psalm Ixxvii, 58, I read
again : — " They provoked him to anger on their
hills: and moved him to jealousy with their graven
things." In Numbers chapter xxiii, 21, it is said ap-
provingly of Israel : — " There is no idol in Jacob,
neither is their an image-god to be seen in Israel." And
in Ezekiel vi. 4, <fec., we have the following temble
denunciation against idol or image woi*ship : — " And
116 LECTURE in.
I will throw down your altars, and your idols
shall be broken in pieces : and I will cast down your
slain before your idols.
" And I win lay the dead carcasses of the children of
Israel before your idols : and I will scatter your bones
round about your altars.
" In all your dwelling-places. The cities shall be
laid waste, and the high places shall be thrown down,
and destroyed, and your altars shall be abolished, and
shall be broken in pieces : and your idols shall be no
more, and your temples shall be destroyed, and your
works shall be defaced."
I know you will reply, " we do not make idols of these
images." Now literally an idol is an image, and an
image an idol. The latter is derived from the Greek
word eidojXoyj the former from the Latin word imago,
each however being a literal translation of the other ;
you say that you do not make idols of these, but I ask
is not the obeisance which you present to them, as
profound as that which you pay to Jesus Christ Himself?
Do you not cross yourselves, and prostrate yourselves,
and bum incense before these images? Do you not
crown them, and make processions in their honour, as
though they had a being? But you ease your con-
science by saying we do not present latria to these
images. Ah, this refinement ! How difficult it is, with
views so varied, to understand what Roman Catholics
mean by the honour which they pay to images.
Bellarmine himself distinguishes the Roman Catholic
systems of image-worship into three classes. One
class he tells us in the second volume of his works
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. llT
recommends the use of images, but rejects their wor-
ship. They honour, they esteem, they respect, they
venerate, &c. Amongst the supporters of this tenet,
are the following eminent names, Thomassin, Bossuet,
Dupin, Gother, and Lauciano. Another class, amongst
whom is Bellarmine himself, honours images with an
inferior or imperfect worship, but offers no latria or
supreme adoration to the sculptured or pencilled
resemblance. This class maintains the same opinion as
the second Nicene council, which represented images as
holy, as communicating holiness, and as entitled to the
same veneration as the Gospel, This infallible council
condemned those who used pictures only for the
assistance of the memory, and not for adoration. The
council of Trent professed to follow the Nicene in this
view, but it is clear that they departed from it, for they
expressly declare that these forms are to be regarded as
altogether void of virtue. The names of Spondanus,
Baronius, Estuis, and Godeau may be added to that of
Bellarmine. The thii-d class support the doctrine that
the same adoration is to be presented to the image which
is presented to the original. The likeness of God or
His Son in mental conjunction with the original, is the
object of latria, or supreme worship. This is the
system of Aquinas, Cajetan, Bonaventure, Turrecrema,
and others. Which of these systems are we to receive?
That of the council of Trent, or of Nice? Whose
opinion are we to follow ? That of Bossuet, or Bellarmine,
or Aquinas ? Where is the boasted unity of doctrine
of which we so often hear ? — But will Roman Catholics
deny that supreme worship is paid to the cross ? Listen
f2
118 LECTURE m.
to the teaching of the angelic doctor, Aquinas, whicli
you will find in the third volume of his works, page 25,
" The cross is to be worshipped with latria, which i&
also to be addressed to Jesus and his image." The
Pontifical expressly declares that " latria is due to the
cross." Ilence the prayers, absolute prayers, which in
the Roman missal are presented to the cross, — " Hail,
O cross our only hope, increase righteousness to the pious,
and bestow pardon on the guilty. Save the present
assembly met this day for thy praise." — Moman Cate-
chism, page 32.
You will not be surprised if I ask, where, in the New
Testament, or in even the Old, do you find correspond-
ing practices ? Which of the apostles fell down before
an image ? "Who of the New Testament Saints invoked
the cross ? Where in the whole apostolic writings do
you find a religious veneration for relics ? Where is
the authority for all this in the early Church ? It is
wanting. T^rtuUian, in his book ^^ contra coronandi
moreniy^ most severely inveighs against images, and
adds these words, " St. John deeply considering the
matter saith, * My little children keep yourselves from
images or idols.' " Origen says, " It is not only a mad
and frantic part to worship images, but also one to
dissemble or wink at it." Epiphanius, Bishop of
Salamine, in Cyprus, who lived in A.D. 390, thus writes
to John, Patriarch of Jerusalem, "I entered into a
certain Church to pray: I found there a linen cloth
hanging in the Churcb door painted, and having in it
the image of Christ as it were, or some other Saint.
Therefore, when I did see the image of a man hanging
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 119
in the Church of Christ contrary to the authorities of
Scripture, I did tear it." Lastly, the woi-ship of images
was in tiie seventh century, forbidden by Pontifical
authority, Oregory the great, wi-iting to Serenus, ihe
Massilian Bishop who had demolished images which
liis flock had adored, blamed the Bishop for breaking
these images, but praised him in unqualified language
for preventing their adoration. These similitudes, said
he, are erected " not fm* the worship of any, but only
for the instruction of the ignorant. Allow images to
be made, but forbid them to be worshipped in any
manner" But why should I tire you with authorities
and proofs ? We havo seen for ourselves the evils of
image and Saint worship. Go into any Roman Catholic
country, enter a village, oonverse with its peasantry,
and what do you find ? That Saints, and especially the
Virgin, are set before Christ; tliat the true spiritual
worship of the Most High God is lost in the worship of
images. What is the testimony of our most intelligent
travellers ? Why that Italy knows more of Mary than
of Christ. This is the natural eflect of that system
against which we have this evening protested, and,
though we would do it with ail kindness, we must and
will faithfully declare our conviction, that the Church
of Rome has fallen into the fearful sin of idolatry. We
do not affirm that every member of the Roman Catholic
Church is an idolator ; but he cannot resist the
conclusion that so long as he remains within a Church
that sanctions such practices as those which we have
revealed this evening, he is responsible to God and to
his own soul for lending his countenance to a sin which
120 LECTURE III.
is abhorrent to the Most High God, and destructive of
the social, the moral, and the spiritual interests of
humanity. And we would say to every Roman
Catholic who has felt shocked at the fearful sentiments
which we have quoted from the devotional works of
his Church, " Come out from among them and be ye
separate and touch not the unclean thing."
And now my beloved hearers you will be prepared
to hear, that with us, Tiie one object op religious
ADORATION IS THE MosT HiGH GoD. Evcry modifica-
tion and variety of religious adoration but that which
is SUPREME, and every object of religious adoration but
God, we absolutely renounce. Forasmuch as He will
not give His glory to another, neither will we : and
forasmuch as he will not give his praise to graven
images, neither will we. Angels even, are finite, we
worship only the infinite: Saints are creatures like
ourselves, we worship only the Creator. We will wor-
ship the Lord our God, and him only will we serve.
His glorious majesty, his almighty power, his
infinite purity, his unbounded wisdom, his overflowing
love, all invite us to revere and magnify his name, and to
prostrate our hearts in humility before him. The works
of his hands, above, around, beneath, in all their mag-
nificent glories, invite us to adoration and praise : The
scheme of glorious redemption, the gift of his Son,
invite to adoration and love : The ofier of a free and
perfect pardon, of adopting mercy, of regenerating
grace, of a new nature, of victory over death, of a
glorious and eternal heaven, invite us to serve a»d love
and glorify our God. How great is Jehovah of Hosts,
THE ONE OBJECT OF RELIGIOUS ADORATION. 121
how glorious and mighty in his works, how profound
in his providence, how rich and plenteous in grace !
" O come let us sing unto the Lord, let us make a joy-
ful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come
before his presence with thanksgiving and make a
joyful noise unto him with Psalms. For the Lord is a
great God and a great King above all gods. O come,
let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the
Lord our Maker. For he is the Lord pur God, and we
are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his
hand."
What is adoration ? Is it faith ? Let us trust in the
name of the Lord our God ; let us believe his promises ;
let us confide in his character. What is adoration 1
Is it praise ? Let us sing with the Universal Church :
" We praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be
the Lord." Let us adopt that beautiful paraphrase : —
" I'll praise my Maker while I've breath,
And, when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ ray nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
"While life, or thought, or being last,
Or immortality endures."
What is adoration ? Is it love ? O let us love the
Lord our God with all our heart, and soul, and mind,
and strength. What is adoration ? Is it to offer sacrifice?
" I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable, unto God, which is your reasonable
service." What is adoration ? Is it prayer ? " Let us
122 LECTURE m»
Kft our eyes unto the hills, whence cometh our help ;
our help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and
earth." And, if we thus believe, and praise, and love,
and pray, on earth, our adoration shall not cease here.
No ! Transplanted from this world of sorrow and im-
perfection to the world of bliss and blessing above, we
shall surround the heavenly throne, the throne of God
and the Lamb, and there we shall renew our acts of
adoration ; with the elders and the Seraphim, with the
Apostles and the Marys who surrounded the cross,
with the noble army of martyrs and the saints, with all
the host of God's elect and redeemed ones, we shall
prostrate ourselves before the throne, and serve him day
and night in his heavenly temple, ever more praising
him, and saying, " Blessing and honour and glory and
power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb for ever."
NOTES TO LECTURE III.
1. OttlGlNALa OF SOME OP THE QUOTATIONS.
1 . Selections from the Italian Te Dei Mattem.
" A Te, Madre di Dio, innalziamo le nostra lodi : * Te Maria
Vergine predichiamo.
" Te Sposa dell' Eterno Padre * venera tutta la terra.
" A Te gli Angeli tutti e gli Arcangeli : * a Te i Troni e i
Principati umili si inchinano.
" A Te le Podesta tutte e le Virtii supeme dei cieli* e tutte
le Dominazioni prestano ubbidienza.
" A Te i Cori tutti, a Te i Cherubini e i Serafini * assistono
intorno esultanti.
" A Te le angeliche creature tutte * con incessante voce di
lode cantano :
" Santa, Santa, Santa Maria * Genitrice di Dio, Vergine in-
sieme e Madre.
" Pieni sono i cieli e la terra * della maesta gloriosa del frutto
del tuo grembo.
" Te il glorioso core degli Apostoli * Te Madre del loro Crea-
tore collaudano.
" O pia Vergine Maria, * deh ! fa che insieme coi Santi tuoi
siamo della etema gloria rimunerati.
" Salvo sia per te, o Signora, il popolo tuo, * si che siamo
fatti partecipi della eredita del tuo Figliuolo.
" Sii nostra guida, * sii sostegno e difesa nostra in eterno.
" In ciascun giorno, o Maria Signora nostra, * ti salutiamo.
" E bramiamo cantare le lodi tue * cola mente e colla voce in
sempitemo.
" Degnati, dolcissima Maria, ora e sempre * conservarci illesi
da peccato.
" Abbi, o Pia, di noi miseiicordia : * abbi misericordia di noi
124 NOTES.
" Fa misericordia ai figliuoli tuoi : * ch6 in Te, o Vergine
Maria, abbiamo riposta tutta la fiducia nostra.
" In te dolcissima Maria, noi tutti speriamo : * difendici in
eterno.
" A Te le lodi, a Te 1' impero, * a Te virtu e gloria pei secoli
dei secoli Cosi sia."
2. Extract from " 11 Tesoro deW Animal
" afflittissima anima della Vergine consolatemi.
" O addoloratissimo Gorpo della mia cara Madre confortatemi.
" O amatissime lagrime della Regina del Paradise purifica-
temi.
*' O dolorosissimi sospiri, o gemiti della Madre di Dio, con-
pungetemi con vera contrizione.
" appassionatissimi sensi della mia gran Signora sanate
santificate li miei. spasimi, e morte dell'Impera trice de'
Cieli, siatemi vera allegrezza, e vita.
" Maria mare di amarezza per la morte del Figlio defen-
detemi dal peccato, e dall' inferno.
" Ricevetemi per vostro servo, che ami, e confidi in Voi.
Nell'ora della mia morte ajutatemi, accio con tutti gli eletti
vi glorifichi nei secoli de' secoli. Amen"
3. Extracts from " Le Pouvoir de Marie par Saint Liguori."
•* Nous lisons dans les chroniques des Franciscains, que Frdre
L6on eut une fois cette vision : il vit deux ^chelles, une rouge
au haut de laquelle 6tait J6sus-Christ, et une blanche, au haut
de laquelle se trouvait sa sainte m^re. Plusieurs 8'effor§aient
de monter par la premiere echelle; ils montaient quelques
Echelons, puis ils tombaient ; ils revenaient 4 la charge, mais
eans etre plus heureux ; aucun n'arrivait jusqu'au sommet. Alors
une voix leur cria de se toumer du c6t6 de I'echelle blanche ; et
I'ayant fait, ils monterent heureusement, car la bienheureuse
Vierge leur tendait la main pour les aider."
" Marie, mon refuge, combien de fois ne me suis-je pas vu
par ma faute Tesclave de I'enfer ! Vous avez bris6 mes liens
vous m'avez arrache des mains de mes fiers ennemis ; mais je
tremble d'y retoraber, car je sais que leur rage n'a point de
NOTES. 125
repos, et quils se flattent que je deviendrai encore leur proie.
Vierge sainte, soyez mon bouclier et ma defense ! Avec votre
secours, je suis siir de vaincre ; mais faites que je n'oublie jamais
de V0U8 invoquer dans les combats, et principalement dans ce
dernier, le plus terrible de tous, que le d^mon s'apprete d me
livrer a mon heure supreme. Mettez vous-meme alors votre
nom sur mes Idvres et dans mon cceur, et que j'expire en pro-
nonjant ce nom, afin que je me trouve a vos pieds dans le ciel
Ainsi soit-il."
II. Other illustrations of Mariolatry, from " The Graces of
Mary," published by " D. <fe J. Sadlier & Co., New York and
Montreal, 1853," bearing the imprimatur of "f John, Arch-
bishop OF New York."
PRAC5TICES IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED YIBGINT.
1. To choose the Blessed Virgin for mother and patroness, to
offer oneself to her service, and renew this offering frequently
on her festivals.
2. To ask for mediation every morning and night, and run to
her in every temptation and trial.
8. To visit her churches and altars, and often protest to her
that you love her more than yourself.
4. To recite her Little Office, or at least that of her immacu-
late conception, frequently.
5. To say the Angelus morning, noon, and night.
6. To prepare for her festivals by a novena and some act of
mortification on the virgils, &c.
7. To honour her specially on Satmdays, as being dedicated
to her.
8. To pray for those souls in purgatory who have been most
devout to her.
9. To say the Magnificat and recite the Rosary daily, if pos-
sible.
10. To try to make olhers devout to this Blessed Mother.
11. To read those books that treat of her glories, &x,., and
never to omit the usual practices of devotion to her.
12. To enter into her sodalities, confraternities, &c., and to
give alms in her honour.
126 NOTES.
13. To rejoice in her perfections, to thank her daily for the
favours received through her intercession, to honour the saints
connected with her, as St. Joseph, St. Joachim, Ste. Anne, &c.
14. To pronounce her holy name frequently, and salute her
by the Hail Mary, when the clock strikes.
15. To reverence her pictures and images, and to have one in
our oratory.
16. To compassionate her dolours, particularly at the Passion
of her blessed Son.
17. To love chastity specially, and say three " Hail Marys"
daily to obtain it through Mary, recommending to her at the
same time our senses, (fee.
18. To ornament her oratories with flowers, &c.
19. To offer to her, especially during the octaves of her fes-
tivals, a crown of spiritual flowers, that is, of different acts of
virtue performed in her honour.
20. To invoke her daily for a happy death, and that she
would specially asast us in our last hour.
Inquire what indulgences you have in your power to gain by
prayers and other devotions addressed to Mary, and recite the
following to obtain a happy death, to which an indulgence of
300 days is attached :
Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, I give you my heart and my life.
Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, may I die in peace in your blessed
company.
PEATEa.
O queen of the universe and most bountiful sovereign, thou
art the great advocate of sinners, the sure port of those who
have suffered shipwreck, the resource of the world, the ransom
of captives, the solace of the weak, the consolation of the
afflicted, the refuge and salvation of every creature. Oh, full
of grace, enlighten my understanding, and loosen my tongue,
that I may recount thy praises, and sing to thee the angelical
NOTES. 127
«alutati<Mi, which thou so justly deservest. Hail, thou who art
the peace, the joy, the consolation of the whole world ! Hail
paradise of pure delight, the assured asylum of all who are in
clanger, the source of grace, the mediatrix between God and
man.
LECTURE IV.
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN.
The subject upon which I have to address you this
evening is of infinite moment in the scheme of Christian
doctrine, and is associated with the highest, because
with the immortal interests of man. That all men are
sinnere, is a proposition whose truth I do not feel it
my duty, this evening at least, to defend by any
elaborate argument. Whether you view the simple form
of Patriarchal religion, or the more august ritual of the
Levitical economy, or the more beautiful and glorious,
because more perfect system of Christianity, you
discover that each had its origin in the fact of man's
sinfulness, and his consequent estrangement from God.
In each the doctrine of atonement holds a prominent
place. From the time of the fall, men sought to pro-
pitiate the Divine Being because they had sinned
against him ; — Moses stamped the necessity of propitia-
tion upon almost every rite and oftering which, as the
vicar of the Most High God, he prescribed for the
guidance of the Israelites ; — and in the establishment
of Christianity, it is expressly declared that its founder
received his name from the fact that he should save his
people from their sins, that he became the Lamb of God
for the purpose of bearing away the sin of the world,
and that the ofiering which he presented upon the cross
was emphatically a sin offering.
130 THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN.
Whatever differences of opinion then we may enter-
tain upon other subjects, on this I apprehend there will
be no disagreement. Be we Protestant or Catholic, we
shall be unwilling to deny that every one of us is a
sinner against God, because every one of us has a heart
which is, by nature at least, opposed to goodness, and
that every one of us therefore needs mercy and forgive-
ness* from God. How important then 4s it for us to in-
quire whether there is any ground to hope that mercy
can and will be extended to sinners ; whether any
feasible and palpable scheme of relief for sinners has
ever been disclosed to the world. I solve this inquiry
by reading out of the Douay Bible the last five verses
in the 9th chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews :
" For Jesus is not entered into the Holies made with
hands, the patterns of the true : but into heaven itself,
that he may appear now in the presence of God for us.
" Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the
high-priest entereth, into the Holies, every year with the
blood of others :
" For then he ought to have suffered often from the
beginning of the world : but now once at the end of
ages, he hath appeared for the destruction of sin, by the
sacrifice of himself.
" And as it is appointed unto men once to die, and,
after this, the judgment :
" So also Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of
many ; the second time he shall appear without sin, to
them that expect him unto salvation."
These verses open to us the door of the glorious
temple of the Christian dispensation. Looking through
THE ONU SACRlFICfe FOIl SIN. 131
the vista of by-gone years, we gaze upon the imposing
ceremonies of the day of atonement. The high altar
of the cross is erected in the midst ; a lamb without
blemish and without spot is provided for a sin-offering ;
the great High Priest of the Christian economy stands
forth ; the representatives of a guilty world surround
the sacred enclosure ; the solemn sacrificial hour arrives ;
the altar receives the Lamb of God ; the precious
blood of Christ flows down and stains the altar ;
the victim writhes beneath the sacrificial knife, groans
out, in deepest agony, " It is finished," and gives up
the ghost ! Angels exult in heaven, devils tremble in
hell, and on earth, the rocks rend, the earth quakes,
the graves yield up their dead, and an astonished world
exclaims, " Truly this is the Son of God, who hath
appeared once in the end of the world to put away sin .
by the sacrifice of himself."
The clauses in the text to which I invite your special
attention are these : —
" Nor yet that he should offer himself often.
"Now ONCE at the end of ages, he hath ap-
peared FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF SIN BY THE SACRIFICE
of himself.
" Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins
OF MANY."
Whether or not we are all agreed as to the origin of
sacrifice ; whether all the members of the congregation
are able to subscribe to the views of the preacher that
animal sacrifices can only be accounted for on the
supposition that they were appointed immediately by
God, are questions which it is not now of importance to
132 THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN.
determine ; it is, however, of great importance to know
that on some leading points in the doctrine of sacrifice
for sin both Protestants and Roman Catholics are pre-
cisely agreed. They believe, for instance, that the
animal sacrifices of the Mosaic law shadowed forth the
gospel sacrifice ; that whatever efficacy they possessed
in the pm-ging away of sin, was derived from Chi-ist in
whom they all terminated ; and they believe in the
atoning character of Christ's sacrifice, that it was sub-
stituted for the punishment of sin, and that it was
presented as a propitiation for the sins of the whole
world. I find in the Douay Bible, under the 12th
verse of this chapter the following beautiful note : " By
that one sacrifice of his blood, once offered on the
cross, Christ our Lord paid and exhibited, once for all,
the general price and ransom of all mankind, which no
other priest could do." The following supplication
taken from the seiTice of the Mass contains the germ
of this doctrine : " Lamb of God who takest away the
sins of the world, have mercy upon us !"
The importance of the doctrine of Christ's sacrificial
death may be inferred from the marked prominency
which it . received in the epistles, conversations and
sermons of the blessed Apostles. " Christ crucified"
was, of all others, the doctrine which they exhibited ; to
know this, to teach this, to impress this upon the atten-
tion and hearts of the people, was their chief aim ; to
set forth the Lord Jesus as bearing our sins in his own
body on the tree, to proclaim that through Him the
world has received the atonement, that He is the propi-
tiation for the sins of the whole world, that through His
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 133
blood we have redemption, even the forgiveness of our
sins, and that through the same blood our unrighteous-
ness is cleansed away, was regarded by them as their
chief business. These are truths with which they
addressed men of all ages, ranks and classes, truths
with which they interwove every page of inspiration.
Let us pause for a moment to observe how impressive
is the view which is imparted to the attributes of the
Divine Being, by the doctrine of Christ's sacrificial
death. Where have you such a manifestation of the
spotless purity and inflexible justice of God as upon
the cross, in the agonies and cries of the blessed
Saviour ? Where have you such an illustration of the
infinite Wisdom of the Most High, as in that scheme of
redemption which was consummated by the sacrifice of
Christ ? Where shines the love of God with so great
splendour, as upon and around the hallowed precincts
of Calvary, on whose heights the only begotten Son of
God, by His eternal Father's appointment, suflfered and
died ? See how mercy and truth here meet together,
see how righteousness and peace here embrace each
other ; see how the rays of the divine glory are con-
centrated in this sacred point, this crucificial altar, this
spotless sacrifice ! Where else could you so effectually
study the Divine character ? In the heavens ? No, not
even with the modern aids and discoveries of astronomy ?
On the sea ? No, not even with the wonderful appli-
ances of steam ? In the bowels of the earth ? No, not
even with all the light which geology has reflected upon
the mighty power and infinite wisdom of God. Where
else, but on the cross could you so eff"ectually study the
134 LECTUKE IV.
divine characters ? On the mountains and the plains
of the earth ? in her forests and her fruitful fields ? No !
We learn much of God in the works of his hands ; the
glories of creation reflect the glories of his character ;
that His name is great His wondrous works declare ;
but when you come within the circumference of light
which is radiated by the cross, you behold an intensity
of justice, and a depth of wisdom, and a majesty of love^
all too in glorious and perfect harmony, which no other
sight could ajQford.
" Part of thy name divinely stands
On all thy creatures writ,
They show the labour of thy hands,
Or impress of thy feet.
" But when we view thy strange design
To save rebellious worms :
There vengeance and compassion join
In their divmest forms.
" Here the whole Deity is fenown,
Nor dares a creature guess.
Which of the glories brighter shone,
The justice or the grace."
You will be prepared now for this general statement :
Protestants regard the Sacrifice of Christ,
' finished upon the Cross, and therefore once
offered and never to be repeated ; AS the one
sin-offering of the Christian dispensation.
The Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the sacrifice
of Christ is that it is repeated in every celebration of the
Eucharist or the supper of the Lord ; and that by a
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 135
process which the Catholic Church calls transubstantia-
tion, every priest of that Church offers in holy sacrifice
upon the altar, the Lord Jesus Christ, offers Him to
God, as completely as Aaron and his successors offered
the sacrifices of the law.
Against this view the Reformed Churches enter their
solemn protest, which may be conveniently divided
into two parts. — They protest against transubstantiation,
and they protest against the sacrifice of the Mass.
First, — They protest against the doctrine of
Transubstantiation.
This doctrine I shall not attempt to describe in my
own language, because I know how easy it would be to
colour and to misrepresent the views of others, where
so much of mystery and incomprehensibleness is
involved. The first description which I shall present to
you is taken from Dr James Butler's Catechism, recom-
mended by the four Roman Catholic Archbishops of
Ireland.
" Q. What is the blessed Eucharist ?
" A. The body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus
Christ, under the appearance of bread wine.
" Q. What means the word Eucharist ?
" A. A special grace or gift of God ; and it means
also, a solemn act of thanksgiving to God, for all his
mercies.
" Q. What do you mean by the appearances of bread
and wine ?
" A. The taste, colour, and form of bread and wine,
which still remain, after the bread and wine are changed
into the body and blood of Christ.
136 lECTURE IV.
" Q. Are botli the body and blood of Cbrist under the
appearance of bread and under the appearance of wine.
" A. Yes ; Christ is whole and entire, true God and
true Man, under the appearance of each.
" Q. Are we to believe, that the God of all Glory is
under the appearance of our corporal food ?
" A. Yes ; as we also believe, that the same God of
all Glory suffered death, under the appearance of a
criminal on the cross.
" Q. How can the bread and wine become the body
and blood of Christ ?
" A. By the goodness and power of God, with whom
no word shall be impossible. Luke, i. 37.
" Q. Are we assured, that Christ changed bread and
wine into his body and blood ?
" A, Yes ; by the very words which Christ himself
said, when he instituted the blessed Eucharist at his last
supper.
" Q. Which are the words Christ said, when he insti-
tuted the blessed Eucharist ?
" A. This is my body — this is my blood. Matt. xvi.
" Q. Did Christ give power to the priests of his
church, to change bread and wine into his body and
blood ?
" A. Yes ; when he said to his apostles at his last
supper : Do this for a commemoration of me. Luke,
xxii. 19.
" Q. Why did Christ give to the priests of his church
so great a power ?
" A. That his children throughout all ages and na-
tions, might have a most acceptable sacrifice to offer to
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 13*7
their Heavenly Father — and the most precious food to
nourish their souls."
The Canons which were passed at the thirteenth
Session of the Council of Trent are more full and explicit.
I will read those which expressly relate to the doctrine
of transubstantiation.
" Canon (1.) -Whosoever shall deny, that in the most
holy sacrament of the eucharist there are truly, really,
and substantially contained the body and the blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ, together with his soul and
divinity, and consequently Christ entire ; but shall
affirm that he is present therein only in a sign and
figure, or by his power ; let him be accursed.
" (2.) Whosoever shall affirm, that in the most holy
sacrament of the eucharist there remains the substance
of the bread and wine, together with the body and
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and shall deny that
wonderful and peculiar conversion of the whole substance
of the bread into his body, and of the whole substance
of the wine into his blood, the species only of bread
ai)d wine remaining, which conversion the Catholic
Church most fitly terms ' transubstantiation ;' let him
be accursed.
" (3) Whosoever shall deny that Christ entire is
contained in the venerable sacrament of the eucharist,
under each species, and under every part of each species
when they are separated ; let him be accursed.
" (4.) Whosoever shall affirm that the body and blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ are not present in the admir-
able eucharist, as soon as the consecration is performed,
but only as it is used and received, and neither \ fore
138 LECTURE IV.
nor after ; and that the true body of our Lord does
not remain in the hosts or consecrated morsels which
are reserved or left after communion ; let him be
accursed.
" (5.) Whosoever shall aflSrm that remission of sins
is the chief fruit of the most holy eucharist, or that
other effects are not produced thereby ; let him be
accursed.
" (6.) Whosoever shall affirm that Christ, the only-
begotten Son of God, is not to be adored in the holy
eucharist with the external signs of that worship which
is due to God ; and therefore that the eucharist is not to
be honoured with extraordinary festive celebration, nor
solemnly carried about in processions, according to the
laudable and universal rites and customs of holy Church,
nor publicly presented to the people for their adoration ;
and that those who worship the same are idolaters ;
let him be accursed.
" (V.) Whosoever shall affirm that it is not lawful to
preserve the holy eucharist in the sacristy, but that
immediately after consecration it must of necessity be
distributed to those who are present ; or that it is npt
lawful to carry it in procession to the sick ; let him be
accursed.
" (8.) Whosoever shall affirm that Christ, as exhibited
in the eucharist, is eaten in a spiritual manner only,
and not also sacrameni.ally and really; let him be
accursed.
The Creed of Pope Pius IV, which every Roman
CathoHc professes to believe, has the following article :
" 7. I profess, likewise, that in the mass is offered to
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 139
God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the
living and the dead ; and that in the most holy sacrifice
of the eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially,
the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity,
of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and that there is made a con-
version of the whole substance of the bread into the
body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the
blood, which conversion the Catholic Church calls
transubtantiation."
In Den's theology vol. v, p. 276, Maynooth edition, I
read, "the word 'body' is received properly and
strictly, forasmuch as it is distinguished from the blood ;
comprehending the flesh, the bones, the nerves, (fee,"
( — comprehendens carnem ossa, nervos^ c£'c.)
In the catechism of the Council of Trent, which Dr.
Doyle calls " a most authentic exposition of the precepts
of the Church, the Mass, and the Sacrament, as they are
received by all Catholics," we have the following : " It
is also in this place to be explained by the pastors, that
there is contained in this sacrament, not only the true
body of Christ, and whatever belongs to a true condition
of a body, such as bones and nerves, but also a whole
Christ."
And lastly, in the Roman Missal I find the following
on this subject of the consecration of the Mass :
" If any one shall leave out or change any part of the
form of the consecration of the body and blood, and, in
the change of the words, such words do not signify the
same thing, there is no consecration.
" If the Priest vomit the Eucharist, and the species
appear entire, he must piously swallow it again ; but if
140 LECTtTRE tV,
a nausea prevent him, then let the consecrated species
be cautiously separated, and put by in some holy place
till they be corrupted, and after, let them be cast into
holy ground; but if the species do not appear, the
vomit must be burned, and the ashes thrown into holy
ground."*
These extracts, which I have selected with honesty
and care, will convey to you a tolerably correct idea of
those doctrines of Eucharistic transubstantiation against
which we protest. From them we deduce the following-
proposition, to each one of which Roman CathoKcs are
bound to assent, unless indeed they choose to deny
their own formularies and creeds, and thus to do what
Protestants have done before them.
1. That when the bread and wine are first laid upon
the altar, in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, that
is before consecration, they are truly bread and wine,
containing all the attributes, elements and constituents of
bread and wine.
2. That during that part of the service of the Mass,
previous to the utterance of the words of consecration
the bread and the wine undergo no change.
3. That until every word of the form " IToc est enim
Corpus meuwiJ'' is uttered, the bread and the wine
remain unchanged.
4. That if there is any defect on the part of the
officiating Priest in the enunciation of the verbal form
of consecration, the substance of the bread and wine
remain unchanged, and the people receive and worship
not Christ's body, but bread and wine.
* See note at the end of this Lecture.
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 141
5. That as soon as the words are uttered by the
Priest, the bread is immediately transformed or con-
verted into the body, the blood, the soul and divinity of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
6. That the wine also is converted into the body, the
blood, the soul, the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Y. That this change, though real, is not evident to
the senses ; that the remaining substances taste like
bread and wine, smell like bread and wine, feel like
bread and wine, retain the same form as bread and
wine, and reflect the same colour as bread and wine.
8. That notwithstanding this retention of form, colour,
taste and smell, there is no particle of bread or drop of
wine remaining upon the altar.
9. That in the wafer or bread, separately, and in the
wine contained in the chalice separately and equally,
there is contained a whole and perfect Christ ; His
body with its bones, muscles, nerves, flesh, veins, skin,
hair, &c. ; His soul with its will, its affiections, its desires ;
His divinity with all its attributes of power, holiness,
wisdom and love.
10. That every individual, good or bad, when he
receives the holy Eucharist eats and feeds upon the
body, the soul, and the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
11. That every particle even the minutest of the con-
secrated bread, and every drop of the consecrated wine,
as thoroughly and properly contain a whole Christ, as
all the bread and the wine that may be consecrated by
the Priest ; that indeed in every such particle, Christ's
body, soul and divinity, are as absolutely present as
they now are before His Father's throne.
g2
142 LECTURE IV.
1 2. That the body of Christ can exist in heaven and
in ten thousand places upon earth at the same moment
of time, that' in each place a whole Christ exists, and
yet that there is only one Christ in the Universe.
13. That the body, soul and divinity of the Son of
God may be vomited, and under these circumstances
must be burned in fire, and the ashes thereof buried.
14. That the body, soul and divinity of Christ may
moulder and decay, and so " see con-uption."
I am sure you will all feel with me how diflScult it is
to discuss this matter with such seriousness as should
ever pertain to sacred subjects, and to the house of God.
You will see the danger to which one is exposed of
treating ironically such propositions as have now been
fairly deduced from Catholic authorities. You will see
how strong the temptation is to meet them with the
argumentum ad absurdum. I shall endeavour, not-
withstanding, rigidly to maintain the principle upon
which I set out, that of respecting the prejudices and
feelings of my Roman Catholic friends.
We protest against the teaching of the Church of
Rome on the subject of transubstantiation.
Firstj — On the authority of the Word of God.
This word expressly declares that Jesus Christ has
left the world, that he has gone to the Father, that he
sitteth at the right hand of God ; and also, that from the
moment of his ascension into heaven, to the moment of
his second coming in clouds and glory, the Church
would have no right to expect his bodily presence in
her midst.
Let me remind you of the expressions which occur
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN, 143
in the text. These declare that Jesus Christ has
entered into heaven itself, and that he now appeareth
in the presence of God for us. Again it is said, " The
second time he shall appear without sin, i. e. a sin offer-
ing, unto salvation." I refer you also to the twelfth chap-
ter of St. John's Gospel, in the eighth verse of which the
Saviour is represented as saying, " For the poor you
have always with you ; but me you have not always."
Did Christ mean that his bodily presence would be
altogether removed from his disciples, or did he not I
If he did, then w^ould his declaration be opposed in toto
to the doctrine of transubstantiation ; if he did not,
his words were vain and meaningless. Let us now
•examine the eleventh verse of the first Chapter of
the Acts of the Apostles : " Ye men of Galilee, why
stand you looking up to heaven ? This Jesus who is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as
you have seen him going into heaven." And let
us in connection with this, look at the twenty-
first verse of the third chapter of the same book:
** Whom heaven indeed must receive until the times
of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken
by the mouth of his holy prophets from the beginning
of the world." Now I ask, can any language be found
more explicitly declarative of the Protestant belief,
that until Christ comes in his glory the second time,
he comes not at all ? I speak of his corporeal presence.
I will refer you also to a passage which the advocates of
transubstantiation often adduce, and which is found in the
twenty-sixth verse of the eleventh chapter of fii-st Cor-
inthians : " For as often as you shall eat this bread and
144 LECTURE IV.
drink the chalice you shall show the death of the Lord
until he come." A very clear announcement on the
part of St. Paul, that he did not understand the body,
the soul and the divinity of Christ to be in what was
eaten, or to exist in the chalice ; for how, in such a
case, could he have used the expression, " until he come."
The last Scripture which I shall adduce is taken from
St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, and may
be found in the sixteenth verse of the fifth chapter :
" Henceforth know we no man after the flesh. And
if we have known Christ according to the flesh ; but
now we know him so no longer." But how could this
be affirmed by the Apostle, if it were true that on
every occasion in which he consecrated the bread and
wine in the Eucharist, he ate and adored the body the
flesh and the blood of Emanuel ? I ask with confidence,
whether these passages, so far from favouring, do not
completely oppose the notion that Christ Jesus comes
in his proper person, comes in his flesh, his blood, his
bones, his sinews, his nerves, comes in his true body,
every time a priest of the Church of Rome celebrates
the Eucharistic Sacrament ?
But it is only fair that I should present to you the
arguments w^hich Roman Catholics themselves draw
from the word of God in support of this wonderful
theory. I will, then, quote from that great champion of
the Papal faith. Dr. Milner, who in his work, " The
end of the Controversy" p. p. 246, 247, speaks as fol-
lows : —
"Nothing proves more clearly tlje fallacy of the
Calvinists and other dissenters, as likewise of the
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 146
established church men in general, who profess to make
the Scripture, in its plain and literal sense, the sole rule
of their faith, than their denial of the real presence of
Christ in the Sacrament, which is so manifestly and
emphatically expressed therein. He explained and
promised this divine mystery near one of the Paschs,
John vi. 4, previous to his institution of it. He then
multiplied five loaves and two fishes, so as to aff'ord a
superabundant meal to five thousand men, besides
women and children. Mat. xiv. 21 ; which was an evi-
dent sign of the future multiplication of his own body
on the several altars of the world ; after which he took
occasion to speak of this mysteiy, by saying, / am the
living bread, which came down from heaven. If any
man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever : and the
bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the
world. John vi. 51. The sacred text goes on to inform
us of the perplexity of the Jews, from their understanding
Christ's words in their plain and natural sense, which,
he, so far from removing by a different explanation,
confirms by expressing that sense in other terms still
more emphatical. The Jews therefore strove amongst
themselves, saying. How can this man give us his flesh to
eat ? Then Jesus said unto them : Verily, verily, I say
unto you : except ye eat of the flesh of the son of man,
and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. — For my
flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. Ver.
52, 53, 55. Nor was it the multitude alone took
offence at this mystery of a real and corporal reception
of Christ's person, so energetically and repeatedly
expressed by him, but also several of his own beloved
146 LECTURE IV.
disciples, whom certainly he would not have permitted
to desert him to their own destruction, if he could have
removed their difficulty by barely telling them that
they were only to receive him by faith, and to take
bread and wine in remembrance of him. Yet this
merciful Saviour permitted them to go their ways, and
he contented himself with asking the apostles if they
would also leave him. They were as incapable of
comprehending the mysteiy as the others were, but
they were assured that Christ is ever to be credited
upon his word, and accordingly they made that
generous act of faith, which every true Christian will
also make, who seriously and devoutly considers the
sacred text before us. Many therefore of his disciples^
when they had heard this, said : This is a hard saying :
who can hear it? From that time many of his disciples
went bach and walked no more with him. Then Jesus
said unto the twelve : will ye also go away ? Then
Simon Peter answered him : Lord, to whom shall we go ?
thou hast the words of eternal life. Ver. 60, 66, 67, 68.
The Apostles thus instructed by Christ's express and
repeated declaration, as to the nature of this sacrament,
when he promised it to them, were prepared for the
sublime simplicity of his words in instituting it. For
whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed
it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said :
take ye and eat : THIS IS MY BODY. And taking
the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying :
drink ye all of this; FOR TfflS IS MY BLOOD
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHICH SHALL
BE SHED FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN 147
OF SINS. Mat. xxvi. 26, 27, 28. This account of
St. Matthew is repeated by St. Mark, xiv. 22, 23, 24,
aiid, nearly word for word, by St. Luke, xxii. 19, 20,
and St. Paul, 1. Cor. xi. 23, 24, 25 ; whp adds : There-
fore whoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of
the Lord unworthily/, shall be guilty of the body and of
the blood of the Lord — and eateth and drinketh judg-
ment (the Protestant Bible says damnation) to himself."
1 Cor. xi. 27, 29.
On this passage I remark :
Istly. That the author has given us no proof what-
ever that the multiplied loaves and fishes with which
Jesus Christ fed the five thousand men were " an
evident sign of the multiplication of His own body on
the several altars of the world." Who says so ? Does
the Saviour ? No ! Do the Apostles ? No ! You cannot
produce ev^n the shadow of an evidence that such was
the signification of this miracle.
2ndly. That it is mere assumption on the part of
Dr. Milner to assert that the words of Christ in John
John vi., 52, &c., refer to the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Again we ask who says so ? Do the Fathers ? No ? Do
ihe Doctors of the Church ? No ! They saw plainly
that the argument proves too much, for it proves that
no one who does not eat the real flesh and drink the
real blood of the Son of God in the sacrifice of the
Mass, can have life. I rather interpret the words with
St. Augustine, who, as we shall immediately see inter-
preted them spiritually. I interpret them by the 35th
verse.
" Jesus said to them : I. am the bread of life, he that
148 LECTURE IV.
corneth to me shall not hunger ; and he that helieveth in
me shall never thirst." How natural it was that now,
having fed the multitude, he should speak of himself
under the figure of manna, heavenly manna, of bread,
living bread ; just as he spoke of himself under the
similitude of water in his conversation at Jacob's well
with the Samaritan woman ! Are we then, on a merely
gratuitous assumption, to receive a dogma which Roman
Catholics themselves acknowledge to be contrary both
to our sensations and to our reason ? But what will
my friends who hold this doctrine say to the statement
which I shall now make and prove, that Dr. Milner in
this interpretation is opposed by some of the most
learned and illustrious writers and ecclesiastics of his
own communion ? Thomas Aquinas expressly declares
that the words mean " spiritual eating," \manducationem
spiritualeni]. Cardinal Cajetan declares that the literal
sense of this passage would destroy the sufficiency of
baptism, and such an interpretation therefore is incon-
sistent with the Christian faith. Labbeas in the twentieth
vol. of his works, printed at Venice in 1728, declares
that the Constantine, Basilian and Trentine Fathers, as
explained by Mauricius, Ragusa and Villetan, reject the
literal, and acccept the spiritual interpretation. " Our
Lord," say they, " in John's Gospel, points to spiritual
participation in his flesh and blood by faith, of which
all who believe partake in baptism, and without which
neither child nor adult can obtain salvation." I ask
then, which of these Catholic expositors am I to follow ?
Dr. Milner or the sainted Dr. Aquinas, and Cardinal
Cajetan ? Again, if this passage refers to the Lord's
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIST. 149
Supper as Dr. Milner here asserts, how is it that the
literal words of Christ are not carried out by the prac-
tice of the Roman Catholic Church? Christ says,
" except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink
His blood, ye have no life in you." Do the laity of the
Catholic Church drinh Christ's blood ? You reply, the
blood is contained in the host ; but I keep you to the
literal sense, and I aflBrm that the blood is not drank
in the host ; yet, saith Christ, " except ye drink ye have
no life in you."
3rdly. In compliance with Dr. Milner's invitation,
we shall now examine those passages in the New Testa-
ment which speak of the direct institution by the Lord
Jesus Christ of this holy sacrament. He bids us turn
to the Gospel by St. Matthew : I do so, and in chapter
xxvi, verse 26, 27, 28, 1 read as follows : —
" And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread,
and blessed, and broke ; and gave to his disciples, and
said : Take ye, and eat : This is my body.
" And taking the chalice he gave thanks : and gave
to them, saying : Drink ye all of this.
" For this is my blood of the New Testament which
shall be shed for many unto remission of sins."
Mark! the Saviour said, "This is my blood which
shall be shed for many." Then was it not yet shed, and
therefore was not in the chalice. Observe also, that after
the words of consecration were pronounced, he said, " I
will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine
until that day when I shall drink it with you new in
the kingdom of my Father." Could the Divine Teacher
have expressed himself thus, if the transubstantial theory
150 LECTURE IV.
were orthodox and evangelical? This account is
repeated by St. Mark ; and, Dr. M. observes, in the
paragraph which 1 have just read, is repeated by St.
Luke " nearly word for word ;" not quite remember, and
therefore it may be as well to mark the difference. I
will read from the Douay Bible.
" For I say to you, that from this time I will not eat
it, till it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
" And having taken the chalice he gave thanks, and
said : Take, and divide it among you.
" For I say to you, that I will not drink of the fruit
of the vine, till the kingdom of God come.
" And taking bread, he gave thanks, and brake : and
gave to them, saying : This is my body which is given
for you. Do this for a commemoration of me.
" In like manner the chalice also, after he had supped,
saying : This is the chalice, the new Testament in my
blood, which shall be shed for you."
" Do this for a commemoration of me" is an expression
which could scarcely be used if Christ were always
present, corporeally present, in the Eucharist. " In like
manner the chalice also, after he had supped saying,
this is the chalice the New Testament in my blood."
The vulgate says, " Hie est calix novum testamentum in
sanguine meo,^ the more natural rendering of which is
" This chalice is the New Testament, in my blood." Our
Roman Catholic friends abhor the very notion of our
Lord's having spoken here under a trope or figure ; but
will they in this instance accept the literal exposition ?
Will they admit that the chalice is the New Testament ?
And yet the Saviour as expressly declares of the chalice,
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 151
that it is the New Testament, as he does of the bread,
that it is his body. The last Scriptural account which
we have of the institution of this Sacrament is from the
pen ©f the apostle Paul who was favoured from the Lord
with a special revelation on this subject. I will read it
from the Douay Bible —
" For I have received of the Lord that which also I
delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night
in which he was betrayed, took bread, And giving
thanks, broke, and said : Take ye and eat : this is my
body which shall be delivered for you : this do for the
commemoration of me. In hke manner also the chalice,
after he had supped, saying : This chalice is the new
testament in my blood : this do ye, as often as you shall
drink, for the commemoration of me. For as often as
you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you
shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come."
" Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink
the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of
the body and of the blood of the Lord.
" For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth
and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the
body of the Lord."
In this passage the apostle informs us that Jesus
said, " This is my body that shall be delivered," but
the doctrine of transubstantion requires us to believe
that the body of Jesus Christ was then already delivered
in the Sacrament. Again : " This chalice is the New
Testament in my blood" Here, as in St. Luke's gospel,
we are all obliged to regard the words of Jesus as
figurative, for no Catholic believes the chalice to be the
152 LECTURE IV.
New Covenant. But let us proceed, " For as often as
you shall eat tins bread /" This bread ! ! But how
could the apostle call that " bread" which the Roman
Catholic theory declares to be not bread, but the body,
soul and divinity of the blessed Saviour ? " And drink
this chaHce!" This surely is a figure and a bold
figure. Does the Catholic Church act upon the literal
interpretation of this and oblige every priest to drink
the chalice?
These passages are the entire sum of the Scriptural
authority upon which the Roman Catholic Church
builds the romantic fabric of transubstantiation. I ask
you to consider candidly whether they constitute a
sufficient basis for so transcendant an edifice. Do
these proofs suffice to convince you that a miracle is
wrought in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, not above
merely, but contrary to your reason, and to the evidence
of your senses ? You say that we are not to interpret
the words of the institution figuratively, while at the
same time you yourselves are giving or are obliged to
give a figurative explanation to some of them. Figures !
/Is there not a figure in the words " This chalice is the
New Testament or Covenant ?" Is there not a figure in
the words, " As often as ye drink this chalice." Who
then will contend that we have not the right to suppose
that the Saviour spoke as much in a figure when he
said, " this is my body," as he did in the words, " this
chalice is the New Testament?" Why, the Roman
iJatholic Church does not interpret the words, " this is
my body," literally, for they say the bread is not merely
changed into Christ's body, but into his soul, his divinity .
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 153
" This is my body which shall be delivered for you" —
That is, it represents this body which is to hang upon
the tree for your sins, this body of mine which is to be
outstretched upon the cross for your iniquities. " This
is my blood of the New Testament which shall be shed
for many unto remission of sins" — That is, it represents
my precious blood which is to be poured forth upon the
altar of the cross — that blood which, flowing from my
head, my hands, py feet, my side, shall constitute that
fountain which is to be opened for sin and for unclean-
ness.
Let me take you back to survey the circumstances
which attended the institution of the Passover, that
rite, or sacrament rather, which shadowed forth the
Christian Eucharist. I will read then the eleventh
verse of the twelfth chapter of Exodus : —
" And thus you shall eat it : you shall gird your reins,
and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves
in your hands, and you shall eat in haste : for it is the
Pnase (that is the Passage) of the Lord."
Mark the expression — "It is the passage of the
Lord." Was it really so ? By no means. The paschal
lamb was the sign and the pledge to Israel of the
passage of the Lord, or the passover, as we more usually
designate it. " The blood, said the Lord, shall be unto
you for a sign in the houses where you shall be, and I
shall see the blood and shall pass over you." If you
oblige me to interpret literally, I oblige you to interpret
in the same literal manner when the Saviour says, " I
am the vine," "I am the door"; or the apostle says,
" this rock is Christ" : or when the son of God in the
154 LECTURE IV.
Apocalypse said to John, "The seven stars are the
angels of the seven churches," and " The seven candle-
sticks are the seven Churches."
Secondly, — I shall refer you to the authority of the
Fathers in support of the Protestant disclaimer.
I think I have before referred to the value to be set
upon patristric authority, viz. : that it is only worthy of
confidence when it accords with the written word of
God. There is this remarkable difference between the
Scriptures and the Fathers. All the scriptural writers
agree, they never contradict either themselves or each
other, the Fathers do both. But forasmuch as the
Fathers are of some authority in the Roman Catholic
Church, and forasmuch as her ministers are forbidden
to interpret any passage of Scripture except by the
unanimous consent of the Fathers, it is only right that
we should refer to them in any discussion of Roman
Catholic doctrine.
Now I candidly acknowledge that there are passages
in the Fathers which seem to favour the doctrine of
transubstantiation, but there are in the same Fathers
passages which oblige us to regard them either as
using figurative language when they thus speak, or as
being manifestly inconsistent with themselves.
St. Ignatius who was one of the earliest Fathers, -has
the following passage which is much dwelt upon by our
Roman Catholic friends. Speaking of some persons
whom he describes as heretical, he says, " They abstain
from the Eucharist and prayer because they do not
beheve the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour
Jesus Christ, which flesh suffered for our sin, and which
THE ofE SACRIFICE FOR -|}INr .155
flesh in His goodness the Father resusc^'ted?* "jSow
are we to understand this language ? Surely you will
agree with me that the fairest way will be to let Igna-
tius, if he will, interpret his own words. "Well then, in
his epistle to the Trilesians he distinctly disavows, as it
seems to me, all belief in transubstantiation, for he says,
" Establish yourselves, ev Tnarei rj eari fj aap^ /cat sy
ayaiTTj rj E<m to aifxa rov Xpiarov in faith which
is the flesh, and in love which is the blood of Christ.'"
