Turning to the text once more, let us see if we cannot find additional proof that the Sabbath is still binding. Perhaps we cannot do this in a more satisfactory manner than by considering it with reference to the great physical and moral interests of the race. If we can show that it cannot be dispensed with without doing great violence to these, we are furnished with a presumption almost as strong as demonstration itself, that it has not been done away. For this purpose we propose to use the following quotations from the commandment:
First. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work.
Second. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it.
That the first of these enjoins absolute cessation from labor on at least one day in seven there is no room for dispute. That the second imposes the duty of devoting the rest day to religious purposes and uses may be proved in the following manner:
First. To hallow is to devote to a holy or religious use. (Webster.)
Second. Genuine religion consists in the intelligent and heartfelt worship of the Deity.
Third. As Jehovah is the only true and living God, and as he must always be the one worshiped and never the worshiper, it would not be proper to say of him that he hallowed a day in the sense that he set it apart as one on which he himself was to engage in religious services.
Fourth. It follows that the hallowing spoken of above simply meant that God designated that as the one of the seven which man was to regard as sacred to the exercise of piety. This view is sustained by the fact that the commandment begins with the words, “Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy;” i. e., devote it to religious uses.
But we cannot do this by simple inaction. Cessation from manual labor may be a necessary condition to the highest spiritual enjoyment, but it is not spirituality itself. Else a large class, made up of the most worthless vagabonds in community, are really the most religious men that we have; for they not only devote the Sabbath but all the other six days, also, to the studied effort to avoid physical action. Again, the night is universally devoted to the most perfect quiescence possible, but who ever dreamed of considering it on that account holy time? No; something more is required. The Sabbath law was designed to provide both for the rest of the body and for the exercise and consequent development of the moral functions of man’s nature.
Turn your eyes now upon society and see if there are not, still, two great necessities which would be exactly met by these provisions. So far as the first is concerned, he would be a bold man indeed, who would deny its existence, and say we had no need of a periodical season for bodily rest; for he would thereby oppose himself to the almost unanimous convictions of all christendom as expressed in their laws and usages. Nor can this matter be disposed of by attributing their action to the belief that there is a divine command for this practice. For those who are influenced by this consideration, believe also that this command rests upon a necessity of our being, while the remainder, rejecting the first, either adopt the second, or act without any, and are not therefore worthy to be taken into account in the determination of this question. Take, then, whichever horn of the dilemma we please, we are compelled to admit that the masses have from one reason or another come to regard a seventh-day rest as a matter of absolute necessity. If we would form a just estimate of the strength and clearness which would be necessary for arguments to possess in order to command such universal respect, it will be required that we take into consideration the nature of the obstacles which were to be overcome.
These were by no means trifling in their character, or restricted in their application. The employer and the employee, the rich and the poor, could alike feel their force. The profits of the one would be diminished, and perhaps the necessities of the other go unsupplied. For by the proposed innovation, the business interests of the community would be paralyzed for one seventh of the time. So that the income of every man would necessarily be reduced in the same ratio. Thus reasoned the multitude. He who knows the power of avarice and the strength of necessity, will readily see that it would have been more than idle to oppose to these pecuniary objections, religious considerations merely. These would have been sufficient with the honest in heart; but alas! they were few. Fortunately for all concerned, nature, in this case, spoke in language no less clear and emphatic than that of Revelation. Facts and figures everywhere abounded to show that man was so organized that he required rest, at least during one day in seven, in order to recuperate his wasted energies, preserve his health, and prolong his life. So complete was the demonstration made—so clearly was it proved, that the change was in perfect harmony with the real interest of every individual, that opposition yielded, and conviction taking the place of doubt, clamored for laws regulating and establishing a uniform day of rest.
Without discussing here the propriety of such laws as they now exist, we have simply introduced them to show that we have all tacitly acknowledged the correctness of the proposition now under examination; thus avoiding the necessity of extending this article to an undesirable length by an elaborate presentation of arguments which have already been endorsed by an almost unanimous approval.53
Taking it for granted that we have acted from conviction and not caprice, we think that we may, with safety, consider the necessity of a rest day as proved by our own admissions.
