either be entirely forgotten, or listened to as a tale that has been told. Such were not the sermons of a Bogue, a Wilks, and a Brown, -sermons which still continue to be appealed to as specimens of the grand and spirit-stirring, and the contents of which still powerfully operate on the hearts of many who were privileged to hear them, and furnish abundant materials for genuine Christian excitement, and for active and unwearied exertion in the missionary cause. The reason is not to be sought. These men exhibited not themselves, but the truth of God, and the facts and claims of the cause which they advocated. They enlightened-they convinced-they excited to an immediate and a permanent course of action. The works of the two former do follow them; while the last-mentioned highly esteemed minister still lives and labours among us, witnessing the continued results of his admirable plan of missionary finance.

That the spirit which animated these servants of Christ, when they appeared before the great congregation to advocate the cause of missions, has not left us, we need no further proof than what is furnished by the sermon before us. Undiverted by inferior subjects, Dr. Morison at once closes with the sublime theme presented to view in his text (Num. xiv. 21), and gives a bold and lofty prominence to the excellencies of the divine character, as constituting that glory, the manifestation of which, to the heathen world, it is the object of Missionary Societies to effect. After some striking and well-sustained remarks on the essential and unutterable splendours of the Divine nature, and the discoveries of the infinite Jehovah made to unsinning spirits, he proceeds to review the different modes and periods of the display of the glory of God to mankind-entering with much interest and pathos into the circumstances of man as a fallen creature, and a rebel against the Divine government-and gradually leading his hearers forward to the unparalleled scene of Calvary, where he takes his position, and expatiates in the following eloquent and enraptured strains :

6

"Would you this night, my brethren, with Moses, desire to see the glory of the Lord? You must not expect to find it in the tabernacle or in the temple; but in the face of Jesus Christ,' who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person,' and 'in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.' In the mysterious Person, and in the vicarious obedience and death of his beloved Son, the glory of the Lord shines forth with a splendour far eclipsing that which beamed of old from the mercy seat,-far outshining the lustre of the material heavens. In all the operations of his hand, Jehovah has determined to exhibit some distinct feature of his infinite perfection; but, in the glorious under

taking of his Son, he has concentrated in one brilliant focus all the attributes of his boundless nature; and has given forth such a transcendent manifestation of himself as will fill all time with wonder, and all eternity with praise. In other departments of the divine government, we are struck and awed at the contemplation of individual displays of infinite skill, or power, or justice, or benignity; but here, in a single transaction, we behold Deity, as it were, full orbed; and, in one overwhelming exhibition of his character, see all his glory passing before us.

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Oh, the unspeakable grandeur of the cross of Christ! Look here, O sinner! and behold the glory of the Lord. See the law honoured, justice appeased, mercy triumphant, and the captive redeemed! See in this wonder of wonders a union of all the rays of glory which have been dispersed throughout the wide universe from the eternal fountain of light, and love, and purity! How overwhelming the thought, that the divinelyappointed method of salvation for an apostate and ruined race, should be that scheme which affords to the whole intelligent universe the most transcendent and enrapturing conception of the King eternal, immortal, and invisible !' What an imperishable interest does this fact throw around the character and destiny of man! Surely, my brethren, it will shed eternal lustre upon his history, that the principalities and powers in heavenly places' have been compelled to learn from the church the manifold wisdom of God !'"

The preacher next surveys the vast field upon which the glory of the Lord is to be displayed, and exhibits most affecting and mournful portraits of the present state of the Pagan, Mahommedan, Jewish, and Antichristian worlds. In adverting to the glory of the Millennial age, he very pointedly condemns the absurd and contradictory theories of the modern prophets; and proves that such a consummation will only be realized by the universal proclamation of the gospel, the concurrent aid of providential circumstances, large effusions of the Spirit of God, and the conversion of the world to the faith of Jesus.