This language could not be employed by any one
who subscribes to those Canons of the Council of
Ti-ent, which we read at the commencement of the
discourse. I could transcribe passages from Tertul-
lian, from Cyprian, from Clement of Alexandria, from
Origen, from Athanasius, from Cyril of Jerusalem,
and from Jerome, showing, that however strongly they
spoke of eating and drinking the flesh and the blood of
the Lord Jesus, they intended to employ their expres-
sions figuratively and spiritually. But there is one
Father who is spoken of by the advocates of transubstan-
tiation as beyond any other " more copious and more
nervous in explaining this doctrine, so that a child
might understand him." I refer to St. Augustin. Now
I hold in my hand the Homilies of this very Father on
the Gospel of St. John. I turn then to the homily on
that part of the 6th chapter of St. John's Gospel, on
which so much reliance is placed by Roman Catholics,
and I find so much in it that favours the spiritual inter-
pretation of our Saviour's words that I am sorry not to
have time to read it to you from beginning to end : —
" This, then," says he, " it is, that He hath taught
156 LECTURE IV. «
and admonislied us in mystical words, that we be in
His body, under Himself the Head in His members,
eating His flesh, not forsaking the unity of Him. How-
beit, they that were present, the more part by not
understanding were offended, for, in hearing these
things they thought but of flesh, which they were
themselves. But the Apostle saith, and saith truly.
To he carnally minded — to understand according to the
flesh — is death. His flesh the Lord giveth us to eat,
and to understand according to the Jlesh is death;
while yet of His flesh he saith, that in it is life eternal.
Therefore even the flesh we must not understand after
the fleshy as in these words following
The words^ saith He, which I have spoken to you are
Spirit and Life: For, we have said, that what the
Lord hath given us to understand in the eating of his
flesh and drinking of His blood is, THAT WE
SHOULD DWELL IN HIM AND HE IN US."
I have referred you to both Scripture and the Fathers
in support of the Protestant disclaimer against the doc-
trine of transubstantiation. Let me now direct your
attention.
Thirdly^ — To the differences of Roman Catholics
themselves respecting this doctrine. It may, perhaps,
surprise you to learn that in the Catholic Church where
all is represented as unity — where " her doctrines, her
liturgies, her practice, are," as Dr. Milner says, " one,"
there are four distinct opinions on the subject of tran-
substantiation.
The first opinion is that of the Dominicans, who at
the Council of Trent differed from the Franciscans on
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 157
this subject. They maintain the Trentine doctrine, that
there is an annihilation of both the bread and the wine
by the consecration of the Priest, and that they are
transubstantiated into our blessed Lord's body and
blood, which body and blood possess all the chief pro-
perties of matter ; e. g. quantity, extension, visibility,
motion, and locality.
The second opinion is that of the Franciscans, who
affirm that the substance of the sacramental elements
remains unchanged, while the substance of our Lord's
body takes its place. To this theological section belong
Aquinas, Bonaventure, Cajetan, Gabriel, Varro, and
many others. They further say, that Jesus in the host
occupies no place, and possesses no locality. He fills
no space. He has no parts, no length, breadth, or
tliickness. He cannot be seen, touched, felt, tasted or
broken.
The third opinion ascribes to the soul of Christ in the
sacrament all the principal powers and operations of
the mind. He possesses in the estimation of those who
hold this opinion the same intellect and sensation upon
the altar as he possesses in heaven. Like another
human being he can see, hear, feel, move, act, and
suffer. Some indeed have assigned the power of singing,
and warming the officiating Priest's hands. This
statement is such a tax upon your credulity that I must
give you the very words, " Christum in sacramento
posse videre, canere, audire, et facere et pati omnia, quce
caeteri homines pati et agere. Ut est in sacramento
posse propriam manum sacerdotum calefacere, et ah ipsa
calefieriy
^
158 LECTURE ir.
A fourth opinion rejects this theory, and stripping
the Son of God in the host of all sensation, asserts that
he lies upon the altar as a dead body, " mortuum modor
He has, «*ay its supporters, spiritual without corporal life.
I have enumerated these differences of opinion to
convince you, that notwithstanding the boasted- unity of
which we daily hear, there exist in the Church of Rome
the most opposite opinions on even the distinctive
doctrines of their faith. I have enumerated them also
for the purpose of showing that there are in the Catholic
community men of independence who reject many of
these dogmas, a noncompliance with which secures for
them ipso facto the solemn anathema of their Church.
Would that they broke off every remaining link that
binds them to doctrines which can be upheld by neither
Scripture nor reason.
Fourthly^ — We protest against the doctrine of tran-
substantiation because it is opposed to both reason and
sense.
There are many things both in nature and in revealed
religion which are above reason, but there is nothing in
either which is opposed to reason. The doctrine of the
tri-unity of Jehovah is often compared by the Roman
Catholics with that of transubstantiation, but it is absurd
to constitute this sacred mystery, which all admit does
not come under the cognizance of our senses, a parallel
to that which is sensible and material. To make it a
perfect parallel you must prove that Protestants believe
the one Jehovah to have been miraculously spoken into
three persons by an officiating minister. What parallel
is there between the sacred mystery of the godhead and
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 159
a iriiracle ? The Catholic Church affirms that by the
enunciation of the words " Hoc est enim corpus meum^^
a great miracle is wrought by her Priests ; that indeed,
bread and wine, which are laid upon the altar in their
natural state, become by this simple utterance on the
part of the Minister, the true body, blood, soul, and
divinity of Jesus Christ. Now all who understand the
nature and office of miracles will at once see that it is
the duty of the Church of Rome to prove this transub-
stantiation. We ask to have it submitted to the
evidence of our natural senses. For you to say it is a
spiritual matter, and is not therefore to be understood
through the medium of the senses, will be vain ; it is
not a spiritual, but a natural doctrine ; it relates to
matter ; to flesh, and blood, and bones, and sinews.
When Christ cured the leper, the miracle was evident
both to the man himself and to his friends, and the
Saviour submitted it to the ordinary sanitary test, —
" Go show thyself to the Priest ;" but when the Priest
of the Church of Rome works this miracle it is not
evident either to himself or to the people for whom it is
wrought. When Christ at the marriage in Cana of
Galilee, transubstantiated water into wine, the miraculous
efiect was manifest to the taste, the smell, the sight of
those in whose presence, and for whose use, the prodigy
was performed ; but when the Priest of the Church of
Rome transubstantiates sacramental wine into the blood
of Christ, it is not evident either to his taste, or smell,
or vision. Where is the evidence, we ask again, that
Christ's true and proper body, his flesh, his blood, his
bones, his nerves, his sinews, lie upon the altars of
160 LECTURE IV.
Roman Catholic Churclies ? If you analyse the host,
will you find the component parts of bones, of flesh, of
nerves, &c. No ! Roman Catholics tell us, " No." They
acknowledge that the taste, the smell, the form, the
color of the bread and the wine, are still on the altar,
but that the bread and wine themselves are not there ;
they have gone never again to return ! We say they
have not gone, and thus throw the burden of proof upon
the advocates of transubstantiation. The bread is there.
Do you ask how I know ? I reply, there is the substance
of the bread, there is the shape of the bread, there is
the color of the bread, there is the smell of the bread,
there is the taste of the bread ; and more than this,
were you to form two wafers precisely similar, and were
the ofiiciating Priest to consecrate one and not the
other, that Priest himself could not detect by examination
which was the wafer, and which the body of Christ.
The wine is there. You ask me how I know ? I reply,
there are the smell, the taste, the color, the every pro-
perty, indeed, of wine. My Roman Catholic friend
says, it is not wine, it is blood. Now let me ask him,
does it contain the properties of blood ? Does blood
contain alcohol ? Will blood intoxicate ? No. But if
I can prove that the intoxicating quality of the wine
remains after consecration, I go far, I think, towards
proving that it is not blood, and that the nature of the
wine has undergone no change. I read in St. Paul's
first Epistle to the Corinthians, that certain members
of that Church when they partook of this holy sacra-
ment became drunken — they drank to excess. Was it
blood then that they drank ? Was it a whole Christ
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 161
that they partook ? Did the body and blood of Christ
throw those Corinthians into a state of intoxication ?
You reject the blasphemy — every Catholic rejects it.
And yet if the canons of the Council of Trent are true,
the conclusion is irresistible that these converts became
inebriate by drinking, in the chalice of the Holy
Sacrament, the blood, the body, the soul, and the
divinity of the blessed and glorious Saviour !
We demand that the miracle be submitted to the
ordinary test. Moses, by the power of God transub-
stantiated the waters of the Nile into blood. How did
the people — how did the lawgiver himself know that
the miracle was wrought ? By the fact that the tran-
substantiated water lost all the properties of water. By
their senses they determined that the smell, the color,
the specific gravity were changed. The Catholic
Priest forbids an investigation of the Corpus Christi.
How different is this from the spirit and condescension
of Him whose servant he professes to be. After the
resurrection of Christ there was found amongst the
eleven disciples, one who was rather more faithless than
the rest. He could not be brought to believe that the
Saviour was risen from the dead. He must have the
evidence of his senses, he must put his fingers into the
print of the Saviour's nails, he must thrust his hand into
His side. How did Jesus meet him at their first inter-
view ? Did he upbraid him ? No. Did he command
him to stand at a distance and to believe at his word ?
No. * How condescendingly did he meet his infirmity !
" Reach hither ,thy finger and behold my hands, reach
hither thy hand and thrust it into my side and be not
162 LECTURE IV.
faithless but believing." We are unbelievers in tli^
doctrine of transubstantiation, we approach a Roman
Catholic altar, and we say to the ministering Priest, we
cannot believe that our blessed Jesus in his body,
his soul, his divinity, rests upon that altar. What is
his reply ? Does he say draw near, and examine for
yourself ? No. He forbids our approach, he frowns
upon our unbelief, he commands us to take the word of
the Church for it. How unlike the son of God ! Why
does he not say, Reach hither your hand, behold the
head, the feet, the bones, the flesh of Jesus ? Reach
hither your fingers, behold here is Christ in his power,
glory, divinity ? My dear friends, do you expect me to
subsciibe, do you yourselves subscribe to the declaration
of Pope Urban, who in the midst of a Roman Council
said, " The hands of the Pontiff are raised to an emi-
nence granted to none of the angels, of creating God,
the creator of all things, and of offering him up for
the salvation of the whole world ?" Do you expect me
to believe what Cardinal Biel said of himself and all
Priests, " He that created me, gave me if it be lawful
to tell, to create himself; Mary once conceived the
Son of God and the Redeemer of the world ; while
the priest daily calls into existence the same deity ?"
Do you expect me to receive the doctrine that I am
to adore that which I eat, and that I am to eat that
which I adore ? Do you expect me to believe, that
the Lord Jesus Christ in the sacrament, body, soul and
divinity, may moulder and become corrupt, may be
carried away and eaten by a mouse ? My reply is, " I
cannot." Where, I ask, in the Word of God, do you
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 163
find authority for all this ? Where is the command
for the adoration of the host ? The apostles, who were
quite as jealous for the glory of Christ as any Roman
Catholic priest, made no provision for the protection of
the host, the body of Christ, after the celebration of
the Eucharist. Your reply is, that "all things are
possible to God." This I deny; God cannot lie —
falsehood, therefore, is impossible to him. He cannot
sin — He cannot act.inconsistently with his own charac-
ter and nature, He cannot perpetrate an absurdity. I
do not deny that the Divine Being can convert bread
into a human body, but the doctrine of transubstan-
tiation requires me to believe that this conversion is
effected in a body, without any change in appearance,
color, shape, solidity, or extension. Then again I am
required to believe that this bread is transubstantiated
into the very same body that is in heaven, and that
remains in heaven ; yea, and that this is repeated ten
thousand times every day; so that one Christ, and
only one, is, at the same time, body, soul, and divinity,
in ten thousand places.
Oh, brethren ! fly with me from these contradictions,
from this materialism, to the pure spirituality of Christ's
gospel. Here, in his own word, here in his own ordi-
nances, let our souls feed upon Christ by faith. He is
the living manna, let us go forth over the gospel plains,
and with the hands of faith let us gather up this divine,
this heavenly food, and let us eat that we may live for
ever ; and while thus employed, let us remember that
he is that living water whose streams make glad the
world's wilderness, and of that water let us freely drink
164 LECTURE IT.
that we may live fo? ever. Here is food for the hungry,
here are streams for the thirsty spirit ! Who art thou
that desirest this divine food ? Blessed art thou ; for
thou shalt be filled ; Blessed art thou, for whoso, saith
Christ " eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
Secondly, — It will not demand a lengthened discus-
sion, or an elaborated argument, to sustain the other part
of the protest which we recorded this evening, that,
namely, which relates to the sacrifice of the mass.
And here, I ask, what is the sacrifice of the mass without
transubstantiation ? It is a gorgeous and magnificent
temple falling into ruins, because it has no foundation*
Had we, however, failed to maintain our protest against
transubstantiation, we should yet have been prepared
to prove that the sacrifice of the mass is unseriptural
and unnecessary.
My first duty will be to present from authorized
standards a brief view of the doctrine of the Roman
Catholic Church on this subject.
Listen then to one or two Canons of the Council of
Trent :—
"If any one shall say that the mass is only a
service of praise and thanksgiving, or a bare commem-
oration of the sacrifice made on the cross, and not a
propitiatory ofFering ; or that it only benefits him who
receives it, and ought not to be ofiered for the living
and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and
other necessities ; let him be accursed."
Attend also to the following sentences from the
Catechism of the Council of Trent : —
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 165
" We confess that the sacrifice of the mass is one
and the same sacrifice with that upon the cross :
the victim is one and the same Christ Jesus, who
offered himself, once only, a bloody sacrifice on the
altar of the cross. The bloody and unbloody victim is
still one and the same, and the oblation of the cross is
daily renewed in the eucharistic sacrifice, in obedience
to the command of our Lord, ' This do for a commem-
oration of me.' The Priest is also the same Christ
our Lord : the Ministers who offer this sacrifice conse-
crate the holy mysteries not in their own but in the
person of Christ. This the words of consecration de-
clare : the Priest does not say, * This is the body of
Christ,' but, ' This is my body ;' and thus invested with
the character of Christ, he changes the substance of
the bread and wine, into the substance of his real body
and blood. That the holy sacrifice of the mass, there-
fore, is not only a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,
or a commemoration of the sacrifice of the cross, but
also a sacrifice of propitiation, by which God is appeased
and rendered propitious, the Pastor will teach as a
dogma defined by the unerring authority of a General
Council of the Church. As often as the commemora-
tion of this victim is celebrated, so often is the work
of our salvation promoted, and the plenteous fruits of
that bloody victim flow in upon us abundantly through
this unbloody sacrifice."
Read with me, lastly, the following extracts from
the Roman Missal concerning the defective and non-
defective offering of the mass :
" Mass may be defective in the Matter to be conse-
h2
166 LECTURE IV.
crated, in the Form to be used, and in the officiating
Minister. For if in any of these, there be any defect,
viz: due matter, form, with intention, and priestly
orders in the celebrator, no sacrament is consecrated.
" If any one shall leave out or change any part of
the form of the consecration of the body and blood,
and in the change of the words, such words do not
signify the same thing, there is no consecration."
First^ — We contend that this doctrine is not sus-
tained by Scripture. The chief ground of the Protestant
disclaimer is to be found in the use of the word pro-
pitiatory. Protestants believe with Catholics, that
sacrifices are daily offered unto God in the church. It
is not to be questioned, that, in this congregation there
have been offered to the Divine Being this evening
sacrifices which he has accepted. One penitent tear,
one contrite sigh is to God an acceptable offering, for
" a broken and a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not
despise." One fervent song of praise, one simple,
unadorned supplication, one fervent breathing after
God, is a sacrifice which he receives. But does the
Word of God lead you to suppose that there is daily
offered in the Christian Church a propitiatory sacrifice
for sins ? It has seemed to me in investigating this
awful subject, that if St. Paul had intended to produce
a simply great and conclusive polemical pamphlet
against the sacrifice of the mass, he could not have
done this more effectually than he has done in his
Epistle to the Hebrews. The very note from the Douay
Bible, on the twelfth verse of the ninth chapter, is a
standing refutation of the practice, and a comnncing
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 167
argument that the language of Paul, taken in its natural
sense, is opposed to it. "By that one sacrifice of
his blood, once offered on the cross, Christ our Lord
paid and exhibited, once for all, the general price and
ransom of all mankind ; which no other priest could
do." A Protestant commentator could not have spoken
more decisively.
Listen again to two other notes which follow : —
" Christ shall never more offer himself in sacrifice, in
that violent, painful and bloody manner, nor can there
be any occasion for it ; since by that one sacrifice upon
the cross, he has furnished the full ransom, redemption,
and remedy for all the sins of the world. But this
hinders not that he may offer himself daily in the
sacred mysteries in an unbloody manner, for the daily
application of that one sacrifice of redemption to our
-souls."
*' To exhaust. That is, to empty or draw out to the
very bottom, by a plentiful and perfect redemption."
One of the passages which Koman Catholics urge
in favour of the sacrifice of the mass is Malachi i, 11.
*' For from the rising of the sun even to the going
down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in
every place there is sacrifice, and th-ere is offered to
jny name a clean oblation: for my name is great
^mong the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts." The
note on this text assei'ts that this clean ohlatim, is
*'the precious body and blood of Christ in the
Eucharistie sacrifice," but it does not state the authority
»pon which this assertion is made. Is it possible, if
the sacrifice of the mass was intended to be a standing
168 LECTURE IV.
institution of the Cliurcli, that there should be found no
direction for its celebration. If going to mass was
designed to be so large and important a part of Christi-
anity as our Eoman Catholic friends seem to think, you
must acknowledge it to be inconceivable that in the
epistle to the Hebrews which treats of the Christian
ritual, there should be no account or explanation of it
given, and no rules respecting it laid down, for the
guidance of Christian Ministers. Do the Sacred
Scriptures sanction, in any way, the sacrifice of the
mass ? Christ certainly made no elevation of the host ;
and the apostles did not worship the sacrament. In
apostolic times there were none of the constituents of a
sacrifice in the celebration of the Lord's Supper.
Cardinal Bellarmine freely confesses all this, for he
says, " The oblation which follows consecration belongs
to the integrity of the sacrament and not to its essence :
this," he continues, " is proved by our Lord not having
made any oblation, nor even the apostles in the begin-
ning, as we have demonstrated from Gregory." The
Jesuit, Salmeron, in the first book of his commentaries
on St. Paul's epistles gives an enumeration of certain
unwritten traditions in which he mentions the ecclesias-
tical hierarchy, i. e. the Papal Monarchy, the mass, the
mode of sacrifice, and the tradition that Jesus offered a
sacrifice in bread and wine. Cardinal Baronius makes
a similar confession. We do not wonder that these
learned men abandoned the plea for the mass on Scrip-
tural authority. Paul in his epistle to the Romans
says, " For in that he died to sin, he died once." In
that to the Hebrews, "In the which will we are
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 169
sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ
ONCE ;" " For by one oblation he hath perfected for
ever them that are sanctified." Then where is the
necessity for the perpetration of this sacrifice. The
Catholic Church says that the unbloody sacrifice of the
mass is a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the dead
and living ; now, I say, that it therefore lacks the main
characteristic of a propitiatory sacrifice, for the apostle
Paul, as I read in the Douay Bible, says in this very
chapter, that " without shedding of blood there is no
remission."
Secondly, — This doctrine and practice are not sus-
tained by remote antiquity. I give you one passage
from Justin Martyr's celebrated description of a Sab-
bath service in a Christian congregation contained
in his apology for Christians. It may be found in the
second volume of hiswork§, Paris edition, page 97.
" Then the bread and the cup of the water and of the
wine mixed with it, is offered to the president of the
brethren, and he, taking it, offers up praise and glory
to the Father of all, in the name of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and at some length he perfonns a thanks-
giving, for having been honoured with these things by
him. When he has finished the prayers and the thanks-
giving, all the people present, joyfully cry out. Amen.
Amen signifies, in the Hebrew tongue, so be it. But
the president having returned thanks, and all the people
having joyfully cried out, those who are called by us
deacons, give to each of those who are present, a portion
of the bread and the wine and the water, over which a
thanksgiving has been perfonned, and they carry away
ITO LECTURE IV.
some for those who are not present. And this food
is called by us the Eucharist, of which no one is
permitted to partake but he who believes that the things
taught to us are true, and who has been washed for the
remission of sins and for regeneration, and who lives as
Christ has enjoined. For we do not receive these things
as common bread, or common drink ; but as the incar-
nate Jesus became, by the Word of God, Christ our
Saviour, and received flesh and blood for our salvation,
so also we have been taught that the food which is
made the Eucharist by the prayer, according to his
word, by which our flesh and blood are nourished, is
both the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus. For
the apostles, in the histories which they have written,
which are called gospels, have thus recorded that Jesus
commanded them ; that he taking bread and giving
thanks, said, ' Do this in remembrance of me, this is
my body ;' and that he, in like manner, taking the cup
and giving thanks, said, ' This is my blood.' And, in
all that we offer, we bless the Maker of all things by his
Son Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit. And on the
day that is called Sunday, there is an assembly in the
same place, of those who dwell in towns or in the
country, and the histories of the apostles and the writ-
ings of the prophets are read, whilst the time permits ;
then, the reader ceasing, the president verbally admon-
ishes and exhorts to the imitation of those good things.
Then we all rise in common and offer prayers, and, as
we have already said, when we have finished our prayers,
bread and wine and water are offered, and the president,
in like manner, offers prayers and thanksgivings as far
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. lYl
as it is in his power to do so, and the people joyfully
cry out, saying, Amen. And the distribution and
communication is to each of those who have returned
thanks, and it is sent by the deacons to those who are
not present. Those who are rich and willing,
each according to his own pleasure contributes what he
pleases, and what is thus collected is put away by the
president, and he assists the orphans, and widows, and
those who, through sickness, or any other cause, are
destitute, and also those who are in bondage, and those
who are strangers journeying, and in short, he aids all
those who are in want. But we all meet in common on
Sunday, because it is the first day in the which God,
who made the
world ; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day
arose from the dead."
Roman Catholics sometimes taunt us with the
assertion that there is no true Church amongst us,
because we have no altar, no priest, no sacrifice. No
altar ! We have an altar whose foundations are the
glorious attributes of God, cemented together by divine
love, whose superstructure is the world ; an altar around
which shines the radiant glory of the everlasting
covenant ! No altar ! We have an altar which is
stained with the precious blood of God's eternal Son,
and upon which has descended the approving fire of
heaven. We have an altar. Sometimes we find it
on the cragged rock, at others in the groves of the
mantled forest; sometimes on the silent beach, at
others on the top of the ocean wave ; it may not be
adorned with the gold and the silver, the tapestry and
112 LECTURE IV.
the paintings, the statues and the candelabra which deck
the altars of our Roman Catholic friends ; but all nature
adorns our altar ; the glorious firmament is its over-hang-
ing canopy, and the candles which have been lit around
it are those orbs of light which illumine day and night.
Wherever the true Christian goes he finds an altar.
Sometimes he is like Abraham, who found an altar in
the vale of Mamre ; or like Isaac, whose evening altar
were the fields in which he prayed. Sometimes he is
like Jacob whose pillow of stone became his altar ; or
like David, when he fled from Saul and found an altar
in the caves of the wilderness ; or like Solomon, who
erected his altar in a magnificent edifice. With Paul
the Christian sometimes finds his altar on the wreck of
a ship, or with Brainerd, in the forests of America
within sound of the Indian war whoop, or with Judson,
on Eastern sands and plains. The Christian may be
on the mountain top, or in the busy town ; he may be
on the lonely island, or in the peopled city ; he may
find himself gliding down the flowing river, or tossed
upon the rolling billow, — " 'Tis nought to him," he has
an altar,
" Since God is ever present, ever felt,
" In the dark waste as in the city full :
*• And where He vital breathes there must be joy."
Sometimes we are told that we have no priest. No
priest, while Jesus lives in heaven ! Jesus who once for all
hath offered himself without spot to God, for our sins
and for our uncleanness ! Jesus who hath passed within
the glorious vail of the temple of the Universe not
without blood, Jesus who hath presented himself before
THE ONE SACRIFICE FOR SIN. 1*73
the throne of the Eternal with a propitiatory sacrifice !
No priest I While He is there who is touched with
the feeling of our infirmities — He the Son of God who
is able to succour them that are tempted — He who ever
liveth to make intercession for us — He who is able to
save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by
him. No priest ! While he stands before the throne of
the Eternal with the golden censer in his hand sanction-
ing by his presence the access of every sinner who
Cometh to that throne with a' humble and contrite
spirit ! " But you have no visible priest." No visible
priest ! While every saint in the company of Christ's
faithful ones belongs to the Royal Priesthood of the
Christian dispensation. No visible priest! While the voice
of ^every saint of God is privileged to exclaim, " unto
Him that hath loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto
God, and his Father be glory and dominion for ever and
ever !" God's people are the priests of the Christian
temple, and wherever you find a Christian, you find a
priest of the most High God.
And who are they that affirm, "You have no
sacrifice !" The Lamb of God is our sacrifice ; perfect,
spotless, precious, infinite ; once offered — " once for
ALL " — offered for me, for you, for every child of the
family of Adam. No sacrifice ! —
" Jesus, my Great High- Priest,
Offer'd his blood and died ;
My guilty conscience seeks
No sacrifice beside ;
His powerful blood did once atone,
And now it pleads before the throne. '
1*74 LECTURE IV.
No sacrifice ! Througli him, wherever there is a broken
and a contrite spirit, there is a sacrifice which God doth
not despise. No sacrifice ! Wherever there is a humble,
grateful Christian ready to present his body upon the altar
of consecration, there is a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God. No sacrifice ! So long as a Christian believer
is to be found with a prayer to breathe to heaven, or a
note of praise to waft to the throne of Eternal Majesty,
there is an offering, a sacrifice, which ascends as incense,
and as a savour of a sweet smell before the Heavenly
altar. "We have an altar : We have a priesthood : We
have sacrifices. O come to this altar of Christianity,
the altar of the cross; come to the Holy of Holies
through the sacrifice of God's Divine Lamb ; come with
all your guilt and all your pollution, remembering that
you have a High Priest who advocates your cause, and
who is both able and willing to " save unto the
tJTTBEMOST ALL WHO COME UNTO GoD BY HiM."
NOTE TO LECTURE IV.
" De defectibua Panis.
1st. " If the bread be not of wheat, or if of wheat, it be mixed
with such quantity of other grain, that it doth not remain
wheaten bread ; or if it be in any way corrupted, it doth not
make a sacrament.
2d. " If it be made with rose or other distilled water, it is
doubtful if it make a sacrament.
8d. " If it begin to corrupt but is not corrupted : also, if it be
not unleavened according to the custom of the Latin church, it
makes a sacrament ; but the priest sins grievously."
" De defectibus Vini.
" If the wine be quite sour, or putrid, or be made of bitter or
unripe grapes : or if so much water be mixed with it, as spoils
the wine, no sacrament is made.
•• If after the consecration of the body, or even of the wine,
the defect of either kind be discovered, one being consecrated ;
then, if the matter which should be placed cannot be had, to
avoid scandal, he must proceed."
" De defectibus Ministri.
" The defects on the part of the minister, may occur in these
things required in him, these are first and especially intention^
after that, disposition of soul, of body, of vestments, and dispo-
sition in the service itself, as to those matters which can occur
in it.
" If any one intend not to consecrate, but to counterfeit ; also^
if any wafers remain forgotten on the altar, or if any part of
the wine, or any wafer lie hidden, when he did not intend to
consecrate but what he saw ; also, if he shall have before him
eleven \^afer8 and intended to consecrate but ten only, not
176 NOTE.
determining •what ten he meant, in all these cases there is no
consecration, because intention is required.
" Should the consecrated host disappear, either by accident,
or by wind, or miracle, or be devoured by some animal, and
cannot be found ; then let another be consecrated.
" If after consecration, a gnat, a spider, or any such thing fall
into the chalice, let the priest swallow it with the blood, if he
can ; but if he fear danger and have a loathing, let him take it
out, and wash it with wine, and when mass is ended, burn it,
and cast it and the washing into holy ground.
" If poison fall into the chalice, or what might cause vomiting,
let the consecrated wine be put into another cup, and other
wine with water be again placed to be consecrated, and when
mass is finished, let the blood be poured on linen cloth, or tow,
remain till it be dry, and then be burned, and the ashes be cast
into holy ground.
" If the host be poisoned, let another be consecrated and used,
and that, be kept in a tabernacle, or a separate place until it be
coiTupted, and after that be thrown into holy ground.
"If in winter the blood be frozen in the cup, put warm
clothes about the cup ; if that will not do, let it be put into
boiling water near the altar, till it be melted, taking care it
does not get into the cup.
" If any of the blood of Christ fall on the ground by negli-
gence, it must be licked up with the tongue, the place be suffi-
ciently scraped, and the scrapings burned ; but the ashes must
be buried in holy ground."
LECTURE V.
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN.
It is hardly necessary for me to state, to my hearers,
unless, indeed, it be by way of constructing a link
which shall complete the chain of argument and obser-
vation now to be employed, that man, in his primeval
state, was one with Deity. God dwelt in him, and he
in God. Man took the highest delight in his Creator,
and God in his creature. All was peace, harmony and
love. No medium of access to God was necessary for
man, because the intercourse and the fellowship were
immediate and absolute. To how great an eminence,
to how divine a height, was our nature raised, in the
person of Adam !
Who needs to be told that from this lofty height,
man fell ? Sin separated between him and God. Those
who had been so intimately united, were now severed
and placed at an infinite distance from each other;
those who had been friends, were now enemies. All
intercourse with the Divine Being was cut off, and
man found himself at enmity against an all-powerful
and infinitely holy God. Had he endeavoured to find
his way back again to God, every attempt which he
could have made must have failed : for between him and
Divinity there was fixed an impassable abyss, with no
way around it, and no way over it. In the distance, but
1*78 LECTtTRE V*
within his trembling view, there was seen the lightningfsi
flash, reminding him that God is a consuming fire ; and
from that distance, there fell upon his trembling ears,
the thunders of Almighty vengeance, a revelation of
His wrath from heaven against all ungodliness. A
flaming sword guarding the Paradise of the Divine
presence, warned man that any attempt to enter it,
would be visited with instant judgment.
By what device could this breach be healed ? What
power could erect over this fearful gulph of separation
a sufiicient bridge — a bridge over which man might
walk in safety to his God? What skill and energy
could repair the fracture which sin had produced ?
Who could discover a medium of access for the sinner
to his God? Who could penetrate the depths of the
divine mind to ascertain whether there existed in those
depths, the pure gem of redeeming mercy ! What
advocate could be found to plead before the offended
majesty of heaven, the cause of rebel man ?
Wonder heavens, and be astonished O earth ! The
skill, the power, the compassion are all at hand, for
they are all in God. Yea, the way is already opened ;
the bridge has been erected by our Divine Architect ;
the scheme of reconciliation is completed ; the breach
is healed ; the serpent's head is bruised ; the eternal
Word, the Son of God, Jehovah's fellow, appears, arrays
himself in our flesh, assumes our entire humanity,
places himself in contact with the vengeance-charged
cloud, receives its fearful shock, stands our Advocate
before the throne of Heaven, and from that throne
exclaims to us who seek after God, if haply we may
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 1*79
find Him, " I am the way, the truth, and the life,
no man cometh to tlie Father but by me."
The question which we have to discuss and settle this
evening, is not whether there is any necessity for the
services of a mediator between God and men ; this is a
point upon which both CathoHcs and Protestants are
agreed. What we have to determine is, whether of
these two is the more scriptural — the doctrine of the
Reformation, that there is but one mediator, or the
practice of the Church of Rome, that there are many
mediators. The passage of Scripture which I have
selected as a text may be found in the Apostle Paul's
first epistle to Timothy, the second chapter at the fifth
verse. It is thus rendered in the Douay Bible : —
"There is one God and one mediator of God
AND MEN, THE MAN ChRIST JeSUS."
If we take a comprehensive view of the doctrine of
Chrisfs mediation, we shall find that it covers the whole
history of man from the period of his fall.
For as soon as man sinned, as we have already seen,
immediate intercourse between him and God was inter-
rupted. The scheme devised and proposed in the mind
of Deity was, that thenceforward man should be
governed and treated with, through the intei-vention of
a mediator. In harmony with all the arrangements, I
mean ordinary arrangements, of both the works and
the providence of God, this scheme was gradually
developed. It did not burst suddenly upon the world
in all the splendours of its light and glory ; it rather
followed that beautiful ordination of the Creator which '
we daily behold in the gradual development of the
180 LECTURE V.
morning light. But that Jesus Christ was mediator
between God and men equally in the days of Abel and
of Caiaphas the High Priest, equally in the days of
Moses and of Peter and Paul, is a doctrine which is
admitted by the most celebrated divines both Catholic
and Protestant. We all detect the doctrine of Christ's
mediation in the sacrifice of Abel, and in the offering
of Abraham; we recognize our glorious Mediator in
the Angel of the Covenant, and in the Captain of the
Lord's Host ; we see the doctrine of mediation shadow-
ed forth in the appointment of the High Priest, in the
daily offering of sacrifices, and in the yearly atonement ;
we recognize Christ crucified in the sin offerings of
the priests, in the predictions of the prophets, and in
the praises of the Psalms. For this Old-Testament
recognition of Christ om* Mediator, we have his own
authority. The Evangelist Luke describes a conversa-
tion which Jesus had with his disciples, in the following
words : — " These are the words which I spake unto you
while I was yet with you, that all things might be ful-
filled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in
the prophets and in the psalms concerning me."
A comprehensive view of Chrisfs mediatorship em-
braces also his mediatorial qualifications.
Mediator is a word that is transferred from the Latin
to the English language without any variation ; it is a
translation of the Greek word jnEffirrjQ which means a
middle person — one who comes between two adverse
parties and reconciles them. Whatever lower meaning
may be given to the word as applied by St. Paul to
Moses, it is clear that whenever it is applied in the New
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 181
Testament to Jesus Christ, it includes the doctrine of
reconciliation by atonement. Hence in the verse
immediately following our text it is said : — " Who gave
himself a redemption for all." The qualifications of the
Lord Jesus Christ to interpose between God and men,
are seen —
First, In his possessing in his own person the nature
of each of the estranged parties. To employ the
language of the Nicene Creed, he was " true God of
true God," . and yet, not less truly, " was incarnate by
the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made
man." These qualifications are seen
Secondly, In his possession, as an infinite Being
untainted by sin, of an infinite merit. And
Thirdly, In his offering himself as a ransom, an
atonement, a satisfaction, for the sin, and consequent
demerit of the offending party.
A comprehensive view of ChrisCs mediation embraces
also his every ofice and his entire work.
" All the offices of Christ arise out of his gracious
appointment as Mediator between the offended God and
offending man. He is the Prophet who came to
teach us the extent and danger of our offences, and the
means by which they may be remitted. He is the
Great High Priest of our profession, who having
offered himself without spot to God has entered the
holiest to make intercession for us, and to present our
prayers and services to God, securing to them acceptance
through his own merit. He is the King ruling over
the whole earth for the maintenance and establishment,
the defence and enlargment of his Church, and the
182 LECTURE V.
punishment of those who reject his authority."* He
teaches us as our Mediator, he atones for us as our
Mediator, he intercedes for us as our Mediator, he
rules over us and defends us as our Mediator. His
entire work as the God-man is mediatorial. The
Gospel is mediatorial, the Christian dispensation or
covenant is mediatorial ; all that we in this state of
being have to do with God, and all that God has to do
with us is mediatorial.
A comprehensive view of Chris fs mediation compre-
hends his absolute unity as Mediator.
He stands forth in the Gospel single and alone ;
needing no helper, rejecting all aid, in the peculiar
functions of his office. It is as certainly a scriptural
truth that there is but one mediator, as it is that there
is but one God : the two doctrines seem to be cognate,
or rather the unity of Christ as mediator arises out of
the doctrine, " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one
Lord." Adapting the truth contained in the text to
the phraseology employed by Moses, we may say, " Hear
ye children of our Christian Israel, the Lord Jesus, our
Mediator, is one Mediator."
There is not, probably, an intelligent Roman Catholic
present who would be disposed to question the scriptural
accuracy and the general orthodoxy of these views.
And, we will not be backward to admit that the written
teaching of the Church of Rome on these subjects is
generally correct. The divinity of Christ, his infinite
merit, the satisfaction which he paid down for the sins
of the whole world, the reconciliation which he effected
* Farrar's Biblical Dictionary sub voce.
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 183
between God and sinners, and the unity of the Divine
Mediator, are exhibited with more or less clearness in
the authorised canons and liturgies of that Church.
Candour, however, obliges us to state that these gems
of original gospel truth are so imprisoned within modern
incrustations as not to be easily detected. It is only by
taking the hammer of God's word that we reach them
at all. For instance, I find in the " Key of Heaven," a
devotional work recommended by Archbishop Murray,
at page iTl, the following sentiments : —
" And that my petition may find acceptance, I appeal
to thee, sweet Jesus, Son of the living God, the Advocate
and Mediator betwixt us sinners and thy eternal Father,
humbly beseeching thee, through that infinite charity
which brought thee from heaven to the ignominy of the
cross, and thy precious blood spilt thereon, that I may
now partake of the benefit of thy sufferings, and be
cleansed from all my offences : that by thy assistance I
may sincerely repent and amend of all my failings:
that dying to myself and the world, I may live only to
thee, and never suffer either passion or pleasure to divide
me from thee any more."
I find also the following sentence in the Catechism of
the Council of Trent : — " True there is but one Mediator,
Christ the Lord, who alone has reconciled us through
his blood ; and who having accomplished our redemp-
tion, and having once entered into the holy of holies,
ceases not to intercede for us." Nothing could be more
scriptural than this, but then there are added these
words, " it by no means follows that it is therefore
unlawful to have recourse to the intercession of saints."
184 LECTURE V,
I could in this way pick out from authorised Roman
Catholic works numberless sentences, phrases and
expressions, which clearly acknowledge the New Testa-
ment doctrine of Christ's mediation. I shall, however,
content myself with one other taken from page 43 of
Bishop Butler's Catechism : —
" Q. What conditions are necessary to render our
prayers acceptable ?
" A. We must always offer them with an humble and
contrite heart ; with fervour and perseverance ; with
confidence in God's goodness ; with resignation to his
will, and in the name of Jesus Christ."
Now, what Protestants remonstrate against is, the
want of unity and consistency which pervades the
teaching of the Church of Rome on this subject. In
some authorised utterances of the Church, there is
an avowal that only one mediator exists between God
and men ; but in other utterances of equal authority,
saints, angels, and men are invested with mediatorial
attributes, and clothed with mediatorial prerogatives.
It appears to me that the protest of the Reformed
Churches, that protest, I mean, which relates to the
subject now under consideration, may be thus ex-
" We protest against the Church of Rome be-
cause SHE practically SUBSTITUTES OTHER MEDIATORS
FOR Jesus Christ, and avowedly recognizes the
EXISTENCE OF SECONDARY MEDIATION IN THE INVISIBLE
WORLD.
You will "say, perhaps, that this protest involves a
grave charge against our Roman Catholic brethren ;
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 185
and you will ask, " Does the Church of Rome really
usurp the mediatorial position of the Son of God, by
placing in his stead others than he?" Listen with
attention for a few minutes, and you will see how easily
the charge can be sustained out of the writings and the
mouths of Catholics themselves.
Observe, however, that we do not charge the Church
of Rome with investing men, or saints, or angels, with
all the attributes and powers of Christ as mediator ;
but we do charge her with investing them with some
of these powers — powei*s which distinctively and solely
attach to Him as the God-man. Two instances out of
many shall now be given : Forgiveness of sins, and
Intercession with God.
I. Forgiveness of Sins.
I open the Douay Bible on the fifth chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles, and I find at the thirty-first verse,
the following passage : " Him hatli God exalted with
his right hand, to be Prince and Saviour, to give repent-
ance to Israel and remission of sins." Here, as I con-
ceive, we have a distinct announcement, that the divine
prerogative of pardoning sin is transferred to Christ, and
to him alone, as the mediator of the New Testament ;
and that to invest in any other being, man, saint or angel,
the powers of this prerogative, is to substitute another
mediator in the place of Christ, the only mediator.
Our Roman Catholic friends have done this ; their
doctrine, and their practice too, place the priests of their
Church, instead of Jesus Christ, between the people and
their God. We are quite .aware that ministers of the
186 LECTURE V.
gospel sustain the position of ambassadors for Christ, we
do not forget that Paul the Apostle represents them as
standing in the stead of Christ ; but for what purpose are
they invested with the high dignity of Christ's ambas-
sadors ? Why do they stand in Christ's stead ? For the sole
purpose of " beseeching" sinners to be " reconciled to
God." But in the Church of Rome the Priest absolves
the sinner, and does this not as a minister but as a
judge; as God: — for in the fourteenth Session of the
Council of Trent, the following Canon was passed :
" Whoever shall affirm that the Priest's sacramental
absolution is not a judicial act, but only a ministry to
pronounce and declare that the sins of the party con-
fessing are forgiven, so that he believes himself to be
absolved even though the Priest should not absolve
seriously, but in jest ; or shall affirm that the confession
of the penitent is not necessary in order to obtain absolu-
tion from the Priest ; let him be accursed." " The
Council farther teaches, that even those Priests who are
living in mortal sin exercise the function of forgiving
sins, as the Ministers of Christ, by the power of the
Holy Spirit conferred upon them in ordination ; and
that those who contend that wicked Priests have not
this power hold very erroneous sentiments. Whoever
shall affirm that Priests li\'ing in mortal sin have not
the power of binding and loosing, or that Priests are
not the only Ministers of absolution, &c. ; let him be
accursed." The Catechism of the Council also declares :
" Our sins are forgiven us by the absolution of the
Priest. The voice of the Priest, who is legitimately
constituted a Minister for the remission of sins, is to be
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 187
heard as tiiat of Christ himself, who said to the lame
man, * Son, be of good cheer ; thy sins are forgiven
thee,' " " The absolution of the Priest, which is ex-
pressed in words, seals the remission of sins, which it
accomplishes in the soul." " Unlike the authority
given to the Priests of the old law, to declare the leper
cleansed from his leprosy, the power with which the
Priests of the new law are invested is not simply to
declare that sins are forgiven, but, as the Ministers
of God, really to absolve from sin ; a power which God
himself, the author and source of grace and justification,
exercises through their ministry."
I put it to any ordinary understanding, whether this
teaching does not invest man, aye, even a wicked man,
with the prerogative of om* divine mediator, that of for-
giving sins? The Scribes and the Pharisees could
have taught our friends that it is no less than blasphemy
for any creature to assume this power. " Who can
forgive sins but God only ? " And yet the Catechism
of the Council of Trent declares, that " the voice of the
Priest is to be heard as the voice of Christ himself, who
said to the lame man, " Son, be of good cheer ; thy
sins are forgiven thee!" We protest against these
assumptions ; they rob God of his honor, they denude
Christ of his prerogative. But I need not longer dwell
upon this branch of our subject, because the next
lecture will embrace the whole subject of a sinner's
pardon, or justification before God.
188 lEcnrEE y.
II. IliTTERCESSION WITH GoD IN THE INVISIBLE WORLD
IS ANOTHER OF THOSE MEDIATORIAL PREROGATIVES
WHICH THE Church of Eome has transferred
FROM Christ, to both saints and angels.
Who, with the New Testament in his hand, can
doubt the behef of the Apostles to have been that
Christ was that only intercessor through whom they
could approach to the Father ? Do you ever find an
apostle presenting a supplication through any oth^r than
Christ, pleading any merits but those of Christ, flying
to any other Refuge, or laying hold of any other Hope
than that of Christ ? Is not the intercession of Christ
indeed represented here as his chief function in that
world whither he has ascended? Already has he borne
our sins in his own body ; already, in our stead, magni-
fied the law and made it honorable; already has he-
completed his atoning work ; by his one offering, as we
saw in the last lecture, he hath perfected for ever them;
that are sanctified ; and now, by virtue of his atoning-
work, by virtue of his sprinkled blood, by virtue of his
infinite merit, he hath passed into the heavens, and ever
liveth in the presence of God to make intercession for
sinners. Tm-n to the epistle to the Hebrews, and you
will find text upon text confiiTnatory of the sole inter-
cessorship of Christ. Sole it must be, for his merits are
the ground of his intercession. He now, saith the
apostle, appears in the presence of God for us. But let
me read to you a few verses from the tenth chapter of
this epistle : " Having therefore, brethren, a confidence
in the entering into the Holies by the blood of Christ :
A new and living way which he hath dedicated for us
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 189
through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and a high
priest over the house of God : let us draw near with a
true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled
from an evil 'conscience, and our bodies washed with
clean water." Here there is pointed out to the Ghurch
of the Hebrews no other way but Christ. Are wo to
draw near ? It is to be through him. Have we, as the
saints of God, an entrance into the presence of the
Holy One ? It is through his blood. Let me read to
you again out of the first Catholic epistle of John ; " But if
any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the just : and he is the propitiation for our
sins : and not for ours only, but also for those of the
whole world." All that we ask of Roman Catholics
is, that they will furnish us from the word of God, with
one instance of prayer and supplication having been
offered to God or to Jesus Christ, through the virgin
Mary, or, indeed, any other saint. Then, will we, with
them, make pilgrimages to the shrines of Mary, and we
will entreat the saints, as they do, to protect us by their
power, and to plead with God for us by virtue of their
merits. But the Scriptures are against them, the prac-
tice of the apostles is against them, the genius of
Christianity is against them ; " Through Christ we have
access by one Spirit unto the Father."
But, I must make good the ground of our protest ;
and in doing this, will remind you of the deep sensation
which you experienced a few evenings ago, when we
furnished so overwhelming a testimony that the Church
of Rome, in her ritual, is guilty of presenting to the
Mother of Christ, the hcmors of supreme adoration.
i2
190 LECTURE V.
The subject which we are now discussing is the inter-
cession, rather than the adoration of saints ; but you
will at once see that each is in a great degree involved
with the other ; so much so in this case, that Protestant
Divines in discussing the two questions generally
associate them under the general title of " The invoca-
tion of saints."
The teaching of the Church of Rome on this sub-
ject, as enunciated by the Council of Trent, is as
follows : —
" The holy Council commands all Bishops and others,
who have the care and charge of teaching, that
according to the practice of the Catholic and Apostolic
Church, received from the first beginning of the
Christian religion, the consent of venerable Fathers, and
the decrees of holy Councils, they labour with diligent
assiduity to instruct the faithful concerning the invoca-
tion and intercession of the saints, the honour due to
relics, and the lawful use of images ; teaching them, that
the saints, who reign together with Christ, ofier their
prayers to God for men ; that it is a good and a useful
thing suppliantly to invoke them, and to flee to their
prayers, help, and assistance ; because of the benefits
bestowed by God through his Son Jesus Christ our
Lord, who is our only Redeemer and Saviour ; and that
those are men of impious sentiments who deny that the
saints, who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven, are to be
invoked ; or who aflSrm that they do not pray for men,
or that to beseech them to pray for us, is idolatry ; or
that it is contrary to the word of God, and opposed to
the honour of Jesus Christ, the one Mediator between
THE ONE MEDIATOIl BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 191
€!od and men ; or that it is foolish to supplicate, verbally
'©r mentally, those who reign in heaven."
The Catechism of the Council says, " The veneration
and invocation of angels and saints, who enjoy the
glory of heaven and the honour which the {Roman)
Catholic Church has always paid, even to the bodies
and ashes of the saints, are not forbidden by the first
commandment. — ^Their intercession, therefore, we invoke,
because they always see the face of God, and are cpn-
^ituted by him the witling advocates of our salvation. —
"To honour the saints who sleep in the Lord, to invoke
their intercession, and to venerate their sacred rdics
and ashes, far from diminishing, tends considerably to
increase, the glory of God ; in proportion as the
Christian's hope is thus animated and fortified, and he
himself excited to the imitation of their virtues. — True,
iGiere is but one Mediator, Christ the Lord, who alone
has reconciled us through his blood ; and who, having
accomplished our redemption, and having once entered
into the holy of holies, ceases not to intercede for us ;
but it by no means follows, that it is therefore unlawful
to have recourse to the intercession of the saints."
The Church of Rome ascribes to the Virgin Mary
and other saints the highest prerogatives of Christ as
intercessor. What are these prerogatives ? I reply in
the words of St. Paul in the Hebrews : " He is able
also to save for ever them that come to God by him :
always living to make intercession for us." As inter-
■cessor, Christ saves, — this is his right, his peculiar right
as our High Priest. Let us see whether this charge can
he sustained.
192 LECTURE V.
My first proof is taken from a work entitled, The
Devotion and Office of the Sacred Heart of our Lord
Jesus Christy including the Devotions to the Sacred
Heart of Mary. Twelfth Hdition, with an Appendix
and the Indult of his Holiness, Pope Pius, in favour
of it. For the use of the Midland District. Keating
and Brown.
" Go then, devout client, to the heart of Jesus, but
LET YOUR WAY BE THROUGH THE HEART OF MarY.
" Come, then, hardened and inveterate sinner, how
great soever your crimes may be, come and behold.
Mary stretches out her hand, opens her breast to
receive you. Though insensible to the great concerns
of your salvation, though unfortunately proof against
the most engaging invitations of the Holy Ghost, fling
yourself at the feet of this powerful advocate,
" Hail Mary, lady and mistress of the world, to whom
all power has been given both in heaven and earth.
" You are the great Mediatrix between God and
Man, obtaining for sinners all they can ask and demand
of the Blessed Trinity."
My second proof is taken from the Key of Heaven,
a work in common use in this city. On page 81, I
read the following prayer : —
" Ever glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of Virgins,
Mother of Mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and
desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which
pierced thy tender heart whilst thine only Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the
cross : through that filial tenderness and pure love he
had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from his cross
THE O'St MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 193
he recommended thee to the care and protection of his
beloved disciple, St. John, take pity, I beseech thee, on
my poverty and necessities ; have compassion on my
anxieties and cares ; assist and comfort me in all my
infirmities and miseries, of what kind soever. Thou art
the Mother of Mercies, the sweet Consolatrix and only
refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate .and
afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable
forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer ; for since in
just punishment of my sins,. I find myself encompassed
by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much
anguish of spirit, whither can I fly for more secure
shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal
protection ?"
My thii'd proof is taken from the " Power of Mary," a
work by St. Liguori.
I told you before who Ligniori was, and reminded yoii
that not only is this work printed by permission of the
superiors, but that the author was himself canonized
some years since for his writings and his devotion to
the Church of which he was a member.
In this book I find the following sentiments : —
Page 217. "St. Bernard did not fear to assert that
' all things are submitted to the Holy Virgin, even God
himself.' "
Page 218. " Mary is all powerful, for, following all
laws, the queen enjoys the same privileges as the king,
and in order that the power may be equal between the
son and the mother, the son who is all powerful has
made his mother all powerful. The one is all powerful
194 LECTURE V.
by nature, the other by grace, i. e. as it was revealed to
St. Bridget, our divine Christ is obliged not to reject
any commands of his mother's."
