"the fifth chapter, where it is declared, that There be "divers manners or sorts of being in the church: For there "are some in the church, according to the mis-shapen "faith; and other some according to PREDESTINATION: "As Christians predestinate, now in sin, SHALL RETURN "AGAIN unto grace." The good man added: "Predes"tination doth make a man a member of the universal "church; the which [i. e. Predestination] is a preparation "of GRACE for the present, and of GLORY to come: And "not any degree of" [outward]" dignity, neither elec"tion of man" [or, one man's designation of another to some office or station], "neither any sensible sign," [i. e. Predestination does not barely extend to the outward signs, or means of grace: But includes something more and higher For the traitor Judas Iscariot, notwithstand"ing Christ's election" [or appointment of him to the apostleship ;]" and the temporal graces which were given "him for his office of apostleship, and that he was reputed "and counted of men a true apostle of Jesus Christ; yet "was he no true disciple, but a Wolf covered in a sheep's. "skin, as St Augustin saith.”

“A REPROBATE man is never a member of the holy church.

-I answer, It is in my book, with sufficient long pro"bation out of the xxvith Psalm, and out of the vth "chapter to the Ephesians: And also by St Bernard's "saying, The church of Jesus Christ is MORE plainly and "evidently HIS BODY, than the body which he delivered for "us to death. I have also written, in the fifth chapter of "my book, that the holy church," [i. e. the outward, visible church of professing Christians, here on earth]" is the "barn of the Lord, in which are both good and evil, pre"destinate and reprobate: The good being as the good corn, "or grain; and the evil, as the chaff. And thereunto is "added the exposition of St Austin." "Judas was NEVER a true disciple of Jesus Christ.—I answer, and I do confess the same. They came out from amongst us, but they were none of us. He knew, from the "beginning, who they were that believed not, and should betray «him. And therefore, I say unto you, that none COMETH "unto me, except it be GIVEN him of my Father."

Such were some of the allegations brought against this holy man by the council of Constance; and such were his answers, when he stood on his public trial, as a lilly among thorns, or a sheep in the midst of wolves. How easy is it for a man to write in defence of those inestimable truths, which (through the goodness of divine providence)

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have now, in our happy land, the sanction of national establishment! But with what invincible strength of grace was this adamantine saint endued, who bore his explicit, unshaken testimony to the faith, in the presence and hearing of its worst foes, armed with all the terrific powers of this world!

These are doctrines which, even in the purest ages of the church, have received countenance, and Huss boldly acknowledged them. But one circumstance bore more hard against him, which was, wishing his soul to be with the happy spirit of Wickliffe. Doctor Huss had too generous, too open a nature, to deny what he thought; nor did he imagine that life was worthy prevarication. He freely confessed, he was so charmed with Wickliffe's books, that he wished his spirit might enjoy the same fate with his hereafter. A great many other false and frivolous objections were raised against him, which he refuted with a manly eloquence, and recommending himself, and his cause to God, he was carried off.

He was no sooner gone, than the emperor, whose subject he was, and who shewed a peculiar zeal in his fate, rose, and told the assembly, That, in his opinion, every ' tenet he had then held, deserved death. That if he did not abjure, he ought to be burnt: And that all his followers, especially Jerom of Prague, should be exem'plarily punished.' But we are told, that the emperor and the cardinal of Chambre, exhorted doctor Huss to submit to the decision of the council. The next day, he was brought again before the assembly, where eighty-nine articles were read to him, which were said to be drawn out of his books, and he was advised to abjure them all : But he replied, that there were many of those propositions which he had never maintained, and he was ready to explain his opinion regarding the others. After many disputes, he was sent back to prison; and a resolution was then taken to burn him as a heretic, if he would not retract.

The emperor, on the tenth of June, sent four bishops, and two lords, to the prison, to prevail on Huss to make a recantation. But that pious divine, with truly Christian simplicity, called the great God to witness, with tears in his eyes, that he was not conscious of having preached, or written any thing against the truth of God, or the faith of his orthodox church. The deputies then represented the great wisdom and authority of the council. "Let them, said Huss, send the meanest person that can con"vince

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"vince me, by arguments, from the word of God, and I "will submit my judgment to him." This Christian and pious answer had no effect; because he would not take the authority and learning of the council upon trust, without the least shadow of an argument offered; and the deputies parted in high admiration of his obstinacy!

While this good confessor was in bonds, he wrote letters to incite his countrymen to persevere in the doctrines he had taught; and expressed his own firm resolution of never departing from them while he had life.

