others. The words of our Lord expose the arrogancy of such pretensions-" When," says Christ,

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ye have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which is our duty to do." (Luke xvii. 10.) The Scriptures invariably direct us to the merits of Christ as the only ground of hope; that system which teaches us to look to the superabundant merits of saints for pardon, is not only contrary to, but subversive of, the word of God, which expressly declares, "No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give unto God a ransom for him." The following observations of Archbishop Tillotson, on the words of the foolish virgins, in the parable, are too important here to be omitted. (Matt. xxv. 8, 9.) "There is no such things as works of supererogation, that is, that no man can do more than needs, and than is his duty to do, by way of preparation for another world. For when the foolish virgins would have begged of the wise some oil for their lamps, the wise answered, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you. It was only the foolish virgins that in the time of their extremity, and when they were conscious that they wanted that which was absolutely necessary to qualify them for admission into heaven, who had entertained this idle conceit, that there might be an overplus of grace and merit in others sufficient to supply their want. But the wise knew not of any they had to spare, but supposed

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all that they had done, or could possibly do, to be little enough to qualify them for the glorious reward of eternal life. Not so, say they, μnworɛ, lest at any time, that is, lest when there should be need and occasion, all that we have done, or could do, should be little enough for ourselves."

This treasure of merit, arising from pretended works of supererogation, the pope of Rome, and under him the priests, claim to have the power of dispensing, to whom, and in what measure they please, and on such conditions as they think proper to prescribe. This is done by granting what are usually called indulgences. These indulgences, which are granted in reward of services deemed meritorious by the church, or in consideration of the payment of a sum of money, according to a scale fixed for the commutation of offences requiring satisfaction, entitle those who receive them to a relaxation of penance enjoined, to a remission of the temporal punishments of sin, and to a deliverance from purgatorial fires. The practice of granting indulgences as it exists in the church of Rome, appears to be a corruption and flagrant abuse of a wholesome custom which existed in the church of Christ at an early period. In days of purity a godly discipline was maintained-those who were guilty of offences, inconsistent with their Christian profession, were brought under the censure of the church, were enjoined certain acts of penance, or, if the enormity of their offence re

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quired it, were visited with excommunication. authority, sanctioned by Scripture, (Matt. xvi. 19,) was exercised by the ministers of the church, in releasing those from the penance enjoined, and from the censures or excommunication of the church, who manifested sincere repentance. Thus, St. Paul released the incestuous member of the church at Corinth from the sentence of excommunication on his sincere repentance. (1 Cor. v. ; 2 Cor. ii.) Such appears to have been the origin of what was afterwards known by the name of pardons and indulgences. In process of time the practice was corrupted and extended; it became common to accept of sums of money instead of the severe penances which the laws of the church imposed on penitents it was not, however, till the dark ages that indulgences were considered as efficacious in obtaining the remission of sins, past and future, or that they had virtue to release from the future punishments of sin. At length, however, in an age when the people were held under the power of the grossest ignorance, and of priestly domination, they were taught that the performance of certain services, deemed meritorious, or by the payment of a certain sum of money, fixed by the church, they might obtain an indulgence which would cancel the guilt, not only of their past, but of their future sins; which would also deliver them from the fires of purgatory, and open to them the gates of paradise! As, in modern times, the аро

logists of the church of Rome affect to deny the truth of this representation, and contend that an indulgence means nothing more than exemption from acts of penance and church censures, a few facts will be produced in confirmation of the truth of the statement which has been made. St. Thomas, who is regarded as one of the pillars of the Romish church, says " There actually exists an immense treasure of merit, composed of the pious deeds and virtuous actions which the saints have performed, beyond what is necessary for their own salvation, and which are therefore applicable to the benefit of others; the guardian and dispenser of this precious treasure is the Roman pontiff, and, of consequence, he is empowered to assign to such as he thinks proper, a portion of this inexhaustible source of merit, suitable to their respective guilt, and sufficient to deliver them from the punishment due to their sins." In the fifteenth century, Dupin, the popish historian, informs us, "that indulgences granted by the popes were more common than ever, they had become a kind of traffic." To per form pilgrimages to the distant tombs of martyrs, and to the holy sepulchre, and especially to join in the crusades for the rescue of Palestine from the Turks, were regarded as acts highly meritorious, and as entitling to the most plenary indulgences. Pope Urban II., in the eleventh century, by his bull, proclaimed an indulgence to all who took part in the crusade against the infidels, in which he

promises them the remission of all their sins, and the joys of paradise. Subsequently, the virtue of such indulgences was extended to all who hired a soldier for some military enterprize, or who furnished a sum of money for the accomplishment of some work enjoined by the pope. Urban VIII., by a bull which bears date May 25th, 1643, promises an indulgence to the Irish, as the reward of the meritorious work of extirpating heretics (Protestants) from among them: this bull closes in the following manner :-" To all and every the aforesaid Christians in the kingdom of Ireland, so long as they should inclitate against the said heretics and other enemies of the Catholic faith, he did grant a full and plenary indulgence, and absolute remission of all their sins, desiring all of them to be partakers of this precious treasure." The merit and efficacy of indulgences, granted by the church of Rome, was held to extend over considerable periods of time to come. Pope Sextus granted to the faithful, who should visit the great altar of St. Hilary on certain fixed days, every year, "for every of the said days a plenary remission of all their sins." Pope Innocent granted pardons and indulgences for four, five, ten, eighteen, and thirty thousand years! Bishop Burnett states that he years! At the beginning of the sixteenth century the reigning pope authorized and allowed a sale of in

had seen one which reached one million