teresting facts and records contained in this volume, without discovering much in the history of the German Reformation to admire and to condemn. As it gathered strength politically, it evidently deteriorated in spiritual power and glory. While its friends were struggling to maintain their ground, and to assert for the Protestant cause the great principles of liberty, they displayed a nobility of purpose, and a reliance upon God, which will crown their deeds with everlasting renown; but, like all religious bodies which have sought alliance with the kingdoms of this world, when they attained the wished-for pre-eminence, they too soon forgot what was due to others as much entitled to liberty as themselves; and hence many a disastrous scene which sprang up in their path, and which tended, in some measure at least, to overshadow the grandeur of an event which, with all its defects, will be the wonder of all generations of enlightened men.

We must apprize our readers that Ranke is one of the most patient investigators of facts that ever set himself to the task. We cannot equally commend his warmth of feeling. And yet there are passages of great beauty and of deep pathos in the volume before us. It is pre-eminently a work for

the laborious student who wishes to become thoroughly acquainted with the German Reformation.

A SYNOPSIS of CRITICISMS upon those Passages of the OLD TESTAMENT in which modern Commentators have differed from the Authorized Version; together with an explanation of various Difficulties in the Hebrew and English Texts. By the Rev. RICHARD A. F. BARRETT, M.A., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. Volume I., Part I., royal 8vo, pp. 408.

Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans.

The object of this digest of sacred criticism is excellent, viz., to place before the biblical student the principal alterations which modern critics have proposed in the authorized version of the Old Testament, with the reasons for or against such emendations. First, we have the Hebrew text, then the Septuagint version, from the Vatican copy, then the authorized version, and, last of all, the observations of critics and commentators, who support the present version, and of those who consider the Hebrew text to be corrupt, or to have been misunderstood by our translators.

As it respects the execution of the work, it appears to be conducted upon sound and orthodox principles. The authorized version is treated by Mr. Barrett with that deference which is due to the best transla

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tion of any large book that was ever made, in our world. At the same time the author proceeds upon two very reasonable principles, in the execution of his work; viz., that with all the excellence of our version there are cases in which it is obviously susceptible of amendment, and others where the text itself cannot be critically sustained. But, notwithstanding these admissions, Mr. B. proceeds upon sound principles of biblical criticism, and indicates no tendency to the neology of the German school. So far as he has proceeded in his work, viz., to the sixth chapter of Leviticus, we regard his labours as of the greatest value to a large class of intelligent and devoted ministers, who, with slender pecuniary resources, have equally slender collections of books. We could have wished, for the sake of a large and intelligent class, that Mr. B. had translated his Latin quotations; but this, perhaps, might have unduly increased the size of the work.

We feel bound to tender to Mr. B. our most grateful acknowledgments for this very valuable contribution to the stores of our biblical literature.

When the first edition of this work was given to the public, we then expressed a strong opinion, which remains unaltered, of its distinguished merit. No writer, not even Dr. Wardlaw, has treated subjects of mental and moral science with greater deference to the data and conclusions of revealed truth than Dr. Davies. The volume, as it now appears, is divided into five books. I. The limits of reason, in the investigation of revealed truth, stated and explained. II. An inquiry into the nature and extent of the faculty of volition, as connected with moral agency and religious obligation. III. The conscience viewed in connection with the sense of duty and the obligations of the moral law. IV. The legitimate use of the imagination as subservient to the influence of religion. V. An inquiry into the legitimate use of the affections, in connection with the influence of religion upon the character.

All these topics of thrilling interest are discussed by the author with great force

The frontispiece, the title, and the substance of this ecclesiastical bagatelle, are all strange and anomalous. The frontispiece is a vera effigies of some hunger-bitten, emaciated, and sanctimonious looking young clergyman, who first imbibed the asceticism of Oxford and then of Rome; and whose dress, gesture, and facial developments are all too obvious to be mistaken. He is a very counterpart, though younger, of Dr. Pusey, and doubtless owed his conversion to Romanism partly to his ignorance of enlightened Protestantism, and partly to the zealous training of his tractarian teachers and associates.

