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ART. II.-1. A Father's Gift to his Children; being a Short View of the Evidences of the Christian Religion. By a LAYMAN, 24mo. Pp. 144.

2. A Father's Second Present to his Family; or a short Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God-and a Roman Philosopher's Visit to Jerusalem in the time of Christ, with his supposed reflections and reasonings there. By the same Author. 24mo. Pp. 272.

Both being adapted to the understandings of Young Persons, and presented by the Author to his own Family. Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd.

WE

E are not addicted to an extravagant admiration of the times that are past; nor are we of the number of those who think that all virtue died with our fathers ;-yet we will confess, that we regret the days when almost every Scottish parent was qualified to teach his children the precepts of Christianity with his own lips, and gave them a fair example of the Christian character in his own life. Instruction, communicated in the domestic circle, has this important advantage, that the scholar loves and venerates his teacher. The child naturally looks on his father as the wisest, the most powerful, and the best of men. He loves him, moreover, as the bestower of all the good things which he enjoys; and this admiration and attachment give to his instructions a weight of authority which cannot be possessed by any other human being. The arrangements of society, generally speaking, may forbid its operation to any great extent, as far as human knowledge is concerned; but the case is not a little different, we conceive, as to religion.

There has been in Scotland for generations past, and, notwithstanding our degeneracy, there is still to be found in it, in all the ranks of society down to the very lowest, an accuracy and extent of religious knowledge that peculiarly fits the parent to take into his own hands the instruction of his children in this important particular; and for our own part, we cannot conceive a more delightful sight, than that of a father seated amid a group of happy children on a Sabbath evening, teaching them their duty in the world, and pointing out to them their prospects beyond it. In such a circle there is no taint of earth, except such as adheres to those feelings of love and harmony by which its members are united. This is always an interesting occupation, but more peculiarly so among the lower classes of society. Sabbath is almost the only day on which the peasant enjoys the company of his children. It is on that day chiefly that he has the means of judging of their tempers and chaacters and intellectual capacities, and of strengthening those ties

that bind them to himself and to one another; and it is on that day of leisure and sacred repose, therefore, that he feels the full joy and the true consequence of a parent. The cottage thus becomes the school of the domestic and social virtues; and when the father reads to his children the sacred volume, and unfolds to them the plan of redemption which it contains, he is invested with a dignity of character, which none of the sages of antiquity ever possessed. This is neither a mere theory, nor a picture drawn from fancy. In our tenderest recollections of times long past, we still hear the moral and religious lesson pouring in music from the lips of the kindest and the best of fathers; we still see the glance of satisfaction with which the good old man regarded us, when we listened to his instructions; and we can never forget the beam of delight that sparkled in the eye of the brother or sister, who was so fortunate as to obtain his praises. To aid the parent in the exercise of this surpassing duty, is, we think, to confer on him a most essential benefit; nor can we conceive the exertions of a cultivated mind to have been better directed, than in preparing works which, by their brevity, simplicity, and perspicuity, may be suited to the understandings of the young; while by the force and truth of their reasonings, they may carry conviction to their minds, touching the most important subjects which can interest the thoughts of human beings.

man.

We have been led to these remarks by the perusal of two little works, which seem to us eminently to excel in these qualities,"A Father's Gift", and "Second Present to his Family," by a LayThe author, who is a lawyer by profession,-a Writer to the Signet, informs us, in a modest preface to the first of these treatises, entitled, "A Short View of the Evidences of Christianity," that it was drawn up by him many years ago for his own satisfaction, and that in doing so, it was his object, as far as possible, to apply the modes of investigation in use in the courts in which he practised, to the evidences of the Christian Religion. In our opinion, he has been completely successful. He has brought into a narrow compass all the leading arguments, and in enforcing them by suitable illustrations, he has, to use the language of his own calling," made out his case."

We cannot give our readers a better idea of the author's arrangement and mode of treating the subject, than by quoting his own words, in an introductory letter prefixed to it.