Doctor Huss, on the seventh of July, was conducted to the place where the fifteenth session of the council was held. He was required to abjure, which he refused: And the bishop of Londi, in a bloody, persecuting sermon, about the destruction of heretics, pronounced the prologue of his fate, by exhorting the emperor, who seemed ready enough of himself, to exterminate the growing heresy, that (as he was pleased to pervert the scripture) the body of sin might be destroyed. He told Sigismund, that he ought to destroy all errors and heresies, and especially the obstinate heretic Huss before him, since by his wickedness and mischief, many places of the world were infected with most pestilent and heretical poison, and, by his means and occasion, almost utterly subverted and destroyed. And that then the emperor's praises would be celebrated for evermore, for having overthrown such, and so great enemies of the faith.' A most honourable testimony for Dr Huss from the traducing mouth of a virulent adversary! In fine, the proctor of the council demanded that the process against Huss should be finished; the condemned articles of Wickliffe were read, and the thirty articles alledged against Huss, who explained some, and defended others. Many other articles of accusation were also read, which were proved by witnesses against him. His fate was determined, his vindication disregarded, and judgment was pronounced. His books were thereby condemned, and he was declared a manifest heretic, convicted of having taught many heresies and pernicious errors; of having despised the keys of the church, and ecclesiastical censures; of having seduced and given scandal to the faithful by his obstinacy; and of having rashly appealed to the tribunal of Christ: The council, therefore, censured him for being obstinate and incorrigible; and ordained, That he should be degraded from the priesthood, his books publicly burnt, and himself delivered to the secular 'power.'

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Doctor Huss heard this sentence without the least emotion. He kneeled down, with his eyes lifted towards heaven, and said, with all the spirit of primitive martyrdom, "May thy infinite mercy, O my God, pardon this "injustice of my enemies. Thou knowest the injustice "of their accusations: How deformed with crimes I have "been represented; how I have been oppressed by worth"less witnesses, and an unjust condemnation: Yet, O

my God, let that mercy of thine, which no tongue can "express, prevail with thee not to avenge my wrongs." These excellent sentences were so many expressions of treason against the trade of priestcraft, and considered as such by the narrow-minded assistants. The bishops appointed by the council stript him of his priestly garments, degraded him from his priestly function and university degrees, and put a mitre of paper on his head on which devils were painted, with this inscription, in great letters, A RING-LEADER OF HERETICS.' Our heroic martyr received this mock-mitre, smiling, and said, "It was less "painful than a crown of thorns." A serenity, a joy, a composure, appeared in his looks, which indicated that his soul had cut off many stages of tedious journey in her way to the point of eternal joy and everlasting peace.

The bishops delivered Huss to the emperor, who put him into the hands of the duke of Bavaria. His books were burnt at the gate of the church, and he was led to the suburbs to be burnt alive. Prior to his execution, Mr Huss made his solemn appeal to God, from the judgment of the pope and council. In this appeal (the whole of which would well repay the reader's perusal, he again repeats his assured faith in the doctrine of election; where he celebrates the willingness with which Christ vouchşafed, "By the most bitter and ignominious death, to REDEEM "the CHILDREN OF GOD, CHOSEN BEFORE THE "FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, from everlasting dam"nation." When he came to the place of execution, he fell on his knees, sang portions of psalms, looked stedfastly towards heaven, and repeated these words: "Into "thy hands, O Lord, do I commit my spirit; thou hast "redeemed me, O most good and faithful God. Lord "Jesus Christ, assist and help me, that with a firm and "patient mind, by thy most powerful grace, I may un"dergo this most cruel and ignominious death, to which "I am condemned for preaching the truth of thy most "holy gospel." When the chain was put about him at the stake, he said, with a smiling countenance, "My "Lord

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"Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than "this for my sake; and why should I be ashamed of this "old rusty one?" When the faggots were piled up to his very neck, the duke of Bavaria was officious enough to desire him to abjure. « No, says Huss, I never preached "any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught "with my lips, I now seal with my blood." He said to the executioner, "Are you going to burn a goose? In "one century, you will have a swan you can neither roast nor boil." If he was prophetic, he must have meant Luther, who had a swan for his arms. The flames were then applied to the faggots, when the martyr sang a hymn with so loud and cheerful a voice, that he was heard through all the cracklings of the combustibles, and the noise of the multitude. At last his voice was cut short, after he had uttered, "Jesus Christ, thou Son of "the living GOD, have mercy upon me;" and he was consumed in a most miserable manner. The duke of Bavaria ordered the executioner to throw all the martyr's clothes into the flames: After which his ashes were carefully collected, and cast into the Rhine.

While doctor Huss was in prison, he wrote some trea tises about the commands of God, of the Lord's prayer, of mortal sin, of marriage, of the knowledge and love of God, of the three enemies of man, and the seven mortal sins, of repentance, and of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. He also drew up a little piece about the communion in both kinds. He wrote an answer to the propositions drawn out of his books, which had been communicated to him: And he prepared three discourses; one about the sufficiency of the law of Jesus Christ; anóther to explain his faith about the last articles of the creed; and the third about peace. All these treatises were printed in one volume at Nuremburg in 1558: As also a second volume, containing a harmony of the four evangelists, with moral notes; many sermons; a commentary upon the first seven chapters of the first epistle to the Corinthians; commentaries upon the seven cánonical epistles, the cixth psalm, and those following to the cxixth and several other pieces, which, if they were not altogether correct, must be imputed to the reigning darkness of the times, and to his incessant conflicts with the sons of Rome.

This great martyr, as well as his friend Jerom, may be considered, in some measure, as dying for the principles of Wickliffe, or rather the principles of the gospel, transmitted to them from England. To preserve the memory of

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