tions as the heathen do: after this manner therefore pray ye." The kingdom, for which he taught the church to pray, could not have then been come, or that would have been a vain petition; and every time it was repeated a "vain repetition." Neither could it have come since that time, or he would have been bound to have informed his church, by the same authority by which he led her to employ it, to desist from it, so soon as it became, by a change of circumstances, a transgression of his own rule. But this he has never done. Our conclusion, therefore, must be, that the existing circumstances of the world justify the use of it; and accordingly that the kingdom, for which eighteen hundred years since he taught his church to pray, and still permits her to do the same, is not yet come. But the third petition establishes this reasoning. It is so closely connected with the foregoing, as at the first sight to lead to the conclusion that it belongs to it; and a very little examination will confirm this. Where is the place or situation of that church, which has been taught by her Lord to pray, "thy kingdom come ?" Her place is the earth. Then upon the earth that kingdom must come, or this petition will never be answered. If the site of the promised kingdom were heaven, (as men commonly teach,) then, may we go to thy 66 kingdom," would have been more appropriate language, than thy kingdom come." But the third petition asks of God that his will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. How is it done in heaven ?—Perfectly. Here then is the measure by which at some time, it will be done on earth. But this necessarily involves a kingdom of God perfectly administered: for where his will is perfectly done, there, and there only, is God perfectly King: the measure of the divine rule being only in proportion to the measure of that obedience which is yielded to it. The two petitions bear out and support each other: both referring to 66 the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his prophets since the world began.” One question may here be put, which I will endeavour to answer. Why is this kingdom called the kingdom of the Father, and not the kingdom of the Son? For this reason, I conceive, amongst others; that the Son receives it from the Father as his gift: hence that the Son rules in it, as the Father's servant, until the time of its regress into the Father's hand: upon which principle, it is said by the Father, in the second Psalm, anticipating that season, yet have I set MY king upon my holy hill of Zion." W. W. P. z Acts III. 19. 66 188 SATAN BECOME AN ANGEL OF LIGHT; OR DEVICES OF THE LAST DAYS. No. III. I have in a former paper pointed out the mischievous consequences arising from the unrestrained publication of blasphemous and infidel opinions, and shown it to be one of those subtle devices of the enemy which are peculiar to "the last days.' In my last paper I endeavoureded to expose a kindred device; (though at the first glance it appears to be of an opposite character ;)—viz. the obscuring and abstracting the true light for by the one stratagem Satan sows his evil seed, and by the other he prevents the good seed from being sown, and therefore leaves ample space for the tares to luxuriate without check or hindrance. In the present paper 1 purpose to notice a device which is likewise allied to these, and might indeed with propriety have been brought forward the first in order, since the two last evils may be said, in some measure, to have grown out of it. I allude to the licentious spirit of DISSENT AND SCHISM; spirit which, equally with the other two devices, approaches us in the garb of an angel of light; and which has grown to maturity and become rife and prevalent, subsequent to the period of the Reformation. I a I know that I am about to tread over tender ground, and that the words dissent and schism," may have already startled and dismayed some of the readers of the Investigator. I hope however I am not approaching the subject in that spirit which would recklessly do violence, either to their prejudices or proper feelings; and that I am ready to make every allowance for the pe culiar circumstances in which many pious individuals may be placed; but I must not, at the same time, be deterred from exposing what I conceive to be a most extensively mischievous device of Satan, and from plucking the angel's vizard from his face. And the very circumstance, that there are, as I believe, many good men, who are either directly the abettors of this evil, or are indirectly promoting it, is that which prompts me more especially to enter upon it; since darkness must indeed come in a very gradual and delusive form, if it deceive those who are the children of light. In countries indeed where a pure form of religion exists, as in our own, Satan could not hope to prevail with professors, were he avowedly to aim a blow at any important principle of the Gospel: it is by small and almost imperceptible steps of a plausible character, that he in the first instance endeavours to lead them from it; and from the position thus gained he insensibly urges them another and another step, till he finally entangles them in the wily mazes he has spread for them. I wish however to be clearly understood in this matter. I am far from meaning to infer, that there are no constraining and paramount considerations, which may justify men from separting from a corrupt and heretical church; for the Scriptures themselves exhort, in regard to that apostate church set forth in the book of Revelation, under the term BABYLON,-" Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."* And there are *There are many in the present day who are disposed to justify their separation occasions when we are bound, at any cost, earnestly to contend for the truth of God, and to be valiant for it, even though it may expose us to the reproach of making a party, and being the promoters of dissension and strife. The best method perhaps of proceeding with the subject will be first to press two facts, rather than arguments, upon the attention of the reader. The one is, that the Church of Christ is actually at this present time rent and divided into sects, to an extent which is quite unparalleled, throughout the whole period of its history; and so as to make it appear hopeless to many that it can ever be brought into a state of unity again, except by the personal appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have not only dissenters and separatists arrayed against the established church; but we have dissenters and separatists likewise remarkably divided among themselves; insomuch that it has come to require a pretty large volume only to register the description or of things is a great and positive On The other fact is, that this state from the church of England by alleging that she is Babylon, and that all established religions are Babylon. Whilst however we would come out of the real Babylon, we must take care that we do not use lightness and charge any foolishly. One of the characteristics of the Babylon of the Apocalypse is, that she seduces others to drink of the wine of her fornication, and corrupts them with it; and another is, that she persecutes the saints. (Rev. xvII.) Now it is sufficient to observe, in regard to the church of