the other of persons who deny him before men. Let us consider them apart, and then compare them together.

1. In considering them apart, we observe that those who confess Christ are not such as merely make an outward profession of the Christian religion. Such a profession is not without its value; though it may often be the result of circumstances over which we have no control-such as birth, early education, the general diffusion of Christian light, knowledge, and privileges, through the community to which we belong. We ought, therefore, ever to remember with gratitude that God, in his infinite mercy, has fixed the bounds of our habitation near his sanctuary, where his word is proclaimed; that he has admitted us into his Church by the sacrament of baptism; that he has favoured us with his Sabbaths, and various religious ordinances suited to that day of rest; that he permits to be read in our tongue the record of his own will; and that we are not trained in barbarism, in idolatry, in superstition, and in crime. Yet these blessings, both positive and negative, do not amount to that confession of Christ before men, which is the first and highest duty of the true disciple of

the cross.

We know, from the awful testimony of Scripture, that it is possible to "have a name that we live," and yet to be "dead" in the sight of God. It is possible not only to be Christians in name, but also to make a bold profession of our Christianity, without reaching the mark intended by the Saviour, when he requires us to confess him before men. The charge had long ago been brought against some who had made a high profession of religion. "This people draweth nigh to me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."

And to such as these God speaks in language indignantly rejecting their service, when he says, "Who hath required this at your hands, that ye should tread my courts?" Nor are the Saviour's words less explicit: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

him before men be the result of what you have felt and known of him from actual intercourse and communion with him in your own soul. If, as a sinner, you have called upon him for mercy; if you have trusted in him for salvation; if you have sought and found redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of your sins; if by faith you are united to him, as the branch is united to the living vine,-then from the fulness of your heart let your mouth speak; for "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This sincere and cordial acceptance of the Saviour, which the apostle styles "believing with the heart," is the only sure basis of a genuine and acceptable confession.

(2.) This confession must be bold and courageous. It is to be the free and spontaneous acknowledgment of our obligation to Christ, in the face of a world which despises him and rejects his salvation. We must set our face like a flint, and must stand as a rock, against all who would trample on the Saviour's honoured name, and must say, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world.' We must testify that "there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." We must acknowledge Christ as our Lord and our God;" as the foundation of all our hopes, the source of all our joy, the object of our supreme regard.

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(3.) And our confession must be prac tical. That is only a questionable attachment which spends itself in words, and shrinks from all acts of self-denying service. Such adherence Christ rejects with abhorrence. "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." The practical effects of religion are the only true proofs of its reality. "Faith without works is dead;" a profession of religion without practice is "sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." What avails it for you to speak honourably of Christ, if you act so as to disgrace the holy name whereby you are called? This is not to confess Christ, but to

(1.) Sincere. It must spring from a real purpose of the mind to honour Christ, otherwise it is but either a thoughtless or a hypocritical service. If it be thoughtless, it is worth nothing; if hypocritical, it is worse than nothing-it is an insult, it is solemn mockery of Heaven. If, then, you would truly confess Christ, let what you say of

pearance, to deny him in fact: and such confession is the worst of all denials.

2. But we proceed to speak more particularly of those who deny Christ before men. Let it be noted, that there exists no neutral class, who are alike remote from a confession and a denial of Christ. Every man stands on one side or the other of that line which separates the confessors from the deniers of

the Lord who bought them; and therefore, if you are not with the former, you are with the latter. All, therefore, deny Christ who neglect or refuse to confess him. As a mere profession of religion is not enough to make a man religious, so the mere abstinence from a bold and contemptuous denial of Christ is not enough to prove that you do not belong to the class of persons censured by the Saviour in the text. You deny Christ, not only when, like Peter, you declare with awful imprecations, "I know not the man;" not only when you cast out his name as evil; not only when you hate and persecute him in his disciples; not only when you disregard his ordinances, and turn aside from his house and its sacred services ;-but when you refuse to accept the invitations of his grace; when you allow his message to fall unheeded on your ear; when you shield your hearts beneath the pleasures, the business, or the cares of the world, against the gentle influences of his Holy Spirit. You deny him, when you allow him to stand at the door of your heart and knock, without arising to open the door and to admit the heavenly guest. You deny him, when you shrink from confessing his name in the presence of his enemies; when you seek your own ease, or honour, or advantage, by avoiding the reproach of Christ, which Moses esteemed "greater riches than all the treasures in Egypt." You deny him, when you refuse to obey his command, "If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." Alas, how many are there whose names stand high as professors of religion, who, if examined by this text, will be found in heart deniers of the Lord Jesus!

