where one saint hath images in divers places, the same saint hath divers names thereof, most like to the Gentiles. When you hear of our Lady of Walsingham, our Lady of Ipswich, our Lady of Wilsdon, and such others, what is it but an imitation of the Gentile idolaters' Diana Agrotera, Diana Coriphea, Diana Ephesia, &c., Venus Cypria, Venus Paphia, Venus Gnidia? Whereby is evidently meant, that the saint for the image' sake should in those places, yea, in the images themselves, have a dwelling: which is the ground of their idolatry. For where no images be, they have no such means. Terentius Varro showeth, that there were three hundred Jupiters in his time: there were no fewer Veneres and Dianæ we had no fewer Christophers, Ladies, and Mary Magdalens, and other saints. Enomaus and Hesiodus show, that in their time there were thirty thousand gods. I think we had no fewer saints to whom we gave the honour due to God. And they have not only spoiled the true living God of his due honour in temples, cities, countries, and lands, by such devices and inventions, as the Gentile idolaters have done before them; but the sea and waters have as well special saints with them, as they had gods with the Gentiles, Neptune, Triton, Nereus, Castor and Pollux, Venus, and such other: in whose places become St. Christopher, St. Clement, and divers other, and specially our lady, to whom shipmen sing, Ave, maris stella. Neither hath the fire scaped their idolatrous inventions. For, instead of Vulcan and Vesta, the Gentiles' gods of the fire, our men have placed St. Agatha, and make letters on her day for to quench fire with. Every artificer and profession hath his special saint, as a peculiar god. As for example, scholars have St. Nicholas and St. Gregory; painters, St. Luke: neither lack soldiers their Mars, nor lovers their Venus, amongst Christians. All diseases have their special saints, as gods, the curers of them; the -, St. Roche; the falling-evil, St. Cornelis; the tooth-ache, St. Apollin, &c. Neither do beasts nor cattle lack their gods with us; for St. Loy is the horseleech, and St. Anthony the swineherd, &c. Where is God's providence and due honour in the mean season; who saith, The heavens be mine, and the earth is mine, the whole world and all that in it is: I do give victory, and I put to flight of me be all counsels and help, &c. Except I keep the city, in vain doth he watch that keepeth it: Thou, Lord, shalt save both men and beasts?' But we have left him neither heaven, nor earth, nor water, nor country, nor city, peace nor war, to rule and govern: neither men, nor beasts, nor their diseases to cure: that a godly man might justly for zealous indignation cry out, O heaven, Ŏ earth, and seas, what madness and wickedness against God are

men fallen into! What dishonour do the creatures to their Creator and Maker! And if we remember God sometimes, yet, because we doubt of his ability or will to help, we join to him another helper-as if he were a noun adjective-using these sayings; Such as learn, God and St. Nicholas be my speed; such as neese, God help and St. John; to the horse, God and St. Loy save thee. Thus are we become like horses and mules, which have no understanding. For is there not one God only, who by his power and wisdom made all things, and by his providence governeth the same, and by his goodness maintaineth and saveth them? Be not all things of him, by him, and through him? Why dost thou turn from the Creator to the creatures? This is the manner of the Gentile idolaters; but thou art a Christian, and therefore by Christ alone hast access to God the Father, and help of him only. These things are not written to any reproach of the saints themselves; who were the true servants of God, and did give all honour to him, taking none unto themselves, and are blessed souls with God; but against our foolishness and wickedness, making of the true servants of God false gods, by attributing to them the power and honour which is God's, and due to him only. that we have such opinions of the power and ready help of saints, all our legends, hymns, sequences, and masses, did contain stories, lauds, and praises of them, and prayers to them: yea, and sermons also altogether of them and to their praises, God's word being clean laid aside. And this we do altogether agreeable to the saints, as did the Gentiles idolaters to their false gods. For these opinions which men have had of mortal persons, were they never so holy, the old most godly and learned Christians have written against the feigned gods of the Gentiles; and Christian princes have destroyed their images: who if they were now living, would doubtless likewise both write against our false opinions of saints, and also destroy their images. For it is evident, that our imagemaintainers have the same opinion of saints, which the Gentiles had of their false gods, and thereby are moved to make them images, as the Gentiles did. If answer be made, that they make saints but intercessors to God, and means for such things as they would obtain of God; that is, even after the Gentiles' idolatrous usage, to make them, of saints, gods called Dii Medioximi, to be mean intercessors and helpers to God, as though he did not hear, or should be weary if he did all alone. So did the Gentiles teach, that there was one chief power working by other, as means; and so they made all gods subject to fate or destiny; as Lucian in his dialogues feigneth that Neptune made suit to Mercury, that he might speak with Jupiter. And therefore in this also, it is most

evident, that our image-maintainers be all one in opinion with the Gentile idolaters."

