ancient Waldenses who bore witness to the truth in the darkest ages of Popery, they come before us as interesting relics of the past, claiming our regard as the veritable representatives of those genuine protesters against the corruptions of Romanism. So far as this goes they do indeed walk in the steps of their fathers. They have never bowed down to the spiritual authority of the Pope. This circumstance alone cannot fail to excite the attention of Protestants on their behalf, more particularly at the present time, when the question of Popery is again forcing itself upon the attention of men. Indeed the fact of the long-continued line of Waldensian protesters comes in as a very appropriate answer to the boasting Papist, when he tauntingly asks the Protestant, "Where was your Church before Luther?" The reply can be instantly given, "In the bosom of the Alps." But it is not only between Protestant and Romanist that the name of the Waldenses is brought in to rivet an argument, different sects of Protestants contend with each other for the honour of their fraternity. A great deal has been said of late years upon this subject; the various disputants having all something plausible, if not convincing, to advance in their own cause. How this competition and controversy arose, we shall describe in the words of Mr. W. Jones, writing in 1834. "Since their history, (the history of the Waldenses) which had unaccountably fallen into oblivion, was revived about twenty years ago, by my instrumentality. The excursion that had been taken to the vallies of Piedmont, in the hope of collecting evidence, and the books and pamphlets that the subject has given rise to, are not easily enumerated. From the simple circumstance that they were averse to priests and war, the Quakers claimed them as theirs; but that was too futile a pretext to last long. Next on the list came the clergy of the church of England,-Messrs. Sims, Gilly, Ackland, and others, whose "Excursions to the vallies of Piedmont," in the hope of finding them of their party, and whose numerous and elaborate productions to make out the connexion, have not gone without their reward from the dignitaries of the establishment! Whereas nothing can be more wild and extravagant than such a speculation. The old Waldenses were no more Episcopalians, in the modern acceptation of that term, than they were Mahometans. Nor have the clergy of the church of Scotland been altogether asleep upon this occasion. in particular, after wasting the midnight lamp for eight long years, has recently favoured us with what he calls "A History of the Waldenses," in two ponderous tomes, which he seems to have studied to make as unreadable as it was possible for a work on that subject to become. He is entitled, however, to the praise of having shewn the fallacy of the claims of the clergy of the Church of England. For why ?-He finds the words Presbytery and Synod in their writings, which clearly proves they were not Episcopalians-and if not Episcopalians, what else could they be but Presbyterians? In this logical method, the reverend gentleman has settled the question, doubtless, quite to his own satisfaction." One of them The work last referred to, is "a History of the Waldenses, by Adam Blair, of Ferry Port, on Craig, published in 1832. It contains a great deal of matter connected with the subject, among which may be mentioned several original documents entire. It is a work well adapted for reference, but as Mr. Jones remarks, "not very readable." It is the annals of the Waldenses, rather than their history. His reasons for publishing, he states in his preface thus:-"I had long felt a wish to examine the Waldensian department of church history, and read with considerable avidity, Mr. Jones's History of the Christian Church, published twenty years ago, as a history of the Waldenses, I found that as the first part of his work consists of a general church history, he has not left himself space to treat so fully of the Waldenses, as the subject deserves. I felt also disappointed that he inserts so few of their writings; some are given only in part, and others entirely omitted. Mr. Jones, however, had the merit of directing the attention of the present generation to this branch of Ecclesiastical history. What I read in him, stimulated me to enquire more largely into the subject, and the present volumes are the result. Several remarks on him will be made in the progress of this work, written at my leisure hours in the course of the last eight years." We may thus see that through the history of the Waldenses, brought out by Mr. Jones, the christian world has been set a thinking upon that remarkable people; yet notwithstanding all the information collected concerning them, it doth not appear to be decided yet what their real views were. The Episcopalians find they were Episcopalians. The Presbyterians. that they were Presbyterians; and the Congregationalist that they were Congregationalists. Of course it can easily be ascertained what the views of the present race of Waldenses are, but this does not settle the question what the Waldenses of the middle ages believed, This can only be ascertained by studying the documents they have left behind them, and the testimony of contemporary writers. To every enlightened christian, this cannot fail to be