t that there was still an inherent
opposition in man to the restraining and purifying doctrines of the
gospel of Christ.

And when in later years, whole nations and peoples were said to become
Christians, it may well be doubted whether in such times there had not
been as great a reduction of the number of true converts of old standing,
as there was addition of this class amongst the new ones. Christianity
as professed in those days, had thrown off her simple garb, and had
decorated herself to please the corrupt taste of the people--as the sun
and other heavenly bodies were probably the earliest objects of adoration
to mankind, and were used in the first instance as striking symbols of
the light and power of the one Creator and Father, so did the professors
of Christianity, pretty early present to the people, some intermediate
objects of reverence and love, by which those who turned from the simple
affiance to the one Great Redeemer and High Priest, might find a rest
suited to their carnal, or at least imperfectly spiritual conception of
Christianity. And when the temporal church boasted of its universal sway
in Europe, and its entire unity, there were probably a smaller number of
true Christians within its pale, than existed in the midst of pagan
persecutions at the close of the apostolic age.

Let us now look at times nearer to our own, when Huss, and Luther, and
Zwingle, by a power not their own, caused many rays of the glorious light
of Truth to shine upon benighted nations, and disturbed the slumbers of
the corrupted church. Great were, and still are the blessings derived
from the great struggle. Many of the bonds of Satan were broken, and
many a heavy burdened soul found its long desired rest. Yet how soon was
even the brightness of this morning dimmed, and how little progress did
the cause of the Reformation make after the departure of the immediate
instruments in the great movement.

In Switzerland, not inaptly called the cradle of the English Reformation,
the Cantons which, in the first instance received the truth and joined
the Protestant cause, continue still to bear the same name, but not one
which at that time retained the designation of Catholic, has since become
Protestant: and at Geneva, where Calvin taught, and where his doctrines
are still professed, opinions which were not less abhorrent to him than
the worst of the errors of popery, are openly maintained. Those who now
preach the vital truths