Matt. xx. 28. λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν. The word λύτρον signifes a ransom or price of redemption, whether from death, captivity, or any other state of misery whatsoever. In Exod. xxi. 30. LXX. it is used for the Hebrew, pedion, the ransom for a man's life. But it more generally corresponds in the LXX with the Hebrew, copher, which signifies a piacular sacrifice; as in Numb. xxxv. 31. Prov. vi. 35.: in which latter place several other versions use giλaoua, and the LXX themselves also translate the verb by è̟ğıλâσdai, in Levit. iv. 20. x. 17. Psalm cvi. 30. In this sense also the Greek word is employed in Lucian. D. D. p. 125. κριόν τεθύσεσθαι λύτρα ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. Hesych. ἐξίλασμα· ἀντίλυτρον. With respect to the efficacy of vicarious sacrifices, the whole Gentile world, as well as the Jews, were very generally persuaded that piacular victims were accepted as an atonement for the life of an offender; and that the life of one person was, in some cases, given for the life of another. These persons were called dvruxol, and there is an oracular response in Aristid. Sacr. V. founded upon this notion, wherein vx avrì vuxns is required. So Virg. Æn. V. 85. Unum pro multis dabitur caput. Compare also Josh. ii. 14. LXX. Joseph. de Maccab. p. 1090. C. Porphyr. de Abstin. IV. 15. Eurip. Phoen. 1011. Alcest. 293. See also Horne's Introd. Vol III. p. 157. Our Lord, therefore, clearly meant, and was understood by the Apostles to mean, that he gave his life instead of the life of others. Some, indeed, have supposed, that the words λúτpov ȧvrì Toλλv mean, one ransom instead of many ransoms; i.e. the many prescribed by the Jewish law; and the Socinians affirm, that the death of Christ was not intended as a substitute for that of men, but as the seal and ratification of the New Covenant. The criticism, upon which this depends, is supported by Deut. vii. 8. LXX, where the verb Avrpoσaro signifies simply, delivered from captivity. But there no ransom is mentioned; whereas the death of Christ is here expressly stated as the λúrpov, and the sense of the passage is confirmed beyond all doubt by the use of the preposition avrà in its strong and original sense of instead, in the place of. The word Toλav has also been a stumbling-block, as seeming to imply, that redemption is not universal. Some have argued, therefore, that rooi is used of believers only; but it is far more satisfactory to understand wooì in the sense of Távtes, which it clearly bears in a variety of passages. Compare especially Dan. xii. 2. with John v. 28, 29. and Rom. v. 15. 19. with 1 Cor. xv. 12. 22. Again, a question has arisen, whether the prevalent opinion respecting the Messiah, that he would not be subject to death, (John xii. 34.) would have allowed the Apostles to understand Jesus as speaking to the effect which his words imply. It is certain, indeed, that they did not altogether comprehend the nature and intent of Christ's sufferings, even after his repeated declarations on that subject; still it is equally true that many of the more enlightened Jews expected that their Messiah would make some sort of expiation for the sins of their nation. He is spoken of, for instance, as, aish copher, which is equivalent with amp λurpov, an appellation which probably originated in Dan. ix. 24. where it is predicted that he should make reconciliation for iniquity. Compare Matt. xxvi. 28. John xi. 51, 52. Ephes. v. 2. 1 Tim. ii. 6. Heb. ix. 14. 28. WHITBY, LE CLERC, KYPKE, KUINOEL.-[GROTIUS, CALVIN, WakeFIELD.] There is a remarkable addition to this passage in the Codex Bezæ, and some MSS. and Versions; but it is evidently an interpolation from some Apocryphal Gospel.-Pp. 247, 248. We subjoin one more passage on Matt. xxvi. 37, on account of the importance of its subject the agony of our Saviour in the Garden of Gethsemane : From the strong expressions employed in the description of our blessed Saviour's agony, from the earnestness of his prayer for deliverance, and, indeed, from all the attendant circumstances, it is unquestionable that his distress of mind was in the highest degree poignant and acute. Of the cause, however, to which this extremity of pain was owing, and of the nature of the sensations which he experienced, much has been written, and little understood; and there is certainly something deeply mysterious in this part of his history. Some think it was occasioned by the divine wrath pressing upon him; and that God treated him, while bearing the sins of the world, as if he were indeed a sinner. But the ministry of the angel, (Luke xxii. 43.) who must have been sent from God, and sent in love too, is completely at variance with this notion; not to mention that no angelic strength could have resisted the force of God's indignation. It is true, indeed, that