ILLUSTRATIONS

OF

ESSAY THIRD.

"That in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established."-Matt. xviii. 16.

THAT I am not altogether singular in my sentiments on the subjects debated in this and the foregoing Essays, will appear from the following extracts. The first is from "A Plea for Religion and the Sacred Writings," by the late Rev. David Simpson, M. A., minister of Christ Church, Macclesfield.

"After what has been said in the foregoing papers, (writes this author,) I do not see how I can, either in honour, or conscience, continue to officiate any longer, as a minister of the gospel, in the establishment of my native country. It appears to me, in my coolest and most considerate moments, to be, with all its excellencies, a main branch of the antichristian system. It is a strange mixture, as hath been already observed, of

what is secular, and what is spiritual; and I strongly suspect, the day is at no very great distance, when the whole fabric shall tumble into ruins, and the pure and immortal religion of the Son of God rise more bright, lovely, and glorious from its subversion. The several warnings of the sacred oracles seem to be of vast importance, and necessary to be observed. • Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul; be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the day of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.'-Jeremiah li., 6. 'We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed; forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country.'-Ibid li., 9. When ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, then let them which be in Judea flee to the mountains.'-Matt. xxiv., 15, 16. These are only remotely applicable to the business in hand. The following is more directly so:-'I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.'-Rev. xviii., 4."

And again. "If the Church of England retains much of the spirit, and some of the superstitions, of the Church of Rome, what is a conscientious man to do, and how is he to act under such a persuasion ? Let any person weigh thoroughly the meaning of the following declarations, and then let him say in what manner I ought to act: And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his fore

head or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.'—Rev. xiv., 9, 11.

"Are not these words enough to make the hair stand on end, like quills upon the fretful porcupine?' We all read them, and have read them many times for many years; and yet, from our general conduct, it would seem, that no such passage might be found in the sacred writings. We Protestants are almost universally of opinion, that they apply directly to the members of the Church of Rome. The members of that Church read them, as well as we Protestants; and yet we hardly ever hear of a Catholic becoming a Protestant, any more than of a Jew becoming a Christian.

They have eyes, and see not; ears, and hear not; hearts, and understand not.' The Lord in judgment hath sent them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. The words are extremely plain, and inexpressibly alarming; but the force of them is always evaded by applying them to any thing rather than to their own Church. We Protestants too read them, and make ourselves easy under the awful denunciation by applying them exclusively to the Church of Rome, never dreaming that they are, at least in a secondary

sense, equally applicable, not only to the English, but to every Church establishment in Christendom, which retains any of the marks of the beast. To me this admits of no doubt. If I am mistaken, it is my very great misfortune.”—Simpson's Plea, Appendix No. 2.

"I must here remark, (says Mr. Cunninghame,) that there are crowds of worshippers of the beast and his image, even among Protestants. All carnal, worldly-minded Christians, who secularize the heavenly religion of the Gospel, and honour it, not because it is from God, but because it is the religion of the state, are in effect worshippers of the beast. All worldly politicians, whether Tories, or Whigs, or Radical reformers, are equally worshippers of the beast; since they neither expect nor desire the kingdom of God, but set their affections upon some form of earthly government, whether monarchical or republican, as the source from which they expect safety and happiness.” (Cunninghame's Apocalypse, 3rd Edition, page 387.) This, it will be perceived, applies more particularly to the advocates of the conservative system, who evidently think, that both their "safety and happiness" is involved in the preservation of "things as they are." To these two testimonies we may add that of the Rev. Thomas Scott, in his Commentary on the Book of Revelation.

"Alas! (says he,) too often injustice, oppression, fraud, avarice, or excessive indulgence, are connected with extensive commerce; and to number the persons of men with oxen, asses, sheep, and horses, as the

stock of a farm, or with bales of goods, as the cargo of a ship, is, no doubt, a most detestable and antichristian practice, fit only for Babylon the Great. Yet even this, cruel, unrighteous, and hateful as it is, must not be considered as the worst traffic even of this our land: for the souls of men are traded for by those, who take the cure of them for the sake of the emolument, aud the abundance of the delicacies obtained by it; and then either leave them to perish in ignorance, or poison them by heresy, or lead them on the road to hell by a profligate example: strenuously, and by every calumny, if stronger means are withheld, opposing all who attempt to prevent the dire effects of their vile conduct........ When Christ shall again come to drive the buyers and sellers out of the temple, he will have much to do in various other places besides Rome. Many of these spiritual wickednesses, and this merchandize of souls, by feigned words, equivocating subscriptions, and declarations,—nay, worshipping God in expressions, which are avowedly deemed false by those who use them, and all this for filthy lucre's sake, will be found, under different forms, even in the Protestant churches: and perhaps no denomination is quite free from the guilt of rendering religious profession, and sacred functions, subservient to worldly interest, ease, and indulgence. These are the remains of the antichristianity derived from Rome, which most need protesting against, and removing; in these things, we ought to come out and be separate from Babylon, if we would not partake of her plagues. These are the sins which have reached to