steady eye, and endured with an undaunted heart, so long as the Almighty shall call on us to suffer them, unless we are contented to prostrate ourselves at the feet of an ambitious foe---to sink, intimidated, under the frown of a murderous usurper---to yield our native country to his high-sounding menaces---unless we are contented, for the sake of a poor short-lived respite, to sacrifice ourselves, our children, our honour, our religion, our liberty, our property, all that we received from our fathers, all that we hold in trust for posterity---unless we are contented to betray and desert our king---to doubt the protection of our God. Rather be the struggle continued to the last gasp. Rather, if it be the awful will of Heaven, let us fall in the glorious atchievement! In dutiful submission to HIM, whose temples are still hallowed, whose altars are still venerated, whose servants are still permitted to minister before him, whose power is still revered, whose name is still adored here, let each individual of us, who prepares his heart to serve the Lord God of his fathers, be ready, in his respective station, to co-operate in the patriotic task, by every active, every zealous, every loyal energy! Let us continue stedfast and unshaken; prepared, if it be necessary, to offer up the sacrifice of life itself in a cause, which is in fact the cause of truth, the cause of virtue, the cause of heaven: a cause wherein he who may fall has even something more to expect than the common meed of fame, which awaits the dying warrior; something more honourable than even the hero's crown."

After this specimen, nothing more need be said by us in praise of this valuable discourse, which does honour to the piety, eloquence and patriotism of the author.

A Sermon preached at the Anniversary Meeting of the Sons of the Clergy, in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's, on Thursday, May 12, 1803. By the Rev. George Henry Glasse, M. A. late student of Christ Church, Oxford, Rector of Hanwell, Middlesex, and domestic Chaplain to his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, 4to.

THIS

HIS discourse is worthy the pen of its distinguished author. The church, the clergy, the widows, and orphans of clergymen, have in him an able defender. The institution, in whose behalf he has so successfully exerted his talents, has produced some admirable discourses; one by Dr. St. John, which we lately read in Mr. Clapham's selection of sermons, claims for pathos

and

and eloquence, the highest rank; and one by the present Bishop of London, reflects upon the venerable prelate no inconsiderable credit. We mention these as compositions which can scarcely be equalled. But we should do Mr. Glasse great injustice, if we neglected to add, that he need not blush with whomsoever he is compared. We heartily wish that this valuable discourse may be read by all the superior clergy, and by the nobility and gentry throughout the united kingdom. Our readers will, we are persuaded, peruse with the pleasure we ourselves felt, the following excellent observations on the advantage of a married priesthood.

"Perhaps it may be safely affirmed, that the tremendous evils which in our times befel our brethren of the Gallican Church, would never have reached them, at least would not have reached them to an equal extent, had their civil and political situation been similar to ours. They would not then have been compelled to exile themselves from their temples and their altars---they would not have been subjected to the daggers of assassination, nor consigned to the noisome vapours of a pestilential climate. They would have had children, kindred, allies, who would have formed a rampart around them, awakened the latent spark of virtue in their country, and armed, and bled, and died as martyrs in their defence. Their very persecutors, inhuman as they were, might not have been altogether proof against the tears and intreaties of conjugal or filial affection. But there, alas! the desolating storm burst on a class of beings, insulated, unprotected, fastened as it were by no fibres to their native soil---though with this one sad consolation to shuddering humanity, that when the priests were slain by the sword, there were no widows to make lamentation!"

On this quotation, we shall make no comment. Every reader must feel its exquisite beauty. Seldom do we meet with such strokes of pathos, such happy specimens of genuine eloquence.

On the universal Prevalence of Christianity: a Sermon preached at Nottingham, April 23, 1804, at the Archdeacon's Visitation: to which is added, an Appendix relating to the Restoration of the Jews. By Edward Pearson, B. D. Rector of Rempstone, 8vo. pp. 48.

