bulls were therefore signed by the Pope, in the months of February and March in the following year; however disagreeable the office must have been to his Holiness, as occupant of the chair of St. Peter, to nominate to that of Augustine, a man who had argued against his dispensing power, and believed his claims to be unscriptural and unjust. By the first, directed to the King, Cranmer is promoted to the see; by the second, addressed to himself, he is created archbishop; by the third, absolution is granted him from all censures; the fourth is sent to the suffragans; the fifth to the dean and chapter; the sixth to the clergy of Canterbury; the seventh to the laity; the eighth to such as held lands, requiring them to acknowledge him; by the ninth his consecration is ordered, on taking the oath in the pontifical; by the tenth the pall is sent him; and by the eleventh, the archbishop of York and the bishop of London are commissioned to invest him. Such was the art of multiplying business, and enriching the apostolic chamber; the successors of Peter being mainly intent on acquiring that, of which it was the Apostle's own glory," Silver and gold have I none!"

He was consecrated on the thirtieth of March, by John Longland, bishop of Lincoln, John Voicy, bishop of Exeter, and Henry Standish, bishop of St. Asaph; and because in the oath of fidelity to the pope, which he was obliged to take, there were some particulars which seemed to clash with his allegiance to his sovereign, he made a public protest, that he intended not to take the oath in any other sense than that which was reconcilable to the laws of God, the King's just prerogative, and the statutes of the kingdom; so as not to bind himself thereby, to act contrary to any of these. This protest he renewed, when he was to take another oath to the pope, at his receiving the pall; and both times desired the

protonotary to make a public instrument of his protestation, and the persons present to sign it.

The new archbishop, with the diocesans of Winchester, London, Bath, and Lincoln, pronounced the sentence of divorce between Henry and Catharine, on the twenty-third of May; and five days after, confirmed the King's marriage with Anne Boleyn, who was crowned the same week by his hands. The monarch despatched envoys to different courts to justify these proceedings; and also sent some to Catharine herself, to charge her to assume no other title than that of princess dowager. Many priests and friars however scrupled not in their sermons and discourses to condemn these proceedings altogether, which were revised by Clement, who declared the divorce null and void, and menaced Cranmer with excommunication, unless he would revoke all that he had done; whereupon the Archbishop appealed from the pope to the next general council, lawfully called; and sent the appeal under his seal to Bonner, desiring him and Gardiner to acquaint the Pope with it, in such a manner as they thought most expedient.

On the seventh of September, the Queen was delivered of a daughter, who was baptized by the name of Elizabeth, the Archbishop standing godfather.

The papal authority became now generally discussed, not only in synods and Parliament, but also in academies and private episcopal

sees.

At length it was declared by the senate, "That the authority of the Pope in England was without foundation; being at first mere usurpation, and in its progress tyranny; that the exactions of the Romish court were every where burdensome, but in England intolerable; and that although many complaints have been made in later ages, there had been no certain remedy, and the provisory enactments had been always inefficient; that

therefore, as these grievances did not allow of modification, the only cure was to reject and extirpate their pretended authority, and consider the Pope simply as Bishop of the Roman church and neighbouring jurisdiction, defined by ancient canons; and that the King should resume his authority, and the privileges of the kingdom, which his ancestors had never formally renounced.”

These resolutions and others of similar purport, were principally owing to the solid and perspicuous reasonings of the Primate.

He

afterwards declared in a sermon at Canterbury, that he had made the destruction of the papal usurpation a subject of prayer for many years; because it was the occasion of many things being done contrary to the honour of God and the good of the realm; and he perceived no hopes of amendment while it continued. That he might proceed in the great work of reformation with true judgment, and justify it by good authorities, he made a collection of the opinions of the ancient fathers and later doctors on all the points of religion; of which Burnet says, he had seen two volumes in folio; but from a letter of the Lord Burleigh, it appears there were then six volumes of Cranmer's collection in his hands.

