usually spoken of the great Reformation in the church,
begun by Luther in 1517. The sad departure from the standard of holiness
which the Romish hierarchy should have placed before them, combined with
the indecency and arrogance with which they trampled upon the rights of
sovereigns, and upon the property and the comfort of all classes of men,
had, for a considerable period, produced a general conviction, that a
reformation of the church in its head and members, to use the expression
which was then prevalent, was absolutely requisite: and some steps to
accomplish this had been actually taken. The celebrated council of
Constance, while, in its efforts to heal the schism which had so long
grieved and scandalized the Catholic world, it set aside the rival
pontiffs who claimed to be the successors of St. Peter, laid down the
important maxim, that a general council was superior to a pope, and that
its decisions can restrain his power; and this doctrine, which might
otherwise have appeared to arise out of the extraordinary circumstances
under which it was declared, was fully confirmed by the council of
Basil, which met several years after, and which decided the point upon
grounds that might at all times be urged. The popes, indeed,
remonstrated against this, but still they were compelled to lower their
tone; and they were often reminded, even within the precincts of their
own court, that the period was fast approaching when the fallacy of many
of their pretensions would be ascertained and exposed. It had become
common, before the election of a new pontiff, to frame certain articles
of reformation, which the successful candidate was required to swear
that he would carry into effect; and although the oath was uniformly
disregarded or violated, the views which led to the imposition of it
indicated the existence of a spirit which could not be eradicated, and
which might, from events that could not be foreseen, and could not be
controlled, acquire a vigour which no exertion of power could resist.
Such, under the beneficent arrangement of Providence, was soon actually
the case. In the progress of the opposition made to some of the worst
abuses of Rome, they who conducted that opposition were guided to the
word of life; they studied it with avidity and with delight; and they
found themselves furnished by it with sufficient armour for the mighty
contest in which they were to engage. They discovered in the New
Testament what Christianity really was; their representations of it were
received with wonder, and read with avidity; the secession from the
church of Rome became much more rapid and much more extensive than it
had previously been, and all possibility of reconciliation with that
church was done away. Of this the popes were fully aware; and as the
only way of counteracting that which was to them so formidable, they
attempted, by various devices, to fetter the press, to prevent the
circulation of the Bible, and thus again to plunge the world into that
intellectual darkness from which it had been happily delivered. The
scheme was impracticable. The “_Indices Expurgatorii_,” in which they
pointed out the works that they condemned, and which they declared it to
be heresy and pollution to peruse, increased the desire to become
acquainted with them; and although some who indulged that curiosity
suffered the punishment denounced by the inquisition against the enemies
of papal superstition, there was an immense proportion which even
spiritual tyranny could not reach; so that the light which had been
kindled daily brightened, till it shone with unclouded lustre through
many of the most powerful and the most refined nations of Europe.
It is worthy of careful observation, that the resistance which
ultimately proved so successful, was first occasioned by practices that
had been devised for establishing the monstrous despotism of the popes;
that when it commenced, it was directed against what was conceived to be
an abuse of power, without the slightest suspicion being entertained
that the power itself was unchristian; that the reformers gradually
advanced; every additional inquiry to which they were conducted
enlarging their views, and bringing them acquainted with fresh proofs of
that daring usurpation to which men had long submitted, till at length
the foundation upon which the whole system, venerated through ages,
rested, was disclosed to them, and perceived to be a foundation of sand.
The consequence was, that the supremacy of the pope was by multitudes
abjured; that he was branded as antichrist; that communion with the
popish church was avoided as sinful, and that the form of ecclesiastical
polity, the essential principle of which was the infallibility of the
bishop of Rome, was for ever renounced. The wonderful manner in which
this signal revolution, so fraught with blessings to mankind, was
accomplished, the various events which mark its history, and the
characters and exertions of the men by whose agency it was effected,
cannot be too often surveyed, or too deeply fixed in the memory. The
whole, even with reference to the illumination of the human mind and the
improvement of the social state of the world, is in a high degree
interesting; and that interest is unspeakably increased by our
discerning the most striking evidence of the gracious interposition of
Providence dissipating the cloud which obscured divine truth, and
restoring to mankind that sacred treasure which is sufficient to make
all who seriously examine it wise unto salvation. It does not, however,
come within the province of this work to give a minute history of the
origin and progress of the Reformation, to trace the steps of Zuinglius
and of Luther, and to detail the circumstances which advanced or
retarded them in the glorious career upon which they had entered. Much
discussion has taken place with respect to the motives by which Luther
was actuated. This point, in reference to what he accomplished, is
really of little moment; but there cannot be a doubt that although he
might, throughout his arduous struggle, be guided occasionally by
inferior considerations, he was eventually, at least, chiefly animated
by the noble and disinterested wish to emancipate his fellow creatures
from what he was convinced was the direct and most infatuated spiritual
oppression; that he looked to Heaven for support, and that such support
he largely received.
