A Sermon preached before his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Committee of the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, at Trinity Chapel, in Margate, on Friday, Sept. 24, 1830. By JOHN HOWE SPRY, D.D. Prebendary of Canterbury, and Rector of St. Marylebone. London: Cochran.

NUMEROUS as are the sermons which have, of late, been delivered and published on the subject of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, all, or almost all, containing something useful and valuable, there are few that have come under our notice which have

presented greater claims to our good

report than that now before us.

From the text (Malachi i. 11.) Dr. Spry takes occasion to refer to the many clear indications, contained in Holy Writ," of a period when the knowledge of true religion shall be diffused throughout the world, and the gross idolatry of pagan ignorance superseded by the pure and holy worship which God requires of his rational creatures." Admitting however that in this holy work much remains to be done, he maintains that it can be successfully carried on only by public Institutions formed for the purpose: and proceeds to a temperate, judicious, and forcible exposition of the objects, and a calm, luminous, and successful defence of the proceedings of the particular Society, the cause of which he is pleading. After which the Doctor proceeds to combat the objections which have been raised to the Society by those whom party spirit may have blinded, or whose carelessness may not have led them to examine into the extent and fitness of its exertions. The replies are convincing, as it is to fact alone that appeal is made.

That the Archbishop of Canterbury should have been led to express a desire for the publication of a sermon containing so temperate and judicious a vindication of the Society over which he so worthily presides, and in the welfare of which he takes so lively an

interest, is far from surprising. It merits well, indeed, to be more generally and extensively read than usually falls to the lot of single sermons and we cannot refrain from expressing our conviction that, were the Secretaries of the District Committee, before whom the sermon was preached, and of other Committees likewise, to obtain permission of the author for publishing in a cheap form, for general distribution, many of the excellent passages which it contains (with some trifling modification of form) they would confer great and lasting benefit on the Society, by making known its claims to support in many districts in which those claims are still either un

known, or imperfectly understood, and would contribute materially to remove much of misapprehension which now prevails (how, or by what means excited, we stop not to inquire) as to the Society's objects and proceedings. Our friend" Ignotus" might be enlightened by a perusal of the above.

Remarks on the Bible Chronology : being an Essay towards reconciling the same with the Histories of the Eastern Nations. By THOMAS YEATES. London: Maxwell. 1830. Pp. 56. Price 2s. 6d.

THIS is an ingenious attempt to reconcile the prevailing systems of sacred Chronology, especially the Hebrew and Samaritan chronologies. These, the author endeavours to shew, comprise but one and the same measure of time from the creation to the exodus, with a trifling exception: and he has further stated the probable causes of the excess of numbers in the Septuagint version; together with the traditions of the Jews respecting that version, and the thirteen passages which the Rabbins charge the Alexandrian translators with having altered. Mr. Yeates announces his design of printing the Synoptical Tables, with which his Essay terminates, at large, with the requisite proofs and illustrations. His proposed work will

contain a new and complete canon of scripture-time, an adjustment of the patriarchal successions, and a continuation of the subsequent history, down to the Christian era. We hope he will meet with sufficient encouragement to prosecute his arduous undertaking.

The Family Cabinet Atlas. Parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. London: Bull. 1830.

WE were fully justified in the expectation which we entertained of the success of this elegant and useful little gem of art; and the commendation bestowed upon its first Number has not been thrown away. Each succeeding

Part increases in estimation; and the accuracy with which the maps are constructed is truly astonishing, considering the minuteness of their size. The utility of its plan, in connexion with the purposes of education, has induced us to give this second notice of its progress; and we are happy to find that it has been taken under the especial patronage of their Majesties.

Vol. II.

The History of the Bible. By the Rev. G. R. GLEIG, M. A. M. R. S. L. &c. &c. London: Colburn. 1830. Small 8vo. Pp. xii. 372. 58. [National Library, No. II.]

FROM the unprecedented, and, with one glaring exception, the merited popularity of the "Family Library,” publishing by Murray, it was to be expected that competitors for a share of the public patronage would shortly appear in other quarters; and, among the several rivals which have already started, we augur not the least favourably of Mr. Gleig's undertaking. The first number of the "National Library" does not come within our sphere of notice; but the second, for more reasons than one, is entitled to our earliest consideration.

