A Manual of Prayers and Family Devotions for the Religious Cottager. By the Author of "An Essay on the Happiness of the Life to Come," &c. London: Rivingtons. 1829. 12mo. pp. 48. In this little Manual the language and purport of the prayers and meditations are well adapted to the comprehension and wants of the humbler orders of society. They are preceded by a few plain words of advice on the duty and advantages of prayer; and the gentry will here find a suitable tract for circulation among their poorer neighbours. The Infant Christian's First Catechism, intended for the Instruction of Children from three to five years old. By a Lady. London: Rivingtons. 1829. 32mo. pp. 32. 3d. Ir is unquestionably the duty of parents "to see that their children be taught, so soon as they shall be able to learn," the first principles of their Chrsitian faith; and every attempt to facilitate this duty, by rendering religious instruction simple and attractive, is valuable in proportion to its nearer adaptation to the capacities of the infant mind. In this little catechism the articles of belief, relating to God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, death, heaven, and hell, are explained in a manner so easy, as to be not only intelligible, but amusing. The answers may easily be learnt by a child who can read; or readily remembered by one nearly untaught, from the mere dictation of the mother. his meditations; in the first part lamenting the decay of the old edifice, and in the second exulting in the erection of a new one. The subjects introduced are generally of a local character, and seem to have been thrown together as they presented themselves to the writer's recollection, rather than with any view to connexion, as a whole. At the same time, the reader will not find that his time has been mispent in their perusal. Aids to Developement; or mental and moral Instruction exemplified, in Conversations with a Mother and her Children 2 vols. 12mo. 1829. pp. viii. 309, 261. 12s. Seeley. We have here a plan of education, which appears to us to be singularly well adapted for the improvement of younger children; and as such we recommend it to the consideration of mothers. In approving of the plan, however, we by no means wish to be understood as sanctioning the lessons by which it is illustrated. Quackery in religion is the worst of all quackeries; and here we have enough of it. The merits of Bible societies, and the proceedings of missionary societies, with false views of their claims to public attention, are not fit subjects for developing the ideas of children only three years old. Such would be taught with more advantage the rudiments of their Christian calling, without filling their minds with confused notions of subjects, which their teachers themselves either do not understand, or wILFULLY misrepresent. Sermons preached by William Laud, D.D. Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Reprinted verbatim from the best Edition, in 1651. Edited by the Rev. J. W. HATHERELL, M.A. of Brasen-nose College, Oxford. Rivingtons, London; Parker, Oxford. 1829. 8vo. Pp. xviii. 241. Price 10s. 6d. In this volume we are presented with seven discourses of the venerable martyr, Archbishop Laud, replete with sound divinity and sober piety, and marked by that discriminating orthodoxy of sentiment, for which he was so eminently distinguished. They are printed according to the orthography of the times in which they were written; and preceded by a brief memoir of the Prelate, condensed, it should seem, from the history of his Life and Times," by Mr. Lawson. To that able and excellent work, these Sermons will form a pleasing companion, as exhibiting a specimen of the good Archbishop's manner of thinking and of teaching, and of the zeal with which he maintained the true and genuine doctrines of the Gospel. A Practical Essay on the Conversion of St. Paul. By GEORGE FRANCIS OTTEY, A. M. of Oriel College, and Curate of Southfleet, in Kent. London: Hatchard. 1829. 8vo. pp. 20. THE writer's object in this little essay is to set aside the arguments, which are sometimes founded upon St. Paul's conversion, in favour of instantaneous and irresistible conversions, and to obviate the unscriptural sanctions thence derived to a delayed repentance. It by no means appears that the apostle, previous to his conversion, was a wilful and presumptuous sinner; and therefore the errors of which he was guilty were merely sins of ignorance and unbelief: and their renunciation can afford no hopes to the sinner of a similar change in spite of his perverseness. Neither was there any violence in St. Paul's conversion. The change which took place in his sentiments was the result of conviction produced by a miracle, the evidence of which he might have resisted, as his countrymen had already resisted those which Jesus had performed during his ministry. His case, therefore, is no precedent for any who are not placed in the same circumstances, and who persist in their sins in spite of conscience and conviction. A Companion for the Sick Room: or, a Manual of Devotion for the Sick and Infirm. In Two Parts. To which is added, a Thanksgiving after VOL. XI. NO, IX. Recovery from Sickness. Compiled WE wonder that the plan of this little manual had never before suggested itself, as well adapted to the use of those who, from sickness or infirmity, are unable to attend the public service of the Church. In the first part, a Form of Morning and Evening Prayer, with Psalms and Lessons appropriate, and with such variations only from the Liturgical forms as the occasion would necessarily require, are properly ordered for the service of a family in which a sick member prevents a portion of the rest from going to church. These services would be of peculiar utility in hospitals and infirmaries, and we recommend them to the notice of the chaplains in these and similar institutions. The second part contains a selection of Prayers from the Visitation offices and other services, adapted for different cases of sickness and infirmity; and a few notes are added on the selected psalms and lessons, at the passages in which any thing occurs above the comprehension of an ordinary capacity. A Christian Antidote to Unreasonable Fears at the present Crisis; in Reply to the Second Printed Speech of the Rev. W. Thorp against Catholic Emancipation. By JOHN LEIFCHILD. London: Bagster. 