dence for the great work they were destined to accomplish. And while the flame broke out, and was rapidly spreading, in Germany, by a happy coincidence, a commotion was raised in England, though from causes apparently far less commendable, which was not composed but by the separation of that nation from the see of Rome.

The character and progress of the reformation derived many of its leading traits from the character and temper of the nations over which its happy influence prevailed. The thrones of Europe were, at that august moment, filled with greater monarchs than, all things considered, ever occupied them at any other period. In England, the eighth and greatest of the Henrys; in Germany and Spain, Charles the Fifth ; in France, Francis the First; and in Turkey, Solyman the Magnificent; while on the Papal throne sat Leo the Tenth, the most powerful and accomplished of all the popes, the Augustus of spiritual Rome, if that deserves to be called spiritual which was, in fact, more carnal, sensual, and devilish than the Rome of Augustus Cæsar. To the ambitious views and great resources of these monarchs, extraordinary as it may seem, was apparently owing the progress and establishment of the reformation. By these means, each one, fully occupied with his own projects and hopes of aggrandizement, was, in a manner, withdrawn from any hostile interference, till the work of God was accomplished by his own immediate instruments.

God, who is able to cause that a nation shall be born in a day, nevertheless usually accomplishes his great purposes gradually, and by the use of means. The gospel kingdom at first was ushered in by small and slow degrees. It was not to be expected, that the Reformation would either be complete and entire, or universal. Yet the wisdom of God was manifested in selecting Great Britain, a literary people, whose naval power was to give her a ready intercourse with all the globe; and Germany, a nation of a character peculiarly decided, persevering, grave, and self-consistent.

To draw the line of demarcation between the first reformers and the catholics, with any degree of exactness, would be difficult; perhaps the attempt would be hazardous. In general, the grand pillars of popery were torn away, the enormous load of

useless rites and ceremonies thrown off, the superstitions, corruptions, and abominable vices of their ecclesiastical polity rejected. But it was the infelicity of the first reformers, as it has been of their successors, that they differed and contended. Melancthon differed from Luther; Calvin from both; Carolstadt from all; and Erasmus, if he can be called a reformer, agreed with none of them, though he approved of many things they did. Combinations, however, and establishments soon took place; the Lutherans formed one, the Genevese another, the English a third, and the Scotch a fourth.

Some of these establishments rejected Episcopacy and a liturgy, while others retained both. I shall avoid either discussions or opinions on these points, relative to the exterior of the christian fabric. I think them not essentials of religion, and if pursued with a temper and spirit conformable to their professed intention, I hope those who may even err in these respects will nevertheless be accepted of God.

The grand pillars of the papal throne, and the enormous abuses running down through every grade of that most corrupt of all hierarchies, were visible and tangible to the reformers; they therefore united, at once, in their demolition and removal. But these were not the only objects which required the attention of the reformers. Errors in doctrine-errors which, like roots, had ramified into thousands of branches, spread wide, and crept far and deep, beneath a soil apparently well cultivated, were still to be discovered and eradicated. In this work, the first grand reformers made less progress than in some other parts of their vast enterprise. The visible church had long been an apostate church, and at whatever period the completion of that apostacy may be fixed, the commencement of her decline may be traced to times still more remote.

The days of the celebrated Greek and Latin fathers were fruitful of errors, in doctrine and discipline, of stupendous growth; of which, if they could be estimated by weight or measure, enough might be selected from the flights and plunges of Origen alone to crush an elephant to the earth. The oriental philosophy had already mingled itself with, and claimed the sanction of, the doctrine of Christ. The belief that good and evil were self-existentand co-eternal, had sweptoff many into the deceitfuleddies of heathen

ism. And when Constantine ascended the throne, the Arian heresy threatened the virtual extinction of the christian church. Hence the remark of Turretin, that "the fathers are useful to us as witnesses of fact, but not as judges of truth," was, doubtless, correct.

In the dark ages, the follies and superstitions peculiar to the respective nations had more or less entrenched themselves within the precincts of christian doctrine. Astrology, with all its lumber of omens, dreams, influences, conceits, and súperstitions, formed a huge portion of the piety and devotion of thousands; and logic, a wretched jargon of quibbles, sophisms, and riddles, supported by squadrons of analytics and dialectics, fed their understandings with wind.

