1 fcholar, after a long, vain, and unprofitable search for wisdom, in the school of folly; feeding on the hufks and excrements of wine. I find myself conftrained; but happy, I fay, thrice happy conftraint! to fuck honey from a white-fkulled Jew, and a beardlefs boy. From the morning-light, even until night, let Ifrael hope in our Lord.. As the tree falls, fo it fhall lie. Him that believ eth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, fhall be condemned. As the Father has fent me, I alfo fend you; when he had, faid this, be breathed on them, and faid to them, Receive ye the Holy Ghoft; whofe fins you fhall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whofe fins you retain, they are retained. Thefe are the words of God, at whose tribunal we fhall be arraigned, both men and devils; and shall we dare offend our God? Yea, I am the most wretched finner, and despicable, contemptible, fordid, rash, vile, unmoralized, defective, inconfiftent, abominable, deteftable, undermining, wild, undigested bit of clay, bedaubed, fmeared, and dreffed in the flinking rags of unfruitfulness and disobedience claiming the privilege of virginal inheritance in the mountain of Sion, when I fhould moan out the yellings and fhrieks of hell. Can I dare appear at that dread tribunal of my God, with this pale face of clay, robed in my Merry Andrew's drefs? I fhudder at the thought; my very hairs rife up ftiff, and stand on end, like a wild Boar, furrounded by a gang of dogs, amazed, expects his fate; fo Calvin; but e're to morrow's light breaks forth, I will, with the affift ance f ance of my God, put off this Panther's hide, with Calvin's name, and deal out the remains of this difhevelled wreck, in the fchool of penance, pouring out my tears at the altar of my Saviour, reconciling, and joining, with the adorer of fpirit and truth, worshipping with fear and trembling that God who is there immolated for the fins of the world. Against whom I ftood up, Caiphas, Annas, Pontius Pilate, and Herod, with our tribes and congregations, against the Lord; and against his' Chrift. This is a truth, and Iconfefs it with tears (Calvin weeps) and I wifh they were tears of blood, for that Saviour that fweated his most precious blood for us prodigals, and me, I repeat it, the most abandoned. Too often have I repeated to you, my God, that I loved you, when I was ufing every ftratagem against your Church, multiplying quotations from Scripture, and making them fkip and leap to my own fancy, in order to perfecute your Church, and ftrengthen Calvinifm, and draw the attention and applaufe of the populace to myself, exclaiming against the tyranny of Popery, at the fame time yoking on them a greater, yea the tyranny of Satan. I often have, to make a fhow of religion, placed an offender cloathed in a white thirt, in the kirk, on the ftool of penance, an hour or two, for three Sundays, or as I thought of it, but would thunder against the facrament of penance, and whatever was Catholick. Mof. You Calvin amaze and aftonish me; I have often been in difputes of this nature to dif play our talents, but never met with your like. C 2 Caly Calu, It is the will of the Almighty, which mu be obeyed. Boy You will firft fatisfy yourself, touching the conformity of the Primitive Church and the prefent Catholicks. Caly. Mr. Mofes, and you though a child, have fatisfied me, that Jefus Christ is God, which though I preached, and lived by this preaching, fill I was a ftranger to him, not knowing whe ther he is God, or the feducer the Jews believed him to be; but now he is God, all that proceed ed from him are infallible. On this I risk my falvation. Boy. (Looking at Luther.) I think you have agreed to thefe fundamentals of Christianity, In. fallibility, Supremacy of the Pope, Unity and Umiformity of the Catholick Church. Luth. Thele principles are authorised by Scrip ture, which every Chriftian must comply with. Mof. Allowing the Catholick religion to be infallible, which is her doctrine, the Sacraments are, being part of her doctrine. Luth. You have my Common Prayer-book, what does it fay? I am a Parlon. Calu. Your Common Prayer-book establishes the three creeds on the fame grounds of infallibility, with the other Scriptures. Luth. And what are the principles of the creeds, the ground on which I will fland. Calu You then believe One, Holy, Catholick and Apoftolick Faith, without which you cannot be faved This Faith is the religion of the Roman Catholicks. Luth. •Luth These are hard truths, to a Church Parfon, that is poffeffed of three good livings, and himself loves eafe and plenty. Boy Whofoever will be faved, it is neceffary that he hold the Catholick Faith, which Faith, unless he keeps whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlaflingly. Luth. And is this paragraph in our Common prayer? Mof. Molt undoubtedly here it is, your own prayer-book. Luth. I made ufe of this book near thirty years for the rule of my faith, but never abserved this; however as it is the faith of the Church, I am in duty bound to acquiefce, I do therefore, according to the faith of my Common-prayer, believe the infallibility of the Catholick religion, without which faith I cannot be faved. Boy. Obferve this truth; God is not to be mocked. Words, without works, will not au fwer your purpose to falvation. Luth. What elfe can be required, if I fay the Creed, with the other prayers, as I have always done, and not cheat, or maim my neighbour, and do 10 all men, as I would they should do unto me, I think I fulfill my duty to my God and to my neighbour, which is all Chrift demands of us. By doing this we fulfill the law. A rem nant of all religions fhall be faved.. This is the Law and the Prophets. Mof. Not the Law of Mofes, nor God: your Law and Prophets must be a spu rious breed. Prophets of Boy. The Acts of the Apoftles declare all that are faved, are added to the Church; they there fore muft partake of the fame facraments, join in the fame worship and facrifice of the altar, adhere to, and be of our communion and faith. Luth. We are all in the fame bond of Chriftianity, therefore are partakers of the fame facraments, iffuing from the fame infallible fountain, in one communion, under one Head. Calv. Is Jefus Chrift the God of diffimulation, difagreement, hatred, malicioufness, divifion, im-¡ placableness, backbiting and gain-faying? To prove your union with the Catholick Communion, will you come with me to the Catholick altar, and join in making our profeffion of faith to our Lord's Prieft? Luth. Not a Roman Catholick Prieft: you do not call Popery Christianity? Calu. It will puzzle you to find any other christianity you are a riddle. Luth. I have no objection, as the rest of our brethren, when we are at Rome, to do as Rome do, that is, to go to Mafs, and do in appearance as they do, though we deteft it, knowing their worship to be idolatrous. " Mof. For fhame, never bekeck, as the faying is, your own neft, you will be looked on as a for ry bird. A man that wears two faces deferves not to be ranked with the human species; could I perfuade myself, that these words were spoken with an intention to be complied with, I would from this inftant deteft, you. Viper's egg, Drofs of the creation, retract thofe words upon the spot, or |