Page 219. " It is then with great reason, O our
advocate, that St. Bernard and St. Anselm say that it
sufficeth you only to wish a thing to be done ; thus you
can at your will elevate the most unworthy sinner to
the highest degree of sanctity."
Page 217. " Damien says that the ' Virgin when she
presents herself before the altar of reconciliation,
appears less to supplicate than to dictate laws.' "
But the authorized liturgies of the Roman Catholic
Church are full of such sentiments. In " the Garden of
the soul," a work with which every Roman Catholic is
acquainted, I find a Hymn to the Virgin Mary, from
which I take the following stanzas : —
" Hail thou resplendent star which shinest o'er the mala
Blest Mother of our God, and ever virgin queen.
Hail happy gate of bliss greeted by Gabriel's tongue,
Negotiate our peace, and cancel Eva's wrong,
Iioosen the sinners bands, all evil drive away,
Bring light into the blind, and for all graces pray."
St. Germain once prayed as follows : " mother of
God, your defence is immortal ; your intercession is
life ; your protection is security ; if you do not teach us
the way, none can become spiritual, nor adore God in
spirit. O most Holy Virgin, none can have the know-
ledge of God but by you : Mother of God, none can
be saved but by you : O Virgin Mother, none can be
delivered from dangers but by you : O favoured of God,
none can obtain any gift or grace, but by you." St.
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 195
Anselm says, " More present relief is sometimes found
by commemorating the name of Mary, than by calhng
upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ her only son. In
the " Treasure of the soul," page 72, I find the follow-
ing prayer : — " O most pious Mary, Virgin, Mother of
the most Holy God, my most beloved advocate, succour
me in all my necessities both now and ever."
What, I ask, is this, but to hurl the Son of God from
his mediatorial throne, and to place upon it Mary in
his stead ? My dear Roman Catholic friends, I tremble
when I contemplate this usurpation. It were the height
of impiety, it were to rob divinity of its peculiar glory,
to raise her to an equality with Christ. But oh ! to exalt
her ABOVE Christ, to ascribe to her a clemency which
he does not possess, he who came from heaven, and
abandoned his glory, and lived a life of suffering, and
bled upon the cross, — to ascribe to her a willingness to
hear and to save when he withholds mercy, — language
fails to designate, as I feel, the fearful character
of this anti-scriptural delusion. I will not be harsh,
I am in no mood to employ a single unkind
word, but I ask you whether, what I have now advanced
(and I have ten-fold more of proof beside me) is not
suflBcient to warrant me in stating that no more accurate
view of the practice of the Church of Rome in relation
to this whole subject can be found than that which is
presented in a picture which was placed some years ago
in a Roman Catholic Chapel at Wigan, in which God
the Father was painted on one side, and God the Son
on the other side, and the Virgin Mary enthroned
between the two, with a crown upon her head !
196 LEGTURE V.
I can imagine some one saying, this relates to other
countries ; I cannot believe it of this country, or at
least of the intelligent Roman Catholics that live around
us. Now I think tpc shall be disposed to admit that
the Roman Catholic Bishop of Montreal, is a fair
representative of the intelligent portion of the Roman
Catholic community. Let me then bring to your recol-
lection the year 1847, when this city was visited with
that terrible fever-scourge, which cut down so many of
our fellow citizens, and which threatened the destruction
of thousands. The various Churches ojQfered special
supplication to heaven that Providence would avert ths
calamity, and our friends of the Roman Catholic com-
munity did the same. The Bishop issued a pastoral
letter to his flock on the subject, and I shall adduce
this letter as another proof that the Church of Rome
ascribes di^'ine power to the Virgin Mary. The letter
was dated August 13, 1847, and appeared in full, in
sevei'al of the Roman Catholic Journals in Lower
Canada. Though the first extract that I shall transcribe
does not bear precisely upon the subject which we have
now in hand, yet as it bears upon the general contro-
versy, I may be permitted to read it. The Bishop
speaks of eight priests, ten nuns, and several laymen, who
had fallen victims to the disease, chiefly by attending
to the spiritual and temporal necessities of the dying,
and regards them in the light of " propitiatory victims
which the justice of God selected in order to satisfy
itself, being provoked by our crimes ; that it may be
able afterwards to show favour to the gi-eat number of
sinners who amongst us continually abuse his great
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 197
mercies." But that part of the letter to which I direct
yioUr special attention is this : — " Lastly," says the pre-
late, " put yourself under the protection of Mary, and
ask her that she would preserve this city, and all this
diocese, from the dreadful scourge which is threatening
us." Here certainly is a transfer to Mary of the power
and authority committed to Christ as mediator, to whom
ALL power is given in heaven and in earth. But, in
this pastoral, the Bishop sets his flock an example also,
by renewing his own vow and offering prayer to the
Virgin. "O divine Marj^, I humbly prostrate myself
at thy feet, to protest in the sincerity of my soul that I
do not even deserve to bear that glorious name never
having done anything that was worthy of thee."
"Acknowledging, however, that thou art a mother
full of goodness and that thou lovest to do good to
those who are most poor and most wretched, I conjure
thee with all the confidence which the thought of thy
maternal heart inspires, to cause the calamity to cease
which prevails among the clergy and the communities
of this diocese, and to preserve from this awful contagion
all the people confided to my care."
The Bishop then vows to engage all his efforts to
"re-establish the pious pilgrimage of our Lady of
Bonsecours" and reminds the Virgin that she has at
all times loved to be called " the help of Christians."
" The miracles which thou hast been pleased to work in
that ancient Chapel which our Fathers built, attest
that." The Prelate then vows, once more, to repair the
negligence, and promises that there she shall receive the
homage of pious pilgrims. He then announces to her,
198 LECTURE V.
that lie has caused to be made in Paris a statue of
gilded bronze which has been solemnly blessed at the
altar of the Church of " Our Lady of Victories," and
promises to have executed and exhibited in the Bonse-
cours £!hurch a picture representing the Typhus seeking
to enter Montreal, but stayed at the gate by her power-
ful protection. This votive prayer contains also the
following declaration, "Under an inspiration which
evidently came from thee, I have caused to be engraven
on the pedestal (of the statue) this devout invocation
* Ora pro nobis, interveni pro clero^ which at this sad
time is like the cry of our pain and the exclamation of
our heart for thy help in our urgent need."
" In the face of this whole country," continues the
Bishop, " I form this engagement, Thy honor and thy
glory are concerned to grant so solemn a vow. It is
iadead a very favorable opportunity of proving that
one never invokes thee in vain. — holy Mary,
succour thy unfortunate children, help the feeble;
warm those who are lukewarm in God's service;
pray for the people ; employ thyself for the clergy ;
intercede with thy divine Son for the consecrated
communities."
What now becomes of the professions of our Catho-
lic friends that they only seek the assistance of the
prayers of the Virgin and of the other saints ? Is not
the Virgin here approached as though she had in her
own power the safety or destruction of the city ? Is
there not an intimation that no one ever invokes her in
vain ? Is there not a call upon the inhabitants, to place
themselves under the protection of ^lary ? Is this
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 199
seeking merely the assistance of her prayers — to
prostrate yourselves at her feet, to speak of the honour
and glory of her name, of an inspiration which she
breathed into the mind of the Bishop ? What, in
view of the extracts just now read from Roman Catho-
lic liturgies, becomes of the following assertions of Dr.
Milner, in page 228 of his End of Controversy, "In
short, the saints do nothing for us mortals in heaven
but what they did while they were here on earth, and
what all good Christians are bound to do for each
other, viz : they help us by their prayers. The only
difference is, that as the saints in heaven are free from
every stain of sin and imperfection and are confirmed
in grace and glory, so their prayers are far more effica-
cious for obtaining what they^ ask for, than are the
prayers of us imperfect and sinful mortals." I have
read no passage even in Protestant authors which
more thoroughly proves the weakness of the ground
upon which the theory of saint invocation is based, than
this passage of Dr. Milner's which so seeks to dilute the
practice of the Church of Rome, which indeed is so
different from her practice as to convince me that he
felt it impossible to sustain her in it, either by reason or
by Scripture. Now mark the doctrine and apply it to
the Virgin Mary : she does in heaven, what she was
bound to do on earth, she helps people by her prayers ?
Is this all that Roman Catholics ask her to do in
heaven ? " No," is our prompt reply ; and we cannot
allow the Doctor to say, that her assistance in heaven
is more efficacious than it was on earth, because the
reasons which he assigns, does not hold good in her
200 LECTURE V.
case, at least in his opinion, for slie was immacu-
late, free from every stain of sin and imperfection while
on earth, so that by his own theory, he has no right to
expect more efficacy in her interference now, than she
possessed then. And what, with all her perfection,
with all her power and immaculate purity, did she
possess then ? What did she possess when she sought
her son in the crowd without the house in which he
was teaching ? What power did she possess when she
saw her son upon the cross, and when he was obliged
to commit her to the care of the loved disciple ? Did
she ever exert her power in working a miracle ? Did
she take a prominent part in the establishment of
Christianity? The very silence of the Scriptures is
like the voice of thunder reiterating its ponderous
reproofs against that Church which invests with media-
torial, and therefore divine honours, her who was at
most but a favored creature.
An illustration of the confusedness of the theolog-ical
view which these opinions involve is found in the
following prayer which I will now read from "The
supplement to the Manual of Catholic Piety," page 30 :
"We beseech thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the
blessed Virgin Mary, who at the hour of thy passion,
had her most holy soul run through with the sword of
sorrow, may intercede for us with thy clemency, both
now and at the hour of death ; who livest and reignest
with God the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God,
world without end. Amen.
Again: the Roman Catholic Church not content
with ascribing these titles, offices and works to the
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 201
TTiother of Christ, transfers them, if not in equal, yet,
in considerable amount to other saints, and to angels.
1. In the "Key of Heaven," page 348, St. George
takes the place of Christ, in the following prayer : — " O
God, who by the merits and intercession of blessed George
thy ^fartyr, rejoicest the hearts of the faithful, mercifully
grant that what we ask in his name, we may obtain
through the gift of thy grace."
2. In the " Garden of the Soul," pages 435-6, there are
the following supplications to St. Joseph, the husband of
Mary.: — "O glorious descendant of the Kings of
Juda ! inheritor of the virtues of all the Patriarchs !
just and happy St. Joseph ! listen to my prayer. Thou
art ray glorious protector, and shalt ever be, after Jesus
and Mary, the object of my most profound veneration
and tender confidence. Thou art the most hidden,
though the gi'eatest saint, and art peculiarly the patron
of those who serve God with the greatest purity and
fervour. In union with all those who have ever been
most devoted to thee, I now dedicate myself to thy
service ; beseeching thee, for the sake of Jesus Christ,
who vouchsafed to love and obey thee as a son, to
become a father to me ; and to obtain for me the fihal
respect, confidence, and love of a child towards thee.
O powerful advocate of all Christians ! whose interces-
sion, as St. Theresa assures us, has never been found to
fail, deign to intercede for me now, and to implore for
me the particular intention of this No vena. ( Specify it.y^
" Present me, O Great Saint, to the adorable Trinity,
with whom thou hadst so glorious and so intimate a
correspondence. Obtain that I may never efface by
202 LECTURE V.
sin the sacred image according to the likeness oi which
I was created. Beg for me, that my divine Redeemer
would enkindle in my heart, and in all hearts, the fire
of his love, and infuse therein the virtue of his adorable
infancy, his purity, simplicity, obedience, and humility.
Obtain for me likewise a lively devotion to thy Virgin
Spouse, and protect me so powerfully in life and death,
that I may have the happiness of dying as thou didst,
in the friendship of my Creator, and under the imme-
diate protection of the Mother of God."
" Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Spouse of St. Joseph, Fray for us.
St. Joseph, confirmed in grace. Fray for us.
St. Joseph, Guardian of the Word Incarnate,
St. Joseph, Favourite of the King of Heaven,
St. Joseph, ruler of the family of Jesus,
St. Joseph, Spouse of the ever-blessed Virgin,
St. Joseph, nursing father to the Son of God,
St. Joseph, example of humility and obedience,
St. Joseph, mirror of silence and resignation, V «P
St. Joseph, patron of innocence and youth, / g»
St. Joseph, exiled with Christ into Egypt, I j^J
St. Joseph, intercessor for the afflicted,
St. Joseph, advocate of the humble,
St. Joseph, model of every virtue,
St. Joseph, honoured among men,
St. Joseph, union of all Christian perfections,
Lamb of God, &c.
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 203
V. Pray for us, holy St. Joseph.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of
Christ.
3. In the Roman Catholic Missal for the use of the
laity, page 85, we have the following prayer :—" May
this communion, O Lord, cleanse us from sin, and by the
intercession of blessed Thomas a Becket, thy martyr,
make us effectual partakers of this heavenly remedy."
And, in the same service, " Do thou, by the blood of St.
Thomas which he spent for us, grant that we may ascend
whither he has ascended." Could language more
devout, or work more sacred, be applied to our divine
mediator? It is a well-known historical fact, that in
Becket's Church, at Canterbury, there were three shrines,
one for himself, one for Mary, and one for the blessed
Saviour. The oflferings to these shrines, for one year, were
as follows : — the shrine of Jesus Christ £3, that of the
Virgin £63, and that of Becket £832. The next year,
the ofieriDgs to the shrine of Christ were nothing, to
the Virgin's £4, and to Thomas a Becket's £954. I
mention this to show you the tendency of that system
which appropriates to saints, the title and offices of
Christ our only mediator ; it is to set aside Christ, to
rob him of his glory and to give it to another ; it is to
ascribe to creatures, all of whom were sinful, and many
of whom died in sin, the powers and merits and func-
tions of our glorious intercessor.
4. To show the extent to which saint invocation is
carried by Roman Catholics, on the continent of Europe
at least, if not in this country, I may remark that dif-
ferent saints are applied to on different occasions, and
204 LECTURE V.
for different dangers and diseases, e. g., " St. Anthony,
the Abbott, preserves from fire — Anthony, of Padua,
from drowning — St. Barbara, in times of thunder and
war — St. Blass is apphed to for diseases of the throat —
St. Polonia preserves the teeth — St. Domingo cures
fever — St. Eoque cures the plague." Thus in all
diseases, under every pressure of affliction, some saint
is accessible by prayer. Tell me, ye men of reason and
of religion, whoever you are, by whatever community
you are acknowledged, what must be the effect of this
system upon the minds of the illiterate ? What but
to divert them from the knowledge of the only true
God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent ? Tell me
not that Christ retains his proper position in the
economy of grace, because Dr. Milner and other en-
lightened Roman Catholic expositors speak as they do,
so long as the common people, the hundreds and
thousands who flock to your churches, are taught to
offer more prayers to the Virgin and other saints than to
Christ ; tell me not that Christ is regarded by Roman
Catholics as the true and only Mediator, while the
works of Liguori are put into the hands of your devotees,
and while the people are taught to pray to Thomas
a Becket, and recognize his blood as having been spilt
for them. I take up the Missal of the Roman Catholic
Church, and I find that in the course of the service of
the mass, the Priest offers the following prayer : —
" We beseech thee, O Lord, by the merits of thy
saints, whose relics are here, and of all the saints, that
thou wouldst vouchsafe to forgive us all our sins.
Amen."
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 205
Consistently herewith, prayers are offered in this
city to saints, whose relics are supposed to be deposited
under the altar of the Bishop's Church. I hold in my
hand two prayers, printed by a Roman Catholic printer
of Montreal, and which must be familiar to most
Catholics present. One of these is a prayer to St.
Zotique, and the other is a prayer to St. Januarius.
Two or three extracts must suffice : " O Holy Zotique,
who hast had the good fortune of dying for religion,
deign to hear the humble prayers whi«h we address
you in the presence of your holy relics. Look with
kindness on the pious faithful who invoke you, and
bless this city which places its glory on possessing you.
And now we pray you to protect us, glorious martyr,
and to obtain for us the favour of imitating your
patience, your courage, and your other virtues. Amen."
Again : " holy Januarius, we bless the divine good-
ness which has willed that your holy body should be
exhumed from where it lay for so many ages, and
which has inspired our holy father, the Pope, with the
thought of giving it to us as a pledge of his paternal
affection. We regard this venerable body as a rich
treasure, and we esteem it more than the good of the
world. Bless all the works which are carried on in
this city and in this diocese, bless those who labour for
your glory, bless us ourselves who are at your feet full
of righteous confidence in your merits and in your
gooaness. Amen."
Brethren, time fails, or I would adduce equally
numerous and convincing proofs, that the glory and
fifnctions of Christ as Mediator, are transferred to angels
206 LECTURE V.
as well as saints ; but I shall merely quote tlie Con-
Jiteor^ which every devout Catholic daily employs : —
" I confess to Almighty God, to the blessed Mary,
ever Virgin, to blessed Michael, the Archangel, to
blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter
and Paul, and to all the Saints, that I have sinned
exceedingly, in thought, word, and deed, through my
faulty through my faulty through my most grievous
fault. Therefore I beseech the blessed Mary, ever
Virgin, bless»d Michael, the Archangel, blessed John
the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all
the Saints, to pray to the Lord our God for me. May
Almighty God have mercy on me, forgive me my sins,
and bring me to everlasting life. Amen."
My hearers are now fully informed of the views and
the practice of the Church of Rome in relation to this
grave subject; and I feel pei'suaded that there can
scarcely be a person in the congregation possessing
ordinary candour of mind, who will not agree with me
that the transfer by that Church, of Christ's mediatorial
honors to the Virgin and other saints, is triumphantly
proved. You will not, therefore, be surprised at our
solemnly protesting against this transfer ; And we do it
First, — On the ground that it is not sustained
BY the Word of God.
I take up first the Xew Testament, because, though
the Old Testament may assist us in its interpretation,
the latter must ever be regarded as the only infallible
exponent of the doctrines and principles of Christianity.
And what do I find in the IS'ew Testament? If I
examine the teaching of Christ on the subject of his
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 207
mediatorial power and authority, I find it altogether
at variance with the division among others of the
smallest portion of his high prerogative. The way to
the Father is himself; the door to the fold of his
Church is himself; "No man cometh unto the Father
but BY ME." " If ye shall ask anything in mv name
that will I do." " I will pray the Father, and he shall
send you another comforter." " Come unto me all ye
that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you
rest." " Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise
cast out." In no one of the Sacred Evangelists can I
find an expression which borders even on an intimation
that God the Father will be approached through any
other than the Son, or that the Son will be, or needeth
to be approached by any secondary Mediator. Is it
possible, I ask, to conceive that there should be in
the teaching of Christ no single reference to a doc-
trine which the Church of Rome declares to be
prominent in the Christian scheme, and necessary
to the comfort and protection of the children of
God?
But we are told in reply, that the age of Christ was
too early for the introduction of this practice, because it
was not until after the resurrection of Christ that such
a change took place in the condition of the departed
saints as enabled them to discharge the duties of
protectors and intercessors of his people. Even were
we to admit this reasoning, it would certainly have no
force in the case of angels, neither could it hold in re-
spect to Enoch and Elijah. But we will refer to the
Acts of the Apostles. By this time Simeon, and John
208 tECTURE V.
the Baptist, and Ann, and Joseph had died, and Christ
had risen ; but in all the specimens of prayer (and there
are many) which we have in the Acts of the Apostles,
there is not the least semblance of the intercession of
saints and angels. Read that simple, beautiful, and power-
ful apostolic prayer in the fourth chapter : " Who having
heard it, with one accord lifted up their voices to God^
and said ; Lord, thou art he that didst make heaven
and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.
Who by the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of our father
David thy servant, hast said. Why did the gentiles rage,
and the people meditate vain things ? The Icings of the
earth stood up, and the princes assembled together against
the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth
there assembled together in this city against thy holy
child Jesus whom thou hast anointed, Herod and
Pontius Pilate, with the gentiles and the people of
Israel, To do what thy hand and thy counsel decreed
to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings,
and grant unto thy servants, that with all confidence
they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thy hand
to cures and signs and wonders, to be done by the name
of thy only Son Jesus." Is there mention here of any
other name than that of Christ ? Turn to the seventh
chapter, and listen to the dying prayer of Stephen:
" And falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice,
saying: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And
when he had said this, he fell asleep in the Lord. And
Saul was consenting to his death." Here there is no
mixture of saints with the Lord Jesus as there is in the
supplications prescribed by the Church of Rome for her
dying members.
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 209
Listen, for example, to the following devotional
exercises which are prescribed for the use of dying
persons in a work called "The Christian's Guide to
Heaven, or a complete Catholic Manual :" —
" O holy Mary, Mother of God, who didst assist at
the death of thy beloved Son Jesus, obtain for me the
grace of a- happy death. Glorious St. Michael, prince
of the Heavenly host, intercede for me at the hour of
my death, that I may depart this world in the grace
and favour of my Creator. O holy Angel Guardian, to
whose care God in his mercy has committed me, stand
by me at the dreadful hour ; protect me against all the
powers of darkness, defend me from all my enemies •
and conduct my soul to the mansions of eternal
repose."
I turn to the apostolic epistles and yet there is no
variation. Neither Peter, nor Paul, nor John, throws
new light on the subject. Christ is the only intercessor.
When they needed grace to discharge their duty, their
language was, " I can do all things through Christ who
strengtheneth me." If they prayed for themselves or
their people, Christ was the only advocate through
whom they approached the Father. There was no
recognition of any subordinate mediator. Even St.
John, the last of the apostles who lived on earth, makes
no reference to this doctrine of saint invocation. He
speaks of an advocate, but it is Jesus Christ the
righteous ; and when he refers to our seeking blessings
at the hand of God, it is in the following language : —
" And this is the confidence which we have towards
him : That, 'whatsoever we shall ask according to his
210 LECTURE V.
will, he heareili us. And we know that he lieareth ns
whatsoever we ask : we know that we have the peti-
tions which we request of him." How is this ?
The prince of the apostles, and Paul too, had been
dead for many years when this epistle was written, but
there is no application for their advocacy. Stephen
the proto-martyr had been dead sixty years, and yeti
there is no reference to his intercession. Gabriel and
Michael were as well known as to their nature and
office then, as now, but does John exhort Christians to
fly to their protection ? Can you imagine an apostle,
if he believed as the Church of Eome believes,
writing a letter to an elect lady without mentioning the
Virgin, without urging her to imitate her virtues,
without commending her to Mary's protection ? Is it
conceivable that at that late period there should have
been no reference to this practice of the Church, if it
then existed — if the primitive Church were guided by
the principles of the Roman Catholic Church ? Brethren I
the more I study my Bible in relation to this matter,
the more convinced am I that Christ shares not his
mediatorial throne with any creature ; he sits there
alone ; angels and saints are at his feet. They have no
power to bless, for all power is with him : no power
have they to protect, for all power is with him : no
power have they to save, for all power is with him : no
authority have they to intercede, for there is one
mediator between God and men. Fearful is the con-
templation, yet is it true, that upon all who trust in any
other but the divine arm, there rests God's dire
anathema. " Cursed be the man that trusteth in man,
and maketh flesh his arm."
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 211
But you will not be surprised to learn that our Roman
Catholic friends refer to the Scriptures in support of
their doctrine and practice ; and you will perhaps be
curious to kuow upon what particular texts they rely.
(1.) The angelic salutation to the Virgin is one of
them, " Hail Mary full of grace, &c." whose meaning
we fully discussed in the lecture on adoration, showing
that it is a weak and uncertain basis upon which to rest
the doctrine of either the adoration or the invocation of
the Virgin.
(2.) Most Roman Catholic Divines adduce the third
verse of the twelfth chapter of Osee. " In the womb he
supplanted his brother: and by his strength he had
success with an Angel ;" And also Genesis xlviii., 15, 16.
" And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and said : God,
in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
God that feedeth me from my youth until this day ; The
angel that delivereth me from all evil, bless these boys ;"
And also Joshua v., 13, &c. " And when Joshua was in
the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and
saw a man standing over-against him, holding a drawn
sword, and he went to him, and said : Art thou one of
ours, or of our adversaries? And he answered: No:
but I am prince of the host of the Lord, and now I am
come. Joshua fell on his face to the ground. And
worshipping, said : Whsit saith my Lord to his servant ?
Loose, saith he, thy shoes from off thy feet : for the
place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did as
was commanded him."
An ignorance of the first principles of Biblical inter-
pretation pervades the whole argument that is sought
212 LECTURE V.
to be constructed upon these passages. Who does not
know that Angel is an Old-Testament title of the
Lord Jesus Christ? At least it is sufficient for our-
present purpose, to show that the personage spoken of
by Jacob was Divine. "I have seen God," said the
patriarch, " face to face." And as it respects the Angel
who appeared to Joshua ; who can doubt that the same
Being is intended who appeared to Moses under the
designation Jehovah \ each of whom addressed the
leaders of Israel in the same terms : " the place whereon
thou standest is holy ;" — " Holy," because the presence
of the Almighty was there.
Now I think you are convinced that there is no*
foundation whatever in these passages for constituting
angels out intercessors, and if even there were, they
would not be sufficient to warrant the doctrine of the
intercession of saints. But let us refer to the New
Testament.
Dr. Milner in his " End of Controversy," (page 230),
lays gTeat stress on a passage in Luke the evangelist :
" We know That there is joy before the angel»
of Ood over one sinner that repenteth^ Luke xr,
10. Now, is it by visual rays, or undulating sounds,
that these blessed spirits in heaven know what passes in
the hearts of men upon earth ? How does his lordship
know, that one part of the saint's felicity may not con-
sist in contemplating the wonderful ways of God's
providence with all his creatures here on earth ? But,
without recun-ing to this suppodtion, it is sufficient for
dissipating the bishop's uncharitable phantom of blas-
phemy, and Cilvin's profane jest about the length of
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 213
the saint's ears, that God is able to reveal to them the
prayers of Christians who address them here on earth."
What, I ask, can be gathered from this passage,
but the doctrine that by some method there is conveyed
to the heavenly world information respecting the
advancement of Christ's redeeming work on earth ?
Who 'denies that the angels know much ? Who denies
that they are powerful beings ? Who denies that they
are God's ministers, ministering for the benefit of his
people on earth ? But am I therefore to woi-ship them,
to invoke their prayers ? Our Catholic friends reason
with us as though we almost denied the existence of
angels. But I wish you to obsen^e another thing in the
remarks of this learned controversialist, viz. : the impli-
cation, that God hears the prayers of his people on
earth, reveals these prayers to the saints in heaven, and
then that these saints in turn present them again to the
Father and to Christ ! Is there any warrant in Scripture
for supposing that the prayers of God's elect take a
route thus circuitous ?
Another passage which our friends adduce is Matthew
xviii. 10. " See that you despise not one of these little
ones : for I say to you, that their Angels in heaven
always see the face of my Father who is in heaven."
But there is no proof here of the intercession of angels.
The fourth verse of the first chapter of the Apocalypse
is also put in as proof: " John to the seven churches
which are in Asia. Grace be unto you and peace from
him that is, and that was, and that is to come, and
from the seven spirits which are before his throne."
Modern Boman Catholics have affected to believe that
k2
214 LECTURE V.
the seven spirits are angels or saints giving aid or
assistance to men. I have not time to say more than
that I fully believe this to be a superlative form of
expression to signify the Holy Ghost, the Third Person
in the ever blessed Trinity. In this opinion I am
distinctly supported by three of the most illustrious
fathers of the Church, and this being the case, no
Koman Catholic has a right to give a contrary opinion,
for his creed binds him not to interpret any passage
except by the unanimous consent of the fathers. St.
Augustine in his exposition of Psalm cl. says, " Which
Holy Spirit is chiefly commended to us in Scripture by
the seven fold number, as. well in Isaiah as iij the
Apocalypse." Gregory Nazianzen, in his forty-first
Oration says, " The precious spirits were called seven,
for Isaiah, I think, was accustomed to call the operations
of the spirit, spirits." St. Ambrose in his exposition of
Luke speaks of " the silver tried by fire, and purified by
the Ssptiform SpiriV
There is a class of passages which Roman Catholics
advance in favour of the invocation of saints which
retort upon themselves with terrible effect. Such as :
" Brethren pray for us ; — pray one for another." The
argument is, that if St. Paul desired the prayers of his
infirm and imperfect brethren on earth, believing them
to be availing, much more consistently might we desire
the prayers of the spirits of the just made perfect in
heaven. But if the prayers of saints in heaven are so
mucli more efllcacious than ours on earth, surely the
apostle knew it, and if he knew it, is it not surprising
that we do not find him crying out, " Holy John the
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 216
Baptist pray for us ?" " Holy martyr, St. Stephen, pray
for us, that the word of the Lord may have free courso
and be glorified ?" " Holy St. Ann intercede with the
Saviour on our behalf?" " Holy Simeon have us in
thy protection ? " But passing from the Scripture, we
assert that upon their own principles the members of
the Church of Rome have no right to contend for this
doctrine, because it is not supported by the unanimous
voice of antiquily.
I am aware that our friends adduce what they call
apostolic liturgies in support of their views and practice,
but these are admitted even by the Roman Catholic
historian Dupin to have had their origin, not in the days
of the apostles, but in the fifth or sixth centuries.
I am aware also, that in some of the Fathers, expres-
sions may be found which seem to favour the doctrine.
But that all the Fathers were not like-minded — ^listen to
the following sentiment from SL Augustine ; — you may
find it in the Paris edition of his works, vol. iv., p. 683.
He is commenting on the sixty-first Psalm, and his
words are, " Christ is the High Priest who has entered
for us within the vail, and who alone, of all who have
appeared in the flesh intercedes for us."
Other objections press themselves upon our attention,
to which I can only refer : —
First, — The departed saints are not endowed with
■capabilities of interceding for others. Let those who
say they are, prove it from the word of God. What
knowledge less than omniscience could qualify the
Virgin Mary to listen to the invocation of the tens
of thousands who every moment of every day pay their
216 LECTURE V.
devotions to her thousands of shrines ! What power
less than omnipotence could enable her to help their
necessities ! The same may be said of other saints.
Second, — In reference to many of the saints, how is
it known that they were not hypocrites ? Roman
Catholic divines and historians universally acknowledge
that there have been hypocrites even in the Papal
Chair. Who can determine that in the list of Roman
Catholic saints there are not to be found many such.
Third, — How can it be determined that these saints
are yet out of purgatory ?
Fourth, — How is it known that all these saints have
had an existence at all ? It is certain that cases have
occurred in which imaginary saints have been wor-
shipped. A fact which drew forth from the learned
Cassandi-us, a Roman Catholic, the following remarks :
— " There is also another error not unfrequent, that the
common people neglecting in a manner the ancient
and known saints, worship more ardently the new and
unknown, of whose holiness we have but Kttle assurance^
and of whom we know some only by revelation; sa
that it is justly doubted of several that they never
existed at all."
My dear friends, I fear that you have been already
wearied by the length of this exposition and discussion ;
and yet I may not suffer you to retire, without calling
back your thoughts to that glorious doctrine, the
oneness of Christ's mediatorship. No other days-man
do you need but Christ : No other advocate do you
need but Christ : No other High Priest has been ap-
pointed to make intercession for you but Jesus, the Son
THE ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN. 211
of God. We rejoice to pray for each other upon earth
through Him, hut when we come to God, we feel our
need of infinite merit to embolden us to approach his
throne, and we are convinced that we have this merit
only in Christ. When we come to God, we feel our
need of an unchangeable intercessor, and we know that
it is Christ alone who ever liveth to make intercession
for us. When we come to God, we feel our need of a
mediator perfect in knowledge and perfect in sympathy,
and we feel that these requirements are only found in
Christ ; we feel that these are necessary to embolden
lis even to crawl to his footstool, and when, suppliant
there, we cast our eyes to the throne of Eternal
Majesty, we see nothing to encourage our hope of
mercy but the presence of our glorified and exalted
advocate. He is there, and we want no other. His
humanity is there, and that is the link which binds us
to the Divinity that is in him, and to the Divinity that
is upon the throne. We want no intermediate link of
man's forging : Who is Thomas a Becket, who is St.
Anthony, that either of them should be allowed to inter-
vene between us and Christ ? Who is Liguori or Bona-
venture, that he should be needed to come between us
and our blessed, our loving, our Almighty Saviour, who
is able to save unto the uttermost all who come unto
God by Him. Who are even Peter and Paul and
John, but sinners saved and redeemed by the grace of
God in Christ ? Need we their intercession while we
have a divine intercessor ? Can they know, as he does,
our wants ? Are they touched, as is he, with the feeling
of our infii'mities ? Have they power with God, as he
218 LECirRE V.
batli, to prevail on our "behalf ? What is their finitude
to his infinity ? What is their pov^^er to His Almighti-
ness ? What are their resources to the boundless foun-
tain of grace and love which reside in his glorious mind ?
And who are Michael and Gabriel, and all the host of
Cherubim and Seraphim, that exult in the presence of
the throne, compared with Jesus, the King of Kings,
and Lord of Lords ? O, brethren, I feel that if the
brightest Archangel that basks in the beams of God's
eternal presence, did but pass between my vision and
the glory of this divine mediatory my view of that glory
would be utterly eclipsed ; I feel that I could not bear
even a feather of his w^ing to glide for one moment
between my Saviour and myself. I see my Saviour
exalted upon his mediatorial throne, I contemplate his
power — his merit — his love — his deep compassion; I
listen to him praying for me, as once he prayed " Father
forgive him," and while I thus behold and hear, I ex-
claim —
" Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
" More than all, in thee I find,"
And because the purest created intellect is placed
infinitely below his feet, I would set aside angels^
patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, — and say
with the venerable Peter : " Lord, to whom should we
go but UNTO THEE, THOU hast the words of eternal
life."
LECTURE VI.
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION.
There is one doctrine of the Christian religion, respecting
which, happily, there exists no difference of opinion
between the Protestant and Roman Catholic commu-
nities. It is a doctrine no less true than humiliating ;
a doctrine which History has penned upon every age of
the world, and which experience has confirmed in
every investigation of humanity. It is a doctrine which
is written in bold black lettei-s upon every page of inspi-
ration, and which the Spirit of God has inscribed in
.burning characters upon every fold of the human con-
science. It is a doctrine, the evidence of whose truth,
Rothwithstanding the sophistries of ancient pagan
wisdom and the copious dilutions of modern philosophy,
(so called,) gathers strength as the world gathers age.
My hearers are not in suspense as to the doctrine of
which I speak, for they have doubtless already detected
the reference to be to the natural sinfulness and deprav-
ity of the human race.
Here then, is common ground : The Protestant can
take the hand of the Catholic, and with downcast eyes
and smiting upon their breasts they can draw near
together to their Heavenly Father's throne, and can
say, each without violating the creed of the other, in
one language, and in one voice, " God be merciful to
220 LECTURE VI.
me a sinner !" Ah, my hearers ! we are all sinners, and
God hates sin. We have broken his laws, and " cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things that are
written in the book of the law to do them." Who,
where is he, among the thousands that now hear my
voice, who would be bold enough to stand forth and
protest that he has never committed a single sin, that
he has never manifested a sinful disposition, or spoken
an unholy or unkind word, or indulged an impure
thought or affection or motive ? I pray God, that this
doctrine so personally momentous to us all, may this even-
ing influence each one now before Him to correspondent
solemnity of feeling. I desire to remember this evening
that God is in this place, that I am addressing a congre-
gation of sinners, and that I am placed here in order,
not only to defend the truth, but also to beseech you
in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God.
There is another doctrine upon which we are all
at one, our need of God's pardoning mercy. Many of
the petitions which ascend to heaven from both Roman
Catholics and Protestants, demonstrate this. I enter,
for example, a Roman Catholic Church, and during the
service of the mass I hear the officiating priest cry out,
" Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi miserere nohis^''
and I see the devout Catholic following the Latin of
the priest in the English of his prayer book, his lips
quietly moving to the words " Lamb of God who takest
away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us !" Here
then is an acknowledgment on the part of the Roman
Catholic Church of the need of mercy at the hands of
a Saviour. I go into an Episcopal Chuich, and I hear
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 221
the whole congregation pleading with the Holy One in
these words, " But thou, Lord, have mercy upon us,
miserable offenders :" I worship with my Congregational
or Presbyterian brethren, and I hear the same confession
from the lips of the minister, and the same earnest cry
for mercy : and in a congregation of Baptists or Metho-
dists, the " Amen" that occasionally seals the petition
for grace and salvation proves that these sections of the
common church of the Redeemer acknowledge the
same doctrine. Here again is common ground ; let us
then occupy it this evening, and be we of the Roman
Catholic Church, or belong we to some of the various
Protestant communities, let us present the unworthy
sacrifice of our petitions upon the universal altar of the
Christian reHgion, let us gaze with the eye of our faith
upon the one sacrifice for sin, let us come through the
one mediator between God and men, and let us humbly
but earnestly cry, " Hide thy face, Lord, from our sins,
and blot out all our iniquities."
And now I wish both Protestants and Catholics, to
listen while I read as a text the 38th and 39th verses of
the xiiith Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. " Be it
KNOWN THEREFORE TO YOU, MEN BRETHREN, THAT
THROUGH HIM FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS PREACHED TO
YOU : And from all the things, from tvhich you
COULD not be justified BY THE LAW OF MoSES.
In him every one that believeth, is justified."
The Protestant version reads thus : —
■ " Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you the forgive-
ness of sins : And by him all that believe are justified
222 LECTURE VI.
from all things, from wliicli ye could not be justified
by the law of Moses."
This passage speaks of justification, it speaks also of
forgiveness of sins, and it speaks of these two graces
and blessings as one and the same. At first sight, this
seems rather contradictory, because speaking after the
manner of men and of the world, a man who is justified
does not need forgiveness ; he .spurns the very idea of
pardon, and claims acquittal as his inviolable right :
and a man who is forgiven feels, on the same principle,
that he can neither demand nor expect to be justified.
How then can we reconcile this evangelical paradox ?
Only thus : That the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of
demonstrating that forgiveness under the gospel is
bestowed by God consistently with the claims of law,
employs an expression which literally means, i. e. in
law, for it is a forensic term, to acquit a man of any
charge or charges that may be preferred against him
in court, and to pronounce him innocent ; not that a
justified sinner is positively innocent, this were a
contradiction, but that by the scheme of redemption
through Christ, having previously complied with certain
conditions, he is treated, accepted, and acknowledged, as
though he were an innocent person. I shall refer you
to two passages from the writings of the Apostle
Paul to prove that this is the gospel view of justification :
" Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemp-
tion that is in Jesus Christ. Whom God hath pro-
posed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood,
to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former
sins," " But to him that worketh not, yet believeth in
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 223
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reputed to
justice according to the purpose of the grace of God.
As David also termeth the blessedness of a man, to
whom God reputeth justice without works : Blessed
are they, whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins
are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath
not imputed sin. Blessed are they, whose iniquities are
forgiven, and whose sins are covered^'' " That is,"
says a Catholic annotator in the Douay Bible, " blessed
are those who, by doing penance, have obtained pardon
and remission of their sins, and also are covered ; that
is, newly clothed with the habit of grace, and vested
with the stole of charity. Blessed is the man to whom
the Lord hath not im.puted sin. That is, blessed is the
man who hath retained his baptismal innocence, that
no grievous sin can be imputed to him. And likewise,
blessed is the man, who after falling into sin, hath done
penance and leads a virtuous life by frequenting the
sacraments necessary for obtaining the grace to prevent
a relapse, that sin is no more imputed to him."
Without discussing the integrity of the paraphrase, it is
clear from the text that when the apostle speaks
of evangelical pardon he means the same as justification,
that indeed " forgiveness of sins," " remission of sins,"
imputation of justice, (or righteousness) " non imputa-
tidin of sin," and " the covering of sin," all mean the
same thing and refer to the same blessing.
To me, it appears indisputable, that the apostle here
speaks of a blessing which has no reference to any
other change than that which is relative, that he speaks
of a change which alters merely the position or relation
224 LECTURE VI.
of a sinner to His God. He was guilty, he is now
accounted righteous; he was condemned because
he had broken God's law, he is now pardoned ; he was
an enemy, he is now reconciled unto God by the death
of his Son; he was a prodigal, he is now accepted by
his offended Father. Were we to take another step,
were w^, in speaking of this blessing, to refer to a
change of nature as well as of relation, we should, I
think, go beyond the boundary which the Holy Script-
ures usually assign to justification, and find ourselves in
the region of regeneration. Roman Catholic divines
have often confounded these two blessings, it was
especially done by the Council of Trent. We shall keep
them perfectly distinct; indeed our present scheme of
doctrinal exposition assigns, to the next lecture, the dis-
cussion of the important subject of Regeneration.
The plan which I propose to follow this evening is, to
lay down a scheme, or chain, of Protestant propositions,
proving their truth out of the Douay Bible, and, as
occasion may serve, out of the writings of the early
fathers of the Church; and showing, as we proceed,
whether the deduction which shall be drawn from these
sources, are, or are not, correspondent with the teaching
and the practices of the Church of Rome.
I. The following proposition will form the first link
in this chain : — There is no man, be he in his natu-
ral STATE, OR IN A JUSTIFIED STATE, WHO IS NOT
UTTERLY DESTITUTE OF PERSONAL MERIT.
I am not unaware that this is a proposition which
strikes at the root of our natural pride ; I know how
difficult it is to bring man down from those moral
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 225
heights to which his dreamy and misguided fancy
has elevated him ; hut am I, therefore, to conceal the
truth ? Am I even to smooth down the hard and rug-
ged doctrine of man's absolute demerit in the sight of
God? I dare not, with this book of divine scripture
before me ; for I here read, (Romans iii,) that " there is
none just, that all have turned out of the way, that they
are become unprofitable together, there is none that
doeth good, there is not so much as one." These preg-
na"Dt sentences are surely sufficient to annihilate^ at least
this opinion — that man, before justification, is, or may
be possessed of merit. Where is the meiit, if there is
none that doeth good ? Where is the merit, if they
have all turned out of the way? Where is the merit,
if there is none just ? And experience is parallel with
this scripture. Bring me any unregenerated man — I
care not how many steps he may have taken towards
the kingdom of grace, or how nearly he may have
arrived thither, he will confess to an admixture of
impurity, or insincerity, or pride, or selfishness, in even
those words and works which aeemed most meritorious ;
he will confess that ever, in his experience, when he
would do good, evil is present with him. But the most
startling feature of this proposition is that which
denudes of all merit, a man who is even justified
and regenerate ; that which denies to all the zeal, and
all the love, and all the sacrifices, and all the charities,
and all the obedience of the people of God, the smallest
particle of merit. This is a hard saying, who can hear
it ? But let us go to the law and to the testimony, for
if we speak not according to this word, there is no light
226 LECTURE VI.
I turn then to the seventeeth chapter of St. Luke's
Gospel, and I read in the tenth verse : — " So you
also, when you shall have done all these things
that are commanded you, say : We are unprofitable
servants ; we have done that which we ouo-ht to do."
In the very nature of things it must be so. Whence
come these fruits of righteousness, but from Him from
whom proceedeth every good and perfect gift? To
constitute the works of Christians meritorious, it must
be shown that they are wrought independently of
extraneous influence, suggestion, or aid ; wrought also of
perfect free will. But because they are not thus wrought,
because we are moved and empowered by the Holy
Spirit to do them, because there is in us, naturally,
no disposition to good works, where is the merit of
them ? What of merit is there in the branch of the
vine laden with its rich clustei-s of fruit, the branch that
derives all its life and nourishment from the roots and
the stock ; that is pruned by the husbandman ; that is
warmed by the sun, and fanned by the breeze ? Sever
it from the vine, and the question is answered. And so
it is with the Christian. Is there life in his soul ? it is
the life of Christ. Is there strength ? It is the power of
Christ. Is there warmth ? It comes from Christ the
Sun of Righteousness — " Christ is all and in all,"
and if you desire to sum up the amount of merit which
the Christian possesses, sever him from Christ, and the
problem is solved. Orthodox to the letter are* the
sentiments on this subject of Pope Gregory the First
who said, " that the best of men will find no merit in
* THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 227
their best actions, and that if he should attain to the
highest virtue, he should obtain eternal life, not by
merits, but by pardon." Again, in commenting on the
Penitential Psalms, he says, " I pray to be saved, not
trusting to my merits, but presuming to obtain that by
mercy alone, which I hope not for by my merit." Would
that the Council of Trent had taken this leaf out of the
■writings of Gregory the Great, and inserted it amongst
their canons instead of the following : — " Whoever shall
aflSrm, that the good works of a justified man are in
such sense the gifts of God, that they are not also his
worthy merits ; or that he, being justified by his good
works, which are wrought by him through the grace of
God, and the merits of Jesus Christ, of whom he is a
living member, does not really deserve increase of
grace, eternal life, the enjoyment of that eternal life if
he dies in a state of grace, and even an increase of
glory : let him be accursed." Here then is Gregory the
Great, a Pope and a Saint, anathematized by the
Trentine Fathers !
A striking illustration of the present doctrine of the
Church of Rome, as it respects human merit, is found in a
grave-yard in Cork, on a tomb stone, upon which the fol-
lowing inscription is engraved : — " I. H. S. Sacred to the
memory of the benevolent Edward Molloy, the friend of
humanity and father of the poor : he employed the
wealth of this world only to secure the riches of the
next ; and, leaving a balance of merit on the hooJc of
life^ he made heaven debtor to mercy. He died October
17, 1818.— R. I. P."
228 LECTURE VI.
II. The second proposition which we advance is this :
Justification is a gratuitous blessing, i. e. it is
BESTOWED UPON MAN IRRESPECTIVE, IN THE LEAST
DEGREE, OF HUMAN MERIT.
The very term forgiveness which St. Paul uses in the
text as synonymous with justification, proves this. If I
break the laws of my country, am found guilty by an
adequate tribunal, and am sentenced to punishment,
and then, in her clemency, the Queen should extend to
me her Royal pardon, it would not, methinks, be difficult
to show that the act was an act of free and gratuitous
mercy on the part of the Sovereign. It is even so as it
respects ourselves and the King of Kings : we have
broken his laws, all the world is declared guilty before
Him, we are condemned to punishment, but God extends
to us the offer of a free pardon. This is grace without
merit, and hence the Apostle Paul, as I read in his
epistle to the Ephesians, Douay version, says, " In whom
we have redemption through his blood the remission of
sins ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE."
And the term justified^ as it is employed by the
Apostle, does not detract from the doctrine of the gra-
tuitousness of the blessing. We have already seen that
man, as a sinner, may be both forgiven and justified.
This arises from the peculiar nature of the economy of
redemption. Evangelical justification indeed means
neither more nor less than forgiveness bestowed con-
sistently with the claims of the divine character and
laws, and we know that this is the only principle upon
which forgiveness could or would be bestowed. As,
therefore, forgiveness is bestowed by God, of his grace,
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 229
as God coiild not bestow this grace to the disparage-
ment of his justice, it follows that the scheme which he
has devised for the reconciliation of these two perfec-
tions in the act of forgiveness must have been devised,
and its blessings bestowed without claim or merit also.
Hence, I read in the Douay Bible the following t^xt :
" Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
The Bible, yes this Douay Bible, is full of passages
to this effect. I read in Romans xi. 6 : "If by grace it
is not now by works; otherwise grace is no more
grace." In Ephesians ii. 8, 9 : " For by grace you are
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves for it is
the gift of God. Not of works that no man may glory."
In Titus iii. 5 : " Not by works of justice which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us ;
that being justified by his grace, we may be heirs
according to the hope of everlasting life." But why
should I multiply references to substantiate a doctrine
whose fitness and whose glory appeal to the conscience
of every sinner, and whose truth was patent to the
whole Christian Church for the first thousand years of
its existence ? Roman Catholics speak of the unity of
their church, and of the apostolicity of its teaching and
practice ; but this vre confidently affirm, and you shall
have proof before you leave this church, that into what-
ever other errors the Church of Rome may have fallen
before the sitting of the Trentine Council, it was left to
that body of ecclesiastics to hurl the first church
anathema against every humble preacher who should
dare to affirm with Paul, " that man is justified by faith
L
230 LECTURE VI.
only." In the beginning of the twelfth century,
Auselra, Archbishop of Canterbury, required that the
following exhortation should be given to a dying monk :
" Do you believe that you cannot be saved but by the
death of Jesus Christ? I do believe so. Do you
heartily thank him for it? I do. Be you therefore
ever thanking him for it as long as you live, and put
your whole trust and confidence in that death alone ;
and let that be your only safeguard. And if the Lord
will enter into judgment with thee, say thus : O
Lord, unless I hold the death of our Lord Jesus Christ
between me and thee and thy judgment, I am not able
to plead with thee. If he tells you that you have
merited damnation, say unto him, I hold the death of
our Lord Jesus Christ between me and my ill-deserts ;
and instead of those merits which I ought to have, but
alas, have not, I ofier to thee the merit of his most
meritorious passion." This exhortation was judged so
orthodox and scriptural in the twelfth century, that it
found its way into most of the Roman Catholic devo-
tional works. Cardinal Hosius, indeed, referred to it
as Catholic in doctrine, and it was not until the Council
of Trent that it was found to contain articles of faith
contrary to the belief of the church ; so it soon found a
place in the Index Expurgatorius ! What will be said
by Roman Catholics when they are informed that in
the year 1584, several passages which deny the
merit of good works, were commanded by the order of
the Council of Trent to be blotted out of several books ?
"What will be said, when I affirm, that from the office
for the dying, the following questions and answers were
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 231
expunged by tlie same authority : Q. " Dost thou be-
lieve that thou shall come to Heaveu uot by thy own
merits, but by the virtue and merit of Christ's passion ?
A. I do believe it. Q, Dost thou believe that Christ
died for our salvation, and that none can be saved by
their own merits, or any other way but by the merits of
his passion? A. I do believe it." These are the
questions which, prior to the Council of Trent, were put
by officiating ministers to dying Roman Catholics ; but
that Council stretched forth its sacrilegious hand and
robbed the members of the church of this sole founda-
tion of their hope.
