PROTESTANT MAGAZINE. JUNE 1, 1839. THE STATE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. THERE can be very little doubt, we apprehend, in the minds of all who have viewed the aspect of public affairs with the curiosity and interest it deserves, that the present is a crisis of the most alarming nature to the Protestantism of our native land. For four long years this country has been governed by an administration that lives but by the favour of popish agitators; and during this long and unfortunate period, we lament to say, our national peace has been perilled, our colonial power has been menaced, and, above all, our civil and religious institutions have been constantly attacked and violently shaken. Whilst the vile have been exalted, the wicked have been walking on every side. The morals and the loyalty of the lower orders have been tampered with through the specious but infidel system of socialism; and many of those classes who have escaped that contagion have been led astray by the wild and dangerous doctrines of the chartists. In Ireland. popery has been rampant, and crime has grown to an unprecedented height; and in all public departments patronage has been freely bestowed on men of seditious practices, of ungovernable passions, and of evil designs. The sovereignty of the people has been preached till too many forget that all power belongeth unto God; and in the legislature, all attempts at Christian legislation -whether for the due observance of the Sabbath, the extension of the ministrations of the church, the religious education of the people, or for the discouragement of popery-have not only failed, but have also been scorned and ridiculed by a very large majority. During the past month events still more striking have occurred. The Melbourne ministry having resigned, Sir Robert Peel was intrusted by her Majesty to form a new cabinet. He commenced the task, and had completed it, when it was discovered that the Court household as constituted by Lord Melbourne, and consisting almost exclusively of the partizans of his administration, was, so far as the ladies were concerned, to be unchangeable. Accordingly, Sir Robert Peel's enterprize failed, and Lord Melbourne returned to power. It On this circumstance we shall avoid all general comments. would ill become this Magazine to be the organ of any strictures VOL. I.-June, 1839. G on the proceedings of the Queen. The powers that be are ordained of God, and we trust in him who is Lord of lords and King of kings, and who turneth the hearts of rulers whithersoever he will. We are content with this confidence in the great Ruler of all things, and to Him we offer up our humble prayers that His judgments, though well deserved, may be averted from this backsliding nation; that our youthful Sovereign may be saved from evil counsellors; and that the hearts of all her people may ever be knit together in love and affectionate allegiance to her person and her throne. These are our sincere and hearty supplications to the Divine Majesty, and in them we believe we shall be joined by all who sympathize in the principles of the Protestant Association. But our readers must not forget that in this highly favoured land, they are possessed of certain constitutional privileges, for the use of which in such critical times as these they are justly accountable. It becomes them, therefore, to be up and doing in the great cause of truth, to maintain the faith once delivered to the saints, and to endeavour to preserve for their children the inestimable blessings which they themselves enjoy. If there were a general election it would be a duty to assist in sending into parliament godly men,-supporters of the Protestant constitution of Great Britain-and to oppose earnestly and boldly the success of all evil-disposed and ill-reputed persons. Or if there be no general election, other duties arise. Can Protestants who are blessed with the right to make their sentiments known to their rulers, be justified in tacitly sanctioning the national endowment of popery, the admission of popish chaplains to our prisons, the education by the state of popish priests, or the still more lamentable and wicked alliance with idolatry which our legislature displays? It may be said by some: "What can we do, so few and so weak?" Others may add: "It is of no use to move,-all is lost, the cause is hopeless." No, no, all is not yet lost,-nil desperandum. All was not lost even when Queen Mary ruled in this country. All was not lost even when James the Second upreared again the brazen front of his soul-destroying heresy. Ridley, Philpot, Latimer, and Bradford were few and weak; so were Sancroft, Trelawney, Ken, and the other bishops whom James sent to the Tower. But these men fainted not; they did not despair. They had sympathies they knew not of: the sympathies and prayers of full "seven thousand" that were left, that had not bowed to Baal. And more than that, they preferred the praise of God to the praise of men; they knew in whom they believed; they felt beneath them the everlasting arms, the strength of Him who can conquer alike by many or by few. Let the Protestants of the nineteenth century follow the examples of their forefathers in the sixteenth and the seventeenth. Surely the blessings that were worth gaining, are worth keeping! Surely the means that were blessed then, may be sanctioned now! It has pleased God to save this generation from martyrdoms, and all British protestants, save those in Ireland, from persecution: nevertheless we must not be high-minded but fear. As a nation we have sinned against heaven, and as a nation we merit punishment; nor can there be any safety except in returning to the "old paths" in which alone the favour