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THE CHURCHMAN.

66

FEAR GOD: HONOUR THE KING."

MAY, 1838.

Original Papers.

BRIEF MEMOIR OF ARCHBISHOP CRANMER.

THOMAS CRANMER, was the son of a gentleman of respectability, of Aslacton, Nottinghamshire, where he was born July 2, 1489. After the usual school education, he was sent to Jesus College, in Cambridge. During the time of his academical studies, great controversy arose in the most important matters of religion, and forasmuch as he could not rightly judge of the truth, without a competent knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, before he was influenced with any man's opinion, he applied his whole study for three years therein. His scriptural studies made him wise unto salvation, whilst the vast stores of learning which he had accumulated, qualified him for the most important situations, and his acquaintance with the early Fathers of the Church, enabled him to overcome the Papists with their own weapons. At the age of thirty-nine, he was called to enter on more public duties. The affair of King Henry the Eighth's divorce from Catherine of Spain, being now much agitated, Cranmer, on a particular occasion, was called upon to give his opinion, which he at first modestly declined. Afterwards he suggested that the question, whether a man might marry his brother's wife, might easily and very soon be decided by the infallible word of God, without regarding at all the papal authority. This answer was reported to the king, with which he was highly gratified; Cranmer, and the Earl of Wiltshire, were then sent as ambassadors to the Pope, and the divorce was in a short time effected. From that period Cranmer stood very high in favour with the king, and on the death of Dr. Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, he was deservedly elevated to that eminent station. In his function, it may be said that he followed closely the charge of St. Paul, (Titus i. 7, 8,9.) Diligent in study, he rose at five in the morning, and continued in study and prayer till nine. No hour of the day was spent in vain, but every portion of his time was devoted to the glory of God, the service of his king, and the welfare of our Church. In short, he was blameless as the steward of God. He excelled as a preacher, and his hearers departed from the Church with a hatred of sin, and love to holiness. He proclaimed to poor sinners the unsearchable riches of Christ, and shewed that all their confidence must be in Him alone. He was one of the

VOL. IV.-O

compilers of the admirable Liturgy, Articles, and Homilies of our holy Apostolical Church. Under the patronage of Cranmer, the Scriptures were translated into the English language, and were commanded to be publicly read in the Churches, many of which were constantly filled with the people, who rejoiced to hear the word of life in their own tongue. The good Archbishop, like Daniel in Babylon, had the most dreadful conspiracies formed against him by the wicked Romanists in power, particularly the crafty Gardiner, who was continually watching for his destruction. But under God he found a true friend in the king, who declared that Cranmer was the most faithful of the Prelates, and commanded all who loved their king, to hold him in high esteem. He was particularly remarkable for a mild and most forgiving disposition; the command of our blessed Lord, "I say unto you, love your enemies," was deeply impressed on his heart. So merciful and compassionate was this excellent man, that it became a common proverb, "Do my lord of Canterbury an injury, and he will be your friend as long as you live." He was not overcome of evil, but constantly overcame evil with good. In the reign of good King Edward the Sixth, he greatly forwarded the Reformation, and was most zealous in promoting pure religion in all parts of the kingdom. To the wisdom and piety of this great divine, the English Church owes much of her distinguished excellence. When bloody Mary came to the throne, the good Archbishop was sent as prisoner to Oxford, together with those excellent Prelates and Fathers of our Church, Ridley and Latimer. On the 20th of April, 1554, Cranmer was condemned. A most rigorous treatment now followed, and he was scarcely allowed the necessaries of life: at the degradation of the Primate, the inhuman Bonner, the Popish Bishop of London, behaved in the most insolent manner, This ceremony was committed to Thirlby, the popish Bishop of Ely, who in Cranmer's better days, had professed great friendship for him. The mild behaviour of the Archbishop in the midst of Bonner's brutal revilings, shone forth so brilliantly, that the old apostate Thirlby was struck to the heart, and the tears trickled down his aged cheeks. The cruel and crafty papists finding that they could not shake him by harsh treatment, against which, through Divine grace, he was sufficiently armed, had recourse to the far more dangerous snare of the most hypocritical kindness. Life and the greatest promises were offered to him, if he would but come over to the Romish faith, when the Queen, whose heart rankled with revenge on account of the part he had taken in her mother's divorce, and his zeal for pure religion, had fully determined that he should die. Surely, among all the instances of diabolical cruelty, we can scarcely find a greater than this. A paper was offered to him importing his assent to the tenets of Popery, and in an evil hour he signed the fatal snare; like Peter (who required to be taught that without Christ strengthening him, his own strength was perfect weakness) he denied his Saviour, and like the same Apostle, when he thought thereon, he wept. Stung with remorse and horror at what he had done, he consumed his days and nights in anguish the popish party exulted, and on the morning appointed for his execution, Lord Williams, attended by the magistrates of Oxford, received him at the prison gate, and conducted him to St. Mary's Church, where a crowded and anxious audience was waiting for him. Dr. Cole, a violent papist, was appointed by the