1829. 8vo. pp. iv. 48. 1s. A SEVERE trimming has sometimes been known to do as much for the sale of a book as could possibly have been expected from the most laudatory eulogium. It may be that the hope of a similar result in his own case induced Mr. Leifchild to send us his pamphlet; as he must have been sure, provided we deemed him worthy of any notice whatsoever, of a most unsparing castigation. In the first place, we hate the whole Pro-popery faction, whether pretended Churchman, or pretended Protestant Dissenter; for every honest man of either denomination must equally abominate the late odious parliamentary measures: and in the next place, there is nothing in 4 B Mr. L.'s tract which has not been said a great deal better, and answered over and over again ten thousand times before. He may bless his stars therefore, that, as the deed is done, and protestation useless, it is scarcely worth while to meddle with such small folk as Mr. Leifchild, of whom we accordingly take our leave, with the advice that he waste no more ink upon the Popery question, which he evidently does not comprehend. Observations on certain Passages in Dr. ARNOLD'S "Christian Duty of granting the Roman Catholic Claims;" relating to the Supremacy of the Bishop, and the Idolatry of the Church of Rome; the Probability of Reformation in the Churches of England and Rome; the Persecuting Doctrines maintained by the two Churches; and the Origin and Independence of the ancient British Church. By the Rev. THOMAS P. PANTIN, M. A. of Queen's College, Oxford, Curate of Stanford and Swinford, near Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Bottrill, Lutterworth; Rivingtons, London; Parker, Oxford; Deightons, Cambridge; Combes, Leicester. 2s. 6d. We have already with much pain, so far as Dr. Arnold himself is concerned, given our hearty concurrence to Mr. Powell's exposure of his liberal opinions on the Popery question; and we have felt still greater reluctance in pointing out, in our present Number, his heterodox notions on certain of the Christian doctrines. Although the melancholy question is now disposed of, the hue-and-cry is loud against him; and though our reprobation is "more in sorrow than in anger," our duty called us to reprove him. Mr. Pantin has here given him a complete refutation; and we recommend his tract to those who have read the Doctor's "wordy" war on "Christian duty." It will be enough for us to quote the author's "recapitulation." I now take my leave of Dr. Arnold's "Christian Duty of granting the Roman Catholic Claims:" in which, remembering that it is the work of a Protestant ClergyI have met with various asserman, tions, which to me appear to shake to the very foundation the independence of the Christian Church in the first ages; and particularly that of the ancient British Church...... His assertions, broad as they may be, are unaccompanied by any authority; the want of which, IN ALL THE MATERIAL POINTS now treated of, is a radical defect in Dr. Arnold's book; and of itself affords us standing proof that his assertions are destitute of historical and other sufficient support. Dr. Arnold speaks of "the tone and assumption which runs through Mr. Faber's Letters;"-but with regard to his " own answer," he assures us, that he "thought it better to look it over, and carefully to erase every thing which might appear to be unkind or insulting in tone or expression."-I would then that he had erased several passages already noticed relating to the Clery; and among the rest that passage,- -"I know it savours of arrogance to claim a superiority of knowledge over those who differ from us; and the carvers among the lions would no doubt represent the matter differently."-The allusion to Æsop's Fable of "The Forester and the Lion," may be natural enough in a schoolmaster; but in a Clergyman who applies it to the great body of his brethren in the ministry, the propriety of the comparison with which it is connected may well be doubted; and may have called, in conjunction with other matters, as in my own case, I freely confess it has done, for some more than ordinary severity of reply. In one matter, however, I cannot avoid confessing my hearty concurrence with Dr. Arnold, that, "our Protestant Church is one of the greatest blessings with which England has been favoured," and consequently, also, in my "sincere affection for Christianity." (Christian Duty, p. 50, 129.)-Pp. 101, 102. WORKS PREPARING. The Rev. E. B. Pusey will shortly publish an Appendix to his Volume, upon the Rationalism predominant in German Theology, in explanation of the views misconceived by Mr. Rose. Henry and Antonio; or, the Proselytes of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. Translated from the German of Dr. C. G. Bretchneider. A SERMON. PSALM XXXii. 1, 2. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. THAT a scriptural consciousness of sins forgiven forms a source of the greatest consolation to the sincere and humble Christian, none who are at all acquainted with the scheme of salvation by Christ Jesus will be disposed to deny :-while, on the other hand, a more pitiable object than a human being who is labouring under a sense of the divine displeasure, and wildly supposing himself beyond the reach of forgiveness, cannot well be imagined. To the extremes of both these feelings, namely, unscriptural assurance of pardon, and despair of the divine mercy, are clearly to be traced very many of the mistakes and miseries of the professors of Christ's religion, both being, in their different ways, productive of incalculable evil. It is therefore absolutely essential that we should have a right judgment on this very important point of Christian experience; and the 2d verse of the 85th Psalm will materially assist our discussion. It is there said, "Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, and covered all their sin." Nor was this written exclusively for David, or any other of the patriarchs, but for us also, to whom the same faith in the Messiah shall be imputed, "if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification." It is sufficiently manifest from the whole tenor of Scripture, that all have need of pardon; for "there is none that doeth good and sinneth not." There is no truth more insisted on in the revealed Word of God, than that "all have sinned, and come short of his glory." But I should be as one that beateth the air, were I to occupy more time in adducing proofs of that which an impartial inquiry of every one's conscience will abundantly testify; and, therefore, the necessity of pardon being plainly deducible from the universal prevalence of guilt, it will be proper to consider, First, the nature of the blessedness which those experience, whose transgression is forgiven: secondly, the only means through which this pardon can be obtained: and, lastly, who they are to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity. It is utterly impossible to convey to a mind engrossed by worldly pursuits and sinful gratifications, any adequate conception of the peace resulting from a sense of the favour of God, as experienced by his faithful people. It is productive of a joy with which the stranger intermeddleth not; and, like one of the songs of Zion, attuning the hearts of God's servants to harmony and love, is perfectly incomprehensible to the soul which has neither taste nor ear for celestial melody. The world is that foreign clime where the language of Moses and the Lamb is discordant and inharmonious. We must therefore appeal to those who have made Christ their only refuge, and his salvation their only hope, for a faithful transcript of such feelings and sentiments as the Scriptures declare to be inseparable from a life of piety and devotion; while we earnestly hope and fervently pray that those who have not yet arranged themselves on the side of God and holiness, may be induced, by this representation of the positive and substantial advantages resulting from vital religion, to implore the aid of the Holy Spirit "to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God; that they also may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified, by faith which is in Christ Jesus." The blessedness of the Christian is inferred, first, from his submission to the will of God. It were needless to digress much to prove that the world we inhabit is a scene of lamentation, and mourning, and woe-" that man is born to trouble, as certainly as the sparks fly upward"—that affliction, in some form or other, is the common lot of humanity. My brethren, you are all fully persuaded of this. There is not an individual who knows not, by painful experience, the wretched feeling of disappointment in some object of worldly pursuit, or of heart-felt bitterness in the loss of some endeared relative. But you are not all equally well-acquainted with the only source of consolation, the method of healing these deep wounds of mortality. For what, let me ask, is the frequent, not to say invariable conduct of the unsanctified mind, under circumstances of tribulation? The usual resource is the world; the prevalent idea being that grief should be dispelled at all hazards; and, consequently, the stricken soul seeks the alleviation of its calamity in the vortex of dissipation, or in the whirlpool of criminal indulgence. If, indeed, the object be positive destruction both of soul and body, this were a certain method for its accomplishment. As well might the severely wounded soldier remain uselessly exposed to the fire of the enemy, when he had the opportunity of being borne to the rear of the army, where he would be safe from the surrounding danger. As well might the traveller, already weary and enfeebled, voluntarily recommence his journey through the parched and thirsty desert. The world cannot bestow that which it does not itself possess. As Satan offered this fair-created universe to that Almighty Architect who reared the beauteous fabric; so in like manner the world says, in effect, to every child of Adam, "All this," whether peace of conscience, satisfaction of mind, or tranquillity of soul," all this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me." But, like the lure held out by the tempter to our Lord, it is palpably absurd. As the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard his spots; so is it utterly impossible, in the very nature of things, that peace to the soul can flow from feelings, pursuits, habits, and affections, which are all diametrically opposed to the best interests of that soul; which would call it off from serious reflection; which would interpose between it and heaven. The world may impart temporary buoyancy of animal spirits; it may, for a time at least, dazzle by its gaudy brilliancy; but let it be viewed with the eye of reason and religion, and it resembles the daubings and tinsel of the scenes of a theatre, when the breaking in of the morning light discovers the total absence of every thing really solid and valuable. In one case, you have the false glare of artificial and extinguishable light; in the other, the glorious orb of day, through whose real splendour and radiant influence, the designs of an all-bountiful Creator are matured, and the whole world essentially benefited. |