The title, as we think, is a literary intake; for any one reading it would naturally conIclude that it was intended to introduce a volume calculated to uphold Protestant truth, and to expose with burning severity the Romanizing spirit of the Anglican Church in the times in which we live.

The substance of this volume, with a great deal of speciousness about it, is a plea for the Non-Protestant character of the English episcopate, and for that newfangled morality, worse than jesuitical, which would try to make good easy souls believe, that an honest man can take the pay of the church of Cranmer, and Ridley, and Latimer, for no better purpose than to repudiate the doctrines of these its early reformers, and to undermine and vitiate its Protestant character. The hero of this half-tale, half-narrative is reclaimed from Rome in his last hours; and there are, here and there in the volume before us, some beautiful and touching details, and some just and Christian sentiments; but its whole bearing is in the opposite direction of sound Protestantism. To our brethren in the Establishment, who love Protestant truth, we would say earnestly-non tali auxilio.

TRACTS on TRACTARIANISM. No. I. Tradition no part of the Christian Rule of Faith. By JAMES SPENCE, M.A., Minister of George-street Chapel, Oxford. 12mo. pp. 24.

John Snow.

We sincerely congratulate Mr. Spence on this his first effort from the press, as highly creditable to his powers of discrimination, his accurate knowledge of the subject he has undertaken to discuss, and the logical acumen he has brought to bear upon his theme. As a tract, of only twenty-four pages, on the vexed question of tradition, we verily have seen nothing equal to it. Most heartily do we wish him success in his faithful testimony for apostolic truth, in that city which has rendered itself famous, of late years, in the advocacy of doctrines subversive of truths for which our Reformers protested and our martyrs bled. May the sling and the stone of this stripling have its influence, with other means employed, in slaying this Goliath of error; and in restoring a healthier state of mind, where many a hapless youth is now being alienated from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. The tendency of Tractarianism is obviously towards Rome. The facts of the case demonstrate this assertion; and the very worst feature of the times, in reference to these movements, is, that many continue in the Established Church who are as much Romanized in feeling as those who have formally entered into communion with the Apostate Church. May God send us deliverance ! There is at present, indeed, a deceitful calm; while men are lulled, the fire burns.

The PASTOR'S STEWARDSHIP and the PEOPLE'S DUTY. A Sermon preached in Stepney Meeting on Lord's-day, December 20, 1846. By the Rev. JOHN KENNEDY, A.M. Published at the urgent request of the Deacons. 6d.

John Snow.

This is a very admirable and appropriate discourse, delivered by Mr. Kennedy on the first Lord's-day after his recognition, as the pastor of the Congregational church at Stepney. It is full of important truth, and peculiarly adapted to counteract some of the worst tendencies of the age. We venture to hope, what we earnestly wish, that it may have a circulation beyond the scene of its delivery.

The following paragraph will sufficiently indicate the spirit and tendency of the dis

course:

"There is a class of writing, not theological, which we may venture to style a pseudo-moral intellectualism, whose ten

dencies are not readily discovered, and which may spread an insidious and pesti lential influence over regions of mind which ought to be safe from it, but, alas! are not. The class of writing to which we refer, professes great reverence for the Bible, but is essentially infidel. It finds inspiration and divinity in the Bible, but it finds inspiration and divinity elsewhere likewise. Every age, according to this school, has had its own inspired men, and its own manifestation of Deity, and the truly catholic' man acknowledges and reverences them all. It speaks in a tone of mysticism and of apparently deep sentiment, which so enamours many of the educated youth especially, that they are almost unconsciously betrayed into opinions which are fatal to the exclusive authority of the Divine word, and to the properly remedial and sacrificial character of the gospel. It may be feared, without presumption, that, neither the Christian ministry nor the Christian press has yet begun, in right and honest earnest, to grapple with this great evil."