Our Catholic friends sometimes ask : " Where was
your religion before Luther ?" In the Bible we reply :
and, so far as the doctrine of justification by grace is
concerned, in St Bernard, in Anselm, in those sentences
which the Council of Trent expunged from the office of
the church. To show you how Scripture triumphed
over the Tridentine dogmas, I will read to you some
of the last expressions of Cardinal Hosius, the very
prelate who presided over the Council : — The following
sentiments are taken from his last will : — " I approach
the throne of thy grace, O Father of mercies, and of all
consolation, to the end that I may obtain mercy, and
find grace in thy sight. Whensoever it shall please thee
to demand back again that which thou hast committed
to me, into thy hands I resign my spirit ; which if thou
shouldst look upon as it is in itself, I confess it is not
worthy to appear in the presence of thy Majesty, for it
is full of all kind of pollution ; but if thou hast respect
to the blood of thy Son, wherein it has been washed
232 LECTURE VL
and purified, and to those bitter torments wKicn lie
suffered for our sins, that he might render us acceptable
in thy sight ; they are worthy that for their sake thou
shouldst give it eternal life, which he purchased at so
great a price." He then desires that God would not look
upon him as himself, but in the face of Jesus Christ. " I
am not worthy," says he, " that thou shouldst behold
me with the eyes of thy Majesty ; but as it is most
worthy, that for the sake of his death, and passion, thou
shouldst not only look upon me, but crown me also ;
'tis therefore that I come unto thee, most dear Father,
and that without any merits, hut those inestimable ones
of thy Son, Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Redeemer; I
bring thee the merit of that death, wherein alone I place
all my hope and my confidence ; that is my righteous-
ness, my satisfaction, my redemption, and ray propitia-
tion. The death of my Lord is my merit." And after
that, having recited the words of St. Bernard in the 61st
sermon upon the Canticles ; he adds, speaking of the
blood of Jesus Christ, " Regard that price, for that
price sake declare me worthy to he placed among the
sheep at thy right hand^
Blessed, thrice blessed Gospel truth ! It is the hght
of the glorious Gospel of Christ ; it is the refuge of the
distressed sinner ; it is the anchor of the rejoicing soul
of the believer. What other doctrine can sustain the
mind of the penitent, while in fear and trembling he
prays, " God be merciful to me a sinner ?" What other
doctrine can encourage the faith of the Christian while
he surveys the absolute demerit of his best actions?
What other doctrine but that of salvation by grace can '
THE OKE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 233
enable the dying Christian to say " thanks be to God
which giveth me the victory ?" I rejoice to be permitted
to preach to Protestants and to Catholics this evening,
salvation by the grace of God ; " Be it known unto you
men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that
believe are justified from all things from which ye could
not be justified by the law of Moses."
III. We come now to the third proposition, — When
God JUSTIFIES a sinner, he justifies him wholly.
This proposition you perceive is educed from the
text : " And from all the things from which you could
not be justified by the law of Moses, in him every one
that belie veth is justified."
The Apostle evidently means all things with which
man stands charged in the sight of God. The law of
Moses, either ceremonial or moral, justified from nothing ;
if therefore Paul's language means anything, it means
that the evangelical justification of the sinner by God
through Christ is perfect and complete ; that the sinner
indeed is delivered from all the guilt of his original sin
and all the guilt of his manifold offences ; delivered so
fully as to be able to exclaim in the triumph of his faith,
" There is now, £herefore, no condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus ;" and as long as this text remains
in the Douay Bible it will witness with the clearness
of the noon-day sun against the counter-teaching of
the Church of Rome during the last four centuries.
Her view as propounded by the Council of Trent is,
that ALL guilt is not remitted in justification, that the
accepted and reconciled child of God is still liable to
temporal punishment on account of his sins.
234 LECTURE VI.
Hence the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Churcli
which divides sin into mortal and venial ; a division
which the Reformed Churches declare to be unscrip-
tural, and against which, therefore, they protest.
It is difficult to determine from Roman Catholic
writers, which sins are mortal and which venial ; and it is
surprising that in a matter of so great moment to man^
a matter on which his endless interests are suspended,
a holy and infallible Church, possessing such care and
anxiety for the faithful as she professes to feel, should not,
in some of her authorized formularies, have presented
us with a list of those sins which are venial and of
those which are mortal. The most consistent statement
on the subject which I have been able to find is in the
Theology of Peter Dens, the great text book of May-
nooth College. It is fo-und in the 1st vol., p. 362, &c.
The. work is written in Latin, but I shall give you
a literal translation into English :
" What is vice (vitium) ? Vitium properly and theo-
logically is defined ' a habit inclining to sin {ad peccatumY
whence vitium is distinguished 'from peccatum as the
habit from the act ; vitium and peccatum however are
often taken for the same.
" What is mortal sin ? It is that which of itself brings
spiritual death to the soul, inasmuch as of itself it
deprives the soul of sanctifying grace and charity in
which the spiritual life of the soul consists.
" What is venial sin ? That which doth not bring
spiritual death to the soul ; or that which does not turn
away from its ultimate end, or which is only slightly
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 235
repugnant to the order of right reason. It is moreover
certain not only from the divine compassion, but from
the nature of the thing, that there are venial sins, or so
slight ones as in just men may consist with a state of
grace and friendship with God." Mark, the following
note, and see from it the terrible character of the evil
which is involved in this unscriptural distinction : —
" Although mortal sin differs much from venial, yet, by
the testimony of St. Augustine, it is very difficult to
discover, and most dangerous to define, what is mortal
sin and what venial." " However," continues Dens,
" some rules are every where assigned by theologians,
by which it can generally be discovered what sins are
in their own nature mortal or venial. When
Scripture speaks of any sin in severe terms, that
is to be considered mortal, e. g. if it call it scelus^
nequitia, iniquita, abominatio, or says that it is worthy
of death, hated by God, that it excludes from the king-
dom of *God, that it cries to heaven, if there be prefixed
' Alas,' &c., it is mortal. On the contrary, that sin
is considered to be venial when Scripture uses milder
expressions, as if it employs the word 'mote,' ' stubble,'
' hay,' &c., or but slightly blames it, as in Prov. x. 19.,
* In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin,' and
* Every idle word which man shall speak, they shall
give an account thereof in the day of judgment.' "An
idle word is of its own nature a venial sin, also a jocose
or officious lie, excess in laughter, joy or sorrow, vain
curiosity. The early motions of luxury, hatred, &c., are
•venial.
" What sin is called venial from the smallness of tha
236 LECTURE VI.
matter ? That which of its own nature is mortal sin,
but in this act, here and now, is venial from the small-
ness of the matter about which it is concerned ; thus
THE THEFT OF ONE PENNY IS VENIAL fl'Om the SmalhlCSS
of the matter, a trifling excess of drinking, &c."
The time will not permit me to quote more extensively,
though I greatly desire to do so. But you have heard
enough to show you what is the docti-ine of the Roman
Catholic Church on the nature of sin ; and I shall
wonder greatly if this extraordinary revelation does not
strike every mind now present with astonishment and
terror. I am sure there is not an intelligent Catholic
in this Church whose conscience does not at once
rebel against the immoral principles contained in these
theological expositions. Where, in the word of God,
have we ground for such doctrine ? The Bible says
thou shalt NOT steal — the command is absolute ; but
the Catholic Church says, thou mayest steal a penny,
and yet continue in the gi-ace and favor of God ; thou
mayest exceed a little in drinking, and yet not lose the
grace of true religion ! now different is this teaching
from that of our Divine Jesus, when he explained on the
Mount the spirituality of the law ? When he showed that
an immodest look involves the commission of adultery,
and that to be angry with a brother without cause is
to commit murder ? Is the teaching of Dens, or of his
great Master, Thomas Aquinas, accordant with that of
the apostle James : " But if you have respect to persons,
you commit sin, being reproved by the law as trans-
gressors. And whosoever shall keep the whole law, but
offend in one pointy is become guilty of all." " So,"
THE ONE METHOD OP JUSTIFICATION. 237
says the Romish commentator, " the meaning is,
that in matters relating to faith, the administer-
ing of the sacraments, and other spiritaal functions
in God's Church, there should be no respect of persons ;
but that the souls of the poor should be as much
regarded as those of the rich. See Deut. i. 1 7. That
is, he becomes a transgressor of the law in such a
manner, that the obsei-ving of all other points will not
avail him to salvation ; for he despises the lawgiver, and
breaks through the great and general commandment of
charity, even by one mortal sin. For all the precepts
' of the law are to be considered as one total and entire
law, and as it were a chain of precepts where by
breaking one link of this chain, the whole chain is
broken, or the integrity of the law consisting of a col-
lection of precepts. A sinner, therefore, by a grievous
offence against any one precept, incurs eternal punish-
ment : yet the punishment in hell shall be greater for
those who have been greater sinners, as a greater reward
shall be for those in heaven who have lived with greater
sanctity and perfection."
Intimately involved in this distinction, is that other
equally unscriptural dogma that the guilt and punish-
ment of sin are two-fold. The following is the canon
of the Council of Trent : " Whoever shall affinn, that
when the grace of justification is received, the offence of
the penitent sinner is so forgiven, and the sentence of
eternal punishment reversed, that there remains no
temporal punishment to be endured, before his entrance
into the kingdom of heaven, either in this world, or in
the future state, in puigatory : let him be accursed."
l2
238 LECTURE VI.
But how is this canon to be reconciled with the state-
ment of Paul in the epistle to Galatia, chap, iii., verse
13, " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a curse for us." The usual argument
which our friends adopt is this : that the punishment of
spiritual death is removed by justification may not be
questioned ; but that because man is called to suffer the
penalty of temporal death, it is clear that the temporal
punishment is not removed. But it is forgotten that
this temporal punishment as it is called, is no longer a
punishment to the righteous man — that this curse of
temporal death is converted by the grace of Christ into
a blessing ; so much so is this the case that the man of
God desires to depart and to be with Christ, and that in
his last moments the sting of death is extracted, the
victory of the grave annulled, and the dying saint
enabled to exclaim, " thanks be unto God which giveth
me the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord."
It is upon these distinctions of sin unto mortal and
venial, and of punishment into eternal and temporal,
that the novel scheme of indulgences rests ; a scheme
at which we must at least glance in our present discus-
sion.
And here we willingly accord that many Protestants
have fallen into error by supposing the authorized
teaching of the Church of Rome to be, that indulgences
are granted to the faithful for the remission of the
guilt of all sins ; whereas her most eminent divines are
careful to explain that mortal sins and spiritual guilt are
not regarded by them at all ; that these indeed are
taken away in absolution. I wish to be very clear in
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 239
presenting the Roman Catholic view of this subject ;
and turn first to the 6th vol. of Dens' theology, p. 4lY,
where I find the following: — ^. " What is an indul-
gence ? A, It is the remission of the temporal punish-
ment due to sins (already) remitted as to their guilt,
effected by the power of the keys without a sacrament
by the application of the satisfactions which are con-
tained in the treasury of the church. Q. What is to
be understood by the treasury of the church ? A. It is
the accumulation of spiritual virtues (bonorum) remain-
ing in the divine acceptance, the disposition of which
is intrusted to the church. Q. From what things does
this treasure grow ? Chiefly from the superabundant
satisfactions of Christ, then from the overflowing satis-
factions of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the rest of the
Saints."
In the " End of Controversy," by Dr. Milner, we are
presented with the following view of the scheme of
indulgences : — " To explain, now, in a clear and regular
manner, what an indulgence is ; I suppose, first, that
no one will deny that a sovereign prince, in showing
mercy to a capital convict, may either grant him a re-
mission of all punishment, or may leave him subject to
some lighter punishment : of course he will allow that
the Almighty may act in either of these ways with
respect to sinners. I equally suppose that no person,
who is versed in the Bible, will deny that many
instances occur there of God's remitting the essential
guilt of sin and the eternal punishment due to it, and
yet leaving a temporary punishment to be endured by
the penitent sinner. Thus, for example, the sentence
240 LECTURE yi.
of spiritual death and everlasting torments was remitted
to our first father, upon his repentance, but not that of
corporal death."
But what shall we say to this learned controver-
sialist for sustaining by an appeal to Scripture, a
scheme which the most celebrated doctors of his
church, have declared to have no warrant from Scrip-
ture ? Durandus says, very little can be affirmed
with any certainty concerning indulgences, because
neither the Scripture speaks expressly of them, and the
Fathers Ambrose, Hilary, Augustine, and Jerome, speak
not at all of them. He also says, that it is not clear
that the power of the keys conferred upon the apostle
Peter is to be understood of the power of granting indul-
gences. Which of these divines are we to follow ? Car-
dinal Cajetan in the first volume of his works, speaking
on this subject, says, " If we could have any certainty
(si certitudo habere posset) concerning the origin
of indulgences, it would help us much in the disquisition
of the truth of purgatory." Alphonsus De Castro
acknowledges that " many things are known to us of
which the ancients were altogether ignorant such as
indulgences, &c." I might also refer to Gabriel Biel,
Navarius, St. Anthony, Archbishop of Florence, Cardi-
nal Fisher, and others to the same purpose. "What,
again, shall we say. to Dr. Milner, who is full of wrath
against Bishop Porteus, for stating an indulgence to
be a transfer of the over-plus of the saints' goodness
joined with the merits of Christ," while Delahogue a
gi'eat authority, in Maynooth at least, asserts : " In-
dulgences remit, even in God's forum, the debt of
'the one method of justification. 241
temporal punishment which would else remain to be
satisfied, either in this life or in purgatory, after the
remission of the guilt of sin ; they derive their efficacy
from the treasure of the Church, which treasure
consists, primarily, of the merits and satisfactions of
Christ ; for, as a single drop of his blood was sufficient
for the redemption of the sins of the whole world, there
remains an infinite hoard of his merits at the disposal
of the Church for the service of her children; and,
secondarily, of the merits and satisfactions of the Virgin
Mary and other saints, who underwent far severer suf-
ferings than their own sins required; which super-
abundance and almost superfluity of suff'erings of theirs
form a sort of bank or deposit, out of which the Church
may make disbursements for the common benefit of the
faithful, in the way of payment {via solutionis) for the
punishments or satisfactions due from them."
1. We protest against Indulgences because, by the
showing of Catholic writers themselves, they have no
authority in the word of God.
2. We protest against Indulgences because, by the
showing of Catholic writers themselves, they have no
authority in the writings of the early Fathers.
3. We protest against Indulgences because, they are
so worded as not to maintain even the Roman Catholic
distinction between spiritual and temporal guilt. Intel-
ligent Catholics will not dare to deny that, whatever
may be the case with the literate portion of the Church,
the illiterate and common people are frequently misled.
In travelling through Sicily, on one occasion, having to
remain, for a few hours, in a town in the interior, my
242 LECTURE VI.
attention was directed to three monks wlio were moving
through the streets followed by a crowd of the lower
orders of the people. I observed that one of these
monks had a large number of printed papers in his
hand, and that another was ringing a small bell to draw
the attention of the townsfolk to the business which
they had in hand. Upon inquiry I found that they
were dispensing Indulgences. Wishful to procure a
copy, I desired the keeper of the hotel to purchase one,
which he did for a small silver coin. That indulgence,
I now hold in my hand ; the proceeds of the salp, it is
said, were to be devoted to the maintenance of the
religious orders of the Church in the Holy Land. I
will read one sentence from this document : — " For the
benefit of the holy places and the sanctity of the faith, our
Lord, Pope Benedict XIV., conceded a plenary indul-
gence in the article of death, and remission of all sins to
officials and benefactors of the Holy Land." What, I ask,
would be the probable effect of the possession of such a
document upon the mind of an ignorant person ? The
Pope concedes to him a plenary indulgence in the
article of death, and remission of all his sins. What
does he know of those nice distinctions in theological
philosophy which have been drawn by the doctors
of his Church ? Peter Dens himself complains of
the strong language which is employed in the Bulls
of the Popes, as ascribing too much to their indul-
gences ; and no marvel while Pope Boniface IX. granted
indulgences from punishment and from guilt, a Poena et
a Culpa] and Clement VIII, whom Bellarmine magnifies
for his care in reforming indulgences, grants a most
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 243
plenary remission of sins ; no marvel while Clement VI.
in his bull, published out of the Utrecht manuscript,
not only gives a plenary absolution to all persons who
died in the way to Rome, but also demands the Angels
of Paradise to carry the soul immediately to heaven !
4. We protest against indulgences because they
lead to superstition. Upon the minds of the common
people they produce the same influence which the
charms of witchcraft produced in olden times. Con-
firmatory of this I shall read one line merely appended
to the indulgence which I procured in Sicily : — " This
indulgence is profitable against lightning, earthquake,
thunder, thunderbolts, and other afflictions."
5. Lastly, we protest against indulgences, because
they lead to the commission of sin. They encourage
sin, and to their influence we ascribe the confessedly
low state of morals in Italy, Spain, and other Roman
Catholic countries. If a man may, by absolution,
obtain remission of spiritual and eternal guilt, and by
indulgences be freed from temporal punishment, under
what restraint is he placed ? What is there to keep
him fi'om the commission of the basest crimes ? I shall
give you the opinion of Antonius, one of the Trentine
fathers, as to the state of the church in the sixteenth
century, when the scheme of indulgences was in full
vigour. It may be found in an address which he
delivered before the Council : — He called upon the
Council to " consider the depravation of manners, the
turpitude of vice, the contempt of the sacraments, the
solicitude of earthly things, and the forgetfulness of
celestial good, and of all Christian piety :" Each sue-
244 LECTURE VI.
ceeding day witnessed a "deterioration in devotion,
divine grace, Christian virtue, and otlier spiritual attain-
ments." No age had ever seen " more tribunals and less
justice ; more senators and less care of the common-
wealth; more iudige]Qce and less charity; or gi-eater
riches and fewer alms." This neglect of justice and alms
was " attended with public adulteiy, rapine, exaction,
taxation, oppression, drunkenness, gluttony^ pomp of
dress, superfluity of expense, contamination of luxury,
and effusion of Christian blood." Women displayed
" lasciviousness and effrontery ; youth, disorder and in-
subordination ; and age, impiety and folly :" while never
had there, in all ranks, " appeared less honour, virtue,
modesty, and fear of God, or more licentousness, abuse,
and exorbitance of sensuality." The Pastor was " without
vigilance, the Preacher without works, the law without
subjection, the people without obedience, the monk
without devotion, the rich without humility, the female
without compassion, the young without discipline, and
every Christian without religion." The wicked were
" exalted, and the good depressed." Virtue was despised,
and vice, in its stead, reigned in the world. " Usury,
fraud, adultery, fornication, enmity, revenge and blas-
phemy" enjoyed "distinction;" w^hile "worldly and
perverse men, being encouraged and congratulated in
their wickedness, boasted of their villany."
IV. "We shall now adduce a fourth proposition : —
The merits of our Lord Jesus Christ constitute
THE ONLY satisfaction WHICH GOD EITHER ACCEPTS
OR DEMANDS FOR THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER.
Any" one who is in the habit of reading the New
THE OXE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 245
Testament does not demand proof of the scripturalness
of this proposition. It is emblazoned npon almost
every page of the Holy Evangelists ; it is the living
breath of the sermons of the blessed apostles, as recorded
by Luke in th^ book of their Acts ; it is the burden of
their epistolary communications to the several churches
of whose establishment they were the instruments ; and
in the heavenly vision of the beloved John, it is recorded
as the great subject which inspires the worship of
angels, and the songs of the redeemed in the world of
glory. Saith Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews,
" Christ was once offered to exhaust the sins of many,
i. €., according to the Rhemist expositor, in language
equally beautiful and forcible — " to empty or draw out
to the very bottom, by a plentiful and perfect redemp-
tion." How sublime in simplicity is that portion of St.
John's narrative of the crucifixion in which the com-
pleteness of Christ's sacrifice, and the perfection of his
merits are set forth : — " Afterwards Jesus knowing
that all things were now accomplished, that the scrip-
ture might be fulfilled, said : I thirst. Now there was
a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they putting a
sponge full of vinegar about hyssop, put it to his mouth.
Jesus therefore when he had taken the vinegar, said :
It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave
up the ghost."
We have found it desirable in former lectures to
mark those points of agreement which exist amongst
Roman Catholics and Protestants. Let us follow the
same course in considering the doctrine of satisfaction
for sin. We all believe that God in his infinite wisdom,
246
LECTURE VI.
did not think fit to pardon the sins of mankind without
a vicarious sacrifice, that our Lord Jesus Christ became
that sacrifice through the merits of which God is wil-
ling to pardon sin ; and that to all true penitents the
efiicacy of that sacrifice is available for everlasting sal-
vation. Thus far we are agreed ; but here comes the
point of difference : Protestants declare that, according
to the scripture, whenever the guilt of sin is taken away
the punishment is remitted also. Roman Catholics
assert that when the eternal punishment of sin is re-
mitted, the penitent must satisfy the justice of God, so
far as the temporal punishment is concerned, by doing
voluntary or compulsoiy acts of penance, by obtaining
indulgences, or undergoing the penalty in purgatory.
That I have not mis-stated this doctrine is clear from the
following answers in Bishop Butler's Catechism, (pp. 53,
54) : Q. " What do you mean by the penance enjoined
by the confessor ? A. The prayers and other good
works which he enjoins on penitents, in satisfaction for
their sins. Q. Why does the Church grant indul-
gences ? A. To assist our weakness, and to supply our
insufficiency in satisfying the Divine Justice for our
transgressions." In the fourteenth canon of the 14th
Session of the Council of Trent, I read as follows :
" Whoever shall affirm, that the satisfactions by which
penitents redeem themselves from sin through Christ
Jesus, are no part of the service of God, but, on the
contrary, human traditions, which obscure the doctrine
of grace, and the true worship of God, and the benefits
of the death of Christ : let him be accursed."
The Council teaches also at the same session, " that
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 24V
such is the abundance of the Divine bounty that we are
able to make satisfaction to God the Father through
Christ Jesus, not only by punishments voluntarily en-
dured by us as chastisements for sin, or imposed at the
pleasure of the priest according to the degree of the
offence, but also (and this is an amazing proof of love)
by temporal pains inflicted by God himself, and by us
patiently borne."
This is the ground of that system of penances which
are undergone by Roman Catholics, sometimes by self-
infliction, at others by command of the priest. These
penances vary in cruelty and duration, and sometimes
they are voluntarily assumed by Catholic devotees
for the purpose of increasing the capital stock of merit
which has been entrusted to the church.
And here I wish to offer a remark on the introduc-
tion into Roman Catholic versions of the Bible, of the
expressions " penance^'' and " do penance^^'' as transla-
tions of the Greek words fieuTvoia repentance fieravoeiTe
repent. Roman Catholics consider the Latin word
poenitentia, coming from the word pcena, punishment,
as, under all circumstances conveying the idea of penal
or satisfactory punishment. This term, however, is not
an exact rendering of the word which the Holy Ghost
employed, which is derived from fiera, implying change
and vovQ^ the mind ; and therefore must mean a change
of mind — a spiritual change. This consequently can
have little to do with bodily austerities. We see the
inconsistency of rendering the word fieravoria-are, " do
penance," in the address of Peter : — " Now when they
had heard these things, they had compunction in their
248 LECTURE VI.
heart, and said to Peter, and to the rest of the apostles :
"What shall we do, men and brethren ? But Peter said
to them : Do penance, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of
your sins : and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost." Here is a proof that Peter employed the word
in a very different sense from that in which it is under-
stood by the Church of Rome. Could the apostle mean
by this command, " Do penance and be baptized." If
he intended this, Roman Cathohcs do not follow the
apostolic order and practice, ft)rthey say, "Be baptized
and do penance."
The following penance is recommended by Dens for
voluntary drunkenness : " That he should read for two
days the psalm miserere on his knees ; that 'he should
fast twice in the week ; and that he should distribute
to the poor twice as much as he has spent in drink.
But if he be a poor man and a labourer, he is to recite
for three successive days on his knees five Paters and
Avez, for two days, not to drink anything before neon
and in the evening to 'eat only half a meal ; on the tv/o
next Sundays not to enter Church, but after mid-day Lo
may go to preachings or to praises." And this is the
satisfaction which the drunkard is required by the
Church of Rome to add to the infinite satisfaction of
Jesus Christ ! Observe, there is no direction for him to
abandon his sin, to look to Christ. Again ; his punish-
ment consists, chiefly at least, in some of the high
privileges of Christianity, those of prayer, alms giving,
and the reading of the word of God.
I vnW now give you an instance of self-torture from a
THE OKE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 249
document intitled : — The austerities of Santa JRosa,
who was canonized by Pope Clement X., A.D. 1673. —
Extracted from the collection of the Constitutions pub-
lished hy the Popes at the solemn canonization of Saints
from John XV., to Benedict XIV. ; that is, from the
year of our Lord 998, to the year 1729. Superintended
by Justus Fontaninus, Archbishop of Ancyra. Printed
at Rome, 1729, at the press of the Rev. Apostolic
Chamber. — From the Bull of Canonization.
" She changed the stones and crosses, with which
when going to prayer in her childhood, and as yet
ignorant of the use of whips, she was loaded by her maid,
Marianne, who was almost the only person conscious of
her mortifications, into iron chains, which she prepared
as scourges, with which, after the examples of St.
Dominick, every night she offered herself a bloody
victim to God to avert his just anger, even to the copious
effusion of streams of blood, either for the sorrows of
the holy Church, or for the necessities of the endangered
kingdom or the city of Lima, or compensating the wrongs
of sinners, or for making any expiation for the souls of
the dead, or for obtaining Di^^ne aid for those who
were in their last agonies ; the servants be sometimes
horror-struck at such dreadful blows of the chains.
And when the use of these were, forbidden to her, she
privately encircled her waist with one of them bound
thrice round her, so that it never was apparent that she
wore it, except when she was under the tortures of the
sciatica ; which chain was afterwards loosened only by
a miracle, and its links after the virgin's death were
found to emit a wondrous and indescribably sweet
250 LECTURE VI.
odour. Lest any part of her innocent body should be
free from suffering, she tortured her arms and limbs
with penal chains, and stuffed her breast and sides with
handfuls of nettles and small briars. She afterwards
increased the sharpness of the haircloth, which reached
from her neck beneath her knees, by needles mixed up
with it, which she used for many years, until she was
ordered to put it off on account of the frequent vomit-
ing of blood. When she laid aside this punishment
she substituted another garment less injurious to her
health, but not less troublesome. For beneath it every
movement was painful to her. Her feet only were free
from these sufferings, which, either by hitting them with
stones or by the burning of an oven, she did not suffer
to be free from torture. . . .
" She fixed upon her head a tin crown, with sharp
little nails in it, and for many years never put it on
without receiving wounds; when she grew older, this
was replaced by one which was armed with ninety
points. . . .
" She desired the hardness of her bed to be such that
it should rather drive away than in\^te sleep, so that
when about to sleep, the same should be both a bed to
her and an instrument of torture. Her pillow was
either an unpolished trunk, or stones concealed for this
purpose ; which bed she afterwards so filled with sharp
pieces of tiles and triangular pieces of broken jugs, that
the sharp points of each should be turned to her body ;
nor did she try to sleep until she had embittered her
mouth with a draught of gall.
" Near the time of her death, Rosa throughout Lent
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 251
altemately sang the canticles and praises of God every-
day for a wliole hour with a very melodious bird, in so
orderly a manner, that when the bird sang the virgin
was silent, and when the virgin sang, the bird, who was
most attentive, ceased to sing. She invited, moreover,
the inanimate plants, after an unheard-of fashion, to
praise and pray to God, pronouncing the verse, ' Bless
the Lord, all ye things which bud on the earth ;' and
she so visibly persuaded them, that the tops of the trees
touched the earth, as if adoring their Creator with a
solemn veneration."
Xavier, Liguori, and many others have practised
equally severe austerities. The doctrine against which
we are protesting leads to such practices, but I ask is it
according to the Word of God ! Is it according to the
testimony of the ancient fathers ? St. Ambrose says,
" Of teai-s, I read ; of satisfaction, I read not ;" and
our Heavenly Father says, "T will have mercy
and not sacrifice." My beloved hearers, how does
this doctrine detract from the glorious and ample
sufficiency of the sacrifice of Jesus, that any supposed
merit of ours should be represented as adding to his
merit, that these Pater JVosters and Ave Marias, and
fastings and flagellations, these suicidal sufferings should
make satisfaction for that for which his blood does not
make satisfaction, is methinks to seek to dilute with
human frailties, and to pollute with human sins, that
precious blood of our Redeemer, which cleanseth from
all sin. To what strange inconsistencies are men
led by a departure from the Word of the Living
God!
252 LECTURE. VI.
V. One other proposition, and only one, have we to
advance and sustain this evening : — Faith in the
ATONEMENT OF ChRIST, IS THE GRAND, SOLE, ScRIPTURAL
CONDITION OP JUSTIFICATION.
Passage after passage could I repeat from the Douay
Bible in support of this proposition, but I have time to
adduce but two or three. And first, let me invite you
to consider tlie case of the jailor at Philippi, who sought
direction from the apostle Paul respecting his salvation.
*' What," said he, " must I do that I may be saved ?
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved ?" What saith Paul to the Galatians ? " By the
works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him."
What saith he again ? " We account a man to be
justified by faith without the works of the law."
Ought not these passages to be sufficient to set at
rest the entire question ? They satisfied the mind of
St. Hilary, who in the ninth canon upon Matthew plainly
says, " Faith only justifieth." They satisfied St.
Basil, another father of the Church, who thus wrote:
" This is a perfect and a whole rejoicing in God when a
man advanceth not himself for his own righteousness
but acknowledgeth himself to lack true justice and
righteousness, and to be justified by the only faith in
Christ." " Paul," he continues, " doth glory in con-
tempt of his own righteousness, and looketh for the
righteousness of God by faith." These passages satisfied
Ambrose, another father, who says, " This is the
ordinance of God, that they who believe in Christ should
be saved without works, by faith only, freely receiving
remission of their sins." And yet we are anathematized
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 253
\)y tho Council of Trent for holding these views of the
early fathers ! There is one ground of complaint which
Protestants rightly, as I think, urge against their Roman
Cathohc brethren in relation to this subject. Our friends
unfairly and untruthfully represent the Protestant
doctrine of justification by faith only ; as though we
meant, by being justified freely by grace through
faith, that this faith is alone in man without true repen-
tance, hope, charity, dread, and the fear of God, at any*
time and season. Now, when we say that believers are
justified freely by faith, we do not mean that nothing is
afterwards required from the justified person. " This
saying," to employ the exposition of one of the Homilies
of the Church of England, " that we be justified by
faith only, freely and without works is spoken for to
take away clearly all merit of our works as being
unable to deserve our justification at God's hands, and
thereby most plainly to express the weakness of man
and the goodness of God ; the great infirmity of ourselves,
and the might and- power of God ; the imperfectness of
our own works, and the most abundant grace of our
Saviour Christ ; and therefore wholly to ascribe the
merit and deserving of our justification unto Christ only,
and his most precious blood shedding." The eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth Articles of the Church of England
seem to exhaust this branch of our subject. " We are
accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not
for our own works . or deservings : Wherefore, that we
are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome doctrine,
and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in
254 LECTURE VI.
the Homily of Justification. Albeit that Good "Works^
•which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justifica-
tion, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity
of God's Judgment ; yet are they pleasing and accept-
able to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of
a true and lively Faith; insomuch that by them a
lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree
discerned by the fruit. Works done before the grace
of Christ, and the Inspiration of his Spirit, are not
pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith
in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men meet to
receive grace, or (as the School-authors say) deserve
grace of congruity : yea rather, for that they are not
done as God hath willed and commanded them to be
done, we doubt not but that they have the nature of sin."
Here we have the key to the interpretation of the
language of St. James, respecting the justification of
Abraham, upon which the Roman Catholic Church so
confidently relies for the support of her particular views.
St. Paul says of Abraham that he was justified by faith,
St. James, that he was justified by works. Now it is to
be noted that these apostles refer to different periods in
the life of the Patriarch ; St. Paul, to the period when
God promised that Isaac should be born ; and St. James to
the period when Abraham obeyed God as to the offering
up of Isaac. Surely the Patriarch was justified when he
believed God's promise concerning the bii-th of a son,
for it is said that the faith was imputed to him unto
justification. James speaking of a period forty-one years
afterwards, when Abraham obeyed the voice of God,
sa}^ that he was justified by works. How ? Why he
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 255
proved that his faith was not dead; he was justified in
the sight of men by his works ; he demonstrated to all
the world that he had faith, for he brought forth its
fruits. Here then we have a spiritual justification by
God through faith only, and a declarative justification
by ourselves through works ; I mean, that we declare
ourselves truly 'justified by God, when we bring forth
the fruits of faith.
Protestants do not deny, that there is needed, in
every sinner, a preparation of heart before he can
savingly believe. No sinner, for example, will even
seek, much less obtain justification, unless he is convinced
by the Holy Spirit of God of the evil of sin ; unless the
conviction is so deep as to lead to contrition and son-ow
of spirit, — so deep as to lead him to confess his trans-
gressions unto the Lord.
We now wish to show another difference between
Protestants and their Roman Catholic neiojhbours. With
us THE PENITENT CONFESSES HIS SINS TO GOD, and
asks for pardon through Christ. With them the
PENITENT CONFESSES TO THE PRIEST, and asks absolutiou
from the Church.
There are few tenets of the Church of Rome ajjainst
which Protestants feel so strong an objection as that
of auricular confession, i. e., the confession of sin in
the ear of the Priest of the Church. We read in the
Bible of confession of sin, but it is in the following
language, " I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and
my injustice have I not concealed." I read in 1 John
i. 9, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins ;" but there is not one word here of
256 LECTURE VI.
confession to the priest. In tlae Epistle of James, chapter
V, verse 16, I find the following passage : — " Confess
therefore your sins one to another : and pray one for
another, that you may be saved. For the continual
prayer of a just man availeth much." " Confess
your sins to one another. That is," says the Catholic
annotator, " to the priest of the church, whom (verse
14,) he had ordered to be called for, and brought
to the sick ; moreover, to confess to persons who
had no power to forgive sins, would be useless.
Hence the precept here means, that we must confess to
men whom God hath appointed, and who, by their
ordination and jurisdiction, have received the power of
remitting sins in his name." Notwithstanding this note,
Cardinal Cajetan, as we find in Catharinus lib. v, p. 444,
would not allow " any one place of Scripture to prove
auricular confession." Maldonat an old canonist of the
Church says, " that all the interpreters of the decrees
held that there was no divine precept for confession to
a priest ;" and Gregory de Valentia, writing on this very
subject acknowledged that some good Catholics did " not
believe in its necessity."
Protestants must have the letter of the word of God,
enjoining upon them the absolute necessity of confessing
to a priest, before they will be content to pour into the
ear of any mortal, of any one indeed but God their
Heavenly Father, all the secret thoughts and workings
of their hearts ; they must have higher authority than
the twelfth century, before they can allow their wives
and their daughters to be put upon the rack, which Dr.
Chaloner has constructed in his " Garden of the Soul,"
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 257
and which I would read to you this evening did not
decency forbid. If every ancient father of the Church
prescribed auricular confession, and the word of God
remained as it does in even the Douay Bible, Protest-
ants would reject the dogma as unscriptural, as unsafe,
as contributing to immorality of life, both in ministers
and in people. But the ancient fathers are against the
Church of Rome here, and I bid every Roman Catholic
to mark this. " What have I to do with men," inquires
St. Augustine, " that they should hear my confession, as
though they could heal my disease." " I do not force you"
says Chrysostom, " to disclose your sins to men ; review
and lay open your conscience before God. Show your
wounds to the Lord, the best of physicians, and seek
medicine from him."
Here then is another novelty which the Church of
Rome has introduced into her creed and practice, for
as we have already shown, auricular confession is sup-
ported neither by the letter of Scripture, nor by the
voice of antiquity.
While on this subject, having referred to the immoral
effects of the confessional, I must quote the following
from Dens : —
" What is the seal of sacramental confession ? It is
the obligation or debt of concealing those things which
are known from sacramental confession.
" Can a case be stated in which it is lawful to break
the sacramental seal ? It cannot be stated, though the
life or safety of a man or even the ruin of the state
should depend upon it ; nor can the supreme Pontiff
dispense with it ; so that on that account this secret of
258 LECTURE VI.
the seal is more binding than the obligation of an oath,
or vow, or a natural secret ; and that by the positive
will of God.
" What therefore ought a confessor to answer being
interrogated concerning truth, which he has known
through sacramental confession alone ? He ought to
answer that he does not know it ; and if necessary
confirm the same by an oath.
" It is objected that it is in no case lawful to tell a
falsehood, but the confessor would tell a falsehood,
because he knows the truth. Answer. I deny the minor
i. e., that the confessor would lie, because such confessor
is interrogated as a man and replies as a man ; but
now he does not know that truth as a man though he
knows it as God ; and that sense is naturally inherent
in the reply for when he is interrogated or replies out
of confession he is considered as a man."
Such are the enormities which we have been com-
pelled to lay before you, and to which this doctrine
unquestionably leads.
And now, fellow-sinners, suffer me to recall your
thoughts to a consideration, for a few minutes only, of
the grace and the glory of that doctrine which is revealed
to us in the text, the doctrine of justification by faith
only. I call you fellow-sinners, for I feel that I myself
am a guilty sinner before God, and that you, my
brethren in the flesh are guilty too. But oh ! the won-
drous grace, the boundless wisdom, the almighty power
of God have discovered, devised, and executed a scheme
of righteous mercy for the removal, the present removal,
of your guilt and of my guilt, of all the guilt of our
every soul.
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 259
What is it to be justified before God ? It is to have
my sins forgiven ; my poor unworthy soul acquitted
and accepted ; it is to have my offended Father
embracing me his prodigal child, clothing me with the
best robe, the robe of righteousness, placing the signet
of his love upon my finger, and killing for the feast of
joy the fatted calf. Can I justify myself? No ! It is
God that justifieth. Can any priest or prelate bestow
on me this grace of pardon ? No! "It is God that
justifieth." " I, even I am He that blotteth out thy trans-
gressions for my namesake." Can I contribute to my
justification ? No, for what am I ? All my righteous-
nesses are but as filthy rags ; I am a worm ; I am a man
of unclean lips ; I have broken the Divine commands
and if I could even now render obedience, this obedience
would not atone for past transgi-ession. " Whither oh
whither shall I fly?" Whither? to Christ my
only Lord, my only righteousness. Whither ? to
Jesus who saves his people from their sins ; to
Jesus who bare my sins in his own body on the
tree ; to Jesus, my sufiering, crucified, bleeding,
dying Saviour; my risen, exalted, interceding Lord.
Shall I then attempt to add to his merit by lacerating
this poor sinful body ? No ! for by His stripes and not
my own am I healed. Shall I pierce myself with spikes
and thorns for the purpose of helping to satisfy the
claims of divine justice ? No ! for He was wounded for
my transgressions. Shall I chastise my sinful flesh?
Shall I macerate this polluted clay ? No ! for the
chastisement of my peace was upon Him, and Hb
was bruised for my iniquities ; He is my all, and it
260
LECTURE Vr.
is only for me to come to God witli a broken and con-
trite spirit, renouncing all trust in my own righteous-
ness, accepting Christ as my Saviour, and trusting in
his righteousness and in his only, and then
" My debt is paid ; my soul is free,
And I am jnstified."
I need no other satisfaction than this ; it is all suffi-
cient, for it is infinite and it is present. And how vast
the love and condescension of my heavenly Father I
He permits me to approach him through Christ ; to
Him I may confess my sins, whether I am in the closet,
or in the busy world ; whether I am in a church, or a
conventicle ; whether I am on the mountain top, or on
the verdant plain ; whether I am gently gliding down
the river stream, or tempest-tossed upon the ocean wave ;
whether I am wading through the snows of Greenland,
or panting beneath a vertical sun in the deserts of
Africa ; whether I am in youth or in years, whether I
am in health or in sickness, whether I am just entering
into life, or quitting upon the bed of death this mortal
vale ; wherever I am, or in whatever circumstances, I
have a confessional, I have an ear open to my confes-
sions of sin, an ear into which I can pour without
restraint the troubles of my penitent spirit, and that
ear is the ear of God, — my Father I into that ear
I can utter my penitent complaint ! I have also a
Priest who has power upon earth to forgive sins, and
that is Jesus Christ the Great High Priest of the
Christian Catholic Church. I hear that Father
say : " Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
made as white as snow : and if they be red as crimson
THE ONE METHOD OF JUSTIFICATION. 261
they shall be white as wool ;" and I hear my High
Priest say : " Son be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven
thee."
No other absolution do I need, this is all suflScient
and I go on my way rejoicing ; no other satisfaction,
for in him are my sins exhausted ; No masses, for he
was once offered in the end of the world to take away
sin by the sacrifice of himself.
My dear hearers, have you thus come to God through
Christ ? Are you mourning before him this evening on
account of your sins ? Are you anxious for the com-
munication of pardoning mercy. Are you pouring
into the ear of the Lord God of Sabaoth your confes-
sions of sin ? Are you coming to God through your
only Priest ? Are you trusting to him alone making
mention of his righteousness, and of his only ?
Come , my guilty brethren, come,
Groaning beneath your load of sin,
His bleeding heart shall make you room,
His open side shall take you in ;
He calls you now, invites you home,
Come, O my guilty brethren, come ;
CSist your souls for a present conscious pardon upon the
infinite merits of your Divine Redeemer, so being
justified by faith you shall have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
m2
LECTURE VII.
"THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION.
There is not, probably, one of my hearei-s, who would
he disposed to deny, that the design of Christianity is
to make men holy. More than this, I question whether
there is within these walls, an individual, either Protest-
ant or Catholic, who will not agi*ee with the speaker
that that form of religion which tends not to individual
and ecclesiastical holiness, is unworthy of the designa-
tion Christian. If it is true that " a tree is knov/n by
its fruit," and if it is righteous to apply this principk,
as we may call it, to Churches, we might argue, ft jt^nor^,
that that system or section of Christianity which most
-successfully accomplishes this end, approa<)he3 nearest
to that divine original which has been sketched out in
the New Testament. We are quite w^illing to meet
our Roman Catholic friends on this ground, and are
glad that an opportunity will be afforded in the course
of this evening's lecture.
The subject which we have now to discuss, leads us
to consider not only theory of doctrine, but also
practice of life ; not only what we believe, but also, yea
<;hiefly, what we are, and what we do. Members of tho
Roman Catholic Church often assail their Protestant
brethren with the charge of nullifying the sanctity of
the Christian religion by the impious doctrine of Justi-
264 LECTURE VII.
fication by faith only. In a work entitled "Grounds of
Catholic Doctrine, now in use for the reception of con-
verts into the Church," printed and published by a
Roman Catholic bookseller in this city, I find the follow-
ing description of Protestants : — " Their church is not
Holy, neither in her doctrine, which, especially in the
first ' reformers,' was shamefully scandalous in the
encouraging lust and breaking of vows ; blasphemous
in charging God with being the author of sin ; and
notoriously wicked in their notions of free-will and pre-
destination ; nor is she Holy in the lives, either of her
first teachers, — none of which were remarkable for
sanctity, and the greater part of them infamous for their
vices, — or, of their followers, who, as many of their
chief Protestant writers have freely owned, instead of
growing better than they were before, by embracing
the 'reformed religion,' grew daily worse and worse."
Again : — "It is visible to any unprejudiced eye, that
there is not so much devotion, zeal or religion amongst
Protestants, as there is amongst Catholics. We never
hear of any instances of extraordinary sanctity amongst
them."
In "Catholic Tracts," No. 8, by Rev. T. Baddely,
entitled, " A sure way to find out the true rehgion," I
find this comparison of Roman Catholicism and Pro-
testanism: — "The holiness of the Catholic religion is
indeed very different from that of other religions:
because the religions taught by men teach doctrines
invented by Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Whitfield, and
other deluded and wicked men ; whereas the Catholic
Church teaches only that doctrine which Christ taught
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 265
his apostles ; consequently, if it was holy then, it is
holy now." Again : — " There is nothing in the Protest-
ant religion that can make a man more holy or more
virtuous. They have no sacrifice, nor sacraments,
except baptism, and that they begin to make light
account of. They receive no benefit when they go
to the Lord's Supper, because they receive nothing but
a sup of wine and a morsel of bread ; they have no
houses of devotion, no convents, or monasteries;
scarcely a book of spirituality."
Dr. Milner, one of the most liberal of Roman
Catholic controvertists, gives the following opinion of
Protestant sanctity: — "In a former letter to your
society, I have stated that sincere humility, by which,
from a thorough knowledge of our sins and misery, we
become little in our own eyes, and try to avoid, rather
than to" gain the praise and notice of others, is the very
groundwork of all other Christian virtues. It has been
objected to Protestants, ever since the defection of their
arrogant patriarch, Luther, that they have said little,
and have appeared to understand less, of this essential
virtue. I might say the same with respect to the neces-
sity of an entire subjugation of our other congenial
passions, avarice, lust, anger, intemperance, envy, and
sloth, as I have said of pride and vain glory "
Without dwelling upon the uncharitableness of many
of these remarks, I will just say that these friends of Pro-
testant humanity either knew, or ought to have known
that a change of heart and sanctity of life are insisted
on by all Evangelical Protestant communities, as essen-
tial to Christian character.
266 LECTURE Vli.
These observations have been suggested by the sub-
ject which has been appropriated to this evening's
discourse : — Regeneration by the Holy Spirit. The
words which I have selected for a text are found in
the Gospel according to St. John, chapter iii., verse 5 : —
" Jesus answered : Amen, amen, I say to thee,
UNLESS A man BE BORN AGAIN OF WATER AND THE
Holy Ghost he cannot enter into the kingdom
OF God."
We are to speak, then, of something without which
all other things are vain. If it can not be predicated
of us that we are born again, we are unfit for the king-
dom of God ; yea, we can never see it. "VVe may be
intelligent and intellectual, we may be orthodox and
moral, we may have the true Bible, and the true Priest-
hood, and the true visible Church, and the true
Sacraments ; but, if we are not born again, all these
outward circumstances and accidents will avail us
nothing. As St. Paul saith, in his letter to the Gala-
tians, "neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creature." What then are
Church Unity, and Church Infallibility, and Church
Apostolicity, without the New Birth ? Here is some-
thing which concerns you all, the responsibility of
which, you cannot shift upon either priest or church;
for the Blessed Saviour comes to you in his Gospel, and,
as with the voice of thunder, exclaims, to every one of
yo«, "you must be born again."
* The word TraXiyyeveffla, regeneration, taken in its
comprehensive sense, denotes any entire alteration of
* See Knapp.
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 267
state by which one is brought into a wholly new and
reformed condition. The change indicated by the term
is, however, invariably a change /or the better. Cicero,
for example, calls his restoration from exile, a regene-
ration; and Josephus denominates the restoration of
the Jewish land after the captivity, a regeneration of
the country. In Roman law, the manumission of a
slave was called his regeneration. In Matthew xix.,
verse 28, the word is employed to denote the change
from this to the heavenly world : " Verily, I say unto
you, that ye who have followed me ; in the regeneration^
when the son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty,
you also shall sit on twelve seats, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel."
When the Israelites spoke of a person changing his
religion, they used the phrases hirth^ and new birth ;
When a Gentile became a Jew, he was regarded as
new-born, a child, a new man, just beginning to live*
This might be called external regeneration. The term
was afterwards used by the Rabbins in a moral sense ;
since it became the duty of one who had been admitted
into the Jewish Church, to live according to Jewish
laws, and to have a better moral disposition. This is
internal, moral regeneration. The term was used in
both these senses in the time of Christ and his apostles.
Now it was not the manner of Christ and his apostles
to invent new terms, but to borrow terms from the
ancient Jewish phraseology, and transfer them to
Christianity. Hence we find the tenns regeneration,
begotten again, born again, bora of God, used in the
New Testament in the two following senses : —
268 LECTTRE VII.
(1.) To denote a passing over, externally, from
Judaism or Heathenism to the Christian society, and
making an external profession of the Christian name.
Thus, the apostle Paul, in the epistle to the Ephesians,
speaking of the union of Jews and Gentiles into one
church, -says " that Christ has made in himself of twain
one new man," which cannot here denote internal re-
formation, because it could not be predicated of all
Gentiles who adopted the Christian profession.
(2.) But the term regeneration and its cognates is
•more frequently employed in scripture to denote an
internal change, a moral renewal of the heart and dis-
positions of man, which empowers the subject of it to
renounce the love of sin, to follow after holiness, to do
the will of God, from the higher motives of love to the
Father and to Christ. In this sense the creation of a
new heart is spoken of even in the Old Testament;
circumcision of heart is an expression which is also
used. Again ; a " new heart," a " new mind," a " new
spirit," which has God for its author: expressions
which are transferred by the apostles to the New
Testament. Paul speaks of " putting on the new man ;"
he speaks also of the Christian being made " a new
creature in Christ Jesus;" St. John also designates
Christians " sons of God," because they are " born of
God."
There are two passages of scripture, in which these
two meanings of regeneration are, as we suppose,
combined; one is our text, the other is its par-
allel in Titus iii, 5 : — " According to his mercy he
saved us, by the laver of regeneration and renovation
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENEBATION. 269
of the Holy Ghost ;" — language very similar to that
which the Great Teacher addressed to Nicodemiis :
"Unless a man be bom again of water and of the
Holy Ghost," i. e. unless a man consecrate himself by
baptism to the profession of my religion, and become,
by the renewing of the Holy Spirit, a reformed man, a
child of God, a friend of God, hke him in moral cha-
racter, bearing his image, he cannot be considered, a
member of the Messiah's spiritual kingdom either on
earth or in heaven. A great deal of the confusion
which has arisen respecting baptism and regeneration,
has been caused by not considering the first or pro-
fessional sense in which ^ome of the early fathers,
(Ignatius and Justin, for example,) and probably the
apostle in the verse in Titus just quoted, used the word
regeneration, as altogether different from and by no
means necessarily connected with that positive change
which is inwrought in the heart of every true Christian
by the power of the Holy Ghost.
It is to this latter, more general and more moment-
ous sense of regeneration that we now invite your
attention, in a series of propositional truths : and surely
it will accord both with the sanctity of this place, and
the supreme importance of the subject under considera-
tion, for me to invite my every hearer to offer present
prayer to the Father, through the Son, for the enhghten-
ing grace of the Holy Spirit.
First, — The natural depravity of the human heart
IS the doctrinal fact upon which rests the
necessity of that spiritual change which is
designated in the text, being born again.
270 XECTURE VII.
The truth of this proposition none of us will be dis-
posed to question. The depravity of man is acknow-
ledged, with but little variation, by both Protestant and
Roman Catholic authorities. The first and second
Canons passed in the fifth Session of the Council of
Trent read thus : — " Whoever shall not confess
that when Adam, the first man, transgressed the
commandment of God given him in paradise, he
lost immediately the purity and righteousness in which
he was created ; and by the sin of his prevarication
incurred the wrath and indignation of God, and
consequently death, with which God had before
threatened him ; and with death, captivity to him who
thence hath the power of death, that is the devil ; so
that by this offence of prevarication the whole man was
changed for the worse, both in body and soul : let him
be accursed. Whoever shall aflSrm that Adam's pre-
varication injured himself only, and not his posterity,
and that he lost the purity and righteousness which he
had received from God, for himself only, and not also
for us ; or that when he became polluted by disobedience
he transmitted to all mankind corporal death and
punishment only, but not sin also, which is the death of
the soul : let him be accursed."