of the Almighty has descended upon us. Well, then, we call on all friends of Protestantism to unite in defence of what is left and for the recovery of what is lost. When bad men combine, good men must unite. Let the parliament of England know that there are still many who will do their duty, and endeavour to save the constitution. Perhaps for a time, perhaps for a very long time, this knowledge will produce no good effects. In the end, however, we feel confident it will operate powerfully, the Protestant phalanx will increase, the public opinion will be influenced; and, at length, we may again witness in the House of Commons God-fearing legislators, and in the councils of the Sovereign firm defenders of the Protestant faith. ROMANISM. (For the Protestant Magazine.) ERROR is most dangerous when it is found blended with truth, as sin is the most seductive when she appears under the mask of virtue. There was some truth to give a colour to the deceit which caused the fall of our first parents; and the corruption and unsoundness of the doctrines of the Romanists, are overlaid with such an appearance of verity and fervour, that they may well. deceive the unwary. I have been led into these remarks by the perusal of the Romanist Daily Companion and Mass Book. Some of the prayers are beautiful, and some of the directions for maintaining a holy walk excellent; on a superficial glance at it, many persons might be inclined to pronounce popery to be "erroneous certainly, but not the monster which it appears to be unto many." Let us examine this seeming goodly edifice more thoroughly: look not only at those parts painted in fair colours to meet the eye of strangers, but follow its winding passages to the dark retreats of error, to what is indeed the very prison-house of the mind. The directions to the sick are some of them very good, but what shall we think of being instructed to pray, " that God will accept of all our pains and uneasinesses, in union with the suffer ings of our Saviour Jesus Christ, in deduction of the punishment due to our sins?" In the rules" Of the ordinary actions of the day" we read : "If time will not permit you to say the morning prayers in your Daily Companion, you may recite the following, which must be done with more fervour and greater devotion." The latter direction is well illustrated by the following fact: A young lady of the Romanist persuasion, and who was very strict in the performance of the duties which that church enjoins, used, when fashion required a great deal of time to be spent, or rather wasted, upon the arrangement of the hair, to kneel down at night before a looking-glass, and she then commenced saying her prayers and curling her hair together. Was not this acting in accordance with the rule here laid down, in which, as quality is to make up for decreased quantity, so, vice versa, quantity will make up for quality. Is this worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth? How awful must be the responsibility of those who thus teach people to take the name of the Lord in vain, and that, not in thoughtlessness, but with deliberation and purpose, to kneel down to worship Him with their lips, while their hearts are far from Him. It is an abuse of language to call such wordy repetitions prayers, for if we ask for what we feel that we are in want of, it will be sure to be with fervour and devotion; and if we ask for what we do not care to have, the order for increase of fervour will remain unfulfilled. But it is repetition, not prayer, which is accounted meritorious by the church of Rome. No person who really prays, can imagine that there is any merit in so doing. A beggar may be thankful if he obtain what he asks for, but who ever fancied that the act of begging was meritorious? But the exhortations of the Romish church are not like our Saviour's: ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Several of the Popes for "the encouragement" of the people in saying their prayers, have granted on the repetition of such and such forms, "a plenary indulgence, &c."; for which, refer to the Roman Daily Companion; passim. Thus the prayers of Romanists are not even in principle those of the disciples of Christ, who are by him encouraged "to ask," of God, "and ye shall receive,”—that is, receive from God an answer to your prayers, which pre-supposes in the supplicant, faith in God and in our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Romanist is told by the pope, "Say your prayers to God, and the holy virgin, and the saints, and I will grant you indulgence:" so that the only faith necessary to move a papist to prayer, is, faith in the pope! Is not this "the man of sin who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, and that is worshipped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God?"-2 Thess. ii. 4. O that the word of God, which is the sword of the spirit, unsheathed, that is, open, not hid by the covering of a foreign language, but translated clearly, so that he that runneth may read, may be so sent among our benighted brethren in the land, that their eyes may be opened, and they may learn the things which belong unto their peace. St. Helen's, Lancashire, March, 1839. EPISCOPUS. (For the Protestant Magazine) THE PEOPLE'S BIRTHRIGHT. NO. I. The Bible-and our church that stands We'll guard them from unhallowed hands, Our God his chosen few will save, The Bible!-no; we will not yield Our end His truth-unblemish'd, pure, The Bible!-shall we leave God's way Or Rome's corrupted slaves obey No: truth has burst that heavy chain, The Bible!-oh! thou richest store The Bible!-not in Romish dress, But as it is, nor more nor less, Our birthright we'll hand down; Nor sectary shall change its state, |