ARTICLE THE TWENTY-SECOND.

OF PURGATORY.

The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping, and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond Thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no Warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.

THIS Article is entitled "Of Purgatory," but it relates to four other doctrines, as well as Purgatory, all of which were maintained by the church of Rome, and were rejected by our church, and indeed by all Protestants, at the time of the Reformation.

THE ROMISH DOCTRINE CONCERNING PURGATORY, as asserted in the councils of Florence and Trent, is this:

That every man is subject both to temporal and eternal punishment for his sins: that God does indeed pardon sin, as to its eternal punishment, for the sake of the death and merits of Christ, but that the sinner is still liable to temporal punishment; that this temporal punishment must be expiated by voluntary acts of penance and sorrow, and by such afflictions as he may here endure by the appointment of God; that this expiation does not fully take place in this life, but that there is an intermediate state, in which departed souls suffer the remaining part of their punishment, and as this state is supposed to purge them from all effects of

their sins, and to qualify them for the joys of heaven, it is called Purgatory; and the church of Rome further maintains, that the pains and sufferings of Purgatory may be alleviated and shortened by the prayers of men here on earth, by the intercession of the saints in heaven, and, above all, by the sacrifice of the mass offered by the priests in the name of sinners; and that as soon as souls are released from Purgatory they are immediately admitted to eternal happiness."

The practice of praying for the dead began in the third century; but it was not till long after

a Ea verò quæ ad curiositatem quamdam, aut superstitionem spectant, vel turpe lucrum sapiunt, tanquam scandala et fidelium offendicula, prohibeant. Curent autem Episcopi ut fidelium vivorum suffragia, missarum scilicet sacrificia, orationes, eleemosynæ, aliaque pietatis opera, quæ à fidelibus pro aliis fidelibus defunctis fieri consueverunt, secundùm Ecclesiæ instituta piè et devotè fiant, et quæ pro illis ex testatorum fundationibus, vel aliâ ratione debentur, non perfunctoriè, sed à sacerdotibus, et Ecclesiæ ministris, et aliis, qui hoc præstare tenentur, diligenter et accurate persolvantur. Canon. et Decret. Ses. xxv.

Bellarmin says a threefold purgation of sins is spoken of in Scripture: the first effected by Christ himself (John, i. 29. Heb. i. 3.); but this is not insisted upon, since Christ is no where called Pergatorium: the second kind consists of the tribulations of life (Malachi, iii. 2. John, xv. 2.). This is also passed over in respect to controversy: quòd non semper tribulatio hujus vitæ sit

purgatoria. But, thirdly, purgatory is a certain place in which, as in a prison, those souls are purged, after this life, which, in this, were not entirely cleansed, in order that being so purged they may be able to enter heaven, into which nothing impure is admitted. Both the Old and New Testaments are then alleged as furnishing proofs of the doctrine of Purgatory; but the second book of Maccabees, c. xii., is quoted in the first instance, and that of Tobias in the second. These quotations are followed by a reference to 1 Sam. xxxi. 13., 2 Sam. iii. 35., Ps. xxxviii. 1., Ps. lxvi. 12., Is. iv. 4., Micah, vii. 8., Zech. ix. 11., Malac. iii. 3. The passages from the New Testament are Matt. xii. 32., whence it is said the holy fathers collect that certain sins are remitted in the other world, through the prayers and suffrages of the church,-1 Cor. iii. 15., 1 Cor. xv. 29., Matt. v. 25., Luke, xii. 58., Matt. v. 22., Luke, xvi. 9., Luke, xxiii. 42., Acts, ii. 24., Philip. ii. 10. Op. t. ii. p. 324. EDITOR.]

wards that Purgatory was even mentioned among Christians. It was at first doubtfully received, and was not fully established till the papacy of Gregory the Great, in the beginning of the seventh century. The belief, that the saying of masses would redeem the souls of the dead from the punishment of Purgatory, was the source of great gain to the clergy of the Western churches: the endowments, indeed, for that purpose became so large and frequent in this country, that it was necessary to restrain them by statutes of mortmain. The doctrine of Purgatory was never admitted into the Greek church; but something of this kind seems to have been believed by Pagans, Jews, and Mahometans.a

Not only Purgatory itself is not mentioned in Scripture, but there is not the slightest authority for that distinction between temporal and eternal punishment which is the foundation of this doctrine; nor are we directed to offer prayers or masses for the souls of the dead. It is no where said that there is any species of guilt or punishment from which the merits of Christ will not deliver us; on the contrary, we are told that "the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin";" and that "now there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." Full and complete forgiveness of sins in the world to come, without any reserve or exception, is promised to repentant sinners; and we have the most positive assurances

a Vide Broughton's Dictionary, under the word Purgatory; and Maurice's History of Hindostan.

that they will be eternally happy, without any intimation of suffering, preparatory to their entrance into those joys which are at God's right hand for evermore. And, therefore, the doctrine of an intermediate state of pain and torment from which the merits of our Redeemer cannot deliver us, is not only GROUNDED UPON NO WARRANTY OF SCRIPTURE, but is so far positively REPUGNANT TO THE WORD OF GOD, as it is contrary to the absolute and unreserved offers of mercy, peace, and happiness contained in the Gospel, and as it derogates from the fulness and perfection of the one expiatory sacrifice made by the death of Christ for all the sins of all mankind. It seems also absurd to suppose that considerable sufferings should await, in a future life, those who are to be finally saved, and that there should be effectual methods of avoiding or shortening those sufferings, without any mention of the evil, or its remedy, in any part of the New Testament. To this argument, from the silence of Scripture, we may add, that the Gospel represents Lazarus as at once conveyed to a state of comfort and joy; that our Saviour promised the thief upon the cross that he should on that day be with him in Paradise; that St. Paul exults in the prospect of "a crown of righteousness" after death"; that he represents “to depart and to be with Christ";" "to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord," as states which were immediately to follow each other; and St. John says, "Blessed are the

c 2 Cor. v. 8.

dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours;" but how do they rest from their labours if they have still the pains of Purgatory to endure?

With respect to temporal punishments, it is evident that God sometimes interposes in visible judgments upon the wicked as well as in blessings. upon the good; but, on the other hand, the wicked often appear to prosper, while the good are suffering under adversity. And, indeed, the Gospel warns all men without any discrimination, to expect crosses and afflictions in this probationary life, and requires faith and patience under the heaviest pressure of the most unprovoked calamities. These are parts of the divine government of this world, which are ordained for the wisest and most salutary purposes, and have no concern whatever with a state of punishment in another life previous to a state of happiness.

The second doctrine condemned in this Article is that of PARDONS, which took its rise in the following manner: In the primitive church very severe penalties were inflicted upon those who had been guilty of any sins, whether public or private; and in particular, they were forbidden to partake, for a certain time, of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or to hold communion with the church. General rules were made upon these subjects; but as it was often found expedient to make a discrimination in the degrees of punishment, according

a Rev. xiv. 13.