Did the limits of this short notice allow of further extracts, it would only be doing justice to the author to select two or three passages from his third head of discourse, in which he concentrates all his energies, enumerates the triumphs which the gospel has achieved, contemplates the moral agencies now in operation, and presses the respon sibility devolved on the British and American Christians. This part of the sermon is enriched with some valuable remarks on the state and prospects of Christianity in India, which deserve an attentive perusal by every friend of missions. They are written by that excellent and devoted young sionary, the Rev. George Christie.

mis

For glowing fervour of manner, purity of diction, compass and energy of thought, a judicious selection of topics, felicity of illustration, and singular adaptation to the occasion, few missionary sermons will be found to surpass this discourse. E. H.

The BRITISH PREACHER, under the sanction of the Ministers whose Discourses appear in its pages. Part XX. containing the Missionary Sermons of the Rev. J. THOMSON, D.D., of Paisley; the Rev. W. BOLLAND, M.A.; and the Rev. J. JONES. 8vo.

Westley and Davis.

THE growing success of this publication is a favourable omen of the times, as it shows, we trust, an increased disposition, on the part of the people, to read works directly illustrative of the word of God. We wish the publishers all possible encouragement in an undertaking upon which they entered with an excellent aim, and which they have hitherto prosecuted in a way highly creditable to them.

Our readers will find, in this number, three out of four of the discourses preached in the month of May, before the London Missionary Society; the fourth one, printed by itself, will be found at the same publishers. As a brief notice of all the sermons was inserted in the Chronicle for June, we need not again refer to the outline of thought pursued by their several authors. They are all very full exhibitions of the saving truths of the gospel, and all strictly missionary in their character and bearings. Dr. Thomson's discourse (founded on Phil. i. 27), well describes the gospel, and points out the nature of that obligation which devolves upon all Christ's disciples to strive together for its dissemination. The sermon is more interesting in the reading than it was in the delivery; from the circumstance that the excellent preacher had a strong northern accent, which prevented many of his southern auditors from being able perfectly to follow him. Mr. Bolland's sermon (founded on Matt. xi. 27), is a fine exhibition of the doctrine of Christ's supremacy, all things being committed into his hand for the salvation of the church. The text is ably discussed, and the obligations of Christians to co-operate in the great designs of the Son of God, in promoting the redemption of the world, are clearly laid down, and energetically enforced. Mr. (founded on 2 Kings x. 16), is a valuable caveat against false zeal, and an excellent demonstration of those holy and scriptural motives which will meet the divine approbation in our efforts to advance the divine glory and the salvation of perishing men. We wish that this discourse might have a very wide circulation, as it is well fitted to expose defective motives of every kind, and to rouse the servants of Christ to those high

Jones's sermon

principles of action which will now meet an approving conscience, and hereafter an approving Judge.

We greatly regret to find that the collections have fallen off this year, and we earnestly entreat that the example of the London anniversary may not be followed in this particular, as the directors will be greatly perplexed indeed, in their present circumstances, should this be the case. We sincerely hope that, by a little additional effort, the deficiency may be made up.

EVENING EXERCISES FOR THE CLOSET: for every day in the Year. By WILLIAM JAY. 2 vols. 8vo.

Hamilton, Adams, and Co.

WE scruple not to avow that Mr. Jay is a more than ordinary favourite with us. We have known and loved him for more than twenty years; and it is delightful to find that his bow yet abides in strength, and that the powers of his mind are not only unimpaired, but greatly improved. These Evening Exercises appear to have more of his admitted excellencies, and fewer of his defects, than any of his former publications that we can remember. They exhibit marks of deep and matured piety, which shed lustre upon the evening of a life devoted, with unusual energy, to the glory of God and the good of souls; and they display, at the same time, a pathos, an originality, an ingenious use of scriptural illustration, well worthy of Mr. Jay in his best days.

