tyrants of his time the most cruel, Cyril, the Deacon, was murwas seized with a grievous and dered by some Pagans, at Heliohorrible disease, and tormented polis, for his opposition to their with ulcers and worms to such a images. They ripped open his degree, that they who were order-belly, and ate his liver: the Divine ed to attend him could not bear the vengeance, however, pursued all stench. Worms proceeded from those who had been guilty of this his body in a fearful manner; and crime; their teeth came out, their several of his physicians were put tongues rotted, and they lost their to death because they could not en-sight. dure the smell, and others because Valens was made emperor in they could not cure him. This 364; and though a Christian himhappened in the year of our Lord self, he is said to have caused three hundred and eleven. fourscore Presbyters, who differed Maxentius, another of the in-from him in opinion, to be put to human monsters, was overthrown sea, and burnt alive in the ship. in battle by Canstantine; and in Afterwards, in a battle with the his flight he fell into the Tiber, Goths, he was defeated and woundand was drowned in the year threeed, and fled to a cottage, where he hundred and twelve. was burnt alive, as most histoMaximinus put out the eyes of rians relate: all agree that he pemany thousands of Christians.rished. Soon after the commission of his The last Pagan prince, who was cruelties, a disease arose among a formidable enemy to christianity, his own people, which greatly afwas Radagaisus, a king of the fected their eyes, and took away Goths. He invaded the Roman their sight. He himself died mise-empire with an army of 400,000 rably, and upon the rack, his eyes men, about the year 405, and vowstarting out of his head through theed to sacrifice all the Romans to violence of his distemper, in the his gods. The Romans, however, year three hundred and thirteen. fought him, and obtained a comAll his family likewise were de-plete victory, taking him and his stroyed, his wife and children put sons prisoners, whom they put to to death, together with most of his death. friends and dependents, who had been the instruments of his cruelty. A Roman officer, to oblige this Maximinus, greatly oppressed the church at Damascus: not long after, he destroyed himself. Hunneric, the Vandal, though a Christian, was a most cruel persecutor of those who differed from him in opinion, about the year of our Lord 484. He spared not even those of his own persuasion, Licinius, the last of these perse-neither his friends nor his kindred. cuting emperors before Constan- He reigned, however, not quite tine, was conquered and put to eight years, and died with all the death in the year three hundred marks of Divine indignation upon and twenty-three. He was equal- him. ly an enemy to religion, liberty, Julian the apostate greatly opand learning. pressed the Christians; and he perished soon after, in his rash expedition against the Persians. that God should let them thus profane his temple, without interposing by visible miracles. Several of those who were em- But these impieties remained not ployed or permitted by Julian to long unpunished, and Julian had no persecute the Christians, are said sooner profaned the sacred utensils, to have perished miserably and re-than he felt the effect of Divine venmarkably. I will here relate the geance. He fell into a grievous fate of a few of these unhappy and unknown disease; and his inwretches in the words of Tille-ward parts being corrupted, he cast mont, who faithfully collected the out his liver and his excrements, account from the ancients. We not from the ordinary passages, but have observed, says this learned from his miserable mouth, which man, that count Julian, with Felix, had uttered so many blasphemies. superintendant of the finances, and His secret parts, and all the flesh Elpidius, treasurer to the emperor, round about them, corrupted also, apostates all three, had received or-and bred worms; and to shew that ders to go and seize the effects of it was a Divine punishment, all the the church of Antioch, and carry art of physicians could give him no them to the treasury. They did relief. In this condition he contiit on the day of the martyrdom nued forty days, without speech or of St. Theodoret, and drew up an sense, preyed on by worms. At account of what they had seized. length he came to himself again. But count Julian was not content The imposthumes, however, all with taking away the sacred vessels over his body, and the worms of the church, and profaning them which gnawed him continually, reby his impure hands: carrying to duced him to the utmost extremigreater lengths the outrage he was ty. He threw them up, without doing to Jesus Christ, he overturn-ceasing, the last three days of his ed and flung them down on the life, with a stench which he himground, and sat upon them in a self could not bear. most criminal manner; adding to The disease with which God vithis all the banters and blasphemies sited Felix was not so long. He that he could devise against Christ, burst suddenly in the middle of his and against the Christians, who, body, and died of an effusion of he said, were abandoned of God. blood in the course of one day. Felix, the superintendant, signal- Elpidius was stripped of his efized himself also by another im-fects in 366, and shut up in prison, piety; for as he was viewing the where, after having continued for rich and magnificent vessels which some time, he died without reputathe emperors Constantine and Con-tion and honour, cursed of all the stantius had given to the church, world, and surnamed the apostate. Behold," said he, "with what To these instances many more plate the son of Mary is served!" It might be added nearer our own is said, too, that count Julian and times, did our room permit. These, he made it the subject of banter, however, as sufficient to shew us VOL. I. 3 M what a fearful thing it is to fall into worship. This singular practice the hands of the living God, and began, it is said, in the western part how fruitless and