It is at once well timed and well executed. In the Family Library, the only work connected with religion is a stain and blemish to the whole series; not only from the dangerous tendency of its Neologian sophistries, but from the

reckless perseverance with which edition after edition is sent forth, in despite of the public cry for its suppression.* Mr. Milman ought to know that the call for his unhallowed volume does not emanate from the truly religious and well-thinking of the reading world; but, from those who are led by an idle curiosity to inquire into the latitudinarian tenets of an

University Professor. At the same time its connexion with a "series of popular treatises, has no doubt paved the way for its introduction into numerous families; and we would caution the parent, who is anxious for the spiritual welfare of his offspring, to place the insidious poison beyond their reach. He will find an excellent antidote in the volume before us. We do not mean that it was written expressly for this purpose; but its unprejudiced statement of facts, and unbiassed conclusions, are a virtual refutation of unscriptural views of Scripture history, and perverse interpretations of Holy Writ.

A history of the Bible involves a connected view of the great dispensations, which together form the comprehensive scheme of man's redemption. In this scheme the fortunes of God's chosen people, the Jews, are eminently conspicuous; and no candid inquirer can overlook the wonderful displays of super-human power in the Almighty's dealings with them. Their whole history is one continued and stupendous miracle; and is not, therefore, to be viewed in the same light as the ordinary narratives of the profane historian. Mr. Gleig has accordingly performed his task with a becoming reverence for Holy Writ; and the illustrations, which he has occasionally derived from other sources, are offered in due subservience to the authority of inspiration. His work is introduced by a popular review of the evidences in favour of a divine revelation, and of the authenticity of the writings of Moses in particular, and thence, by consequence, of the other books of the Old Testament. The history is brought down, in the present volume, to the reign of David; and the objections of infidels and others are answered

throughout, in a clear and convincing manner. We shall have great pleasure in announcing the completion of the work; and in the mean time we recommend the present portion of it to the attention of the public.

The Vanity of all Earthly Greatness. A Funeral Sermon, preached in Camden Chapel, St. Pancras, on Sunday, July 18, 1830, on the occasion of the Death of His Majesty George the Fourth. By the Rev. A. C. L D'ARBLAY, M.A. F. C. P. S. Minister of that Chapel, and Fellow of Christ College, Cambridge. Printed at the request of the Congregation. London: Rivingtons. 8vo. Pp. 24. Ir will not be denied that there were circumstances which rendered the Christian preacher's task, on the melancholy occasion which gave rise to the discourse before us, a task of considerable delicacy and difficulty. While the public press teemed with malevolent abuse on the one hand, and fulsome panegyric on the other, it was his duty to speak the truth in honesty; and to this we may, perhaps, attribute the scanty proportion of sermons which were published on the death of George IV., in comparison with the infinity of those which recorded the private and public worth of his revered and venerable father. Mr. D'Arblay seems to have felt the difficulty; and thus wisely has he avoided any allusion to circumstances over which it is better to draw a veil, while the public virtues of the deceased monarch are exhibited in their true and brilliant colours. In the text are united the emphatic declaration of Solomon in Eccles. i. 1, 2, and the warning of David in Psalm cxlvi. 3, 4. After a brief exposition of the Scriptural version of the word vanity, and an eloquent description of the worthlessness of worldly pleasure, science, or ambition, without the consolations of religion, we have the following wellappointed comparison :—

From the little scene on which man toils and frets, a monarch hath disappeared, who, in many respects, had ample opportunities to repeat the experiments of Solomon, and amply used those opportunities. With

every advantage that person and education can bestow, he entered life as a vale of flowers, and found by its bitter fruits that pleasure is vanity. With a refinement in taste and an elegance of manner seldom equalled, never surpassed, he blended in a great degree the varied accomplishments of the scholar; was the liberal friend of art, and the patron of science, and learned enough to know that this also is vanity. His regency beheld our England raised to the loftiest pinnacle of fame her glorious annals ever reached; and during a reign of wise, peaceful, and prosperous sway, he fostered with paternal care all those sacred institutions of the country, for the defence of which he had waged a noble, because a

just and patriotic war.—Like Solomon, he was courted by foreign princes, who from their wide dominions crossed the sea to do homage to the sovereign of that mighty nation, which alone, in the universal wreck, had stood the fury of the storm.-—Thus he tasted all the imperfect joys the cup of ambition can supply, and, in the midst of all, was too well convinced, by the gradual inroads of disease and pain, that this again is vanity!-Pp. 14, 15.

