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when conscious that his "style was diffuse and plain," why did he not amend it? Still the book is a good book, and we can recommend it, although the introduction of sing-song couplets in sermons is not exactly to our taste, especially such as the following:

Stop, poor sinner, stop and think

Before you further go!
Will you sport upon the brink

Of everlasting woe?

The Preaching of the Cross, the effectual Means for the Conversion of the Sinner, and the Stability of the Church. By the Rev. THOMAS BISLAND, M. A. of Baliol College, Oxford; Rector of Hartley Maudytt, Hants, and Chaplain to Lord Bexley. Second Edition, enlarged. London: Hatchard. Edinburgh: Grant. Pp. x. 153.

TEN pious and able sermons, in which the truth as it is in Jesus" is set forth in solemn and forcible language, which comes home to the heart.

Alice Benden, or the Bowed Shilling. By CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH. London: Seeleys. Pp. 137.

A DIALOGUE between a mother and her children, ably exposing the abominations of Popery, and inculcating sound christian principles. The only marvel is, that the young interlocutors talk and expound Scripture like patriarchs.

The Gospel truly preached, in three short Extracts from the Works of J. J. Spalding, Provost of the Ecclesiastical Consistory of Berlin, in the middle of the last Century. Translated by the Rev. ARTHUR B. EVANS, M. A., Rector of Coln Rogers, and Vicar of Barnwood. To which is added, the Ministerial Office; a Sermon, preached in the Church of Saint Mary-de-Lode, Gloucester, June 12, 1809, at the Visitation of the Venerable Archdeacon Stonehouse. London: Cadell. Gloucester: Jew. Pp. ix. 153.

JOHN JOACHIM SPALDING, in his own country, obtained the highest estima

VOL. XX. NO. VIII.

tion as a divine, and we feel much indebted to Mr. Evans for introducing him to the British public. His own Visitation Sermon also may be profitably read by his clerical brethren ; and we receive it as a valuable bequest from the venerable and highly respected "octogenarian."

A Manual of Family Prayer; comprising three weekly Courses of Morning and Evening Devotion. I. From the authorized Formularies of the Church. II. From the New Manual of Devotion. III. From Jenks' Prayers and Offices; to which are added, occasional Collects for the principal Feasts and Fasts of the Church, &c. Compiled, (adapted to Family Devotion, and abridged, by the Rev. A. HORSFALL, M. A. of Queen's College, Cambridge. London: Parker. Pp. v. 159.

A RESPECTABLE Compilation, originally made for private use, and now "published in the hope that they may afford some assistance to others," for which they are well calculated.

The Clergyman's private Register, and

Assistant in his Ministerial Visits. By a Country Curate. Hounslow : Gotelee. London: Longman, 1838. A SPECIMEN of a pocket-book in which a Clergyman may enter any information that may be gleaned in pastoral visits; the idea is useful, and, with certain modifications, might be advantageously adopted.

The Poetical Works, Latin and English, of VINCENT BOURNE. A new Edition, with several Translations, and Two Letters. London: Washbourne. Cambridge: Grant. Pp. xii. 320.

We can say with Cowper, "We love the memory of Vinny Bourne," and we are, therefore, obliged to the present publishers for this new and very neat edition of our old favourite.

Maternal Instructions on the Rite of Confirmation. London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. Pp. xii. 202. THE authoress has most ably discharged the duty she proposed to her

3 P

self in this very interesting little volume, and through the medium of a simple narrative, has given an impressive description of "the affecting and solemn rite of the Established Church, called Confirmation."

A Letter to Sir R. H. Inglis, Bart. M.P. on the Relative Numbers, Influence, and Benevolence of Churchmen and Dissenters. Second Edition, enlarged. London: Painter. Pp.

12.

A MOST able tract, well calculated for distribution at the present moment.

The Family Sanctuary; a Form of Devotion for every Sabbath in the Year: containing the Collect of the Day, a Portion of Scripture, an original Prayer and Sermon, and the Benediction. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. Pp. xxiii. 559. THIS is a good book. The design good. The execution good. We recommend the following extract from the Preface to the advocates of the Voluntary System and separation of Church and State.

Were there no State Religion, the observance of the Sabbath, even as a day of rest from worldly labour, would, it is to be feared, by many be no longer continued; the poor would be denied the privilege of hearing the Gospel preached unto them; a flood of immorality and irreligion would burst upon devoted England, and her honourable name would, ere long, cease to be respected among nations.-P. vii.

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Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie,
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.

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Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
Like season'd timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal,
Then chiefly lives.
Pp. 104, 105.

THE JOURNEY.

LIFE is a journey. From our mothers' wombs,

As houses, we set out; and in our tombs, As inns, we rest, till it be time to rise. "Twixt rocks and gulfs, our narrow footpath lies:

Haughty presumption and Hell-deep despair

Make our way dangerous, though seeming fair.

