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created to be received with thanksgiving of them that believe and know the truth."

16. PURGATORY was a state, as described by Rome, of suffering in the invisible world, a state between heaven and hell, into which all catholics passed immediately on death, provided they had not left behind them sufficient merit to secure a place in heaven. The want of merit in those who thus descended into purgatory, did not consist so much in a want of moral virtue, as in not having paid the priest a sum equal to purehase a beatific mansion. So that here we see the clergy not only plundered a man while living, but even after death; his heirs must advance something more from his estate, in order to save his soul from sinking quite down into perdition, which the priest assured them would be the case, if prayer was not made for him by the church and all good Christians. The scriptures speak of hell as the place appointed for the devil and his angels, and for all the wicked, into which state the unbelieving and incorrigible pass immediately after death; the righteous go into life everlasting; but there is not a syllable about purgatory, or any intermediate state, or about the prayers of the priest on behalf of the dead, or about the necessity of leaving money to the church below, in order to be admitted to the church above. Purgatory and prayers for the dead are all inventions of pope and priest for the purpose of getting money.

17. THE CONDUCT OF THE CHURCH OF ROME WITH REGARD TO THE SCRIPTURES, shall finish the arrangement of the chapter. We have seen for some centuries past, that almost all appeal to the scriptures has been laid aside; and in the stead thereof the authority of fathers and councils has been called in. Such fre

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quently was the art and wickedness of the pope and his creatures, that when they wanted to introduce a lucrative novelty, they would forge canons and decrees suited to their purpose, and pretend they had copied them from some old manuscript, or assert their own writing to be the original. This was the case in oum. berless instances; and the Holy seriptures being laid aside, there was no standard by which to judge and detect the imposture. As the papal abomination inDecreased, it was the more necessary to keep every part of the divine rule out of sight, lest antichrist should be recognized in the church of Rome. It was therefore at length decreed that the Holy Scripture could be understood only by the clergy, and that it was dangerous to the souls of men to suffer them to be perused by the laity. What maxim could be adopted more likely to answer the end of papal aggrandizement! The scriptures in vain remonstrated against error; the people knew not of it-ignorance was the mother of devotion in the Roman church, and to seek information was heresy. The injunction of Jesus is," Search the seriptures ;" and the practice of the first disciples was to "Search them daily." To them, as to an infallible standard, did the church for ages appeal; they were read in the churches, and acknowleged by all Christians as the only sure word of prophecy.

From a review of these several articles, who can hesitate in pronouncing the papal hierarchy the antichrist spoken of by the sacred peamen? Can we image any thing bearing the Christian name more foreign to the Christian character? The Bible contains a statement of Christianity: but to what part of that volume are we to look for the account of popes, cardinals, monks, friars, relies, mass, inquisition, purgatory, and the

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like? These articles, which we have considered at some length, are not the mere appendages to the Roman hierarchy; were that the case, it would be inconclusive, on such ground, to argue against the system. But these things are the grand principles, the soul and substance of the scheme; take away either of them, and the cry of heresy awakens the fury of the inquisitorial fires. Nor must we fail to remark that the more principal parts of this view of the papal establishment, remain on the catholic confession even to this day. The low state of papal authority, in the present age, has doubtless, had very considerable effect on the operations of that church; but it has produced no real alteration in its constitution. People in New England can have no idea of popery, from what they see here, but let them go into popish countries, or into those provinces where it dares to lift up its hydra head, as in Ireland, and in some of the British colonies. Popery is popery still, and will be so as long as a pope remains upon the earth.

We have observed that the grand engine of papal usurpation is darkness. The subtle priesthood hates nothing so much as the scriptures, the light of life. In proportion, therefore, as the sacred word is disseminated, so will popish superstition decline. Great is the exertion of the present generation of protestants to spread the Bible in all languages, and among all people. This is a happy omen, a certain prelude to a glo rious day of gospel light.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

CHAPTER I.

Miscellaneous Affairs-Schism in the Popedom.

SEVEN hundred years have now elapsed since the seeds of reformation were sown in the vallies of Piedmont. Such a length of time has brought the Roman hierarchy to maturity, and has afforded also a space in which to prepare materials for the glorious work of re-edifying the church of the living God. But we must not expect this great work to proceed with a rapidity equal to the works of darkness: all things here below naturally tend to decay; and to demolish, is more easy than to build. Another century will be occupied in bringing together those means and instruments now brought into existence. The Lord will arise and have merey upon Zion, when the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. Henceforward our detail of catholic history will be like that of the Roman empire during the ages of persecution, for hereafter we shall see little, or no more, of Christianity in the operations of the popedom, than formerly we saw in the achievements of pagan princes.

The repeated failures of the crusading heroes had not yet taught the Roman pontiff to desist from urging such experiments. Several were the attempts during this period to regain the holy land, but all at length proved abortive, and the Mahometans were suffered to possess,

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without opposition, their Asiatic territory. In Europe things succeeded somewhat better, and Spain was completely brought under the Roman yoke, but not till that fine country was almost reduced to a desert.

The conversion of one remaining pagan prince crowned the efforts of catholic zeal in this century. Jagellon, duke of Lithuania, submitted to the cross; but the chief means of this conversion are such, that we cannot allow him any thing more than the Christian name, and a place in the Roman pale.

In the East the crusades had not only failed, but even in those proviuces where Christianity had obtained by gentler measures, and had maintained its ground for ages, Mahometanism triumphed through the conquering arms of the famous Tamerlane, who either put the Christians to death, or reduced them to the most abject slavery. In China Christianity was reduced to a low ebb, through the tyranny and superstition of the princes. Thus the whole of Asia was nearly reduced to its former state of ignorance and irreligion; and to this day would have so continued but for the establishment of protestant missions.

A circumstance now falls under notice which, in its relations and tendency, contributed in no small degree to weaken the power of the popedom, and to aid in the establishment of reformation principles. Philip of France, surnamed the Fair, was a man of a bold and enterprising spirit-a man worthy to wear a crown. To check such a spirit in every popish monarch was the true interest of St. Peter. Boniface the Eighth therefore thought it advisable to let Philip understand, that the tiara was superior to the diadem, and that France, as well as all other kingdoms, was subject to the pope, both in matters spiritual and temporal. Such arrogance was