THE above is a correct representation of the wafer. It is made of wheat flour and water, unleavened. The large wafers, intended to be exhibited for worship, are about three inches in diameter, the small ones, intended to be eaten by the communicants, are rather larger than a shilling. Popery teaches that immediately after the priest has consecrated the wafer, it is changed into the TRUE BODY AND TRUE BLOOD OF OUR LORD, TOGETHER WITH HIS SOUL AND DIVINITY. It is then swallowed as such, by the poor, deluded worshipper. This awful superstition, unparalleled in its extent by any of the rites and ceremonies of the heathen world, is grounded mainly on a LITERAL interpretation of our Saviour's words, "Take, eat: this is my body," &c.-Matt. xxvi. 28. Thus, they think they adore and devour that Saviour, "Whom the heaven must receive until the restitution of all things."-Acts iii. 21. The catechism of our Church teaches us that there are in a sacrament, "two parts; the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace; and that "the outward part or sign in the Lord's supper," is "bread and wine." That which is therein eaten, the inspired apostle thrice tells us is "bread," (1 Cor. xi. 26, 27, 28,) and that which is drunk, our blessed Lord informs us, is "the fruit of the vine," (Matt. xxvi. 29,) and our sight, our touch, our smell, and our taste shew us that the fact is so. But we find certain corrupt teachers in our Church maintaining that the sign is the thing signified, and vainly endeavouring to prove that our divine Redeemer is in the Lord's supper "personally aud bodily with us;" - that "the bread and wine are changed by the consecration of the priest and the operation of the Holy Ghost, and become the very body and very blood of our Lord;" in short, that the officiating *Tracts for the Times. No. 90. + Ibid, Minister "MAKES the bread and wine Christ's body and blood." The language used by our divine Redeemer in the original institution of the Lord's supper, (Matt. xxvi. 26, 27, 28. Mark xiv. 22, 23, 24. Luke xxii. 19, 20,) is evidently figurative. "This is my body," "this is my blood," according to a common form of speech, mean "this represents my body," "this represents my blood." A few Similar instances may be mentioned, amongst many which occur in the Holy Scriptures; "It is (signifies) the Lord's passover."Exod. xii. 11. "The seven kine are (represent) seven years."-Gen. xli. 26. "The ten horns are (signify) ten kings."-Dan. vii. 24. "That rock was (represented) Christ."-1 Cor. x. 4. "The field is (signifies) the world, the good seed are (signify) the children of the kingdom; but the tares are (signify) the children of the wicked one."-Matt. xiii. 38. And our Saviour's meaning, in his discourse recorded in the sixth chapter of St. John's gospel, is scarcely less obvious. The sense of the words, "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John vi. 54) is best understood by comparing them with that corresponding statement in the same discourse: "This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son of man, and believeth on him, hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”—v. 40. That Neither should any one understand in a corporeal sense those expressions in the formularies of our church, which a full examination of her services clearly shews to have been used in a spiritual one. which the Lord hath commanded to be received in the holy communion we are expressly told is "bread and wine;"§ we are informed that the soul of the faithful com Tracts for the Times, No. 10, first edit. § Church Catechism. municant is strengthened and refreshed by the body and blood of Christ, as his body is by "the bread and wine;"* we are said to receive the creatures of "bread and wine," according to our Saviour's holy institution, and the elements are, after consecration, said to be not the body and blood of Christ, but 66 consecrated bread and wine." 66 It is a part of the erroneous teaching before referred to, that the Lord's table is an altar," though that term has been ejected from the rubrics of our communion service in every instance in which it formerly stood there. There is no authority for this expression in the New Testament. Bishop Hall remarks that by "the altar," mentioned in Heb. xiii. 10, is evidently intended Jesus Christ himself; and it is worthy of observation, that St. Paul, whilst speaking of the Holy Communion in 1 Cor. x, contrasts Christians as "partakers of that one bread," with "Israel after the flesh," as partakers of the altar," and then uses the term adoped by the Church of England, THE LORD'S TABLE."-1 Cor. x. 21. 