force for the combat; the Lord will give strength to His people. Strong, therefore, in the grace which is in Christ Jesus, contend!

Nevertheless, the Continent which receives much from you may also give you something. Your teachers may, perhaps, find their valuable developments in certain branches of theology. I think that, in the present state of England, it is essential that the theological sciences make new progress; and to that end our universities, our theological literature, especially that of Germany, might be for you a foreign aid. More than this, there is a protest, which on several occasions has been made in the midst of you, and which should be incessantly renewed. The words of this protest, to which evangelical men of the Continent may lend their support, are the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible! You know, my lord, what a simple minister of Switzerland, the excellent R. Gualterus, of Zurich, wrote to your great queen Elizabeth, immediately after the bloody days of Mary: "We know that there are not a few persons who, though they perceive that Popery can neither honestly be defended, nor conveniently retained, are endeavouring by-and-bye to obtrude upon the

churches a form of religion, which is an unhappy compound of Popery and the Gospel, and from which there may, at length, be an easy passage to the ancient superstition. But since the apostle testifies that the Church is born by the Word of God, and that we must be born again in Christ, and made new creatures; whatever is in any measure repugnant to the doctrine of Christ, must be put off and laid aside together with the old Adam: nor can any reformation of the church be really acceptable to God, unless it agree in every respect with His Word. . . . Your Majesty is aware of that saying of Christ, who declares that the new piece of Evangelical doctrine will not suit the old garments of superstitions. And He also solemnly warns us not to put the fermenting and wholesome new wine of His Gospel into old leathern bottles, unless we would have not only these to perish, but that to be spilled at the same time. From the experience of not a few instances in our Germany, we assuredly know it to be impossible ever to consult the peace of the churches, or the purity of religion, as long as any relics. of superstition are retained. For as those who are weak ascribe to them much more

than is right, so the ignorant are made to stumble by them; and, at the same time, by their means the enemies of truth entertain the hope of some time bringing back and restoring superstition." (Zurich Letters, p. 8.) And this same minister wrote the same day to the physician of Elizabeth, saying: "We have now experienced in Germany for some years, to the great detriment of the churches, the extent of influence possessed by men who invent a form of religion of a mixed, uncertain, and doubtful character; forasmuch as their counsels appear to the carnal judgment to be full of moderation, and especially adapted to the promotion of concord; and it is likely that the common enemy of our salvation will also find suitable instruments among yourselves, by the aid of which he will endeavour to retain the seeds of Popery; which must be firmly resisted with the weapons of Holy Scripture and of the Divine Word, lest, while we endeavour to avoid giving some small offence at the first beginning, many things be allowed as if to endure only for a time, which it will afterwards be scarcely possible by any effort, and not without the most grievous struggles, altogether to remove." (Zurich Letters, p. 14.)

Such is the testimony that a humble minister of our mountains sent to the most illustrious of the sovereigns who have worn the crown of England. I will be bold, my lord, and speak as freely as Gualterus, for I know that if your great queen received his words with kindness, you, your friends, and your church, will receive them now in the same spirit, and will take them into serious consideration. The kindness of your great queen, and of many of your countrymen, of the sixteenth century, encourage me. Sir A. Cook, speaking of letters, written also from Zurich to Elizabeth by two colleagues of Gualterus, thus addresses Peter Martyr: “Your letter, most excellent sir, together with that of Master Bullinger, I have myself placed in the queen's hands. How exceedingly she was affected by the perusal of them, Cecil ean bear witness, for he saw her tears arise as she was reading them." (Zurich Letters, p. 11.) And F. Russell, earl of Bedford, wrote to Gualterus: "We have need also of your assistance. We commend ourselves and our England to you, and to your godly prayers. Pray that God may build up this house, already begun, into a holy temple, to the glory of His name, and the consolation of His people."

(Zurich Letters, p. 83.) My prayer to God is, that the Holy Spirit may speak by the feeble lines which I trace to some of His children in your Church of England, and that some good, were it ever so little, may result from them, to the glory of God. Be bold in the work of the Lord. Finish the work which the Father gave you to do. If the Reformation of the sixteenth century was not entirely accomplished according to the principles which were then placed before the eyes of the great Elizabeth, who can know the signs of the times, in the world, and in the church, without recognizing that the Reformation of the nineteenth century ought fully to realize that great principle of the paramount and exclusive authority of the Word of God, "Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel, and in nothing terrified by your adversaries."

I shall conclude, my lord, by expressing to you the lively gratitude of the Evangelical Society of Geneva for the interest you have taken in its labours, and for the assistance you have given it. We solicit for our persons and our work the continuance of your affection, your prayers, and your Christian benevolence.