practice of the Ancient Church be produced as an example, that comprehended, in as brief a form of words as was practicable, those articles which she judged necessary to be believed.

Although some of the expressions upon which he animadverted as novelties in Conrad Vorstius, ought to have excited a less portion of his animosity, because those expression have the example of the ancients, such as Tertullian and others, on which to rest,-and although he ought not on that account to have called Vorstius a Divine that employs new phrases,'-yet, in his Exercitations on the Annals of Baronius, he has afforded a sufficiently clear testimony of his sentiments concerning those points of faith which were then in a state of controversy, when he relates, that several persons had come out of France, his native country, who had sedulously opposed St. Augustine in those parts in which he advocates a different opinion. But in this manuscript which you now behold, with what a holy fervour does this famous man exclaim, O SACRED COGITATIONS!, when he contemplates that love of mutual concord which inflamed the heart of Arminius and with which he was entirely engrossed. But Uiteubogardt was unwilling to have any innovations made, lest the Churches should be more than formerly divided into schisms and parties.' Such appear to have been at that period the sentiments of Uitenbogardt, unless perhaps we do not properly apprehend what were his own intentions. But age, experience, and the outrageous domination of his adversaries, afterwards taught him this lesson,- If you resist errors, against which it is * occasionally necessary to offer some resistance, it is not possible for you always to preserve every thing in a state of tranquillity.' For in our regard for peace, our counsels must be such as to prevent the extinction of Divine Truth ;—especially, if that [particular] truth be useful both in exciting piety and the hopes of eternal salvation, and in cherishing them after they are excited, so as to cause it to stand in the closest relation to doctrines of the first necessity;-and, principally, if the error, which is opposed to such truth, should appear to be entirely subversive of the glory of God's Justice, Mercy, and Truth, because for the Divine Glory we must earnestly contend.” Poelenburgh then offers some good observations on the celebrated maxim of Politicians, "that evil which has gained a firm foundation must not be rashly removed;" and on the equally ready ecclesiastical aphorism, "Unless the doctrine which is the object of contention be one that is absolutely necessary to salvation, or if it even be an error, it is better to leave it untouched, than to excite tumults in the Church on that account." In reference to the latter, Poelenburgh very appropriately asks, “Where is the person, who from the votes of all men will undertake to determine those doctrines which are wholly and solely necessary to salvation?, and if any such individual be in existence, he shall live in my estimation as the Great Apollo.” In JACKSON'S Life of Goodwin, (Chap. ix,) is given a curious instance of the difficulty of this undertaking: The celebrated Richard Baxter, having been appointed a member of one of Cromwell's Committees for settling the terms of Republican toleration, compelled his reverend colleages to reject this sentiment, which they had previously adopted as one of their FUNDAMENTALS,— "He that alloweth himself or others in any known sin, cannot be saved." "I told them," says Baxter, "that the Parliament [consisting principally of Presbyterians,] took the Independent way of separation to be a sin; and when this article came before them, they would say, 'By our brethrens' judgment [several of whom were Independents,] we are all damned men, if we allow the Independents, or any other Sectaries, in their sin.'”—Arminius alludes, in page 547, to the former Political Maxim, which was frequently employed against his prudent and pacific measures.

The conclusion of the learned Professor Poelenburgh's letter is in the following terms. "In this discourse between Casaubon and Uitenbogardt, the circumstance which affords me the chief pleasure, is, the opinion of Ca