The ninth article of the Church of England is very
clear and expressive on the subject : — " Original Sin
standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pela-
gians do vainly talk ;) but it is the fault and corruption
of the nature of every man, that naturally is ingendered
of the offspring of Adam ; whereby man is very far
gone from original righteousness, and is of his own
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 27 1
nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always
contrary to the spirit ; and therefore in every person
born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and dam-
nation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea
in them that are regenerated ; whereby the lust of the
flesh, called in the Greek, phronema sarkos, which some
do expound the wisdom ; some, sensuality ; some, the
affection ; some, the desire of the flesh ; is not subject to
the Law of God. And although there is no condem-
nation for them that believe and are baptized, yet the
Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath
of itself the nature of sin."
Here then we agree : we are not only guilty, we are
depraved also ; we are not only under the condemna-
tion of the law, our hearts also ai'e deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked ; we not only need
pardon and justification, we need also spiritual renewal
or the new birth. This is clearly set forth by our Lord
in his discourse with Nicodemus. The import of his
language is : ye are already born, but " ye must be
born again ;" ye are already born, but it is " of the
flesh," of human nature, of corruption, of sin ; " That
which is born of the flesh is flesh," that which is born
of sin is sinful. Ye are all the children of wrath, for
behold ye were born in sin and shapen in iniquity.
Oh that the solemnity of this truth were now impressed
by the Holy Spirit upon our every mind ! I am far
from God; I am ignorant of God; my heart is at
enmity against him ; I see him not ; I hear him not ; I
feel him not ; He is not in my thoughts ; I am a sinner,
depraved, corrupt, loathsome, vile ; I am lifeless —
21 2 LECTURE VII.
DEAD ; I am ready to perish ; to sink into perdition !
This is my state by nature ; this is my present state,
unless I am converted and regenerate. My dear hearers,
endeavour to reahze this your fearful, wretched, deplor-
able, and dangerous condition, while I press upon your
attention the words of the Saviour, " Ye must be born
AGAIN."
The Council of Trent, in her third and fifth Canons
on Original Sin, has, in effect, taken away this ground
of the necessity of regeneration. These canons express-
ly state, that the guilt, the pollution, the very in-being
of sin are washed away in baptism ; washed away not
only in the case of infants, but even in that of adults.
There is not the least ambiguity in the language em-
ployed, as you will immediately see : — " Whoever shall
afiirm, that this sin of Adam, which originally was one
offence only, but being transmitted to all by propagation,
not by imitation, becomes the sin of all, can be taken
away by the strength of human nature, or by any other
remedy than the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
one Mediator, who hath reconciled us to God by liis
blood, and ' is made to us justice, santification, and
redemption.' (1 Cor. i. 30 ;) or shall deny that the
merit of Christ Jesus is applied, both to adults and
infants, by the sacrament of baptism, rightly administer-
ed according to the form of the church : let him be
accursed. Whoever shall deny that the guilt of original
sin is remitted by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,,
bestowed in baptism ; or shall affirm, that that wherein
sin truly and properly consists is not wholly rooted up,
but is only cut down, or not imputed : let him be
accursed."
THF OKE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 2*73
The following sentiments also occur in the Catechism
of the Council : " Baptism washes away the stains of
sin." " The law of Baptism extends to all, insomuch
that, unless they are regenerated by the grace of bap-
tism, be their parents Christians or infidels, they are
born to eternal misery and everlasting destruction."
Again : " If then through the transgression of Adam,
children inherit the stain of primeval guilt, is there not
still stronger reason to conclude that the efiicacious
merits of Christ the Lord, must impart to them that
justice and those graces which will give them a title to
reign in eternal life ? This happy consummation
BAPTISM ALONE CAN ACCOMPLISH." " Infants uulcss
baptized cannot enter heaven." Once more : " The
salutary waters of baptism, not only wash away all the
stains of past sins, but also enrich the soul with divine
grace, which enables the Christian to avoid sin for the
future, and to preserve the invaluable treasures of
righteousness and innocence."
> These doctrines being so prominently inculcated in
the standards of the church, it need not surprise us that
there is so utter an absence in Roman Catholic teaching,
both public and private, of all reference to the necessity
of the New Birth. Baptism, indeed, takes its place ;
the members of the church are taught, that if they are
baptized, (whether as infants or as adults it matters
not,) the guilt and the pollution of sin are of necessity
entirely washed away. They may contract new guilt,
their souls may become again spotted by sin, but there
are close at hand confession, and absolution, and pen-
nance ; these will remove the newly contracted guilt
274 LECTURE VII.
and pollution ; and so tlie whole system of salvation,
essentially spiritual in its nature, is ritualized by that
churcli which assumes to itself the sole distinction of
apostolical.
Secondly, — Regeneration is an Inward, Spiritual
CHANGE.
Nicodemus, you observe, was giving a natural inter-
pretation to the Saviour's words ; but our divine teacher
immediately corrected his misapprehension, and showed
him that, by the language which he employed, he
meant to enforce the necessity of a spiritual change.
Except a man be born " from above " {avix)QEv) ; " ex-
cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot see the kingdom of God." " Ye must be born
FROM ABOVE." There is nothing natural or physical in
the whole thing ; it is supernatural, it is spiritual, it is
heavenly. And because it is a spiritual change, it is
holy ; purity is its leading characteristic, for it is from
heaven, and heaven is holy ; it is from God, and God
is pure. It is a change from sin to holiness ; from
sinful motives, to pure motives ; from sinful desires, to
holy desires ; from sinful propensities, to holy propen-
sities : It is a change from death to life, — from the
death of sin to the life of righteousness : It is a change
from spiritual torpor to spiritual action, from spiritual
blindness to spiritual eyesight : It is a translation from
the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God's dear
Son ; a transformation from the image of sin and the
world, to the image of God's righteousness and true
holiness. The change is so great, so real, so marked,
so decided, so conspicuous, that it can be neither mis-
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 21 5
taken nor misunderstood. It is real and not relative,
it is radical and not superficial ; it readies down to the
very depths of the inner man. Listen to two or three
passages of the New Testament, which speak of this
change : " God," says St! Paul, in his Epistle to
Ephesus, " who is rich in mercy, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ."
Here this divine change is spoken of as a resurrection
from the dead. In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians,
the same apostle compares it with a new creation ; for
he speaks of the regenerate man as a new creature, old
things having passed away, and all things being made
new. In another place it is spoken of as an introduc-
tion from darkness into light : passages which all show
that regeneration is not only a spiritual change, but that
it is a change of so positive and decided a character as
to be immediately recognized both by the subject and
the observer.
For the same reason which we just now advanced,
viz. : — that our Roman Catholic friends regard Baptism
by the very act itself (ex opere operato) as producing
regeneration, and as capable of doing this without
respect to the quality of the subject, — ^the spiritual
character of the change is completely lost sight of. I
know that the Catechism of the Council of Trent
declares that free-will, faith, and penitence, are disposi-
tions necessary for baptism ; that the rite is to be forced
upon no one ; and that it has been the invariable prac-
tice of the Church, to administer baptism to no
individual without previously asking him if he were
willing to receive it. But the practice of the Church
276 LECTURE VII.
is not invariable. In the Bihliotheca Ferraris^ I read,
that any voluntary consent is sufficient, although it is
mixed with an involuntary one, extorted by force or
fear in any manner. Pope Innocent III. quoted by this
author, says : " He who is violently attracted by terrors
or punishment, and, lest he should receive detriment,
receives the sacrament of baptism, such a one receiv^es
the character, the impress of Christianity." But then
it is not to be concealed that Roman Catholic divines <
distinguish between a valid and a fruitful reception of
baptism.
The doctrine of the Council of Trent, as expressed in
the Catechism is as follows : " Another necessary con-
dition is compunction for past sins, and a fixed deter-
mination to refrain from their future commission ;
should any one dare to approach the baptismal font, a
slave to vicious habits, he should be instantly repelled ;
for what so obstructive to the grace and virtue of bap-
tism as the obdurate impenitence of those, who are
resolved to persevere in the indulgence of their unhal-
lowed passions." It would have been well for the
Church of Rome, and for Christianity in general, if
this excellent and scriptural requirement had been uni-
versally attended to ; but alas, it has been almost en-
tirely disregarded. Cardinal Wiseman himself, and his
authority as an- expounder of Roman Catholic doctrine,
few will be disposed to question, in his lectures on the
doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church, vol. i,
p. 131, teaches that strict examination of baptismal
c andidates is unnecessary. This is his language :
" Apply this to the two rules of faith » and suppose a
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 2l1
Missionary arriving in a foreign country, where the
name of Christ was not known, and advancing as his
fundamental rule, that it was necessary for all men to
read the Bible, and for each one to satisfy his own mind
on all that he should believe. I ask you, not if you
think it possible that thousands could be said to be
properly converted by one discourse, under such a prin-
ciple, but whether, if the Missionary conscientiously
believed and taught this principle, he could, in one day,
admit those thousands, by the baptismal rite, into the
religion of Christ ? Would he be satisfied that he had
made true converts, who would not go back from the
faith once received ? I am sure any one conversant
with the practice of modern Missions, will be satisfied
that no Missionary, except one from the (Roman)
Catholic Church, would receive persons so slightly in-
stmcted into its bosom, or be satisfied that they would
persevere in the religion they had adopted. But they
can do it at this day, and they have done it in every
age ; for St. Francis Xavier, like the Apostles, converted
and baptized his thousands in one day, who remained
steadfast in the faith and law of Christ. And all may
be so admitted at once into the (Roman) Catholic reli-
gion, who give up their belief in their own. individual
judgment, and adopt the principle, that whatever the
(Roman) Catholic Church shall teach them, must be
true."
That the Cardinal speaks here of baptism adminis-
tered not validly merely, but fruitfully, is clear from his
comparing the converts of Xavier, with the converts of
the apostles ; forgetful that they worked miracles, and
278 LECTURE VII.
were empowered to read the hearts of men, and are
therefore no rule in this respect for ordinary ministers.
Besides, the Cardinal's theory is wholly opposed to the
teaching of the Fathers, for St. Augustine, Cyril, and
Jerome, as it is known to any one acquainted with their
writings, insisted upon the minute instruction of candi-
dates for baptism. Now it cannot but be, that a theory
which is so contrary to experience will be practically
disregarded. True, Roman Catholic divines speak of a
spiritual change, so spiritual and so extensive as that
the very roots of sin are plucked up and destroyed from
the soul, but then, they ascribe this work to baptism ;
and when the people see that even in baptized adults
the same old habits, dispositions, tempers, propensities
remain, when they see that in most instances the water
of baptism touches only the head, and that there is no
special washing of the inner man, they soon begin to
suspect that the doctrine is one grand Christian hoax.
Granted that baptism is a Christian sacrament, that as
a sacrament, when received in faith it is a sign and a
seal of inward renewal ; granted further, that when the
adult penitent receives the sacrament in the faith of
Christ, it becomes the instrument of regeneration ; but
then this is a very different theory from that of the
Cardinal, who contends that a Christian missionary,
upon the consent of five hundred or one thousand
idolaters, or cannibals, or devil worshippers, and a sum-
mary and very general profession on their part of faith
in Christ, is authorized to baptize them en masse. And
I confess that for me to believe that the sacramental
water thus applied in the name of the blessed Trinity
THE ONE AGENT OP REGENERATION. 2*79
would, ex opere operato, regenerate every one of these
idolaters, these devil worshippers, these cannibals, Atould
make them new creatures, would remove the guilt of
sin, would uproot the seeds of sin, would secure to them,
were they immediately to die, an entrance into the
kingdom of heaven, requires a stretch of credulity equal
to that which a man evinces when he adopts the pro-
fession of atheism. Is it any marvel that in the midst
of such views and practices the spiritual character of
regeneration should disappear ?
Thirdly, The Agent of our Regeneration is the
Holy Spirit of God and He alone.
From first to last the work is His. From the first
ray of convincing light which pierces the dark mind of
the sinner, to that regenerating change which introduces
him into the light of spiritual day — the day of holiness,
the work is wholly His. The sense in which we are
said to be born of water has been already intimated :
The sense in which we are represented as being born of
the incorruptible seed of the word, so far from disallow-
ing the sole agency of the Holy Ghost, rather confirms
it ; for that word is nothing, imparts no life, without
his quickening power. Roman Catholics will say,
" this is our doctrine ;" we grant that several instances
may be pointed out in which the theory of regeneration
by the Spirit is defined, (not perhaps very clearly,) but,
methinks, to give to an external rite that prominence
which the Council of Trent imparts to it, and that
greater prominence with which the practice of the
Catholic Church invests it ; to make the new birth so
280 LECTURE VII.
intimately and invariably dependent on its administra-
tion ; to say that no man can be regenerated without
baptism, and that baptism intentionally ministered, and
willingly received, always produces regeneration ; to
declare, so solemnly as that all who deny it are anathem-
atized, that the absence of the rite, whatever other
qualities or graces may exist, leads infallibly to everlast-
ing damnation, and this in the case of helpless infants,
is, as I think, to limit the power and the benignity of
the Holy Spirit, and to stigmatize with injustice the
gracious scheme of redemption ; it is to rob the Holy
Spirit of his prerogative, and to place that prerogative,
virtually at least, in mortal hands. Now I will ask
you, whether Paul could have entertained the modern
Roman Catholic view of baptism, the Trentine view I
mean, and yet have consistently written, as he did, to
the Corinthian Church : " I give God thanks, that I
baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gains. Lest
any should say that you were baptized in my name.
And I baptized also the household of Stephanas : besides,
I know not whether I baptized any other." Could any
Roman Catholic Bishop, with his views of Baptism,
insert in a pastoral letter, I give God thanks that I
baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius ? I trow
not. Paul knew how to distinguish between the work
of the spirit, and the signification of a sacrament. Now
the Roman Catholic theory would require us to believe
that Crispus, Gaius, and the house of Stephanas were
all in the Corinthian Church, whom Paul had instini-
mentally introduced into the regenerate state ; but his
own language in the fourth chapter of this same epistle,
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 281
completely sets aside this view : " For if you have
ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many
fathers. For in Christ Jesus by the gospel I have
begotten you." Again : If no one can be rege-
nerated, can receive the Spirit of God, but by
baptism, as the whole Roman Catholic Church declares,
how came it to pass that when Peter preached
to Cornelius and his company, the Holy Ghost descended
upon them before baptism, and that Peter viewed this
descent as qualifying them to receive the jite or
sacrament : " While Peter was yet speaking these
words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the
word. And he commanded them to be baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they desired
him to tarry with them some days." Oh ! my brethren,
regeneration is the Spirit's work, for the birth is Divine,
It is as true now as it was in the days of the apostles,
that to AS MANY AS RECEIVE ChRIST BY FAITH' the pOWCT
is given to become the sons of God ; " who are born not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God."
Fourthly. The fruit of Regeneration is Sanctifi-
CATION.
This is a truth which Catholics in general, might
probably be disposed to concede. But what is sanctifi-
cation ? It is living holiness. Regeneration is the
birth, sanctification is the life. Regeneration is a
change from nature to grace, sanctification is not a
change, but a state ; a state of holiness. It is holiness
of heart and life. It comprises therefore two branches,
282 LECTURE VII.
though the stock is one ; the one inward, the other
outward. Inward holiness, to adopt the language of
the Westminster Confession, is " the destruction of the
whole body of sin, it is the mortification of the lusts of
the soul, it is the existence of the Spirit's grace and
strength in the inner man, it is the principle of pure
love to God and to all mankind." Outward holiness is
obedience to the law and will of God ; it comprehends
holiness of dispositions, holiness of temper, holiness of
word, - holiness of action, it comprehends self-denial,
daily cross-bearing, love of prayer, charity to the poor,
benevolence and even beneficence to our enemies ; it
embraces temperance of living, honesty of purpose and
action, humility of deportment, obedience and deference
to superiors, chastity of life. Let me read to you from
the Douay Bible a few passages illustrative of these
views : — " And what concord hath Christ with Belial ?
Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever ?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with
idols ? For ye are the temple of the living God : as
God saith : / will dwell in them^ and walk among them,
and I will be their God, and they shall he my people.
Wherefore, Go out from among them, and he ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. And
I will receive you ; and I will he a Father to you : and
you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Al-
mighty. Having therefore these ^ promises, dearly
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of
the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting sanctification in
the fear of God." The same apostle in his epistle to
the Romans, chapter vi., 6, says : " Knowing this that
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 283
our old man is crucified with liim, that the body of sin
may be destroyed, to the end we may serve sin no
longer." In the fifth chapter of his epistle to Galatians
we have the following impressive view of Christian
sanctification : — " But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity,
joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity,
mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against
such there is no law. And they that are Christ's, have
crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupscences.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not be made desirous of vain glory, provoking
one another, envying one another." Saint Peter also,
in the second chapter of his fii'st epistle says, " You are
a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation,
a purchased people, that you may declare his virtues
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light." These are apostolic views of the effects of regene-
ration, and where these fruits, in more or less matunty,
do not appear, there exists not true holiness, there is the
absence of regenerating grace. Christianity is a holy
thing. True Christianity sanctifies every thing
that it touches, and purifies every man whom it rightly
influences. That holiness is the prevailing characteristic
of all true Christians, may appear from the very term
by which the apostles designate them. They call
believers " sam^s." This is their usual form of address
in their epistles to the Churches ; the Romans were " call-
ed to be saints" and the Corinthians also. " Paul to all
the saints who are at Ephesus, Paul to the saints and
faithful brethren in Christ Jesus who are at Colossa,"
are the superscriptions of two of his epistles.
284 lECTTTRE Tir,
Our Roman Catholic friends Lave limited tlie meaning^
of the term " saints f and, without any authority from
the word of God, they apply it only to those who have
been canonized by the Pope, and placed upon the Holy
Calen^iar. And here, perfiaps, it may be well to refer
to those characteristics by which the Chnrch of Rome
judges of the holiness of her members, and of their
worthiness for canonization. Every Roman Catholic?
knows that his Church grounds the sanctity of indivi-
duals on the amount and severity of their austerities,
and on the number and magnitude of the supposed
miracles which they have wrought. Take up the lives
of your saints, and you will find that their holiness was-
chiefly a ritual holiness : Prayers, fasts, penhances,
lacerations, exposures to cold, bodily fatigues, fightings
for the Church, destraying heretics ; these things^
together with the working of some few miracles, are
quite sufficient, in the Church of Rome, to establish th^
holiness of an individual, and to give him the distinc-
tion of a saint.
The saints of the Church of Rome may be divided
into several classes. There are some who, by means of
immense wealth have been great benefactors to the
Church ; others who from the high authority which they
possessed became the patrons and defenders of the
Church. Many have been canonized because of a lifd
of long and affected retirement; and others again
because they have returned from a dissolute life to the
service of God and of the Church.
I shall now adduce some of the grounds upon which
several of the canonized saints of the Chmch of Rome
have been raised to so elevated a distinction : —
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 285
^ Of St. Patrick it is said (Roman Breviary) that he was
wont to repeat daily the whole psalter, together with
the canticles and two hundred hymns and prayers ;
three hundred times on each day to worship God upon
his knees, and in each canonical hour of the day to
sign himself one hundred times with the sign of the
cross. Dividing the night into three portions, he spent
the first in running through one hundred psalms, and
in two genuflexions ; the second in running through the
other ''fifty psalms in cold water, with his heart, eyes,
and hands raised to heaven ; he yielded the third part
to a short sleep upon a hard stone. To these devotions,
miracles without, end may of coui'se be added ; such as
restoring sight to the blind, and health to the sick,
and raising nine dead persons to life. I ask my
Roman Catholic hearers if these characteristics of
sanctity are apostolic. Did Paul thus ? Did he exhort
Timothy or Titus to such practices ? Are these the
methods for obtaining holiness which John prescribed ?
No ! " If we walk in the light, as he also is in the
light : we have fellowship one with another, and
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin."
From the Golden Legend, and Grey's Lives of the
Saints, we have the following instances of the sanctity
and power of the saints : —
" St. Clare was in such esteem with God, that with-
out the least difficulty she obtained whatever she asked.
From her very infancy there appeared surprising signs
of her future sanctity. Even from that early period she
prayed, fasted, gave alms, and wore a hair cloth to
n2
286 LECTURE VII.
mortify the flesh. She was seldom alone in her pious
exercises. On one occasion, a very beautiful child, with
two radiant wings flew into her lap — at another time
she saw the young child Jesus lying in his manger.
In her dying moments, Jesus was seen near her acom-
panied by several virgins crowned with flowers. One
of them in particular, who wore a close crown more
radiant than the sun, embraced her ; the rest spread a
carpet of inestimable value over her body." The nuns
of the Convent to which this saint belonged, made a
post mortem examination of her body, and found
engraved upon her heart, as she had often previously
aflSrmed, a figure of Christ upon the cross and all
the instruments of his passion. Is there, I ask,
anything like this in the Christianity of the New
Testament ?
St. Theresa had many extraordinary visions ; during
one of which, it is mentioned that a divine love-wound
was made in her heart, by a seraph with a golden
arrow, pointed with red-hot steel.
St. Bonaventure not being able to take the Holy
Eucharist in. the usual way, through violent indisposition
in the stomach, had the holy pyx placed upon his
breast, and the sacred wafer instantly penetrated that
way into his very bowels, in order to become the life of
his soul.
St. Francis Xavier, so noted a saint in the Roman
Catholic Church, demands some mention. That he was
a hero, no one will doubt, who has read his life ; that he
was diligent in the discharge of his ecclesiastical func-
tions, is no less unquestionable — that he was bent upon
THX ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 28i7
'ihe success of the order to whicli he belonged and of
which he was one of the earliest members, is evidenced
hj every page of his remarkable history : biit, that he
x^as possessed of supernatural sanctity, who will believe,
when it is known, that he praised the inquisition after
visiting its cruel dungeons ? Yet, there w^sre some noble
traits of character in St. Francis, There was e. g, an
wtter disregaixi of difficulties in the prosecution of his
labours. On one occasion his friends attempted to
dissuade him from undertaking a mission on account of
its extraordinary dangei-s. " Ah," said he " who are
they that set bounds to the power of Ood, and have
such mean ideas of the grace of our Saviour! And
are there any hearts hard enough to resist the power of
the Most High when it pleases Him to soften and to
change them ? Can they resist this power, at the same
time so gentle and so strong, that makes the dry branch
nourish, and raises up children unto Abraham from the
stones? What! cannot he that subdued the whde
world to the empire of the Cross by the ministry of the
Apostles bring into subjection that little corner of the
■esLTth. ? Are the islands of the Moor, alone, to be ex-
<5luded from the benefits of redemption ? And when
Jesus offered all the nations to His Eternal Father as a
heritage, were those people to be excepted ? They are
very barbarous and very brutal, I know ; but they were
■once more so ; neither can I do anything of myself,
and therefore I have the more hope of them. I oan do
all things in Him that strengtheneth me, and from Him
alone Gospel-workmen gather all their power." The
miracles which Xavier is said to have wrought might
288 LECTURE VII.
fill a volume. Here is one : " When sailing, one day,
among some islands,. a tempest arose, and, in order to
quell it, as they say, he touched the waves with his
crucifix. The virtue of his crucifix stilled the raging of
the wind and sea ; but, to his great grief, he let the
image fall into the water. Some time afterwards, walk-
ing with a Portuguese on the beach, he saw the sacred
object appear above the crest of a wave. The wave
broke on the sand, and threw up a crab holding the
crucifix in one of its claws. Xavier stood still. The
crab crawled towards him, carrying the cross erect, laid
it at his feet, and returned to its native element." At
his death his body saw no corruption ; by touching it
a sick man was instantly healed, and from it the richest
odours were exhaled.
But why should I occupy your time with such
strange and wonderful details ? If these are qualifica-
tions for saintship, then have I read my Bible to no
purpose. No such prescriptions for securing holiness
do I discover here — no such evidences of sanctity are
demanded here. What are gifts to Christian love?
Hear the apostle: "If I speak with the tongues
of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am be-
come as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if
I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and
if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not
charity, it profiteth me nothing." This is the true
principle of spiritual Christianity, as Paul understood it,
and enforced it ; and this is the Protestant principle —
would God it were more the Protestant practice !
Dr. Milner finds no saintship amongst the most re-
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION, 289
nowned Protestants. They come far short, in his esti-
mation at least, of the holiness of the worthies of his
own church. He professes to he conversant with the
works of Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley. Had he read his
life with candour, shame would have compelled him to
expunge from his book, this self-sufficient, this unchari-
table, this derogatory sentiment. I wish every intelli-
gent Catholic would read and compare the life of
Xavier, by Bonhours, or even by Alban Butler, and
that of Fletcher, by Benson ; let him then tell me
whether Dr. Milner was just when he charged upon
Protestantism an incapability to make its followers
holy. Were not the life and labours of the Swiss
Pastor, Felix Neff, both saintly and apostolic ? Who
that has been in th^ habit of witnessing the dying
hours of faithful Protestant Christians, has not often
discovered a courage and a victory over death scarcely
less remarkable than that which distinguished Paul,
when he said, "I am now ready to be oflfered."
"Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. I will read to
you the closing scene of one of the most celebrated
modern saints in the Roman Calendar — distin-
guished for his devotion to the church, and to
piety, I mean Alphonso Liguori ; and then I will read
an account of the closing hours of a good Protestant,
which I this morning, almost at random, took down
from my library shelves ; The Rev. Peard Dickinson.
8. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI.
"On the 8th of July, 1787, in addition to his old
complaints, he was attacked by a sharp fever, together
290 LECTURE vn.
with a terrible dysentery. These were symptoms so
little to be mistaken, that, although he had been
absolved three days before by Father Vincenzo Magaldi
of the congregation, he confessed again to Father
Lorenzo Negri of the congregation also, and after having
received absolution, was released from all his usual
anxiety, and broke forth into expressions of the liveliest
joy and hope, the Lord being doubtless willing to
console his servant by a foretaste of Paradise, for all
that he had made him suffer during this life, and
especially for the grievous temptations against faith, by
which he had been assailed some time after his retire-
ment from his diocese. His sufferings lasted for fourteen
days, during which he was constantly engaged in acts
of piety, keeping his eyes lovingly fixed upon the
crucifix and image of the blessed Mother ; confessing
frequently, and communicating every day.
" The news of his mortal illness having been spread
abroad, priests, secular as well as regular, and persons
of the highest distinction, came from all parts to kiss
his hand, bringing kerchiefs, and other things, to
sanctify by contact with him, and preserve as relics.
At length it became necessary for him to receive the
sacrament of Extreme Unction, which he did with the
most fervent acts of faith, hope, charity, resignation,
and joy. On the 25th of the same month, he received
the Blessed Sacrament as a viaticum ;• and when the
time for communicating approached, eveiy moment
appeared intolerably long, and unable to contain him-
self, he incessantly exclaimed, give me the body of my
Jesus — when will Jesus come to me ? — when shall I
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 291
possess him ? His longings having been at length
satisfied, he sunk into a long and deep meditation upon
the love of Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament.
" Four dsijs before his death he was seized with
convulsions so violent as to deprive him of the use of
speech. On the thirtieth day of the month, Father
Villani not thinking it safe to give him the Viaticum,
as he was afraid he should not be able to swallow, one
of the fathers desired him to make a spiritual commun-
ion, which he did, showing by his eyes and various
signs, that he joined in the devout sentiments suggested
by that father. On the day before his death Monsignor
Tafuri came to visit him, and seeing him so near his
dissolution, reverently kissed his hand, and placed it on
his head. On the day of his death, just before the
commencement of his agony, upon hearing the names
of Jesus and Mary, he Opened his eyes and appeared
somewhat to revive. What is even more surprising, on
the night before his death the image of the blessed
Mother having been brought near his bed, he not only
opened his eyes, but fixing them upon it, smiled sweetly,
his countenance all radiant with delight. Whence we
may all conclude, that the divine Mother blessed her
holy client with one of those visits which it was his
daily prayer to have at the hour of death, and which
he so often held out to all who should be devout to Mary.
Alphonsus straining the crucifix and image of most
holy Mary to his breast, the brethren in tears and
prayer around him, calmly and without struggle or con-
tortion, breathed forth his blessed soul, on Tuesday, the
1st August, 1787."
292 LECTURE VII.
REV. PEARD DICKINSON.
" On Tuesday, May 1 1th, in the midst of a violent
fit, I heard him whisper, ' We have erred and strayed
from thy ways Hke lost sheep.' I said, ' But are how
returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls ;' he
immediately replied, in broken words, with great
energy, ' It was all of grace, free mercy in Christ
Jesus.' After the fever abated that evening, and he
began a little to revive, his soul was abundantly filled
with divine consolation ; he seemed at a loss to express
the joy he felt, his love to Christ, or his view of God's
boundless mercy and infinite compassion. He said, ' I
seem all happiness.'
" During one of the following nights, he cried out,
' O happy, happy spirits, I see you, I see you all, and I
am coming to you. They are waiting for me, and I
must go;' and clapping his hands, he shouted,
' Victory, victory, my Jesus, and my All !' To one of
his nurses he said, ' For Christ's sake, make sure of an
interest in him ; it is neither Paul, nor ApoUos, nor
Cephas, nor any other creature, but Jesus Christ the
corner-stone : build upon him, as the sure foundation.'
"While taking a little refreshment, I perceived him
deeply engaged in prayer, and distinctly heard the fol-
lowing words : ' That an abundant entrance may be
administered unto us into the eternal kingdom.' Soon
after he said to me, ' The Lord give you the bread of
life.' I answered, ' I am sure he will give it you, and
I trust I shall partake of it :' he replied, ' I doubt not
but you will,' and spoke with sweet confidence of our
being mutual partakers of the blessings of the kingdom.
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 293
" To one of the nurses that attended him he said, ' I
liave not a shadow of doubt ; my evidence is as clear as
the noon-day sun I' At another time, ' I have nothing
but glory and heaven in my view ; my heart is full of
God, my cup runneth over !' He told her he should
* be glad to leave some further dying testimony, that
his friends might be satisfied, but that he was so low he
could not converse with them.' She repHed, ' You
have given us proof enough.' ' Then,' said he, * tell
them God is love ; I know and feel him so !' Having
had a very severe fit, and being extremely weak after
i% he said, ' What a mercy it is that the Lord careth
for the righteous !' A person present replied, ' He
does, and it shall be well with them.' ' Yes,' said he,
* well for ever and ever, glory be to God !' The nurse
giving him a little drink, with his hands clasped, and
his eyes lifted up to heaven, he entreated her to love
the Lord Jesus with her whole heart : ' 0,' said he.
* the sinner's friend I Never forget the sinner's
friend !'
"May 14th, in the evening, he appeared very
earnestly engaged in prayer; but I could only hear
these words, * Lord, make us wise unto salvation !' On
my going to him, he said, (with peculiar tenderness
taking my hand,) ' My dear love, sweet is thy voice ta
me : God bless you.' These are the last words he
spoke to me ; for a fit presently came on, which was
followed by a very painful and restless night. On May
15th, after being in extreme pain, when we thought
him past speaking, about two o'clock in the afternoon,
he opened his eyes, and, as the nurse was giving him a
294 LECTURE VII.
little wine with a teaspoon, lie suddenly stopped her
and pointing with his finger upward, he said, ' Hark !
do you not hear ? they are come for me. I am ready,
quite ready.' A few minutes after, she spoke to him
again, he said, ' Stop, say nothing but — Grlory, glory 1'
These were the last words he ever spoke. After a very
painful struggle, which lasted more than four hours, his
happy spirit took its flight, about twenty-five minutes
past seven o'clock in the evening."
Is there then no power in Protestant Christianity, to
make men holy, and to sustain the mind in death ?
We lay no claim on behalf of Protestant Christians,
to self-flagellations, to self-inflicted stripes and bruises
and wounds, to daily Aves and Pater Nosters which
may be reckoned by the hundred, to midnight vigils
on cold altar steps ; no claim do we lay to miraculous
gifts, to the gift of tongues, of healing, of raising the
dead, of quelling the fury of the elements ; no claim
lay we on behalf of the dead bodies of Protestants to
sweet instead of corruptible odours, to incorruption,
to the impartation, by mere contact, of health to the
dying, and of life to the dead. No ! the bodies of the
holiest Protestants see corruption. This we are obliged
to confess. They crumble into dust. Like most other
mortals, Protestants " come forth like a flower and are
cut down, they flee also as a shadow and continue not."
Protestant dust returns to the earth as it was:
— but we do claim for Protestant Christians, not
for all, alas ! who bear the Protestant name, but for all
who worthily bear it, we do claim, I say, deep sorrow
aad contrition of heart on account of sin, severe con-
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 295
flicts with their wicked hearts, the mortification of un-
holy desires, crucifixion to the world, self-denial, love to
the Redeemer, zeal for his cause, devotion to his glory :
We claim for them hours spent in communion with the
ever blessed Trinity, a knowledge of God's Word, a
love to their fellow men, liberality to the poor, integrity
of purpose, honesty of life, benevolence and beneficence
to their enemies : — We claim this for them, not for
their own honor, God forbid ! but for Christ's glory, for
it is He, and not themselves, who hath wrought in
them this grace, who hath wrought in them to will
and to do of God's good pleasure. They came to Him
as guilty sinners, they mourned at his cross, they cried
to him for mercy, they pleaded and believed his merits,
they waited for the descent of the Holy Spirit, and
the answer came : to use the words of Paul, as they
are written in the Douay Bible, God sent forth the
spirit of his Son into their hearts, crying : Abba, Father,
and then they were strengthened with might in the
inner man, then they were empowered to walk not after
the flesh but after the spirit, then they brought forth
those fruits of regeneration which are to the praise and
glory of God. Glory be to God alone for all that has
been experienced, and all that has been achieved by
true Protestant Christians. We pray that such may
abound yet more and more in all our communities.
We acknowledge the existence of much inconsistency,
vices alas prevail, and sin abounds, but our confidence
and our hope are this, that Protestant Christianity
which has done by the grace of God so much for the
world, especially within the last century, will accom-
296 LECTURE VII.
plish the spiritual regeneration of entire nominal
Christendom.
There is, however, this difference between the Protestant
and Roman Catholic Chm-ches : The Protestant Church
lays no claim to infallibility, but acknowledges herself
to be erring, and to be afflicted with grievous inconsis-
tencies over which her more spiritual and devoted
members mourn and weep. We thank God that there
is amongst us a little religion, but we acknowledge with
shame that it is very little, and with unaffected sincerity
that we lack more, much more. But the Roman
Catholic Church lays claim to infallibility, to unity, to
sanctity. She once had the true gospel, and because
she is infallible she must have it now. This is the
style of argument which is employed, and this the
opinion that is entertained by many Catholics ; but are
they fully acquainted with the history of their Church ?
We Protestants say, and we do it with all kindness,
that a Church assuming such attributes and powers as
the Church of Rome assumes, ought to be a holy and
regenerate Church ; but has she been, and is she now
thus holy and regenerate ? Let our friends only read
their own historians, and they, with us, will answer,
*'No." And why? because she has overlooked and
thrown aside the doctrine of spiritual regeneration by
the Holy Ghost as the one foundation of all holiness.
If you would but read the history of your Church from the
eighth to the sixteenth centuries, you would soon agi*ee
•with us that whatever other attributes she possessed, she
could lay no claim to those of sanctity and infallibility.
I read to you in the course of the last lecture that
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 297
graphic description of tlie state of the Roman Church
which was given to the- Council of Trent by one of its
Fathers, Antonius.
Let us examine other Koman Catholic authors :
Cardinal Baronius describes the Popes of these ages to
have been "monstrous and infamous in their lives,
dissolute in their manners, and wicked and villainous in
all things." Platina, the Roman historian, declares that
Pope Boniface VII. obtained the popedom by wicked arts
(malis artihus) and lost it in a similar manner. The
citizens conspired against him on account of his
iniquities, so that he was glad to fly the city ; during
his absence John XV. was elected in his room, but
Boniface returned and avenged himself upon his substi-
tute by starving him to death. He lived but a short
time, and after his death the citizens dragged his body
tied by the feet through the streets, and left it a prey
to dogs. And what shall we say of the boy Pope
Benedict the Ninth ? of whom one of his successors says
" So base, so foul, so execrable was his life that I
shudder to relate it."
Statements equally fearful respecting the clergy and
Church generally might he readily produced, but I have
only time to ask, are such things consistent with the
infallibility and sanctity of the Church ?
Regeneration is the want of the professing Church.
I now address myself more especially to Protestants,
and I feel sure that there is not in the congregation a
spiritually minded Protestant who will not agree with me
that we all need more of the regenerating grace of the
Holy Spirit. Our principles are holy and glorious;
298 LECTURE VII.
but what are our practices ? Our Gospel is pure and un-
adulterated ; but what are our lives ? Our knowledge of
the Bible is extensive ; but are we following its precepts ?
Our professions are great ; but are our principles of
action evangehcal ? Our privileges are abundant ; but
is there a coiTesponding progress in Christian knowledge
and love ? Why, I ask, is it, that the high and holy-
principles of Protestantism have not made more sure
and^ rapid advancement ? Why, but because we our-
selves have been unfaithful to those principles ? Why
is it that Protestantism has, in many instances, been a
by- word and a reproach amongst our Roman Catholic
brethren ? Why ? Partly because Protestants have
dishonoured that name for which our ancestors shed
their blood. Our charity has failed us ; our meekness
has failed us ; our devotion to the ordinances of religion
has failed us ; our benevolence has failed us ; our self-
denial has failed us ; our integrity has failed us ; the
fruits of Regeneration have failed in too many a Pro-
testant vineyard. I am addressing Protestants of almost
every name ; and I would say to myself and to you, let
us but be faithful to our privileges, let us but live in
purity, in benevolence, in charity, in peace, in devotion
to Christ's cause, in zeal for his glory ; let us but live and
labour for the instruction and salvation of those around
us, both Protestant and Catholic, who are in spiritual
darkness, and no weapon that is formed against us shall
prosper ; opposition may come, but, come whence it will,
it shall not hinder the word of the Lord from having
free course and being glorified. Let us, then, go this
evening to the fountain of grace, let us call upon the
THE ONE AGENT OF REGENERATION. 299
Divine Spirit, let us seek his regenerating, transforming,
sanctifying power, and may a merciful God vouchsafe to
answer !
— Shall we then for ever live
At this poor dying rate ?
Our love so faint, so cold to Thee,
And Thine to us so great !
Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With all thy quick'ning powers ;
Come, shed abroad tlie Saviour's love,
And that shall kindle ours.''
I believe I am addressing many hundreds, some of
you Catholics, but most of you Protestants, who feel
that you need that change of heart of which the blessed
Saviour spoke to Nicodemus, and without which no man
shall see the Lord. Oh, suffer me to plead with you this
evening in my Master's stead, and to say in his own
language. " Ye must be born again." I ask you not
your Church, your age, your rank in society ; I ask you
not whether you are educated or illiterate, I ask you not
whether you are baptized or unbaptized, but I ask you :
" Have you a sinful heart ? Are you living in rebellion
against your God ? Are you breaking the Divine Laws ?"
Is it so ? Then, on the authority of Christ I say, unless
you be born from above you cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. Would you be born again ? Repent
ye and believe the Gospel, for to as many as receive
Him, to them giveth He power to become the sons of
God. Would you have your hearts cleansed, would
you be justified and sanctified ? Come to that precious
blood of your Redeemer which cleanseth from all sin,
300 LECTURE VII.
for ye are washed, and sanctified, and justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
" Ye must be born again." ye spiritual prodigals!
Your offended Father is waiting to receive you ; long
have you wandered away from his home ; long have
you disregarded his government ; but lo ! he appears,
and from the distance where he now stands he cries,
" Come now and let us reason together though your sins
be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow." " Stands,"
did I say ? No ! he moves, he walks toward you ; walk
you towards him, and he will accept you and be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be his sons and daughters ;
and then, with wonder and with joy, you shall exclaim
together, " Behold what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of
God."
LECTURE VIII.
THET CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTa
If you survey the two great religious systems which the
Divine Being has established amongst men, you will
find between them some points of correspondence and
many points of contrast. Judaism and Christianity
have each their attesting miracles ; each has its law,
its priesthood, its offering of sacrifice, its way of access
to the Divine Presence, its method of pardon, its sacra-
ments and ritual of worship ; and not only is there a
general correspondence between these several parts of
the two systems, but an intimate relation also — that
which exists between a type and its anti-type.
Very striking are the points of contrast between these
two systems. AVhether you contemplate its establish-
ment or its operation, you see that each stands out in
bold distinctness from the other. How different the
first appearance of Jehovah to Moses, and the appear-
ance of the same glorious Being in the stable of
Bethlehem ; how difierent the giving of the law in the
midst of the clouds and darkness, the lightnings and
thunderings, the earthquake and tmmpets and voices
of Sinai, to the publication of the Christian law and
doctrine in the sermon on the Mount ; how different
the imposing ritual of the temple worship, with its altars
and sacrifices, with its mitred pontiff, and sacrificing
302 LECTURE VIII.
priests, and attendant Levites, with its clouds of incense,
and its ceremonial ablutions and sprinklings of water
and of blood, — to the simple forms of worship which
the apostles and early Christians practised in the upper
rooms of Jerusalem, and in the private dwellings of
Judean villages, and in the highways and groves of the
Holy Land ; with no other dome but that of Heaven's
canopy, and no other priest but an unseen though
spiritually present Jesus, and no other sacrifices but
those of a broken and contrite spirit, and no other
incense but that of ardent prayer to God. I am sure
you have been often struck with the rigid simplicity
of the apostolic ritual, as compared with the gorgeous-
ness of the Levitical, which, glorious as it was, may be
said to have had no glory by reason of the excelling
glory of Christianity. The glory of the Christian
system is not derived from its dazzhng paraphernalia of
gold and gems, or from its imposing ceremonial, but
from its essential spirituality and its chaste simplicity.
There is less of art in Christianity, and more of nature,
less of matter and more of life. Between the Jewish
and Christian dispensations there is just the difference
which exists between a gorgeous temple with its fluted
columns, its rich capitals, its jutting architraves, its
elaborated entablatm-e, its bold cornices, its noble
portico, its magnificent vestiliule, its outer court, its
inner sanctuary, its robed priests, its bedecked altars,
its imxposing ritual, its awe-struck worshippers — and a
simple gi'ove, nature's un artificial temple, with its mossy
pavement, and its trees rising like columns, their over-
hanging foliage forming a canopy that admits while it
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 303
subdues tlie liglit of heaven, and its simple minded
worshippers, sometimes prostrate, at other times daring
to lift their eyes toward heaven, sometimes offering a
prayer for mercy, at others sending up a note of praise,
and at others again bending, like the cherubim, over
the divine law ; exclaiming, " the Lord is in this place
and we knew it not. How dreadful is this place, this
is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate
of Heaven."
Who that has studied the history of the Christian
Church does not know, that from a very early period
in her history, there was jnanifested a proneness to
wander away from the simplicity of the apostolic age ?
As the church became numerous, wealthy, and influen-
tial, the upper room, the highway, the grove were
abandoned ; the rigid plainness of the first Christians
was thought unsuitable to this altered position of the
circumstances of the church. Large and expensive
structures were erected, robes of office introduced,
mitres were employed to adorn the heads of the suc-
cessors of plain fishermen, and sceptres of authority
were put into their hands ; rivers and brooks were no
longer the scenes of Christian baptism, these were re-
placed by fonts of sculptured marble ; the breaking of
bread and drinking of wine in commemoration of the
blessed Saviour's death and passion, gi-adually assumed
the distinction of a sacrifice, which was offered by
bedizened priests in more than the pomp and splendours
of the Jewish day of atonement; the ministers of the
church no longer content with the designation elder
and bishop, became priests and archbishops and pon-
304 LECTURE vin.
tiffs; no longer were they servants but vicars of
Christ ; and then political authority was usurped,
kings were dethroned, persecution was 'fostered, and
cruelties were practised, which have given to the
church, aye the Christian Church, the unen^dable dis-
tinction of creating the gloom of the world's dark ages.
These facts have forced themselves on my attention ,
during this whole investigation, especially in examining
the subject which I am to bring before you this evening :
" The Christian Sacraments." The words which I have
selected for a text you may find in the Gospel according
to Saint Matthew, the fifteenth chapter at the ninth
verse. It is thus rendered in the Douay Bible : —
" And in vain do they worship me teaching doc-
trines AND COMMANDMENTS OF MEN."
This is the tendency of human nature, to depart from
the written law of God by superadding to it. The
Scribes and the Pharisees did so; and the Great
Teacher reproves them in this chapter. The teachers
of the Christian Church have followed in their wake,
adding, as we shall now prove, traditional prescriptions
to the written Christian law.
I. The first thing which we have this evening to
determine is, " What is a Sacrament ?"
There is no word in the Greek New Testament which
could be rendered sacrament in the sense in which it is
now almost universally understood in the Christian
Church. The Greek word which the Vulgate some-
times renders sacramentum is ^xvrrrripwv which is the
same word as the Latin mysterium, and the English
mysteiy, and means something secret, covered, hidden,
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 305
concealed. This word jLiuorZ/ptoj/ occurs twenty-seven
times in the New Testament,- and it is worthy of remark
that the Vulgate, while in nineteen instances it translates
it by mysterium^ only renders it by sacramentum eight
times ; in the following passages, among others : 1.
Timothy iii. 1 6, " Great is the mystery (sacramentum)
of godliness." Col. i. 2Y. " To whom God would make
known the riches of the gloiy of this mystery (sacra-
mentum) which is Christ in you the hope of glory."
Apoc. xvii. 7. " I will tell thee the mystery (sacramen-
tum) of the woman and of the beast which carrieth her
which had the seven heads and ten horns." It is still
more worthy of remark that the Rhemish Translators
in what is usually called the Douay Testament, and
which is a translation from the Vulgate, out of the
eight instances in which the word sacramentum occurs
in the Vulgate, render it only once by sacrament^
preferring in the other seven to retain the Greek word
MYSTERY. It is clcar, therefore, that the translators of
both the Vulgate and Douay versions understood the
Latin sacramentum to be very generally used in the
sense of mystery. Literally the Latin word means that
particular form by which a person binds himself to
discharge a duty or to fulfil a promise. It thus signifies
in classical authors, a bond or oath ; and it is employed
to signify especially a military oath.
■ The Fathers frequently used the word in the sense of
mystery, and also with great latitude. They sometimes
called the Christian religion a sacrament ; the Trinity
was a sacrament ; and it is perhaps to be regretted that
a word which neither occurs in Scripture in the sense in
306 LECTURE VIII.
which it is now understood, nor has any representative
there, should have been adopted by the Christian
Church with so restricted a meaning. But, since it has
been adopted and defined by the Church generally, we
must deal with it accordingly. Let us then examine
the Protestant and Roman Catholic definitions of a
Sacrament.
In the xxvth Article of the Church of England it is
said, " Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only
badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but
rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs
of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which
he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken,
but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him." In
the Catechism of the same Church, I read : " Ques.
What meanest thou by this word Sacrament? Ans.
I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and
spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ him-
self, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a
pledge to assure us thereof. Ques. How many parts
are there in a Sacrament ? Ans. Two : the outward
visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace." In the
Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter xxvi., a
Sacrament is thus defined : " I. Sacraments are holy signs
and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately institu-
ted by God, to represent Christ and his benefits, and to
confirm our interest in him ; as also to put a visible
difference between those that belong unto the church
and the rest of the world ; and solemnly to engage them
to the service of God in Christ, according to his word.
II. There is in eveiy sacranjent a spiritual relation, or
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 307
sacramental union, between the sign and the thing
signified ; whence it comes to pass, that the names and
effects of the one are attributed to the other. III. The
grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments, rightly-
used, is not conferred by any power in them ; neither
doth the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon the piety
or intention of him that doth administer it, but upon the
work of the Spirit, and the w^ord of institution ; which
contains, together with a precept authorising the use
thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers." And
in the larger Catechism I find the following : — " Ques.
What is a sacrament ? Ans. A sacrament is an holy
ordinance instituted by Christ in his church, to signify,
seal, and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant
of grace, the benefits of his mediation ; to strengthen
and increase their faith, and all other graces ; to oblige
them to obedience ; to testify and cherish their love and
communion one with another ; and to distinguish them
from those that are without." In the larger Catechism
of the Wesleyan Methodist Church I find the following,
which as you perceive is extracted from the Catechism
of the Church of England : — " Ques. Wliat mean you
by the word sacrament ? Ans. I mean by the word
sacrament an outward and visible sign of an inward
and spiritual grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ
himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and
a pledge to assure us thereof." But, perhaps, the most
comprehensive Protestant definition of sacrament is that
which we find in the Heidleburg Catechism : " Sacra-
ments are holy visible signs and seals ordained by God
for this end, that he may more fully declare and seal
308 LECTURE viir.
by them the promise of his Gospel unto us ; to wit, that
not only unto all believers in general, but unto each of
them in particular, he freely giveth remission of sins and
life eternal, upon the account of that only sacrifice of
Christ which he accomplished upon the cross."
Turn we now to the Roman Catholic definition of a
Sacrament. The Catechism of the Council of Trent, part
ii., section 10, declares that " a sacrament is a thing sub-
ject to the senses, and possessing by the institution of God,
at once the power of signifying holiness and righteous-
ness, and of imparting them to him who receives it.""
In Bishop Butler's Catechism, page 45, we have the
following definition : — " Q. What is a sacrament ?
A. A visible, that is, an outward sign or action, institu-
ted by Christ, to give grace. Q. "Whence have the
Sacraments the power of giving grace ? A. From the
merits of Christ, which they apply to our souls. Horn.
vi. 14." The fourth and following Canons of the
seventh Session of the Council of Trent give further
light on the doctrines of the Church respecting the
sacraments: — "Whoever shall affirm, that the sacra-
ments of the new law are not necessary to salva-
tion, but superfluous ; or that men may obtain
the grace of justification by faith only, without
these sacraments, (although it is gi-anted that they
are not all necessary to every individual :) let him
be accursed. Whoever shall affirm, that the sacra-
ments were instituted solely for the purpose of strength-
ening our faith : let him be accursed. Whoever shall
affirm, that the sacraments of the new law do not
contain the grace which they signify ; or that they do
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 809
not confer that grace on those who place no obstacle in
its way ; as if they were only the external signs of grace
or righteousness received by faith, and marks of Chris-
tian profession, whereby the faithful are distinguished
from unbelievers : let him be accursed. Whoever shall
affirm, that grace is not always conferred by these
sacraments, and upon all persons, as far as God is con-
cerned, if they be rightly received ; but that it is only
bestowed sometimes, and on some persons : let him be
accursed. Whoever shall affirm, that grace is not con-
ferred by these sacraments of the new law, by their own
power, [esp opere operato ;] but that faith in the divine
promise is all that is necessary to obtain grace : let him
be accursed."