He represented to his sovereign, that if he rejected the authority of the Pontiff, it was absurd to permit the continuance of such opinions or practices in the church, as had no foundation but papal decrees. He observed, that England was a complete body within itself; and that every prince ought to reform the church in his dominions by a national synod, especially when the Pope could not be persuaded to hold a general council. He also set forth the necessity of a reformation in a long harangue in the House of Lords. He began with an exposure of the impostures used by the canonists and other courtiers at Rome; and passing on to the

consideration of the authority of a general council, he showed that it flowed not from the number of the bishops, but from the matter of their decisions, which were received with an universal consent: that Christ had named no head of the whole church, as God had named no head of the world; but that for order's sake, archbishops had been set up over provinces, and afterwards the authority of a pontiff had been recognized; yet some popes were condemned for heresy, as Liberius and others. That moreover, if faith was to be evinced by works, the ill lives of most popes of late proved that their faith was very suspicious; and all the privileges granted by princes or synods to the Romish see might justly be recalled. That popes ought to submit themselves to general councils, and were to be tried by them. He proceeded to enumerate the existing corruptions, which required reformation; declared that the fathers had always appealed to the scriptures, as superior to the authority of councils, by which alone all controversies ought to be decided; and gave it as his sentiment, that when the fathers all agreed in the exposition of any passage in the word of God, their unanimity might be considered as produced by the Spirit of God. He showed how little regard was to be paid to a council at which the pope presided; and that if any common error had passed upon the world, when it came to be discovered, every man was at liberty to shake it off, even though previously sworn to maintain it. The candour, patience, and gravity, with which he promulgated these genuine protestant sentiments, marked him well qualified for the work, to which Providence had called him; and in concurrence with his reforming principles, he ordered an alteration to be made in the archiepiscopal titles, styling himself Metropolitan, instead of Legate of the Apostolic See,

With

THE transactions recorded in this chapter are of a peculiarly interesting character, and calculated to show us what are the views and feelings and desires of a redeemed soul, when about to terminate all connexion with earth, and to be ushered into the presence of the holy Lord God. David had it in his heart to build a temple to Jehovah, but being a man of war, he was not permitted to enjoy that privilege, and by divine appointment the duty devolved upon his son, Solomon, who faithfully executed the task. David however felt deeply interested in the work, and made most extensive and costly preparations for it, and commended it to the special care of the whole congregation, who, from the least to the greatest, offered willingly to the Lord. Thankful for their prompt and liberal assistance, he blessed the Lord in their presence, and feelingly ascribed all greatness, and power, and glory, and victory, and majesty, to him; and turning from the sublime contemplation of his matchless excellence, obtains such a sense of his own state and character as a hopeless being having no abiding portion in this fallen world, that he exclaims in language suited to every child of Adam, Who am I and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. A scriptural view of our true condition is indispensably necessary for the due regulation of our JAN. 1827.

time, our conduct, and our thoughts. When this is kept out of sight, the folly which is bound up, in the heart even of a child, exercises an unrestricted influence, and eternity is unheeded; hence it is that inconsistency in the professors of religion is so general and so glaring: and hence it is that the men of the world content themselves in their presumptuous neglect of salvation, while they remark that many who have the language of Canaan upon their lips give sad indication, if not proof, that they are the lovers of the mammon of unrighteousness. Every departure from God's written word leads to error-and error on one point of Christian truth leads to error upon every other. If we have not a distinct and abiding perception of our corrupt natureof our nearness to eternity-and of our accountableness when we enter that eternity-how shall we value the only Saviour-or redeem our time-or prepare for judgment by seeking the only righteousness in which we can be presented with acceptance before him who is glorious in holiness? The effects of the fall have been felt throughout the utmost limits of this earth, and independent of the unquestionable proof which is borne to the fact-by the revelation of God, we have another in the universality of death, which is as convincing as it is striking, to every mind not under the influence of prejudice. Death has passed upon all men for that all have sinned, is the unerring testimony of him who cannot lie; and the heart-rending lamentations of surviving relatives and friends, over the cold remains of those who were

C

once as dear to them as their own souls, echo the mournful testimony whilst conscience whispers within, and often at what is deemed an unseasonable moment-it is appointed unto man once to die-thou shalt die and not live-thou fool, this night thy soul may be required of thee. But, O, how insensible is the heart which sin has alienated from God-robbed of peace, and unfitted for heaven! The judgments and mercies displayed in the wise allotments of his Providence, and the truths of his holy word, which carry with them internal evidence of their infinite value, are alike disregarded by the unbelieving, the profligate, the sensual, the vain, and the self-righteous, who like the deaf adder (deaf not by the visitation of God, but by its own desperate unwillingness to be charmed) close their ears against the sound of Christian instruction, and against that song of praise to the Redeemer which will constitute the melody of heaven. Year after year have appeals been made to you from this place, upon the necessity of seeking the Lord while he was to be found, grounded upon some alarming visitation which has put a family or a kingdom into mourning; and year after year have we been obliged to resort to the prophet's question, as accurately descriptive of the feelings of grief and disappointment, when we behold so many walking in the counsel of the ungodly, standing in the way of sinners, and sitting in the seat of the scornful; who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? If we are spared, we may expect to hear many more awakening calls; and if not, we shall hear the loudest of all, that which will summon us to eternity, and cut off in a moment all earthly prospects and possessions. But unless the Holy Spirit exert his influence upon the heart, no abiding salutary impression will ever be made upon it, nor can even by the very trials which, by their sudden