FAREWELL SERMONS, preached in the Independent Chapel, Limerick, on Dec. 27, 1846. By the Rev. J. D. K. WILLIAMS, author of "Mutual Christianity."

Snow.

From Acts xx. 26, 27, and from verses 31, 32, Mr. Williams recapitulates the fundamental truths of the gospel which have been the all-absorbing topics of his ministry; and then, in the second sermon, states the faithful and affectionate warnings he had given his beloved charge.

These discourses bear unequivocal marks of the studious and devoted minister of the gospel, and of a fidelity and devotedness rarely to be met with in so young a divine. And it appears that want of success alone occasioned his removal from his small but faithfully attached people.

Not doubting the adaptation of these sermons for general usefulness, we particularly urge their perusal on young ministers and students, for the wise selection of subjects, comprehensive arrangement, and scriptural fidelity. Other points of excellence we might point out, but our limits forbid further remark.

PHILOSOPHICAL LECTURES. By the Rev. W. LEASK, Minister of Zion Chapel, Dover.

Snow.

The contents of these four lectures relate to the Acquisition of Knowledge, the Claims of Mind, the Province of Reason, and Mental Liberty.

We have been highly gratified by the perusal of these Lectures, so happily adapted to the inquisitive and aspiring mind of youth; to direct, stimulate, and urge them on in the path of duty-of the duty they owe to themselves, to society, and to God. Their object is "to encourage self-education and mental culture," and hence we most cordially recommend this neat pocket volume to public attention as a most instructive publication.

On the province of Reason in reference to "the Evidences of Religion," the author very powerfully observes as follows:

"When a religion comes before us claiming for itself positive inspiration and Divine authority, and requiring in consequence the belief of its doctrines, and obedience to its precepts,-it is certain, that if it be what it professes, it will contain internal proofs of its high origin. We may then naturally expect to find marvellous statements, wonderful doctrines, and authoritative commands: we look for promises of reward to obedience, and threatenings of punishment to rebellion; for direction on every subject on which direction is necessary in relation to our duty to God and our fellowcreatures; for the adumbration, if not the clear exposition, of much mystery regarding the being, character, and government of God; and the origin, character, and destiny of man, in whose happiness the fact of giving a revelation implies that he desires. Especially we should confidently look for explicit direction as to the mode in which acceptable worship should be rendered to the God in whom we live, and move, and have our being," pp. 103-4.

A HISTORY of GERMANY, from the Invasion of Germany by Marius to the Battle of Leipzic, 1813, on the plan of Mrs. Markham's Histories. For the use of Young Persons. 12mo. pp. 492.

John Murray.

This is a very valuable compendium of all that is most important in German history. The facts have been accurately and laboriously collected, from authentic sources; and they are lucidly arranged, so as to invest them with the interest which naturally pertains to them. The work is well adapted to the young, for whom it is intended; and will be perused with advantage by others more advanced. We are happy to say that justice is done by the author to the interests of the Reformation. The manual is a safe one to put into the hands of unsophisticated youth.

WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED.

1. The British Quarterly Review. No. IX. Feb. 1, 1917. Containing the following articles: Diplomatic Reform; Australia-Angas and Haydon; Life and Works of Dr. Fletcher; Travels in Lycia; American Philosophy; Sir Philip Sydney and Languet; Currency Difficulties; Anglo-Northern Literature; Moral Aspects of Medical Life; Straus's Life of Jesus; Criticisms on Books.-This number is more than equal to its predecessors. The review of Straus is a splendid article.

2. The North British Review. No. XII. Containing: Morell's Modern Philosophy; The Deaf and Dumb; Cowley; Modern Painters, by a Graduate of Oxford; The Anglo Normans; Watt and Cavendish-Composition of Water; State of Ire

land.

3. The Visitor; or, Monthly Instructor, for 1846. 8vo. Religious Tract Society.-This is a most entertaining and instructive volume, quite worthy of the Society from which it emanates.