the circumstances related in this and the following verse in St. Luke are called in question, and that the verses are omitted in the Vatican, Alexandrian, and others of the oldest MSS. They are extant, however, in such a vast majority of MSS. versions, and Fathers, that there can be no doubt of their authenticity; and, at all events, God could not regard him as a sinner who was purity itself; but in every act Jesus was, and knew himself to be, that beloved Son, in whom the Father was well pleased. Neither is it credible, that his agony arose solely from the fear of death, and of the torments and the ignominy he was about to undergo; for many great and good men, many of the primitive martyrs for instance, and of our first reformers, have met death and tortures without such expressions of agonizing pain. His sufferings might, indeed, be embittered by a variety of sorrows peculiar to himself; by his fore-knowledge of all that would befal him, by the complicated miseries that his death would bring upon his wretched countrymen, by the persecution to which his disciples would be exposed in propagating his religion, by the sympathy which his mother and his beloved apostle would experience in his fate, by the malignity of sin, and the vicarious burden thereof with which he was then oppressed, and by numberless considerations which could not fail to exasperate his woes in a powerful degree. Still it is evident that the cup of sorrow (compare Matt. xx. 23.) was not the bitterness of death; indeed we are assured by St. Paul, in relation to this fact, that he was heard in that he feared, (Heb. v. 7.) i. e. that he was delivered from the terrors that oppressed him; and yet we know that he was not delivered from the death of the cross, and that he left the garden with the most dignified composure to meet the dangers that awaited him. Upon the whole, the most probable opinion seems to be, that our Lord upon this occasion entered into a severe spiritual conflict with the great enemy of mankind, who assaulted the second Adam in a garden as he had done the first. After the temptation in the wilderness the devil is said to have departed from Christ for a season, (Luke iv. 13) and it is not improbable that this might be the season at which he thought fit to return. The angel from heaven may be supposed to have come against the minister of hell, in order to counteract his influence and strengthen the human nature of Christ under the horrors to which he was exposed. In the whole transaction, however, there are many things hard to be understood; and we cannot, therefore, be too careful that we presume not in our inquiries into the hidden mysteries of God. WHITBY, LIGHTFOOT, A. CLARK.-[GROTIUS, CALVIN, DODDRIDGE, &c.]-Pp. 326, 327. On Matt. xvii. 20, we have a useful note, derived from Jewish sources, explaining the proverbial comparison of a grain of mustard seed for any thing extremely small; but Mr. Trollope does not advert to the botanical question, which has recently been agitated respecting the genus of the shrub or tree intended by the evangelist, by Mr. Frost on the one hand, who contends, with much ingenuity, that it is the Phytolacca dodecandra of Linnæus;* and, on the other hand, * Remarks on the Mustard Tree mentioned in the New Testament. By John Frost. London. 1827. 8vo. by the Rev. Mr. Buckham,* who argues that the tree intended is the common mustard tree, and who has collected numerous passages from ancient botanical writers, as well as from modern travellers and botanical authors, in support of his argument. In a future edition, Mr. T. will doubtless advert to this topic. From the space which we have allotted to this article, our readers will readily conclude that we think highly of the work, which we have thus introduced to their notice. To young men at our great endowed public schools, as well as at the Universities, and other clerical and theological institutions or academies, and also to Clergymen, and others who can only purchase small libraries, we think that Mr. Trollope's labours will prove eminently useful. We are not aware that he has passed by any passage involving real difficulty; at the same time, he has so condensed the multifarious information which he has collected from various sources, as to render the critical study of the New Testament both easy and delightful. This handsomely-printed volume is dedicated, by permission, to the present venerable Bishop of Durham, to whose Bampton Lectures on the Interpretation of the Scriptures, biblical students have long been indebted for sound principles of exposition, both happily and appositely elucidated. We learn, from a preliminary advertisement, that the author has been prevented, by circumstances of a private nature, from publishing together the two volumes, of which his work will consist; and that he has now issued his first volume, in consequence of its being anxiously expected in various quarters. The second volume, we understand, is advancing rapidly through the press; and we shall seize the earliest opportunity, after its appearance, to announce its completion to our readers. LITERARY REPORT. 