66 The doctrine of our reformed church, respecting the sign and the thing signified in the Lord's supper, is well expressed by the following eminent prelates: ARCHBISHOP CRANMER." The bread and wine be not Christ's very body and blood, but they be figures which by Christ's institution be unto the godly receivers thereof sacraments, tokens, significations, and representations, of his very flesh and blood." BISHOP TAYLOR.-"We, by the real spiritual presence of Christ, do understand Christ to be present, as the Spirit of God is present, in the hearts of the faithful, by blessing and grace." ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON.-"We must understand our Lord's meaning to have been this bread signifies my body, this cup signifies my blood; and this which ye see me now do, do ye hereafter for a memorial of me." BISHOP BEVERIDGE.-" That which we eat at the sacrament is bread, and not the very body of Christ; that which we drink, the cup or wine, and not the very blood of Christ." 66 And the argument of Archbishop Usher against the corrupt doctrine before alluded to is irresistible. "The body and blood of Christ," he says, are received by all unto life, and by none unto condemnation.-John vi. 54. But that substance which is outwardly delivered in the Lord's supper is not received by all unto life, but by many unto condemnation.-1 Cor. xi. 29. Therefore that which is outwardly delivered in the Lord's supper is not really the body and blood of Christ." Look not then for the presence of the divine Redeemer in the bread and wine, but look for it in your own soul, if you are a faithful communicant. Come not to the Lord's table with blind superstition, but come in penitence and faith. So shall the cup which is blessed and the bread which is broken be to you a communion of the offered body and poured out blood of Christ, in all their inestimable benefits and in all their saving power! "IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT QUICKENETH; THE FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING."-John vi. 63. THE USE OF THE CONFESSIONAL. The following is extracted from a letter of Mr. Eastwood, a Roman Catholic : "If, in making these observations, you suppose, Sir, that priests are incapable of any attempt to induce a Catholic to swear contrary to what he (the Catholic) knows to be the truth, you are greatly deceived; and if you believe that all priests have a due regard for the sanctity of an oath, you are, likewise, in error. Should you hold that the confessional is free from being profaned by confessors, again I must say that such is not the case, and that I am prepared to prove it. These, I am aware, are not slight imputations; unfortunately they are but too true; and I fully agree with you that those who are guilty of such conduct are not fit for any state of society. "As a sincere Catholic, I feel anxious that our honour and honesty should not be suspected; but this can never be the case until by our acts we convince our separated brethren, that we are not mere tools in the hands of our priests, and that we will not screen them in their iniquities." How could we wish that the half-opened eyes of the writer of the above, may be fully opened to see and to escape from the trammels of apostate Rome. A more perfect knowledge, or a more open avowal, would enable him to expose greater evils, that may have come to his own knowledge, and such perhaps as he may not suppose to exist. It is wrong to make the exception a rule, nor ought we to impute to a system, the errors of individuals, except so far as cause and effect may be traced between them. This we believe to be the case with regard to the confessional and the celibacy of the Roman Catholic priesthood. A correspondent writing from Ireland says, "It is perfectly ludicrous and shocking to see young O'Connell talking in the House of the piety and value of the Romish priests. One would have thought their conduct with regard to elections, to repeal, and their constant and profligate breach of the Sabbath, would have prevented such a statement being listened to. But I fear, many ignorant of Ireland, and many liberal Irish Protestants even, believe the ridiculous lie. The priests are unquestionably the great curse and plague of Ireland. The people would be quiet enough, and I believe very well inclined to read the Scriptures and hear the Gospel if the priests would let them alone. As to the priests being pious, I believe not one in a hundred know anything or care anything about spiritual religion. The nephews and nieces as they are called, or sons and daughters as they ought to be called, of these priestly fathers, are as common and multitudinous as the priests themselves, and nobody seems to think it any scandal. They are talked of, and admitted into Roman Catholic society, as if it was quite right and proper for these unmarried bachelors to have children. "Oh the abomniations of this mystery of iniquity! And