And yet it is often asked, What great difference is there between these two classes of persons? Why should those be set down as irreligious, who, though they are reputable in all the ordinary relations of life, may not perhaps make a profession of ardent attachment to the Saviour's cause? Why should the man who acknowledges Christ and honours him be so greatly preferred to another, whose only fault appears to be, that he is not so attentive as he might be to religious duties? Such questions can be asked only by persons who are themselves strangers to every thing valuable and essential in true religion. Is it a light thing that the Saviour should be dishonoured, that his authority should be slighted, that his cause should be neglected? It might be so, if this world were our place of rest; if there were no hereafter; if we had no immortal souls, which need redemption and salvation. But if the present life is indeed a dream, and the future life a reality; if there is a heaven and a hell beyond the grave; if

eternal bliss or misery must be the portion of every human being, then it is not a question of indifference whether you honour the Saviour or not. They who in sincerity and truth confess Christ, and they who deny him, however small may be the difference between them in the judgment of fallible men, are "wide as the poles asunder" in the infallible judgment of heaven. One is a servant of Christ, the other his enemy; one obeys Christ, the other rebels against him; one loves, the other hates him; one lives to Christ, the other lives to himself; one sets his affection on things above, the other on things on the earth; one is dead to the world, but alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ; and the other alive to the world, but dead to God-dead in trespasses and sins.

We proceed therefore to inquire,

II. What is the consequence of such confession or denial of Christ to those by whom it has been made?

If we would know the true character of actions, we must look forward to their final issue. To judge by the immediate effects of any given course of conduct, is only to betray ourselves into endless mistake. It is not the intention of the divine Governor of the universe that we should be able to form accurate judgments of character from the immediate results of human conduct. "He hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom he hath ordained." And then shall we return and discern "between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not." The text unfolds to us the great rule of judgment which shall be acted upon in that day. The Saviour arrests attention by the emphatic words with which he introduces his solemn topic: "I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God. But he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God."

There is not one among us, brethren, who is not deeply and personally interested in this solemn declaration. As all have either confessed Christ or denied him on earth, so shall all be confessed or denied by him at the day of judgment. Let me beseech you, therefore, to hear for yourselves; to examine the state of your own souls; to inquire, Do I confess Christ or deny him? Am I his disciple, or his enemy? One or the other I must be: I may in my judgment be halting between two opinions; but I cannot be found hovering between the two states described in the text. I must be either a confessor or a denier of Christ; and consequently, according to his own declaration, I must be either acknow

ledged or rejected by him in that day which shall irrevocably fix my everlasting destiny. With such thoughts and feelings, let us contemplate,

1. The Saviour's acknowledgment of his disciples, "Whosoever shall confess me, him will I confess."

"Whosoever"-mark that universal term. Whatever your circumstances on earth may be, -whether you are poor or rich; whether you are learned or ignorant; whether you can command the respect and attention of your fellow-creatures, or are dependent on them for your livelihood, and are treated by them as unworthy of notice,-yet, if you are confessors of Christ, he will not despise your tribute of acknowledgment; he who delighted to hear from the lips of babes the song of humble praise, will not turn away his ear from you. He will accept your prayer; he will register it in the book of his remembrance; he will unfold that book before assembled worlds; and will recognise you as the children of his love in the presence of the angels of God.

And what shall be the substance of his acknowledgment?" This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. He was as a sheep going astray; but I sought him in the wilderness, and brought him home rejoicing. He was a rebel against my government; but I taught him, by my grace, to take my yoke upon him and to learn of me. He heard my voice, arose at my bidding, and followed me in the rough and thorny path which leadeth unto life. He trusted in my righteousness, was justified through my blood, sanctified by my Spirit, and prepared, by the silent operations of my grace, and by the corrective discipline of my unerring providence, for eternal glory. He was not ashamed of me and of my words in an adulterous and faithless generation; and now I am not ashamed of him before the angels of God. He confessed me before men; and I confess him before my heavenly Father. He opened his heart when I stood and knocked at the door for admittance; and now I open the kingdom of heaven to him, and all who, with him, are believers in my name. Behold I, and the children whom thou hast given me. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Brethren, to be owned by the Son of man in that day, how great, how indescribable the privilege! It sets the seal for ever on your bliss; it frees you for ever from all temptation, from all danger, from all sorrow, from every shade of evil, from every possibility of harm; it leaves you nothing to wish for, nothing to ask, as well as nothing to fear.

One word of approval then from the lips of Jesus will involve an immortality of perfection, of glory, and of bliss. May we all in that day be found in Christ, be acknowledged by him as his servants, and be admitted at his command into the mansions of glory which he has prepared for them that love him!