There are some things, therefore, in which Protestants
and Catholics agree, — Firstly. They agree as to the
institution of the sacraments. It is of God. The
Catechism of the Council of Trent says ex Dei institu-
tione — by the institution of God. Secondly. They
acknowledge that the sacraments are outward signs of
spiritual graces. Thirdly. They concur in this also,
that there ought to be an agreement or fitness between
the sign and the thing signified.
But there are two particulars chiefly involved in
the general doctrines of the Church of Rome respecting
the sacraments, against which the Reformed Churches
protest. The first relates to the inherent grace and
power which are said to reside in the sacraments.
The eighth Canon which we just now read, declares
that grace is conferred by the sacraments, of or by their
own power. The Catechism of the Council of Trent
o2
310 LECTURE VIII.
affirms that "in the saci'aments the power of the
Omnipotent exists, effectuating that which the natural
elements cannot of themselves accomplish." It is
difficult to determine what the Trentine Fathers meant
by these expressions, for the seventh Canon declares
that " grace is ahoays conferred by these sacraments as
far as God is concerned, if they he rightly received ^\
which seems to contradict the opinion that sacraments
confer grace by their own power. Roman Catholic
divines are not themselves agreed as to the meaning of
these confficting Canons. Numerous opinions have
been maintained, which have given rise to fierce con-
tentions ; indeed such is the obscureness of the phrase-
ology which the infallible council employed, that the
wisest sons of the church have failed to make it clear,
at least to each other, if not even to themselves. On
one question, viz : " Whether the sacraments confer
grace morally or 'physically^'' the Roman Catholic
Church is divided into two great sects, the Thomists
and the Scotists. The Thomists, who derive their
designation from Thomas Aquinas, maintain, with their
leader, that the sacraments confer grace physically.
Peter Dens, and many other names of eminence, are
found in this school. The Scofists, so called from Duns,
a celebrated Scotch divine, and therefore known as
Duns Scotus, maintain the doctrine, that the sacraments
confer grace morally. Amongst the adherents to this
opinion are Vasquez, Bonaventure, Richardus, and
others.
The Thomists maintain, that " the sacraments possess
a physical causality, as the instruments of the Divine
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 311
Omnipotence ; and truly and properly concur toward
the production of their effects in the mind, by a
supernatural virtue from the principal agent, communi-
cated to, and united with it in the manner of a transient
action." The Scotists, on the other hand, teach that
*'the sacraments do not confer grace physically, but
morally ; that is, they do not produce grace as physical
causes do, but as moral causes, inasmuch as they
efficaciously move God to produce the grace which
they signify, and which God Himself promises infallibly
to give, as often as they are rightly administered, and
worthily received. The Sacraments, as Sacraments,
ure something moral, depending solely on the institution
of Christ, from which, and from the merits of Christ,
they possess their entire force and efficacy of consola-
tion, so that their manner of operation is not physical,
but moral." — Ferraris Bib.
Such are the confficting views which exist in the
Ohurch of Rome herself, respecting sacramental
efficacy. Here is a substantial difference on an
important doctrine. Can our Roman Catholic fnends
therefore, be surprised if Protestants ask them where,
in this case, is their boasted unity ? If, concerning a
doctrine of so much moment, there is serious disagree-
ment between Roman Catholic Cardinals and Doctors,
why is not the infallibility of the Church brought into
requisition to settle this important difference, and to
allay the minds of her obedient children ? We hear
that the Church is the great exponent of Christian
doctrine ; it is often urged against Protestants that
they have no authority to settle points of doctrinal
312 LECTURE VIII.
dispute, because they are destitute of that main attribute
of the Church — infallibility ! Now, I think, we have
good ground for asking, why one of these adverse sects
has not been set right ? 'and why the unity of the
Roman Catholic Church has not been restored ?
But where, in the Word of God, is the authority for
this doctrine of salvation by the Sacraments ? I re^ad
that " he who helieveth and is baptized shall be saved."
I read, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved." I read " Neither circumcision availeth
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." I
find then that faith is necessary to salvation, but I do
not find that the sacraments are necessary to salvation.
The damning sin of the soul is unbelief; for, said
Christ, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
He does not say he that is not baptized shall be
damned. And yet the Council of Trent anathematizes
all those who declare that a man may obtain the grace
of justification without these sacraments. Then Saints
Ambrose, Cyril, and Augustine are anathematized, at
least as to their memories and doctrines. "We have
only time to quote from Cyril, who, so far from believ-
ing in the opus operatum of the sacraments, expressly
declares in his first Catechism, that " Regeneration is
AN EFFECT OF THE FAITH OF HIM THAT IS BAPTIZED."
The SECOND branch or section of Roman Catholic
sacramental doctrines, against which the Refoimed
Churches protest, is the doctrine of ministerial intention
, as necessary to the efficacy of the sacraments.
I might occupy the whole evening in exhibiting to
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 313
you the various phases of this doctrine which are pre-
sented to the mind of an inquirer in authorized Roman
Catholic writers.
The Council of Trent, in the eleventh Canon, Session
vii., makes the following declaration : — " Whoever shall
affirm, that when ministers perform and confer a sacra-
ment, it is not necessary that they should at least
have the intention to do what the church does : let him
be accursed."
" Representing, as he does, in the discharge of his
sacred functions, not his own, but the person of Christ,
the minister of the sacraments, be he good or bad,
validly consecrates and confers the sacraments, provided
he make use of the matter and form instituted by
Christ, and always observed in the Catholic church,
and intends to do what the church does in their admi-
nistration." — Catechism, p. 150.
There was offered in the Council great opposition to
the introduction of this canon, especially by Catharinus,
Bishop of Minori. This we have on the authority of
Father Paul Sarpi, in his histoiy of the Council, who,
in his second book, furnishes a minute account of the
arguments used by Catharin against the doctrine : —
" Here, Catharin^ Bishop of Minori, proposed a
memorable thing, and which was judged by all, worthy
of due consideration, and very weighty, viz : he said,
that as to the Lutherans, who attribute no other virtue
to the sacraments, but that of exciting faith, which may
be awakened by other means, the receiving of the true
sacrament is of small importance ; wherefore, also they
say, that it is not necessary, and yet they hold it to be
S14 LECTURE VIII.
an absurd tiling, that the malice of a wicked Ministei*,
who hath no intention to confer the true sacrament, can
be any prejudice, because we are to regard what the
believer receives, and not what the Minister gives him.
But as for the Catholics who attribute to the sacrament,
the virtue of conferring grace, it is of very great moment,
that they be assured of their receiving the true and
efficacious sacrament, for as much as it very rarely
happens that grace is obtained by any other means.
And certainly, little children and distracted persons do
not receive grace by any other means. And certainly,
the common people have ordinarily so small and weak
a disposition, that without the sacraments it would
never be sufficient for the receiving of grace. Moreover,
those few persons that are as rare as Phoenix's, which
have a perfect disposition, do, nothwithstanding, receive
a greater degi-ee of grace by the sacrament. If it should
happen, that a Priest that hath the charge of four or
five thousand souls, should be an unbeliever, but withal
a great hypocrite, and that in the absolution of peni-
tents, at the baptism of little children, and consecration
of the Eucharist, he should have a secret intention not
to do what the Church doth, we must conclude the
little children damned, the penitents unabsolved, and all
deprived of the fruits of the holy communion ! And, it
avails nothing to say here, that faith supplies that
defect, because that cannot be true in infants, and in
others it cannot, according to the Catholic doctrine, do
the effect of the sacrament ; and if it can, in case of the
Minister's wickedness, forasmuch as the same may be
constant and perpetual, why might it not do the same
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 315
always. Besides, that the assigning so great a virtue
to faith, is to take away that of the sacramepts, and to
fall into the opinions of the Lutherans.
" He offered it also to their consideration how great
would be the affliction and anguish of a tender father
for his child at the point of death, if he should have
any doubt concerning the intention of the Priest that
baptizeth it ; likewise, in what anxiety would a
Catechumen be, who finding in himself only a small
and very imperfect disposition, and, notwithstanding
presenting himself to receive baptism, should he come
to doubt whether the Priest might not be a false
Christian, and have no intention at all of baptizing him,
but only to dip or wash him in jest or sport ? That the
same thing might be considered in confession and
receiving the communion. And if it be said, proceeded
Catharin, that these cases are very rare ; would to God
it were so indeed, and that in this corrupt age there
were not reason to suspect them but too frequent : But
suppose they be very rare, and that there were but one
only, might it not so happen that this wicked Priest
might administer 'the true baptism without intention to
an infant, who, when grown to a man, might be made
a Bishop over a great City, and live many years in
that charge, so that he hath ordained a great part of
the Priests ; it must be said, that he, being not baptized,
is not ordained, nor they ordained, who are promoted
by him. So, that by this means there would be in this
great city, neither the sacrament of the Eucharist nor of
Confession, which cannot be without the true sacrament
of Holy Orders, nor that, without a true Bishop, nor a
316 LECTURE VIII.
Bishop duly ordained without baptism. Behold here,
how by the wickedness of a Minister we find in one
sole act a million of nullities of sacraments ; and who
would say, that in so great a number of nullities God
supplies all by his Almightiness, and that by extraordi-
nary remedies he provides for things of constant and
daily use ? We should much rather be persuaded he
hath already by his providence provided, that such like
accidents cannot happen. And yet, said the Bishop,
God hath provided against all inconveniences, having
ordained that that should be a true sacrament, which
is administered with the ceremonies ordained by him,
though it may happen that the Minister may have
another intention. He added, moreover, that this was
not repugnant to the common doctrine of divines, nor
to the determination of the Council of Florence^ which
imports, that the intention of the Minister is required to
the sacrament ; because that is to be understood not of
the internal intention, but of that which manifests itself
in the outward work, though inwardly lie might have
a contrary intention. And that thus all those incon-
veniences are avoided, which would otherwise be
innumerable."
" Intention," says Dens, " is the act of the will refer-
ring to an end : whence the necessary intention in the
minister, consists in the act of his will, whereby he wills
the external act of the sacrament, under the profession
of doing what the church does." He then distinguishes
intention into actual^ virtual, habitual, and interpre-
tative ; and tells us that an habitual intention is not
Buificient to the perfecting of a sacrament, nor an inter-
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 317
pretative intention; that an actual intention suffices
because it is the best, but that a virtual intention may
and does suffice.
Dens gives also the following cases, amongst others,
in explanation : " A general implied and confused inten-
tion is enough, when it sufficiently determines to do
those things externally which belong to the sacramental
action. Hence, St. Thomas says, " Although he who
does not believe baptism to be a sacrament, or to have
any spiritual virtue, does not intend, while he baptizes to
confer a sacrament, nevertheless, intending at the same
time to do what the church does, though he may con-
sider that to be nothing ; and because the church does
something so of consequence, he intends to do the same
obscurely but not explicitly. In like manner, it is not
required that the minister should explicitly do what tlie
Church of Rome does." Again, quoting from St.
Thomas, he says : " If a priest intend to baptize a
certain female to abuse her, or, if he intend to make
the body of Christ that he may use it in order, to
poison . . . . the perversity of such an inten-
tion does not destroy the vei'ity of the institution, but
the minister sins grievously by such an intention."
The Roman missal has the following deliverance
respecting the doctrine of intention : "1. If any priest
does not intend or design to complete the sacrament,
or to transubstantiate, 2. In like manner, if any hosts
from forgetfulness remain upon the altar, 3. If any
part of the wine or any hosts lie concealed, where he
only intends to consecrate those he sees, 4. Likewise,
if the priest has before him eleven hosts, and intends to
318 LECTURE VIII.
consecrate only ten, not determining wliich ten, in these
cases lie does not consecrate, tliat is, no transubstantia-
tion takes place, because his intention is wanting."
It is time to ask our Roman Catholic friends whether
they have sufficiently weighed the force, and the possible
consequences to themselves, of this marvellous doctrine.
Whatever you make of the doctrine of priestly inten-
tion, you must suppose it possible that, under certain
circumstances the necessary intention may be wanting ;
and further, that these circumstances may have existed
in your own case. How do you know that the last
absolution which you received was not without inten-
tion ? Are you certain that the last time you adored
the host it was not a host at all, but a mere wafer,
because of defect of intention on the part of the conse-
crating priest ? How know you that the priest who
baptized you, intended to do what the church intends ?
How do you know that the Bishop who confirmed you,
had the intention to do so ; or if he had, are you
sure that he was truly baptized, or ordained, or conse-
crated ? Is it not possible that some flaw of intention
might have nullified one of the sacraments which he
received, so as that he is no Bishop at all ? Is it not
possible that some centuries ago, in the line from which
the priest who last absolved you has apostolically
descended, there may have been some flaw through
want of intention? Where is the certainty of your
salvation? You are removed from the rock Christ,
who always intends to save, and the church places you
on the insecure and dangerous quicksands of priestly
intention. No one who is not rightly baptized can,
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 319
according to the doctrine of the Churcli of Rome be
saved ; and yet you have no certainty of true baptism.
He who adores an unconsecrated wafer is guilty of
- idolatry, (according to the doctrine of the church,)
and yet you are not sure but that many of the hosts
before which you have prostrated yourselves were un-
duly consecrated. On your own principles you ought
not to bow down before the sacred wafer without being
sure of its transubstantiation, and yet you never have,
and never can have^^his assurance ! As it respects also
your dying and departed friends, what certainty have
you that the sacrament of extreme unction was duly
• administered, or that the masses which are now said
for the removal of their souls from purgatory, supposing
true masses to be prevalent, are said with an intention to
do what the Church does ? How different this from the
simplicity of the Gospel, which suspends not the salvation
of a sinner upon the will or intention of a priest, or
any other mortal, but which says, " Believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." How far
St. Chrysostom was from entertaining this notion of
priestly intention may be learned from his eighty-fifth
Homily upon John, in which he says, " I do not only
assert that the priests, but that an angel of God can do
nothing in things that are given by God. It is the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that order all things ; for
the Priest, he only lends his tongue and hand." Listen
also to St. Augustine in his eiglitieth Homily on St.
John's Gospel, (vol. ii, p. 827): ^^ Now ye are clean
because of the Word which I have spoken unto you.
Why saith he not. Are clean because of the baptism
320 LECTURE VIII-
wherewith ye are washed — but because in the water
also it is the word that cleanseth. AVhence hath water
this so great virtue to touch the body, and wash the
heart, but by the "Word doing it, not because it is
spoken, but because it is believed." This does not
say much for the doctrine of priestly intention. AVhat
can Roman Catholics say of the antiquity and
apostolicity of their doctrines in face of the fact that
the doctrine against which we now protest, was first
broached before a Council in 1414, — the Council of
Constance ? It accords not with the genius of
Christianity, nor with the universal benevolence of the
Gospel, nor with the freedom of individual man, nor
with either God's justice or God's love to make the
salvation of hundreds and of thousands dependent on
the intention of a single man.
II. We have now to determine the number of
those rites of Christianity which, in the sense
BEFORE stated, MAY BE DENOMINATED SaCRAMENTS.
The Reformed Churches acknowledge two, and but
two : Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
The Roman Catholic Church also acknowledges these
to be Sacraments, but adds five others to them, viz : — •
Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders,
and Matrimony.
1. We have not then to discuss the question, whether
Baptism and the Holy Eucharist are Sacraments. To
this,. both Protestants and Catholics assent. It may be
well, however, to give, in brief, the leading views
respecting these Sacraments of each community, and
then to state the grounds of protest, if any, which exist
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 321
in tlie standards of the Roman Catholic Church, con-
cefning the doctrines involved in them, or the ceremonies
practised in their administration.
Firsty then, as to Baptism. I know not that I can
more fully present the Protestant view of this sacra-
mental rite than by reading the twenty-eighth Chapter
of the Westminster Confession : — " Baptism is a sacra-
ment of the new Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ,
not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized
into the visible church, but also to be unto him a sign
and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting
into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and
of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ, to
walk in newness of life : which sacrament is, by Christ's
own appointment, to be continued in his church until
the end of the world. The outward element to be used
in this sacrament is water, wherewith the party is to be
baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost, by a minister of the gospel,
lawfully called thereunto. Dipping of the person into
the water is not necessary; but baptism is rightly
administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the
person. Not only those who do actually profess faith
in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of
one or both believing parents are to be baptized.
Although it be a great sin to contemn or neglect this
ordinance, yet grace and salvation are not so insepar-
ably annexed unto it, as that no person can be regene-
rated or saved without it, or that all that are baptized
are undoubtedly regenerated."
The Roman Catholic view is thus defined and explain-
322 LECTURE virr.
ed by the Council of Florence : — " Holy baptism pos-
sesses the first place among the sacraments, becanse
it is the door of spiritual life : for by it we become
members of Christ, and of the body of the Church.
And since by the first man death hath entered into the
world, we cannot (as saith the truth) enter into the
kingdom of heaven, unless we are born again of water
and the Holy Spirit. The matter of this sacrament is
true natural water; nor is it any diflference whether
cold or hot. But the form is : ' I baptize thee in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost.' Nor do we deny but that also by these words,
* Let this servant of Christ be baptized in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' or
* This person is baptized by my hands, in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,'
true baptism is efi(ected; the principal cause from which
baptism hath its virtue being the holy Trinity ; and the
officiating Minister, if the act is expressed, and exercis-
ed by him with the invocation • of the holy Trinity,
perfects the sacrament. The Minister of this sacrament
is a Priest, to whose office it belongs to baptize. But
in case of necessity, not only a Priest or Deacon, but
also a layman or woman, nay, even a Pagan or heretic,
can baptize, while he observes the form of the Church,
and intends to do what the Church doeth. The effect
of this sacrament is the remission of all original and
actual guilt; also of all punishment which is due for
any guilt. Besides, to the baptized there is no satisfac-
tion enjoined for past sins ; but those who die before
they commit any sin arrive immediately in the kingdom
of heaven and to the vision of God."
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 323
You observe from these extracts that there are
several points of agreement between the two communi-
ties. The matter of baptism is the same, the form is
the same, " I baptize thee, &c.," there is also an agreement
as to the sign, and as to the thing signified. More than
this, the Church of Rome acknowledges that Protest-
ants have this sacrament in its integrity : " Whoever
shall affirm that baptism when administered by heretics
(i. e, by Protestants) in the name of the Father, of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the intention to do
what the Church does, is not true baptism, let him be
accursed."
The chief point of disagreement is that which relates
to the effect of Baptism in the justification and regene-
ration of the recipient. This question has been
discussed at so great length already, not only this even-
ing in our remarks on sacramental efiicacy generally,
but also and chiefly in the lectures on justification and
regeneration, that I need not repeat the discussion here.
I must, notwithstanding, mention two particulars before
I go on to the consideration of the Eucharist : —
One relates to the case of unbaptized infants. The
Church of Rome, in the Catechism of the Council of
Trent, teaches that without baptism children are born
to eternal misery and everlasting destruction ; that bap-
tism alone can impart that righteousness and those
graces which will give them a title to reign in eternal
life ; that infants, unless baptized, can not enter heaven.
How opposed this to the principles of that divine
government which is carried on through our mediator,
Christ Jesus ! From this doctrine of the Church of
324 LECTURE VIII.
Rome, it follows, that thousands and millions of infants
die eternally, not from their own, but from others'
neglect. How oppo'sed to the express declaration of
Scripture ! for I read in the Douay Bible, Mat. xviii. 3 :
" Amen, I say unto you, unless you be converted and
become as little children you shall not enter into the
kingdom'jof heaven." I read again in Mark x. 14, that
Jesus said : " Suffer the little children to come unto me
and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of
God."
The other particular relates to the ceremonies which
the Roman Catholic Church has added to the simple
method which the Apostles employed in the ministra-
tion of baptism.
These ceremonies are threefold :
(1.) The first are those which precede the approach
to the baptisE^al font. The blessing of the baptismal
waters. This is done only on the eve of Easter or of
Pentecost, unless in cases of necessity. A lighted torch
is put into the font to represent the fire of Divine love
which is communicated to the soul by baptism ; and the
light of good example which all who are baptized ought
to give. Holy oil and chrism are mixed with the water
to represent the spiritual union of the soul with God
by the grace received in baptism. Then comes the
presentation of the candidate at the church door, who is
forbidden to enter, as unworthy to be admitted to the
house of God until he has cast off the yoke of Satan.
If it be an adult. Catechetical instruction is admin-
istered. The next ceremony is denominated the exorcism,
which consists of sacred words and prayers for the
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 825
pui'pose of expelling the devil from the candidate, and
of insufflation, or breathing upon him with the words,
" Depart from me thou unclean spirit and give place to
the Holy Ghost, the Comforter." The Priest then j^wis
a little blessed salt into the mouthy saying, " Receive the
salt of wisdom : may it be unto thee a propitiation
unto life everlasting." Then the forehead, eyes, breast,
and shoulders, and ears are signed with the sign of the
cross ; and lastly, another exorcism is recited, the priest
touching with a little spittle the ears and nostrils of the
person to be baptized, and saying, " Ephphatha, i. e.,
be thou opened into an odour of sweetness ; but be thou
put to flight, O devil, for the judgment of God will be
at hand." This completes the preparatory ceremonial.
(2.) Those rites which are discharged at the font are,
first, the renunciation, when affirmative answers are
given to the questions. " Hast thou renounced Satan ?
and all his works ? and all his pomps ?" Then the indi-
vidual is anointed with holy oil on the breast, and
between the shoulders, during which the Priest says,
" I anoint thee with the oil of salvation in Christ Jesus
our Lord, that thou mayest have life everlasting." He
is then interrogated respecting the several articles of the
Creed and is baptized in the name of the blessed
Trinity.
(3.) There are also the ceremonies which follow the ad-
ministration of baptism. The priest anoints with chrism
the crown of the head, to show that the recipient of
baptism is united to Christ his Head, and ingrafted on
his body. Then a white garment is put upon the bap-
tized person, the Priest saying, " Eeceive this garment
p
826 LECTUME VIII.
wliicli mayest thou carry unstained before the judgment
seat of Christ, that thou mayest have eternal life. Amen."
In the case of infants, a Avhite kerchief is substituted for
the garment. A burning light is then put into the
hand as an emblem of the light of a good example.
I have been thus particular in the description of
these rites because they constitute so striking a com-
mentary upon the language of my text, " teaching
doctrines and commandments of men." Where is
prescribed in the Gospel such a ceremonial as this?
What Bishop consecrated the water in which the
Eunuch was baptized? Can any man forbid water
said Peter, that these- should not be baptized? but he
does not mention salt, or oil, or chrism. Oh ! it is a
grave departure from the simplicity of the Gospel on
the part of our friends of the Church of Rome, th&t
such rites as these should be practised ; and who can
calculate the amount of injury which they engender, by
drawing off the minds of the people from the spiritual
. character of the sacrament, to the merely outward show
and form ?
Second, The Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, is the
other sacrament which the ^ Protestant Churches
acknowledge and celebrate in common with the Church
of Rome.
The Protestant view of this sacrament is so clearly
expressed in the Larger Catechism of the Church of
Scotland, that I shall merely quote from it : —
Q. What is the Lord's Supper ?
A. The Lord's Supper is a sacrament of the New
Testament wherein, by giving and receiving bread and
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 327
wine according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, his
death is shewed forth ; and they that worthily commu-
nicate feed upon his body and blood, to their spiritual
nourishment and growth in grace ; have their union
and communion with him confirmed ; testify and renew
their thankfulness, and engagement to God, and their
mutual love and fellowship each with other, as members
of the same mystical body.
Q. How hath Christ appointed bread and wine to be
given " and received in the sacrament of the Lord's
supper ?
A. Christ hath appointed the ministers of his word,
in the administration of this sacrament of the Lord's
supper, to set apart the bread and wine from common
use, by the word of institution, thanksgiving, and
prayer ; to take and break the bread, and to give both
the bread and the wine to the communicants : who are,
by the -same appointment, to take and eat the bread,
and to drink the wine, in thankful remembrance that
the body of Christ was broken and given, and his blood
shed, for them.
Q. How do they that worthily communicate in the
Lord's supper feed upon the body and blood of Christ
therein ?
A. As the body and blood of Christ are not corpo-
rally or carnally present in, with, or under the bread
and wine in the Lord's supper, and yet are spiritually
present to the faith of the receiver, no less truly and
really than the elements themselves are to their outward
senses ; so they that worthily communicate in the
sacrament of the Lord's supper, do therein feed upon
828 LECTURE VIII.
the body and blood of Christ, not after a corporal and
carnal, but in a spiritual manner ; yet truly and really^
while by faith they receive and apply unto themselves
Christ crucified, and all the benefits of his death.
Q. How are they that receive the sacrament of the
Lord's supper to prepare themselves before they come
unto it ?
A. They that receive the Sacrament of the Lord's
supper are, before they come, to prepare themselves
thereunto, by examining themselves of their being in
Christ, of their sins and wants; of the truth and
measure of their knowledge, faith, repentance ; love to
God and the brethren, charity to allmen, forgiving
those that have done them wrong ; of their desires after
Christ, and of their new obedience ; and by renewing
the exercise of these graces, by serious meditation, and
fervent prayer.
The Roman Catholic view of this sacrament is found
in the Canons of the Council of Trent : " Whoever shall
deny, th^t in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist
there are truly, really, and substantially contained the
body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, together with
his soul and divinity, and consequently Christ entire ;
but shall affirm that he is present therein only in a sign
or figure, or by his power : let him be accursed.
" Whoever shall affirm, that Christ, the only begotten
Son of God, is not to be adored in the holy eucharist
with the external signs of that worship which is due to
God; and therefore that the eucharist is not to be
honoured with extraordinary festive celebration, nor
solemnly carried about in processions, according to the
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 329
laudable and universal rites and customs of holy church,
nor publicly presented to the people for their adoration ;
and that those who worship the same are idolaters : let
him be accuTsed.
"Whoever shall aflBrm, that all and every one of
Christ's faithful are bound by divine command to
receive the most holy sacrament of the eucharist in both
kinds, as necessary to salvation : let him be accursed.
" Whoever shall affirm, that a true and proper sacri-
fice is not ofibred to God in the mass; or that the
offering is nothing else than giving. Christ to us to eat :
let him be accursed."
There are in the doctrines and practices thus set forth
by the Council of Trent, four things against which the
Reformed churches most solemnly protest; Transub-
stantiation, The Sacrifice of the Mass, The adoration of
the Host, and Communion in one kind.
The two first of these, Transubstantiation and the
Sacrifice of the Mass, were discussed at great length in
the Lecture on "the one Sacrifice for sin," and the
Keformcd Protest incontestably maintained, on the
authority of both Scripture and the early Fathers. But,
against the present doctrines of the Church of Rome as
to transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the Mass, I
wish to present one additional proof from antiquity. It
is from the liturgy of St. Basil. I beg your particular
attention to it because it demonstrates that the Roman
Catholic Church has departed from both, the doctrines
and the practices of antiquity. After the words of
consecration by the priest, St. Bazil calls the elements
** ret avrirvwa rev ayiov aijfiaroQ Ka\ mf^aroQ rod
330 LECTURE VIII.
XptoTou." — the antitypes of the holy body and blood of
Christ. How could he have called them antitypes after
consecration, if he believed the Roman Catholic theory,
which indeed obliges all its followers to call them the
veritable body, soul and divinity of the blessed Saviour ?
It is impossible to conceive that this was his belief.
But let us follow him in his prayer : " May the spirit
come upon us and upon the gifts proposed, to bless and
sanctify them, and to make this blood the veritable
body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and this
cup his blood, the. Spirit working the change." — A
prayer which, after consecration of the bread and wine,
would be utterly inconsistent in the mouth of a Catholic
priest in the present day.
The elevation and adoration of the host is another
thing against which Protestants remonstrate ; a practice
which stands or. falls with the doctrine of transubstantia-
tion. We remark, (1.) because there is no ground for
this doctrine of transubstantiation, either in the scriptures
or in the early fathei*s of the church, as was proved in
the former lecture, we are therefore bound to protest
against it as both unscriptural and idolatrous. But
independently of this we protest against it, (2.) Be-
cause it was not the practice of the Apostles as recorded
in the Word of God. If our Catholic friends say that
they have warrant for it in scripture, the onus prohandi
is upon them, they must prove that it is so, and not we
that it is not. We protest against it, (3.) Because it
is opposed to the practice of the ancient church after
the apostolic age. The first command which the
church received for the elevation and adoration of the
' THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 831
host, was in the year 1216, the year following that in
which the Lateran Council was held, when Pope
Honorius ordered that the priests, at a certain part of
the service of the mass, should elevate the host and
cause the people to prostrate themselves in woi*shipping
it. We challenge our Roman Catholic friends to pro-
duce higher or more ancient authority for this practice,
in the Church generally, than the early part of the
thirteenth century. And yet the Church of Rome, as
to both doctrines and practices, lays claim to apostolicity
and antiquity !
With equal earnestness we protest against the practice
of half-communion,'i. e., withholding the cup from the
laity.
That there is no scriptural warrant for such a practice
is evident from the words of Christ, " Drink ye all of
this." But it has been argued that the Apostles were
clergymen, and that therefore these words of Christ are
not to be taken in proof that the laity are entitled to
drink of the cup. But those who reason thus forget
that the same argument would deprive the laity of the
bread also, besides, in the Roman Catholic church, no
one receives the cup but the officiating priest, the
Bishops, if they are present, receive but in one kind : —
the Pope, if he is dying, receives but in one kind ; if then
this be the scriptural practice, the Saviour ought to
have withheld the cup from the disciples. But both the
Council of Constance and the Council of Trent, acknow-
ledge that communion in both kinds was the ancient
practice of the church, and give as the reason for the
^change, the avoidance of certain dangers and scandals.
332 LECTURE VIII.
I ask, was there not the same exposure to dangers and
scandals in the age of the Apostles as in the year 1214 ?
How is it that the blessed Savionr and the inspired
Apostles did not foresee those dangers and scandals which
arise from giving the cup to the laity ? How ? Because
they did not believe the doctrine of transubstantiation.
Well had it been for these Councils had they remembered
the words of St. Ambrose, who in his commentary upon
1 Corinthians, xi., says : " It is an insult to the Lord to
celebrate the sacrament otherwise than he did. For he
cannot he devout who presumes to give it in any other
way than as it was given hy its author P
It is worthy of remark here, that Pope Leo, in the
year 443, excommunicated the Manicheans, who, on the
plea of their abhorring wine, refused the sacramentai
cup ; he also term^ed their practice, " sacrilegious dis-
simulation." And in 495, Pope Gelasius used still
stronger language respecting these same Manicheans^
enjoining the entire observance or the entire relinquish-
ment of the institution, and adding these words, " the
division of one and the same mystery cannot be effected
without great sacrilege." On the authority, therefore, of
Pope Gelasius, the two Councils of Lateran and Trent
are guilty of great sacrilege.
2. We have now to speak of those five rites which
the Church of Rome has exalted to the dignity of
sacraments, viz : Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unc-
tion, Orders, and Matrimony^ The following is the
Canon of the Council of Trent on this subject. " Who-
ever shall affinn that the sacraments of the new law
were not all instituted by Christ, or that they were more
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 333
or fewer than seven, namely : Baptism, Confirmation,
the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and
Matrimony ; or that any of these is not truly and pro-
perly a sacrament, let him be accursed."
Cardinal Bellarmine, in his Treatise on the sacra-
ments, book ii. sec. 25, says : — " All our divines and
the whole church, for five hundred years, viz. : from the
time of the Master of the sentences, have agreed in the
number of the seven sacraments." See how completely
this celebrated defender of the Church of Rome mani-
fests the weakness of his cause, by acknowledging that
he could not trace the antiquity of this belief in seven
sacraments higher than one thousand years after the
age of the Apostles ? What matters it, that the Church
for five centuries, avowed this belief, if it should not
avow it for the other ten ? And what becomes of the
infallibility of the Church, if for ten centuries she allowed
her children to be ignorant of the fact that Jesus Christ
(as says the Trentine Council) instituted seven instru-
ments of grace, whereas they only recognized two or
three of them ? The Church, therefore, has not even the
evidence of Catholic tradition in support of her present
belief on this subject. St. Isidore, Bishop of Seville,
who lived in the beginning of the seventh century,
writing a work on the Ofiices of the Church, in which
he necessarily treats of the sacraments, names only
Baptism, Chrism or Confirmation, and the Eucharist ;
and he tells us " they are therefore called sacraments,
because, under the covering of corporal things, a secret
and invisible virtue is conveyed to the partakers of
them."
p2
334 LECTURE vin.
It is not, be it remembered, pleaded by Protestants
that these rites did not exist in the Christian Chm-ch
before the tenth century, but it is contended that they
were not all regarded as sacraments, even in the sense in
which the Church of Rome defines a sacrament. Yet
the Catechism of the Council of Trent ventures the
assertion, that these seven sacraments can be proved
from Scripture, though it does not vouchsafe the pas-
sages or texts. Peter Dens, however, in his Theology,
has the folloAving : " The number seven is also insinuated
in various places of scripture. Thus, in Prov. ix., it is
said, " Wisdom, which is Christ, hath built her house,
i. e. the Church, and hath cut out her seven pillars, to
wit, the seven sacraments, which as so many pillars,
sustain the Church." Thus, in like manner, in Exod.
XXV. by the seven lights, which were in one candlestick,
this is insinuated : for the seven sacraments are, as it
were, so many lights which ilhiminate the church. In
the Council of Trent, for example, it was agreed that
seven is a perfect number, that since there are seven
days in the week, seven planets, seven excellent virtues,
seven deadly sins, <fec., so there are seven sacraments."
Well may we exclaim in the language of the text, " In
VAIN DO they worship ME TEACHING DOCTRINES AND
COMMANDMENTS OF MEN."
But let US briefly and singly examine the claims of
these five additional rites to the dignity of sacraments.
(1st.) As to Penance. The doctrines involved in
Penance, were discussed in a former lecture. As to its
being a sacrament, it seems difficult to impart to it such
a character or position. Two things says St. Augustine
THE CflRISTIAN SACRAMENTS, 835
^1^ tiecessary to tke matter of a sacrament; 1st. that it
^e an external and sensible sign-; 2d. that there must be
-a resemblance between the sign and the thing sighified."
E.g. In baptism water is the sign, spiritual washing is
the thing signified ; — -in the Eucharist l^read and wine
"are the signs— the body and blood of Christ the things
signified. What sign, then, is there in penance!
What "cor}>oreal thing," to use the language of St
Isidore, " Corel's the secret grace ?" How can contri^
tion make lip any part of the matter of a sacrament, when
>it is not external ? How can confession when it is no \dsible
sign ? How can satisfaction which may be done when
the effect of th« sacrament is over in absolution ? It is
said that the grace of the sacrament is conveyed by
the words " Absolvo te, ^t." I absolve thee ; and yet
the acknowledged doctrine of the Church is, that before
the penitent goes into the confessional, if he have con-
trition, God has already absolved him, and that in this
^•case the priest does not absolve but makes a declarative
-announcement of what has taken place before. How
then does this accord with the doctrine of the Church,
that a sacrament always confers grace, and that the
sacrament of penance always confers absolution ? There
is also another difficulty, the more serious because
scriptural, which I have never seen explained. On the
-^day of Pentecost, Peter the Apostle commanded tho
people, so says the Douay Testament, to " do penance
and be baptized ;" did the people thei-efore receive thd
sacrament of penance first, and did the apostles then
•jonfer the initiatory sacrament of baptism ?
(2d.) As to Orders, or the ordination of ministers.
336 LECTURE VIII.
The question is not whetlier ordination of ministers by-
imposition of hands is a Christian institution, to this
perhaps we shall mostly agree, but ■whether it is a
sacrament ordained by Christ, possessing a visible sign,
a promise of grace, and a correspondence between the
sign and the thing signified. The Council of Florence
declares that the visible sign is the delivery of a chalice
with wine it, and a paten with bread upon it into the
hands of the person to be ordained, and that the form
is " Receive thou power of offering sacrifice in the
Church of God for the livdng and the dead." Did
Christ institute this matter and form ? Bellarmine is
obliged to acknowledge, that there is no proof of his
ever having ordained his apostles by imposition of hands ;
and who ever heard of the cup and the paten for the
first thousand years of the Christian era ? "Who ever
heard, for this entire period, of the foj*m which we have
just quoted ? There is no such form in the Apostolic
canons as they are called. The most ancient account
that we have of ordaining is in the fourth council of
Carthage, but there is no such form of words to be
found there ; no mention of the cup and paten there ;
and yet Christ instituted this sacrament, and these forms
too, according to the Trentine Council ! Is not this
TEACHING DOCTRINES AND COMMANDMENTS OF MEN ?
(3rd.) As to Matrimony^ which is exalted by the
Church of Rome to the dignity of a sacrament. The
arguments which are brought to support this view are
so puerile that I shall not occupy your time with their
investigation. It is enough that we acknowledge
" marriage to be honorable in all, and the bed unde-
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 337
filed, and that whoremongers and adulterers God will
judge." But when Bellarmine confesses that he does
not ground this doctrine upon the use of the word
sacrajnentum inEph.v. 32 : " Sacramentum hoc magnum
est,'''' — This is a great sacrament, — because, as he says,
the word is joined to some things which are not sacra-
ments, I think we may forego the labour of a lengthened
investigation and merely read the passage from the
Douay Bible : — " Husbands, love your wives, as Christ
also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it.
That he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of
water in the word of life. That he might present it to
himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle,
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and with-
out blemish. So also ought men to love their wives as
their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever hated his own flesh : but
nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the
church. Because we are members of his body, of his
flesh, and of his bones. F'or this cause shall a man
leave his father and mother : and shall cleave to his
wife, and they shall be two in one flesh. This is a great
SACRAMENT I BUT I SPEAK IN ChRIST AND IN THE
CHURCH."
(4th.) As to Confirmation. The language of the
Church of Rome is : " Confirmation is a sacrament
instituted by Christ the Lord by which the Holy Spirit
is given to the baptized, constantly and intrepidly to
profess the faith of Christ." It diflers from baptism,
according to the following manner which I extract from
the Catechism of the Council of Trent: " As by the
^33 tfiCTtrRE Vnt.
grace of baptism we are begotten to newness of life, so^
by confirmation, we grow to full matmity having put
away the things of a child." The scripture texts alleged
in support of this view of confirmation, are those in the
Acts of the Apostles which speak of the laying on of the
apostles' hands for the descent of the Holy Ghost ; but
it will be easily seen that these passages do not prove
the sacramental character of confirmation. We quarrel
not with the Church of Rome or with any other Church
for instituting an aiTangement with a view to the public
acknowledgment by persons baptized in infancy, of those
vows, which baptism imposed and still imposes upon
them ; we think rather, that it would be advantageous to
any Church to establish some suitable and evangelical
form for the accomplishment of such an object. But when
Christ's authority is produced for the ceremony of con-
firmation as celebrated by the Church of Rome, and
when by virtue of such authority it is dignified as a
sacrament ; we must protest against such human
additions to the commandments of the Gospel. The
Church of Rome teaches us that here are all the requi*
sites of a true sacrament. 1st. We have the visible
sign or matter chrism, which is a compound of oil of
olives and balsam. 2dly. We have the grace con-
ferred, viz : — strengthening and . perfecting grace*
3dly. We have the form of administration, "I sign
thee Avith the sign of the cross, and I confirm thee with
the chrism of salvation in the name of the Father, &c."
It is sufficient to demand the New Testament authority
for all this. Granted that in their apostolic toui-s, the
first ministers of the Gospel confirmed the Churches;
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS, 339
granted that tlie Holy Spirit is the comforter and
streng-thener of the raenibers of Christ, but will you tell
me where in the Holy Scriptures I may find a proof of
the sacramental authority of confy-mation as celebrated
by the Church of Rome ?
(5th.) As to Extreme Unction. Our Roman Catholic
friends rest this rite or sacrament upon two passages of
the New Testament. But before we refer to them it
will be well to state the Roman Catholic view of this
ceremony from their own authorities : " This sacred
unction of the sick was instituted as a true and proper
sacrament of the New Testament by Christ Jesus our
Lord; being first intimated by Mark, (ch. vi. 13,) and
afterwards recommended and published to the faithful
by James the" apostle, brother of our Lord. ' Is any
man,' saith he, * sick among you ? Let him bring in
the priests of the church ; and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord : and
the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the
Lord shall raise him up ; and if he be in sins, they shall
be forgiven him.' (James v. 14, 15.) In which words,
as the church has learned by apostolical tradition,
handed down from age to age, he teaches the matter,
form, proper minister, and eflfect of this salutary sacra-
ment. For the church understands the matter of the
sacrament to be the oil, blessed by the bishop ; the
unction most fitly representing the grace of the Holy
Spirit, wherewith the soul of the sick man is invisibly
anointed. The form is contained in the words of admi-
nistration." — Council of Trent.
It is clear, therefore, that the Roman Catholic
340 LECTURE VIII.
Church relies on two passages as their authority for
practising this rite, that in Mark vi. 13, in which .the
sacrament is said to be insinuated, and that in James
V. 14, &c., in which it is said to be promulgated : —
" And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil
many that were sick, and healed them." " Is any man
sick among you ? Let him bring in the priests of the
church, and let them pray over him, anointing him
with oil in the name of the Lord."
Now concerning the passage in Mark, it is clear that
whatever unction the disciples administered, it was not
extreme, for the sick persons were anointed with a view
to their being healed, and it is expressly stated that
they were healed. Who can doubt that it was miracu-
lous healing which the apostles here effected, and of
which they spoke ? But where is even the insinuation
of its sacramental character ? Where is the prescription
as to the kind of oil ? Where is it said that the oil
must be blessed— or if it must be blessed, where is it
written that the blessing must be episcopal ? Maldonat,
the Jesuit writer, contends that the text teaches the
institution of the sacrament. Dens, however, seems to
have doubted that this passage is favorable to the
Church, for he says in answer to the question : " When
did Christ institute this sacrament ?" " The time is uncer-
tain, yet it is very likely that he instituted it after his
resurrection, during the forty days in which he conversed
with his disciples concerning the kingdom of God and
the alEFairs of the Church." But the chief foundation
upon which Roman Catholics build their opinions
of Extreme Unction is the passage in James, Let us
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS. 341
tlien see whether the foundation is secure ? Observe
then — First. That the object of Extreme Unction
in the Catholic Church is the purging away the
remains of sin. That the object of St. James' anointing
was to restore to health. Second. That the doctrine of
the Church of Rome is, that the sacrament saves. That
the doctrine of St. James is, that faith and prayer save.
Third. That the doctrine of the Church of Rome is,
that one Priest should minister. That the doctrine of
St. James is, that several were to be engaged in the rite.
Fourth. That the doctrine of the Church of Rome is,
that the anointing is for sins. That St. James says, " if
he be in sins," this then was not the primary cause of
the anointing — sickness was the primary cause, but if
the sickness had been produced by sin, or had followed
sm as a judgment, it is intimated that not only should
the sickness be removed, but the sins should be forgiven
him.
Now let any Roman Catholic of candour and intelli-
gence ask himself whether there is in this passage
ground for the doctrine, that Extreme Unction is a
sacrament appointed by Christ to be administered to
the dying for the removal of the remains of sin ? And
here let me merely add the interpretation of this passage
by Cardinal Cajetan. " It neither appears by the words
nor by the effect, that he speaks of the sacrament of
Extreme Unction, but rather of that Unction which our
Lord appointed in the Gospel, to be used upon sick
persons by his disciples. For the text does not say is.
any man sick unto death, but absolutely is any man.
sick. And it makes the effect to be the recovery of the
342 LECTURE VIII.
sick, and speaks but conditionally of tlie forgiveness of
sins. Whereas, Extreme Unction is not given, but
when a man is almost at the point of death, and, as the
form of words sufficiently shows, it tends directly to
the forgiveness of sins."
This has been a lengthened investigation, and it is
more than time to bring it to a close, and to dismiss
you to your homes. Yet I dare not allow you to retire
without a brief appeal to you respecting the beautiful
simplicity of the Gospel of Christ, and' the absolute
necessity of adhering closely to its precepts and instruc-
tions, and of following as closely its ecclesiastical prac-
tices. I am no bigot, I believe no ecclesiastical form to
be essential to salvation ; but I say to every one of you
who are seeking that gospel blessing, " Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." I have
seen no cause to alter an opinion which I advanced from
this pulpit more than five yeare ago, and which I
reiterate this evening. I say then to the Episcopalian,
^' Your Episcopalianism cannot save you ; I say to the
Presbyterian, your Presbyterianism cannot save you ;
I say to the Congregationalist, your Congregationalism
cannot save you ; I say to the Methodist, your Methodism
cannot save you ; and I will add, I say to my
Roman Catholic friends, your Catholicism cannot
save you ; And if you are trusting in any one
of these forms of Christianity, if you suppose that
either the one or the other will make you more accept-
able to the Divine Being, you are labouring under a
grievous delusion, and will find yourselves fearfully
disappointed at the last What, if you have been
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT. 313
baptized in the name of the ever blessed Trinity, and
have not a change of heart ! What, if you have been
confirmed, by episcopal hands, and are destitute of the
grace of the Holy Ghost ! What, if the Priest has
absolved you, if you are not freely justified by faith
having peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ !
What, if you are in the habit of approaching the
Eucharistic feast, and do not spiritually feed upon
Christ Jesus the Lord ! What, if the Minister or the
Priest should come to you in your last moments, and
pray over you and give you the tokens of your Saviour's
death, and after all you should die without the spiritual '
anointing, the unction of the Holy One! What are
Church forms, and Church orders, and Church claims,
without Christ and his salvation wrought in the heart
by the Holy Spirit ! When ? O, when will all
sectarianism and bigotry cease to exist in the Christian
Church ? When will the Churches of Christ begin to
lose themselves in Him ? From every other object
would I now lead you, and' point you wholly to the
Cross — from every other refuge but Him — from every
other mode or place of cleansing but his adorable, his
pierced side, which was opened as the fountain for sin
and for uncleanness !
" Thy side an open fountain is,
Where all may freely go,
And drink the livinjj stream of bliss,
And wash them white as snow."
LECTURE IX.
PURGATORY.
If there are any doctrines of religion for a knowledge
of wliich we are entirely dependent upon revelation,
they are those which relate to man's future existence.
We can gain much information of the nature and
attributes of the Divine Being, from the glorious works
of creation ; we can reason .upon the evil of sin, from
observation and experience of its effects ; sound philo-
sophy may suggest principles of ethics, and remedies
for immorality ; but gross absurdities have ever been
the offspring of human conceptions and deductions, as
to that unseen world to which every immortal spirit is
journeying. How signj^lly the ancient philosophers
failed in their endeavours to pry into futurity, is patent
to all w^ho are but slightly acquainted with their
writings or opinions. Indeed, whether there were in
man any soul at all, whether death were not a state of
eternal sleep, whether there were a Paradise and a
hell, or whether these were the chimeras of a supersti-
tious fancy, w^ere doctrines concerning whose truth
the Gentile world at least, and even the Jewish in some
measure, wandered in uncertain and gloomy perplexity.
All, all was dark until Christ came, shedding the
brilliant light of truth over the darkness of the future —
" bringing life and immortality to light by the Gospel."
346 LECTURE IX.
Hitherto in these lectures we have discussed those
doctrines of Christianity -which concern us in this life.
We have spoken of God's Word, and of our obligation
to read it; of the Church, and its glorious and
universal Head ; of man as a sinner, of Christ as a
Saviour; of repentance and faith, of forgiveness and
holiness ; of the institutions of Christianity. This
evening we are to pass from these present scenes, we
are to lift the vail which hides futurity from our vision,
we are to leave this world for an hour or two, and are
to enter the world that is unseen, the dark, dreary
undefined regions of the departed dead ; we shall need
a guide to direct us in our wanderings — let us not take
man who is as ignorant as ourselves of the way, but
The Spirit of God in His Word ; we shall need light
to illumine our path, let us not follow the meteoric
light of human speculation, but let us seize the torch of
TRUTH ; and so far as our guide will take us, and our
torch will serve us, let us solemnly contemplate those
future scenes whose reality, ere long, every one of us
must experience.
In the year 1813, several devout and charitable
members of the Church of Rome in Dublin, formed
themselves into a Society for the purpose of raising
money to relieve themselves and their friends from
Purgatory when they should go thither. The Society
was designated by those who composed it, " The
Purgatorian Society," and its rules were printed and
published in a circular, by J. Coyne, Printer, 74 Cook
Street, Dublin. The heading of the Circular is as
follows : " Purgatorian Society, Instituted July 1st,
PURGATORY. 34*7
1813, and held in St. James' ChapeL In the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost. ' It is
therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the
dead that they may be .loosed from their sins.'
Maccabees, chap, xii, ver. 46."
The Second Rule reads thus : "Every well disposed
Catholic wishing to contribute to the relief of the
suffering souls in Purgatory shall pay one penny per
week, which shall be appropriated to the procuring of
masses to be offered up for the repose of the souls of
the deceased parents, relations, and friends of all the
subscribers to the Institution in particular, and the
faithful departed in general."
The Sixth Rule is as follows : " Tlie spiritual
benefits of this Institution shall be conferred in the
following manner, viz : Each subscriber shall be
entitled to an office at the time of their death, another
at the expiration of a month, and one at the end of
twelve months after their decease."
The Seventh Rule makes the following provision :
" Every subscriber without distinction shall be entitled
to the benefit of one mass each, provided that such
member or subscriber shall die a natural death, be six
months a subscriber to the Institution, and be clear of
all dues at the time of their departure."
In London a similar Society was formed as early as
1810. From its rules the following are transcribed ;
" All monies acquired by this charity shall be destined
to provide that the Holy Sacrifice of the mass be offered
for the intentions of the Society, and for the support of
the schools. At the death of any member, mass shall
348 LECTURE IX.
be said three times for the repose of his soul. A
member may enter the names of his departed friends in
the books of the Society, and such deceased persons
shall be deemed members of the same, and partake of
its spiritual advantages so long as their subscriptions
continue to be paid."
In the Catholic Directory for 1851, at page 28, there
is an appeal for the Gravesend Mission, in which is
asked " five shillings from two to three thousand good
Catholics." It is added, " that for the pious intentions
of those who thus either contribute or collect, the holy
mass will be offered every Monday, at 8 o'clock, which
may be applied to their deceased friends." At page
132 of the same Directory, we find an appeal on behalf
of " the Asylum of tlie good Samaritan, Hammer-
smith," to which the following announcement is ap-
pended : " Subscriptions will be thankfully received by
His Eminence, Cardinal "Wiseman, 35 Golden Square."
It is added : " Benefactors living and deceased,
participate in the stated masses, communions, and other
prayers of the community and penitents, oflfered up in
behalf of all those who assist them with the means of
carrying out their holy undertaking. Cast off clothes,
bonnets, &c., are earnestly requested to fit the penitents
out for service."