Having disposed of the first, let us now look at the second point, i. e., The necessity of devoting at least one day in seven to religious uses. The infidel or atheist while regarding the Sabbath from a merely economic stand-point may see in it benefits which commend it to his favor; but it remains for the saint while acknowledging these, to recognize the more sublime office which it performs in the developments of Christian character, and the evangelization of the world. Realizing as he does the almost desperate weakness of the human heart, and appreciating the fact that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” he knows that victory over such odds can only be won when every means of grace which has been brought within his reach has been fully improved. Having learned from experience that it is difficult, if not impossible, while our minds are occupied with our secular pursuits, to make that advancement in the divine life which is so desirable, he feels the need of banishing them from his thoughts as much as possible, and devoting as large a portion of his time as he can consistently to spiritual matters.
But no plan which human ingenuity could devise is so well calculated to secure this aid as a weekly-recurring Sabbath; just such an one as the commandment ordains; for it combines the two features of rest and worship. Coming as it does with a “thus saith the Lord,” it possesses a sanctity in the eyes of men which never attaches to any merely human enactment. By this means, cavil is forever silenced. The wisdom of the institution is placed beyond the region of debate. A ready and heartfelt obedience becomes at one and the same time the duty and the privilege of the believing soul. Aware of the advantages which ever flow from united effort, and stimulated by the example of ancient Israel, organization is perfected and systematic labor is begun. As a natural consequence, meeting-houses everywhere rise as if by angelic power, and gathering multitudes collected within their walls listen to the voice of the living preacher as he utters words of counsel, admonition and comfort. Nor does it end here. The church is not only edified as the result of such assemblies, but they present the most favorable, if not the only, opportunity for the presentation of the truth to the unbelieving world. In fact, so important a place do they occupy in the economy of grace that it may well be questioned whether their discontinuance, even in this age, would not result in a moral night so dark that the history of the world cannot furnish its parallel.
How, then, shall these be the most successfully maintained? is the query which every philanthropist propounds to himself. A moment’s reflection will make it plain that a stated day for this purpose will be absolutely indispensable. Without it, confusion would inevitably follow. Conflicting interests coupled with an uncertainty which would render it futile for one to attempt to adapt his business to a time which was ever fluctuating would beget an apathy which would finally change into positive dislike. Again, as they are only kept up by continued sacrifices, it will be required that we be able to present the most powerful motive to action which can be brought to bear.
Rewards, in the shape of present and prospective good, ought to be sufficient. But experience has shown that they are not. In modern as in ancient times, the people need to pass between Ebal or the mount of cursing on the one hand, and Gerizim or the mount of blessing on the other, before they will consent to do that which even their better judgment approves as being right. How, then, shall we supply this great desideratum? How may we impart new and perpetual life to the greatest instrumentality for good which has ever been vouchsafed to man? Certainly not by having recourse to legislation; for when this has exhausted itself in the direction in which we would have it work, it can only compel external obedience; thus leaving it but a hollow form destitute alike of spirituality and power.
No, we must have a Heaven-born precept. Just such an one as is provided in the fourth commandment; one which reaches to the very intents and purposes of the heart; one whose faithful observance insures the favor of the Deity, and whose neglect is followed by his frown. There never was a period when the demand for it was more urgent than now. In this age of subtile philosophy, when the brain is racked to produce some theory which shall account for the creation of the world in a manner totally different from that which is narrated in the Scriptures, we need something which will constantly remind us that all these speculations are but the cunning devices of an artful enemy who would only be too happy if he could cause us to forget that in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh. At this time when the powers of endurance of the race are rapidly giving out under the unreasonable burdens which an insatiable avarice is imposing upon both brain and muscle, we want, and must have, rest. That rest which will re-invigorate the body that has been enfeebled by over-labor, and calling in the mind from the routine duties of business life, will allow it to contemplate for a time the higher and nobler objects of our being.
How, then, we ask again, shall this most desirable end be attained? We answer, By believing in God. In other words, by so far confiding in his wisdom and love as to reject as absurd any view which would ascribe to him a fickleness of purpose that would enable him at one time to fully comprehend and exactly provide for our wants, and at another, to withdraw this provision while every reason which had called it into being was still in full force. This done, you have conceded the existence of the commandments as a code, and have placed the fourth, which rests securely in their bosom, upon a foundation as durable as the necessities of man and the immutability of God.
(To be continued.)