But there is another view, which truth compels us to take, before we dismiss the subject of inquiry; and that respects,

2. The Saviour's denial of his enemies. "He that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God." All are enemies of Christ who are not his friends; and all shall be treated as deniers of him who have not dared to confess him in the presence of a sinful world. And, I ask, is it possible for language to describe what is the full import of that dreadful sentence which the neglected, wounded, and resisted Saviour will pronounce on all who have been ashamed of him and of his words in this sinful world? Will he not remind them of the privileges they have slighted, of the mercies they have abused, of the solemn warnings they have ridiculed or forgotten? Will he not shew them his pierced hands and feet, and tell them that they had crucified unto themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame? Will he not set before them all their secret sins, and uncover, in the presence of all intelligent beings, the deeds of darkness which they had vainly thought to conceal from every eye? Will he not shew them the folly of having attempted to weave the flimsy garment of self-righteousness, as a substitute for the only righteousness through which a man can be justified before God? Will he not say, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels?" O, how dreadful will be the execution of this judgment! Who shall abide it? And yet we ask again, Who can escape it? No denier of Christ, no rejecter of the mercy of the Gospel-none who is a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God.

Mark, however, the true benignity of the Saviour's character, in the manner in which he announces the doom of the guilty. While he says of the righteous," him will I confess," he does not say of the wicked, though he means it, "him will I deny ;" but rather, "he shall be denied." He declares the effect, but conceals the instrument. He shews that, after all, judgment is his strange work, while he delighteth in mercy. And he acts as the executioner, whose sympathy with the sufferer compels him to turn away his eyes, while his hand inflicts the necessary and fatal stroke: "He shall be denied before the angels of God."

Brethren, this day choose your service; and, in so doing, choose your state for eternity. Will you confess Christ, and be confessed by him? or will you deny him, and take all the bitter consequences? Ponder the question in the retirement of your chamber; and God grant that you may never have to repent of the decision you make.

JESUITISM.-No. VIII.

BEFORE closing these remarks on the subject of Jesuitism, it may be interesting to record an extraordinary prediction concerning this body, and which was regarded to have been fully verified, when, as we have already seen, by the almost unanimous consent of the European powers, they were no longer permitted to exist. The prediction was by Bronswell, archbishop of Dublin, in a sermon preached by him in 1558, when Laynez, general of the society, and the immediate successor of Ignatius, had formed the Jesuits into a mere political body.

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"There is lately risen up," says the archbishop, "a new fraternity, a society of men called Jesuits, who shall seduce many people; they are actuated by the spirit of the Scribes and Pharisees; they shall employ all their talents to destroy the truth, and they shall be near succeeding. They are a generation who assume all shapes; with Pagans they will be Pagans; with Jews, Jews; with the Reformed, Reformed; Atheists, with Atheists; wholly to discover your views, your designs, your inclinations, the bottom of your hearts, to render you in the end like the fool who said in his heart, there is no God.' This society will be spread over the whole earth; they will be admitted into the counsels of princes, who will not be the wiser for so doing; they will bewitch them so far as to oblige them to lay open their hearts to them, to entrust them with their greatest secrets, even without perceiving it. They shall be deceived in this sort for having forsaken the law of their God, neglected to follow the rules of the Gospel, and shut their eyes to the sins of their people; but in the end, to make known the righteousness of his law, God shall speedily extirpate this society by the hands of those who protected it most, and who served themselves most by it; so that these men shall become odious to all nations, and be in a worse condition than the Jews. They shall no more have any fixed residence on earth, and at that time a Jew shall find more favour than a Jesuit."*

There is, indeed, a very striking coincidence in their history with the statements here made; and it had been well for the peace of nations, and for the cause of Divine truth, had Jesuitism never again been permitted to rear its head. After the downfall of Napoleon, however, the restrictions laid upon it were in many places removed, and the Romish see was too glad again to employ, as emissaries in its behalf, the members of a society, which had been declared by a sovereign pontiff to be illegal in its constitution, and highly prejudicial to the interests of the Church.