To crown the whole, the philosophy and morality of Plato and Aristotle, though not understood, were lugged in and incorporated with their religion, and formed some of the main pillars of their faith. Hence arose realists and nominalists, together with the wise and profound doctrines of substantial forms: concerning which, hosts of great men disputed for ages, with all the learning and subtlety the world could furnish, and with all the spleen, slander, and malevolence which priests, monks, 'bishops, and cardinals, could feel or inspire.

When the superstructure of Popery was torn down and destroyed, there still remained a great and vastly important reformation to be made in the opinions of men, which is still but partially accomplished. This change, though not related to objects vitally important to salvation, yet very materially affects many impor. tant doctrines of revelation, and many points of practical religion. Habits of incorrect thinking and false reasoning, sanctioned for ages by great names and whole nations, cannot be suddenly destroyed and done away. Neither are men like Luther and his coadjutors the men eventually to accomplish this work: it requires men of equal talents, boldness, and decision of character. but of a very different temperament of mind and turn of thinking.

Among the things left to be accomplished, after the reformation, and, doubtless, preparatory to another and far greater refor mation, still to come, I shall mention but three or four.

1. That the rights of man should be fully understood and established. I am grateful to a good providence, which has placed

me in a country where they are better understood and more fully established, than in any other country. Of all these rights, I shall, at this time, only speak of those of a religious nature, as they are the most sacred and important, and lie properly within the scope of this subject. Religious rights, involving the duty a man owes immediately to God, are by far the most necessary to be maintained and tolerated, while at the same time there is the least provocation to restrain them. But tyrants early learned the art of making religion an engine of state policy, or, in other words, of ambition; and thence sprung the oppressive doctrine of intoleration.

Nothing can be more surprising than that the reformers, whose first theme was the tyranny and usurpation of Rome, who had as yet but partially burst their chains, and were still in some places menaced with racks and flames, should, notwithstanding, be unable to perceive that religious freedom is the sacred and inviolable right of every man. Yet nothing is more certain than that they did not perceive it; but adopted many of the persecuting maxims of the former persecutors. Even the great Calvin, after whose name so many deem it an honour to be called, had not been taught by the smart of persecution to abhor the persecutor; neither had the tyrannical intolerance of Rome awakened in him the generous and liberal spirit of toleration.

I surely will not reject the truth, because Calvin held to it, but, at the same time, I confess, that a persecuting protestant, other things out of the question, stands lower on the list of persecutors, in my estimation, than any other; because they ought to know better; and, indeed, we read in such actions, rather the language of the heart than of the understanding and conscience. We can very easily apologize for them, and say it was the fault of the times; but it was no dictate of the spirit of Christ.

Since the reformation, the light of truth has shone, and the principles of religious toleration have, perhaps, made some progress in every part of Christendom, not even excepting Spain and Portugal. But, in our own happy country, they seem to have acquired their full maturity. While it is here perceived that there is no necessity of making religion an engine of state policy; while our rulers are not disposed to press religion into the service

of their ambition, so neither do our clergy hope to increase their power and influence, by blending the church and the state. Here it is, at length, fully discovered, that a man may worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and be nevertheless a useful member of civil society. How long it will be before this discovery shall be as entire and universal as it is now imperfect and limited, God only knows. But that the church of Christ will never recover her primitive order and purity till that is the case, is certain.

2. The reformers, while they had but a very imperfect know. ledge of the rights of man, were equally unacquainted with the constitution and powers of the human mind. It was to the immortal honour of Locke, that he should lead the way, and enlighten mankind on both these subjects, very different in their nature, but equally important in their influence, yet intimately connected in the same subject. And it cannot be doubted, but that his skilful delineation of the human mind led him to those just and liberal views of religious freedom and toleration, with which he equally surprised, instructed, and delighted the most intelligent minds in Europe. Writers have succeeded Locke of more splendour and celebrity as philologists; and if they have corrected some mistakes, and supplied some deficiencies which escaped him, in his immense labours and unweared researches, they have built on foundations immovably laid by him.

But another task remained; for, with whatever accuracy Locke and those that followed him delineated the intellectual powers of man, the dispute still remained unsettled, whether the will of man were free-a dispute which was truly important, as it involved many doctrines of religion and morality. This diapute, which had been carried on between papists and protestants, now raged between predestinarians and Arminians; but was carried on in the dark, by men who did not understand each others ground or weapons, or, in fact, their own.

This country claims the honour of giving birth to the man who put this grand question at rest. Jonathan Edwards, proceeding on the principles of Locke, as far as he went into the investigation of the mind, settled the doctrine of the human will as firmly and unanswerably as Locke had that of the understanding. Yet