lovely. The account of his painful death and bitter sufferings deeply affected her, far more when related with all the majesty, yet simplicity, of Divine truth, than the appeals made to her feelings by the theatrical representations she had seen in their chapels on the solemn festivals. From that blessed book she learned that God had promised his Holy Spirit to all who sought it; that if any man lacked wisdom he was to ask it of God, with the gracious promise it should be given him. When Clara met with these words she felt sweetly encouraged to plead the fulfilment of them in her case; and, falling on her knees, earnestly prayed for that heavenly wisdom she so greatly needed. From this book she read that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"-a truth she had, indeed, been partially taught before, though without that most cheering one which immediately follows in Scripture, "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." And again she read, "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified." Clara paused when she read this verse. "Our Church," thought she, "teaches that good works, alms, fastings, are to justify us, and merit heaven. The whole tenor of God's word teaches that the satisfaction made for our sins, by the death of His own dear Son, alone can do it, that it has done it; God is already reconciled; we are invited, not to merit heaven, but to accept it as a free gift, purchased by another, whom we are to follow and obey from a principle of love ; and surely this is liberty, for 'If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.' And then what privileges do I read of here, as given to all believers! No fear of purgatory, since to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Oh, how much more cheering is the view of death, I find, all through this Protestant Bible than what our Church has taught me! But how do I know this book contains all the word of God? I have heard Protestants deny the truth of much that our Church receives as sacred." This doubt again filled Clara with much distress, and her only relief arose from humbly entreating her Heavenly Father to guide her into all truth. From what she read in the Bible fresh views were acquired of the nature of religion. Hitherto she had chiefly placed it in outward reverence, unmeaning ceremonies, and the utterance of forms of devotion; but now she saw God was a Spirit, who required above all things the homage of the heart. This led her to inquire if this homage had been paid by her, and earnestly to pray that it might be in future. It was not the work of an hour or a day that led her to a knowledge of these truths. As yet she saw all indistinctly-" men as trees walking;" but that God who had done thus much, in sending the word of unerring truth, did not leave her in darkness, but conducted her at last, though through much doubt and perplexity, to the clear light of perfect day. (To be continued in our next.) [FROM A CORRESPONDENT.] THE TEST; OR, WHAT SAITH THE SCRIPTURE? BY X., A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. (Continued from page 397.) THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN. ON THE USE OF PICTURES AND IMAGES IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. (60) Page 248.-Q. But does not God by the first (2d) commandment forbid all honour or reverence to pictures or images? A. He forbids all honour or reverence to idols, or image gods, but not the relative honour which Catholics shew to the pictures of Christ and his saints, for the sake of the persons represented by them; for it is visible that the same images which, by this commandment, are forbidden to be honoured, are also, by the express words of the commandment, forbid to be made. Now no Jew, or no Christians suppose that the pictures of Christ are forbid to be made; therefore they cannot infer from this commandment that they are forbid to be honoured, since this commandment does not speak of them at all, but only of idols or images set up to be worshipped for gods. (61) Page 250.-Q. But are there not certain images to which great miracles are attributed; therefore Catholics must believe that in these, at least, there is some divinity, virtue, or power? A. There have been many instances of undoubted mi THE PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN; OR "WHAT SAITH THE SCRIPTURE?" ON THE USE OF PICTURES AND IMAGES IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. (60) You admit there is such a commandment-why omit it in your decalogue ? or rather, venture "to change times and laws," unless because the commandment is too obvious, and militates too strongly against your practice-since we are not only not "to worship," but not to bow down to any image or likeness. Here, since you cannot make Scripture speak as you would have it, you evade and alter what you cannot deny !-your sole alternative. One would imagine this most striking anomaly sufficient to inspire distrust. Is it not that you have discovered the practices of your Church are totally at variance with the Bible, and therefore forbid "its being known and read of all men"? A religion really founded on the Bible courts inquiry, and can stand the test of the only Test of Truth. (61) How, then, consistently with truth, can it be said, there is no belief in the divinity residing in those favoured images? This explanation, which goes far to prove a divine power in a lifeless image, and, by a singular contradiction, no divine power, is veiled in a mist, calculated to entrap the unwary; but is it likely God would delegate his power to ON THE USE OF PICTURES AND IMAGES IN THE racles wrought by God in the Churches of the blessed virgin, and other saints, in favour of those that have sought their prayers and intercessions before their pictures or images. But these miracles are not to be attributed to any divinity or power in the image, but to the almighty power of God, moved to work these wonders by the prayers of his saints, and bearing testimony thereby to the faith of his Church, and shewing his approbation of her religious practices. (62) Page 252.