"To give a general outline of the treasise, I shall now mention the subjects of the several chapters of which it consists. They are the following,

viz.

"In Chap. I. I have shown that there is little in those presumptions that have been sometimes supposed to lie against the existence of the Christian Revelation.

"In Chap. II. I have shown that the way was paved for the introduction

of it by the Jewish dispensation, and the polity and religion of that people, which were in themselves extremely remarkable.

"In Chap. III. I have shown that the Christian religion, when it arrived, was such as was to have been expected; and that all the sound presumptions are in its favour.

"Having laid this foundation, I have next considered the Scriptures, the sacred records of our religion. Thus,

"In Chap. IV. I have endeavoured to show the authenticity of the New Testament; or, in other words, that the Gospels, such as we have them, are, in genera!, the books which they bear to be; and were written at the times, and by the authors, by whom they are said to have been composed. "In Chap. V. I have endeavoured to show their veracity, or that the contents of them are true; and that the events mentioned in them actually happened.

"In Chap. VI. I have shown that the mission of our Saviour was foretold by prophecies, and proven by miracles. And,

"In the VII. and concluding Chap. I have remarked the miraculous hand of the Deity, which protected and fostered the religion of his Son, in its wonderful propagation in the world, notwithstanding all the obstacles which impeded it." Pp. 19, 20.

On each of these heads he has said enough to prove his position; though from the brevity of discussion, there is no danger of fatiguing the mind of the young reader. All the arguments have their due proportion and proper place; and they are given in a style so correct and simple as to prove that, though ornament is not neglected, the author's grand object is to convey instruction rather than to amuse the fancy or dazzle the imagination. In perusing this valuable little volume, while we gain a sufficient knowledge of each of the subordinate parts, we are never for a moment suffered to lose sight of the main scope and tendency of the whole. We obtain a bird's-eye view of the subject, if we may be allowed such an expression, and its general mass is at one glance presented to our view. In his conclusions, which are drawn from premises that no reasonable person can deny, the author is strictly logical, and indeed attains to a precision almost mathematical. Yet while he might seem solicitous about convincing the judgment only, there is in his manner an ardour and a warmth calculated to gain the heart and captivate the affections. Even a young person may peruse the whole at one reading; and if the judicious parent explain and enforce it in the same spirit in which it is written, he must rise from the perusal with a firm conviction of the truth of Christianity, and furnished with arguments by which he may remove the doubts of the wavering and confound the cavils of the sceptic and the infidel. We have ourselves more than once made the trial on young people of from twelve to sixteen years of age, and we have never found it to fail.

"The Father's Second Present" contains two separate and distinct treatises; the first is "A Short Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God;" the second is entitled, "A Philosopher's

Visit to Jerusalem, in the time of Christ; both adapted to the understandings of Young Persons."

In the first, the existence and great attributes of the Deity are proved from the phenomena and laws of the universe. Here, too, the author has given a rapid and concise view of his arguments, and without aiming at any display of eloquence, into which, on such a subject, a less skilful writer might have been tempted, he rises with his theme, and as he casts his eye on the glories of the outer porch of the temple of the Almighty, he catches the inspiration of his subject, and succeeds in imparting it to the mind of his reader.-In the "Philosopher's Visit to Jerusalem, in the time of Christ," the subiime doctrines and lessons of Christianity are contrasted with the foolish fables of the mythology and the gross morals of the heathens. This essay is not equal to the "Father's First Gift" in closeness and severity of reasoning; because, as stated in its preface, it is meant as an illustration and extension of the arguments adduced in that first work, rather than as a separate whole. More latitude was allowed therefore; and the two taken together, form a valuable little system on their most important subject. In each of the Essays of this second volume, a fictitious character is introduced; but in both he might have been spared, for the author himself appears in every sentence.

It is difficult to quote from an abridged view of any subject; but the following passages, taken almost at random, form no unfavourable specimen of the author's manner and style. The first is from the Father's Gift," and relates to the miraculous propagation of the gospel in the world, on its first promulgation.

