Him who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live, (p. 105) the author terminates this discourse with a striking and energetic exhortation, enforcing their application on the consciences of his readers. "Let us compare our hearts with the word of God. While we read with atten tion the statement there delivered of man's depravity, let us observe whether we do not find a corresponding depravity within our own bosoms: whether we do not find with respect to spiritual things, that blindness in the understanding; that perverseness in the will; that ungovernableness in the affections; that impurity in the imagination; that vanity in the mind; above all, that alienation of the heart from God, which the scriptures designate as characteristic of fallen man. Let us examine ourselves in one single instance. If our hearts be not alienated from God, communion with him will be our chief delight: prayer and praise will be the natural language of our souls. But does this on experience prove to be the case? On the contrary, what indisposition do we not feel to such holy exercises? What backwardness in commencing them? What dulness and formality in performing them? How difficult, nay how impossible do we find it, with all our watchfulness, with all the force which we are able to apply, to maintain for the shortest period, and even on the most solemn occasions, an undivided attention, a spiritual frame of mind? Can we then doubt of the native enmity of our hearts to God? Does not the very necessity of applying force to the mind, shew what is its inherent tendency; in what direction the current, if not opposed, would naturally flow? "Nor let us rest satisfied with this conviction. Let our experience of the violence and of the inveteracy of the malady, lead us earnestly to seek for help from Him who alone can heal our disordered souls. Is not this the great improvement which we are required to make of the information Vouchsafed? To bring us humbly unto God for the renovation of our corrupt nature; is not this the great practical end, which the conviction of our natural corruption is intended to promote? He who alone searcheth the heart, alone can renew it unto holiness. To him then let us apply for the blessing. We have the strongest assurances, that our application shall not be in vain." (p 107-108.) We have given so copious an account of the preceding discourses, that we shall be obliged greatly to limit our review of those that remain. We trust, however, that the short notice which we mean to take of each will serve to stimulate our readers to a perusal of the whole work, a labour which we can assure them will be amply rewarded. The fifth sermon is "On the Gift of the Spirit." After demonstrating that the spirit, by whose agency alone our souls can be renewed, is entirely the gift of God; Mr. Cooper shews that prayer is the appointed instrument for obtaining that gift. "The gifts and privileges of the gospel are freely offered to all: but to whom are they promised? To those who seek them by faith and prayer."-" Nor can we sufficiently admire the wisdom of that appointment. It consults at once the honour of God and the infirmity of man. It leaves to God the whole glory of supplying our ne cessities: and it constitutes a test of our humility, of our faith, and of our obedience:" while, at the same time, its success and efficacy are undoubted, being confirmed by the uniform testimony of scripture. The application of this subject is peculiarly animated and impressive. The sixth sermon is "On the Danger of being corrupted from the Simplicity that is in Christ. The character of this christian simplicity Mr. Cooper has delineated with much discrimination. "Simplicity is the essence and the ornament of the Christian character. It implies an open and artless disposition, free from all deceit and hypocrisy."-"It denotes a holy inability to plan, or to accomplish any evil design.""It comprehends an humble and a teachable mind, divested of prejudice and pride; a plain and an unaffected behaviour, exempt from vanity and ostentation; and a singleness of heart towards God;"—"In opposition to that double-mindedness condemned by St. James, which aims at combining contrary interests, at serving at the same time both God and Mammon. "But further, the Simplicity that is in Christ, may be understood more especially to denote that simplicity of dependence on him and of obedience to the Divine Law which his religion prescribes." Simplicity of dependence on Christ is one of the distinguishing features of the true Christian. All other persons place their dependence on some other foundation; on some quality, or supposed exceland prudence; on the goodness of their own heart; on their own strength and resolutions; on the merit of their services, at least on the sincerity of their obedience. Or if they do take Christ into their scheme, and build upon him; yet they build upon lence in themselves: on their own wisdom, him only in part, in conjunction with some of these other foundations. They build on Christ, and on themselves too; and in some degree will share with him in the honour of their salvation. But the true Christian depends on Christ alone. He builds on this foundation, and on no other besides. It is on Christ's merits alone, and not on his own, either in the whole or in part, that he relies."