1. A few Words in Favour of our Roman Catholic Brethren: an Address to his Parishioners: by the Rev. EDWARD STANLEY, M.A. Rector of Alderley. London: Ridgway, 1829. 8vo. pp. 16. 2. An Appeal to Protestants; &c. &c. &c. and a Series of Correspondence between the Rev. E. Stanley, the Rev. J. M. Turner, Rector of Wilmslow, and now Bishop of Calcutta, and the Curate of Wilmslow. By the Rev. THOMAS GARRATT, A. M. Macclesfield. 8vo. p. 76. 3. A Farewell Sermon: preached in the Parish Church of Wilmslow, in the County of Chester, on Sunday. 31st May, 1829. By the Rev. THOMAS GARRATT, A.M. Richmond. 8vo. pp. 48. Of the three pamphlets which stand above, the first is a volunteer on the Catholic question, entirely uncalled for, and written by a Protestant clergyman: * Remarks on the Phytolacca Dodecandra, or Mustard Tree of the Scriptures. By the Rev. P. W. Buckham. London. 1829. 8vo. a circumstance which we always regard with feelings of extreme regret. The second is a warm, and perhaps, in some respects, ill-judged rejoinder from a neighbouring clergyman, who did not approve of Mr. Stanley's disseminating his "few words" in the parish of which he had the charge. Judging from the correspondence which passed between Mr. Garratt and his late rector, (and we have nothing else to judge by,) we cannot think that he has been well used; and we are sorry that the affair has ended in a manner which must be exceedingly unpleasant, though in different ways, to all the parties concerned. We have no intention, however, to meddle with private dissensions: and we therefore refrain from saying another word on the subject. With respect to Mr. Garratt's sermon, with which he closed his connexion with the parish of Wilmslow, we shall merely observe that it exhibits a plain convincing appeal in favour of the claims of the Protestant church over that of Rome, and an earnest exhortation to the flock, with whom he had lived beloved, and whom he left regretted, to cherish unimpaired the pure and holy religion, in which they had been born and bred. MDCCC XXX. Gilbert's Clergyman's Almanack; containing the names of the Archbishops, Bishops, &c. &c. with the usual contents of a Pocket-Book. Price 4s. 6d. ALMANACKS are very handy, and withal very amusing books; but to review an almanack will perhaps not be deemed either very profitable or very entertaining. How then to dispose of Mr. Gilbert? for to let his useful compendium slip through the fingers of any of our clerical readers, for want of a friendly hint, would be unpardonable neglect towards them, and not very courteous to him. There is a familiar adage, which may serve us a turn in this dilemma. The least said is soonest mended. We shall therefore shelter ourselves under the venerable shade of this authority, and venture upon the following brief admonition. Gentle reader, if thou desirest to know all and every thing which appertaineth directly or indirectly to the Church of England, thou wilt be at a dead stand without Gilbert's Clergyman's Almanack in thy pocket. Apologie ou Defense de la Bible: dans une suite de Lettres addressées à Thomas Paine, Auteur d'un ouvrage, intitulé "L'Age de la Raison," &c. Par RICHARD WATSON, D.D. Evêque de Llandaff, et Professeur de Thé'ologie à l'Université de Cambridge. Ouvrage traduit de l'Anglais, suivi d'un Résumé de preuves en faveur de Christianisme, et d'un Appendice. Dédié avec permission à l'Archevêque de Cantorbery, par L. T. VENTOUILLAC. A Londres: chez Rivington. 1829. 12mo. pp. viii. 199. Price 4s. A BETTER book cannot possibly be put into the hands of young persons than Watson's Apology for the Bible, in answer to the reckless infidel Paine. At once popular and convincing in its argument, plain and elegant in its style, and complete in its refutation of sceptical objections, it is equally interesting, intelligible, and instructive. By translating it into French, and fitting it for a class-book in schools, Mr. Ventouillac has rendered an essential service to education; and we trust that he will meet with his reward. The translation appears to be faithful to the original, and given in good classical French; and the Summary of Christian Evidence, chiefly from Leslie, as well as the Appendix of notes, form a useful addition to the work. We recommend the volume as a prize book for the French classes in schools. The Resurrection and the Life: a Sermon, preached in the Parish Church of Stoke Newington, on Sunday Morning, July 12, 1829, upon occasion of the Decease of the Rev. George Gaskin, D.D. Prebendary of Ely, Rector of Stoke Newington, &c. &c. By the Rev. AUGUSTUS CLISSOLD, M. A. Curate of Stoke Newington. London: Rivington. 