an interesting and a delightful occupation. It is a branch of study which well repays the labour, and the labour is itself a pleasure, in the clear and vivid narrative of Mr. Jones. Perhaps those who have read his history, may feel anxious to see what opinions have been formed of the Waldenses since his time. For their gratification, we subjoin the following extracts, one from the pen of D'Aubigne, and the other from Waddington, an Episcopalian clergyman, who has written a history of the church. To be continued. THOUGHTS ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. To the Editor of the Christian with regard to what Epaphroditus Advocate. SIR-Perhaps you will accept of a few thoughts in reply to Epaphras in the October Advocate, has asserted. I interfere not-only this let me remark, that if the one be grasping at a straw, the other cannot be said to be supporting himself by a single hair. I beg that upon this subject you will allow me to state, that I cannot find the word church in all the Old Testament Scriptures, but that the people of God then meeting toge ther, are called the congregation of the Lord. And it will be allowed by all in the least acquainted with ancient history, that the word church was only introduced when national establishments of christianity were instituted; hence we find church of Rome, the church of England, the church of Scotland, &c., which by the bye, were well named, as none could properly be called the church of Christ. I find, however, that the words congregation, assembly, and church, are synonymous terms; and that some of our translators still adhere to the word congregation, and read that passage in Heb. xii. 23, "But ye are come to the general assembly and congregation of the first-born," &c. John Walker calls a Church --The collective body of Christians and he calls a congregation, an assembly met to worship God in public. I do not know what he would term two or three, but am inclined to think, that he or any other rational being would still adhere to the words two or three, nor could properly style such, a congregation; we have no authority in either the Old or New Testaments for calling two or three a congregation. The two or three in Matt. xviii. are not the Church but a detachment. The trespass is committed by one of the Church against another of the Church,The offended tells the offender his fault in a private manner-If he hears him not, he takes with him one or two more belonging to the Church. The two or three are gathered together for the conviction of the offender only, they are not the church, but part of the body. This part of the church are met in Christ's name. If they succeed in convincing the offender, and bring him to repentance, they are to ask the God of all grace to forgive him the sin, and the brother is restored again to their confidence, and all this without even the knowledge of the church. "Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven; for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," and it is only if the offender will not hear the offended, nor the other two, that the the church is to know of the case at all; and it is only then that the church, in the capacity of a church, sits in judgment upon the offender. Again, if Epaphras means to prove any thing regarding a church, by Jesus appearing to the two going to Emmaus, His appearing to the two Mary's is to the same effect. But we never in Scripture hear of New Testament travelling churches. It is true we have now Floating Chapels, but they are generally well filled; and altogether the idea of two or three composing a church of Christ, is so preposterous,—so opposed to social order and common sense, that we wonder men of sane minds can write such things. The God of Heaven is a God of order, and not of confusion. We may renew the subject in future if Epaphras pleases. Dundee, 29th October, 1851. EPAPHAS. correspondent, although we have no doubt Fpaphroditus will reply when he finds it convenient. ED.] [We have inserted the above from a B ALLEN AND GLAS ON "THE VISIBLE UNITY OF CHRIST'S DISCIPLES " To the Editor of the Christian bites, Edomites, &c.) to say, Aha, Advocate. MY DEAR SIR-I cannot better evince my friendly feeling towards yourself and your Magazine, than by putting it in your power to open your volume for 1852, with the following interesting letter, (hitherto unpublished) from the pen of James Allen, of Gayle, on "The Visible Unity of Christ's Disciples." The occasion on which this letter was written, was the dissolution of the Sandemanian church, in the city of York, in 1785; being about fourteen or fifteen years after the writer himself had left that connection, The sober language in which he refers to his former friends is worthy of imitation by all; to the minds of many, the reproof of the Prophet Oded, of old, to the children of Israel,-" And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah, for bondmen and bondwomen; but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God." And also, that lamentation in Israel, after the destruction of the Benjamites,-O Lord, God of Israel. why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel? Mr. Allen writes as follows: "It would ill become us to vaunt or behave ourselves unseemly, to triumph over or rail against those whom we have professed