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conquerors, from the hands of a ty rant, and to this patriotic and honest prelate are we chiefly beholden for that great charter of our liberties, which have rendered England so renowned among other nations. And WHY was it thought expedient at last to pass a law, inflicting the punishment of death on those who were guilty of heresy? This is a question which the adversaries of popery never dare meet, but run from the point, whenever it is proposed to them. But let the truth be spoken, and falsehood put to the blush. About the year 1375, John Wickliff began to commence reformer, and preach new doctrines, contrary to those held by the church of Rome, The clergy of course opposed his innovations by ecclesiastical censures, but so far were they from requiring any interposition of the temporal power, or the inflction of corporeal punishment, that he continued to disseminate his doctrines with impunity, till death seized him in 1385, and sent him to justify his deeds before the Supreme Judge of mankind. Wickliff, however, like all archheretics, did not confine his new positions to the supposed errors of the church, but he trenched on the authority of the state, and among other seditious things, taught that kings and magistrates, as well as popes and bishops, if guilty of a single mortal sin, were equally to be despoiled of all their rights and prerogatives. The effects of these pernicious principles soon assumed a most formidable and destructive form. A levelling spirit of equality sprung up amongst the multitude, which caused them to commit the most lawless and outrageous excesses. In a word, the mob rose in formidable numbers, under Wat Tyler and John Ball, and threatened the very existence of the government.. Through the intrepidity of the lord mayor of London, this rebellion was subdued by his slaying the chief

rebel Tyler; nevertheless, the seeds of sedition having once been sown, repeated acts of conspiracy succeed. ed each other-rebellion followed rebellion, and it was found necessary at last to have recourse to the strong arm of power, for the preservation of the constitution, and the protection of property. Accordingly, twentysix years after Wickliff began to spread his seditious doctrines, that is to say,in the second year of Henry IV. Stow writes, "a parliament was holden at London, after the feasts of the Epiphany, in which parliament a statute was enacted for Lollards, that wheresoever they were known to preach their false and corrupt doctrine (so termed at that time) they should be taken and delivered to the bishop of the diocese, before whom, if they would presume stoutly to defend their erroneous opinions, they should be degraded, and committed to the SECULAR jurisdiction to be executed, which law was first put in practice upon a priest, named Wil. Sawtrey, which was burnt in Smithfield, in

the presence of many a man." Now this historian completely contradicts the insinuation of the reviewer, that "Rome allows the punishment of heretics in other countries;" for it is here plainly shewn, that it was the SECULAR power that passed the law, and the bishops were only empowered to reclaim them from their erroneous ideas; but in the event of their remaining obstinate, they were to be degraded (by which it would seem to be limited to ecclesiastics), and then delivered over to the civil authorities, to be dealt with as the law in that case had provided. Lollardism was a compound of heresy and sedition, the innovating spirit of which threatened destruction to the state, as well as the confiscation of property. Surely then to provide for the safety of the throne, and the stability of the laws, was equally as in

cumbent on the ministry of that day, as it is on those of the present. How inconsistent must it be then to charge men with the spirit of religious persecution, for doing that which themselves approve of for their own personal safety. The present year has witnessed the lamentable effects of tumultuary excesses, aud a commission has lately been sitting at Derby for the trial of a number of individuals, under a charge of high treason. At the opening of the commission, the jadges, as is customary on such occasions, repaired to church to hear divine service, and a discource from the high sheriff's chaplain. The substance of this oration, with the editor's opinion, I shall now lay before the reader, from The Courier, of the 16th of October last:-"The public will not fail to remark, that many of the accused persons were comfortably off in life; that they were not driven to take up arms against the government by want of subsistence, a plea usually set up without foundation. Neither will the public fail to notice the sermon preached yesterday to the court. It is there said, truly, we are persuaded, that some persons in the lower class have been led, step by step, to commit the crimes of treason aud sedition, by religious sects, which, under pretence of liberty of conscience, destroy all conscience, all ties of moral duty in those who listen to them, and who, when thus prepared for mischief, plunge into the most atrocious crimes. He as cribed most of the misfortunes and misconduct, which had unhappily visited the condition and charac terized the demeanour of some of the lower classes of the community, in the disturbed districts, either to their utter ignorance of religious principles, or to a superstitious and depraved faith, inculcated by illiterate and immoral public teachers of the gospel; whose object seemed