The work is dedicated to our dear and venerable friend, Mr. Wilberforce; and the dedication is not a ceremony, but an essay of unusual worth and interest, from which we cannot forbear making the following extract. Referring to his long acquaintance with the liberator of Africa, Mr. Jay observes :

"At our first interview we could refer to none of the many glorious institutions which are now established. I have not space to enumerate them, nor must I yield myself to enlarge on their claims. But, reluctantly to pass by others, one of these has been surpassed by nothing since the days of the apostles; and when I refer to the importance of its design, the simplicity and wisdom of its constitution, the rapidity of its growth, the vastness of its success, the number of languages into which it has translated the Scriptures, and the immensity of copies which it has distributed, I need not say I mean the British and Foreign Bible Society, which may God preserve uninjured, and continue to smile upon, till all shall possess the unsearchable riches of Christ! Since then, too, what an extension has there been of evangelical doctrine in the establishment and among the dissenters; and, I fearlessly add, of the genuine influences of divine grace in the hearts and lives of thousands!

Surely no unprejudiced individual can trace these things, comparatively with what preceded them, and not exclaim, ' God hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.'

"I rejoice, my dear sir, that a person of your consideration is in the healthful number of those who, notwithstanding the contemptuous denial of some, and the gloomy forebodings of others, believe that real religion has been advancing, and is spreading, and will continue to spread, till, without any disruption of the present system, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.' You do not expect that a country called by his name, and in which he hath such a growing multitude of followers, will be given up of God; and the fountain from which so many streams of health and life are issuing to bless the world, will be destroyed. You justly think, that the way to gain more is not to despise or disown what the Spirit of God has graciously done for us already; and that the way to improvement is not to run down and condemn every present scheme, attainment, and exertion, because they are not free from those failings which some are too studious to discover, too delighted to expose, and too zealous to enlarge and magnify. If we are not to be weary in well doing, we need not only exhortation, but hope, which is at once the most active, as well as the most cheerful principle. Nothing so unnerves energy, and slackens diligence, as despondency. Nothing is equally contagious with fear. Those who feel alarm always love to transfuse it. Awful intimations of approaching evils are not only congenial with the melancholic, but the dissatisfied; and, while they distress the timid, they charm those who are given to change. It is also easy to perceive, that when men have committed themselves in woeful announcements, they immediately feel a kind of prophetical credit at stake, and are under a considerable temptation to wel come disasters as prognostics; for though they may professedly pray against the judgments, they know (and this is a great drawback to their fervency) that their avowed creed requires the calamities as vouchers of the wisdom and truth of their interpretations. If, to preserve his reputation from suspicion, after he had cried, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed, Jonah himself was sad and sullen, and thought he did well to be angry even unto death, because the city, with all the men, women, children, and cattle, was not demolished, according to his word, what may not be feared from human nature now, if exercised with similar disuppointments?"

We should like to continue this admirable extract, but our limits forbid. The plan of this work is similar to that of the "Morning Exercises," by the same ingenious author.

We noticed this work very briefly at its commencement, and now beg to congratulate its projectors on the completion of their laborious undertaking. About a publication so extended and diversified, and which touches upon such an endless variety of topics, we cannot be expected to speak with unhesitating confidence. The narrow scope of our information respecting America forbids this line of review, and we are sure that the final Editor would be the last man in the world to expect that we should commit ourselves to the entire contents of a work which has occupied himself and others during several years of close application and anxious research. If, indeed, it may be said with truth, that the associated editors have done more than any of their predecessors to supply an accurate and interesting history of the New World, in all that pertains to its rise, progress, and present state, it will be no mean commendation of their meritorious labours. Such praise we are greatly disposed to bestow upon them; though, in doing so, we would be distinctly understood as speaking of their work in the character of an entire history of America. Considered in this light, we know of nothing equal to it; though, upon many of the separate and minor details, we could point to works which would supply more ample and satisfactory information. need scarcely inform our readers that the editors have been greatly indebted to the writings of others who have gone before them. Some, perhaps, will blame them for the free use they have made of former writers on America; for our part, we have no disposition to indulge such a feeling, as we cannot but say they have selected with judgment, and exercised considerable skill in the disposition and arrangement of the several topics which have come under their notice. Originality in history, except in style and manner, is we think not only unattainable, but undesirable.

