Such is the doctrine of our Church, as expressed in the incomparable Homily of the Nativity :-" But because no creature, in that he is only a creature, hath or may have power to destroy death, and give life; to overcome hell, and purchase heaven; to remit sins, and give righteousness; therefore it was needful that our Messias, whose proper duty and office that was, should be not only full and perfect man, but also full and perfect God, to the intent he might more fully and perfectly make satisfaction for mankind. God saith, This is my wellbeloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' Matt. iii. By which place we learn that Christ appeased and quenched the wrath of his Father, not in that he was only the Son of man; but much more in that he was the Son of God." And hence it follows that his glory as Son of God was the more fully manifested by that redemption, the value of which arose from his being not man alone, but God and man. The reader may see this subject most lucidly treated in Waterland's Lady Moyer's Lectures, (the discourse on Phil. ii.) 樂 Mr. Knox appears to us to lay great stress upon a singular and unhappy interpretation of Heb. ix. 26; nor is it the only instance in which his speculative taste leads him off from more solid ground. "He hath appeared to put away sin, by the sacrifice of himself;" appeared, says Mr. Knox, in heaven, before his Father. We cannot see any just reason for not regarding πepavépwras, in the sense of manifested; as in Coloss. iii. 4, where pavepów is found opposed to кρúлT in the preceding verse. The interpretation of Mr. Knox seems indeed to require a totally different form of speech in the original. It is painful to observe so many inaccuracies, whether they are or are not intentional. And it must not be concealed, that even if positive errors do not immediately find their way into those places, in which preaching is encumbered with adornments at variance with true christian simplicity; such a result may nevertheless be expected to succeed at no distant period. Mysticism, and every kind of absurdity, will follow of vague, undefinable language, if any effect whatever be produced from such an abuse of the high trust of the ministry. We the more regret these defects in this volume, from the excellent spirit of practical piety that is discoverable in it, and trust that as in some other instances, so in the present, a future volume from the same author will possess excellence less obscured, and will present a nearer resemblance to the unadorned simplicity, and unaffected nervousness of the inspired writers themselves. • See his 7th Sermon, pp. 162–165. LITERARY REPORT. Forget Me Not. BERL. Co. Pp. 360. The If we said that the present volume is in no one respect inferior to its predecessors, we should perhaps be pronouncing as high an eulogium as the most ardent admirer of the "Forget Me Not" could desire. But this would not satisfy us in speaking of one of the first and best of the annuals. literary department is of a more varied and loftier character, the engraver's burin appears to have had higher inspiration on this occasion, and the entire volume has burst upon us, like Minerva from the brain of Jove, in full-grown perfection. We hope Mr. Shoberl and his spirited publisher will for many years take care that we "forget them not," by carrying on a publication in which "The pleasing and instructive too," are so admirably blended. The Wonders of the World. Parts I. II. III. By H. INCE. London: Grattan. EVERY attempt to advance the useful and practical knowledge of the people deserves approbation; and we consequently have great pleasure in introducing our readers to "The Wonders of the World; " not to the seven wonders only, with which our childhood was familiar, but to those which are hourly developing themselves more and more in "Nature, Art, and Mind," and teaching us to "Look from nature, unto nature's God." Twenty Essays on the Practical Improvement of God's Providential Dispensations, as a Means of moral Discipline to the Christian. London: Seeleys. Pp. 191. NONE but a senseless atheist, or hardened deist, can deny the doctrine of Divine Providence. We, who feel, and rejoice to know that even the very hairs VOL. XX, NO. XI. of our head are numbered, never cease to adore that Providence; and consequently this excellent little volume has found peculiar favour in our sight, calculated as it is to fulfil the author's desire, and render this "providential dispensation a means of moral discipline." Essays on the Church. By a LAYMAN. A New Edition, with some Observations on existing Circumstances and Dangers. London: Seeleys. Pp. viii. 360. "THE Church of England mainly rests upon endowments which originally came to her through this (the voluntary) channel; and she now receives, year by year, from the same source, gifts and offerings far exceeding those of any dissenting body."