to be rather to teach their misguided followers doctrines which should square with their own vicious ways¿ and inclinations, than qualify them, for the important duties of good subjects and citizens. These were agents who had caused mento mistake good for evil,' and give them improper notions of their duties to their God, and the community in which they lived. The object of true religion, as it respected society, was to promote industry and pru dence in the lower, and mercy and forbearance in the higher classes. But the ignorant teachers to whom. be alluded, inculcated notions of re→ ligion consistent only with the gratification of depraved habits. To the extension of this lamentable evil, must be ascribed the misfortunes.. into which those deluded beings had fallen, who now awaited the adju dication of the laws of their country. Every man acquainted with the present state of society, knew that the principal and most fruitful source of crime was an utter ignorance of a future state, and to an idea that death would rid the offender against divine and human laws, of present and future sufferings. To the pre- : valence of this barbarous notion--a notion but too industriously diffused. by the ignorant and the irreligious teacher of religion, must be referred the untimely fate of many wretched beings, who forfeited their lives to their country for the most heinous offences; and who, in their last moments, had nothing to hope or depend upon, but that the word of God and his promises were not true. Faction and rebellion must go hand in hand with atheism and infidelity. Sceptics, in their duty towards God, would ill incline to the observance, of their duty to society. Men be came atheists because they were vicious; they questioned the truths of. christianity because they hated the practice of christian virtues; and conversa, they became rebels be

cause they were disorderly; they doubted the wisdom of human institutions, because they disliked the control of their bad passions."

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when it is the innovating maxims of visionary reformers, which cause the temporal governors of the country to wield the sword of justice for the -Let the scripture distributors and preservation of law and morality. self-interpreting men, weigh these Is it not better to prevent crime than words well; let them remember the to punish it? The object of the cadying words of sir John Gates, that tholic clergy is, to instil the neceshe was a great reader of scripture, sity of adhering to the truths of the but it was only to be seditious; and gospel, and shunning the snares of if they have one grain of common vice; and it is a certain truth, that sense, or one spark of loyalty to the she is expressly forbidden by her reigning family, they will perceive own laws to inflict any corporal puthe evils their wild scheme must nishment even on convict heretics, soon entail upon this country, and and on that, or any pretence whatconsider the foregoing words of the soever, to touch life or limb. Conreverend preacher as a warning for formably to this disposition, the them to desist. The result of the Rheimish annotators observe, in Titrials was, that several were convict- tus iii. 11. "Heretics be often incored of constructive treason, and three rigible, yet the church of God ceasof them suffered the vengeance of eth not, by all means possible, to the law on the 7th of this month. revoke them: therefore St. AugusFrom their behaviour, both before tin saith, Ep. 162, the heretic himand after their conviction, they ap- self, though swelling with odious pear to have been religious enthusi- and detestable pride, and mad with asts; but will any one say that they the frowardness of wicked contenwere martyrs to religious persecution, as we admonish that he be tion? Will the reviewer or his bi- avoided, lest he deceive the weakgotted associates dare to say, that, lings and little ones, so we refuse because the sheriff's chaplain attri- not by all means possible to seek his buted the unfortunate situation of amendment and reformation.'" And the unhappy culprits to their being the present pope, acting on the same influenced by ignorant teachers and genuine spirit of the church of erroneous notions of religion, they which he is the head, annulled the thereby became martyrs to the in-proceedings commenced by the intolerance of the church of England?quisition of Ravenna against a jew, I am sure they dare not. True, the reviewer may reply; but the Derby offenders suffered for crimes against the state, not for dissenting from the doctrines of the church And so did the Lollards, under catholic sovereigns, who are honour-cution, exile, prisons, are the means ed by honest John Fox as protestant saints and martyrs to Romish into lerance and cruelty. They preach ed and practised rebellion, and were punished by the secular law as rebels, after having previously been exhorted by the clergy to renounce their dangerous opinions. Then why accuse the church of Rome of holding persecuting principles,

who had relapsed to judaism, after embracing the catholic faith; on which occasion he thus expressed himself,- "The divine law is not like the law of man; it carries with it mildness and persuasion. Perse

employed by false prophets and false teachers. Let us pity the man who is deprived of the light, and who even wishes to be deprived of it ;; for the cause of his blindness may serve to promote the grand designs of Providence." In these words.of the holy father, the "gentlemen" of "The Protestant Union," and the reviewer in the British Critic, will

be able to discover the genuinely blind to scripture evidence as to principles of Roman catholics; and, affirm that neither faith, nor repentif they will take the trouble to look ance, nor obedience to God's comover the bloody enactments which mandments, are conditions of salvadisgrace the statute-book, since the tion; yet this is the doctrine held by pretended reformation, and compare the calvinists. them with the penal acts passed under catholic suvereigns, they must be blind indeed if they do not discover that the practical tendency to persecute is on the side of protestantism, and not on that of popery. But more of this in my next.

MR. FOSTER'S SPEECH, V. REV. MR. GANDOLPHY, The further remarks on the former gentleman's printed oration must be postponed.

WM. EUSEBIUS ANDREWS. Somers'-Town, Nov. 24, 1817.

Sketch of Calvinistic Doctrines .

(Continued from p. 398.)

COVENANT OF GRACE.

Ist. According to them faith is not a condition of salvation, with regard to the elect. "Why may not faith or believing be the condition of the covenant of grace?"-They answer,- "Because faith is promised in the covenant itself, and therefore. cannot be the condition of it.". -Q..