We

The first volume is divided into three books, in which much valuable information is furnished in reference to the discovery and colonization of North America, and to the history of its colonies from the commencement of

the French war to the declaration of their independence, and from that period again to the fiftieth year of the republic. Ample details will be found here in reference to the colonization of all the individual states, and to the circumstances and events which led to the dislocation of America from the parent country. This volume may, properly speaking, be regarded as strictly historical.

The second volume is distributed into five books, and treats of the physical geography, natural history, statistics, society, and topography, of the United States. The fourth book, which is headed "THE STATE OF SoCIETY," will be found to contain a great variety of important information. It is divided into four chapters, viz. Political Institutions and Jurisprudence; Religion, Literature, Arts, and Manners; Indians and Negroes.

We regret that our limits will not allow of any lengthened extracts, as there are passages in this work of great force and brilliancy which we should gladly quote. We shall furnish our readers with the author's account of his own labours.

"To give a just and impartial view of the rise, progress, and establishment of the republic of the United States has been the aim of the following volumes; an aim which the editor hopes has been, in a good measure at least, successfully pursued. If they shall be instrumental in dispelling from amongst us the ignorance of that fine country which has to a considerable extent prevailed-if they shall be successful in removing the prejudice which has existed in the minds of not a few-if they shall in any degree convert contempt into respect, and antipathy into esteem he and his companions will rejoice in having conferred a benefit alike on those whom they have undeceived, and on the states, whose origin, progress, and prospects, have been the subject of so much misconception or misrepresentation.

"Should the work which is now ushered into the world be favourably received in the United States, the editor trusts that it will not disappoint any reasonable expectation. If Americans find that we have not written with the enamoured fondness which characterizes many productions of their native press, nor in any other respect ministered to their vanity, they will find also, it is hoped, that a full measure of justice is rendered to their excellencies, and a candid construction put upon what cannot be approved. This view of their country and institutions, more complete and more comprehensive than any yet constructed, we present to them with a cheerful confidence, because we are conscious that we have written in a spirit of cordial kindness and esteem. Not to have aimed at their benefit, would have been equally an injustice to them, and a dishonour to ourselves; and grievous would be the day for

America-we are confident it will never arrive when complacency in advantages possessed should slacken the pursuit of national and individual improvement.

"It is not, however, either for England or for America that these volumes have been prepared. They have been written for all nations, and for every age. To mankind at large the subject of them is interesting; and the editor and his fellow-labourers will be most especially thankful if they have been enabled so far to surmount contracting and local influences, as to form views, and to imbibe a spirit, adapted to advance the improvement of the world."

We can most conscientiously recommend this elegant and elaborate work to the attention of our readers. It exhibits decisive marks of solid judgment and laborious research. Its original composition is vigorous and clear; and the views which it presents of American character and institutions are enlightened and liberal. The maps and embellishments, which are very numerous, have been got up at immense expense.

SERMONS, intended for the use of Families, or to be read in Villages. Second Series. By W. GARTHWAITE. 8vo. pp. 359.

Holdsworth and Ball.

AMIDST the mass of sermons published, there are comparatively few which secure a permanent interest in the public mind. The reason of this is obvious. Simplicity, combined with a rich vein of evangelical and scriptural illustration, is not sufficiently studied. It is only one here and there who can take the lofty standing occupied by men of genius; but there is too great an effort frequently, on the part of ordinary minds, to tread in their steps, to adopt their phraseology, and even to counterfeit their trains of thought. The consequence is, that minds which might have been turned to good account are wasted in fruitless effort; and that the habit of thinking for themselves is little known among a large proportion of our young ministers. There is a kind of half-metaphysical, half-theological style, of composing sermons in our day, which makes us almost despair of seeing any more such village sermons as Burder's, Beddom's, and Kidd's. Oh! that our theological tutors would every day earnestly impress upon the minds of their students the necessity of cultivating a simple style of composition, suited to the state of our village population, and calculated to leave, upon ordinary minds, an impression of the truths advanced!