The grave subject involved in these extracts is that
which we have proposed for this evening's considera-
tion : Purgatory ; — and the words which I have
selected as a text you will find in the seventh chapter
of the Apocalypse, at the fourteenth and fifteenth
verses :
PURGATORY. 349
" And I SAID TO him : My Lord, thou knowest.
And he said to me : These are they who are come
OUT OF great tribulation, AND HAVE WASHED THEIR
ROBES AND HAVE MADE THEM WHITE IN THE BLOOD OF
THE Lamb.
" Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and they serve him day and night IN HIS temple :
AND He, that SITTETH on the throne, SHALL DWELL
OVER THEM."
I. I SHALL FIRST DESCRIBE TO YOU THE PrOTESTANT
Purgatory : —
Protestants have a purgatory. The word, as many
of you know, is derived from a Latin word, which
signifies to purge, to cleanse. The Protestant doctrine
is, that " THE BLOOD OF Jesus Christ, the son of God,
CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN." This is the Protcstant
purgatory — and though we cannot say, because we do
not believe it, that a fire has been kindled for sin and
for uncleanness ; yet we do say, with adoring gratitude,
that A FOUNTAIN has been opened for sin and for un-
cleanness. Yes, many a Protestant has rejoiced to
sing—
*' There is a fountain filled with blood,
" Drawn from Immanuel's veins ;
" And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
" Lose all their guilty stains."
The Protestant doctrine is, that all the guilt and all the
pollution of the sin of believers are cancelled and
removed in this world, and that when once the redeemed
have passed into the invisible state, there remaineth no
Q
360 - LECTURE IX.
more sacrifice and satisfaction for sin ; — that all tlie
purgation, or cleansing, or purifying is efiected here, and
that upon the departure of the sanctified and saved
spirit from the realms of time, there is an immediate
introduction into the presence of Christ, that though it
may not be doubted that after the resurrection, and
consequent reunion of the sanctified spirits and glorified
bodies of the saints, their happiness will be greatly
augmented, yet that even now they are in a state of
perfect bliss in the presence of the Lord. As to the
wicked, those namely who die in sins, the Protestant
belief is, that though after their bodies shall have been
raised, their misery will be increased, their souls im-
mediately after death depart to a state of ^ conscious
punishment, of which there can be no alleviation through-
out the ages of eternity.
II. The Roman Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory
having been greatly misconceived and misunderstood
by the generahty of Protestants, it is most desirable that
its several parts or articles should be clearly enunciated.
The fathers of the Council of Trent asserted the doctrine
of Purgatory in the following decree : " Since the
Catholic church, instructed by the Holy Spirit, through
the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the
fathers, hath taught in holy councils, and lastly in this
oecumenical council, that there is a purgatory, and that
the souls detained there are assisted by the sufifrages of
the faithful, but especially by the acceptable sacrifice of
the mass ; this holy council commands all bishops
dihgently to endeavour that the wholesome doctrine of
purgatory, delivered to us by venerable fathers and holy
PURGATORY. 351
councils, be believed and held by Christ's faithful, and
everywhere taught and preached. Let diflScult and
subtle questions, which tend not to edification, and from
which commonly religion derives no advantage, be
banished from popular discourses, particularly ^ when
addressed to the ignorant multitude. Let such as are
of doubtful character, or seem to border upon error, be
prevented from being published and discussed. Let
those which promote mere curiosity, or superstition, or
savour of filthy lucre, be prohibited, as scandalous and
ofiensive to Christians. Let the bishops take care that
the suffrages of the living faithful — viz., masses, prayers,
alms, and other works of piety, which the faithful have
been accustomed to perform for departed believers — be
piously and religiously rendered, according to the insti-
tutes of the church ; and whatever services are due to
the dead, through the endowments of deceased persons,
or in any other way, let them not be performed slightly,
but diligently and carefully, by the priests and ministers
of the church, and all others to whom the duty be-
longs." In the sixth Session of the Council, at the
thirtieth canon, it is said : " Whoever shall aflBrm, that
w^hen the grace of justification is received, the offence of
the penitent sinner is so forgiven, and the sentence of
eternal punishment reversed, that there remains no
temporal punishment to be endured, before his entrance
into the kingdom of heaven, either in this world, or in
the future state, in purgatory : let him be accursed."
The second chapter of the twenty-second Session, declares :
" Wherefore it (the mass) is properly oftered, according
to apostolic tradition, not only for the sins, punishmentr-,
352 LECTtTRE 1^.
satisfactions, and other necessities of living believefS J
but also for the dead in Christ, who are not yet
thoroughly purified." And the third canon of the
same Session issues its anathema upon all who
" shall affirm, that the sacrifice of the mass is only a
service of praise and thanksgiving, or a bare commemo-
ration of the sacrifice made on the cross, and not a pro-
pitiatory offering; or that it only benefits him who
receives it, and ought not to be offered for the living
and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and
other necessities."
In the Douay Catechism we find the following expo-
sition of the doctiine : " Whither go such as die in
mortal sin ? To hell, to all eternity. Whither go such
as die in venial sin, or not having fully satisfied for the
punishment due to their mortal sins ? To purgatory,
till they have made full satisfaction for them, and then
to heaven." The Catechism of the Council of Trent,
maintaining the same caution which is so evident in
the articles and canons, gives the following view : " In
the fire of purgatory the souls *oi just men are cleansed
by a temporary punishment, in order to be admitted
into their eternal country into which nothing defiled
entereth."
In the " grounds of Catholic doctrine" there is a full
exposition of the tenet, and a defence of it set forth on
the ground of Scripture, tradition, and reason. " Q.
What do you mean by Purgatory? A. A middle
state of souls, who depart this life in God's grace, yet
not without some lesser stains of guilt or punishment,
which retard them from entering heaven. But as to
PURGATORY. 353
the particular place wliere these souls suffer, or the
quality of the torments which they suffer, the church
tas decided nothing. Q. What sort of christians then
go to Purgatory ? A. 1st, Such as die guilty of lesser
sins, which we commonly call venial ; as many clirist-
ians do, who either by sudden- death or otherwise, are
taken out of this life before they have repented for these
ordinary failings. 2ndly, Such as have been formerly
guilty of greater sins, and have not made full satisfac-
tion for them to divine justice. Q. Why do you say
that those who die guilty of lesser sins go to Purgatory ?
A. Because such as depart this life before they have
repented for these venial frailties and imperfections,
cannot be supposed to be condemned to the eternal
torments of hell, since the sins of which they are guilty
are but small, which even God's best servants are more
or less liable to. — Nor can they go straight to heaven in
this state, because the scripture assures us. Apocalypse,
21. V. 2*7 : " There shall not enter into it any thing
defiled." Now every sin, be it ever so small, certainly
defileth the soul.: hence our Saviour assures us, that we
are to render an account for every idle word. Matt. 12.
V. 6.
From these various authoritative sources we deduce
the following articles of Roman Catholic belief :
First, — That all persons who die in morfal sin, are
immediately consigned to the everlasting punishment of
hell, from which there can be neither deliverance nor
relief. — It is necessary, however, to note that in all
cases in which priestly absolution is secured immediately
before death, there is an entire deliverance from the
354 LECTURE IX.
guilt and punishment of mortal sin. Every one, there-
fore, who dies receiving the rites of the Church is
positively delivered from hell, and is consigned, for a
season merely, to the regions of purgatory.
Second^ — That eternal punishment for sin is to be
distinguished from the temporal punishment due to our
offences, and that the children of God are not dehvered
from this temporal punishment but by rendering personal
satisfaction both in this world and in the next.
Third, — That this satisfaction is in the present state
rendered by penances, masses, self-inflictions, prayers,
fastings, charities, and the like, and in the future, by
personal punishment in the fires of purgatory.
Fourth, — That the offering of masses is accepted by
the Divine Being, in lieu of this purgatorial punishment,
which is shortened in proportion to the number of
masses which may be said or offered.
Fifth, — That these masses must be purchased by all
classes, so that it is much easier for the rich to escape
from purgatorial punishment than the poor.
It is not, however, to be supposed that the doctrines
of our Roman Catholic friends respecting purgatory are
confined to the views which we have now announced.
It will be well, therefore, that we ascertain the opinions
of her most eminent champions and divines on this
mysterious subject.
Milner, in his " End of Controversy," gives it as his
opinion that " xVbraham's bosom," to which Lazarus was
carried by angels, is purgatory.
Cardinal Bellarmine defines its position, and tells us
(works, vol. ii., book ii., chapter ii., page 406,) that the
PURGATORY. 355
situation of purgatory in 'wliich souls are cleansed, is
adjacent to that in wliich the damned are punished, and
that it is a subterranean place. Dens, following the
Cardinal's view, states that "purgatory is situated
under the earth contiguous to hell." Bellarmine says
again : " almost all theologians teach that the damned
and the souls in purgatory are in the same place, and
tortured in the same fire."
But the Cardinal goes farther ; he lifts the vail, and
presents a series of illustrations, which, considering that
he was a man of acknowledged talents and erudition, it
will be well for us to contemplate, the more so, since
they represent the popular Roman Catholic ^dew of this
mysterious state.
1. The /rs^ illustration is taken by Bellarmine from
the venerable Bede : " A pious father of a family in
Northumberland, died after a long illness, in the early
part of one night ; but to the great terror of those who
watched by the body, came to life again at the dawn of
the following day. All, but his faithful and affectionate
wife, fled at the sight of him, and to her he comniuni-
cated in the most soothing terms, the peculiar circum-
stances of his case ; that he had indeed been dead, but
was permitted to live again upon earth, though by no
means in the same manner as before. In short, he sold
all his property, divided the produce equally between his
wife, his children, and the poor ; and then retired to the
Abbey of Melrose ; he there lived in such a state of
unexampled mortification, as made it quite evident, even
if he had not said a word on the subject, that he had
seen things, whatever was the nature of them, which no
356 LECTtJRE IX.
one else had been permitted to behold. He subseqnentl}^
revealed some things that he saw : ' One,' said the old
man, ' whose asjDect was as of light, and his garment
glistening, conducted me to a valley of great depth and
width, but of immeasurable length ; one side of
which was dreadful beyond expression for its burning
heat, and the other as horrible for its no less intolerable
cold. Both were filled with souls of men, which seemed
to be tossed as by the fury of a tempest, from one side
to the other, for being quite unable to endure the heat
on the right hand, the miserable wretches kept throwing
themselves to the opposite side into the equal torment of
cold, thence back again into the raging flames. This,
thought I to myself, must be hell ; but my guide
answered to my thought that it was not so. ' This valley,*
says he, ' is the place of torment for the souls of those
who, after delaying to confess and expiate their sins,
have at length, in articulo mortis, had recourse to
penance, and so have died ; these at the day of judgment
will be admitted into the kingdom of heaven by reason
of their confession and penance, late as it was; but
meanwhile many of them may be assisted and liberated
before that day, by the prayers, alms and fastings of
the living, particularly by the sacrifice of the mass.' "
It is to be observed that this is not regarded by
Bellarmine as a fabulous invention ; he tells us that he
gives full credit to the story, which he fmiher says, is
calculated to edify the faithful.
2. This, however, does not equal the second illustra-
tion which the Cardinal supplies from the life of Saint
Christina, by Cantepratensis, an author, he informs us,
PURGATORY. 357
of high repute. The Saint died, and afterward returned
to life ; and in the presence of many witnesses spoke
the following words : " Immediately as I departed from
the body, my soul was received by ministers of light
and angels of God, and conducted to a dark and horrid
place, filled with the souls of men. The torments
which I there witnessed, are so dreadful, that to attempt
to describe them would be utterly vain ; and there I
beheld not a few who had been known to me while
alive. Greatly concerned for their hopeless state, I
asked what place it was, thinking it was hell ; but I was
told that it was purgatory, where are kept those, who in
their life had repented indeed of their sins, but had not
paid the punishment due for them. I was next taken
to see the torments of hell, where also I recognized some
of my former acquaintance upon earth. Afterwards, I
was translated to Paradise, even to the throne of the
Divine Majesty ; and when I saw the Lord congi-atulat-
ing me, I was beyond measure rejoiced, concluding of
course, that T should henceforward dwell with liim for
evermore. But he presently said to me — ' In very
deed, my sweetest daughter, here you shall be with me ;
but for the present ; I offer you your choice : Will you
stay for ever with me now ? or will you return to the
earth, and there in your mortal body, but without any
detriment to it, endure punishment, by which you may
deliver out of purgatory, all those whose souls you so
much pitied, and may also, by the sight of your pen-
nance, and the example of your life, be a means of
converting to me some who are yet alive in the body,
and so come again to me at last, with a gTeat increase of
q2
o58 LECTURE IX.
your merits V 1 accepted without hesitation the return
to life on the conditions proposed, and the Lord, con-
gratuhiting me on the promptitude of my obedience,
ordered that my body should be restored to me. And
here, I had an opportunity of admiring the incredible
celerity of the blessed spirits ; for in that very hour,
having been placed before the throne of God at the first
recital of the Agnus Dei in the mass which was said
for me, at the third (recital) my body was restored."
Cantepratensis then relates, that during her second life,
" she walked into burning ovens, and though she was so
tortured by the flames, that her anguish extorted fro6a
her the most honible cries, yet when she came out,
there was not a trace of any burning to be detected on
her body. Again, during a hard frost, she would go
and place herself imder the frozen surface of a river for
six days and more at a time. Sometimes she would be
carried round by a water wheel and having been whirled
round in an horrible manner, she was as whole in body
as if nothing had happened to her ; not a limb was
hurt. At other times she would make all the dogs in
the town fall upon her, and would run before them like
a hunted beast ; and yet, in spite of being torn by thorns
and brambles, and worried and lacerated by dogs to
such a degree that no part of her body escaped without
wounds, there was not a weal nor scar to be seen."
" Such," says this illustrious defender of the Church, " is
the narrative of Cantepratensis, and that he said nothing
but truth is evident, not only from the confirmation
given to his testimony by the Bishop and Cardinal of
Vitriaco ; but because the thing spoke for itself.
PDRGATORY. 369
it was quite plain that the body must have been endued
■with a divine virtue which could endure all that hers
■endured without being damaged ; and this not for a few
days, but for forty-two years, during which she continued
alive after her resurrection. But still more manifest
<ioes this become from the many sinners whom she
brought to penitence, and from the miracles after her
<ieatli, by which she was distinguished, for God deter-
mined to stop the mouth of unbelievers."
3. I cannot withhold from you a third illustration
from this eminent writer. He is speaking of the
possible duration of the pains of purgatory, and gives in
proof a quotation from a life, by the same author,
of a distinguished Roman Catholic female, Ludgardis :
*' About this time. Pope Innocent III., after having held
the Lateran council, departed out of this life, and shortly
afterwards appeared to Ludgardis. She, as soon as she
beheld him encircled with a vast flame, demanded who
he was; and on his answering that he was Pope In-
?iocent, exclaimed with a groan, * What can this be ?
how is it that the common father of us all is thus
tormented V ' The reasons of my suffering thus,' he
answered, ' are, three in number ; and they would have
consigned me to eternal punishments, had I not, through
the intercession of the most pious mother of God, to
whom I founded a monastry, repented, when in extremis.
As it is, though I am spared eternal suffering, yet I shall
be tortured in the most horrible manner to the day of
judgment ; and that I am now permitted to come and
pray for your suffrages, is a been, which the mother of
mercy has obtained for me from her Son.' AVith these
S60 LECTURE IX.
words he disappeared. Ludgardis not only communi-
cated to her holy sisters the sad necessity to which the
Pope was reduced in order to obtain their succour, but
she also, herself, submitted to astonishing torments on
his account." And the author adds, " The reader must
Understand, that Ludgardis, herself, revealed to me the
three causes of the Pope's sufferings ; but I forbear to
disclose them, out of reverence to so great a Pontiff."
"This instance," says Cardinal Bellarmine, "always
affects me with the greatest terror. For if a Pontiff,
entitled to so much praise, one, who to all human
observation was not merely a man of integi-ity and
prudence, but of eminent, nay, most exemplaiy sanctity
— if even he so narrowly escaped hell, and, as it is, must
suffer the most excruciating torments till the day of
judgment, what prelate is there, who does not tremble ?
Who does not scrutinise the secrets of his own consci-
ence, with the most imsparing ngour ? For I cannot
easily persuade myself, that so great a pontiff could have
been capable of committing deadly sins, unless he was
deceived, under some semblance of good, by flatterers
and relatives, of whom the gospel says, ' a man's foes
shall be of his own household.' "
4. I shall close these illustrations with an extract
from O'SulHvan's Compendium of the Catholic history
of Ireland, a work printed cum faculiate sanctae inquisi-
tionis et regis, and authorised by Cardinals, Archbishops,
and Bishops. The extract contains a picture of the
purgatory of St. Patrick : " There were numbers of
men which no arithmetic could number, all lying on
the ground, pierced through the body. They uttered
PURGATORY, 361
hoarse cries of agoiiy, their tongues cleaving to their
jaws. They were buffeted by violent tempests, and
shattered by repeated blows of devils. The devils drove
them into another plain, horrible with exquisite tortures.
Some with iron chains about their necks and limbs,
were suspended over the fires ; others were burned with
red hot cinders. Not a few were transfixed with spits
and roasted, melting metal being poured into them."
Alas for those," it is added, " who do not penance in
this world !"
These illustrations have been given thus minutely
and at length, for the purpose of conveying to your
minds the popular Roman Catholic idea respecting
purgatory. It would be possible to add other illustrations
equally appalling and equally authentic, but I forbear.
What you have now heard will suffice to inform you
what purgatory is, and without a single argument from
me, they have, I am sure, already convinced you of the
unscripturalness of the doctrine. Since, however,
Scripture proof, in its support, is advanced by our
Roman Catholic friends, we must not shrink from a
scriptural investigation of the whole subject. "With
this view we shall adopt the course which has been
pursued in former lectures.
First, then, we protest against the Roman Catholic
doctrine of purgatory, on the authority of the Word of
God, and in support of the protest shall advance three
classes of texts :
First^ and briefly, those which speak of the perfect
satisfaction which Christ, our divine Redeemer, has
presented to the Father for our sins. In the gospel by
362 i.Eoii:uE~ix.
St. John, xix. 30, the blessed Saviou^ is represented as
exclaiming with Ms dying breath : " It is consum-
mated." What means this last utterance of the Son of
Ood upon the cross, but that he was then paying, by
his expiring act, our full debt and penalty ? but that he
was then presenting upon this holy altar of the cross, a
suflBcient oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the
whole world ? In the ninth chapter of St. Paul's epistle
to the Hebrews, at the twenty-sixth verse, the apostle
declares : that " now once at the end of the ages,
Ohrist hath appeared for the destruction of sin by the
sacrifice of himself :" What need then of further de-
struction, or further sacrifice ? He says again in a
following verse : " Christ was once offered to exhaust
the sins of many." If, therefore, the sins of the world
are exhausted by Christ's sacrifice, what additional
process is necessary ? Can our sins be more than
exhausted ? And if exhausted, are not their demerit
and punishment exhausted too ? I know not what im-
pression these passages may have had upon the minds
of my hearers, but to me, they appear sufficient to over-
throw the doctrine that human satisfactions, and self-
tortures, and masses, and purgatorial punishments, are
required by God to be added to the infinite satisfaction
of Christ Jesus, our Lord.
The second class of passages which I adduce, are
those which assert the entire removal, in this life, from
the soul of the believer in Christ, of all the guilt and all
the pollution of sin.
How clear on this subject is the language of Paul in
his epistle to the Romans, (viii. 1.): "There is now
I'UKGATOKY. 36^
therefore no condem nation to them that are in Christ
Jesus ;" but the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church
is, that there is condemnation to the Chiistian, for does
not purgatorial fire, which, in some cases, is endured
for years, imply condemnation ? Let us hear the apostle
further : In his first epistle.to the Thessalonians, chaptesr
V. verse 23, he prays : " May the God of peace himself
sanctify you in all things ; that your whole spirit, and
vsoul and body be preserved blameless in the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ." Is%it conceivable that the
sanctified in all things, i. e. in spirit, in soul, and in
body, should be lashed in purgatory for ages ? And
now, listen to the language of St. John, in his first
epistle : "But if we walk in the light, as he also is in
the light, we have fellowship one with another, and
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin. If we say that we have no sin; we deceive our-
selves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins ; he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all iniquity." Where then is the
necessity for fire ? What other purgatorial process
does the behever need ? What after-process, when the
precious blood of the Redeemer has cleansed him from
all sin ? Look also at the text : What had purged the
saints in white raiment, whom John saw in vision before
the throne ? Was it fire ? No, no ! but, the blood
OF THE Lamb. Are not these passages of ^emselves
sufficient to sustain the Reformed Protest ? I put it to
every intelligent Roman Catholic, whether, if the doc-
trine of purgatory is a scriptural doctrine, these passages
could have found a place on the page of inspiration.
364 LECTURE IX.
There is yet a third class of passages by whicli this
protest is maintained, and to which I especially call your
attention, those, namely, which speak of the present
blessedness of the righteous dead.
The first Scripture of this class which Iquote in support
of the Protestant view, notwitjrstanding that it is one of
Dr. Milner's proof of the existence of purgatory, is that
which describes the state of Lazarus — the same Lazarus
who sat at the rich man's gate, and who at death was
carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. Of him
Abraham is represented as declaring, " Now, he is
comforted.^'' Could this be said of a purgatorial state,
such as that w^ich St. Patrick or St. Christina describes,
or such even as the Council of Florence, or the
Catechism of the Council of Trent sets forth for the
belief of " the faithful ?" Again : How could Paul
desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ? How
could he speak of the gain of dying with such a purga-
tory before him as Pope Innocent the Third is said to
have suftered ? With how little truth, if the doctrine of
purgatory is an article of Christian faith, could the
angel say, " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ?"
Where, what is the blessedness of purgatory ? " From
henceforth now saith the Spirit that they may rest from
their labours." — What rest does purgatory afford to
the righteous departed ? I cannot here withold from
you an incident which occurred in London a few years
ago, and which bespeaks the simple powder of this beau-
tiful text : An eminent Protestant minister delivered in
Poplar, near London, a lecture on the errors of the
Roman Catholic Church. Some hundreds of Roman
PURGATORY. 365
Catliolics were present, some of them listening with
evident anxiety, and others interrupting with contemp-
tuous sneers. The minister spoke to the people upon
the uncomfortableness (to say the least of it) of the
doctrine of purgatory, and shewed them the contradiction
between this peculiar principle of Eoman Catholicism,
and the express and declared mind of the Spirit of God.
A lady present noted down the texts which were adduced
and some of the arguments which were urged. Some-
times a smile played upon her face, at other times a
sneer was obsei-ved, and occasionally the pencil di'opped
and her eyes were fixed upon the floor. The clergyman
gave a second lecture, which the lady also attended.
After he had spoken a little, the pencil was laid down,
her eye was fixed on him, and her ear seemed to
drink in every word. At the close of the lecture she
handed to the speaker a sHp of paper, requesting an
interview, which was immediately granted. As soon as
they met, she said to the clergyman : " I have been a
devoted member of the Roman Catholic Chapel at
Poplar ; the priest is my intimate friend, and the god-
father of my boy ; I w^as to play the new organ when it
was put up ; I have gone regularly to mass and to con-
fession, and have been regarded as one of the elite, of
the communion ; but after considering carefully and
prayerfully what I have heard in your two lectures, I
dare no longer to remain a Roman Catholic." She told
the clergyman at the same time, that when she saw the
placard announcing the meeting, she informed the
priest that a notorious firebrand was coming to Poplar.
The priest did not wish to take any notice of the matter.
366 LECTURE IX.
but on her urging the expediency of his being made
acquainted with what -should be said, he agreed that she
had better go and take notes of the lecture. She did
so, as we have seen, and wrote him a letter immediately ;
telling him there was to be another lecture, and that he
must come and answer it, or the Roman Catholics in
Poplar would all turn Protestants. The priest returned
no answer to this suggestion, and she then wrote to
another priest in the neighbourhood. Dr. Butler, but he
also took no notice of her communication. The second
lecture confirmed the impression of the firet, and she
resolved to renounce for ever the Roman Catholic
communion. The clergyman who had lectured asked
her what points in his .statements struck her most forci-
bly, and so rapidly alienated her affections from her
Church. She said, it was not so much the argument as
the TEXTS. One of these texts, she said, fell like a sun-
beam from heaven, and unveiled to her hopes and pros-
pects to which, previously, she had been an utter
stranger; and that text was "Blessed are the dead
THAT DIE IN THE LoRD ', YEA SAITH THE SpIRIT THAT
THEY may"- — not suffer in purgatory, but — " rest from
THEIR LABOURS." She told him that she felt this most
acutely, beoause she had been formerly laid upon a sick
bed, and her medical attendant had given up all hope,
and told her there was no chance of recovery ; she sent
for an aged priest from a neighbouring place to admin-
ister the sacrament of Extreme Unction. On receiving
it, she asked him, " Am I now safe, ?" to which he
replied, " I Qsai pledge my own safety that you are."
''But." added she, "have 1 not to pass through purga-
rURGATORY. 367
toiy." " Unquestionably," said the priest. " Then tell ,
me, as a dying woman, what is the nature of the
purgatory that t have to experience ?" The priest,
with great solemnity, and, if his creed were right, with
great truth replied, " Purgatory, my dear child, is a
place where you will have to suifer the torments of the
damned, only of shorter duration." She said every
nerve tingled with agony at the announcement. But
when the text which the Protestant minister illustrated
in his lecture, came upon her ear and reached her heart,
declaring that the dead in Christ rest ; and again that
to be " absent from the hody^^'' is to be "present with
THE Lord," she felt that either the priest must be wrong
and the Bible true, t)r the Bible must be false if purga-
tory be true.
The passages which I have adduced are but few ;
there are others in this blessed Bible were it needful to
multiply evidence, but I ask my Roman Catholic friends
whether those which I have quoted concerning the
infinite satisfaction of Christ's atonement, concerning
the efiicacy of the precious blood of Christ to cleanse
from all sin, concerning the immediate bliss of the
departed faithful, do not constitute a rriass of proof
against the purgatorial system of their Church,
sufficient to overthrow its claims, to allay their fears,
and to save that oftentimes ruinous expenditure of
money which it involves. — "Blessed are the Dead
WHO DIE IN the Lord."
But I must not, neither would I, overlook those
passages of Scripture by which this favorite doctrine of
the Roman Catholic Clergy is sought to be defended.
368 LECTURE IX^
As formerly, I shall take tliese passages from the Donay
Bible, and shall adopt the selection of Dr. Milner in his
" End of Controversy." :
" To come now to the New Testament : what place,
I ask, must that be, which our Saviour calls AhraharrCs
bosom, where the soul of Lazarus reposed, Luke xvi. 22,
among the other just souls, till he by his sacred passion
paid their ransom ? Not heaven, otherwise Dives
would have addressed himself to God instead of
Abraham ; but evidently a middle state, as St. Austin
teaches. Again, of what place is it that St. Peter
speaks, where he says, Christ died for our sins ; being
put to death in the Jlesh, but enlivened in the spirit ; in
which also coming, he preached to those spirits that were
in prison. 1 Pet. iii. 19. It is evidently the same
which is mentioned in the apostle's creed : He
descended into hell: not the hell of. the damned, to
suffer their torments, as the blasphemer, Calvin, asserts,
but the prison above-mentioned, or Abraham's bosom,
in short, a middle state. It is of this prison, according
to the holy fathers, our blessed Master speaks, where
he says, / tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till
thou hast paid the very last mite. Luke xii. 69.
Lastly, what other sense can that passage of St. Paid's
Epistle to the Corinthians bear, than that which the
holy fathers affix to it, where the apostle says. The day
of the Lord shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall
try every man's work of what sort it is. If amy marDs
work abide, he shall receive a reward. If any man's
work be burnt, he shall suffer loss ; but he himself shall
be saved, yet so. as by fire. 1 Cor. iii. 13, 15. The
PtTRGATORY. 369
ppelate^s diversified attempts to explain away these
Scriptural proofs of purgatory, are really too feeble and
inconsistent to merit being even mentioned. I might
here add, as a further proof, the denunciation of Christ,
concerning blasphemy against the Holy Ghost : namely,
that this sin shall not he forgiven either in this world or
in the world to come^ Mat. xii. 32 : which words clearly
imply, that some sins are forgiven in the world to come,
as the ancient fathers show."
(1.) The first passage is from Luke sixteenth chapter,
and twenty-second verse, which speaks of the angelic
conveyance of Lazarus, the beggar, to the bosom of
Abraham. This, says Dr. Milner, is purgatory, an
assertion which obliges us to believe that the " Father of
the Faithful" existed in purgatory two thousand
years, and that Abraham did not speak the truth to
the suffering rich man when he said " now he is
comforted^ and thou art tormented."
(2.) The second text which Dr. Milner quotes in this
paragraph is that in the first epistle of Peter, ch. iii. v.
19., where that apostle says, "Christ died for our sins,
being put to death in the flesh, but enlivened in the
spirit; in which also coming, He preached to those
spirits that were in prison." This is a most unfortunate
passage for the learned controvertist, for the antedilu-
vian sinners died in mortal sin, they were disobedient
to God and repented not — purgatory is for venial
sins. How did Christ preach to those antediluvians ?
through Noah the preacher of righteousness. How
the Doctor could have violated his solemn vow, that he
would interpret no passage of Scripture but by the
370 LECTURE IX,
unanimous consent of the Fathers, is to me surprising ;
and we can hardly suppose him ignorant of their views
of the passage. Augustine who strongly leaned to this
doctrine of purgatory is against Milner here. " It may
be," says this illustrious father and saint, " that the
whole of St. Peter's statement concerning the spirits in
prison, who believed not in the days of Noah, has no
reference whatever to hell, {ad inferos^) but rather to
those times of which he has transferred the example to
our own." He had no idea whatever that Purgatory
was taught by the passage. St. Jerome in his com-
mentary on Isaiah (chapter liv.) observes that " Christ
preached to the spirits in prison, when the patience
of God waited in the days of Noah, bringing the flood
upon the wicked." Thomas Aquinas, and the venerable
Bede, give the same interpretation.
(3) The third scripture which Dr. Milner adduces in
confirmation of his views is Luke xii. 59 : "I tell thee
thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paid the very
last mite." Bellarmine says, -the mites or farthings
are venial sins, the payment is human satisfaction, and
the prison is purgatory. From the very face of the
passage, it is clear that our great Teacher speaks of
reconciliation with an oifended brother, and of present
and immediate reconciliation. " Be at agreement with
thine adversary betimes." But even if we allow the
passage to refer to a future life what doctrine could bo
gathered from it, but that the uttermost or very last
farthing would never be paid ? The stress of the argu-
ment is upon the word " until^'' and it is contended
that it conveys the intimation that the last mite v;ill be
PURGATORY. 371
paid ; but this comes with an ill grace from our Roman
Catholic friends when wo remember their interpretation
of the words in the first chapter of the Gospel by St.
Matthew, " Till she brought forth her first born son."
I will read the note from the Douay Bible : " Till she
brought forth her first . horn son.- — From these words
Helvidius and other heretics most impiously inferred
that the blessed Virgin Mary had other children besides
Christ : But St. Jerome shews, by divers examples, that
this expression of the Evangelist was a manner of
speaking usual among the Hebrews, to denote by the
word until, only what is done, without any regard to
the future : Thus it is said, Gen. chap. viii. ver. 6 and
7. That JVbe sent forth a raven, which went forth and
did not retiirn till the luaters were dried up on the
earth. That is, did not return any more. Also IsaiaSj
chap. xlvi. ver. 4. God says : / am till you groio old.
Who dare infer that God should then cease to be ? Also
in the first book of Maccabees, chap. v. ver. 54. And
they went up to Mount Sion with joy, and gladness,
and offered holocausts, because not one of them ivas slain
till they had returned in peace. That is, not one was
slain, before or after they had returned. — God saith to
his divine Son : Sit on my right hand till / make thy
enemies thy footstool. Shall he sit no longer after his
enemies are subdued? Yea and for all eternity."
Then again it is said, till thou hast paid, which gi'eatly
interferes with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic
Church, that a man's friends, by a succession of masses,
can pay these last farthings for him. Dr. !Milner is not
more fortunate in securing the consent of the fathers
si 2 LECTURE IX.
to his interpretation of tliis passage than to his inter-
pretation of the former. St. Jerome says, " He is never
released from prison who does not pay the last farthing
befo7^e the end of life^ St. Chrysostom thus paraphrases
the text : " Agree with thine adversary while thou art
in the way with him, that is in this life, [ev rw^e rw Btw)
for when the way is finished there is no longer time for
repentance. Beware lest the adversary deliver thee to
the judge, and the judge to the avenging powers, and
thou be cast into prison, i. e. into outer darkness." Bede
says, ^^.^ until thou payest'' is put for infinity." The
clear sense of the passage, as well as its patristic inter-
pretation, are against Dr. Milner.
(4.) Another passage is advanced by the learned
Doctor in proof of Purgatory, (1 Cor. iii. 13, 15,) I will
read it : " Every man's work shall be manifest : for the
day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be
revealed in fire ; and the fire shall try every man's
work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide,
which he hath built thereupon : he shall receive a
reward. If any man's work burn, he shall sufier loss :
but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." Those
who were present at the first lecture of this course, have
not yet forgotten the manifold views of the fathers on
this very passage. Before we speak particularly of
these views, it will perhaps be well to look at the pas-
$^age itself. You observe then, (1st,) that the fire of
which the Apostle speaks, is not purgatorial, but pro-
batory. " The fire shall try, not purge or purify man's
work. (2nd,) That the passage proves too much, for it
.says every man's work shall be tried. Now the doctrine
PURGATORY. SYS
oif the Catholic Church, is that the wicked will not go
to purgatory, and that baptized infants do not go to
purgatory ; but every man's work will be tried by that
fire of which Paul speaks. Therefore it is not, it cannot
be puigatory. " Chrysostom and Theophylact," says
Bellarmine, " understand the apostle to speak of eternal
fire." " Others,''^ says the Cardinal, " understand the
fire of the conflagration of the world."
(5.) The last passage which Dr. Milner brings forward
is Matthew xii. 32, it is that which contains the denuncia-
tion of Christ concerning blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost, viz : that it " shall not be forgiven either in this
world or in the world to come ;" which words he says,
clearly imply that some sins are forgiven in the world to
come. But, I ask, what has purgatory to do with
forgiveness? Nothing whatever acccording to the
Church of Rome. Forgiveness is granted in this life ;
such at least is the Catholic doctrine. But look for a
moment at the illogical character of the Doctor's reason-
ing. On the same principle you may argue that because
it may be said the crime of murder will not be approved
either in this world or in the world that is to come,
some other crimes will be approved in the world
to come. Cardinal Bellarmine was candid enough to
allow that the inference does not follow from the pre-
mises, and therefore that any reasoning upon the
passage for this purpose is altogether illogical. (" JVon
sequi secundum regulas dialecticorumr)
Although in my first lecture I clearly proved the non-
canonical character of the Apocryphal books, and that
they are therefore without authority in the establishment
8*74 LECTURE IX.
of any doctrine, I do not feel disposed to avoid the
consideration of that favorite text which our Roman
Catholic friends adduce from 2 Maccabees, xii., 43.
"And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand'
drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be ofifered
for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously
concerning the resurrection." But I must first remind
you of the authority which I thefl. advanced for the
rejection of the Apocrypha. I showed you that
Eusebius, the most ancient historian of the Church,
rejected the Apocrypha ; that Origen rejected it ; that
the Council of Laodicea rejected all the books but
Baruch ; and that St. Cyril and St. Athanasius followed
the same course. I might have added then, but I do it
now, that Pope Gregory the Great, the most illustrious
of all Roman Catholic Pontiffs, rejected these two books
of the Maccabees. And yet the Roman Catholic is the
old religion ! Yet is it the unchangeable religion !
Yet is it the infallible religion ! Yet is it the apostolic
religion ! Notwithstanding that St. Gregory, in the year
690, rejects the authority of that book upon which the
doctrine of purgatory chiefly rests !
Having said thus much, we will take our Roman
Catholic friends upon their own ground, and will simply
remind them, that those on whose behalf prayers are here
said to be offered, died in idolatry, which is a mortal sin,
and that therefore neither purgatory nor prayers could
afford them relief, even on Roman Catholic principles.
We have thus examined the scriptural ground upon
which purgatory rests. You have been conducted
into a patient investigation of at least the strongest
PURGATORY. 375
scriptural evidences which Roman Catholics themselves
alledge, and I now ask with confidence, "What are
fhey all ?" Where is this doctrine of purgatory ? It is
not here ; the Word of God disavows it ; there is not
left upon another one stone of the whole foundation
upon which this mysterious and fiery fabric is constructed ;
they lie scattered at our feet ; they are gone I The
glaring bubble is so attenuated and brittle that it cannot
survive a scriptural handling ; the first touch of the word
of God causes it to explode ! Where, I repeat, do you
find the doctrine of purgatory? Wherever else you
find it, it is not in this Bible.
Secondly. — Roman Catholics, in contending for the
existence of purgatory, build much upon the practices
and opinions of antiquity ; but notwithstanding this
boast, we protest against the doctrine on the authority
of the early fathers of the Church.
Not that we deny the antiquity of the doctrine.
Plato taught it in his day, and Virgil, the Latin poet, in
the sixth book of the ^neid, furnishes a description of
purgatory which so nearly resembles the relations fur-
nished by Bellarmine, as to make it difiicult to conceive
that the moderns did not borrow from the ancient
pagan poet. —
" For this are various penances enjoined,
And some are hung to bleach upon the wind —
Some plunged iu waters, others purged in fii-es,
Till all the dregs are drained, and all the rust expires.
All have their manes and those manes bear,
The few so cleansed to those abodes repair,
And breathe in ample fields the soft Elysian air,
376 LECTURE IX.
Then are they happy, when by length of time
The scurf is worn away of each committed crime ;
'No speck is left of their habitual stains,
But the pure ether of the soul remains."
Dr. Milner refers to this extract, and says that it only
shows how conformable the doctrine is to the dictates of
natural religion ? He forgets that he might plead for
the practices of idolatry, or indeed any other Heathen-
ish custom, on the same ground.
Our Roman Catholic friends, however, when they
refer to antiquity, mean by this expression, the ancient
Church of Christ. Now while we contend that there
existed in the Church at a very early period, especially
after the second century, many errors, and that many a
theological vagary was entertained, we are yet prepared
to maintain that the doctrine of purgatory was not
known to the Christian Church for the first six centuries
of its existence, nor even at the end of this period, in the
sense in which it is now held by Roman Catholics.
AVe readily admit, however, that some of the early
practices and opinions of the Church prepared the way
for the doctrine as it appeared in its full growth in the
Councils of Florence and of Trent.
We mention three : —
First. — The practice of prayinff for the dead; a prac-
tice which commenced in the second century and which
probably was introduced by converts from Paganism,
who, before their conversion to Christianity, were not
strangers to the rite. The notions which these ancient
Christians entertained were, however, widely different
from those purgatorial doctrines which obtain in the
PURGATORY. Sl1
modern Roman Catholic Church. Their behef was as
ours is, that the felicity of the saints is capable of
augmentation even now, and that, at the day of resur-
rection this augmentation will infallibly take place ; so
they were wont to pray for all the departed saints with-
out exception. Now though we do not beheve that
the scriptures furnish any warrant for such a practice,
we can yet conceive of its being followed without the
remotest idea of purgatorial punishment and satisfac-
tion. Our Roman Catholic friends believe that the
Virgin Mary never entered purgatory, that the apostles
too escaped this fiery ordeal, and that martyrs also go im-
mediately to heaven ; if then this is their belief, I have
at hand an incontrovertible proof that praying for the
dead did not involve the modern Roman Catholic notion
of purgatory. What will our friends say to the follow-
ing prayer taken out of the liturgy of St. Gregory :
" Vouchsafe Lord to be mindful of all the Saints who
have pleased thee from the beginning ; of our Holy
Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, Mar-
tyrs, Confessors, and those who have published the Gos-
pel to thy Church, and of all the spirits of the just, who
having finished their course have departed in the faith.
But especially of the Holy and Glorious ever Virgin
Mother of God, and of Holy John, the forerunner. Bap-
tist and Martyr, and Stephen, the first deacon and Pro-
torn artyr, &c." Every one will immediately perceive the
difference between praying thus for all the righteous
dead, and praying that some of the righteous dead may
speedily be delivered from the pains and flames of pur-
gatory. To the same effect are the liturgies of St. Basil
3 78 LECTURE IX.
and St. Chrysostom, in botL. of whicli tlie name of the
Virgin Mary is introduced.
Second. — An opinion of tlie early fathers which pre-
pared the way for the doctrine of purgatory, and which
many orthodox Christians still maintain, is that there is
a separate state (Hades) for the spirits of the departed^
where they exist in conscious happiness or misery until
the resurrection, when their happiness or misery will be
completed, according as they died in faith or impeni-
tency. Tertullian in his treatise on the resurrection
says, " No one when he departs out of the body dwells
immediately with the Lord, except it be from the pre-
rogative of martyrdom, but his abode will be in para-
dise, not in hell." St. Augustine says, " The time which
intervenes between a man's death and the last resurrec-
tion, keeps souls in hidden receptaoJes, according as
each is deserving of repose or sorrow, in consideration
of that which it has obtained while living in the flesh."
It will scarcely be affiiTQed that in this notion the doe-
trine of purgatory is involved, for it is held in the present
day by thousands who reject this Roman Catholic
dogma.
Third. — The opinion which prevailed, that at the day
of judgment all believers, as well as sinners, including
the Virgin Mary and Apostles, will have to undergo a
prohatorial fire, prepared the way for the reception of
the doctrine of an immediate purgatorial fire, but nei-
ther of these doctrines is involved in the other.
It is not for us, at this time at least, either to defend
or to refute these opinions and practices of the Church
in former ages ; it is enough if we have shown that
PURGATORY. 3*79
tliey have no necessary connection with the doctrine of
purgatory.
And now I ask, could Ambtose have believed this
doctrine while writing the following words : — " Death
is a haven of rest, and makes not our condition worse ;
but, according as it finds every man, so it reserves him
to the judgment to come." Could Jerome be a believer
in the doctrine while he penned the following consola-
tory words to Marcella, on the death of Lea : " Instead
of her short trouble, she is already in the enjoyment of
eternal blessedness." And even as to Augustine, whose
works are esteemed by Roman Catholics, the strong-
hold of this doctrine, how loosely must he have held it,
to have said " such a matter as a middle state for pur-
gatory might he inquired into ;" but he aftei-wards
aiSirms : " We read of heaven and of hell ; but the
third place we are utterly ignorant of; yea, we find it
is not in Scripture." Listen to St. Cyprian, speaking
of departed brethren: "They should," says he, "be
regretted, not mourned, nor should black garments be
assumed here, since they have put on white robes
there." But why should I multiply quotations, since
Roman Catholic divines of the greatest eminence have
acknowledged that there is no ground on which to plead
the antiquity of the doctrine ? The celebrated Fisher in-
forms us, " That in the ancient fathers there is either
none at all, or very rare mention of purgatory : that,
by the Grecians it is not believed to this day ; that the
Latins, not all at once, but step by step received it ;
that purgatory being so lately known, it is not to be
wondered that in the first times of the Church, there
380 LECTTTRE IX.
was no use of indulgences." Alphonsus de Castro is
candid enough to say : " Many things are known to us
of which the ancients were altogether ignorant, as pur-
gatory, indulgences, &c." And Cardinal Cajetan is
equally exphcit : " We have not, by writing, any
authority either of the Holy Scriptures or ancient doc-
tors, Greek or Latin, which affords us any knowledge of
purgatory "
On how insecure a basis then does this doctrine of
purgatory restl The Scriptures are against it; the
earlier fathers, with all their crude notions respecting a
future state, are not in favour of it ; the more modem
Confessors, Martyrs, Cardinals, Bishops, and Doctors
rescind its claim to antiquity ; and yet it is held and
maintained, by the authorities of the Roman Catholic
Church, as a doctrine, the denial of which will bring^
down upon our heads the curse of God ! Because^
Protestants deny, with Cardinal Cajetan, the authority
of Scripture for this doctrine — the Council of Trent
anathematizes us! Because Protestants follow the
opinion of Cardinal Fisher, that purgatory is a doctrine
lately known, the Council of Trent excludes us from
salvation ! Is this charitable ? Is it consistent ? Is it
Christian ?
There is one view of the doctrine of purgatory which
has always impressed me with its unsoundness; and
that is its utter inconsistency with the purposes of
Divine gi-ace. The gospel offers its blessings — ALL its
blessings, without money and without price. Salvation
is here declared to be by the free gi-ace of God. In the
Roman Catholic Church it is not without money and
PURGATORY. 3*81
without price. Indulgences and masses are, if not
ostensibly, yet really sold and purchased, and so salvation,
at least in part, is made to depend, not upon the bound-
less love of God, but upon the wealth of its members.
Reason as you will, if relief from purgatory is to be
obtained by charities and masses, the rich in the
Roman Catholic Church have an advantage which is
denied to the poor. How this doctrine is made to
accord with the words of the Saviour, " How hardly
shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of
God," I have not discovered. In what a position are
the Catholic poor placed by this doctrine of the
Church ? Under what bondage must they groan, when
they contemplate their prospects in the painful abodes
of purgatory ? How deeply must they feel the disad-
vantage of their poverty. Their rich brethren can pay
for thousands of masses ; they can hardly pay for Jive
or perhaps one. Can you then wonder that when a
poor and feeble Roman Catholic trudges our cities and
towns begging for bread, that even from the scanty
pittance which he obtains, he should lay aside a portion
for the purpose of securing as many masses as possible
for the welfare of his soul ? My Roman Catholic
friends know that this is no uncommon occurrence. I
met a few weeks ago with an instance of a poor infirm
Roman Catholic who sought and procured alms from a
member of my congregation, and who confessed that he
had already in store several dollars, which he intended
to devote to the saying of masses for the speedier
deliverance of his soul from purgatory. I dare to say
that I am speaking to many who have long felt this
r2
382 LECTURE IX.
bondage, the bondage induced by the conviction that
poverty will be the occasion of their remaining in
purgatory and suffering its dreaded pains longer than
some of their richer brethren ! We solemnly protest
against this doctrine, it is opposed to the genius of the
Gospel — evangelical inconsistency is stamped upon its
very face. Where do you find it in the New Testament ?
Tell me in what cities the apostles and early ministers
of the gospel established purgatorian societies ? Tell
me in what apostolic epistle the members of the primi-
tive Church are asked to contribute their money to save
the souls of departed believers out of purgatory ? Give
me one instance out of the ISTew Testament in which
Christians said masses to help the souls of Christ's
people suffering in purgatory — and with this intention we
will at once institute a daily mass in this Church. If I
am addressing this evening one Roman Catholic who is
so poor as not to be able to accomplish his wish in
respect to the number of masses to be hereafter said for
his soul, I would direct that misguided individual to the
infinite satisfaction of Christ's sacrifice, to the infinite
fountain of God's love, to the gracious promise of the
gospel, " Whosojever will, let him take of the water of
life freely," and to that blessed declaration which
delivered from the bondage and fear of purgatory the
Roman Catholic lady of Poplar, *' Happy are the dead
who die in the Lord."
My dear hearers, Protestant and Catholic, let me
exhibit to you this evening that gospel purgatory in
which, without money and without price, you may be
cleansed from all your sin : from its guilt, from its
PURGATORY. 883
pollution ; that pui*gatory in wliicli you may be delivered
from its temporal and spiritual and eternal condemna-
tion. You know to wliat I allude — not to fire — but to
the purgatorial fountain of Christ's Blood. To this
fountain would I lead you all. It has been opened for
sin and for uncleanness ; it is still open — open for you —
for ALL — it flows from Calvary to every spot of our
«arth —
" Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store,
Enough for all, enough for each,
Enough for evermore."
I would take you by the hand this evening, I would lead
you to the Cross of Christ, to his open bleeding side, to
the very edge of this fountain, and I would implore you
vith all the guilt you have contracted and with all the
stains of pollution, which defile your souls, to plunge by
faith into its streams, and then, though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Oh cover
yourselves with the cleansing blood of your Redeemer,
and rise in life and purity. Thousands and myriads
have already proved its efficacy. David, the backslider,
washed in this fountain, and came out with a clean
heart; — Peter who denied his Lord washed in it ; — Paul
the chief of sinners loathed his guilty soul in its flowing
streams ;^The four-and-twenty Elders who are before the
throne plunged themselves here, and now the burden of
their song is, " Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us
unto God by thy blood ;" — The great multitude referred
to in the text, whom no man could number, whom John
384 LECTURE IX.
saw standing before the throne and singing, " Salvation
to our God and to the Lamb," passed through the same
fountain, " washed their robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb." Follow them ! There is no
other way ; there is no other purgation. The satisfac-
tion that you need is here, the cleansing that you need
is HERE, the purity that you need is here. God help
you to wash your robes and to make them white in this
precious blood !
But though there is no purgatory after death there is
a fearful, an eternal Hell, in which the worm dieth not
and the fire is not quenched. Listen to the following
passage from the Douay Bible : — " The fearful and
unbelieving, and the abominable and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
they shall have their portion in the pool burning with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
And there is a Heaven where now the souls of believ-
ers dwell wdth Jesus. They are absent from the body,
but are present with the Lord — happy, peaceful, at rest.
" Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in."
Perhaps they were poor, but now they hunger no
more, they thirst no more ; — perhaps they were
afflicted sufierers, but there is no more sickness, no more
pain ; — perhaps they watered their couch with their
tears, but God has wiped them all away. Into this
heaven " There shall not enter anything defiled, or that
worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are
written in the Lamb's book of life."
PURGATORY, 385
Whither then are you tending ? In which way are
you walking ? In the way of holiness, or in the way of
sin ? In the broad road that leadeth to destruction, or
in the narrow way that leadeth unto life ? To hell with
all its terrors, or to heaven with it^ endless joys ? Do
you ask how you are to solve this problem ? Let me
again demand, Have you forsaken your sins ? Have
you repented ? Have you mourned in penitence before
your God ? Have you gone to the Cross for salvation ?
Have your hearts been changed by the Spirit of God ?
Are you living in holiness and righteousness ? If not,
be you Protestant or Catholic, you have no right to
hope for heaven. You are hasting to destruction. Oh !
will you live and die in your sins ? Remember, as the
tree falls so it lies. " There is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou
goest." Are you trembling before God on account of
your sins and in prospect of hell, are you saying :
" Shall I amidst a ghastly band,
Dragged to the judgment seat,
Far on the left with horror stand,
My fearful doom to meet ?"