-P. 110. The above passage struck us on opening this able work, and on further perusal we find much which may be profitably read both by the friends and opponents of the Established Church. An Introduction to the Critical Study of Ecclesiastical History, attempted in an Account of the Progress, and a short Notice of the Sources, of the History of the Church. By J. G. DOWLING, M.A. of Wadham College, Oxford. Rector of St. Maryde-crypt, Gloucester. London: Rivingtons. Pp. xii. 312. THE history of that spiritual society which bears the name of Jesus Christ, "in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's ordinance," must always be a source of the deepest interest to the christian world. Its influence on the social and intellectual condition of mankind, from its first introduction, has been immense; and consequently any additional light which can be thrown upon its rise and progress, claims the strongest attention of every class of thinking men. Mr. Dowling's book, therefore, under any circumstances, would have commanded 4 0 an attentive perusal; but happily it wants no extraneous aids, being conceived in an excellent spirit, and executed in a most satisfactory manner; and we can conscientiously add that it has filled up an hiatus which has long been valde deflendus in this much neglected branch of study. The account of the early historians of the Church is peculiarly interesting; and the profound and classically written essay upon the sources of ecclesiastical history, with the appendix, and elaborate biographical index, render it not only useful, but almost necessary to the divinity student upon this particular point. An Inquiry into the History and Theology of the ancient Vallenses and Albigenses; as exhibiting, agreeably to the Promises, the Perpetuity of the sincere Church of Christ. By GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B.D. Master of Sherburn Hospital, and Prebendary of Salisbury. London: Seeleys. Pp. lxii. 596. THE name of George Stanley Faber is too intimately connected with the church history of the present century, and his immense acquirements, in the analytical knowledge of prophecy, have been so often the subject of admiration and praise among the wise and good, that our imprimatur can add as little to his well-earned reputation, as our criticism could detract from his all but universally acknowledged merit. To review a book like the one which has elicited these remarks, would, however, far exceed the limits which we can afford to all our literary remarks; especially as the striking passages, scored in a first perusal, exceed in extent the entire of one of our numbers. We can only, therefore, recommend the work most strongly; and perhaps our highest recommendation will be, that he has out-Fabered Faber; or, in other words, produced a volume superior even to its valuable predecessors. The Village Magazine. No. I. London Tyas. Pp. 40. AMONG the numerous minor periodicals which have issued from the press of late years, one of less pretensions or more promise we have scarcely ever met with. It deserves a conspicuous place in every cottage, and will be a pleasing addition to the monthly stores even of the mansion. Short Family Prayers, &c. By A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. London: Rivingtons. Pp. vi. 144. THIS selection is published with a view "to promote rational and unaffected devotion," and we cordially wish the author success in his pious and amiable object. The Typical Part of our Lord's Teaching; a Dissertation showing that the Miracles of Christ were prefigurative of the System of Divine Economy which he came to introduce. By J. W. SMITH, of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. London: Seeleys. Pp. 99. A VOLUME of considerable research, and written in a becoming and christianlike spirit. A Brief History of Christ's Hospital, from its Foundation by King Edward the Sixth. Sixth Edition, with Six Illustrations, and a List of the Governors. By J. I. WILSON. London: Van Voorst. Pp. viii. 136. A VERY interesting little book, very prettily illustrated. Protestantism the Old Religion, Popery the New; or, Protestantism as old as the Bible, and Popery the Corruption of the Seventh Century. By the Rev. THOMAS LATHBURY, M.A. London: Leslie. 1838. Pp. 22. "NOTHING," says the author of this most seasonable tract, "is more common with the papists, than to boast of the antiquity of their church. In nine cases out of ten of those in which they have been successful in seducing individuals from protestant to popish principles, they have succeeded by means of this fallacy. It is the argument to which they always resort in commencing an attack: that, too, by which uninformed protestants are most eagerly staggered." Mr. Lathbury has therefore conferred no small benefit upon all protestants, by furnishing them with a popular refutation of this Romish sophism, and proving the Romish church to be the innovatrix, by giving the dates of all the modern dogmas which she has grafted on the pure faith of the Bible, and showing their contradiction to it. We have not often seen so much really useful information compressed into so small a compass, and sold at so low a price, as in Mr. Lathbury's tract, which we hope will receive, as it deserves, a widely extended circulation. The Parochial System. An Appeal to English Churchmen. By H. H. WILBERFORCE, M.A. of Oriel College, Oxford. Curate of Bransgore, Hants. London: Rivingtons. Pp. 142. THIS essay obtained the premium of two hundred guineas, offered by the committee of the "Christian Influence Society," and we fully concur in the award of the adjudicators, as a more solemn and impressive address to the christian public, upon the present parochial system, could scarcely have been penned. Companion to the Book of Common Prayer. By a MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. London: Low. 1838. Pp. 59. 