We are extremely glad to welcome a village preacher such as Mr. Garthwaite. His sermons are distinguished by no high-sounding pretensions. They are plain, fervent, and consistent exhibitions of divine truth. We

admire them, at the same time, for their point, their appropriate illustration, and their rich unction. Accustomed to address villagers, the author has adapted his language and trains of thought to that large and interesting class of our fellow-countrymen ; while, at the same time, from the scriptural phraseology constantly adopted by him, he has written nothing that would not prove entirely agreeable to the most polished ear.

The

sermons in this volume are nineteen in number, on the following subjects:-The Gospel Treasure-The Benefits of Christ's Mediation-The Fulness and Freeness of Pardoning Mercy-Divine Long-suffering, or the Despiser Warned-The World to come-The great Inquiry Answered-God's Regard to the Heart-Man's Misery Remembered and Relieved through Mercy-The Gain of Godliness-Meetness for Heaven-The Riches of Grace-The Confession and Purpose of the Humble Soul-The Fearful Encouraged -Resignation-The Conversion of a Sinner -The Christian's Decision-The Sovereign Remedy-The Death of the Righteous-The Great Day.

We trust that this volume will find its way into the hands of all our village itinerants, and that it may attract the attention of that large portion of the clergy, who are accustomed to deliver to their parishioners the sermons of other men. In Christian families, also, it will be found well adapted to keep up the attention of children and domestics.

AN acquaintance with geometry probably possesses more universal practical advantages than that of any other branch of merely human science; for every art which requires a correct knowledge of the forms and proportions of objects derives its accuracy from geometrical principles. The great attention now paid to the exact sciences, in the education of youth, requires some elementary work like the present to develope and explain the outlines of this science in an easy and familiar manner, and in a form at once instructive and inviting, divested of that abstruse character so repulsive to the beginner; while, from the popular character of

its explanations and notes, the reader who is increasing his store of useful science by self-directed study, will find it a valuable assistance in his progress. As most branches of the useful arts are greatly indebted to the due employment of the square and the compasses, explanation in familiar language, showing the applicable utility of the principles of this science, must present many advantages to practical men; so that such a work as that before us will be found of great importance to those who wish to produce the results of their skill in a form in which strength and durability are derived not only from the firmness of the workmanship or the soundness of the material, but also from that scientific correctness which adds so greatly to the real value of the article produced. The diagrams are on a larger scale than usual, which contributes greatly to their utility. The Vocabulary of Technical Terms is a very useful addition to the plan.

DISCOURSES AND SACRAMENTAL ADDRESSES TO A VILLAGE CONGREGATION. By the Rev. D. B: BAKER, A. M. (Curate), of St. John's College, Cambridge; Author of "The Nature of the Proof of the Christian Religion," &c. &c. 12mo. 4s.

THERE is a beautiful simplicity in these discourses, and at the same time a fine selection of thought, which must render them acceptable to the most polished minds. We have not the pleasure of knowing the author, but he writes in a manner greatly adapted to the state of our peasantry, and at the same time displays an unction which must endear his discourses to those who know and love the truth. May he long live to preach and publish such discourses! and may the Church of England be blessed with thousands of such faithful witnesses for the truth of the gospel!

The author has introduced the following modest remarks into his preface :

"The publication of this little volume originated in the following manner. The author, on resigning a curacy which he had held for several years in the country, found himself with a large accumulation of Discourses, none of which seemed likely to be of service to him elsewhere, without such material alterations as he felt would be more difficult than the composition of entirely new discourses. Previous, however, to his consigning them to oblivion, it occurred to him that possibly a few might be selected, acceptable, especially, to country readers (not least so to his own late beloved charge), and useful, in some measure, to a portion of his brethren the clergy, as specimens, though imperfect, of the manner in which a village congregation has been addressed for several years with some advantage."