parents, "Whatsoever of mine might be profitable to you, is Corban." In process of time the old people are reduced to poverty, and the young man repents of his rashness. In this emergency, the spiritual guides are consulted; and they urge the tradition, that vows of this kind cannot be dispensed with, and they " suffer him not to do anything for his father or mother." Thus the law to honour parents is made void; they may go a begging, or sit down and perish, rather than a fraction of that which, in a fit of anger, was devoted to holy mother church shall be alienated to their use. That it was the general character of their traditions, like the one under consideration, to make void the divine commandments, and to enrich the church, we are expressly assured in the words which immediately follow :"And many other such like things you do." (Mark vii. 13.) And so St. Peter pretty plainly intimates not only that the corruption of manners, but also the silly opinion, that silver or gold might be accepted as the price of redemption, were owing to the traditions which had been handed down by the fathers. "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers. (1 Peter i. 18.)

If the

The popish traditions have been contrived so as to bring a good deal of grist to the church mill. In popish countries, what immense estates have been acquired by the church! Besides which, nearly all sins have been pardoned, and all spiritual blessings granted for money. Go to a priest to confess and receive absolution, and you must pay for it. prescribed penance be disagreeable, it may be commuted for money. Indulgences will answer every purpose a hardened sinner can well desire. The following translation of the form used by Tetzel, is from Robertson's History of Charles V. "May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, granted and committed to me in

these parts, to absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have been incurred, and then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be, even such as are reserved for the cognizance of the holy see; and as far as the keys of the holy church extend, I remit to you all punishment which you deserve in purgatory on their account; and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you possessed at the baptism; so that when you die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be opened, and if you shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The same historian has observed, that Tetzel and his associates recommended their holy ware in such terms as the following: "If any man," said they, "purchase letters" of indulgence, his soul may rest secure with respect to its salvation. The souls confined in purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are purchased, as soon as the money tinkles in the chest, instantly escape from that place of torment, and ascend into heaven," etc. What more can any one want? This indulgence restores the poor profligate to innocence and purity; and the full efficacy of it remains with him up to the point of death. This instrument contains a full absolution from all the obligations of morality. Many papists, I believe, will admit that here matters were carried too far; but they should recollect, that if one pope could cheat his deluded votaries out of their money, and their souls too, others may do the same; and then, none of them can safely be trusted as infallible guides. If such indulgences cannot be justified, the reformation which they occasioned, is justified.

But the purgatorian societies, recently instituted in Ireland, the members of which are to pay one penny per week towards procuring masses for the repose of their own souls after death, and for the souls of their

deceased relatives and friends; (see a copy of the Rules of a purgatorian society, instituted July 1st, 1813, and held in St. James's chapel, Dublin, in An Examination of the Arguments for the Pre-eminence of the Roman Catholic Episcopacy, by the Rev. James Carlile, page 102, etc., where the whole scheme is developed ;) almost rival in extravagance and absurdity, the mission of Tetzel.

The instance which our Saviour has given of the Jewish traditions being opposed to the law of God, is that of a son, absolved by the elders on the ground of their traditions, from all obligation which the law imposed upon a child to honour, obey, and support his parents. The popish traditions run exactly in the same strain. Thus pope Pascal II. absolved the son of the emperor, Henry IV., from the oath of fidelity and obedience, which he had taken to his father; stirred him up to rebellion, espoused his cause, and supported the interests of this unnatural rebel with the utmost zeal. All this was done in the hope that the son would become a more compliant tool of the church than his father was; but in this his infallible holiness happened to be mistaken. (See, Mosh. Eccles. Hist., cent. 12, part 2, chap. 2; and Guthrie's Hist. of the world, vol. viii., page 425.) The popish doctors teach, according to Limborch, that in case a father be a secret heretic, it is lawful for his son to accuse him to the judges of the inquisition; and they think that such a son ought to be commended, who conquers his natural love, and overcomes this most strong affection, from an ardent love of divine religion. And they teach, that there are two cases in which the son is obliged to betray his heretical father to the judges: the first, when the son is legally interrogated by the apostolic inquisitors; the second, when the father's heresy is dangerous to the commonwealth. (See the Hist. of the Inquis., vol. ii., book 4, chap. 3.) Our Saviour, when speaking of the persecutors of his disciples, says, "And the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." (Matt. x. 21; see also Mark xiii.

12.) According to our Lord, the persecutors are not of the church, but against it; according to the papists the persecutors are the most valiant and valuable sons the church possesses. In the New Testament, the church of Christ is often represented as suffering persecution, but never as inflicting it; and those who are "disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection," are ranked among the vilest characters, who "in the last days should come in dangerous times," and who, "having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof," the faithful are exhorted to "avoid.” (2 Tim. iii. 1—5.)

It is an article of the Trent creed that the sacraments confer grace; and a man who has plenty of money may obtain these sacraments, and so get possession of as much grace as he pleases. The exchange of spiritual blessings for the filthy lucre of this world, was a species of commerce carried on very briskly at Rome, for many centuries; but it has lately been rather on the decline. The preamble to king Stephen's grant to the church is in these words: "Because through the providence of divine mercy we know it to be so ordered, and by the churches publishing it far and near, every body hath heard, that by the distribution of alms, persons may be absolved from the bonds of sin, and acquire the rewards of heavenly joys; I, Stephen, by the grace of God, king of England, being willing to have a part with them, who, by a happy kind of trading, exchange heavenly things for earthly; and smitten with the love of God, and for the salvation of my own soul, and the souls of my father and mother, and all my forefathers and ancestors, confirm tithes and other donations to the church." This was a happy kind of trading" indeed! and those who would not engage in it, deserved a good roasting in purgatory for their obstinacy! In those days, when there were no impudent heretics to. laugh at the cheat, and expose it, the churches published their holy wares far and near, so that every body knew where to go to market, and what to buy! But

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these alms, it seems, all came into the hands of the clergy; the poor laity not being so expert in exchanging heavenly things for earthly!

By their traditions, the Romanists have entirely changed the character of the gospel. As preached by Christ and the apostles, all its blessings were placed more particularly within the reach of the indigent; it was specially adapted to their circumstances; and they are congratulated on enjoying its privileges to the uttermost. "The poor have the gospel preached to them." "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor." "Blessed are ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of God." "Hearken my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him? But you have dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you by might; and do not they draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme the good name that is invoked upon you?" (Matt. xi. 5; Luke iv. 18; vi. 20; James ii. 5-7.) On the other hand it is written, "Wo to you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Wo to you that are full! for ye shall hunger." "For they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Luke vi. 24, 25; xviii. 24, 25; 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10.) From the slightest attention to these texts, it must be obvious to every one, that it is comparatively easy for the poor, and difficult for the rich, to be saved. But upon the popish plan, that pardons, dispensations, indulgences, masses, etc., may