-" He has innume rable sins which need forgiveness, and he feels that he cannot stand before God in judgment; but he relies with full security on the faithful declaration, The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. He has many difficulties to be overcome, many enemies to be encountered, many lusts to be subdued; but he confides on the promise of his Lord, My grace is sufficient for thee. In short, he exclaims with the Psalmist, I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. Simplicity of obedience is another distinguishing feature of the true Christian. As he takes the promises of God for his dependence, so he takes the precepts of God for his rule. He does not presume to call in question the reasonableness, the propriety, or the justice of any of the divine commandments. He does not search out for arguments to justify his neglect or his violation of them. He does not plead the strictness of the law, the strength of the temptation, or his own weakness, as any excuse for his disobedience, or any extenuation of his guilt. It is his prevailing endeavour and constant prayer, that no regard to his own private ease or interest, no fear of the reproach or ridicule of the world, may deter him from a conscientious discharge of his duty. His judgment is liable to error; but his heart is right with God. He may not always clearly discern the path which he ought to chuse; but when this is once discovered, be it thorny, rough, and steep, he hesitates not to follow it." (p. 143-147.) The nature of this christian grace, and the danger to which christians are exposed of being corrupted from it, Mr. Cooper then illustrates, at some length, by a reference to the opposite conduct which Abraham and Saul observed in circumstances of trial and difficulty, and to the manner in which the serpent beguiled Eve by his subtilty. The seventh sermon is entitled, "Christ's Yoke an easy Yoke;" and the eighth, "Christ's Burden a light Antinomian, who separates practical holiness from christian faith. And whence, he asks, does this error originate? Burden." Both these discourses are calculated to be eminently useful, and we wish we could venture to give a more detailed view of them. In the former the author judiciously cautions his readers against the delusion of the Christ and for his gospel: but from the "Not as you imagine from a zeal for carnal state of your own heart. You have mandments; therefore you cast them behind no relish for his pure and spiritual comdoth not prophesy good concerning you but your back. You hate his law, because it evil. your thoughts, your tempers, your prac You secretly feel that it condemns ices, your intentions, your desires. You know that if conformity to this holy standard be the test of your interest in the Redeemer's blood, you must be forced to conclude against yourselves. Hence you seek to substitute new tests, new standards. Hence you trample on that law, which the ed to establish. Hence you are led in fact whole dispensation of the gospel is intendto adopt the sentiments of the most determined adversaries of Christ. Let us break his bonds asunder, and cast away his cords from us. lies the root of the whole evil. You have You are yet in the flesh. Here of divine grace. Pray then that your heart never experienced the renewing influence from the yoke of Sin and Satan. Pray to may be changed. Pray for deliverance the Son to make you free indeed, by putting his Spirit within you; for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Seek to have the law written in your hearts; and you the text, My yoke is easy.” (p. 186, 187.) will then fully comprehend the meaning of He then with equal ability combats a contrary error into which still greater numbers fall, and which, we are sorry to say, is upheld even by some great names in the church. 66 'They talk of a mitigated law. They speak as if the great blessing which the gospel was intended to convey, is the introduction of a less rigorous and extensive rule of practice." is merciful. He knoweth our frame. He "Man,' (they cry) is weak and God remembereth that we are but dust. The yoke of Christ is easy. He has purchased for us easier terms of acceptance. In conformity to our fallen nature he has relaxed the severity of his demands; has established a milder code of laws, and will be satisfied with a far less scrupulous obedience. If we are but sincere according to our abilities, our imperfect services, through the merits of our Redeemer, will be accounted for righteousness'. "But," adds Mr. Cooper, are such less false and dangerous than the senti assertions to be tolerated? Are they ments which have already been combated? Mercy no doubt is one of the most glorie ous attributes of the Almighty. But does he exercise it at the expence of his holi ness and truth? Did not the Son of God undertake to magnify the law, and make it honourable? Do not the opinions in question tend to degrade and vilify it? What do they advance as the standard of obedience? Not the holy and immutable law of the Creator, but the corrupt and change able nature of the creature. Nay, every man's supposed ability becomes the rule of his moral practice. And where will the evils of such a system terminate? Let this rule be once established, and who is there that will be destitute of an excuse for sin? The more deeply the sinner has plunged into iniquity, the more fully he has incapacitated himself for obedience; the less obedience he will be required to pay; the greater indulgence he will experience. My brethren, investigate this matter with attention. You will find that the notions of a mitigated law are most derogatory to the honour of God, most destructive to the practice of holiness. The advocates for this system, however they may disclaim the intention, are in fact subverters at once of the law and of the gospel. They are equally implicated in the charge of substituting new standards of obedience; and thus far they eventually rank with the more open opposers of the law." (p. 188-190.) The ninth sermon in which "The Danger of a Worldly Spirit is illustrated by the History of Lot," is replete with important practical instruction. The tenth is "On the Design and Duties of the Sabbath." After shewing that the sabbath was a divine appointment made for man, for his advantage and happiness; and principally intended to promote the salvation of the soul; he strenuously enforces the obligation of christians to observe this holy day, and points out likewise the proper manner of observing it. By the command, keep holy the sabbath day, whatever employments contribute to further the salvation of the soul, the great end of the institution, are enjoined to be practised: and whatever employments tend to impede or to counteract this design, with the exception of works of necessity and mercy, are forbidden to be practised. On this principle, worldly business, as well as worldly pleasures and amusements, and all sensual enjoyments, are