Hence the necessity that men should "know this, and consider their latter end;" when all worldly hopes will indeed be vanity, and the merit of Christ the only source of consolation.

Yes, my brethren! I am bound by my sacred office to tell you, on this as on all occasions, that, be it great or small, be it with subjects or kings, faith in the incarnate Son of God,-living, lasting, persevering faith, is the only anchor for the departed soul on the ocean of eternity! George our King is now departed to his Father and to our Father, to his God and to our God,— and, as the sufferings of the august patient proved that there is no royal road to the grave, so the impartial, unrelenting Gospel, declares that there is no royal road to salvation.

We are bound to hope (for we may hope, though not pray, for the dead,) that mercy will be extended from above to him who, while on earth, seized joyfully every opportunity to exert that most blessed of all royal prerogatives. But the shroud is in the bowels of the ground-the body is with the earth, the spirit with God who gave it—the virtues of the Monarch, and the errors of the individual, are balanced in the scales of the sole unerring Judge. And if it shall please that pure Fountain of Light to change the crown of thorns he lately wore for an imperishable crown of glory, and the faded insignia of earthly royalty for white robes,

pure and spotless before the Lamb,-to what will the gracious boon be due, by whose merits will it be won? Will his own virtues, or those of his illustrious ancestors, will the brilliant achievements of his reign, the laurels of war, or the arts of peace, purchase for him the glories of eternity?—No, my brethren! Earthly, they may claim their earthly reward, from the future historian, when present love and hate are removed from the changing scene,-when the voice that flattered, and the tongue that slandered, are heard no more. But with that Ancient of Days, "who is too pure to behold iniquity," there is but one source of pardon, of resurrection, and of life, even the precious blood of Christ shed upon the cross,of Him who, like the course of that unvarying nature which He rules, "hath no respect of persons," or of places, or of times, of Christ, the sole fulfiller of the law, the Sun of Righteousness shining on all alike, "the same yesterday, to-day, for ever;" of Christ, the beams of whose mercy gild with equal rays of hope the sceptre of the sovereign and the fetters of the slave!-Pp. 21--23.

It was our intention to have given an earlier notice of Mr. D'Arblay's sermon; but, by some means, it has been hitherto overlooked. Its merits, however, will not allow us to pass it by altogether; though the immediate object of its publication has now become matter of history.

Modern Methodism Unmasked: in a Letter to the Rev. Richard Warner, Author of "Evangelical Preaching." By a LAYMAN. London: Baldwin and Cradock. 1830. 8vo. Pp. 84. THIS is a spirited, though not intemperate, and, at all events, a faithful exposition of the errors of the Evangelical, or rather pseudo-evangelical party, in the Church. The author professes his conviction, that the doctrine of the Church of England concurs with the sentiments, directly or indirectly conveyed, of Tomline, Warburton, Lavington, Secker, Jortin, Whitby, Paley, Clarke, Cave, and Eusebius; and he combats, with great strength of argument, the tenets of the Evangelicals, which he identifies with those of Calvinistic Methodism. In the above list the author would be understood, we presume, with some limitation; inasmuch as the orthodoxy of some of

VOL. XII. NO. XI.

A VOLUME of compilations! The Preface itself is composed of a series of paragraphs from the Theological Review, Rev. T. Biddulph, Archbishop Leighton, Daniel Wilson, and the Psalms. It is more to the purpose, however, to observe that the Prayers are compiled with considerable judgment; and a fourth edition of the work is no mean proof of its practical utility. We should like to be informed, by the way, by what means Mr. Stevenson has made the remarkable discovery, that Daniel Wilson is " an eminent Divine!"

Friendship's Offering: A Literary Album, and Christmas and New Year's Present for 1831. London: Smith, Elder and Co. Pp. xii. 408. Twelve Plates. Price 12s. elegantly bound.