Least in the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is said in Matt. v, 19, that “whosoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.”
This is spoken in reference to the ten commandments or moral law, as is evident from the following verse, which shows that it is some law which is a test of righteousness or right doing. There has been a query in some minds as to what is meant by the expression, “shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven.” The meaning appears to be that such shall not attain unto the kingdom of Heaven at all.
Bloomfield says: “Shall be called least. Said by meiosis for, ‘he shall be farthest from attaining Heaven;’ i. e. ‘he shall not attain it at all.’”
Dr. Clarke on the same says, “Shall have no place in the kingdom of Christ.” That this is the meaning of these words, is evident from the following verse.
Wesley says, “Shall be the least; that is, shall have no part therein.”
POETICAL PARAPHRASE OF PSALM I.
By Editor
BLEST is the man who in the ways of sin,
And counsel of the wicked walks not in;
Who shuns the pathway pressed by sinners' feet,
And ne'er is found within the scorner's seat.
But in the law of God he takes delight,
And ponders well its precepts day and night.
He like the fresh and beauteous tree shall be,
Which planted by the water brooks we see,
Which in due time with ample fruitage glows,
Whose leaf fades not, for never drouth it knows.
The guardian hand of Heaven shall him attend,
And whatsoe'er he does, find prosperous end.
Not so the ungodly; dark shall close their day,
They are like chaff which tempests bear away.
Therefore they in the Judgment shall not stand,
Nor share the pardon Jesus' love has planned.
And when the hosts redeemed tread heavenly ground,
In the glad throng their presence is not found.
For lo! the Lord approves his people's way,
But sinners perish all in dire dismay.
EDITOR.
“WHERE ARE WE?”
By J. P. P.
The year 1866, which many students of Divine prophecy have long looked forward to as a decisive year in connection with the fulfillment of prophecy, is gone. A great relief is felt by some, that it did not bring the end of the world. Worldlings laugh and scoff the more, nestle themselves in deeper self-security, and say, with a certain editor “The fact of the world now having survived, and its being in excellent condition to continue for an indefinite period, has made these false prophets quite chop-fallen. They accordingly again, most reluctantly, announce a postponement.” Poor souls! I envy not their boastful consolation. The world “in excellent condition!” Almost every day’s issue which makes this declaration, announces scores of murders, robberies, incendiary fires, desertions by husbands and wives, and crimes of the blackest dye multiplying everywhere. “In excellent condition!” when the jails and penitentiaries are over-crowded with convicts, and no one scarcely safe on the streets of our cities by day or by night. “In excellent condition!” when the whole land is swarming with pickpockets, gamblers, assassins, swindling associations, and shameless debauchery of all sorts. “In excellent condition!” when every nation on the earth is exerting all its energies in preparation for war and bloodshed, and the hearts of men are failing them for fear of what is coming. “In excellent condition!” when the whole world is filled with strange and ominous shadows of coming judgment. From such excellency, the Lord deliver us!
But we are not moved by the sneering and scoffing of the unbelieving world. It is but further evidence of the truth of our position, that the world has about run its course. The Master, whose speedy return we wait, has told us that, as the days of Noah were, so shall it also be as his coming draws near. Paul tells us, “that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,” &c.—2 Tim. iii, 1, 2. “In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”—1 Tim. iv, 1, 2. And Peter says: “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming?”—2 Pet. iii, 3, 4. And though nothing occurred in 1866 to convince scoffing editors that the end is near, my faith in the speedy, personal coming of our Lord, is firmer than ever. Their own behavior and words help to make me confident that the end is close upon us, and stimulate my prayer to God that I may be ready every moment for the coming of Him who has promised to come, and who will come, and will not tarry.
With strange eyes must men view the political perplexities and disturbances which are upon our own country, India, China, Mexico, South America, Spain, and indeed the whole world, to see in them only an “excellent condition.” True, the Paris Exposition approaches, where the world is about to gather its glories, to prove that it is “in excellent condition,” and that its beautiful millennium is at hand; but God’s word is, “When they say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” “As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
The developments in the direct line of the approaching end are remarkable and numerous, and they follow each other in quick succession. The man must be blind indeed, who cannot see them. God is accomplishing his purposes, and the world is adjusting itself in every particular to the picture foredrawn on the pages of his holy word, when his Son, whom he hath appointed to judge it, shall come. And the scoffing infidelity and want of faith, and blindness of men, so alarmingly prevalent, prove that the end of this “excellent condition” of things is verily at hand.