That Jesuitical influence is at this present moment at work in our own country, and its great object is to overthrow the constitution in Church and State, cannot admit of a rational doubt. Whatever restrictions may have been laid upon them as a body, it is certain that they have seminaries amongst us; that they are indefatigable in erecting places of worship; and they sometimes come forth from their lurking places to join in public processions. Are the people at large fully acquainted with these circum

• Histoire générale de la Naissance et du Progrès de la Compagne de Jésus, tome iv. p. 253. See also Ware's History of Ireland, p. 152, edit. 1705.

stances? Is this great Protestant nation fully alive to the encroachments of popery? Are the members of our own Church, the strongest bulwarks against the attacks of the man of sin, fully alive to it? There are, indeed, associations formed for the promulgation of the doctrines of the reformation, for stemming the tide of popery that is set in,-and may they be abundantly blessed in the furtherance of the objects they have in view!-but the question does not seem to occupy the Church at large; and yet it is one of momentous importance, which may involve our own temporal and eternal happiness, as well as that of our children's children to many generations.

in

ants.

At the late great Protestant meeting, held at the Horns Tavern, Lambeth, the following printed statement of the progress of popery was distributed :"Popery has been advancing, not only in wealth and influence, honour and power,-it has been progressing in every direction, and by every means. At court, where the required work cannot be efficaciously performed by deputy, we find that Roman Catholics appear person. The treasurer of the household is a Roman Catholic; the Marchioness Wellesley, Lady Bedingfield, and the Earl of Fingal, all of whom have been about the court for some time, are Roman Catholics; and several others of the same kind have been placed in minor situations. Many high offices in the state are now held either by Roman Catholics or pseudo-ProtestIn Ireland almost every legal situation which has fallen vacant during the existence of the present government has been given to a Roman Catholic. As instances, we may mention that the master of the rolls, the chief baron of the exchequer, the chief remembrancer, the clerk of the Hanaper-office, the attorneygeneral and solicitor-general, the lord lieutenant's confidential legal advisers, are all papists. In the colonies the same system of mal-administration prevails. The newly appointed governor of New South Wales is Sir Maurice O'Connell, whose very name speaks volumes. In 1792, there were not in the whole of Great Britain 30 Roman Catholic chapels; there are now 519, and 43 building. In that year there was not one single Roman Catholic college; there are now 10, and 60 seminaries of education, besides chapelschools. In the United States, although it is not 40 years since the first Catholic see was created, there is now a Catholic population of 600,000 souls, under the government of the pope, an archbishop of Baltimore, 12 bishops, and 341 priests. The number of churches is 401; mass-houses, 200; colleges, 19; seminaries for young men, 9; theological seminaries, 5; novitiates for Jesuits, monasteries, and convents, with academies attached, 31; seminaries for young ladies, 30; schools of the sisters of charity, 29; an academy for coloured girls at Baltimore; a female infant-school; and seven Catholic newspapers. Thus in every part of the world popery is pursuing its triumphant course, trampling on the consciences of mankind."

To this may be added another important document, deserving serious consideration :—

"Much has been said in many recent publications, and at many important public meetings, concerning the power and alarming increase of popery in the British colonies; but not enough has yet been stated on this serious and momentous subject. Not enough, because the people of England appear still too ignorant of the facts, and because they are still indifferent to the national inconsistency of supporting abroad a religion which as a nation we profess to repudiate at home. We know not, therefore, that we could at the present time fulfil a more acceptable duty than to develope the truth on this matter, so far as it is possible to do so; and we sincerely trust that the facts we have collected, and shall enumerate, will assist in awakening the public mind, and in restoring some portion of the ancient Protestant spirit of the people.

"In Upper Canada, it appears that there are thirty

Roman Catholic missionaries, to each of whom 501. a year is paid by the government, and to whose bishop a pension of 1001. per annum is assigned. Nor is this all. While the papists are allowed for Upper Canada one bishop, and for Lower Canada two, the Protestants are compelled, notwithstanding their petitions, to be content with the solitary Bishop of Montreal. Again, the grants to the papists are likely to be increased, in accordance with Lord Durham's suggestion; while the grant of 16,000l. to the Protestant clergy was, during the last session of parliament, withdrawn.

:

"In Lower Canada, the Protestants are about as numerous as the papists are in Upper Canada. Yet have the Protestants, though with this claim to have as much as the papists enjoy in the other colony-have the Protestants thirty missionaries allowed them? Far from it. Only seven Protestant rectories are supported and if it be true that 1000l. a-year is granted to the Protestant Bishop of Montreal, the papists are carefully kept in good humour, for the same sum is given to another of their prelates. But this 10007. a-year to the Romanists must not be considered all their allowance. Oh no! Popery in Lower Canada is the established religion; popery in that colony has the tithes, and not only the tithes, but an immense territorial possession also.