We have just received an early copy of this exquisite little book; and as, from its moral tendency, we have swerved from our immediate province, to announce its appearance in former years, we shall not refuse it the like attention at present. The proprietors seem to have used every exertion to keep up, or rather to enlarge, their claims to public patronage; and we sincerely congratulate them on the production of a volume, which it will be difficult to equal, and scarcely possible to surpass. Of the literary portion of the work, while the Editor has

4 T

availed himself of the services of the most popular writers of the day, he has at the same time been careful in the selection of articles, which are likely, from their excellence, to make a lasting impression on the mind, and "to assist in forming the taste, exercising the judgment, and improving the heart." The embellishments are executed in the first style of the art; and the subjects chosen for illustration are replete with interest.

Sermons preached in St. George's Church, Everton. By the Rev. MATSON VINCENT, M.A. of University College, Oxford. London: Hatchard. 1830. 12mo. Pp. xii. 419. Price 6s.

FROM the thirteenth sermon in this volume we extract the following:

Yes, my dearest brethren in the Lord, and more especially you, who may be setting out in the walk of grace, and inquiring your way to Zion, with your faces thitherward, let it be your grand leading concern, sinners as you may see yourselves to be, and sinners as you are, always to believe, that your salvation, from first to last, all of grace; all freely given, in and with the Saviour, without any deservings,—any qualifications on your part. The more sinful you see yourselves to be, and the fewer qualifications you see yourselves to possess, the more you will perceive, that such a salvation is suited to your case; and the more it will commend itself to your judgment, and your acceptance.-Pp. 241, 242.

Now, we would ask, whether this is the doctrine of the Bible? True it is, that salvation is the free gift of God, through Christ, without any deservings, but surely not without any qualifications on the part of man. There are num

berless other assertions of a like tendency, to which we are bound to object in Mr. Vincent's discourses: and, as we expected from the models upon which he has grounded them, they do not come within our notion of Gospel truth. We have no doubt, however, of the sincerity of the preacher, in his reverence for such names as Hervey, and Romaine, &c.; but we must warn him that the peculiar complexion of their Theology is not well suited with the sober piety of the English church, or,

in every respect, in accordance with the declarations of Scripture. His 'sermons, however, are not entirely without merit; and his appeals are frequently impressive: but of the effect which they are likely to produce, we have our doubts.

WORKS PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION.

The Errors of Romanism traced to their Origin in Human Nature. By R. Whately, D. D. Principal of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford.

The Second Volume of the Iris, a Religious and Literary Offering for 1831, edited by the Rev. Thomas Dale, M. A., is announced for publication on the 1st of November next. The Work will be illustrated from Pictures by Carlo Dolci, Rembrandt, Murillo, Titian, Dominichino, N. Poussin, Correggio, Sir J. Reynolds, B. West, and Sir Thomas Lawrence,-engraved by some of the most eminent Engravers; and the Literary Department will, as before, be decidedly of a religious tendency.

The Sixth Edition of the Cabinet Lawyer. Revised and enlarged, in one vol. 18mo. 8s. 6d. boards, and comprising the New Acts of the 11 Geo. IV. and I Will. IV. and Legal Decisions to the Summer Assizes, The Cabinet Lawyer; or, a Popular Digest of the Laws of England: with a Dictionary of Law Terms, Maxims, Acts of Parliament, and Judicial Antiquities; correct Tables of Assessed Taxes, Stamp Duties, Excise Licenses, and Post Horse Duties; Post Office Regulations, Rates of Porterage, Turnpike Laws, Corn Laws, Prison Regulations, &c.: presenting a clear and complete Exposition of the whole Civil, Criminal, and Constitutional Law of England as now administered.

An entirely New Edition of Drew on the Immateriality and Immortality of the Human Soul. Carefully revised and enlarged by the Author. Cloth, 10s. 6d.

A Manual of Prayers, in Easy Language, for every Day in the Week. By the Rev. J. Topham, M.A. F.R.S.L. Rector of St. Andrew and St. Mary Witten, Droitwich.

Dedicated to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. In small 8vo. price 5s. in extra boards, with a Portrait, Vol. I. of The Sunday Library; or, the Protestant's Manual for the Sabbath Day: being a Selection of Sermons from eminent Divines of the Church of England, within the last half century; with occasional Biographical Setches, and Short Notes. By the Rev. T. F. Dibdin, D. D.