4. Female Characters of Holy Writ; in a course of Sermons, preached at the Parish Church of St. John's, Clerkenwell. By HUGH HUGHES, B.D., Rector. 3 vols. 12mo. Hamilton, Adams, and Co.

5. Daily Devolion; or, Prayers framed on the successive Chapters of the New Testament. Designed either for the Family or the Closet, and arranged for every day in the year. By DANIEL MOORE, M.A., Perpetual Curate of Camden District, Camberwell. Small quarto. Bowdery and Kerby.

6. The Forgiveness of Sin, and the possibility of obtaining a Personal Assurance of it. By the Rev. T. EAST, Birmingham. Small 8vo. Maclehose, Glasgow.

7. Spiritual Declension. A Sermon preached at Kingsland Chapel, Oct. 11th, 1846. By the Rev. THOMAS AVELING, Minister of the place. Pub lished by request. Small 8vo.

8. Lessons of Life and Death. A Memorial of Sarah Ball. By ELIZABETH RITCHIE. 12mo. Second edition. J. Snow.

9. Josephus. New Translation, by Dr. TRAILL. Part II. Royal 8vo. Houlston and Stoneinan.This is a splendid work, in typography, illustrations, and accuracy and beauty of translation. We hope soon to do it justice.

10. The Days of Laud, and of the Commonwealth. By COURTENAY NEWTON. Seeley.

REV. GEORGE COLLISON.

With sincere and undissembled grief do we announce to our readers the sudden removal by death of this eminent and faithful servant of Christ, who, for more than forty years, has sustained a position of distinguished usefulness in the Christian church. The melancholy event occurred early on Saturday morning, the 6th Feb., it is presumed, from some affection of the heart, superinduced by an attack of bronchites more than three years ago. On Friday, the 5th ult., he retired to rest in an ordinary state of health, and slept soundly; but at seven o'clock on Saturday morning, after taking a cup of coffee in bed, he was seized with spasm on his breathing, and in a few moments expired. To him, doubtless, the exchange of worlds was a glorious and blessed event; but to his family, the providence which so abruptly deprived them of the intercourse of one so justly dear, must be viewed in the light of a most painful and distressing bereavement, which demands for them the sympathy of all who knew and loved the deceased;-and who ever knew Mr. Collison without loving him? He was a good man, such as Paul mentions, "for whom some would even dare to die." All our recollections of him are of the most hallowed and grateful character. He was pre-eminently a man of love-whose rich and beaming countenance was an index to the state of his heart. In! every circle in which he moved he was regarded with mingled feelings of respect and

confidence. His judgments were sound, and his deportment in all public connections were eminently that of a Christian gentleman. His death is, indeed, a great public loss, and will be felt severely in the College at Hackney, in the Direction of the London Missionary Society, and in other circles, where the weight of his character and his matured wisdom and experience attached great value to his counsels.

As an instructor of a portion of the rising ministry, we have reason to believe, from many circumstances which have come within the scope of our knowledge, that his qualifications for imparting sound biblical knowledge were of a very high order; while his bearing as a tutor secured for him the profound respect of the young men committed to his care.

Still, when we think of our late revered friend's advanced period of life, and of the persevering energy and activity which he had displayed during so many years of public life, we dare not speak of his removal from the midst of us, as if it were an event contrary to the ordinary course of nature. His vigorous appearance and green old age made us forget that he had passed his three-score years and ten, and that he could not long continue in his earthly sphere, by reason of death. He was born January 10, 1772, and died February 6, 1847; so that he had just completed his seventy-fifth year. In 1790 he entered Hoxton Academy as a student; in 1797 he became assistanttutor, with the late venerable Dr. Simpson,

in the same institution; and in 1808 he was appointed by the committee of the Village Itinerancy as its president; which useful and honourable post he continued to fill, with credit to himself and benefit to others, to the hour of his removal from the scene of his earthly toils, to that of his glorious reward in heaven. We shall always think of him with reverential love. Very pleasant was he to those who had the happiness of mingling in his familiar intercourse. Till we meet him in heaven we cannot lose the remembrance of his bland fellowships, and soul-stirring and soul-uniting devotions.