We cannot expect the world to favor us in attacking its corruptions, and preach up only disappointment to its fond persuasions and Christless hopes; but still it is our duty to “cry aloud and spare not.”—J. P. P. in Prophetic Times*.
STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
By Jos. Clarke.
“If Spalatin consoled his friend, and supported him by his influence, Luther on his part endeavored to answer the questions put to him by the unassuming chaplain. Among others, the latter asked one that has been often proposed in our days: ‘What is the best method of studying Scripture?’
“As yet, most excellent Spalatin, Luther replied, you have only asked me things that were in my power. But to direct you in the study of the Scriptures is beyond my ability. If, however, you absolutely wish to know my method, I will not conceal it from you.
“It is very certain that we cannot attain to the understanding of Scripture either by study or by the intellect. Your first duty is to begin by prayer. Entreat the Lord to grant you of his great mercy the true understanding of his word. There is no other interpreter of the word of God than the Author of this word, as he himself has said: They shall be all taught of God. Hope for nothing from your own labors, from your own understanding; trust solely in God, and in the influence of his Spirit. Believe this on the word of a man who has had experience.”—D’Aubigné’s History of the Reformation, p. 307.
May it not be that the views of many now are too superficial in respect to the influence the study of the Bible should have upon the life? Do not too many barely read the word of God, as they would a common book, feeling all the while a perfect capability of mind to understand it of themselves? How many at the present day study the Bible as Luther did, feeling from the inmost soul his utter inability to comprehend its meaning without the special aid of the Spirit?
Shall we not learn a lesson of the mighty reformer in this matter, and strive more than ever for the help of the Spirit, that we may understand? As Luther in retirement sought unto God for light, as in his cell, away from the true people of God, among the minions of the pope, he groaned and agonized before God in prayer for light, so let us among those who at heart hate the light, amid the gross moral darkness around, awake as Luther did, to our duty, and gird on our armor for the fierce conflict before us.
JOS. CLARKE.
ENDING OF THE 1260 YEARS.
(Concluded.)
As soon as the French columns appeared, a deputation went out to meet them and to announce to the general that Rome, liberated, opened the gates to the regenerators of the people. Berthier immediately entered the city, amid an innumerable multitude of citizens, with the sound of trumpets, and accompanied by his staff, a hundred cavalry, and the grenadiers of his army. When he arrived at the foot of the capitol, he halted, and thus addressed the immense multitude: “Manes of Cato, Pompey, Cicero, and Brutus! receive the homage of freed Frenchmen, in this capitol, where you so often defended the popular rights, and honored the Roman republic! The children of Gaul, with the olive of peace in their hand, come in this august place to establish the altar of liberty garnished by the first Brutus! And you, Romans, who have re-conquered your legitimate privileges, remember your glorious ancestors, behold their monuments which surround you, and resume your ancient virtue and the virtue of your forefathers!”
The loudest and long-continued acclamations followed the general’s address. After that ceremony, Berthier returned to his tent. Pius VI, always shut up in the Vatican, wished to disarm his formidable adversary, and sent to him the most eminent personages of his court, to make peace and to obtain a favorable capitulation. But Berthier’s inflexibility soon dissipated the pontiff’s illusions. The general refused to admit the papal deputation. He directed those envoys to be informed, that he should not recognise the sovereignty of the pope, and that he should not receive any overtures, except from the delegates of the Roman republic.
The citizens had formed a government, modeled after the ancient constitutions of Rome, had named seven consuls, decreed the degradation of Pius VI, and published accusations against the peculating cardinals and plunderers. Assured of the support of France, after the answer of the general to the pope’s overtures, the new chiefs of the Roman government proceeded to their acts of justice. They affixed the public seal to the museums, the galleries, and all the other precious objects, to secure them from the pontiff’s rapacity. They sold, for the public benefit, the statues and vases which adorned the villa of Cardinal Albani, and the palace of Cardinal Busca, two prelates who had participated in all the felonies perpetrated by the pope’s bastards. They expelled from Rome, the Cardinals Antici, Caprara, Pignatelli, Archinto, and Gerdyl. They cast into prison, the secretary of state, Doria, the statesman Antonelli, the crafty Somaglia, and their minions Borgia, Carandi, Boverella, Carandini, Vincenti, and Mattei; that they might be judged by the tribunals. The Abbe Maury, who had been made a cardinal by Pius VI, as the reward of his services for despotism, escaped from Rome, and thus was screened from the public vengeance. To the pope and his two bastards, the people granted their lives, and merely deprived them of their domains, their palaces, and the riches of which they had defrauded the state, or stolen from the public revenue.