"In Newfoundland the case is worse still. The Protestants here have nothing at all but a paltry grant from the English parliament of 3001. a-year for an archdeacon. And what has popery? Why 751. a year for a bishop from the British parliament. And is she content with that sum? Are the popish advocates of the voluntary principle willing to support themselves ? Not at all. The population of the colony is equally divided; half of the people being Protestants, and the other papists. But the latter class has succeeded in returning a majority to the House of Assembly, because Lord Glenelg in his wisdom thought proper to establish something like household suffrage, and therefore the mobs carry the elections as they please; and the respectable portion of the community being Protestants, are excluded from all influence. The consequence is, that the sum of 7,000l. is annually granted to the popish bishop and priests, and not one shilling to any other religious ministers. Recently it appears that success has emboldened the bigoted and deluded colonists, and they have made arrangements for building a Roman Catholic cathedral, for which government has granted eight acres of land.

"In the Mauritius, the papists enjoy from the government funds 2,5201. a-year; while the Protestants are disposed of with less than half that sum, namely, 1,0811.

"In Trinidad, popery has 2,4871. per annum, and Protestantism about a third as much, namely, 8601. only.

"In St. Lucia, there is one Protestant minister of the Gospel, and three papists; in Gibraltar, the papists have 1961. a-year, the Protestants 4657.; in Malta, popery reigns supreme and triumphant, while Protestantism has been so scandalously neglected, that our excellent and truly religious and gracious Queen Dowager, on visiting the island, instantly gave orders for the building of a noble Protestant church, to the erection and endowment of which she appropriated 8,0007.

"In the Ionian Islands, the papists are allowed to share equally with the Protestants the bounty of the Crown: in Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, and many of the West India Islands which we have not mentioned, this is also the case. In other places the government altogether neglects the spiritual wants of the colonists, and leaves the Protestants to the care of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

In New South Wales, popery received in 1833, 1,2007. In 1836 this sum had risen to 3,0401.; and besides this, the control of the system of education has been taken from the Protestant clergy, and the Irish Bible-mutilating system has been forced upon the colony, in compliance with the request of the late popish governor, Sir Richard Bourke.

"In India, in 1836, 1,6697. 14s. was paid to the papists, besides the stipends allowed to the popish missionaries for ministering to the Roman Catholic soldiers in the army.

"What will our readers say to these things? Are they not too bad? If the reply be in the affirmative, we go on to say, that if this statement be deplorable, it contains not one-half of the whole truth. At present the parliamentary returns respecting some of the colonies are extremely defective and imperfect; and consequently a very considerable portion of the amounts paid to popery are unknown. For instance, the extent of aid given to popery in Jamaica, Barbadoes, Bermuda, Honduras, St. Vincent, Mont Serrat, Dominica, &c., is not as yet before parliament. But we trust that before the session is over, we shall be able still more fully to acquaint our readers with the facts of this important matter. In the meantime we ask them to view our statements as samples and specimens, rather than as complete and sufficient descriptions of the truth."*

It is almost needless to state, that the aspect of the religious world is at present louring. The Church of England and Ireland is beset with many adversaries ; men of different religious views are leagued together in an unholy union to effect her overthrow; and the descendants of those who preach the great doctrines of the reformation-nay, even some who preach those doctrines themselves, are not unwilling to league with papists and infidels-to meet them on committees→ to laud them on platforms-to espouse their cause at elections-and to praise them as the champions of civil and religious liberty, as the maintainers of the rights of man. The grand bond which links together this motley assemblage is, I repeat, the overthrow of the Established Church. This is portentous; still we have no fear. God will arise, and his enemies shall be scattered. Amidst much to excite alarm from within and from without, the Church is daily advancing in efficiency, in spirituality, in the promulgation of sound Gospel truth. Never, at any former period, had she a greater hold on the affections of the right-minded part of the community. It may be verily believed that God is with her; and the question then immediately suggests itself, who can be against her? If she is destined to go through the fire, she will come forth the more purified; and, in the dispensations of a gracious God, will doubtless be the instrument in turning myriads to righteousness. While her articles, her homilies, her formularies, are unimpaired, she cannot but be the harbinger of truth. While she places the word of God in the hands of the people, and refers to that alone as the sole ground of their faith and hope, God will not desert her; cast down she may be, but not ultimately destroyed. While she faithfully acts up to her principles, she must be a bulwark for the truth; and while her ministers proclaim fearlessly, and her people adhere implicitly, to the doctrines of THE CROSS, she may rest secure that God will help her, and that right early. TAU.

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS.-No. XIII.

BY MRS. RILEY.

"I will curse your blessings."-Mal. ii. 2. How fearful is the state of either nation or individual against whom this decree of the Lord is gone forth,

By the author of the Progress of Popery, from Protestant Magazine for March.