Some individuals form a distinction between the Confession and the Catechism with respect to revision; and, since the

saubon, that, in order to effect an union among the various sects of Christians, a discrimination must be made between the doctrines which are fundamental and those which are not; and his acknowledgment and commendation of the HOLY THOUGHTS OF ARMINIUS on that subject. For after I have looked round and observed all the plans and counsels which learned and pious men have devised and tendered, this expedient alone appears capable of affording a remedy to evils of such magnitude,-to schisms thus long continued, inveterate and confirmed. Because if this determination was once formed among all Christians, that it is unlawful to lacerate and disperse into parties the body of the Church of Christ, unless it be made plain and apparent from the Holy Scriptures of God, that the error opposed is subversive of the very found◄ations of faith and piety;'—if this point were once determined, (Immortal God!) how many grievous and widely dispersed schisms would it be possible, by this method, to bring into a state of union, and to recal and cement together into the same conjunction of one body! This then is the adhesive material, which must bind together in one the minds of all believers. How desirable that this course had been pursued by those men who attempted above all others to restore the Church, which had been greatly adulterated by Popish vices and errors, to her ancient integrity, soundness, and splendour! Had this been sedulously adopted by them, we should not have a Church so lacerated and rent asunder as it is at present.

"How desirable that Calvin, who was in other respects adorned with the great endowments of genius, erudition and eloquence, should not also have been entitled to an equally high degree of reputation and applause for his moderation! In that case, he would undoubtedly have obtained both from God and man a far greater portion of favour and regard, he would with more abundant effect have promoted the difficult work of Reformation, he would have left behind him disciples of a much better description than those who now bear his name, and he would have laid those solid foundations for concord on which the house of God being firmly fixed and established might have reposed and continued for ever. But it is a circumstance of congratulation, that the invincible force of truth sometimes extorted from him a true expression. In the Confession which he wrote for the Italian churches, and which was published in the year 1558, he declares, that the Confession of Faith which is <comprised in the Apostles' Creed, ought to be sufficient for all moderate "Christians!' In the First Book of his Institutes, (cap. xiii. § 5,) he extols St. Hilary, who in a passage of his Book on Councils calls the French bishops HAPPY MEN, because they had neither invented, received, nor had even 'known any other Confession, than the ancient and very simple one which < from the time of the Apostles had been received by all churches.' Calvin had occasionally lucid intervals, but they were rare in their occurrence. This testimony in his favour has been deservedly bestowed by a very great man of the present age; and the truth of it is likewise apparent even in the affair of predestination.

"In the mean time, I consider it a cause of congratulation on our part, that as, after those fervid contests which were maintained by St. Augustine and others, a milder and more moderate opinion concerning Predestination immediately arose and increased in the minds of men in general; so now in this age, after that unbridled passion for contending has subsided which usually transports into opposition even the most excellent men, by degrees the great mass [of professing Christians] acquiesce in this opinion of ours, or in one equally moderate. Another circumstance is likewise to be reckoned among the principal felicities of the present æra, that, in all religious sects, eminent men arise on every side, who devote the whole of their cares and thoughts chiefly to one object, to inflame men with as great a love for PEACE as for TRUTH. But I cousider the highest degree of gratitude to be due to the Divine Being on this

Confession is the peculiar property of the Dutch Churches, and is on that account found in the hands of comparatively few people, they conclude, "that it is possible without any difficulty to revise it in a Synod and subject it to examination." But since the Catechism belongs not only to us, but likewise and principally to the Churches of the Palatinate, and is therefore to be found in the hands of all men, the same persons consider the examination of it "to be connected with great peril.”—But to this I reply, If we be desirous of constituting the Heidelberg Catechism a formulary of concord among the teachers of the Churches, and if they be obliged to subscribe it, it is still necessary to subject it to examination. For no Churches whatever ought to hold such a high station in our esteem, as to induce us to receive any writing of their composition without, at the same time, reserving to ourselves the liberty of submitting it to a nice scrutiny: And I account this to be the principal cause, why the churches of different provinces, although

*

account, because he has injected not only into the hearts of the Popish rulers, but in the first instance into those of the Reformed religion, the disposition to remove, destroy, and abolish generally throughout the world the cruel and bloody tribunal of the Inquisition, and every kind of tyranny over the consciences of men.-Since God, who is the Author and Defender of peace, has extinguished the horrid practices of burning human victims alive, and of murdering the innocent, may He yet more extensively diffuse this sacred flame of love and amity through the hearts of all who believe in Christ! With this wish I close my letter."