awful it is to op-of Wales, about the year 1760. It pose his designs, and to attempt to was soon after defended by Mr. stop the progress of his gospel. William Williams (the Welch po"Why do the heathen rage, and et, as he is sometimes called) in a the people imagine a vain thing pamphlet, which was patronized by He that sitteth in the heavens shall the abettors of jumping in religious laugh; the Lord shall have them in assemblies. Several of the more derision. Thou shalt break them zealous itinerant preachers encou with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash raged the people to cry out go them to pieces as a potter's vessel.goniant) the Welch word for gloBe wise now, therefore, O ye kings; ry) amen, &c. &c.; to put thembe instructed, ye judges of the selves in violent agitations; and, earth. Serve the Lord with fear, finally, to jump until they were and rejoice with trembling," Psa. quite exhausted, so as often to be ii. Fortin's Remarks on Ecclesiasti-obliged to fall down on the floor cal History, vol. iii, p. 246, &c. ;or the field where this kind of worSimpson's Key to the Prophecies, ship was held. These scenes con§ 29; Newton on the Prophecies, tinue sometimes for two or three dis. 24; Bryant's Observations on hours, and sometimes during half the Plagues of Egypt; Tillemont the night, after having produced Histoire des Emp. the greatest confusion, and too ofJUDICIUMDEI, or Judgment ten turned the solemnities of reliof God, was a term anciently ap-gion into the most extravagant plied to all extraordinary trials of clamours and gestures. secret crimes; as those by arms Though the Jumpers have not, and single combat; and the or-it is said, passed the boundaries of deals, or those by fire, or red hot Wales, we find there have been plough-shares, by plunging the others not less frantic in other parts. arm in boiling water, or the whole See articles DANCERS and SHAKbody in cold water, in hopes God ERS. We are happy to find, howwould work a miracle, rather than ever, that the practice of jumping suffer truth and innocence to pe-is on the decline; and we hope rish. These customs were a long that these people and their leaders, time kept up even among Chris-whom we believe are many of them tians, and they are still in use in not only sincere, but pious too, some nations. Trials of this sort will consider that such disorderly were usually held in churches, in scenes are not compatible with the the presence of the bishop, priest, service of that God, who is a God and secular judges, after three days of order; not the author of confasting, confession,communion, and fusion, but of peace. many adjurations and ceremonies, JUSTICE consists in an exact described at large by Du Cange. and scrupulous regard to the rights JUMPERS, persons so called of others, with a deliberate purpose from the practice of jumping dur-to preserve them on all occasions ing the time allotted for "religious sacred and inviolate. It is often divided into commutative and dis-|| Punitive or vindictive justice, is xvii, 15. Matt. xii, 37. It does be justified, or stand acquitted be. not signify to make men holy, but fore God. For all have sinned; the holding and declaring them there is none righteous; no, not so. It is defined by the assembly one, Rom. iii. As sinners, they thus: "An act of God's free are under the sentence of death by grace, in which he pardoneth all his righteous law, and excluded our sins, and accepteth us as from all hope and mercy. That righteous in his sight only, for the justification, therefore, about righteousness of Christ imputed to which the scriptures principally us, and received by faith alone."treat, and which reaches the case The doctrine of justification. of a sinner, is not by a personal, says Mr. Booth, makes a very but an imputed righteousness; a distinguished figure in that reli-righteousness without the law, gion which is from above, and is Rom. iii, 21, provided by grace, a capital article of that faith and revealed in the gospel; for which was once delivered to the which reason, that obedience saints. Far from being a merely by which a sinner is justified, and speculative point, it spreads its his justification itself, are called influence through the whole bo-evangelical. In this affair there dy of divinity, runs through all is the most wonderful display of Christian experience and operates Divine justice and boundless grace. in every part of practical godli Of Divine justice if we regard the ness. Such is its grand import-meritorious cause and ground on ance, that a mistake about it has which the Justifier proceeds in aba malignant efficacy, and is at-solving the condemned sinner, and tended with a long train of dan-in pronouncing him righteous. gerous consequences. Nor can Of boundless grace, if we consider this appear strange when it is con- the state and character of those sidered that the doctrine of justi-persons to whom the blessing is fication is no other than the way granted. Justification may be of a sinner's acceptance with God. farther distinguished as being Being of such peculiar moment, either at the bar of God, and in it is inseparably connected with the court of conscience; or in many other evangelical truths, the the sight of the world, and before harmony and beauty of which we our fellow-creatures. The forcannot behold while this is misun-mer is by mere grace through derstood. It is, if any thing may faith; and the latter is by works. be so called, an essential article, To justify is evidently a Divine and certainly requires our most prerogative. It is God that justifieth, Rom. viii, 33. That soveJustification, in a theological reign Being, against whom we sense, is either legal or evangelical. have so greatly offended, whose If any person could be found that law we have broken by ten thouhad never broken the Divine law.sand acts of rebellion against him, 'he might be justified by it in a has, in the way of his own apmanner strictly legal. But in this pointment, the sole right of acway none of the human race can" quitting the guilty, and of pro serious consideration. |