of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL; and (i. e. and still) every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but this man, after he had offered ONE sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God;" "for, by ONE offering, he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." The Apostle then repeats this declaration of God:-"Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more ;" and adds, "Now, where remission of these is, THERE IS NO MORE OFFERING FOR SIN ;" and which, that it may be the more deeply impressed upon our hearts, he thus (at the 26th verse) repeats: "For if we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, THERE REMAINETH NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR SINS!" Our Roman Catholic readers must take their choice, whether they will still prefer the doctrines of Popery to those of our Saviour,Holy Writ to fabulous legends?

We will now trace the sacrament of the Lord's Supper from the pure age of the Apostles, until the corruptions of Popery obscured its original simplicity, and persuaded her followers to believe, and to assert that, by her own power, she had changed its spiritual efficacy, as ordained by Christ, into an irrestible charm.

The earliest Christians assembled in each other's houses, as the Apostle tells us, (see p. 47,) which were called churches*, although they met to join in public worship in places appropriated solely to that purpose soon after the resurrectiont. In these assemblies the Scriptures were read publicly, to which an exhortation succeeded; prayers followed, and which were repeated by the people after the presiding bishop or presbyter : to these, hymns were added;

The Evangelists speak of the "House "where the Lord held his Last Supper, Matt. xxvi. v. 18.; Mark xiv. v. 3.; Luke xxii. v. 10.

† See references (note a.) Mosheim, Eng. Trans., vol. i. p. 93.

Ibid.

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but the precise form of the Christian worship was not the same in all places*, Bread and wine were, however, taken and received, in remembrance of Christ, after it had been consecrated by the bishop, who said prayers, to which the people assented by pronouncing " Amen †!" - How exact in the principle how like in the very form of wor ship to the English Church at the present day ! 32g8ood boWe have already noticed (p. 123) the commencement of the doctrine of the Real Presence in the eighth century, and its fanatical defence by Paschasius Radbert: Mosheim says, The religion of this century consisted almost en tirely in a motley round of external rites and ceremonies wei are not, therefore, to wonder that more zeal and diligence: were employed in multiplying and regulating these outward marks of superstitious devotion, than in correcting the vices and follies of men, in enlightening their understandings, and forming their hearts. The administration of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which was deemed the most solemn and important branch of divine worship, was now everywhere deformed by a variety of senseless fopperies, which destroyed the beautiful simplicity of that affecting and salutary institution. We also find manifest traces in this century of that superstitious custom of celebrating what were called solitary masses §, though it is difficult to decide whether they were instituted by a public law, or introduced by the authority of private persons. Be that as it may, this single custom is sufficient to give us an idea of the superstition and darkness that sat brooding over the Christian church in this ignorant

See Justin Martyr's Second Apol., p. 98.
Ibid.

Eng. Trans. v. i. p. 518.

The learned Doctor Maclaine, in a note on the above, adds, "Solitary or private masses were those that were celebrated by the priest alone, in behalf of souls detained in purgatory, as well as upon some other particular occasions. These masses were prohibited by the laws of the Church, but they were a rich source of profit to the clergy. They under Charlemagne, were condemned by the Canons of a Synod assembled at Mentz, as criminal innovations, and as the fruits of avarice and sloth." However, such fruits as they were, Popery was too well aware of their advantages to refuse such little pickings to her principal agents, and solitary masses have ever since been fair game to her clergy.

age; and renders it unnecessary to enter into a further detail of the absurd rites with which a designing priesthood con tinued to disfigure the religion of Jesus." boboo bas nodet

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We will now inquire into the peculiar advantages of the members of the Romish Church hearing its service in a lan guage they do not understand. And, 1st, it is said it is "because it is the ancient language," &c.that is, because, when the liturgy was first used by the Latins they understood it/2dly. "For a greater uniformity," &c. So that Chris tians who do not understand the Latin service they are taught to listen to, at home, may uniformly remain in ignorance of it any and everywhere else. "To avoid the changes which all vulgar languages are exposed to." This, we should have thought, would have been better avoided by the people know ing when any change was made, as has so often been the case with the different kinds of infallibility inherent in dif ferent Popes*. 4thly. It is said that it is enough that the prayers be in a language which is understood by the priest "only"-the people (as far as they know) accompanying him in some other language which they themselves understand. We then arrive at another popish "mystery," namely, that to eat up both priest and victim is the best pos

