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members: a church which has supplied more martyrs to the cause of truth, and more learned advocates for its purity, than, by the confession of its very enemies, have been produced by all the other portions of christendom combined,-which has stood forth as a light to the nations when every church besides has been wavering or corrupted in its faith or its practice; and which, at this moment, stands forth to the world, in spite of the clouds that now darken its horizon, as the sun which enlightens its own hemisphere, and illuminates, by its reflected light, many a region, both at home and abroad, which, without its beams, would be enveloped in darkness, either of superstition on the one hand, or of scepticism and infidelity on the other! It was, then, let me once more repeat, by an appeal to the SCRIPTURES, that the great work of reforming the church was at last effected. Our Reformers met their opponents, as our blessed Master met the insinuations of the tempter, by referring to the Word of God. But how was this reference to be made? The scriptures were a sealed book to the people at large, for they were locked up in the secret recesses of a foreign language. How could he who was unlearned say, Amen, seeing that he understood not what was spoken ?* and how could

* 1 Cor. xiv. 16.

he that was learned, appeal to the common sense and religious feelings of his audience, seeing that the book from which he drew his arguments against those who were misleading them, was one which they could not read, and the purport of which they could only gather from the authority of those who might have a personal interest in deceiving them? Hence, it was a task of primary importance with every reformer, both here and elsewhere, to render the scriptures into such a language, that every man might hear in his own tongue in which he was born. Such was the conduct of Luther abroad, and such also, had been the conduct of our own Wickliffe at home. But it was not till the 4th of October, 1535, exactly this day three hundred years ago, that Myles Coverdale, afterwards Bishop of Exeter, at last completed a whole translation, both of the Old and New Testaments, and printed it, in the midst of much trial and persecution, for the spiritual benefit of the inhabitants of this island. Since then, the truth has been placed beyond the reach of malice or imposture ;-since then, the Word of God has been, as it were, the birthright of every Briton-and its light has been placed no longer "under a bushel, but on a candlestick, giving light to all them that are in the house."*

*Matt. v. 15.

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The great importance of this event-the benefit to this church and nation of possessing the pure Word of God faithfully rendered into our native tongue, and made accessible to the very poorest and humblest of our people, is of itself so memorable an era in the history of christianity, that many have proposed to celebrate this day with more than usual solemnity-with no purposes of faction-for that is beneath the dignity, and unbecoming the character, of the Church of England, -but with the simple and sincere purpose of stirring up your minds to a remembrance of the blessings which a knowledge of the Word of God has secured to you-of reminding you of the kindness of the Almighty in bestowing upon you this inestimable favour, and of bringing to your recollection that it is solely by that Word that you can hope to maintain your religious integrity, confute gainsayers, study the truth as it is in Jesus, confirm yourselves in the faith, establish yourselves in good works, live as Christians in this world, and secure a Christian's reward in the life which is to come. Our very name of Protestants, is derived from our protesting against the errors and corruptions of the Church of Rome,—and if we cease so to protestif, while the zeal of that church is increasing, the love of many among us shall wax cold,-if

many who have professed that they were Protesting against our errors, have ceased to exclaim against corruptions, which, even by their own confession, are of a much darker die, and have joined themselves in an unholy alliance with those who have all along had an evil will at our Zion-woe be unto us, whether clergy or people, if, from ignorance or timidity, we refrain from testifying against every perversion of the Gospel, and especially those from which we have been so signally delivered, by the testimony of saints, by the blood of martyrs, and by the manifest interposition of heaven! On this day, then, when the word of God, by the instrumentality of of printing, was first secured to our nation beyond the malice of man to withhold it, and when our protestations against the errors of our forefathers first received a definite shape, by being based on that word faithfully translated, and learnedly expounded, (for our reformers were as conspicuous for their learning as for their piety and zeal,) on this day it is our especial duty to look back upon the manifold evils from which the Reformation has relieved us, and to thank God, with heart and spirit, for the benefits which it has poured upon our land.

The foundation of all these evils was, as I have said, ignorance of the scriptures,-"dark

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ness then covered the land, and thick darkness the people." It was not, indeed, for some centuries, that the Church of Rome obtained absolute sway over the Church of England.* Under our Saxon monarchs, the Church of England was comparatively free, and comparatively enlightened. The word of God was circulated in the native tongue-and the king, in all temporal matters, was the head and guardian of the church. But under the Norman kings, the Pope gradually advanced his influence in this country, till the whole patronage of the crown, and even the crown itself, were placed at his absolute disposal. Then the church was separated from the state, and every thing connected with religion was under the controul of a foreign power. The consequences were such as might naturally be expected Services in the native tongue were suppressed, and public worship in an unknown language enforced. Jealousies were engendered between the English clergy and those foreigners who usurped their places: while both, in their struggle for power, neglected their main dutythe religious instruction of the people. As the

* "We deny that Popery was always the religion of England before Henry VIII's time, and the only faith known to our forefathers before the sixteenth century." See "Our Protestant Forefathers." by W. S. Gilley, D.D.--an excellent little tract.