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20, q. 72. Faith is not required. from the elect; it is given them : not merely offered, in this sense, that they may either accept of it or refuse it; but so given that it cannot be refused. Believing, in short, is not a free act of the believer."How then come we by faith?”. They say, "By the spirit working it in us."-Q. 30. q. 10. "Whether is the spirit of God, upon his first entrance, actively or passibly receiv ed?" "The soul, morally dead in The contracting parties in the co-sin, can be no more but a mere pasvenant of grace, according to the sive recipient."-Q. 20. calvinists are, on the one hand, God himself, and on the other, Christ and his spiritual seed, the elect. Adam, in the covenant of works, was the federal head of all mankind; but Christ, in the covenant of grace, is the federal head of none but the elect. By this covenant Christ has taken upon himself, with regard to his chosen race, the curse of penalty incurred by Adam and his posterity, for breaking the covenant of works. He died for the elect, but for them alone. For them also he fulfilled the condition of the covenant of works, which is perfect, continual, and entire obedience to, the law. The elect have not any condition to fulfil; they are saved by faith alone: and this very faith is not a condition with regard to them. It may appear incredible there should exist a denomination of christians, so thorough

But faith is required from the reprobate as a condition; for Christ. not having fulfilled the condition of the covenant for them, they must themselves fulfil it personally; yet they cannot. The elect alone can believe, as they alone also can be saved. "Faith and holiness are the fruits and effects of election."-Q. 20. q. 6. Therefore unbelief and sin are the fruits and effects of reprobation. The faith of the elect has been fore-ordained, as a means of their salvation. The unbelief of the reprobate has been fore-ordained, as a means of their damnation. The calvinists say, that faith is the hand which apprehends, or seizes Christ; but the reprobate, by God's decree, have no hand to seize on Christ, and yet are punished for not believing in him,

on

2dly."Is repentance a condition

for them to fulfil it by faith in the surety; that is to say, it is sufficient for them to believe in Christ, who has fulfilled the law for them as well as for himself. A justified elect, for

of pardon?" "No,” answer the calvinists, "because this would be to bring in works into the matter of our justification.”—Q. 33. q. 23. "Faith and repentance are graces given together."-Q. 87. q. 15. and un-example, spends the Sunday in dedoubtedly they are given in the same manner. The soul is "a mere passive recipient." The repentance of the elect, like their faith, is promised to them, not expected from them. No wonder then if God forgives them their sins, even before they repent. Repentance," say the calvinists, "doth not go before, but follows after the pardon of sin in justification."-Q. 36. Perseverance,q. 13.As to the reprobate, they can no more repent than they can believe; and they can do neither, because they have grace for neither; but have been eternally and unchangeably fore-ordained to be deprived of both, that they might be punished for the want of both.

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3dly-Obedience to the commandments of God, according to the calvinists, is no condition of salvation, It was a condition of it with respect to Christ; but, by virtue of the covenant of grace, his obedience to the will of his father is imputed to the elect, as if they themselves had fulfilled that condition. "What is to impute Christ's righteousness unto us?" It is (they say) accounting or reckoning it to us, as if we had obeyed the law, and satisfied justice in our own persons, and dealing with us accordingly."-Q. 33. q. 44. Are the elect then, in the doctrine of the calvinists, under no obligation at all to obey the commandments of God? There are two ways of obeying the commandments of God in the calvinistic doctrine. The one is to obey them personally, the other, to obey them in the surety Personal obedience is not of obligation with respect to the elect, when they have once been justified, Christ takes that obligation from them; it is sufficient

An

dauchery or idleness; in that case
he has not fulfilled the law personal-
ly, or in his own person; neverthe-
less, because he believes in Christ,
who has fulfilled all righteousness,
he has kept the commandment.—
"Remember thou keep holy the
sabbath day" in the surety.
elect imitates David in his sin; in that
case he has broken the command-·
ment. "Thou shalt not commit
adultery;" but he believes in Christ,
therefore he has kept that command-
ment in the surety. This way of
keeping the commandments of God
is the only one which the calvinists
believe to be indispensibly necessary
for salvation; and they are sure they
will always keep them that way, be
cause faith is promised to the elect
in the covenant, and therefore they
cannot fail having faith. But it is
not promised in the covenant of
grace that the elect will always keep
the law personally, consequently,
sometimes they keep it so, sometimes
only in the surety. But, when they
happen to break the law, the trans-
gression is not imputed to them, nor
is it punished; personal obedience is
not required, and obedience in the
surety still goes on, because faith is
never lost.

It must therefore be understood, that when the elect, after justifica tion, choose to obey the commandments, they do it, not as an obligation, not as a law, not as a condition of life, but as a rule of life: as a mere direction. "If Christ's active obedience be imputed to us, are we not loosed from any obligation to give obedience to the law in our own persons?" They answer,—“ We are only loosed from an obligation to yield obedience to the law, as a co

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