the very people who know all this, will exalt their priesthood as the most holy, and expatiate on the sanctity of a life of celibacy!" THE BEAUTIES OF THE HOLY BIBLE. It reveals the only living and true God, and shows the way to him. It sets aside all other gods, and mediators, and describes the vanity of them and of all that put their trust in them. It points out Christ Jesus as the only Mediator between God and sinners. It is a Book of Laws to show the right and wrong. It is a Book of Wisdom that condemns all folly and makes the foolish wise. It is a Book of Truth that detects all errors. It is a Book of Life that shows the way from everlasting Death. It is the most compendious Book in all the world. It is the most authentic and entertaining history that ever was published. It contains the most ancient antiquities, remarkable events, and wonderful occurrences. It points out the most heroic deeds and unparalleled wars. It describes the celestial, terrestrial, and lower Worlds. It explains the Origin of the Angelic Myriads of Human Tribes and Devilish Legions. It will instruct the most accomplished Mechanic, and the profoundest Artist. It will teach the best Rhetorician, and exercise every power of the most skilful Arithmetician. -Rev. xvii. 18. It will puzzle the wisest Anatomist and the nicest Critic. It corrects the vain Philosopher and confutes the wisest Astronomer. It exposes the subtle Sophist, and drives Diviners mad.-Isa. xliv. 25. It is a complete code of Laws, a perfect body of Divinity, an unequalled narrative. It is a Book of Lives. It is a Book of Travels. It is a Book of Voyages. It is the best Covenant that ever was agreed on, the best deed that ever was sealed. It is Wisdom to understand it; to be ignorant of it is to be awfully destitute!!! It is the King's best Copy, and the Magistrate's best Rule. It is the Housewife's best Guide, and the Servant's best Instructor. It is the Young Man's best Companion. It is the School Boy's Spelling Book. It is the learned Man's Masterpiece. It contains a choice Grammar for a Novice, and a profound Mystery for a Sage. It is the ignorant Man's Dictionary and the Wise Man's Directory. It affords knowledge of Witty Inventions, and it is its own Interpreter. It encourages the Wise, the Warrior, the Swift, and the Overcomer. It promises an Eternal Reward to the Excellent, the Conqueror, the Warrior, the Prevalent. And that which crowns all, is, that the Author is without Partiality, And without Hypocrisy, "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning," GOD. ROME-BABYLON. THE following passage from St. Peter (1 Ep. v. 13)" The Church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you," has given rise to considerable discussion. Several ancient writers, and among them Jerome, suppose that by Babylon is figuratively meant Rome, aud there are many points of resemblance between that Queen of Cities and what we conceive of ancient Babylon. "The Jews were fond of mystical appellations, especially in their captivities. Edom was a frequent title for their heathen oppressors. And as they were first taken captives to Babylon, Rome, the principal scene of their second captivity, which so strongly resembled Babylon in her abominations, idolatries, and persecutions of the saints, may be denominated by the same title.". Townsend. It is singular that the Romish Church herself contends earnestly for this figurative meaning. In the Rhemish New Testament they speak of Protestants as "unhonest and partial handlers of God's word," for opposing this view, from which they endeavour to build a proof that Peter was at Rome; so that Fulke fairly remarks, "You are content that Rome be the seat of Antichrist, so that you may have Peter at Rome. Seeing you will needs have Rome to be Babylon in this place, as in Rev. 16 and 17, you cannot avoid the see of Antichrist from the city of Rome; for the Holy Ghost, in the Revelation, speaks, not only of the persecution of the heathen emperors, but also of the incitements to false doctrines." And Bishop Hurd remarks on Rev. xvii. 18,-" Words cannot be more determinate than these; and if its dominion had not been mentioned, the city on seven hills (v. 9) is so characteristic of Rome, that the name itself could not have pointed it out more plainly, as must be evident to all who recollect what the later writers have said on this subject. As thus described, it is even more precise than the proper name would have been; it precludes by the peculiarity of the attributes any other application." ANECDOTE. ANSWER TO JESUITS. On one occasion, when a missionary of the Reformation Society had been addressing a meeting with great power and effect, a wily Jesuit at the close, put the following question, thinking its unanswerable nature, as he