ness or the pressure of their continuance, are calculated to drive to despair the unenlightened mind. Need I go beyond this congregation for a proof of the justice of the observation? How many of you have been brought very low by sickness and pain-have acknowledged your sinfulness and guilt, and have vowed that if God raised you up, you would no longer live in opposition to his will, but walk in wisdom's way? The burden was lightened—the rod was removed— you were raised from your beds of languishing-you were brought, to all human appearance, from the verge of eternity, and the same sun that shone upon your mercies, was a witness of your ingratitude. How many of you have felt your happiness invaded by the removal of those who were near and dear to you, and could not but acknowledge that the Judge of all the earth did right, and yet in how short a time has the stroke that was inflicted, and all the humbling and serious reflections which it produced, been blotted from the memory, as if it had lost its power of retention? And where are now your thoughts -what are now the purposes and desires of your souls-what are your pursuits? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also—and if the world still constitute that treasure, you are living without hope, and if not changed by grace, you will, after death, exist without happiness. Let me then endeavour to stir up your minds by way of remembrance, whilst I offer some plain remarks upon the text, and then endeavour to apply it with reference to events which have come under our observation during the past week.

The text presents to us

1st. The light in which men ought to be viewed in their connexion with earth, as strangers and sojourners.

2nd. The transitory nature of their present existence.

Only for sin this world would have remained what it originally was, a paradise. Every quarter of it would have been the abode of peace and joy, Man, bearing the divine image, would have been influenced in every thought, and word, and deed, by divine love, and he would have felt himself as much at home as the spirits of the just do, when having escaped from the cares and dangers of time, they enter into their secured and promised rest. But sin has produced a sad change the fruitful land has become barren-the field where the rose blossomed is become a wilderness-the springs of water have failed-and man, hungry and thirsty, with his soul fainting in him, wanders about a wretched, discontented being, the prey of corroding care, and multiplied, unceasing, troubles. He is literally a stranger and sojourner. He neither knows nor loves the Creator of the earth upon which he walks-he sees not the hand from which his blessings flow -and whenever he begins to act as if he believed that he were to be a permanent resident here, he is made to feel by some visitation or other that he is mistaken-that he is only a stranger and sojourner as all his fathers were-that his is indeed at best a dying life, and that he knows not wherein true peace and rest consist, until with the apostle he can exclaim from a deep conviction of the sin that dwells within, and of the ability of the Lord Jesus to free him from it completely and eternally, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death-I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Recollect then, my beloved brethren, that you are only strangers here--that a home, an eternal dwelling-place from which you will never depart when you once enter into it, is prepared for you. But is there only one for all? O no! There is a heaven and there is a hell-the former the

:

house of the righteous, of those who, justified by the redemption of Jesus, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, are thus made meet for its glory. The latter, dreadful thought! the home, the everlasting abode of those who, too proud to be saved in the way of God's appointment, would not come to Jesus that they might have life, but rejected the counsel of God against their own souls and despised the truth which is worthy of all acceptation. Were you to die this night, which would be your home? You could have no other, for God has mentioned but the two. Your state at death will determine your place after death and as death can be gain only to him who can in truth bear this testimony, that to him to live is Christ, you are called upon by the mercies of God, and by the desire you have to partake of eternal glory, to acquaint yourselves with him that you may be at peace. And here the Lord Jesus appears as the great Peacemaker-for he has removed all obstacles that lay in the way of the sinner's salvation -he has paid his debt, and he has finished the great work of obedience to the law which denounces a curse upon every transgression, so that God appears in all the majesty of his justice when he justifies the ungodly who believe in Jesus. O seek deliverance from the wrath to come, for if unruly passions make an earthly habitation a kind of hell, how inconceivable must be the misery experienced in that dreadful home where abide the devil and his angels ?

2nd. The transitory nature of their present existence.

A shadow is unsubstantial; there is in it nothing tangible, nothing real; it eludes the grasp, it vanishes when the light which caused it is withdrawn, and at the moment when the eye is most steadily fixed upon the contemplation of it, a passing cloud removes it in a moment from the sight. Such is the