The duchess of Braschi, that doubly incestuous courtesan, incestuous with her brother and her father, the wife of one and mistress of the other, was treated with yet more indulgence. The consuls left her part of the jewels and trinkets which the pope had given her, and banished her to Tivoli, where she comforted herself with another lover, amid the ruin of her family.
All those misfortunes abased the pope almost to idiotism. At length, the governor of Rome, the General Cervoni, gave him the last stroke, by the official announcement, that the people had re-conquered their rights, and he was no longer an officer of the government. “What becomes of my dignity?” inquired Pius, with anxiety. “That will be reserved to you,” the general replied, “and an income of two hundred thousand crowns, to sustain your rank, will be granted you.” “My person,” asked the pontiff, “what is to be done with myself?” Cervoni answered—“You are in safety, and will have a hundred and twenty men for your guard.” “Then I am still pope!” exclaimed Pius with a strange grin. The governor of Rome having withdrawn, the old audacious pontiff almost recovered his animation. He called to him his chamberlain and other confidants, and with them plotted another tragedy, like the “Sicilian Vespers,” in which all the French and the partisans of the new government should be conjoined. They were warned of the conspiracy, and adopted the measures to hinder the accomplishment of his criminal project.
The removal of Pius was one of those measures. In vain did the pope, who perceived that his plans were discovered, protest against the violence which was offered to him, and which severed him from his people and duties. He was placed in a coach with his physician, his footman, and cook, and driven toward Tuscany. He was set down at the convent of Augustin at Sienna, where he remained three months. There he lived in quiet, and forgotten by the world, when an extraordinary event, an earthquake, shook the asylum where he resided, and destroyed part of the walls of the edifice. Although he was not in danger, because, at the moment of the catastrophe, he was walking in one of the gardens of the city, yet he became so frightened that he would not return to the monastery. They gave up to his control, and for his residence, a country house, called “L’Enfer,” which furnished occasion for the sarcasms of the people, who said that, “the pope is in his own place.” Some time after he was transferred to the Grande Chartreuse of Florence, where he remained during ten months.
But in his exile, the old pontiff renounced not the hope of his being avenged on the French. From the seclusion of Tuscany, he organized insurrections, and Rome speedily became the theatre of frightful massacres. Gangs of fanatics, conducted by monks and priests, with the crucifix in one hand and a torch in the other, ran about the streets and the public places. Every where, the French fell, assassinated by consecrated poignards, amid cries of, “Hail, Mary! Long live Pius VI!” The Italian patriots were thrown into the Tiber. A company of the Vatican guard were surprised, and every man of them slaughtered. It would have been difficult to foresee where those massacres would have stopped, if General Vial had not marched against them with his troops and seized the most mutinous of those crusaders.
Those who escaped from seizure by the republican general, fled into the country, excited the fanaticism of the inhabitants of Albano, Riccia, Genzano, and Velletri, and returned to Rome, with a body of six thousand men; and they even dared to offer fight to the French. An engagement took place at Fratocchi, but it was of short duration; for at the first charge, the Italians scampered away from the field of battle.
The pope, not content to embarrass the French in the heart of Rome, labored to raise up enemies to them in other parts of Italy. In concert with Britain, he intrigued, through his agents, with the silly Ferdinand IV of Naples, and his shameless wife, Maria Caroline, and induced him to declare war against France.
At first, the king of the Two Sicilies was victorious. Rome, divested of the military, surrendered to the Neapolitans. The French, overpowered on all sides, by a numerous army, were obliged to retreat. But they soon retaliated under the command of General Championet; for the Neapolitans were driven back to Naples, and forced to surrender. Ferdinand IV was dethroned, and the Parthenopeian republic established.
