so far as the record of them has been preserved in the church histories which I have read, no one seems to have acknowledged Christ, wholly, as the one and sole God. Yet it is highly probable that the tenets of several-as for example, the Patripassians— have been misrepresented. For certainly, on the particular doctrine which bestowed upon them the honor of this name, they were orthodox, and spoke only the language of Scripture, and perhaps other views which are attributed to them, some of which seem to assert that Christ had also a CREATED soul, as a man, were the conclusions of their adversaries, and not their own sentiments. We have, that I know of, no memorial of them, except such as is contained in the writings of the party hostile to them, and the present times furnish us with specimens of the little candor which can be expected in church controversy. At a subsequent period, Pelagius. was also condemned as a heretic, for preaching some of the great truths of nature and revelation. What his other doctrines were, especially that all-important one concerning the godhead of Christ, I do not find sufficiently stated; but if Pelagius were right upon that, I see nothing to censure, but much to approve in his belief, that the Lord has addressed Himself to the faculties of a creature, framed with power, as the gift of God, to yield obedience to His requirements, and that not to obey, is to be guilty of wilful sin. But whatever were the real tenets of any of these men, and whether the dominant sect have transmitted to us correct remains of them, or not, it is abundantly manifest, that during all this fearful period, the great mass of the professing church had crucified anew the Prince of Life and of Peace, and had parted or divided his doctrines, or "garments among them." The vision of the mis-called ORTHODOX party had become "as the words of a book that is sealed," a "mystery Babylon," and the religion of the meek Jesus was converted into the tocsin of war, and His baptism into the baptism of demonism. Under this plague of BLOOD, the outward church continued for a long time, not repenting of their sins. Through many visitations did they pass, and remained obstinate. Unclean spirits, like frogs, lice, and flies, with their hermits, monks, flagellants, priests, and other teachers of Satan, went out from the mouth of this false form of CONSTANTINE Christianity, working miracles, and filling, and * Isaiah xxix. 11 corrupting the land with vain glory, iniquity, and folly. A grievous murrain came upon the souls of men; the ashes of their sacrifices were an abomination to God, and became boils breaking forth with blains upon man and beast, and the gracious rain of divine grace is now frozen into hail by the coldness of man's unbelief, and falls and smites every herb and breaks every tree of Christian charity, and is accompanied with the fires and the thunders of a restless conscience.* Goths and Vandals, as armies of locusts, "covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened :"† but the people yet turned a deaf ear to all the chastisements of the Lord, who was pouring out upon them the vials of His wrath, containing the plagues of their own misdeeds. At length came the plague of darkness, and papal Rome built up her power. This darkness was another "glorious reformation;" very glorious, indeed, as it was thought, to the parties concerned in it. For now the Cæsars no longer existed in the west, but Goths and Arabs, on either side, threatened the destruction of the church; when, behold, those pious saints, Pepin and Charlemagne, magnanimously condescended, in their turn, to become defenders of the faith, and protectors of the woman. She made a marriage with them, as she had before with Constantine. With Constantine, she had received the dowry of old heathen idolatry and philosophy: with Pepin and Charlemagne, her gifts were Gothic superstition and Gothic ignoFor many ages, the world saw not one another with the eye of understanding; but the blackness of darkness covered every mind; neither rose any from his place.‡ rance. Say now, ye who freely seek for the truth, and search for it as for hidden treasure, what plague was it which succeeded the plague of darkness? Moses said to the fathers, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your brethren, like unto me." Christ has been and is coming to the Gentiles, as Moses went to Pharaoh, WITH HIS PLAGUES, to lead forth His spirtual Israel. Did not DEATH succeed DARKNESS? How, then, can you hesitate about the true nature of that other spiritual condition of Egyptthat other glorious reformation, which arose when one of the heads of the beast was, "as it were, wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the beast."§ The death of the beast would have been life to the church, but the + Exod. x. 15. Exod. x. 22, 23. § Rev. xiii. 3. *Exod. cht. viii. and ix. life of the beast was death. Search through all the Scriptures, and see whether a single instance is recorded, where the plague of darkness is inflicted upon an impenitent people, which is not followed, in all instances, by the plague of death, and afterward "the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob.”