to love for the truth's sake; especially when we reflect on our own mournful and solitary and lost condition. Though God visits with his scourge the transgressions of his people; yea though he sent his ancient Israel into captivity at Babylon for their iniquity and sin, he would not suffer the neigbouring nations, (the Ammonites, Moa without punishing their insolence, and executing vengeance on them, as his and his people's enemies. Yet, instead of listless despondency and dismay in our low and imperfect state, we ought rather to give thanks that we are not altogether as sheep scattered on the mountains, but permitted hitherto to call Jesus Lord. It is a comfort, on the return of the Sabbath, to find ourselves in the enjoyment of the privilege of calling to remembrance the resurrection of our Lord, and the great approaching Sabbath, the gathering to Shiloh at his coming. We do well to stir up one another patiently. to wait for his second appearance, and take heed that we bind not up our talents in a napkin. like the unprofitable servant. We are daily pursued with anathemas, as guilty of a breach of the christian unity; and individuals call upon us to explain ourselves on this article. The plea for christian unity, in a visible catholic body, hath been much urged, and is much perverted in our hearing. We know that Christ's disciples are everywhere one, in the faith and hope of the Gospel; there is one faith and one body-Eph. iv. 4; the new covenant in Christ's blood is their only bond of peace; in this their unity centers; any other bond of union is not of divine, but human origin. The christian unity was perfect, for a season, in the church of Jerusalem, according to the words of the prophets, Jeremiah xxii. 29-and the prayers of our Lord Jesus, John xvii.21-Acts iv. 32; and it may be warrantably affirmed, that every infraction of christian unity, as it weakens the evidence of Christ's mission to the world, so it bespeaks the carnality of his professing disciples, as in the case in the divisions of the church at Corinth-1 Cor. iii. 3. On those, therefore, this charge of carnality, in the present case must capitally rest, who sin against the truth, hy offending and casting their brethren out of the church, without cause: though, no doubt, there wanteth not sin in all the parties concerned; they make a breach in the christian unity, who corrupt or deviate from the faith and hope of the Gospel, or make terms of communion which Christ never made. When questions merely problematical (such for instance as refusing the admittance of a person into the fellowship of the churches, after a second excommunication,) are admitted, as terms of christian fellowship, we see another bond of union adopted, besides the new-covenant in Christ's blood; and in consequence, thereof, the conscience is subjugated to another lawgiver, besides him who hath power to save and destroy. Let those who reproach us as opposing the churches, as the phrase is, shew us wherein we have corrupted or departed from the faith of Christ, and the hope of his coming; or have been found making laws where Christ hath made none, or diminishing from the laws which Christ hath given unto the churches -for we have no conception of opposing Christ and his churches, but by opposing the truth. The importance of the church and all the reverence which is her due, is solely derived from the truth. To influence Timothy to a becoming conversation in the church of the living God, Paul reminds him that the church is the " pillar and ground of the truth"-1 Tim. iii. 15, 16. When our Lord checked the spirit of violence and persecution in his Apostles, (Mark ix. 29.) he bids them take care of offending his little ones by any act of cruelty and oppression; and the evidence of discipleship is not made by him to consist in following this or the other people in their uniformity, but in hearing Christ's voice-keeping his sayings-confessing his name not speaking lightly of the Son of Man, &c.. He that is not against us is on our part; they are against him, who lightly speak evil of him, that is to say, of his person, office, and grace. The touchstone to try the spirits by is the confession they make of the Son of God-1 John, iv. 1, &c.: the characters which distinguish the chaste from the unchaste woman, in the Revelation, are the following:-having the faith of Jesus,-keeping the commandments of God,-and being exercised with the patience of the saints. To convict men of heresy and antichristianism, because they follow not us in our uniformity, savours of that spirit of violence and persecution which Christ checked in his Apostles, when he determined on a certain mode of knowing his disciples and the contrary. To be sure, it is the shortest method, and a method countenanced by the sanction of many ages, to prove a man a heretic, because he followeth not us: but the method determined by the Holy Ghost is, speaking lightly of the Son of Man, &c. All the influence, therefore, christian Elders and teachers ought to have over the consciences ot their followers, in this and every other respect, is derived from the truth, the testimony of God which they enforce; any other influence tends to the lordship of the gentiles,-the exaltation of the characters of individuals,-the bondage of the body, and to constitute a church |