The world, with its enticements sleek and sly,

Slabbers our steps, and makes them slippery.

The flesh, with its corruptions, clogs our feet,

And burdens us with loads of lusts unmeet. The devil, where we tread, doth spread his

snares,

And with temptations takes us unawares. Our footsteps are our thoughts, our words,

our works:

These carry us along; in these there lurks
Envy, lust, avarice, ambition,
The crooked turnings to perdition.
One while we creep amongst the thorny
brakes

Of worldly profits; and the devil takes
Delight to see us pierce ourselves with sor-

row

To-day, by thinking what may be to-mor

row.

Another while we wade and wallow in Puddles of pleasure; and we never lin Daubing ourselves with dirty damn'd delights,

Till self-begotten pain our pleasure frights. Sometimes we scramble to get up the banks Of icy honour; and we break our ranks To step before our fellows; though, they

say,

He soonest tireth that still leads the way. Sometimes when others justle and provoke

us,

We stir that dust ourselves, that serves to

choke us;

And raise those tempests of contention, which

Blow us beside the way into the ditch.

Our minds should be our guides; but they

are blind :

Our wills outrun our wits, or lag behind.

Our furious passions, like unbridled jades, Hurry us headlong to the infernal shades, If God be not our guide, our guard, our friend,

Eternal death will be our journey's end. Pp. 345, 346.

The Practical Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D. D., Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. With a Sketch of the Life and Times of the Author. By the Rev. G. CROLY, LL. D. In Eight Volumes. London Rickerby. 1838.

The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living and Dying. By the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D. D., Lord Bishop of Down and Connor, and Dromore. Revised, abridged, and adapted to general use, by the Rev. W. H. HALE, M. A. London: Rivingtons. 1838. So highly and so justly are the writings of this great and good man esteemed, that it is scarcely necessary to do more than announce the appearance of the present portions of them, under the auspices of their highly talented editors. Of the character of the author, we do not know that we can give a more just delineation than is given in the words inscribed on his monument, in the chancel of the Cathedral Church of Lisburn. He was

second to that of none of the illustrious sons, whom the Anglican Church, rich in worthies, hath brought forth; as a Bishop, distinguished

for munificence and vigilance truly Episcopal; as a theologian, for piety the most ardent, learning the most extensive, and eloquence

inimitable;

in his writings a persuasive guide to earnestness of devotion, uprightness of practice,

and christian forbearance and toleration; a powerful assertor of Episcopal government and liturgical worship,

and an able exposer of the errors of the Romish Church;

in his manners, a pattern of his own rules of holy living and holy dying, and a follower of the great exemplar of sanctity, as portrayed by him in the person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The eight volumes contain the Life of Christ; Holy Living and Dying; Golden Grove and Worthy Communicant; Select Sermons, and Liberty of Prophesying. To the whole is prefixed an interesting and instructive account of the "Life and Times of the Author," from the eloquent pen of Dr. Croly.

Of the labours of Mr. Hale it is but just to say, that he has shown great taste and judgment in the laborious task which he had assigned to himself. "The rule (says he) which I laid down for my guidance was this; to omit nothing which I did not think the author himself might be supposed willing to his works to the taste of this age, and strike out, were he now alive to adapt to our more refined, though not more have in many places expunged words innocent feelings. Whilst, therefore, I or phrases, which seemed likely to offend fastidious readers, it will be found that I have left the peculiarities of the learned writer's diction, as well as of his doctrines, untouched."

These volumes contain a storehouse of religious information for building mankind up in their most holy faith, and sincerely do we trust that they will be as generally perused as their intrinsic merit deserves.

Memorials and Communications addressed to His late Majesty's Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of the Established Church, from the Cathedral and Collegiate Churches of England and Wales, in 1836 and 1837. With an Appendix relative to the Bishopric of Sodor and Man. London Rivingtons. 1838. 8vo. Pp. 176.

THIS is a very valuable documentary volume, as exhibiting the imperfections of the Church Commission, and as affording much information respecting the corporate and other bodies of our various cathedral and collegiate Churches. Every Clergyman in any way connected with either of those establishments should possess it.

A History of British Birds. By W. YARRELL, F.L.S., V.P.Z.S. Illustrated by a wood-cut of each Species, and numerous vignettes. Part VII. Ir affords us pleasure to state that this work still maintains the character which we felt bound to award to it on its first appearance. The volume must make its way.

Essais de Philosophie Morale et de Morale Religieuse, suivis de quelques Essais de Critique Litéraire. Par A. VINET. Paris. 1837. 8vo.