It may, perhaps, be objected by some, that it is unjust to charge upon the Church of Rome itself, the individual acts of indiscreet members of her communion, in various countries. Our reply is, that the whole body is thoroughly and equally polluted with the sin. Where is Romanism to be found, whether in bulls, or decrees of councils, or breviaries, or public worship,-free from this stain? The Council of Trent declares "that the saints reigning together with Christ offer to God their prayers for men: that it is good and useful to invoke them with supplication:" "that the holy bodies of the martyrs and others ought to be venerated, by means of which the faithful receive many benefits: " "that the images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and other saints, are to be especially had and retained in the churches, and due honour and veneration to be given them." "If any shall teach or think contrary to these decrees, let him be accursed." And the Encyclical Letter of the present Pope, of the date of August 15, 1832, adopts this language:

"Having at length taken possession of Our see in the Lateran Basilica, according to the custom and institution of Our predecessors, We turn to you without delay, Venerable Brethren; and in testimony of Our feeling towards you, We select for the date of Our letter this most joyful day on which We celebrate the solemn festival of the Most Blessed Virgin's triumphant Assumption into Heaven; that She, who has been through every great calamity Our Patroness and Protectress, may watch over us, writing to you (literally, may stand over Us propitious,' ' nobis adstet propitia'], and lead Our mind by her Heavenly influence [literally, by her Heavenly inspiration,' 'cælesti afflatu suo'] to those counsels which may prove most salutary to Christ's flock." And again :"But that all [these events, omnia hæc'] may have a successful and happy issue, let us raise Our eyes [and hands oculos manusque'] to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, who alone destroys heresies, who is our greatest hope ['confidence,' 'fiducia'], yea the entire ground of our hope. May she exert her patronage to draw down an efficacious blessing on our desires, our plans and proceedings, in the present straitened condition of the Lord's flock." And in "The Glories of Mary," by Alph. Liguori, who was canonized by the head of the Roman Church on the 26th of May, 1839, we read these blasphemies:

"Hope of the universe, my only hope! come to my assistance." "Dispensatrix of the divine grace, you save whom you please; to you, then, I commit myself, that the enemy may not destroy me."

MAY, 1843.

2 Y

"St. Anselm, to increase our confidence in Mary, assures us that our prayers will often be MORE SPEEDILY heard in invoking HER NAME, than in calling on that of Jesus Christ."

"Mary," says St. Bonaventure, "is called the gate of heaven, because no one enters this blessed abode, without first passing through her."

"We, holy Virgin, hope for grace and SALVATION from you; and since you need but say the word, ah! do so, you SHALL be heard, AND WE SHALL BE SAVED."

We have here, then, a certain test and proof of what is the nature of the worship current in the church of Rome at the present day. It is quite impossible, therefore, to admit Mr. Palmer's evasive plea,-that " some persons in every class were guilty of idolatry; but not the whole church, literally speaking."

If by "the whole church, literally speaking," Mr. Palmer means, every individual member of it, then he merely denies what no one dreams of asserting: and what is wholly unnecessary to the argument. When we assert the Romish church to be idolatrous and apostate, we are not judging individuals, but a corporate body, having laws and standards, confessions of faith, and authoritative interpreters. If we find a church propounding a Socinian creed and articles, it matters not to us that there is reason to believe that many of its members are sounder in the faith than their teachers. We can only deal with the body as it officially and authoritatively appears, and in that view it must be held to be Socinian. In the same way we judge the church of Rome. Her creeds are idolatrous; the decisions of her councils are idolatrous; the language of her acknowledged head is idolatrous; the current worship of her temples, in all parts of the world, is idolatrous. That "some persons,"-to retort Mr. Palmer's phrase, may yield a more scriptural obedience than their Church teaches, and may practically fly from the saints to Christ himself, is very probable, and they may thus save their own souls; but this cannot affect the question, of the general state and standing of the Church of which they are members. This must be determined by her corporate declarations, and her public confessions and acts of worship. She has not abjured the worship of God; nor had the Jews of old. But she offends as heinously as if she had done so, and just as they did of old,-by setting up other Gods together with JEHOVAH; by "making graven images of them, and bowing down to them," and thus "provoking the Lord to jealousy, and to fierce anger."

1 Treatise on the Church, vol. i. p. 308.

The case, in fact, is so clear, and the evidence so conclusive, that it is needless to offer any comment. In fact, as Mede justly observes, If Rome be acquitted and exonerated of the charge of idolatry, then "the case of the Church of Israel must seem a very hard one, to have suffered so much rebuke, so many plagues, so much wrath, and yet she never forsook the true God altogether, but merely wished to have "other Gods beside him," the demons and Baalim of the nations round about; hoping that Jehovah would not be offended thereat, since He was retained in the chief place and honour still." But God "will not give His glory to another; neither His praise to graven images."

The Church of England declares Rome to be the Great Harlot described by St. John in the xviith chapter of his Apocalypse; and in truth this view is necessary to the arriving at any intelligible idea of the purport of that book. A "woman is seen by the Apostle; riding upon a scarlet-coloured beast having ten horns. She is called a Harlot,-the same description which is applied, in the Old Testament, to Judah and Israel, on their idolatry and rebellion against God. This woman is declared by the apostle to typify "that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth;" a description which the Romish bishop Walmisley admits to be applicable to none but Rome. Dr. Walmisley, then, indeed, endeavours to interpret the judgments threatened, of the ravages of the Goths and Vandals; but it is manifest that these ravages by no means fulfilled the threatening, "With violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." "And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

Final and tremendous destruction, then, remains for Babylon; and Babylon is Rome. But such punishment can only follow, in the decrees of a God of truth and justice, on some enormous sin. What, then, is that sin declared to be?

Adultery and fornication with all the kings and nations of the earth; accompanied by the most cruel persecution of the saints of God. Now by the universal analogy of God's word, these terms, applied to a church or nation, signify IDOLATRY,-the leaving the rightful Lord and Husband ("thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is his name") for other gods. And thus is Babylon set forth in God's word: "I will shew thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was