England, that, if her doctrines and practices could be justly termed spiritual fornication, she is far from endeavouring to corrupt others with it; being more obnoxious to the charge of supineness, in respect to propagating her sentiments and making proselytes, than with zealotry or bigotry. Neither has she ever been "drunk with the blood of the saints:" for amid all her transgressions and defects, it is difficult to find an instance of persecution unto blood. + By Dissenters I mean those who profess to differ from the doctrines, forms, or government of the Church of England: and by Separatists those who in general worship not with the members of that Church, though they profess not to dissent from its doctrines. the word sensual; but sensual as 66 But now, to return to the devices of Satan in this matter, this evil has not grown to its present height all. at once, but men have been almost imperceptibly led on. Some indeed have been at all times led to act with headiness and rashness, impelled only by their own passions and blind conceits; but this has nevertheless not been the case in general. I have already intimated, that it is necessary to make a stand for vital truth, whatsoever may be the consequences; and some have been cast out on this very account and persecuted. Instead of having separated themselves, wicked men in power in the church have hated and reviled them, and separated them from their communion.k And others, though not actually ejected by force, have perhaps had a sufficiently conscientious reason for separating themselves. But this is what Satan has taken advantage of, and used as a snare and device, in order almost entirely to destroy unity from among men. He has prompted multitudes to do that rashly, unadvisedly, and recklessly, or at least on very insufficient grounds, which holy men have done only by constraint, or with the utmost caution and fear and trembling. And thus the evil has grown and increased into a mighty torrent, which has overwhelmed all respect and consideration, among the generality, for those truths which God has revealed for our guidance in this matter. Owing to the present frequency of the offence, men are brought at last to consider it no offence, no evil at all; they rush fearlessly into error without enquiry, and often without a motive at all, or from the merest caprice, and they are ready to cry down, as the intolerant, narrowminded, bigoted agents of Satan, those who would remind them of their danger. The very notion of submitting ourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, is now scorned and trampelled upon by multitudes who profess religion, because it interferes with their own pleasure, and taste and conceit and *There are many practical evils resulting from this state of things which are worthy of notice. For example, how commonly (as hinted at in my last paper) may we observe instances of men, who have some sense of religion, combining together for social objects, as a Club or Book Society, who are obliged to lay it down as a standing rule, that religion shall be excluded, lest it beget altercation. But why should there be this apprehension ?-It is created by Dissent, When Dissenters unite for purposes of education, they are obliged also to exclude religion as the basis of it, because they cannot agree upon the particular form and tenets of religion which shall be inculcated. The facility likewise which Dissent offers of enabling an individual who has misconducted himself in one society to take refuge in another, prevents the possibility of properly enforcing discipline and maintaining due and necessary subordination. Thus though there may be in Dissent, doctrinally speaking, as the strength of iron; there is practically the potter's clay mixed with it, which prevents all real adhesion, and neutralizes the strength. k Luke vI. 22. settled habits, and with the liberty which they imagine they possess of "heaping to themselves teachers." 2. But this is not all. Satan having effected this work, and brought the church into this state of confusion and division, proceeds next to devices which he justifies on the ground of this very state of things. Some he encourages to rest altogether in neglect and disregard of religion, living practically and often avowedly as infidels. "How are we to know, (say they,) what we are to believe, even if we were disposed to inquire.-See the multitude of various religious opinions in the world!-Scarcely any two are agreed together in all things, and yet all are quite positive that they are in the right!-To whom then shall we turn?" Another class, whilst they retain the form of godliness, are led to treat with indifference some of the most fundamental doctrines of Scripture; -falling back on this state of confusion created by Satan in the church. They argue that they consider these things merely matter of opinion; that every one is left to his own judgment in them; that they have known very moral and amiable persons, as they think,— persons quite as good as some of the saints, who have not thought such doctrines of any consequence, but on the contrary, have opposed them; and then perhaps they add― For modes of faith let senseless bigots fight, His can't be wrong whose life is in the right. They are too much blinded to perceive, that they are actually contending for their own mode of belief, and are complacently insinuating that they conceive their own life to be right, and such as is calculated to challenge the regard of the Almighty. But Satan is now urging men onwards to opinions of a more infi even del and apostate character than these, and still founded upon that work of confusion which I have already enlarged upon. They proceed to conclude, that there is something in the natural constitution of the mind of man which predisposes him to particular opinions, or to some one mode of faith, and which entirely prevents him from understanding and submitting to the orthodox belief. They con sider it a mere accident, what he inclines or happens to believe; that he has no more control over it himself, than in chusing the country in which he will be born; and that he is consequently no more accountable to God for his faith, than he is for the color of his skin. Thus is man released from his responsibility to God, by making his unbelief of the truths of divine revelation no sin, but an error or defect of his nature which God hath implanted in it; and thus likewise is the whole word of God rendered nugatory, because uncertain. For if we cannot be assured of the truths it contains by any divine teaching or demonstration,-if we can arrive at no certain conviction or persuasion that we are right, there must be doubting and mistrusting instead of faith, and the ministers of the Gospel have no right to press upon us the truths of the Bible more than any other truths with authority, and consequently we may as well shut up our Bibles, and turn our churches and chapels into barns, for the whole of Christianity is in that case no better than a fable. And, once more, it has tended to attach a reproach and stigma to many of the most solemn truths revealed to us in the Scriptures; insomuch that those, who in the present day insist upon those truths, are denounced as most uncharitable and contracted; and were the Apostles themselves to |