The character and prospects of the Church of Rome, 2 discourses

thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth, thou shalt not adore nor worship: them. I am the Lord thy God, strong and jealous, visiting the sins of the fathers upon their children, to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy to thousands of those that love me and keep my commandments."

Another alteration in the Roman catechisms, eminently illustrative of the base cunning of the priesthood, took place at the time of the Council of Trent. It was urged in that Council, as an unanswerable objection to the division of the tenth commandment into two-which had previously been practised in the formularies of the Church-that, in the second edition of the commandments, Deuteronomy v. the arrangement of the tenth is different from that of Exodus XX. In the one case it reads "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife;" in the other, "Thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house :" and thus, according to the Popish arrangement, what was the ninth commandment in the one passage, would be the tenth in the other. The detection of this inconsistency confounded the Council; but, instead of yielding to the force of truth, and restoring the Law of God to its just arrangement, in order to conceal the impious fraud, they devised the miserable expedient of blending together the two clauses, which, in the former catechisms, had constituted the pretended ninth and tenth commandments, under the one united title of "The ninth and tenth commandments ;" and this, though they were not able to point out which was the ninth, and which was the tenth! Thus they stand in the Douay Catechism (the best in the Church of Rome) to this day-"The ninth and tenth commandments."

Q. Say the ninth and tenth.

150

ander make up the deficiency thus occasioned, divided the month unto two. Thus mutilated, the ten commandments are in these words :-—

*. Say the ten commandments of God.

4.1. I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no strange gods before me.

2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God * tait

3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day, 4. Bamour thy father and mother.

3. The shak not kill.

6. That shalt not commit adultery.

Then shalt not steal.

& Then shalt not bear false witness against thy meghdeer.

3. Then shat not coret thy neighbour's wife.

34. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods."— Dand II.

Its a condition did the law of God remain in thechisms of the Papal Church till the period of the Kecemarin. Or the steading abroad of its light throughza Fungos, however, the villany of the priesthood was ex18N, 104, it seqrence of the controversy with the Pro en Churches, they ihand themselves obliged to make sonne «hamuriat ze other on the formularies of the Church. kxwendinger, that of all, they reduced into some of their zhisus the second commandment, as part of the first, changing, however, some of its expressions, in the following

.. See the first commandment.

** I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the Jant, zë Egent and out of the house of bondage. Thou

shalt have no strange Gods

make one shes any graven.

me. Thou shalt not

or the likeness of en

Another alteration in the Roman catechisms, eminently illustrative of the base cunning of the priesthood, took place at the time of the Council of Trent. It was urged in that Council, as an unanswerable objection to the division of the tenth commandment into two-which had previously been practised in the formularies of the Church-that, in the second edition of the commandments, Deuteronomy v. the arrangement of the tenth is different from that of Exodus XX. In the one case it reads-" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife;" in the other, "Thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house:" and thus, according to the Popish arrangement, what was the ninth commandment in the one passage, would be the tenth in the other. The detection of this inconsistency confounded the Council; but, instead of yielding to the force of truth, and restoring the Law of God to its just arrangement, in order to conceal the impious fraud, they devised the miserable expedient of blending together the two clauses, which, in the former catechisms, had constituted the pretended ninth and tenth commandments, under the one united title of "The ninth and tenth commandments;"-and this, though they not able to point out which was the ninth, and which Thus they stand in the Douay Catechism

ch of Rome) to this day-" The ninth

A. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods."

I must add, in conclusion of this note, that, although the Reformation has forced such changes as these on the Church of Rome, it is only in the more enlightened parts of Catholic Christendom that she has permitted them to take place. There, she saw it would be impossible, after the Reformation had taken place, to keep the people in the ignorance of the dark ages; and, therefore, with the artful policy that has ever marked her proceedings, she has there reluctantly admitted a small portion of light into her formularies. But in Ireland, and the other benighted parts of Europe, she has acted differently. No ray of light has been permitted to enter there. It is to this moment carefully excluded. In the catechisms which she puts into the hands of her votaries, the second commandment, in any shape, not to be found; the holy law of God is given in the mutilated form above recorded, and every trace of a divine precept against the worship of images is carefully obliterated.

No. 11. See page 34.

On the immoral character and influence of the Papal doe trines, the following are the recorded sentimer ts of one of the most intelligent and judicious divines of the present age. "The baseless and fanciful distinctions between mortal and venial sins-the doctrine of regeneration by the opus operatum of baptism-the system of dispensations and indulgen. ces the practice of auricular confession to the priest-the power of absolution entrusted to the discretion of a caprici. ous individual-the injunction of celibacy on the clergy, who in all Catholic countries constitute a very large propor.

tion of the inhabitants-these, and various other features in the character of the Roman Catholic system, must, in the estimation of every impartial, moral observer, stamp it with the stigma of immorality and licentiousness. Indeed, the direct tendency of the Catholic system is, to apologize for sins of the deepest dye, and to substitute a religion of show and ceremony, in place of the genuine religion of the con science and the heart. Transgressions against the law of God it allows to pass with a very slight censure; while transgressions against the institutions of the Church, or the rights of its ministers, are visited with the severest ecclesiastical censures. And hence we find that a marked and visible difference has all along been observed between the moral state of the continental nations, according as they possessed the Catholic or the Protestant religion. I speak, of course, with respect to those countries where the doctrines and institutions of the Reformation have retained somewhat of their native purity." "There are many professors among us who lose sight of this matter (the immoral and irreligious character of the Catholic tenets)-who consider the tenets and superstitions of the Catholic Church as harmless-and who practically renounce their own peculiarities, as at most useless speculations. THIS IS ONE OF THE GROWING CORRUPTIONS OF THE PRESENT DAY; AND TO THIS UNDUE IMPRESSION IN FAVOUR OF POPERY, MAY BE JUSTLY ASCRIBED THE STOICAL INDIFFERENCE OF MULTITUDES TO THOSE PRINCIPLES FOR WHICH THEIR FOREFATHERS SUFFERED AND died. When once we cease to believe that the peculiarities of Popery operate with a blasting and deadly influence on the great interests of Christian truth and practical morality, it will be a matter of no great consequence what name or profession we assume."Burns' Letter to Dr Chalmers.

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