The arguments by which Papists attempt to prove the infallibility of the Romish Church, are perfectly ridiculous. They tell us that it is impossible that all the pastors of the church should at one and the same time depart from the faith. Why so? Because they have all received the Holy Spirit, and he is a Spirit of truth. But where is the proof that all her priests have been thus highly favoured? Because Christ promised to give the apostles the Holy Spirit, and the priests of the Church of Rome can trace the validity of their ordinations, through a long succession, down to the very apostles themselves; and because the Saviour has declared "Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world," and "the gates of hell shall not prevail against her," i. e., the Church. But now, the priests ought to know that these promises belong to the Church of Christ, and not to the Church of Rome. The gates of hell shall never prevail against his Church; and he always will be with his people to the end of the world; but these two great and precious truths certainly do not establish the infallibility of the Church of Rome. Christ has never promised his Spirit to her, and to the papal apostasy as such he never can give his Spirit. We have already shown that error abounds without limit in the Romish system, and this fact is proof enough that the promises which Christ has given to HIS Church are misapplied when claimed by the Pope and his priests for themselves, for according to their own theory it is impossible that those should fall into gross errors to whom Christ has given the Spirit of truth. And even supposing that the Romish Church were part of the Church of Christ, which we utterly deny, the texts of Scripture which are adduced establish her infallibility only when she is permitted to beg the question, and assume at once that her interpretations of Scripture must necessarily be correct. She claims to be the judge of controversies respecting the faith; from her deci

sion there is to be no appeal, and it is only by her approbation and authority that the Scriptures are to be known or received as authentic!

The Church of Christ has four special offices relating to the Scriptures.

1. She is their witness and keeper. If a friend sends a letter to us by the hand of a second person, and he delivers it, we do not credit the contents for the sake of the bearer, but because we recognise the hand and seal of the writer; neither do we receive the Scriptures as the word of God only or chiefly upon the recommendation of the Church, though conveyed to us by her ministry.

2. The Church is to preserve and vindicate the Scriptures, to exclude that which is spurious from the genuine word. And to this end the Church is assisted by the Spirit of Christ, through whom she recognises the "voice of the Bridegroom." But the Church does not make the Scriptures genuine, any more than the jeweller makes the gold, whose nature he determines by his chemical tests.

3. The Church is the herald to proclaim the Scripture, and is bound to promulgate it just as she has received it. Now when is a royal edict credited for the sake of the herald who proclaims it?

4. She is the interpreter of the Scriptures; she must expound them, without mixing any thing of her own, and explain Scripture by Scripture.

But without the internal evidence of the Holy Spirit, the testimony of the Church will be of little efficacy. The Scriptures are in themselves worthy of belief, and are received by us as the word of God, not only or even principally because the Church so directs, but because they proceed from God. Now that they do thus emanate from God, we know from the testimony of the Holy Ghost, who always makes use of the sacred truths of God's word for the conviction and conversion of sinners.

We know that the Scriptures are divinely inspired.

1. By the testimony of God speaking in the Scriptures. 2. By the inward witness of his Spirit. "We have received the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given us of God." 1 Cor. ii. 12; and ver. 15. "He that is spiritual judgeth all things."

3. By the virtue and power which proceed from every page of the Bible; by its pure and perfect morals; by the majesty of its style; by the awe with which it inspires the conscience; by the literal fulfilment of its prophecies; by its admirable preservation; by the harmony of all its parts; by the rage with which Satan pursues those who make it their rule of faith and practice; and by the success which has attended the promulgation of its principles.

The Scriptures had authority with believers before the judgment of the church, with respect to the canon, had been passed, and consequently the authority of the word of God did not then depend upon her testimony. The judgment of the Fathers is comparatively but of yesterday. If the books which the Fathers and council cite as canonical were not authentic before, then for several centuries there was no authentic Scripture at all.

If the authority of the Church, as it respects us, depends on the testimony of Scripture, then the authority of Scripture does not depend on the voice of the Church. But it is plain that the Church can have no authority, except what is con. ferred by Scripture. If I ask, how am I to be sure that the Church did not err in preparing the canon of Scripture? a Papist will answer: Because she is guided by the Holy

Ghost. But how shall I know that she is so directed? He replies :-Because Christ has given a promise to that effect. I ask, where? He tells me, in the Scripture, Matt. xxviii. 20, &c. "Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world." And thus, even the Papist must confess that it is Scripture which gives authority to the Church.

There can be no greater or more certain evidence to us than that of a divine testimony; and such is the voice of Scripture, which is the word of God; whereas the declaration of the Church is but the word of man. If the authority of the Church were paramount, then the truth of all the promises of salvation would stand on the sandy foundation of human judgment, and our faith must ultimately be resolved into the voice of the Church, which would be arrant absurdity, and gross impiety.

As for the presumptuous claim of the Romish Church, that she has the promise of the Holy Spirit to preserve her bishops and pastors from error, we have already remarked that this promise pertains to the Church of Christ. Every pastor, and every private member of that church, who seeks the aid of the Holy Spirit in fervent and believing prayer, shall be guided into all truth necessary for salvation. No man, who in honest simplicity places himself under the guidance of the Blessed Spirit, and asks of God, shall fail to know which doctrine is divine, and what he must do to be saved. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally to all men and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." James i. 5.

According to the Romish theory, her bishops, assembled in council, who all have the infallible direction of the Holy Spirit, may nevertheless differ toto cœlo in their opinions and decrees; and the decision of a case depends upon a plu rality of votes, though all are equally infallible! Was there ever a more senseless and stupid plea set up in behalf of any absurdity?

The contradictory decrees of councils have made the Romish claims to infallibility a laughing-stock and a byeword of reproach. The contests in relation to image-worship alone are sufficient to brand it as a gross imposture. In the fourth century, the Council of Elvira decided against the practice; thus also, in 754, a council at Constantinople

condemned image worship by a formal decree. In 787, the Second Council of Nice declared the former council at Constantinople to be illegitimate. In 794, another council reversed this decree of its predecessor; and its act was confirmed by another, held in 814; but in 842, image worship was re-enacted.

As for the pope's infallibility in the canonization of saints, the statement of a few facts will be sufficient to show how much dependence is to be placed upon the judgment of his holiness in the manufacture of the gods of Rome. We are struck at once with the resemblance of the canonization of saints to the deification of the heathen. Plutarch tells us that "the ancient priests, in order to the credit of their system, felt it necessary to persuade the people that certain characters, many of whom had, however, been the most ambitious and sensual of mankind, were honoured by the special favour of heaven; were deep in its mysteries, and even worthy of being placed among the gods themselves; in consequence of which their public deification took place, with all the pomp and circumstance so well calculated to impose upon a gross and idolatrous people. In order, however, to this ceremony, some miraculous intimation of the favour and will of heaven, as to the individual in question, was required to be duly attested as necessary to the ceremony. Thus, in the case of Romulus, one Julius Proculus took a solemn oath, "That Romulus himself appeared to him, and ordered him to inform the senate of his being called up to the assembly of the gods, under the name of Quirinus." In papal as in pagan Rome, the evidence of mira. cles is required, with this difference, however, that in the case of the pope's idols, the miracles are alleged to have been performed by the saints themselves. The matter of procuring the necessary attestations, is a mere trifle; hence the canonization of saints has become almost as common as the creation of cardinals, and the calendar of the