"Such are the proofs which have been afforded us of the coming of Jesus. The HISTORY OF HIS RELIGION, and its propagation upon earth, have also in them something so uncommon, as clearly to denote its divine origin. Though the first teachers of his faith were but obscure fishermen on the lake Tiberias, yet, notwithstanding the great opposition which they met with, the apostle could, in little more than thirty years after his ascension, assert with truth, that the gospel had been preached "to every creature who is under heaven," that is, through the whole extent of the dominions of Rome. The state of the world had been wisely arranged by Providence for its more easy reception. While the Romans had "trode down the kingdoms," according to the prophetic description of Daniel, and "by their exceeding strength had devoured the whole earth,” they had at the same time civilized the nations; and, while they oppressed mankind, they united them together. The same laws were almost everywhere established; the same languages were understood; and peace, in general, prevailed through the wide extent of their mighty empire,-the whole producing a situation most favourable to the propagation of a religion like that of Christ. And this view of the subject is splendid and magnificent in the highest degree.-That the Romans, the noblest people that ever entered upon the stage of this world, should, without their knowledge, be no more than instruments in the divine hand, for the spreading of his religion; that those wise statesmen should have reasoned, and those victorious generals should have fought, that mankind might the more easily and readily embrace the Christian faith! The cross which, on the hill of Calvary, was designed as an instrument of igno

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miny and death, came at last to be assumed as the distinction of the most powerful monarchs; to wave in the banners of victorious armies, and to shine on palaces and on churches." "The least of all seeds grew up, and waxed a great tree, and spread out its branches." "The stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands, shall itself become a great mountain, and fill the earth." Pp. 98-100.

The other passage to which we would direct the attention of the reader, is taken from the "Second Present," and is on the subject of a particular providence.

"And here let us not suppose, from the regularity of the works of the Almighty, that having produced that system which we have been contemplating, he ever withdraws himself for a moment from any of the parts of his creation. He who sustains the life of the minutest animalcule, while at the same time he launches along the comets, is omnipresent and omniscient, and governeth all. The particular providence of God, however, as consistent with the nature of man as a free agent, is among the difficulties which encircle this great subject. But as an affectionate earthly parent still bends a friendly eye towards a son, though he is set out into the world, leading him with his counsel, and protecting him with his influence, may we not suppose also our heavenly Father, though he worketh unseen, to turn towards us his children his fostering care, to prompt us to do well, to strengthen our good resolutions, to shield us in the hour of danger, and to guard us in that of temptation? Nor let us doubt of his government, because in that, as in many other instances, we cannot comprehend his doings. The events of it are as unexpected as our foresight is limited. The brethren of Joseph were but selling a slave, while the Ruler of nations was in him sending a prime minister into Egypt, and forming an important link in the history of man. While a late haughty conqueror thought he was paving his way to the subjugation of a powerful empire, he was but an instrument in the Almighty's hand to forge the bolts of his own captivity, and bring back the peace of the civilized world.' Pp. 55-57.

The author has prefaced each of these volumes by a letter to his children, of which we are uncertain whether we should most admire the kindly feelings of the parent, or the good sense and zeal of the religious instructor.

We believe one cause of the prevalence of infidelity to be, that parents in general have been contented to lay before their children the doctrines of Christianity as matters of belief, without either furnishing them with the evidences of the truth, or training them at all to reason upon them. This might be sufficient, were there no false teachers abroad; did not a Hume dazzle and mislead the understanding by his elegant and seductive sophistry, or a Paine storm it by the impious boldness of his assertions; but we are convinced that many a young man might have been saved from infidelity in the year 1793, when the monstrous abortions of that lastmentioned daring infidel made their appearance, had he been but slightly acquainted with the evidences of our faith. In this view, we consider these modest performances an important boon bestowed on the rising generation; and we earnestly recommend them to their perusal, wishing that they may derive from them all the benefit which they are so well calculated to confer.

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