In a work like the present, the article. ECCLaS1ASTIOAL HisTonv must, of course, he a very general one. Hav ing, therefore, now given a short account of the most important controversies which have been agitated among the Protestants since the time of Luther to the present clay, we shall bring our labours to a close. And in look ing around us, we cannot contemplate the existing state of Christianity without the sincerest emotions of grati tude and joy. Not many years ago, the security of our holy religion was shaken by the torrent of infidelity, which threatened to overspread, with its mighty force, every country of Christendom. The fanaticism which prevailed, had its origin in France. In this unhappy kingdom, the superstitions of Rome had been so con founded with genuine Christianity, that they wet e com pletely identified in the estimation of the people. An erring philosophy, that failed to distinguish between things unquestionably different, had gained possession of the public mind : the chief authority was put into the hands of the multitude, ever captivated with the novelty and the acquisition of power, and ever ready to abuse it ; the whole system of Christianity was ferociously over thrown; the observance of the Sabbath was abolished : —the human understanding seemed to be perverted be yond the hope or the possibility of recovery, and the human character, as exemplified among the revolution ists of France, appeared to become every day, more and more degraded and brutal. The convulsions of the state kept pace with the downfall of the church. The mad •ess heightened, and was exasperated; the hearts of men, who looked on and witnessed the scene, failed them through fear : other nations felt the shock of dis solving empire, or were engulphed in its ruins. But better clays have at length arrived. The contending elements have found their balance and their proper place. We rejoice in the cessation of a protracted war fare, and would record in our pages too, and with no little or feigned satisfaction, that the captains and the mighty men have met together, each of them with " the green branch" in his hand. A reputable, and, as we
trust, a permanent peace has at last been attained. But we know not ourselves at all, if this be the only cause of our joy. The human mind has returned to a sense of religion, and the acknowledgment of a God. The throne of the Redeemer has again been erected. From Eng land a light is gone forth which shall illuminate the most distant lands. Christian benevolence has multiplied her children. A society has been formed and established for the printing and the circulation of the holy scriptures ; differences are laid aside, dissensions are forgotten; the lofty churchman unites with the humbler Presbyterian, or still humbler Methodist ; one feeling bounds in every breast, and every prayer which is breathed to heaven is breathed for the accomplishment of the prophecy, which assures us, "that the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." In point of fact, this prophecy, through the exertions of the British and Foreign Bible Society, has already, in part, been : and it is now true, with a peculiar significancy in the statement, and extent in the application of the language, " that the heathen is given" to Christ Jesus " for his in heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession." See Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, passim ; Lardner's Works, passim ; Du Pin's Church History; Campbell's Lectures on Ecclesiastical History; Histoire Ecclesiastique par Fleury, edit. Brnxelle ; Fa ther Paul Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent, trans lated from the Italian into French by De la Houssaie ; Jortih's Remarks on Ecclesiastical History; Nears His tory of the Puritans; 1116erie's Life of John Knox; and Reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society, passim. (h )