-Q. What then do you think of the parallel which some would make between the Catholic and Heathen worship? A. I think it is infinitely unjust and unreasonable, as must appear to any unprejudiced mind, by the following remarks:-1. Catholics adore and offer sacrifice to one only true and living God-the Heathens adored and offer sacrifice to many false gods; 2. The supreme object of Catholic worship is the sacred Trinity, blessed for evermore— the supreme object of the Heathen worship was the sun, or some other part of God's creation, or else some wicked man, or more wicked devil. For heathen idolatry was, according to the Apostle, Romans i. 25, changing the truth of God into a lie, and worshipping and serving the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever ON THE USE OF PICTURES AND IMAGES IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. such instruments? God never works by miracles what may be effected by natural means, and especially does not, and "will not give his glory to another." God would not be likely to contradict himself-he who is infinite wisdom-to issue a command as strong as any in the decalogue, and reward men for breaking it! (62) The "sacrifice" of the mass, we have seen, is not only not commanded, since sacrifices ceased when our Lord had "offered up himself once" for the sins of the whole world, but positively contrary to Scripture, therefore as inadmissible as pagan sacrifices; for, says Christ, "No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself." John x. 18. Shall man then presume to "offer" up to God-his only Son!... The necessity of there being two distinct commandments relative to idolatry, is obviously farther demonstrated by your own reasoning: "I am the Lord your God," "Thou shalt have none other Gods but me;" therefore "the sacred Trinity" must be the sole as well as the " supreme object" of Christian worship, instead of associating thereto "the sun," or any other part of God's creation. The second commandment forbids the making any likeness of anything that is made, whether sun, men, or angels. Is it not "changing the truth of God into a lie" to worship and serve the creature more or as much as the Creator, as we have seen in the exaltation of the virgin to a rank not bestowed upon her by Godqueen of heaven!" See Jer. xliv. 66 more. 3. Catholics honour, though not with any part of divine worship, the angels and saints of God, as belonging to him, and as truly worthy of honour, upon account of the excellent gifts of grace and glory received from him; but they ask nothing of them but what they know must come from God's hands, and therefore their usual address to them is "Pray for us." The Heathens not only gave the sovereign worship of adoration and sacrifice to their inferior deities, but looked upon them, in many respects, independent of their chief god (whilst they made him himself dependant upon fate); accordingly, they addressed themselves to them, not as intercessors (for in the whole heathen mythology we shall scarce once find an "Ora pro nobis"), but as distributors of blessings and gifts to them, according to their different offices and powers. 4. Those whom the Catholics honour with an inferior veneration for God's sake, are indeed the ministers and servants of the one true God. The inferior deities of the Heathens were wicked wretches, such as Bacchus, Mars, or other devils, as we learn from many texts of Scripture, Lev. xvii. 7; Deut. xxxii. 17; Psalm evi. 37; 1 Cor. x. 20. 5. As to images-not to speak of the immense distance between the objects represented by Catholics and ON THE USE OF PICTURES AND IMAGES IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Invocation to her, and saints and angels, appearing as it does, rendering it divine honour, and not rendering it at the same time! and which the Christian religion expressly prohibits. Surely kneeling, "bowing down to" saints and angels, must be deemed rendering divine honours, since that is the posture and method of adoring the Creator. . . . Why therefore render any honours, which resemble, too, so closely divine honours, to those who never were gods, but mortals like ourselves? "Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." See Heb. vii. 25; also iv. 14, 15, 16; xiii. 15; also 1 John iii. 22; John x. 9. Here is your Saviour's command; and yet ye will apply to other mediators and other intercessors. Who appointed angels as such? If Christ indignantly rejects our petitions, because we will apply in another way than he "who is the Way" has appointed, saints, angels (even were such their office), aye, the highest cherubim and seraphim, might plead for us in vain! .. 66 You have admitted, a false relic may chance to be "honoured" for a true one; thus you may be venerating" one of the vilest of human beings; though, in either case, it is "sacrificing to devils, and not to God," for no "true servant or minister of God would consent to receive unlawful homage; as by so doing he would forfeit heaven; for by treading in the steps of the fallen angels he would share their punishment, and justly. Where is the "immense distance between the objects" of Roman Catholic and Heathen adoration? both have inferior deities, though differing in name. Can Christians imagine that, because an image is styled the Virgin Mary, instead of Minerva; or some saint (who may never have existed, save in the calendar), instead of Jupiter, that New Series, No. 10. VOL. VIII.-October, 1846. FF Heathens, it is certain that the Heathens, at least the generality of them, believed the very idols to be gods, and accordingly these, as well as the others, offered prayers and sacrifices to the idols, and gave them the names of the deities which they worshipped in them. Now we neither believe our images to be gods, nor to be the bodies of gods, nor the peculiar places of God's residence, nor symbols of his presence, nor to have any power or virtue in them; nor do we put our trust in them, or pray to them, or offer sacrifices, or other divine honours to them: therefore there is no similitude between the Heathen worship and ours. (63) OF OF THE USE OF PICTURES AND IMAGES IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. an alteration in the title can change a positive disobedience into one of merit? 'Hath the Lord as great delight in sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ?" 1 Sam. xv. 22. Conscience must have struggled to be heard when the second commandment was altered and displaced . . . . but remember, though you cannot face it on earth, at least, try to hide it from your view, it still exists, and will testify against you in heaven. Farther; if your images have no power or virtue in them, by what agency do they work miracles? If they possess not this power in themselves, nor are "the peculiar places" of God's residence, nor "symbols of his presence," what then are they? St. Paul says, "An idol is nothing in the world." You "do not trust in them" though you ask their intercession; you "do not pray to them" though you kneel before them, saying, "Ora pro nobis," nor do you pay divine honours, though you burn candles and incense before them. Alas! how can you reconcile such contradictions and inconsistencies? in a matter, too, which concerns God and your immortal souls. Does not conscience whisper you, "do not bow down to and serve them?" Exod. xx. EXORCISMS AND (63) OF EXORCISMS AND BENEDICTIONS, |