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Queen to preach a sermon on the occasion; in this sermon the Dr. glorified God for his conversion, exhorted him to bear patiently his torments, gave him great hopes of heaven, and promised that dirges should be sung for his soul in all the churches of Oxford. The preacher having concluded his sermon, a solemn silence ensued; the poor degraded Primate was a perfect image of sorrow, sometimes lifting up his eyes to heaven in hope, sometimes casting them down to the earth for shame. The grief of his heart burst out continually in his eyes in rivers of tears: at length he broke out into this beautiful and pathetic prayer, so much in accordance with the Liturgy of our Church.

"O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! have mercy on me a miserable sinner. Whither shall I fly for succour? I have offended heaven and earth more than tongue can express! O blessed Redeemer! have mercy upon me! have mercy upon me! O God, whose property is always to have mercy my sins are great, but thy mercy is greater. O Lord, for Christ's sake, hear me hear me, most gracious God!" He then rose from his knees, and most bitterly lamented his late shameful fall before all the congregation, solemnly declaring that nothing but the fear of death had overcome him, and that it had cost him many bitter tears. Lord Williams, the Vice-Chancellor, and the whole herd of popish doctors and friars, were instantly filled with rage, and the cry was, "Stop the audacious heretic's mouth." He was then hurried to the stake with the utmost precipitation, amidst the most bitter taunts and revilings. He looked around him with a serene and cheerful countenance, and with eyes full of sweetness and benignity, as if now at peace with God and all the world. He endured the torments of the fire with astonishing firmness, thrusting his right hand into the flames, and frequently crying out, "This hand hath offended! His pains were soon over, and he sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. His heart was afterwards found entire, which many Protestants regarded as an emblem of his constancy; a fine subject, says Bishop Burnet, for a popish miracle had he died a papist. He suffered martyrdom, March, 1556, An eminent English historian thus writes of Cranmer, "He was certainly a man of the most amiable character, alike distinguished by his piety and learning, and possessed of candour, sincerity, benevolence, and indeed of almost every virtue that could render him the object of public esteem and veneration." "Through tribulation great he came,

He bore the cross, despised the shame;
From all his labours now he rests,
In God's eternal glory blest."

C. R. S. N.

DISSENT VIEWED AS THE FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY.

THE most hasty survey of Christendom must convince us that we do not live in ordinary times. The extreme unsettledness and variety of religious opinions indicate, if not the presence, at least the approach of some great crisis in the divine dispensations; and we should be prepared beforehand to expect that such crisis would not be overlooked in that Book, whch is supposed to contain the prophetic outline of the history of Christ's Church. I propose to shew in the present paper that the actual standing of Dissent

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in this country (and English dissent fraternizes with, and extends its influence, through the instrumentality of associations, into many and far distant lands) is directly marked out by prophecy. Not that we would have a person first form an expectation and then look to Scripture for its fulfilment; but having arrived at a certain conclusion by the study of the Word of God, we are glad to find a sanction for it in the reasonings of probability.

That a period of great increase and prosperity does await the Church, when "the knowledge of God shall be spread over the face of the whole earth, as the waters over the sea;" and that Christ himself shall at some time come again upon earth to be glorified with his saints and to reign with them for one thousand years, during which time Satan shall be bound, is the assured hope of the Christian. The only question is, as regards the date and order of these occurrences, and the instrumentality by which they will be brought about.