1829. pp. 25. Price 1s. 6d. THE mournful occasion upon which this sermon was delivered, and the recollections which we are wont to associate with the venerable name of GASKIN, would have sanctified a discourse even of ordinary merit, and have stifled censure where praise was undeserved. No such cause for silence, however, prevents us from acknowledging our obligations to Mr. Clissold; to whom we are indebted in a two fold degree. Not only are we pre sented with an admirable dissertation on the subject of "Life, Death, and Immortality," as disclosed to the view of the Christian in the solemn declaration of our Lord at the grave of Lazarus (John xi. 25, 26.) but also, as a practical comment upon the hopes which this declaration holds out to the sincere believer, with an interesting sketch of the ministerial life of the lamented worthy, in consequence of whose decease the sermon was preached. As a lasting memorial of this truly primitive divine, we cannot refrain from transferring the memoir, somewhat curtailed, to our pages. His (Mr. Gaskin's) ministry began in the year 1774, and both the energy of his character, and comprehensive views of Christian and clerical obligation, were soon manifested in various ways. In the year 1791, he was an active and leading member of the Committee for carrying into effect the Act for the relief of the Scotch Episcopalians. His In the year 1795, the Church of England had to deplore the loss of one of her most apostolical ministers, the Rev. Richard Southgate, many years Curate of St. Giles's-in-the-Fields, and sometime Rector of Warsop, Nottinghamshire. manuscript sermons, which he never intended for publication, were left to the care of his intimate friend, our late Pastor, under whose diligent revision they were soon submitted to the attention of the public. These discourses have arrived at a third edition, and were published as "the evangelical productions of a most pious and eminent Christian, whose learning was both extensive and accurate, and whose high aim was to promote the glory of God, and the knowledge of Christ crucified for the salvation of penitent sinners." In the year 1821, our departed Pastor (though at the age of threescore years and ten, and though labour and sorrow VOL. XII. NO. I. were striving to bow the energies of his frame) undertook the publication of the Sermons of the American Bishop Dehon, a most amiable, zealous, and eloquent preacher. He became acquainted with these works but a short period before he gave up his public labours, but so highly esteemed them, that he felt the obligation of publishing an English edition. At the latter end of 1823, the wants of the infant Church in New-York and Ohio were presented in person by the two venerable Prelates of those Dioceses; and also, those of Washington College, Connecticut, by the commissioned agent of the Bishop of that Diocese. On that occasion, our departed Rector, acting with two highly revered noblemen, and two laymen, his friends, accepted the office of Trustee for collecting funds, by which, in the eastern states, the general Theological Seminary, and Washington College, have both been assisted; and in the states of the west, a College has been erected and endowed, for the education of the sons of the soil, in the doctrine and discipline of this the mother Church. The benefits arising from these Christian exertions, have not only been sensibly felt in the diocese of Ohio (then the most western spot in which the Church was planted), but the existence of the institution has already led to the first steps in the forma tion of a diocese still more westerly, extending onwards to the shores of the Pacific, and to be called the "Mississipi Diocese." By the same means also, an edifice, answering the double purpose of a college-chapel, and a church for the newlyformed parish, as well as strictly English in its character, and planned by an eminent English architect, is in progress of structure in the centre of the town of Gambier, and parish of Harcourt. In this blessed work, the exertions of himself and his co-trustees were sanctioned and aided by twenty of the English and nineteen of the Irish Prelates, including all the Archbishops of the United Church of England and Ireland, as well as by both our learned Universities. But what were his labours in the Church as limited to the confines of his own country? For thirty-seven years, the entire and laborious management of the affairs of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, was conducted by him as their sole secretary. For the same period he was Rector of St. Bennet, Gracechurch-street; and till infirmity disqualified him for the office of preaching, his labours were devoted on E |