CHAP. JI. most dangerous enemies of the Church. But of what Church? Of that, which in the thirteenth century and long before had evidenced itself to be Antichristian. Here were not an individual or two, like Bernard, but very many real Christians, who held the real doctrines of Scripture, and carefully abstained from all the idolatry of the times. How obdurate is the heart of man by nature! men could see and own the superior excellence of these persons, and yet could barbarously persecute them! What a blessed light is that of Scripture! By that the Waldenses saw the road to heaven, of which the wisest of their contemporaries were ignorant, who, though called Christians, made no use of the oracles of God! How marvellous are the ways of God! How faithful his promise in supporting and maintaining a Church, even in the darkest times! But her livery is often sackcloth, and her external bread is that of affliction, while she sojourns on earth. But let no factious partizan encourage himself in sedition by looking at the Waldenses. We have seen how obedient they were to established governments; and that separation from a Church, so corrupt as that of Rome, was with them only matter of necessity. The best and wisest in all ages have acted in the same manner, and have dreaded the evils of schism more than those of a defect in discipline. We shall now see what the Waldenses were in point of doctrine and discipline. For their virtues had an evangelical principle, and it is only to be regretted that the accounts are so very scanty on a subject worthy the attention of all who desire to understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. CHA P. III. THE DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE OF THE WALDENSES. XIII. THE leading principle of this Church, which God CENT. raised up in the dark ages to bear witness to his Gospel, is that, in which all the Protestant Churches agreed, namely, "that we ought to believe that the Holy Scriptures alone contain all things necessary to our salvation, and that nothing ought to be received as an article of faith but what God hath revealed to us " Wherever this principle is not only assented to in form, but also received with the heart, it expels superstition and idolatry. The worship of one God, through the one Mediator, and by the influence of one Holy Spirit, is practised sincerely. For the dreams of purgatory, the intercession of saints, the adoration of images, dependence on relics and austerities, cannot stand before the doctrine of Scripture. Salvation by grace, through faith in Christ alone, as it is the peculiar truth and glory of the Scriptures, so it is the boast and joy of the Christian, who knows himself to be that guilty polluted creature which the same Scriptures describe. How abominable to such a one the doctrine of indulgences, and of commutation for offences, and the whole structure of the papal domination! The true love of God and of our neighbour, even the true holiness, which is the great end and aim of Christ's redemption, must be subverted by these human inventions. The Waldenses were faithful to the great fundamental principle of protestantism. Enough appears on record to prove, that they were formed by the grace of Vignaux in his memorials of the Waldenses. See this principle expressed in a similar manner in the sixth Article of the Church of England. CHAP. God to show forth his praise in the world; and great as the resemblance appears between them and the reformed, if we had as many writings of the former, as we have of the latter, the resemblance in all probability would appear still more striking. They affirm, that there is only one Mediator, and therefore that we must not invocate the Saints." "That there is no purgatory; but that all those who are justified by Christ, go into life eternal." They receive two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. They affirm, that all masses are damnable, especially those which are repeated for the dead, and that therefore they ought to be abolished; to which they add the rejection of numberless ceremonies. They deny the supremacy of the pope, especially the power, which he hath usurped over the civil government; and they admit no other degrees, except those of bishops, priests, and deacons. They condemn the popedom as the true Babylon, allow the marriage of the clergy, and define the true Church to be those, who hear and understand the word of God." Vignaux mentions old manuscripts extant among the Waldenses, containing catechisms and sermons, which demonstrate with what superior light they were favoured, in a time of immense darkness. A number of their old treatises evince, that for some hundreds of years the principles of the Gospel, which alone can produce such holiness of life as the Waldenses exhibited in their conduct, were professed, understood, and embraced by this chosen people, while Antichrist was in the very height of his power. They appear to have had all the essentials of Church-discipline among them; and their circumstances of distress, of poverty, and of persecution, Vignaux. however disagreeable to flesh and blood, favoured that spirit of submission and subordination, which ever promotes a salutary exercise of discipline ; through the want of which, .among ourselves, Church-rules are too commonly treated as insignificant. A state of refinement, of wealth, of luxury, and of political speculation, was unknown to the Waldenses: how subversive such a state is of the most wholesome ecclesiastical authority, the experience of our own age demonstrates. In a book concerning their pastors we have this account of their vocation : "All, who are to be ordained as pastors among us, while they are yet at home, entreat us to receive. them into the ministry, and desire that we would pray to God, that they may be rendered capable of so great a charge. They are to learn by heart all the chapters of St. Matthew and St. John, all the canonical epistles, and a good part of the writings of Solomon, David, and the prophets. Afterwards, having exhibited proper testimonials of their learning and conversation, they are admitted as pastors by the imposition of hands. The junior pastors must do nothing without the licence of their seniors; nor are the seniors to undertake any thing without the approbation of their colleagues, that every thing may be done among us in order. We pastors meet together once every year, to settle our affairs, in a general synod. Those, whom we teach, afford us food and raiment with good-will, and without compulsion. The money given us by the people is carried to the said general synod, is there received by the elders, and applied partly to the supply of travellers, and partly to the relief of the indigent. If a pastor among us shall fall into a gross sin, he is ejected from the community, and debarred from the function of preaching." Such was the manner of choosing the Barlis, and such was the plan of Church-government. CENT. XIII. CHAP. To transcribe their confessions of faith would be tedious ; let it suffice to mention the most interesting points. They unquestionably received the Apostle's Creed, and that commonly ascribed to Athanasius. They acknowledged the same canon of Scripture, which the Church of England does in her sixth Article; and, what is very remarkable, they give the same account of the Apocryphal books, accompanied with the same remark of Jerom, which the reader will find in the same sixth Article. They say, "these books teach us, that there is one God, Almighty, wise and good, who in his goodness made all things. He crated Adam after his own image. But through the malice of the devil, and the disobedience of Adam, sin entered into the world, and we became sinners in and by Adam. That Christ is our life and truth, and peace, and righteousness, our shepherd and advocate, our sacrifice and priest, who died for the salvation of all who should believe, and also rose again for our justification." The confession of the Bohemian Waldenses, published in the former part of the sixteenth century, is very explicit on these articles. They say, that men ought to acknowledge themselves born in sin, and to be burdened with the weight of sin; that they ought to acknowledge, that for this depravity, and for the sins springing up from this root of bitterness, utter perdition deservedly hangs over their heads, and that all should own, that they can no way justify themselves by any works or endeavours, nor have any thing to trust to but Christ alone, They hold, that by faith in Christ, men are, through mercy, freely justified, and attain salvation by Christ, without human help or merit. They hold, that all confidence is to be fixed in him alone, and all our care to be cast upon him; and, that for his sake only God is pacified, and adopts us to be his children. They teach also, that no man can have this faith by his own power, will, or pleasure; that it is the gift of God, |