of Rome, directly leads to false and dangerous views respecting the method of obtaining the pardon of sin. Penance, according to the general accounts given of it by the catechists and advocates of their Church, is made to consist of three thingscontrition, confession, and satisfaction. By satisfaction, they mean a kind of compensation made to God, by prayers, fasting, and alms, for offences committed against him. This, they particularly explain in reference to the remission of sins, incurring temporal penalties, by which extraordinary duties are made to satisfy or atone for the commission of past sins. With this is intimately connected their notion of indulgences, which however explained and modified by the artful reasonings of their advocates, have been notoriously and unquestionably the cause of most pernicious opinions and practices amongst the ignorant and vulgar. "Penitent sinners," says Gother, being redeemed by Christ, and made "his members, may in some measure satisfy by prayers, fasting, alms, &c. for the temporal pain, which by order of God's justice, some"times remains due after the guilt and the eter"nal pains are remitted. So that trusting in "Christ as his Redeemer, he yet does not think "that by Christ's sufferings every Christian is "discharged of his particular sufferings; but that "every one is to suffer something for himself, as "St. Paul did, who by many tribulations, and by suffering in his own flesh, filled up that "which was behind of the passion of Christ; and "this not only for himself, but for the whole Church, (Coloss. i. 24.) and this he finds every " where in Scripture, viz. people admonished of "the greatness of their sins, doing penance in fasting, sackcloth and ashes, and by voluntary "austerities, endeavouring to satisfy the divine 66 N 66 66 justice. And these personal satisfactions God "has sufficiently also minded him of, in the pu"nishments inflicted on Moses, Aaron, David, "and infinite others; and even in the afflictions "sent by God upon our own age, in plagues, "wars, fires, persecutions, rebellions, and such "like: Which, few are so atheistical, but they "confess to be sent from heaven for the just "chastisement of our sins; and which we are to undergo, notwithstanding the infinite satisfac"tion made by Christ, and without any undervaluing it. Now being thus convinced of some temporal punishments being due to his sins, he accepts of all tribulations, whether in body, "name, or estate, from whencesoever they come, " and with others of his own chusing, offers them "up to God, for the discharging this debt; still "confessing, that his offences deserve yet more. "But these penitential works, he is taught, to be "no otherwise satisfactory, than as joined and "applied to the satisfaction which Jesus made upon the cross; in virtue of which alone, all our good works find a grateful acceptance in "God's sight."* 66 66 66 The same author on the subject of indulgences informs us, that by these "nothing more is meant "than a releasing, to such as are truly penitent, "the debt of temporal punishment, which re"mained due on account of those sins, which, "as to the guilt and eternal punishment, had "been already remitted by repentance and con"fession. For we see in the case of king David, "(2 Sam. xii. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.) that the debt "of the temporal punishment is not always re"mitted, when the guilt of the sin is remitted; "and as the Church of God from the beginning *Gother's "Papist," &c. p. 12, 13. 86 was ever convinced of this truth, therefore, "besides the hearty repentance and confession, "which she insisted upon in order for the dis 66 66 charge of the guilt of sin; she also required se"vere penance, sometimes of three, seven, ten "years, or more, for the discharge of the debt "of the temporal punishment due to divine jus"tice. Now the releasing or moderating, for "just causes, these penalties incurred by sin, is "called an indulgence. And the power of granting such indulgences is visibly implied in the promise of the keys, and of binding and loosing "made to the pastors of the Church. (Matt. xvi. 19.) And the exercise of this power was frequent in the primitive Church; and is even au"thorised by the example of St. Paul himself, "who granted such an indulgence to the incestu"ous Corinthians, (2 Cor. ii. 10.) forgiving, as 66 66 66 he says, in the person of Christ; that is, by the "power and authority he had received from him. "Now the good works usually required for the obtaining indulgences, are prayer, fasting, visiting Churches, confession, communion, and "alms-deeds,"*&c. These extracts not only shew in what light they consider the inflictions of penance to be a satisfaction for the sins they have committed, and on what irrational and unscriptural grounds they establish a kind of commutation in spiritual concerns, but they strikingly illustrate the principles on which they interpret and apply the word of God to serve the purposes of their system. You perceive, in their own explanations, an unequivocal assertion of the merit of penal suffering, by which the voluntary austerities a man chuses to inflict upon himself, together with the tribulations of divine providence, are represented as " offered Gother's "Papist," &c. p. 11. 66 up to God for the discharging the debt of temporal punishment due to his sins!" Such, however, is the power of the Church, as to these affairs of temporal punishment, that a few extrareligious duties, in a case of emergency, will procure its remission; so that "the debt due to divine justice may be discharged" by means of an indulgence; if persons are rich enough to pay for it, or devout enough to deserve it! As to the passages from the apostolic writings, introduced for the purpose of supporting these ideas of satisfaction and indulgence, their application is so irrelevant, so far-fetched, and so completely unwarranted by their scope and connection, that an intelligent reader of the sacred volume, will instantly perceive their glaring inadequacy, as proofs of the Roman Catholic doctrine. The text in Col. i. 24, no one, unbiassed by system, would imagine to have any reference to the principle of satisfaction. By the afflictions of Christ, the Apostle does not mean, those which Christ endured, but those which Christ appointed him to suffer, and which were actually suffered for the cause of Christ. There is a similar phrase in Heb. xi. 26, "the reproach of Christ," which cannot mean the reproach suffered by Christ, but what was suffered in his cause. "Filling up that which was behind of the affliction of Christ, evidently meant-enduring the remainder of that affliction, which it was the will of God to appoint to him, in the service of Christ and for the good of the Church-not to procure absolution, but to evince his personal sincerity, and his strong attachment to the cause of the Redeemer, notwithstanding all his sufferings. I would further remark, that the passage in Colossians, is not correctly rendered "the passion of Christ :" it should be translated as in our own version-the afflictions of Christ. (Twv Orefer to Xpeso.) The reference to (των θλίψεων το the forgiving of the incestuous Corinthian, (2 Cor. ii, 10.) affords not even the shadow of support in favour of indulgences. We read of no temporal punishment inflicted upon him. He had been separated from the Church, and was restored, on the satisfactory proof of penitence; but what has this to do with indulgences? The passage in Matt. xvi. 19. respecting "binding and loosing," has already been considered,* and has been shewn to refer exclusively, to the authoritative pronounc ing of what was abolished, and what was obligatory under the Christian dispensation. It has no relation whatever to the remission or the punishment of sins. I cannot help expressing my surprise, that the advocates of the Roman Church should ever make such inappropriate citations, when a reference to the supreme and infallible authority of their Church, is deemed by them quite sufficient to establish any principle or practice which they may chuse to adopt. It would be far more consistent to abandon a volume, which after all their distortions and misconstructions, so inadequately serves their purpose, and compels them to violate every principle of accurate interpretation, in order to procure the sem, blance of an application to their object. You will perceive, my friends, how awfully and perniciously opposed to every principle of our holy religion, is the notion of satisfaction, being obtained to any extent whatever, and through any other medium than that which the Scriptures describe as exclusive and all-sufficient. "Without shedding of blood there is no remission." By one offering, he hath perfected for ever, them that are sanctified." "The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." What language can be * Lect. III. pp. 97-102, 66 |