violations of the holy rest of this day. But to the christian it is, nevertheless, a source of the most pure enjoyment. Pouring out his heart before God in penitent confessions and earnest prayer; meditating on the love of Christ, joining in edi fying discourse; instructing the ignorant, strengthening the weak; relieving the indigent, are some of the delightful exercises to which the recurrence of this day invites him. And surely one day thus spent is better than a thousand consumed in ungodliness and sin. There cannot, indeed, be a surer proof of the alienation of the heart from God and religion, than a distaste or disinclination for the peculiar duties of the sabbath. Some judicious and seasonable cautions are subjoined by Mr. Cooper for the benefit of those who mistake the means of grace for the end proposed by them: or who suffer public ordinances to engross so large a portion of the day as not to allow time for private prayer, self-examination, and the study of the Bible. The eleventh sermon "On the Danger and Misery of Self-deception, "is an able elucidation of the account given, (Matt. xix. 16.) of the young man who came to enquire what he should do that he might have eternal life; an account certainly involved in some difficulties, but of which Mr. Cooperappears to us to have given a satisfactory explanation. In the twelfth and last sermon, which is entitled "Christ the beloved and the Friend of his People," there is much that is truly excellent. On the same principle, however, which led us, in our last number, (p. 303), to object to certain passages in the sermons of Mr. Gisborne, we wish that Mr. Cooper had omitted some remarks in the present discourse (p. 326), which are calculated, we fear, to give needless offence to some pious persons. The usefulness of the discourse, even to those whose doctrinal views accord with the remarks in question, would, in no degree, have been diminished by their omission: whilst many who would otherwise have greatly benefited by the perusal of this admirable volume, will, perhaps, feel a degree of prejudice excited by them which may tend to impede that desirable effect. We hope the pious author will candidly reconsider the passage when he publishes another edition. Upon the whole, *We would not be understood as giving any opinion whatever, on the points involved in the passage to which we have alluded above. But we feel ourselves compelled by a sense of duty to notice, we scruple not to say, that the present volume forms a most valuable accession to the stock of modern discourses, and we have perused it with very sincere satisfaction. The topics, as must have appeared, are selected with a studied reference to the essential truths of the gospel. The prominence which is given to these, and the closeness with which they are uniformly applied, exhibit a peculiar ly happy combination of theory and practice. To the artifices of arrangement, and the graces of style, the author does not appear to have been studiously attentive: but neither has he been carelessly indifferent. His method, in general, is simple and familiar, and his language, though occasionally diffuse, is perspicuous, pertinent, and impressive; and both these are manifestly employed in subordination to his main design (a design in which he promises to be eminently successful) of reaching the hearts of his readers. In recommending to the public, which we do most cordially, these excellent sermons, we trust we shall be supported by those of our critical brethren, whose approbation of Mr. Cooper's Visitation Sermon, as he states in his preface, encouraged him to execute the same design on a larger and more perfect scale. Mr. Cooper has our best thanks for this contribution to the fund of evangelical piety; and we think he will have no less from all lovers of good sense, sound argument, and scriptural christianity. what appears to us a very doubtful application of two texts of scripture; we mean Jer. xxxi. S. and John xiii. 1. The former of these refers primarily, without doubt, to the Jewish nation, and typically also to the Catholic church. The latter, wherein it is said, that those whom Christ loved he loved, (not “ loveth”) unto the end, is, we apprehend, the statement of an historical fact; and refers so directly to those who were the followers of our Lord on earth, that we think it cannot, without a forced construction, be made to apply universally. We also doubt whether it can be truly said that "the people of Christ" (speaking generally) "are delivered" from "apprehensions" respecting their acceptance with God. On the contrary, we conceive them to be frequently barassed with doubts and fears on that point. - CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 30. CLXII. Thoughts on the Calvinistic and Arminian Controversy. By GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B. D. Rivingtons. 180. 8vo. pp. 46. MR. FABER begins this pamphlet with affirming that no doctrines ought to be termed Calvinistic, but those which belong exclusively to Calvinism. Many Calvinists are wont to claim as entirely their own, the orthodox tenets, so explicitly asserted by our church, of original sin, sanctification, justification by the sole merits of Christ; "and some Arminians*, (he adds), have shewn themselves extremely unguarded in styling all men Calvinists who hold them." (p. 1.) Yet these doctrines," he maintains, "do not necessarily involve the tenets of Calvi nism, and are no more peculiar to that system than the doctrine of the trimity." In Mr. Faber's opinion, and thus far we concur with him, nothing has so much injured the cause of truth as a bigotted adherence to system and party, combined with the pride which prevents men from retracting opinions which have once been advanced. Prejudice, in such a case, blinds the understanding. Party spirit produces rashness and pertinacity. Through the influence of pride men will have recourse to the most disingenuous sophisms rather than honestly confess their errors. The triumphant exposure of these sophisms irritates and inflames the mind. The partizans of each system become more bigotted to their own opinions: and instead of