Not a few, I believe, among us indulge the pleasing delusion that all things are at this moment fast advancing to this most desirable consummation. Would that we could think so! But when we compare the present state of Christianity in England (which is reckoned the most favoured region of the globe) with the outline furnished in Scripturewhen we see the unity of the Church, the object nearest to the Saviour's heart, (John xvii. 21,) rent into ten thousand shreds—when we see the fruits of the Gospel not manifest in peace and love, but in strife and contention; and, further, when we look abroad and see the little progress that is made towards evangelizing the heathen-when we take all this into consideration, it is impossible to imagine that we are advancing to

this blessed end.

Nor does Scripture, when accurately examined, allow us to indulge in any such pleasing anticipation. The direct contrary is, in fact, foretold. It tells us expressly, "that blessed day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the son of perdition: who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thess. ii. 3, 4.) Our Saviour also distinctly forewarned his disciples that his Second Advent should be preceded by , distress of nations and perplexities," and that "there should arise false prophets, and should shew great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect." (Mat. xxiv.) St. Peter and St. Jude likewise admonishing us to the same effect: "Beloved," writes the latter, "remember ye the words which were spoken before of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. There be they which separate themselves, sensual, not having the spirit." (17-19.) These are they whom St. Peter describes as "presumptucu3, self-willed, that are not afraid to speak evil of dignities, scoffers, clouds that are carried about with a tempest, wells without water." (2 Peter ii. 10.) And are not these the precise characteristics of modern dissenters. "This is that spirit of Antichrist whereof ye have heard that it shall come, and even now already is it in the world." (1 John iv. 3.): "even now are there many Antichrists." (Ib. ii. 18.) The "mystery of iniquity" has ndeed long been working in the Church,-even from that time when

Diotrephes, and others like-minded, who loved to have the pre-eminence," opposed themselves to an inspired Apostle, and when certain "carnal" persons formed divisions in the Church of Corinth,-but never did it gain so great a head as at the present day; never did men till now glory in their shame; and so turn their liberty into licentiousness as in this profligate age.

But here it will be said that I am passing a very uncharitable judgment upon a large body of well-meaning Christians. To this I answer in the words of our Saviour: "I judge no man; there is One that judgeth and condemneth, even those Scriptures in which they trust." I seek not to turn an argument against an adversary; but if this be the truth, it is surely an act of kindness to warn men of their danger. The various sects of Dissenters contain, I am quite willing to allow, a large number of pious Christians; and I will also add, I think it highly probable that the numbers of Dissenters may even vet be enlarged, because I believe there is no parish from which the ordinary machinery of dissent, by exciting the feelings of the weak, by offering a change to the wavering, and a harbour to the discontented, may not get together a small congregation. But as the growth of time brings more to light the inevitable tendency of dissent-when the true bearings of the question appear, and the Church is seen to be the only divinely-appointed instrument of regenerating the world, while all separations from it are of necessity strengthening the hands of the Antichristian party-a division must ultimately ensue, when those who are for Christ and his Church will be found united in one well-compacted body; and on the other side will be seen the motley hosts of Antichrist in their true and undisguised character. The fact is that prophecy has been much misinterpreted. If we look carefully into the Book of Revelation, and compare it with the earlier prophetical writings, we shall see that the evangelization of the world is not to take place under the present dispensation. It is intimated from the beginning, that this Gentile dispensation should apostatize from the pure faith of Christ. It is reserved for the Second Advent of the Lord to bring in all nations to the knowledge of the Gospel, when those glorious visions of peace and harmony which abound in the prophets shall be fully

realized.

But why, it may be asked, insist on this? What good can possibly come of asserting so unwelcome and unprofitable a truth? If it is declared that the Gentiles who were grafted into the stock of Israel shall, like the original branches, be cut off because of unbelief, they are herein merely fulfilling the purpose of God from which no human arguments can turn them. I shall now shew in reply to this objection the salutary effects which might be expected to result from a general conviction of this error upon the hearts of men. They are threefold. 1. It will silence the cavils of unbelievers. 2. It will give opportunity for repentance as far as the past is concerned. 3. It may lead us to amendment for the future.

1. If the view given above be, as I firmly believe it is, in accordance with

*The grounds on which this opinion is formed, may be seen in the comment of Mr. Burgh, upon Rev. xiv. 6. The reader, however, is not required to yield his assent, as it forms no part of the main argument.

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