This communication requires no comment. The reader who wishes to know more concerning these HOLY THOUGHTS of our author, will find them in the fifth Oration of this volume.

In a preceding note, page 656, Saravia gives an interesting account of the origin of the Dutch Confession. In 1563, it was first published in the German and Dutch languages; in 1566, it was altered and contracted, and re-published in French and Dutch; and in 1581, it was first translated into Latin and printed in that language. Professor Junius was appointed by a Synod of the Reformed Churches, which was held at Antwerp, in 1566, to revise it in its amended form: After which, he says, he sent it to Geneva, to receive the approbation of the Pastors of that city, who were accounted the Fathers of the rigid Predestinarian system. The elder Brandt tell us, that the reason why the compilers did not follow the Augsburgh Confession in composing this formulary, "was, partly because they had previously maintained in writing the doctrines of Calvin and of the French Churches; but principally on account of the affinity of language between the French and the Walloons, and between that of the latter and of the inhabitants of Flanders and Brabant. Yet the Dutch Reformed occasionally screened themselves behind the Augsburgh Confession, because it was not so disagreeable at the Court [of Spain] as that of France which was Calvin's, and because the Calvinists were considered as a people more addicted to public tumults and disorders than the Lutherans. Prior to this period, the Reformed in the Low Countries had adopted the London Catechisms, both the large and the small one, as far as they related to matters of faith; but they regulated their manners only by the rules of the Holy Scriptures." I am unable to divine what two productions are intended by the London Catechisms here mentioned by the venerable histo

at perfect agreement with each other on the fundamental points of Christian doctrine, have each composed for themselves their own Confessions.-But if the Heidelberg Catechism be not allowed to become a formulary of this kind,* and if a suitable

rian: Do they relate to our present Catechism and Articles, or to Archbishop Cranmer's translation of the Nuremberg Catechism, and the Catechismus Brevis which was approved by the London Synod in 1552 ?

But though the Confession was thus actually Calvinistic in its origin, having been submitted in its amended state to the Pastors of Geneva, yet it was the judgment of many eminent divines, that with regard to Predestination it resembled our own excellent Seventeenth Article, "in not fully expressing all that either the Arminian or the Calvinist would wish to say on the subject, but leaving it as a matter about which mutual charity and forbearance might be exercised." Some collateral points may be found in both the Dutch formularies, that are predicated in terms more objectionable to an Arminian than is this concerning Predestination. On this topic the opinion of Arminius himself is of some moment, and it is thus liberally stated in a letter to his friend Uitenbogardt, in 1606 :- This is one of those things which I have observed in them, [my enemies] that they hold their own private opinions for a standard, and suppose them to be in every respect agreeable to the Catechism and Confession. But the real state of the matter is far otherwise: For it appears to me that the opinion of NEITHER PARTY concerning PREDESTINATION is in accordance with the Confession or the Catechism !" In a subsequent passage he says: “J have spoken nothing that is opposed to the Confession or the Catechism. If I have taken away a passage of scripture from those who have up to this period used or rather abused it in establishing their own private opinion, I have only exercised my own right-a privilege which they also daily enjoy But I have used this passage in establishing a doctrine which is, as they themselves confess, the foundation of Christianity, of salvation, and of our individual assurance of our own salvation: and I have their own testimony, though it is drawn from reluctant witnesses, that the doctrine which I thus confirm, is of FAR GREATER IMPORTANCE than that which they wish to confirm, by the same passage of scripture."-See pages 554-556, and the note 617-618.