* Let no one be deceived. Without Christ we are nothing. There is no religion that is not built on a right knowledge of God. "This is life eternal, that they might KNOW thee, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Thus our Lord Himself speaks, and John, in applying the text, says, " and we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding that we may KNOW Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. THIS IS THE TRUE GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE." Christ is our life and salvation. We cannot too much insist upon this; it is the only corner stone and foundation of hope. They who enter not in by the door of Christ are thieves and robbers; and whatever appearance they may have outwardly, of being shepherds, they come but "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." It is a mistaken notion to suppose that they have integrity and benevolence. The Scriptures, which declare the origin and tendencies of all our thoughts, intents, and secret motives, pronounce the unrenewed heart to be dead in trespasses and sin he who hates God rejects his word. Mankind are prone to judge of goodness and benevolence by false standards. You may see persons, of either sex, possessing what are said to be noble, generous dispositions and philanthropy, who owe their amiableness only to natural tempers; for which they deserve no more credit than they do for the complexion of their faces. Warriors of that character may die on the field of battle, brave, generous hearted, who, in advancing their own fame, or the honor of their nation, having immolated thousands to a false ambition and glory, breathe their last in the arms of victory, rejoicing in the thought of immortality. Men and women, with these traits, may be found every where, obeying the impulse of a depraved mind. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men : *Isia. lix. 20. † John xvii. 3. 1 John v. 20; John xvi. 1-3. loved darkness rather than light, BECAUSE THEIR DEEDS WERE EVIL."* As there is none righteous but one, and that is God; so no man is righteous or good who is not, by faith in God, engrafted upon His righteousness, walking in the light of the knowledge of of God. By any other course we oppose the righteousness of God. If our path be not parallel to the footsteps of our Redeemer, we cross or militate against His holy will; we, ourselves, should see the divergency, if our eyes were impartial, at least, after the line of conduct had been traced, in its progress, to some extent; but the Lord perceives it at once, and, therefore, passes condemnation on it at once. Without faith in God, we are in DEATH and HELL, and such was the spiritual condition of the supposed reformers of the sixteenth century: and such is now, even to this day, the condition of the very churches which profess the name of Christ. Ask yourself, in what essential principle did Luther differ from the tri-theist Athanasius, who also denied the cross of God, our Saviour? Was Melancthon more orthodox than Eusebius, of Cesarea; or the bloody Calvin, than Donatus, the great? The princes of Germany, and the Henrys and Elizabeths of England, took the place of Constantine, in the fourth century, and of Pepin and Charlemagne, in the seventh; and as regards the difference in the light of the churches, in these three epochs, it was the difference in the light of philosophy and learning. In Constantine's time, barbarism was fast hastening upon the world; in Charlemagne's time it had come; but in Luther's day learning had revived, printing was known, the Bible was translated and put into the hands of multitudes, and the arts and sciences were making rapid advances. Yet with all these immense aids and incentives to free inquiry, what was the mighty result? Why, forsooth, with the Bible before them and open, these great reformers cleansed the outside of the cup from many of the excesses and extortions of the DARK ages, but left within it all the corruption and heresy of the prior reign of BLOOD. The very light that was in them was darkness; how great then that darkness! As reformed by these persons, the churches still reject our only God and Saviour, the Lord Christ Jesus, who purchased His church with His own blood and sufferings. All the usurped privileges and authority of the clergy, as distinguished from the laity, were and are retained; and no man may minister at the altar of Christ save he that has "the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."* Christ instituted a spiritual priesthood, making all kings and priests, who believe on His name; and bidding them freely buy and give the bread of life without money and without price; but Anti-Christ forbids this to be done, and has transferred the Kingdom of God to throned Herods and Cesars, boys and girls, men and women, of proud and depraved hearts and corrupt hands; and thus the very murderers of Christ are the vice-gerents of God, and the dispensers of His grace; His high priests. They displaced one pope to put up many. For not only are the monarchs-popes, but each man of this usurping clergy, who has arrogated to himself an exclusive peculiar right, belonging alike to all the kings and priests of God, in Christ, is a pope or Anti-Christ, containing within himself "an image" or likeness to the papal beast, at Rome ;t against which they are directing their weapons. The supposed wealth of this new beast, or body of death, which rose up out of the earth, when the church of Rome received its wound, is vast, and its miracles astonishing. In fancied spiritual knowledge they transcend all former ages: they are wiser than Daniel; and are become rich with all abundance, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing. They know not that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, and that they have none whatever of the gold tried in the fire, that they might be rich. "King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom." "Now the weight of gold that one year was six hundred, three score and The Lord, in prophecying against Tyre, says, "thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thy heart as the heart of God." The Lord speaks of her wisdom and understanding, "thou sealest up came to Solomon in six talents of gold."§ † Rev. xiii. 15. ‡ 1 Kings x. 23. * Rev. xiii. 17. § Kings x. 14. Clark, in his commentaries on this text, estimates this yearly income, in pounds sterling, at £4,683,675 12s. 8d. I do not believe that the new beast, which arose at the reformation, is applied to any one of the reformed churches in particular, but is co-extensive with the whole new spiritual dynasty then formed, or state of religion. But in external condition, how well would the name of the beast in Rev. xiii. 18, suit the church of England, and its revenues. || Ezek. xxviii. 2. |