perhaps considered it, might damp the ardour of Protestants, and take off part of the good effect produced: "Supposing," he said, which of the hundred sects of Protestants "I were to leave the Church of Rome, to should I then belong?" The divisions which unhappily prevail amongst Protestants are a strong weapon in the hands both them was without its intended effect; for to of Infidels and Papists, but this allusion to this bold challenge the reverend orator replied,-"Let him leave the Church of Rome, and then let him join which ever he will of the multifarious sects of Protestants (with the exception of Unitarians), and he will be better off than he is now." PRETTY bird, how cheerfully dost thou sit and sing, and yet knowest not where thou art, nor where thou shalt make thy next meal, and at night must shroud thyself in a bush for a lodging! What a shame is it for me, that see before me so liberal provisions of my God, and find myself set warm under my own roof, yet am ready to droop under a distrustful and unthankful dulness. Had I so little certainty of my harbour and purveyance, how heartless should I be,-how careful! how little list should I have to make music to thee or myself! Surely thou camest not hither without a Providence. God sent thee, not so much to delight, as to shame me; but all in a conviction of my sullen unbelief, who under more apparent means am less cheerful and confident. Reason and faith have not done so much in me as in thee, mere instinct of nature. Want of foresight makes thee more merry, if not more happy, here, than the foresight of better things maketh me. O God, thy Providence is not impaired by those powers thou hast given me above these brute things. Let not my greater helps hinder me from a holy security and comfortable reliance upon thee. CABINET, The law of God cannot be modified by the will of man. Man's sins cannot make the laws of God less strict. Faith brings the things that are not seen to the same fulness of assurance as the things that are seen. Error does not become truth by age. Only that religion which came down from heaven can lead man up to heaven. POETRY. REVIEW. The Idolatry of the Church of Rome. By the Rev. A. S. THELWALL, Author of Thoughts in Affliction," "Sermons," "Letters on the Church," and one of the Authors of" Anti-mammon."-We trust to notice this more fully in our next. Meanwhile we recommend it to our readers as a learned, pious, and useful work, evincing great research, and extensive information, and written in a bold uncompromising spirit of Protestantism, such as we could wish to see more generally displayed. Thursday, March 14th, Rev. J. S. Stamp, -"The Right of Private Judgment." Thursday, March 21st, Rev. S. A. Dubourg,"The Divine Prohibition of the use of Images in the Worship of God." Thursday, March 28th, Rev. John Maclean,-" Popery, the Apostacy predicted in Scripture." The others will be delivered (D.v.) in the following order : Thursday, April 4th, Mr. Theophilus A. Smith,-"Popery proved, from her Laws and from History, to be hostile to Civil and Religious Liberty, and dangerous to the National Welfare." Thursday, April 11th, Mr. Rigley," Popery disloyal and rebellious in her principles and practices." Thursday, April 18th, Rev. Charles Prest,-" Tractarian intolerance, a revival of the principles of Popish Persecution." Thursday, April 25th, Rev. J. Dixon, D.D.-" The Papal and Protestant systems irreconcileable in their principles, tendencies, and effects, illustrated by the present state of controversy as well as by past collisions." Each lecture commences at seven o'clock. The first three have been attended each by about 600 persons, and it is expected the interest will increase. Popery is stronger in this neighbourhood than in any other part of the metropolis. It is expected that another course will be announced immediately, to be delivered in a National School Room near the same locality. Shoreditch and Hackney.-The lectures noticed in the last Operative to be delivered in connection with this Association have been well attended hitherto, and are progressing favourably. The Sale of Fancy Work on behalf of the following Societies,-I. Chinese Missions of the Church Missionary Society.-II. To the Jerusalem Bishopric Fund.-III. To the Special Fund for reprinting and issuing Standard Protestant Works, by popular will (D.v.) take place on Thursday and Friauthors, in a cheap and attractive form,day, 9th and 10th May, at Willis's Rooms. The Annual Meeting of the Protestant Association will be held (D.v.) in the Large Hall, Exeter Hall, on Wednesday, May 8th. Chair to be taken at 12 o'clock. LONDON:10 ng the direction of PROTESTANT DEPOSITORY at 11, Exeter Hall; And R. GROOMBRIDGE. Seven Shillings per Hundred, for Distribution. [Gilbert-street. |