The Calvinists in the United Provinces, who were undoubtedly the most violent of the race, not content with the power which a subscription to the Dutch Confession imparted, wished to associate with it, as a test, the Heidelberg Catechism. This document had been increasing in estimation and importance with the rigid Predestinarians, ever since the National Synod which was held at the Hague in 1585; when it was decreed, "that all the pastors of the Church should deliver an exposition on a portion of the Heidelberg Catechism every Sunday afternoon." In consequence of this high Synodical sauction, it was generally accounted of equal validity with the Confession, and in all ecclesiastical discussions the one formulary was scarcely ever named without the other. Thus in the South Holland Synod, held at Delft in 1607, several of the members had the following question propounded to them: "Do you allow, that whatsoever is contained in the Confession and Catechism, (both as to the sense, the expressions, the manner of speaking, and every thing else,) is agreeable to the Holy Scriptures?" In the same year, the Synod of Groningen passed a resolution," that they could by no means consent to any revision in the Dutch Confession of Faith, or the Catechism, by a National Synod; because when they entered into holy orders, they had bound themselves under an oath to maintain those formularies."-The latter instance is one of those anomalies which we previously noted in the ecclesiastical regimen in the United Provinces. Some of the smaller Provinces and cities included both documents in the subscriptions required from ministerial candidates: and the violent ContraRemonstrants openly avowed their intentions to have this double subscription enacted in the approaching National Synod and universally adopted. Nothing

liberty be conceded in the explanation of it, it will not then be necessary either to revise it or subject it to examination; provided, I repeat, that the obligatory burden of subscription be removed, and a moderate liberty be conceded in its explanation.* CONCLUDING ADDRESS.

This is all that I had to propose to your Mightinesses, as to my most noble, potent, wise and prudent masters. While I own myself bound to render an account of all my actions, to the members of this most noble and potent assembly, (next after God,) I at the same time present to them my humble and grateful acknowledgments, because they have not disdained to grant

therefore, was more frequently heard in their minor church-meetings, than this sentiment, "We are determined to live and die by the Confession and Catechism!"

Since to make the Heidelberg Catechism a component part of the terms of subscription to candidates for holy orders and to others already in the ministry," had long been the prevalent determination of the Calvinists, (page 512) it was against this innovation that Arminius directs these strong and unanswerable arguments. He thought, that if men were thus required to subscribe or swear to more articles than formerly, those augmented articles should be rendered as little liable to exception as possible, and ought, on that account, and for other reasons which he assigns, to be revised in a National Synod. Thus, the persons who were the greatest innovators, endeavoured to fasten on Arminius, by means of false accusations and calumnious reports, the charge of novel schemes and unprecedented measures. What his moderate views and pacific intentions had always been in relation to this matter, may be seen in the following extract of a private letter, which he addressed to a friend a few months prior to his death:-"I have nothing to write about our General Synod, nor do I know whether it will be convened or not. There is far greater hope of our obtaining a Provincial Synod, that is, either one of Holland and West Friezland, or one of North and South Holland. But I am unacquainted with the subjects to be discussed in it, and the order which will be observed. If the matter were to be conducted according to my wishes, our Confession and Catechism should undergo a rigid examination in that assembly; but principally the CONFESSION, which, as a formulary of agreement, has been hitherto subscribed by all our ministers. I shall not be urgent respecting the examination of the CATECHISM, provided it be not obtruded on us as a similar formulary: If it be so obtruded, I think it ought to be subjected to an equal scrutiny."

* When Arminius thus objects against "the obligatory burden of subscription," the connection of the sentence will shew, that it is only against the proposed subscription of the Heidelberg Catechism as an additional formulary of agreement. No man in that age had a clearer and more correct perception, than our author, of the necessity of subscription, as a means of defending the avennes of the Protestant Church against the approach or admission of Arians, Socinians, and other classes of virtual unbelievers and blasphemers. But the whole of the notes on this subject, as well as our author's own words in the text, will prove, that the formulary which required subscription should be of a GOSPEL STANDARD, and that, while it consisted of few articles, each of them should be stated in terms so clear and cogent, as to render them easy to be understood and generally acceptable.

A specimen of the MODERATE LIBERTY to be conceded in its explanation," may be seen in pages 559, and 641.