The Trustees of the Evangelical Magazine will feel, in their future meetings, that a great blank has been created in their pleasant circle. Mr. Collison was warmly attached to the interests of the Magazine, from the issue of its first number; and oftentimes rendered it essential service. He was the friend and advocate of the widows of our departed brethren, and did all in his power to serve their cause; and it was no little joy to his benevolent heart to know, that the Magazine fund for their relief had more than doubled during the last seven years. Mr. Collison's funeral took place at Walthamstow, on Friday, the 12th of February. The Rev. Arthur Tidman, one of Mr. Collison's most intimate friends, delivered the funeral address, to a large and deeply-affected auditory, and the Rev. Mr. Ransom, Mr. Collison's fellow-tutor in the college, and Dr. Cox, engaged in the devotional exercises. The occasion was peculiarly solemn and impressive.

SAMUEL DYER, ESQ.

[The following sketch we have received from the Rev. James Stratton, who well knew, and greatly loved the deceased.]

On Thursday, January 21st, 1847, the mortal remains of the late John Dyer, Esq., were committed to the grave in Abney-park cemetery. The spirit-the mind-the most important element and principle of the man we believe has passed into glory, and is gone to be with God. For this belief we have the authority of Christ, who said, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me shall never die." Our departed friend and brother believed firmly in Christ, and is therefore in possession of the life and glory which Christ has promised, and which Christ bestows.

Moreover, the mortal remains themselves are not to continue in the grave for ever. Sown in weakness, they shall be raised in power; sown in corruption, they shall be raised in incorruption; sown in dishonour, they shall be raised in glory. "Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we

look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." We look not so much at the things which are seen-the hearse-the plumagethe coffin-the pall-the procession of mourners-the funeral-as at the things which are not seen: God-his government -his providence-the ministrations of his angels-the glorification of the spirits of the just which he has brought to pass-the heaven and eternal life, which the Scriptures have revealed and made manifest to our faith. We walk by faith, and not by sight-we live by faith, not by sight-we die by faith, not by sight. We endure as seeing the invisible.

Our venerable friend and brother had a long life, and a multitude of days. With long life was he satisfied, and now God has shown him his salvation. He breathed forth his spirit into the bosom of Jesus in the 80th year of his age. Like Simeon, he had to say, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,"-in peace with God-in peace with all men-for there never lived a more pacific, forgiving, benevolent, amiable mind than his, and so he died in charity with all the world.

For many years in the earlier part of his life, Mr. Dyer was secretary to the Royal Hospital at Greenwich for British Seamen, and subsequently to that time he occupied, for a long period, the important position of chief clerk to the Admiralty. In both of these situations of responsibility and arduous labour, his integrity, uprightness, and efficiency were never for a moment 'questioned by his coadjutors in the offices of government, while his natural urbanity and kindness secured him the respect and goodwill of the high and distinguished persons with whom he was so often and so closely in contact. On one occasion, indeed, he was accused of being too zealous in matters of religion, and while he was as blameless as Daniel, things were laid to his charge, as in the case of Daniel, respecting the law of his God. He was engaged in a place to establish schools, and disseminate good books in some part of the county of Kent, in the year 1799, and it was alleged that the books were infidel, and the project associated with revolutionary principles. It came to the ears of the Bishop of Rochester, Dr. Horsley, who, possessed of false information, attended the next king's levee, (George III.) at St. James', where he met Lord Hood, the Governor, and Lord Auckland, the Auditor, of the Hospital, together with Earl Spencer, the first Lord of the Admiralty, and to them he communicated what he had heard. Mr. Dyer was immediately waited upon by Lord Hood, and after many in