Is this your language ? I reply :
" Ah ! no, you still may turn and live,
For still his wrath delays ;
He now vouchsafes a kind reprieve,
And offers you his grace."
LECTURE X,
PROTESTANTISM.
As this is to be the last Lecture of the course, I shall,
perhaps, be excused if I oflfer two or three general
observations before entering upon the discussion of our
prescribed subject :
First, then, I would remark, that these lectures did
not originate in any combination, on the part of the
Protestant Churches of this city, against the doctrines
which are held by our Roman Catholic Brethren. They
were not even undertaken by desire of that portion of
Christ's Church with which the speaker is associated.
No one belonging either to another Church or to his
own suggested their delivery. Without suggestion, and
almost without consultation, they were deteraiined upon
by him, just as in the retirement of his own closet, and
with earnest prayer for the Holy Spirit's guidance, he is
accustomed to select those subjects upon which he dis-
courses in his ordinary ministrations. He had long felt
that an exposition of the grounds upon which the
system of Protestantism rests might be given with great
advantage to the members of his own congregation,
and that although discourses of a strictly and entirely
controversial nature are not usually favorable to the
advancement of spiritual religion, yet that there would
be a possibility of so illustrating and enforcing the
388 LECTURE X.
great principles of Protestant Christianity as that they
should become spiritually and practically beneficial. He
also thought, and not without foundation, that if an
announcement of such a design were made, some candid
and inteUigent Roman Catholics, of whom there are
many in the city, might be disposed to come and exam-
ine for themselves the principles of that great and
growing system which they are taught to regard as the
world's greatest curse.
The Second observation relates to the spirit in which
this exposition has been conducted. The speaker appeals
with confidence to the thousands of all classes who have
listened to these lectures, that the professions with which
he commenced the course have been faithfully main-
tained. It is a great comfort to his mind, in the review
of the labours and anxieties which have attended this
investigation, that he has not been betrayed into even a
slight departure from the principle on which he thus set
out. He may also be allowed to say, that during these
ten weeks of thought and research there has been a
rapid growth of the conviction which he often expressed
before, that all religious controversies should be con-
ducted in the spirit of Christian Charity, that the apos-
tle's words, " Speaking the truth in love,''^ should be the
motto of every theological controversialist, and that
until he is prepared to inscribe these words upon his
banner, he ought not to enter the field of polemical
warfare. He is free to confess that, on both sides, the
controversy between Roman Catholics and Protestants
has often been carried on in a spirit of virulence and
abuse, which cannot be defended on simply philosophical
PROTESTANTISM. 389
much less on Christian principles, and which can never
be productive of spiritual benefit.
Thirdly^ — As to the spirit in which these lectures have
been received. The speaker is thankful to that gracious
Being, frona whom proceedeth every good and perfect
gift, for the spirit of inquiry and attentiveness which
has been manifested throughout the whole course. It
has rejoiced him to observe that Protestants take so deep
an interest in the maintenance of their principles, and
he has been especially gratified to know that many of
his Roman Catholic friends have so far thrown aside
their prejudices as to consent to enter a Protestant
Church, and to hear for themselves the Protestant
side of the question. It augurs Avell for future discus-
sions, so at least the speaker thinks, that so orderly and
decorous a behaviour has characterized the very mixed
and crowded audiences which it has been his privilege
to address, the more so, that there have come under his
own observation facts which prove that in many
instances, Roman Catholics have listened to the argu-
ments and appeals that have been advanced with an
earnest and candid desire to inquire into the truth as it is
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Fourthly, — As to the results of this eff'ort ; the
preacher leaves these to the influence of that Divine
Spirit in whose strength the work was undertaken ; it
may, however, be permitted him to hope that these
results will be beneficial. One effect, probably, will be
the cultivation of a better state of feeling between our
Protestant and Roman Catholic fellow citizens. They
will, perhaps, understand each other better, Romaii
390 LECTURE X.
Catholics will be convinced that they have Protestant
brethren around them who can defend their own prin-
ciples without descending to abuse; and Protestants
will learn that there are in the community candid
Catholics who are disposed to hear with attention what
may be said on both sides of the great questions on
which they differ. Another effect will be the establish-
ment of Protestants in the principles of their own faith.
It is gratifying to know that this effect has been already
produced to a very large extent. It is a result much to
be desired in the present day because of the insidious
and unworthy attempts which are now made to destroy
the foundations of Protestantism, by the Jesuits of the
Church of Rome, whose princij^es are as thoroughly
detested by liberal and enlightened Catholics, as they
are by Protestants. It is not too much to expect that
another effect of these lectures will be an acknowledg-
ment on the part of our Roman Catholic friends,
grounded upon sincere conviction, that, without refer-
ence to sectional peculiarities, the great principles of
Protestantism are sustained by the Bible, and by the
most ancient authorities of the Church. The speaker
has already heard of conviction of the truth of Protest-
antism in some minds, and of wavering in others
respecting the scriptural verity of Roman Catholicism,
and he prays that the light which has thus pierced the
darkness may become by the power of the Holy Spirit,
so intense as that its last remaining gloom may be
dispelled ! May we not also hope that one other result
will follow ? Why should we not expect and believe
that the gospel seed which has been thus sown in so
PROTESTANTISM. &91
many Protestant and Catholic hearts shall bring forth
fruit ? Why should we refrain from casting ourselves
upon the divine announcement, " My word shall not
return unto me void ?" We will not refrain from thus
trusting the word of the living God ; we will believe
that many Roman Catholics and Protestants shall
become, not Methodists, not Episcopalians, not Presby-
terians, but humble and penitent believers in the merits
of Jesus, and faithful followers of the Lamb. God grant
that it may be even so !
The words which I have selected for a text you may
find in the third verse of the epistle of Jude.
" I WAS UNDER A NECESSITY TO WRITE UNTO YOU : TO
BESEECH YOU TO CONTEND EARNESTLY FOR THE FaITII
ONCE DELIVERED UNTO THE SAINTS."
The terms in which the subject of this lecture has
been announced, oblige me to define Protestantism.
What is it ? Roman Catholics say it is a system of
negations. They also perpetuate that stale objection,
which, by the way, is assertion only and not argument,
that Protestantism is a new religion. Now, if Roman
Catholics desire to know from those who employ the
term what is meant by Protestantism, our reply is, not
Lutheranism, not Calvinism, not Arminianism, but
" THE Faith once delivered unto the saints." Listen
to the first few verses of this epistle and you will find
that St. Jude exhorts the Christians to whom he wi'ote,
to protest against certain novelties which had been
already introduced into the Christian Church. " Dearly
beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning
your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write
892 LECTURE X.
unto you : to beseech you to contend earnestly for the
faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men are
secretly entered in (who were written of long ago unto
this judgment) ungodly men, turning the grace of our
Lord God into riotousness, and denying the holy
sovereign Ruler, and our Lord Jesus Christ."
I suppose it will not be denied by either Protestants
or Catholics, that it is both the duty and the privilege
of Christians earnestly to contend for the apostolic faith.
Now it appears to me that in the nine lectures to which
you have already listened, the leading principles of
Protestantism have been undeniably proved to be in
accordance both with the Holy Scriptures, and with the
ancient authorities of the Church. I would remind
you that no argument advanced during this discussion
has been founded upon Protestant authorities. If I
have quoted from the Bible in support of any Protestant
doctrine, I have adopted either the Vulgate or the Douay
Version. If I have had occasion to refer to history,
Roman Catholic historians have been uniformly selected.
If I have described the doctrines of the Church of
Rome, I have employed the language of its most
eminent members, and usually the very words of its
canons and formularies. And yet, notwithstanding that
I have thus left Protestant ground, and have fought the
battle within the Roman Catholic territory, I repeat that
the truth of the leading principles of Protestantism has
been thoroughly demonstrated.
I shall adopt the following order in the investigation
of the subject : first, I' shall prove that Protestantism
is the old religion ; secondly, that the state of the
PROTESTANTISM. 393
Eoman Catholic Churcli in the sixteenth century-
educed that development of pre-existent principles
which resulted in the Reformation ; and thirdly, I shall
reply to some objections that may not have been fully
met in the consideration of the previous investigations.
First, then, I am to prove that Protestantism is
THE OLD Religion.
I need not occupy much of your time in exhibiting
to you the doctrines of Protestantism, for this is what
we have been doing for the last nine Sabbath evenings.
Perhaps the leading principle of the Protestant religion
is the absolute sufficiency of the Bible as a rule of
faith ; this is the foundation of the whole superstructure.
Our appeal for the truth of any doctrine, or the authority
of any practice is not to creeds, and canons, and articles,
and confessions, and catechisms, and liturgies, but to this
glorious fountain of immutable truth, the Bible. And
because we believe that the doctrines which I shall now
announce are taught in, and may be proved by this
divine Book, we acknowledge them to be the articles of
our creed. These doctrines are. The existence and tri-
unity of God. Is this a negation ? The totally fallen
and corrwpt condition of man. Is this a negation ? The
redemption of the whole world hy Christ. Is this a
negation ? The incarnation of Christ hy the Virgin
Mary. Is this a negation ? The crucifixion of Christ,
and his one sacrifice for sin. Is this a negation ? The
resurrection of Christ and his ascension into heaven. Is
this a negation ? The intercession of Christ and his sole
Mediatorship. Is this a negation ? The possibility of a
894 LECTURE X.
sinner's justification and holiness. Is this a negation ?
The necessity of repentance and faith in order to salva-
tion. Is this a negation ? The personality, office and
work of the Holy Spirit. Is this a negation ? The last
and general judgment. Is this a negation ? The eternal
blessedness of the righteous, and the eternal misery of
the unbelieving. Are these negations ? These are the
truths or doctrines upon which we have been dilating,
and I am much mistaken if it has not been proved to
the satisfaction of most of my hearers, that novelty is
not the characteristic of Protestantism, but rather of
Roman Catholicism. Need I remind you that the most
ancient Creeds of the Church are freely subscribed by
Protestants ? The Apostles' Creed, as it is usually
called, and the Nicene Creed, are the Creeds of Protest-
antism ; and why we are anathematized when we are
prepared to adopt that only profession of faith which
was used in the first few centuries of the Christian
Church, is a question which I pretend not to solve. If
Protestantism is a novelty, then is the x\postles' Creed
a novelty. If Protestantism is a novelty, a thing of
yesterday, then may the same be predicated of the
formulary of the Nicene Fathers. If Protestantism is a
novelty, then is much that the fathers of the church wrote
a novelty ; for inconsistent with themselves and with
each other, as they frequently are, they favour more the
doctrinces of Protestantism than those of the Trentine
Council. Roman Catholic controvei-sialists have expended
their curses upon Luther for preaching the doctrine of
justification by faith only, while St. Hilary in his ninth
canon upon Matthew, says, " Faith only justifieth ;" and
PROTESTANTISM. 395
St. Basil in his Homily on Humility : " This is a perfect
and whole rejoicing in God when a man acknowledgeth
himself to be justified by the only faith in Christ ;" and
St. Ambrose : " This is the ordinance of God that they
which believe in Christ should be saved, without works,
by faith only, receiving remission of their sins." Is
there any novelty, therefore, in the Protestant doctrine
of salvation by faith only? The defenders of the
Roman Catholic faith have showered their sneers upon
Protestants for asserting the Bible to be the only rule
of faith. Now listen to St. Augustine : " For whereas
the Lord had done many things, all were not written ; for
the same Evangelist John testifies that he both said and
did many things which are not written, hut those things
were selected to be written which were thought sufficient
for the salvation of believers." — On Gospel of John,
XX. V. 30. Jerome also may be quoted; " The Church
of Christ which has Churches in the whole world, is
united by the unity of the spirit, and has the cities of
the law, the prophets, the gospel, and the apostles ; she
has not gone forth from her boundaries, that is," he
continues, " from the Holy Scriptures." Origen says,
" As all gold, whatsoever it be, that is without the
temple is not holy ; so every sense which is without the
Divine Scripture, however admirable it may appear to
some, is not holy, because it is foreign to the Scripture."
(25th Homily on Matthew). Hear also the following
triumphant defence of this great bulwark of Protestant-
ism from St. Cyril of Jerusalem : " Not even the least
OF the Divine and Holy mysteries of the faith
OUGHT TO BE HANDED DOWN WITHOUT THE DiVINE
396 LECTORE/'X.
ScRiPTtTREs." Will Homan Catholics in the face of
these extracts from their own revered fathers ever
again taunt Protestants with the novelty of this doc-
trine ?
This charge of novelty comes with an ill grace from
those who have invested the novelties of the Council of
Trent with the authority of inspiration, and have ana-
thematized all those who dare to dissent from them.
Novelty belongs to the Church of Rome. What will
our friends say to this passage from Justin Martyr, and
how will they make it agree with the doctrines of
transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the mass ? " I
also affirm," says he, in his dialogue with Trypho,
*' that the prayers and praises of the saints are the only
perfect sacrifices acceptable to God. For these only
have the Christians undertaken to perform, and by the
commemoration of the wet and dry food ^ in which we
call to mind the sufferings which the God of gods suf-
fered through Him, whose name the High Priest and
Scribes have caused to be profaned and blasphemed
throughout the earth." Listen to Eusebius, of Cesarea :
" He gave again to his disciples the symbols of the
Divine economy, and he commanded them to make the
image of his own body." Again : " He appointed them
to use bread as a symbol of his own body." To this
agree the words of Tertullian : " The bread which he
had taken and distributed to his disciples he made his
body, by saying, ' This is my body,' that is, the figure
of my body." And yet the Church of Rome pleads
antiquity in support of her doctrines, and attempts to
affix upon Protestantism the stigma of novelty. Novelty
PROTESTANTISM. S97
belongs to the Churcli of Rome. You heard enough
last Sabbath to prove to you that purgatory is a novelty ;
I ask you, however, to listen again to ancient testimony
on this doctrine. Chrysostom, in his second homily on
Lazarus, says: "When we shall be departed out of
this life, there is then no room for repentance ; nor will
it be in our power to wash out any spots we have con-
tracted, or to purge away any one of the evils we have
committed." To whom then justly attaches this stigma
of novelty ? To the Council of Trent, which anathe-
matizes those who deny the doctrine of purgatory, or
to the Protestant community, which declares it to be
contrary to both Scripture and antiquity ? St. Cyprian
in his sermon on mortality, says : " The just, when they
die, are called to a place of shelter and rest;" and
Gregory Nazianzen affirms, that "the souls of good
people when they are freed from the body, do forth-
with enjoy an incredible pleasure, and joyfully fly unto
the Lord." Novelty belongs to the Church of Rome.
Auricular confession is a favourite doctrine of the
Roman Catholic Church. Is it however sustained by
antiquity? Listen to Chrysostom in his fifth sermon
on the incomprehensible nature of God : " For this
reason I entreat, and beseech, and pray you to confess
continually to God. For I do not bring thee into the
theatre of thy fellow-servants, nor do I compel thee to
discover thy sins to men. Uncover your conscience to
God, and seek a cure from him." Again, he says in
his sermon on Repentance and Confession, fifth volume
of his works : " But now it is not necessary to confess
your sins to witnesses who are present ; let the inquiry
398 LECTURE X.
of thy offences be made in thy thought, let this judg-
ment be without a witness, let God only see thee
CONFESSING." Novelty belongs to the Church of Rome.
The necessity of subordinate mediators to facilitate our
access to the Father and the Son, is a universally
acknowledged doctrine of the Roman Church : What
then will be said to the following declaration of Chry-
sostom : " When we want any thing from men, we have
need of cost and money, and servile adulation, and
much going up and down, and great ado. For it falleth
out oftentimes that we cannot go straight unto the lords
themselves and present our gifts unto them and speak
with them, but it is necessary for us first to procure the
favour of their ministers, and stewards, and officers,
both by payments and words, and all other means ; and
then by their mediation to obtain our request. But
with God it is not thus, for there is no need of interces-
sors for the petitioners ; neither is he so ready to give a
gracious answer when entreated by others as by ourselves
praying unto Himy Can you wonder at our reiterat-
ing the assertion that Novelty belongs to the Church
OF Rome ? I might advance other and equally con-
vincing extracts from the Fathers in proof of my
position, but these will suffice. I know what our
Roman Catholic friends will reply — ^they will say that
they can produce passages from the Fathers equally
corroborative of the truth of their doctrines ; now sup-
pose we were to grant this ; how would the concession
serve the interests of Roman Catholicism ? It would
at once convict the Fathers of the Church of inconsis-
tency with each other and with themselves, and there-
PROTESTANTISM. 399
fore of being unworthy witnesses in support of Roman
Catholic pretensions. We are not careful whether the
defenders of the Church of Rome select this or the other
horn of the dilemma.
But if such sentiments as these pervaded the writings
of the Fathers, and if novelty is the characteristic of
many of the peculiar dogmas of the Church of Rome,
might we not expect to find, before the days of Luther,
some indications of the existence of the old Apostolic
faith, as Protestants call it ? Ts it probable, is it even
possible, that intelligent ecclesiastics, should tamely
submit to the introduction of novelties ? That with
the Bible and the Fathers in their libraries, there should
not have been some protests against doctrinal innova-
tions ? We reply that such a thing is not probable,
and scarcely possible. We reply, further, that such a
thing did not exist. This old religion, the religion of
the Bible and of Protestantism was in existence before
the Reformation of the sixteenth century ; and nothing
but ignorance of his own authors, or unwarrantable
effrontery, could lead a Roman Catholic to propound to
a Protestant the oft repeated and oft answered ques-
tion — "Where was your religion before Luther?"
The Protestant answer to this demand is "In the
Bible ! " But we shall give another answer to the
question, and one which will convict the enemies of
Protestantism of unscrupulous misrepresentation. Why
then, I ask, but that resistance was made to the dogmas
and practices of the Church, were laws enacted against
heretics? Why was WicMiffe denounced 150 years
before the Reformation, but that he protested against
400 LECTURE X,
the novelties of the Roman Catholic Church, and
appealed to the Bible as the only source of truth ? Why
were Huss and Jerome of Prague martyred at the stake,
but that the truths which WicklifFe taught were in-
fluencing them against the encroachments of Rome ?
But let us go back to the thirteenth century, and let
us ask why were the Waldenses persecuted and slaugh-
tered ? Let Rainerius, the persecutor of these noble
people, himself declare : " They are the most formidable
enemies of the Church of Rome, because they have a
great appearance of godliness, because they live right-
eously before men, believe rightly of God in all things,
and hold all the articles of the creed ; yet they hate
and revile the Church of Rome, and in their accusations
are easily believed by the people." Mark this; the
chief ground of the treatment which they received at
the hands of the Church of Rome was not immorality,
not a renunciation of the articles of the Christian faith,
but an inveterate hatred to the practices of the Roman
Church. And whence did these Alpine Christians and
martyrs derive their faith ? Was it a late importation
into the valleys and fastnesses which they peopled ?
This same Rainerius, the inquisitor, says again : " That
sect is the most dangerous of all heretics, because it is
of the longest duration, for some say that it has con-
tinued to flourish since the time of Sylvester, others
from the times of the apostles." Cassini, an Italian
priest, testifies that he " found it handed down that the
Vaudois were as ancient as the Christian Church."
Campian, the Jesuit, collected that they were said to be
" more ancient than the Roman Church ;" and the monk,
PROTESTANTISM. 401
Belvidere, in his inquisitorial reports, laments that
" these heretics have been found at all periods of history
in the valley of Angrogna." And what were the doc-
trines of the church against which these confessedly
ancient Christians protested ? Purgatory, images, the
invocation of saints, the sacrifice of the mass, transub-
stantiation, the authority and decrees of the Bishop of
Rome.
" Where was your religion before Luther ?" is the
demand. Where? In the writings and experience of
those nonconfoiTuists of whom, in the year 1153, Ber-
nard of Clairvaux spoke, who he says were then disturb-
ing the Latin Church. Where was our religion before
Luther? We point our inquirers to the valleys of
Piedmont, and ask them to contemplate it in the purity
of life, and in the patient endurance of suffering for
Christ, which were manifested by their noble inhabitants.
Listen, and our religion will become vocal in the groans
of the hundreds and the thousands of that noble race
who were slaughtered for the testimony of Jesus. Where
was our religion before Luther? Go to Oxford and
follow the pen of Wickliffe in his remonstrances against
the encroachments of Rome, in his scriptural expositions
of truth, and in his translating the Scriptures into the
Vulgar tongue. Here, in the writings of the " Gospel
Doctor," as he was derisively called, you see something
of the Protestant religion, and yet he lived one hundred
and sixty-two years before Luther ! Where was our
religion ? In the writings and opinions of St. Anselm
who taught his people to die " trusting only in the merit
of Jesus Christ." Where was our religion before
402 LECTURE X.
Luther ? Go to Bale in Germany, and you will see it
engraved on a painted window by an ancient Bishop of
that city, Christopher of Utenheim, in these words : —
" My hope is the cross of Christ ; I seek grace and not
works." Where was our religion before Luther ? Read
its evangelical and simple principles in the following con-
fession of a poor Carthusian monk : — " God most
charitable ! I know that I cannot be saved and satisfy
thy justice, otherwise than through the merit, the
innocent passion, and the death of thy well beloved
Son. Pious Jesus, all my salvation is in thy hands.
Thou canst not turn from me the hands of thy love, for
they have created, formed and redeemed me." Where
was our religion before Luther ? The dungeons of the
inquisition and its instruments of tortm-e, the cries of
its penitents and the groans of its martyrs, the stakes and
the faggots and the gridirons and the cauldrons which
were in use ere Luther was born, declare with resistless
testimony that long before his day the blessed light of
Protestanism dawned upon the world's dark ages.
Where then, I demand, is the justice or even the con-
sistency of declaring the doctrines of Protestantism to
be the invention of Luther ? Any man who has read
history but slightly must know, that, by such an asser-
tion, he convicts himself of insincerity and falsehood.
And what becomes of the taunt of novelty against Pro-
testantism in the face of the fact which has been more
than once established in these lectures, that Roman
Catholic writers themselves acknowledge the existence
of doctrines and practices in their Church which were
unknown to antiquity ? But we will take our friends
PROTESTANTISM. 403
on their own ground ; we will suppo&e that the system
of religion which we have adopted and which we advo-
cate was constituted by Luther, we will suppose that
novelty is the characteristic of Protestantism and that
Roman Catholicism can justly boast her antiquity, yet
will the following words of TertuUian, even on this
ground, overthrow the pretensions of the Church of
Rome, and with them we shall close this branch of the
lecture : — " As the doctrine of a Church, when it is di-
verse from, or contrary to that of the apostles, shows it
not to be an apostolic Church, though it pretend to be
founded by an apostle : So those churches that cannot
produce any of the apostles, or apostolical men for their
founders, (being much later and newly constituted) yet
conspiring in the same faith, are nevertheless to be
accounted apostolical Churches, because of the con-
sanguinity OF Doctrine." I am now to show
n. That the corrupt state of the Church of
Rome educed that development of pre-existent
principles which resulted in the reformation
of the sixteenth century.
This is a subject which must be painful to Roman
Catholics, and yet, in justice to both the Reformers
and ourselves, it must be fully considered. "Whether the
members of the Roman community in the present day,
are, or are not prepared to admit the almost universal
corruption of the church at the period to which we now
refer, is not material to our purpose. It is enough
for us that the testimony of eminent Roman Catholic
writers of that day, is more than abundant as to the
404 LECTURE X.
absolnte and immediate need of a general Reformation)
of the Church.
The eormption of the Church of Kome may be said
to have commenced in the time of Gregory the Great ;
and there is testimony at hand that Christendom was-
subsequently deluged with pollution from the papal court.
Make the fountain impuTC and the streams will be im-
pure. Gibbon, who will not be suspected of any leaning
towards Protestanism, states on the authoiity of Luit-
prand, that for the first half of the tenth century ther
Popedom was in the hands of Theodora and Marozia,
two abandoned women, who, rivalling each other in lewd
licentiousness, deposed and installed the viears of Christ
at their pleasure. " The influence," says Gibbon " of
these sisters was founded on their great wealth and
beauty, their political and amorous intrigues. The
most strenuous of their lovers were rewarded with the-
Roman mitre, and their reign may have suggested to>
the darker ages, the fable of a female Pope. The
illegitimate son, the grand son, and the great-grand son
of Marozia, a rare genealogy, were seated in the chair of
Peter ; and it was at the age of nineteen years that the
second of these became the head of the Latin Church.
His youth and manhood were of a suitable complexion,
and the nations of pilgrims could bear testimony to the
charges that were urged against him in a Roman Synod,
and before Otho the Great. His open simony might
be the consequence of distress — his blasphemous invo-
cations of Jupiter and Venus, if true, could not possibly
be serious ; but we read with some surpnse that the
grandson of Marozia lived in public adultery, that the
PROTESTANTISM. 405
Lateran palace was turned into a school for prostitution,
and that his open seductions had deterred the female
pilgrims from visiting the tomb of St. Peter, lest in the
devout act, they should be violated by his successor."
Gibbon, as we have already seen gives his authority for
this picture, and that it is not overdrawn, appears pro-
bable from the following representation made by nine
Cardinals to Pope Paul III., at a subsequent period :
" In this city (Rome) prostitutes walk about as if they
were goodly matrons, or they ride upon mules, and are
at noon-day followed up and down by men of the best
account in the families of the Cardinals, and by clergy-
men. We see no such degeneracy in any other city
but in this which should be an example to others."
Platina, the Roman Catholic historian, acknowledges
that " Boniface VII., obtained the popedom by wicked
arts, and lost it by the same means ; many of the honest
citizens of Rome, having conspired against him, he was
glad to escape from the city, after having first robbed
the church of St. Peter of all the precious jew^els, rich
utensils and ornaments, which he carried to Constanti-
nople, and there sold. Subsequently, he returned to
Rome, seized upon John XV. who had been chosen
Pope in his absence, put out his eyes, and at length
starved him to death in prison." He lived but a short
time after his return, and the citizens of Rome, says
Peneda, "dragged his dead body, tied by the feet,
through the streets of St. John Lateran, and there left it
a prey to dogs." And what shall we say of the boy
Pope, Benedict IX. of whom one of his successors says,
82
406 LECTURE X.
" So base and so execrable was his life that I shudder
to relate it ?"
In a sermon preached by Jean Gerson, Chancellor of
Paris, before the Council of Constance, he applies to the
Church of Rome in his day, these words of the prophet
Ezekiel, "Thou didst trust in thine own beauty and
playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst
out thy fornications on every one that passed by. And
in all thy abominations thou hast not remembered the
days of thy youth. Thou hast built thy brothel house at
every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be
abhorred. Behold therefore, I will deliver thee into the
hands of those who hate thee." He then exhorts the
Council " either to reform all states of the church in a
general Council, or command them to be reformed in
Provincial Synods ; that, by their authority, the church
might be repaired, and the house of God purged from
all uncleanliness, vices and errors." The desperate state
of the church may be gathered also from the fact, that
the College of Cardinals, at the death of Alexander VI.,
before they entered the conclave for the election of a
new Pope, took an oath that if any of them should be
chosen, he should immediately, before the publication
of his election, bind himself under pain of perjury and a
cui*se, to call a Council within two years, for the refor-
mation of the Church. It may be well to mention that
Julius III. who had taken the oath, was elected ; but he
violated his vow, and nine Cardinals who had suffered
from his insolence, withdrew themselv^es from Rome and
called the second Pisan Council for the purpose if pos-
sible of securing the much needed reformation. Who
PROTESTANTISM. 40T
xpill say, in the face of these testimonies that a protest
against these crimes of the chm-ch was not demanded
from some quarter ? Who will say that by every means
that would not involve sin, this pollution should have
been washed away ?
Listen to another representation of this polluted
condition of the church from St. Bridget, a saint of high
reputation in the Catholic Church, who in her celestial
revelations calls the pope " the destroyer of souls, who
scatters and tears the sheep of Christ." She says,
" The pope is more abominable than the Jews, more
cruel than Judas, more unjust than Pilate, more wicked
and evil than Jupiter himself ; — that his throne shall be
hurled into the abyss as a gTcat millstone, that his
Cardinals shall be cast into everlasting fire and sulplmr."
^' Of the pope," she again says, " Christ demands, ' what
means that excessive pride, insatiable cupidity, and luxury
which I abhor, and even a horrid whirlpool of tho
basest simony.' The Pope who ought to cry, ' Come
ye shall find rest for your souls,' exclaims, * Come and
see me in pomp and grandeur above Solomon's. Come
to my court and empty your purses and ye shall find
damnation for your souls !' for thus he doth speak by his
example and conduct. Behold Rome is now a vortex of
infernal mammon,- where the demon of all avarice dwells,
selling the patrimony of Christ which he jwrchased
with his passion, who has told us that we should freely
give because we have freely received." Speaking
afterwards of the Pope, she says. " This is true justice,
that the Pope who sits in the chair of Peter and does
the works of the devil, should resign the seat which he
408 LECTURE X.
has dared to usurp, and be a partaker of the punishment
of the devil."
This picture is sufficiently sickening, and I would
immediately pass on to another and more grateful sub-
ject, did I not feel it to be necessaiy, for the sake of
both Protestants and Catholics, to convey the fullest
possible infonnation respecting the condition of the
Church at and before the period of the Reformation.
The course usually pursued by Roman Catholics is to
heap all the iniquity and all the guilt that belonged to
that period, upon the Protestant Reformers. They were
the chief sinners of that age ; they disturbed the church
in her holy quiet ; they were worthy of condign punish-
ment. The general opinion of Roman Catholics in the
present day is that Wickliffe, and Huss, and Luther, and
Calvin, and Cranmer were monsters of iniquity. What
says the mild, the polite, the plausible Dr. Milner ? " I
have shown that patriarch Luther was the sport of his
unbridled passions, pride, resentment and lust ; that he
was turbulent, abusive, sacrilegious, in the highest
degree ; that he was the trumpeter of sedition, civil war,
rebellion and desolation ; and finally, that by his own
account, he was the scholar of Satan in the most im-
portant article of his pretended Reformation. I have
made out nearly as heavy a charge against his chief
followers, Zuinglius, Ochin, Calvin, Beza and Cranmer."
And now let us see the measure of severity with which
the kind Doctor visits the corrupt Popes and Cardinals^
whose vices have been depicted by St. Bridget and other
Roman Catholics. " I, as well as Baronius, Bellaimine,
and other Catholic writers, have unequivocally admitted
PROTESTANTISM. 409
that some few of our pontiffs have disgraced themselves
by their crimes, and given just cause of scandal to
Christendom ; but I have remarked that the credit of
our cause is not affected by the personal conduct of
particular pastors who succeed one another in a regular
way, in the manner that the credit of yours is by the
behaviour of your founders, who professed to have
received an extraordinary revelation from God to reforai
religion." ..." Lastly, I grant that a few of the Popes,
perhaps a tenth part of the whole number, swerving
from the example of the rest, have, by their personal vices,
disgraced their holy station : but even these Popes
always fulfilled their public duties to the church by
maintaining the apostolical doctrine, moral as well as
speculative, the apostolical orders, and the apostolical
mission ; so that their misconduct chiefly injured their
own souls, and did not essentially affect the church."
Such is the gentleness of hand with which this Reverend
Doctor touches the monstrous profligacies of the Roman
Court ! Why does he not imitate the candour of St.
Bridget, whom he so much admires ? Why — but I
dare not trust myself to dilate upon this flagi-ant
partiality on the part of this defender of " the Holy
Faith."
But I must refer you to other testimonies, as to the
corruption of the Popes. The celebrated Petrarch, of
whom Butler, in his lives of the saints says, "His
works render his name immortal," in his twentieth
epistle, designates the Papal Court, "Babylon," and
"the Babylonish Whore, seated upon the waters,
the Mother of all idolatries and fornications, with
410 LECTURE X.
whom tlie princes and kings of the earth have com-
mitted fornication." " The asylum of heresies and
errors, &c., of whom the Holy Spirit prophesied in the
Apocalypse:" and amply proves the truth of that
proverb, " No greater evil can ever befal a man than
being elected Pope." In another place he thus writes
of Rome, the Holy City : " Whatever any where you
have read or heard of perfidy and fraud, whatever of
cruelty and pride, whatever of uncleanness and unbrid-
led lust ; lastly, whatever of impiety and abandoned
manners exists, or has existed in the whole world, from
pole to pole, ALL THIS you may see here, collected into
one mass and heaped up together .'" "I speak
not," says he, " of Simony and selling the gifts of the
Holy Spirit for money ; I speak not of covetousness,
the mother of that crime, and which is styled by the
Apostle — Idolatry. I speak not of the contrivers of
every lust, nor of the procurers who haunt the Papal
chambers," — But I dare not proceed.
Once more, in his tenth Epistle, being then at the
Pope's court at Avignon ; he says, " Whoever would
truly behold it, let him come hither and view that hell,
which poets of old did but fancy. For here is wanting
no horror of imprisonment, no error of palpable dark-
ness, no fatal urns shuffling together the lots and des-
tinies of men : and to conclude, no imperious Minos, no
tearing Minotaurus, nor lascivious portraits of damned
Venus, are here rare and scarce. All hope of safety
lies in gold, the cruel king of the Imperial regions is
appeased with gold. The prodigious monsters that
attend him are subdued with gold. For gold, the web
PROTESTANTISM. 411
of human salvation is woven, only for gold are the hard
thresholds of this gate, shewn ; for gold the bars are
broken ; with gold the grizly Porter's mouth is stopt,
for gold Heaven is opened; and, what needs many
words, Christ himself is sold for gold."
"There the hope of a future state is some empty
fable, and all that is revealed of hell, mere fabulous
reports. The resurrection of the body, and the end of
the world, and Christ coming to judgment, all old
women's tales. Truth is there madness, and abstinence
clownishness, chastity, a disgrace and the more
foul one^s life is, the more illustrious is it considered —
the more wicked, — the more glorious /"
Can we then wonder at Cardinal Baronius, when he
describes the Popes of these ages as " Monstrous and
infamous in their lives, dissolute in their manners, and
wicked and villainous in all things ?" But what has
been affirmed of the Papal Court, in particular, may
be said of the Clergy in general. Ecbert, a monk,
says of the twelfth century, "I have inspected the
Churches of the Clergy, and have found in them gi-eat
and endless enormities. I have seen the cloisters of
nuns which I can call by no fitter name than a snare of
the devil, and lo, an alien has laid waste all, 'the lilies of
chastity are burnt up, and a woeful destruction is every
where conspicuous throughout the whole world of
souls." Honorius Augustodinus, says " Look also at
the nunneries, and you will see in them a chamber
made ready for the beast. These, from a tender age,
learn lewdness, and associate very many companions with
themselves to heap up greater damnation. Like an in-
412 LECTURE X.
satiable whirlpool, they can never be satisfied with the
filth of their uncleanness. In the fourteenth century,
Alvarus Pelagius, a Roman Catholic author, wrote a work
entitled " The Lament of the Church," in which he says
of the Clei'gy : — " Many of them enter taverns without
cause ; they are addicted to magical arts, augury, and
divination. They carry weapons of oflTence ; many
carry on wars. They have to do with unlawful gains ;
they often practise usuiy. They manage the aff"airs of
the Church badly. They bring up their children, and
relatives, with the property of the church, &c
They are addicted to feasting, and drunkenness, and
whoredom, which is a common vice with them; and
MOST OF TIIEM ALSO THE SIN WHICH IS AGAINST
NATURE. They give money to players, &c. ; they play
at dice They mix themselves up with
secular affairs. They are not an example of good to
the laity, as they ought to be, but rather the contrary ;
for in the present day, commonly, the clergy are more
WICKED THAN THE LAITY Agaiust that holy
chastity which they have vowed to God, they offend
constantly, even in public ; besides those most horrid
crimes which they practise in secret, which neither my
paper will receive nor my pen write The
bishops ordain priests for money I scarcely
think, especially in Spain, that out of a hundred
bishops, there is one who is not a Simonist."
But I must with-hold. — I could occupy hour after
hour in reading to you from Roman Catholic v\Titers and
historians, descriptions and representations of the state
of the Church, that would make you blush and weep
PROTESTANTISM. 413
at the degradation and pollution of our fallen humanity
— pollution concealed beneath sacerdotal robes, and
within the walls of sacristies and convents. Can you
wonder that for years and almost centuries, the mem-
bers of the Church of Rome called aloud for a Refor-
mation of the Clergy, that the Vatican was hterally
assailed with remonstrances against the impurities of
the Church ? Is it not rather surprising that the Refor-
mation did not assume shape and substance before the
sixteenth century ? Who will deny that a Reformation
was needed ? Who will deny that the authorities of
the Church, failed to do that, which by her best mem-
bers, lay and ecclesiastic, they were urged to do ?
Cardinals, Bishops, Saints of both sexes. Doctors, Monks
and Pastors, Emperors, Kings, and Senators, called aloud
for Reformation.
What answer did they get ? The Council of
Constance, which it was thought would strike the first
note of Reform in the Church, imported into that city,
I speak on the authority of Labbeus, a larger amount
of lasciviousness and impurity than had previously
existed within its walls. Seven hundred harlots fol-
lowed the Constantian fathers into the City! This
was the infallible Council that burned John Huss !
Cardinal Hugo, in a speech which he made to the citi-
zens of Lyons, immediately after the dissolution of the
sacred Synod w^hich was held there, boasted that at the
time of the meeting, the city contained two or three
brothels ; but that at its departure it comprehended
only one which however extended without interruption
from the eastern to the western gate. And as to the
414 LECTURE X.
Council of Trent, its members spent more time in heap-
ing anathemas upon the heads of Protestants than in
seeking to reform the crimes of Catholics.
Will my Roman Catholic friends look at these things
with candour ? Will they ask themselves whether their
Church, in the ages of which I have spoken, manifested
the spirit and the purity of the true Church of Christ ?
Where was her sanctity ? Where was her imity ?
Unless indeed we speak of unity of crime ! Where
was her apostolicity ? Not surely in the chair of St.
Peter ! Where was the infallibillity of the Church ?
Was it in the Popes ? No ; for w^e have seen that
they were corrupt and debased men. Was it in
'the College of Cardinals ? No ; for they were no
less depraved. Was it in the Clergy generally?
History assures us that they had departed from the
purity of the Gospel. Did it reside in the convents
and monasteries of the Church ? No ; for they were
the acknowledged scenes of the foulest crimes. Do
you find it in the Councils of Basil or of Constance ?
Alas for infallibility ! It is a meteor ! You follow it
to Rome, it is still distant from you ; you imagine that
it lights upon the Church of the Pontiff, but as you
approach, it disappears ; — you see it resting over the
conclave of Cardinals, but as you draw near to admire
its light and beauty, lo, it is gone ! You follow it to
the cities of Florence, of Constance, of Trent, surely you
will reach it here, but it still shuns investigation.
To return however : Do I rejoice over these crimes ?
God forbid that I should triumph at the abounding of
iniquity. Would, I say, that the Church of Rome had
PROTESTANTISM. 415
remained in her original Apostolic purity and simplicity !
Then had there been no call for a Refonnation ; then
had Christendom remained one ; but she did not ! And
when she had sunk into viciousness, her authorities did
not even then interfere ; but God interfered and raised
up instruments of his own. The imperfect hght which
dawned upon Wickcliffe and Huss, increased in bright-
ness in the days of Luther; it was not perfect day but
morning, early morning. It is not yet perfect day ; but
the light is increasing, the truth is unfettered, the word
of God is multiplied, the blessings o'* the Reformation
are diffusing themselves over our dark world, and by
and by, the perfect day of millenial glory will burst
forth upon the Church from the Sun of Righteousness,
unintercepted by any cloud of error or of darkness or
of bigotry ; the Church of Christ shall be purified and
perfected, made one and catholic, and shall acknow-
ledge one Sovereign Pontiff, one Shepherd and Bishop
OF SOULS, EVEN Jesus Christ ; so will the prophetic word
be verified, " There shall be one fold and one
Shepherd." It was proposed to consider
III. Some objections which might not probably
HAVE been met IN THE DISCUSSION OF THE FORMER
BRANCHES OF THE SUBJECT.
1. A common objection urged by Roman Catholics
against Protestantism, is, that it is destitute of unity.
If it is meant that we have no real unity, doctrinal or
spiritual, I deny the allegation, and appeal to the
course which I have adopted during these lectures.
You all know that the speaker is a Wesley an Methodist
416 LECTURE X.
Minister, and yet in defining the principles of Protest-
antism, he has not, excepting in one single instance,
and then only to show that it coincides with Protestant
standards generally, referred to a Methodist standard.
I have taken up the standards of the Churches of
England and Scotland, and have quoted from the
Homilies and Articles of the one, and from the
Confession and Catechisms of the other, as well as from
one or two Continental Protestant authorities, thus
demonstrating that in its leading principles. Protest-
antism IS One.
Roman Catholics manifest great anxiety to father
upon Protestantism, the modern heresies of the Church,
and even some of its ancient ones. Momionism is a
phase of Protestantism, and Millerism is a form of
Protestantism, if we may credit Roman Catholic con-
troversialists ; but these champions forget, that we have
an equal right to brand the Roman Catholic Church
with Arianism, Pelagianism, Sabellianism, and a hun-
dred other heresies which sprang up in the earlier
centuries of the Church's history. Has this method
been pursued in these lectures ? Because Arius was a
Bishop of the Church, have I fastened Arianism upon
it ? Has this been my course ? I leave yourselves to
reply. Then I add, you have no right, in describing
Protestantism, to associate with it Mormonism or Uni-
veralism ; or in writing about Protestants, to class them
with those sections of the community, whose principles
they themselves eschew with quite as much determina-
tion and consistency of purpose as the ancient Church
eschewed the doctrines of Arius, and perhaps a little
PHOTEST ANTISM. 4 1 7
mote. I can hardly suppress a smile -when I Lear
Roman Catholics boast of their own unity in contrast
with the diversities of Protestantism. The more I have
examined this subject, the more convinced am I that
it is a hollow unity, — a mere crust which overspreads
and conceals the fused and confused masses of cinerous
and other substances that exist in the volcano beneath,
and which are ready to belch out their fury and to
involve in sudden destruction the myriads who walk
over it with as much security as though it were an
everlasting rock. Unity I consider the five sections
into which the Roman Catholic Church is divided on
the one subject of transubstantiation. Unity ! Look
at the almost innumerable opinions which exist in the
Church of Rome respecting the seat of its infallibility.
Unity ! What shall we say of the three systems that
prevail respecting the number and authority of Church
Councils, some calling those general, and therefore
infallible, which others designate particular, and there-
fore falhble ? Unity ! Look at the variations which
exist as to the particular efficacy of Extreme Unction,
and as to the kind of adoration which should be paid
to images. Unity ! What unity is there between the
Doctors of one age and those of another ? Where is
the unity of the Fathers ? Where is the unity of the
Popes ? Is there then any justice, any consistency, in
affirming that visible unity belongs to the true Church,
and then to unchurch Protestants, because they have it
not. Where, I again ask, is the Unity of the
Church of Rome ?
418 LECTURE X.
2. Roman Catholics profess to object to Protest-
antism because of the alleged vicious character of the
Reformers. I am not intending to defend either the
acts or the opinions of the authors of the Reformation.
There were many things said and done in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries by Protestants, which the
Protestants of the present day uniformly condemn ; and
I should indeed wonder if, in escaping from that pit of
filth and corruption through which I have this evening
conducted you, they had not retained upon their
vestments some stains of pollution. What astonishes
me is that they brought with them so few ! But after
all, the Reformers have been maligned, their failings
have been magnified and multiplied to serve a purpose.
Luther has been called a companion and disciple of the
devil, because he dreamed at one time that he had a
conflict with him, and at another time imagined himself
to be actually contending with him. But what do you
make of this ? His dream or his imagination, merely put
into physical form, what every one of us has every day
to contend with spiritually, — and those who perpetuate
this slur upon the character of the gi*eat Reformer, for
want of something more tangible, would perhaps not be
the worse of remembering what the Apostle Paul
says : "We wrestle with principalities and powers and
wicked spirits in high places," or what Peter advised :
" Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the
Devil as a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he
may devour." I observe further, that these objections
recoil with tenfold efiect upon those who contend that
the integrity of the Church was not affected by the
PROTESTANTISM. 419
impurities that were lodged for centuries in the Papal
Chair, and beneath the very altars of Christendom.
I must now conclude this series of lectures. I am
grateful to God on my own account that I was led to
undertake this task. It is profitable to investigate the
truth of God, and I may say, without any fear of being
misunderstood, that I see a greater beauty than ever in
the Gospel of Christ, especially in its doctrines of saving
grace. Some have gone so far as to predict that such
an examination into the claims of Roman Catholicism as
that which I have been undertaking, would lead to my
adoption of the faith with which I have thus been con-
tending. Now, I am free to confess that I have learned
many things during this discussion which I never knew
before, but amongst other things, I have obtained a
deeper conviction than I ever yet experienced, that
the foundation upon which rest the principles of our
glorious Protestantism, is firm as the Rock of ages. We
have our peculiarities, and our inconsistencies, and our
failings, but the principles are sound and everlasting ;
the rock is not weakened by the limpets which cleave
to its surface, or by the growth of weeds which fill up
its chinks — neither is it affected by the winds which
blow on its surface, or by the billows which rage at its
base. " The word of God liveth and abideth for
EVER."
I intend to pursue in private the investigation of this
great and momentous subject, and if in the order of
Providence, my life be spared, and my lot should be to
continue among you, I shall hope within a year from
this time to conduct you through a somewhat similar,
420 LECTURE X.
though perhaps shorter investigation of the principles of
Roman Catholicism. Hitherto we have defended the
principles of Protestantism, hereafter it may be desirable
and profitable to investigate and to describe the features
of Roman Catholicism.
I am thankful also that an opportunity has been
afforded me of pi^claiming to such large numbers, both
Protestant and Catholic, the saving doctrines of the
Gospel. Oh ! my hearei*s, this glorious gospel of the
blessed God is beyond all price. It stands out from
every ecclesiastical system — it soars above creeds,
formularies, liturgies, oixiers of ministei-s, churches,
altars, vestments, relics, masses. What are all these in
comparison of the glorious system of saving truth ? We
acknowledge that there are spurious forms of Protest-
antism, but real Protestantism goes forth amongst
the children of men and exclaims with Paul, " I deter-
mine to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and
him crucified." The boast and only boast of true
Protestantism is, " I am not ashamed of the Gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to CA^ery
one that belie veth." If you ask me for a brief view of
genuine Protestantism, my reply is : " God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ." If you demand from me an epitome of a
Protestant's faith and experience, here it is : —
" Could my tears for ever flow,
Could my zeal no languor know ;
These for sin could not atone,
Thou must save, and Thou alone,
In my hand no price I bring,
Simply to the Ceoss I cling."
PROTESTANTISM. 421
My fellow-sinners, suffer me, before I take my leave,
to remind you that we are all hastening towards the
eternal world, and that we shall all have to stand before
the judgment seat of Christ. At that judgment bar, it
will not be demanded, are you Protestant or Catholic,
but are you in Christ Jesus 1 At that dread tribunal,
we shall have to give an account of all that we have
done in the body. I shall have to give account of
what I have spoken to you in these lectures, and you
will have to give account of what you have heard.
You have been reminded of your sins ; has the view of
them which you have obtained, humbled you before
God ? You have been directed to the Saviour ; have
you approached his cross for mercy ? You have been
besought, by unnumbered arguments, to forsake the
wickedness of your way; have you returned to the
Lord who has promised to have mercy upon you and
abundantly to pardon ? come this evening to the
altar of our common Christianity — the altar of prayer,
the throne of grace ! Come ; though you feel yourself
to be the chief of sinners : Come ; though your eyes
be suffused with tears, and your heart be heavy with
grief. Come through your only priest, the High Priest
of our Christianity, Jesus Christ. Come, through the
precious blood of his only sacrifice which speaks and
pleads on your behalf before the throne of God. Come,
for all things are now ready : — The Gospel is ready to
instruct you ; the Holy Spirit is ready to influence your
minds and enlighten your hearts : — the Saviour is now
ready to save you. The Father is now ready to receive
422 LEOTTXRE X.
his returning prodigal ; Angels are now ready to rejoice
over your salvation ;
" All heaven is ready to resound,
The dead's alive, the lost is found."
God bless you, my dear hearers ! On earth, we shall
never all assemble together again. When we next meet,
it will be at the bar of the Eternal I May it be at the
right hand of our glorious Judge ! And with this view
let us cry to him in some such language as the follow-
ing:—
•* Jesus vouchsafe a pitying ray,
Be Thou my Light, be thou my Way
To glorious happiness ;
Ah 1 write the pardon on my heart,
And whensoe'r I hence depart.
Let me depart in peace."
AMEN.
NOTE TO LECTURE X.
Additional testimonies, by Roman Catholic authors, of the
corruption of the Church of Rome previously to the Reformation.
1. St. ElizaJjeih, the Virgin, of Germany. " These things saith
the Lord to the prelates. ' The iniquity of the land, which ye
have hidden, for the sake of silver and gold, ascends up before
me like the smoke of a furnace. Are not the souls of whom you
suflfocate in eternal fire through your avarice, more precious
than silver and gold ? Therefore your religion accuses you
before me. For behold you have caused your holiness to stink
in the sight of the people, and it is turned into an abomination
to me.' "
2. William of Paris — A monkish historian. " The clergy
have neither piety nor learning, but rather the foul vices of
devils, and the most monstrous uncleanness and crimes. Their
sins are not mere sins, but rather the most prodigious and
dreadful crimes. They are no Church ; but rather Babylon,
Egypt, and Sodom. The Prelates, instead of building the
Church, destroy it and make a mock of God."
3. St. Catherine of Sienna. " In former times the clergy
were moral and faithful, but in the present day they are
wicked. And as formerly, the bad were rare, so now the good
are seldom seen. Wherever you turn, you behold all the
clergy, both secular and religious, prelates and those subject to
them, small and great, old and young, infected with crime,
pursuing riches and delights, neglecting the support of the
poor and the care of souls, applying themselves to secular
affairs, simoniacally selling the grace of the Holy Spirit, and
mismanaging the affiiirs of the Church. Woe to their wretched,
and unhappy life. That which Christ purchased with his
424 LECTURE X.
sufferings on the cross, they waste -with harlots ; they corrupt
souls redeemed with the blood of Christ. They nourish illegi-
timate children with the patrimony of Christ."
4. John Rohitzana — Archbishop of Prague. " I openly
declare that the Church of Rome is Western Babylon, and that
the Pope is Anti-christ, who has overwhelmed the worship of
God with a heap of superstitions. There are few priests
followers of Christ ; and almost all of them are avaricious,
proud, ambitious, hypocritical and idle. They preach lies for
the truth, and surpass their people in wickedness, instead of
being their guides in every kind of piety,"
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
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