Cardinal Russo, the king’s minister, and the indefatigable agent of ultramontanism, hastened into Calabria, excited the ignorant population of that country to an insurrection, lifted up the crucifix as the signal of the crusade against the republicans, distributed indulgences and benedictions, recruited an army of mad bigots, and marched toward Naples, at the head of his consecrated bandits.
The French, attacked by land and sea, were obliged again to retreat, and the Neapolitan patriots were forced to capitulate to the royal army; on condition that they might withdraw from the kingdom in safety with their property. As soon as Cardinal Russo obtained possession of the capitol, to the disgrace of Ferdinand and his licentious queen, and Nelson! in utter contempt of the treaty, guaranteed by the British ambassador, that execrable prelate arrested all the citizens suspected of being republicans, and tried them by a special “Junto.” Three hundred were executed in one day; and as if that tribunal of hangmen was insufficient to exterminate those unfortunate Neapolitans, Russo encouraged the barbarous Calabrians in pillage, conflagrations, rapes, and murder, and made the city of Naples a wide-spread scene of carnage.
Pius VI heard of the success of his machinations, with inexpressible delight; and unable to retain his joy he addressed a brief to all the Roman prelates, announcing the triumph over the enemies of the papacy, and that the time was approaching when the papacy would arise from the dungeon in radiance, where it had been so tormented in his person. The pope directed the priests, in every country, to wait on the monarchs, to assist them with their counsels and prayers, and as they had not any arms, to replace the people under their domination, thereby promptly to destroy the revolutionary hydra.
The pontiff seemed so certain of a speedy change in his condition, that he recalled about his person, his nephew, the duke of Braschi. The minion, who knew that his uncle was possessed of considerable sums of money and a large amount of jewels, hastened to Florence, took advantage of the pontiff’s sufferings, hindered him from leaving the bed, and stole his treasure. Then, ascertaining that the directory, weary of the increasing plots of the pope, had decided to transfer him to France, Braschi fled from Tuscany, as a felon, with his uncle’s jewels and gold.
Pius left Florence under the safe-guard of the republican commissioners, and having passed through Turin, and crossed the Alps, he arrived at Valence in Dauphiny, which was designated as the place of his residence.
By order of the directory, he was domiciled in the house of the governor of the citadel. He was treated with all kindness and liberality; and permitted to form a court of all the priests and servants who accompanied him. But nothing could comfort the old pontiff in his exile. The last act of ingratitude by his cherished bastard was a terrible blow to him. Moreover, the energies of his life having been very much exhausted by age, debauchery, and excesses of the table, palsy in his legs seized him, which subsequently affected his whole frame, and on August 29, 1799, Europe was delivered from the last pope of the eighteenth century.
The pope was taken captive by Berthier, Feb. 10, 1798. Here was the infliction of the deadly wound. Here was the going into captivity of him who had led into captivity, as the prophet had predicted. Rev. xiii, 3, 10. But the deadly wound, says the record, was healed. What were the steps by which this was accomplished. These are set forth on p. 420 of the same history as follows:
The papacy, that fatal and monstrous institution, which had been the cause of such numberless calamities, disasters, and persecutions, at the death of Pius VI, was apparently on the verge of complete extinction. But men were not sufficiently sated with superstitions, and the triumph of permanent liberty was still deferred!
Bonaparte, consul, who began to think of placing on his head the diadem of Charlemagne, and who anticipated the period when he should want another Leo III to consecrate him, collected the scattered stones of the pontifical Babel, which the republic had almost razed, and anew reconstructed it. Twenty days after his attainment of power, thirty-five cardinals assembled at Venice, to fill the vacancy in the pontificate, and to elect the chief of the popedom.
Each secular power, according to custom, intrigued to have one of their own minions nominated, and to insure the voices of the cardinals for him; but France was successful. Whether the first consul was more ably served, or whether he paid most generously for the votes, after one hundred and four days of discussions and strife, the majority was announced for the55cardinal Gregory Barnabas Louis Chiaramonti, who was proclaimed pope, on March 14, 1800, by the title of Pius VII.