THE modern systems of moral and religious philosophy, under their several forms of materialism, eclecticism, and utilitarianism, are utterly and absolutely demolished in the able disquisitions which form the bulk of this volume; and if we do not partake in all the views which the writer entertains, we readily assent to his opinion, that religion, based upon the principle of universal redemption, is the only means of resolving the perplexities, and satisfying the wants, of man. With the latter part of M. VINET's work we have little to do. It will be sufficient to state that it consists of critical essays, written with great force and judgment, upon some detached pieces of MM. Ste-Beuve, Lamartine, Edgar Quinet, and C. Nodier.

Medical Portrait Gallery. To be continued Monthly, each Part containing Three Portraits, Biographical Memoirs of the most celebrated Physicians, Surgeons, &c. &c., who have contributed to the advantage of Medical Science. By T. J. PETTIGrew, F. R. S., F. S. A., F. L. S., &c. &c. London Fisher and Son. Parts 1-5. 1838.

We have derived very great pleasure and satisfaction in the perusal of the numbers of this excellent work which have been already sent to us. To the medical profession, particularly to the junior branches, the "Biographical Memoirs" must be peculiarly instructive. Embodied in each memoir is a brief account of the particular part of

medicine to which each individual had devoted his special attention, and for which the public at large are more deeply indebted; and to each is prefixed a beautiful engraving of the subject of the biography.

Those already noticed are Esculapius, Sir Henry Halford, B. S. Albinus, F. Ruysch, Albert de Haller, Sir A. Carlisle, T. Linacre, Mark Akenside, Sir C. M. Clarke, J. Caius, J. B. Morgagni, J. Blundell, S. J. Radcliffe, M. F. X. Bichat, and Sir A. P. Cooper.

Mr. Pettigrew has executed his task with much taste and elegance, and, as far as we are able to judge, with great impartiality.

Repertorium Theologicum. A Synoptical Table of the pious and learned Writings, collected in 1673, into 3 folio volumes, of Thomas Jackson, D.D., formerly Dean of Peterborough. Interspersed with Biographical and other Notices. By the Rev. H. J. TODD. London: Rivingtons. 1838. Pp. 189.

THIS is truly a Repertorium Theologicum-a synoptical view of the writings of that giant in divinity, Dr. T. Jackson. His works have long been known to us, and right glad are we to find that the able Archdeacon of Cleveland bas done what we think will bring the three ponderous volumes to the notice of our young divines. A reprint of the Doctor's whole works would do the University Press credit. Many testimonies to the value of the writings of Dr. Jackson are given by Mr. Todd in the preface, and which of themselves are sufficient to commend his labours to all who can appreciate sound divinity.

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Hold fast the form of sound words.

THE most solemn duties of a Christian, and the highest of his privileges, are connected with public worship. Under the Mosaic law, ratified by miraculous displays of divine power, it was identified not only with the ceremonies, where the whole congregation was required to assist, but also with many of the duties of personal religion. And when the splendid services of the Temple were about to give place to a more perfect dispensation, this duty was enforced by motives yet more encouraging; for the Saviour declares that he is present wherever two or three are gathered together in his name.

Nor is it the only value of public religious services, that they bring the soul into more intimate communion with God. They afford also a most important mean by which the essential truths of religion are illustrated and preserved. Connecting these truths with corresponding services, they prevent them from being neglected or misunderstood.

How important are these services in the sight of God, we may infer from the jealousy with which, under the former dispensation, he guarded every thing connected with public religious duty. From the impressive ceremonial of a solemn feast, down to the smallest point connected with the ornaments of the Tabernacle, every thing was expressly and particularly enjoined, and no deviation was allowed. The importance of preserving, in all their purity, the types which were to receive fulfilment in the Redeemer, made this strictness necessary; and the peculiar and exclusive character of the Jewish nation made it easy.

The Gospel being intended, not for one small people, and for a limited period, but for all nations, and to the end of time, admits not of such particular and strict rules. To accommodate itself to the customs of different countries, the circumstances of different times, and the civilization of different ages, it could admit only of certain general and simple principles, which should be universally applicable.

Accordingly two such principles, an authorized Ministry, and an authorized Liturgy, have always and every where prevailed in the Christian Church, from the earliest age down to the sixteenth century. From that period to the present time, some parties have deviated from the model which history and scripture warrant us in regarding as apostolic. They have thus unintentionally afforded an additional and most powerful proof of its validity and excellence; for in throwing off the restraint of episcopal government, they have sacrificed peace, and in rejecting "a form of sound words," they have too often sunk to heresy.

The Bible contains every thing that is necessary to salvation; and the pious inquirer who studies it in a spirit of humility and sincerity, may hope for the blessing of the Holy Spirit to guide him to heavenly truth, to wisdom and holiness. But the Bible may be, and is, most deeply mistaken, whenever a corrupt heart becomes the interpreter.

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