12mo. "IT is the intention of this compilation to add interest to that invaluable manual of devotion, the Book of Common Prayer." This intention the compiler (a lady) has fully realized in this cheap and neatly printed little book, which we have found to be a convenient manual of reference. It comprises an alphabetical arrangement of the collects according to their subjects, from one of the excellent tracts of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge; a list of collects best adapted for family or private prayers; a table of the portions of the Gospels, Acts, Prophecies, and Epistles in the Book of Common Prayer; the Book of Psalms, with the authors, occasions on which they were composed, and the subjects classed under different heads; portions of the strictly prophetical Psalms, which are quoted as such in the New Testament; and scriptural illustrations of that most admirable compendium of christian doctrine and duty, the Church Catechism, intended as helps to self-examination in faith and practice. This unassuming little work is equally a companion to the study and the closet. Eleven Chapters on Nervous or Mental Complaints, and on Two great Discoveries, by which hundreds have been, and all may be cured with as much certainty as water quenches thirst, or bark cures ague. By W. W. MOSELEY, A.M. &c. &c. London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. Pp. viii. 134. ALTHOUGH not prepared by scientific acquirements or medical study fully to appreciate the merits of this work, we can warmly recommend it for its practical exposition of the nature, effects, and remedy of nervous and mental disorders, and its able exposure of "the attempts of Lawrence, the modern copyist of more learned and less rash pathologists, to establish the exclusive materialism of man.' This has been done on most correct principles. Sermons for the Use of Families. By the Rev. E. THOMPSON, M.A. Officiating Minister at Brunswick Chapel, St. Mary-le-Bone, and Rector of Keyworth, Notts. London: Hatchard. Pp. xv. 504. IF the limits of the CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER, and the claims of our numerous friends would permit, we should devote as much space to the notice of this admirable volume as we did to Mr. Thompson's great work on Prophecy; as it is, we can only pronounce it to be the very best family book we have met with. The subjects are well chosen, the most important points judiciously illustrated, and the whole forms a christian code of faith and practice, which we heartily wish was recognised and acted upon by "all who profess and call themselves Christians." The five Sermons on the Offices of the Church need only be read, to be properly appreciated, and are published at a most opportune moment, when men's minds are "tossed to and fro by every wind" of legislation on Church doctrine and discipline. "The last sermon treats of the value of the Bible as the only rule of life, and the genuine source from which our doctrines and offices have flowed from the primitive times to our own," and closes with this fine peroration, "Go ye and do likewise: preserve your Bible-uphold your Church-cleave to your kindred; they are the gift of God, who by the richest mercy delivered them unto you, to avert the evils and troubles of the world. Pray for spiritual life, which also is the gift of God, and which will be vouchsafed to all those who desire its possession. In short, Seek ye first the kingdon of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.'"-P. 501. Poetic Illustrations of the Bible History. By the Rev. J. H. SIMPSON, M. A. Pembroke College, Cambridge. Series 1 & 2. Pp. xvi. 88. xv. 120. London: Groombridge. THE object of this work is to delineate scripture characters in such a striking manner as to lead the readers to a direct reference to the Bible. The first series relates the Conspiracy of Absalom; the Battle at Ephraim's Wood, and the Dispute between the Tribes after the Battle. The second series embraces the Revolt of Sheba; the Famine; the Pestilence; and the Usurpation of Adonijah. A most judicious selection of topics, and exceedingly well illustrated. If Mr. Simpson has not "indulged in imagination beyond truth in its most scrupulous strictness," he has evinced poetic talent of no mean order, and, what is far better, proved himself a diligent student and sound interpreter of Scrip repay the reader; and we sincerely hope the vineyard of the Christian Influence Society will produce much such "good fruit.” Christian Modes of Thinking and Doing; or, the Mystery of the Kingdom of God in Christ: thoroughly discussed and recommended. In Two Parts. 1. Of the Subject; 2. Of the Relations of the Kingdom of God in Christ. By the Rev. JOHN PRING, B. A. London: Groombridge. 3 vols. 8vo. WE confess ourselves unable to comprehend the cui bono of this book. We find some fine spun distinctions of what nobody thinks worth distinguishing, and a deal of laborious trifling; but after having "discussed," as far as we could comprehend, the three ponderous volumes, we are sorry to be obliged to decline "recommending." Not Tradition, but Revelation. By PHILIP N. SHUTTLEWORTH, D. D. Warden of New College, Oxford, and Rector of Foxley, Wilts. London Rivingtons. Pp. vii. 157. A VERY clever and interesting little work. The author has treated his subject in a clear and lucid manner, and has shown a thorough knowledge of the ancient Fathers, with whose labours he seems well acquainted. We sincerely recommend this small volume to the attention of all who feel interested in the discussion of this important question; which deeply concerns the members of the Protestant Church of Christ at all times, and more particularly so at the present day, when such strenuous efforts are making to propagate the erroneous doctrines of Romanism. |