begun by Luther in 1517. The sad departure from the standard of holiness
which the Romish hierarchy should have placed before them, combined with
the indecency and arrogance with which they trampled upon the rights of
sovereigns, and upon the property and the comfort of all classes of men,
had, for a considerable period, produced a general conviction, that a
reformation of the church in its head and members, to use the expression
which was then prevalent, was absolutely requisite: and some steps to
accomplish this had been actually taken. The celebrated council of
Constance, while, in its efforts to heal the schism which had so long
grieved and scandalized the Catholic world, it set aside the rival
pontiffs who claimed to be the successors of St. Peter, laid down the
important maxim, that a general council was superior to a pope, and that
its decisions can restrain his power; and this doctrine, which might
otherwise have appeared to arise out of the extraordinary circumstances
under which it was declared, was fully confirmed by the council of
Basil, which met several years after, and which decided the point upon
grounds that might at all times be urged. The popes, indeed,
remonstrated against this, but still they were compelled to lower their
tone; and they were often reminded, even within the precincts of their
own court, that the period was fast approaching when the fallacy of many
of their pretensions would be ascertained and exposed. It had become
common, before the election of a new pontiff, to frame certain articles
of reformation, which the successful candidate was required to swear
that he would carry into effect; and although the oath was uniformly
disregarded or violated, the views which led to the imposition of it
indicated the existence of a spirit which could not be eradicated, and
which might, from events that could not be foreseen, and could not be
controlled, acquire a vigour which no exertion of power could resist.
Such, under the beneficent arrangement of Providence, was soon actually
the case. In the progress of the opposition made to some of the worst
abuses of Rome, they who conducted that opposition were guided to the
word of life; they studied it with avidity and with delight; and they
found themselves furnished by it with sufficient armour for the mighty
contest in which they were to engage. They discovered in the New
Testament what Christianity really was; their representations of it were
received with wonder, and read with avidity; the secession from the
church of Rome became much more rapid and much more extensive than it
had previously been, and all possibility of reconciliation with that
church was done away. Of this the popes were fully aware; and as the
only way of counteracting that which was to them so formidable, they
attempted, by various devices, to fetter the press, to prevent the
circulation of the Bible, and thus again to plunge the world into that
intellectual darkness from which it had been happily delivered. The
scheme was impracticable. The “_Indices Expurgatorii_,” in which they
pointed out the works that they condemned, and which they declared it to
be heresy and pollution to peruse, increased the desire to become
acquainted with them; and although some who indulged that curiosity
suffered the punishment denounced by the inquisition against the enemies
of papal superstition, there was an immense proportion which even
spiritual tyranny could not reach; so that the light which had been
kindled daily brightened, till it shone with unclouded lustre through
many of the most powerful and the most refined nations of Europe.
It is worthy of careful observation, that the resistance which
ultimately proved so successful, was first occasioned by practices that
had been devised for establishing the monstrous despotism of the popes;
that when it commenced, it was directed against what was conceived to be
an abuse of power, without the slightest suspicion being entertained
that the power itself was unchristian; that the reformers gradually
advanced; every additional inquiry to which they were conducted
enlarging their views, and bringing them acquainted with fresh proofs of
that daring usurpation to which men had long submitted, till at length
the foundation upon which the whole system, venerated through ages,
rested, was disclosed to them, and perceived to be a foundation of sand.
The consequence was, that the supremacy of the pope was by multitudes
abjured; that he was branded as antichrist; that communion with the
popish church was avoided as sinful, and that the form of ecclesiastical
polity, the essential principle of which was the infallibility of the
bishop of Rome, was for ever renounced. The wonderful manner in which
this signal revolution, so fraught with blessings to mankind, was
accomplished, the various events which mark its history, and the
characters and exertions of the men by whose agency it was effected,
cannot be too often surveyed, or too deeply fixed in the memory. The
whole, even with reference to the illumination of the human mind and the
improvement of the social state of the world, is in a high degree
interesting; and that interest is unspeakably increased by our
discerning the most striking evidence of the gracious interposition of
Providence dissipating the cloud which obscured divine truth, and
restoring to mankind that sacred treasure which is sufficient to make
all who seriously examine it wise unto salvation. It does not, however,
come within the province of this work to give a minute history of the
origin and progress of the Reformation, to trace the steps of Zuinglius
and of Luther, and to detail the circumstances which advanced or
retarded them in the glorious career upon which they had entered. Much
discussion has taken place with respect to the motives by which Luther
was actuated. This point, in reference to what he accomplished, is
really of little moment; but there cannot be a doubt that although he
might, throughout his arduous struggle, be guided occasionally by
inferior considerations, he was eventually, at least, chiefly animated
by the noble and disinterested wish to emancipate his fellow creatures
from what he was convinced was the direct and most infatuated spiritual
oppression; that he looked to Heaven for support, and that such support
he largely received.