Hippolito Aldobrandini ascended the papal chair under the title of Clement VIII. Dr. Maclaine says, "This pontiff had an edition of the Vulgate [which is St. Jerome's translation of the New Testament from the Greek] published, which was very different from that of Pope Sixtus [the Vth]; and that is one of the many instances of the contrariety of opinions that has prevailed amongst the infallible

heads of the Church of Rome." Mr. Butler's account of this circul

the edition of Sixtus "was the authentic edition of the Church,'

inerrant where the dogma of faith or morals were' concerned, but not inerrant in any other sense." "This edition," continues Mr. Charles Butler, "was found to be so erroneous that the copies were called in, and a new edition was published by Clement VIII., the immediate successor of Sixtus," &c. Is Mr. B. diffident in acknowledging the occasional rapid succession of Popes, or are all our most approved chronologies erroneous"? We have referred to some of these, by which we learn that after Sixtus V. came Urban VII., Gregory XIV., Innocent IX., to whom succeeded Clement VIII. These changes all occurred in the space of two or three years; but it is not our present business to state the particulars of them, although it may be relied upon they were all equally" infallible.”,

The Jesuit, Suarez, says, (De Orat. lib. in. c. 14.) "That it is not necessary to prayer, the person praying should think of what he speaks!" This Suarez wrote in defence of the murder of kings, for which he became a favourite of the tyrant Pope Paul V. puedo toa of murg nei goed

sible way to incite people to faith, love, and repentance-to make satisfaction for sin, and to obtain all necessary blessings! Let us see if we cannot produce from the scriptures more clearly-defined evidences as to the necessity of the service of the CHURCH of CHRIST being performed in the vulgar tongues of all nations :—with the church of Popery we should not have interfered, did she not insist that she was Christian whilst opposing her own tenets, with all her power, to the doctrines of Christ. We quote from the 1st Cor. ch. xiv., which treats of the gift of prophecy, and of religious worship, in a known language; "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God, for no man understandeth him. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself. For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how -shall it be known what is spoken? If I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian; and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto If I pray in an unknown tongue my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also: else, when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say AMEN! at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? In the CHURCH I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an UNKNOWN TONGUE. Brethren, be not children in understanding; howbeit, in malice be ye children, but in understanding be ye men. If, therefore, the whole Church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, [i. e. with foreign tongues,] and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? Let all things

me.

be done to edifying; for God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all Churches of the Saints.".

Are not these passages of Scripture as clear and explicit as the "mysteries" of Popery?-we ask the question of Roman Catholics only. Would we could persuade them to consult the Scriptures with their "understanding," as the Apostle teaches!

Owing to the corruption of language it was that rendered it doubly necessary to have given the forms of worship of all Christian churches in the vulgar tongue, reasonable as it is to imagine that no honest profession of religious faith would have deemed it contrary to its interests to do so. When the Italian, French, Spanish, and other languages, were mingled with the Latin, and the Latin itself thus became corrupted, instead of adapting the forms of worship to the understanding of the people, it was the policy of the Vatican to keep the Romish laity in as gross ignorance as possible; and of which nothing can be so great a proof as the denial of the very scriptures which Popery herself obliges them to profess to believe in (without seeing them) as "the infallible word of God."

"The Latin form of worship," says Mosheim, (v. ii. p. 573,) "which had for many ages before been strongly recommended by the Popes, was at length enforced in all the western churches by Gregory VII." (in the eleventh century.) "So early as the fourth century," the author above quoted assures us, (v. ii. p. 292, Eng. Trans.) "it would seem as if all possible means had been industriously used to give an air of folly and extravagance to the Christian assemblies *."

* "The hanging up and adoring of the Host was but lately set up," says Cranmer, "by Pope Innocent and Honorius." Burnett's Hist. &c. vol. ii. p. 116. Many circumstances connected with the worship of the Host were the suggestions of the very dregs of society. Jortin says, (Rem. vol. v. p. 472,) "This was the case with both the procession and the festival of the Holy Sacrament."