endeavouring to conciliate their adversaries, strive rather to recede as far as possible from the ground which they occupy. "With regard to the present controversy," adds Mr. Faber, "a sober inquirer may possibly be disposed to think, that the fault of the violent, (be it observed, I am speaking only of the violent), on each side of the question, is this: they are alike unwilling to take the Bible, as they find it; and alike anxious to deduce a chain of conclusions of their own from premises, which themselves are undoubtedly scriptural. *The learned author ought rather to have said "some who call themselves Arminians;" for those who reject the abovementioned doctrines, as the peculiarities of a sect, have no more claim to be considered as Arminians than they have to be considered as Calvinists. Arminius, from whom we presume they take their name, held all these tenets strenuously. ЗА vered, just as much as Adan did when possessed of it ab origine; and we may neglect to use that subsequently imparted strength, just as much as Adam did the strength which he received at his creation." (p. 6-10.) The view which the learned author has here taken of the subject, he endea readers two sets of inferences, wherevours to illustrate by laying before his by certain positions, which the highest Calvinist, and the highest Arminian would respectively tremble to admit, may apparently be proved from scripture. He selects as the first link in one chain of reasoning, Ephes. ii. 1. "You hath he quickened who and proceeds to deduce from this text, were dead in trespasses and sins," taken by itself without a reference to other parts of scripture, a succession of inferences which terminate in fata tinction between virtue and vice. His other chain of reasoning commences with Ezek. xviii. 30, 31. "Repent and turn yourselves from all be your ruin. your transgressions; so iniquity shall not Cast away from you all transgressed; and make you a new heart, your transgressions, whereby ye have and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel'?" (p. 14.) These two different sets of conclusions, when worked up into two opposite systems, are respectively adopted as the creeds of the two parties; and each is resolutely defended by its favourers, as the unadulterated Gospel of Christ, and as the most infallible test of true churchmanship. The consequence is, that the violent of one party run away with one half of the Bible, and the violent of the other party with the other half; both equally either bending or breaking those texts, which do not agree or with their preconceived opinions. Thus the systematic Calvinist will very logically prove, or at least he will seem to prove, that man is entirely passive in the work of salvation: in other words, that he is a mere machine in the hands of that God, who imparts his grace only to those whom he hath purposed to save: while the sustematic Arminian, if he push his principles to their utmost extent, after he has, to all appearance, no less logically demonstrated from Scripture that man is perfectly a free agent, will not easily avoid demon-lism, and in putting an end to all dis strating also that he is able, by his own unassisted strength, to perform the commandments of God. Both these positions may easily be maintained, with a great shew of fairness and impartiality, by arguments drawn from insulated texts; and it may perhaps be a difficult matter to point out the precise link in the chain of reasoning, where the fallacy lies: nevertheless, if Scripture be attended to, as a whole, we shall find something true, and something false, in each of them. out," says an inspired teacher, own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do, of his good pleasure." Here a part is evidently assigned to man, and a part to God. When our Lord commanded the person with a withered arm to stretch it forth, he might have refused on the plea of physical inability: but he made the effort with faith; and, in making it, receive ed that strength, which he did not possess before. Thus the command of God is absolute to all men: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." If we obey the command, as the cripple did the injunction of Christ, God assuredly will not be deficient, ou his part, in "working in us both to will and to do;" but, if we disobey it, in the same manner as our Lord on one occasion was not able (that is, consistently with the plan laid down by divine wisdom) to work many miracles because of men's unbelief; so neither can God (consistently with his scheme of moral government) reduce us to a state of mere machines. Though "we cannot turn and prepare ourselves, by our own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God;" and though God alone can restore to us the free-will and the strength, which Adam lost at the fall; yet we may abuse that free-will when reco 64 Work your Hence Mr. Faber draws a string of opposite inferences, which end in proving the aid of the Holy Spirit to be wholly unnecessary, and the doctrine of a particular providence to be without any foundation. "I have now set forth," he adds, "the directly opposite conclusions, which may be drawn, if we are inclined to push the argument to its utmost limits, from two several texts of Scripture; nor am I aware, that any single conclusion is not legitimately deduced from its preceding neighbour; yet both these chains cannot be true, even setting Scripture out of the question, because they are diametrically opposite to each other. Calvinists and Arminians will doubtless agree in saying, that I carry the matter much further than I have any right to do much further than they are prepared to follow me: and most sincerely do I believe the truth of their assertions: nevertheless I would ask the systematic Calvinist, what right he has to stop at any particular link in the one chain; and the systematic Arminian, what right he has to stop at any particular link in the other chain? systems must be constructed, the concluif sions after these links are respectively as valid as the conclusions before them." (p 17.) The rule which Mr. Faber lays down for confuting those errors which spring |