Thus from Feb. 10, 1798, to March 14, 1800, the papacy did not exist. All dominion, spiritual as well as temporal was taken away from the pope. Popery can receive no greater blow than this, till it feels from Heaven the wrath of Him whose place it has usurped on earth. The temporal power may be taken away this year, as some are expecting; but it will not be an infliction equal to its downfall from 1798-1800. Here was the fulfilment of the prophecy, “They shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy it unto the end,” in a manner too marked and plain to be for a moment lost sight of or mistaken. And the restoration of the papacy though not to its former power, was no less marked. Concerning this event we still further read, p. 428.
The Protestant princes of Germany themselves were even vigorously urged, solicited, and even threatened, respecting their permission for the Jesuits to be domiciliated in their territories. In fine, the restoration of Popery was every where proclaimed!
Thus another great waymark was set up in the course of time, in the right way and at the right moment, to guide the weary traveler o’er the trackless waste, and inspire hope in the hearts of all those who are watching and waiting for the consolation of Israel.
“DECRETALIA.”
By F. GUNNER
The Roman Decretalia is an authoritative work in Roman ecclesiastical law; the decretal epistles form the second part of the canon law. Each Pope, when invested with “the succession,” declares the Papal decretals to be true; hence, though the Popes be many members of one body or system, they assume to be one mind, or embodiment of the system they represent. No words could be more appropriately chosen to represent unity of system in successive “head centers,” than the words of God by St. Paul (2 Thess. ii, 3, 4)—“That man of Sin.” Read now and carefully preserve the following determination from the “decretalia,” furnished me by a British officer:
“The Pope is considered to be the Vicar of Christ, not only upon earth, in heaven, and hell, but also over the angels and over the evil spirits. He administers at the same time jurisdiction and power over all patriarchs, a greater one than that of all angels, even so that he can place the latter under his ban.
“The whole world is to be taken for his diocese. He can turn a square into a circle, wrong into right, and can make something out of nothing. He can pronounce sentences and judgments, in contradiction to the right of nations, to the law of God and man—sentences, however absolute yet always just. He can free himself from the commands of the apostles, he being their superior; and from the rules of the Old Testament, aye, even from the prescriptions contained in the gospel. For the “will” of the Pope is the rule laid down for the administration of justice. What he does is considered by God as being well done. HE SITS IN ONE CONSISTORY WITH GOD, and shares the same judicial stool with Christ. The Pope is GOD’S EQUAL, except in sin; so that in cases where he changes his mind, it should be understood as if God himself had changed his mind. From the Pope there exists no appeal to God, because HE HIMSELF IS GOD upon earth, and therefore JUDGES LIKE GOD.”
Can a Protestant Christian seriously ponder the above authoritative canonical sentences from the Latin of the Romish Decretalia, and then innocently deny what every pope allows to be true—viz.: “That he can create,” or make “something out of nothing;” that he can contradict; i. e., deny the law of God; and so, he “opposeth and exalteth himself” above the apostles, the Old Testament and Gospel, above Bible justice, prescriptions and commands, his “Will” being the supreme dictum over all the earth! Further, he says, I sit in one consistory with God; i. e., he sits in one council-house, spiritual assembly, temple, or ecclesiastical court and college, and he declares, “I share the same judicial stool with Christ;” i. e., his feet rest where Christ sits on a stool, and he further declares “he is God’s equal, except in sin;” i. e., God is more liable to sin than a blasphemous succession of Popes, and to cap the climax, he boldly claims, what many who ought to know better, disallow, that he is “above God,” changing the mind of God, just whenever he changes his own infallible mind! and God cannot reverse his Papal decrees, or even accept an appeal!! and, oh my soul, I shudder and deeply sigh as I rewrite his awful climacteric—where he swears, it is so, “because he himself is God upon earth, and therefore judges like God”! Surely we have exposed to view him who denies Christ in works and solemn words, and who denies God in his prerogatives and in his consistory or temple on earth. Ah, dear readers! the Pope beyond all doubt is “showing himself to be the ‘head center’ of Paul’s man of sin.”
Could we go to Rome, on the city gate we should read—“Paulus III. Pontifex Optimus Maximus, in terris Deus,” the meaning of which is, Paul III., High Priest, the best, the greatest, and GOD ON EARTH. Brethren! Brethren! beware for surely the popes know how to show their real claim in the assumption of spiritual powers, far better than any of ourselves.