HIS discourse will add considerably to the high ΤΗ theological reputation of the reverend and learned author; although many able divines will dissent from the

Ff

opinion,

opinion, laboured both in it and in the appendix, against the actual restoration of the Jews. From the full and expressive prediction of Isaiah, xi. 9. "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowlege of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," the preacher infers that the prevalence of the Christian religion will be universal. And he supports this opinion by a consideration of the "two great purposes for which prophecies are designed; first, that of proving the divine origin of our religion, for the conviction of unbe lievers: secondly, that of giving assurance of its receiving all needful assistance from above, and of its final triumph over all opposition for the consolation of believers." The latter of these purposes, however, is here principally attended to, and it is discussed with that happy perspicuity of language and force of argument for which the writings of Mr. Pearson are remarkable. Adverting to the general concurrence of religious persuasions upon this point, oc casion is taken to notice the extraordinary credulity of the anti-trinitarians, who, while they understand many of the historical and therefore plain parts of Scripture metaphorically, understand the prophetical and therefore obscure parts literally." These persons allegorize away the express declarations of Scripture respecting the divinity and satisfaction of our Lord, and yet take in a literal sense the obscure and highly figurative descriptions of his fu ture kingdom upon earth. This inconsistency is happily seized and exposed by Mr. Pearson; but we beg leave to object to the propriety of calling the parties here im plicated our Christian brethren." That they are our brethren, in a general sense, we will most readily admit; but their right to Christian communion, when they directly oppose the first condition of that communion, is at least very questionable.

66

The mere belief that there was such a person as Jesus. Christ, and that he, by virtue of a divine commission, did perform many miracles, preach a pure doctrine, and confirm the same by suffering on the cross, is not Christianity, inasmuch as it stops short of the main article, "that he is the only begotten soN OF GOD, who came into the world, thut we might have REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD even the FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS."

We mention this not out of disrespect to Mr. Pearson, of whose soundness in the faith no one can doubt, but to express our dislike of that complimentary language towards

the

the worst enemies of Christian doctrine, which seems to represent their errors as venial. On the subject of the restoration of the Jews, many ingenious remarks are made in the Appendix, into which they were purposely thrown to prevent the sermon from being too long in the delivery. Mr. Pearson is decidedly against the notion that this scattered and peeled nation, "so remarkably preserved and distinguished from all others, will recover their long-lost inheritance." But on this subject we shall soon have occasion to expatiate more largely in reviewing an elaborate, though somewhat tedious publica tion, which has recently made its appearance.

4 serious Address to the Inhabitants of Bristol on the Subject of religious Distinctions which prevail in that City: with some cursory Strictures on the principal Sects. 12mo. pp. 36.

PER

ERHAPS there is no place in the kingdom, even the metropolis not excepted, where such an expostulatory address as that before us is more necessary than Bristol, which has been, for above half a century past, the hot-bed of schism and enthusiasm. The writer of this little pamphlet remonstrates in calm and dispassionate, but forcible language, with his fellow citizens upon the encouragement given by them to these religious divisions. He has exhibited, in a very clear and convincing manner, the obligation of Christians to cultivate singleness of faith, of avoiding divisions and sects, and striving to preserve "the unity of the spirit which is the bond of peace." He answers the futile pleas for dissent in compact but invincible terms, and delineates the mischiefs resulting from the spirit of sectarianism with a masterly hand. The prominent religious distinctions which he has here characterized, and which we are hence led to suppose principally prevail in Bristol, are the Quakers, the Unitarians, or Arians and Socinians, the Methodists, both Wesleyan and Calvinistic, and the Swedenborgians.

But we were somewhat disappointed at not perceiving, from so acute and orthodox an observer, some remarks on the prevalence of Calvinistic methodism in the established churches of Bristol. It falls within our own knowlege, that a great part of them are of that description; and we are well convinced, that it is by such kind of preaching

the

the people are prepared to quit the established church and to follow evangelical ministers, as they are called, in meeting-houses. This fact has been triumphantly urged by that trumpeter of schism and heterodoxy, Haweis, in his Church History (falsely so called) wherein he boasts that the direct consequence resulting from the successful labours of such men as himself is to lessen the congregations in the churches, and to crowd the conventicles. He says, that when the people have enjoyed the blessing of a gospel preacher for some time, and on his decease another of a different cast occupies his place, the starved flock withdraw, and they are encouraged to withdraw, to the meeting-house. Fas est ab hoste doceri, and such a confession is of the greater moment, because it comes from one who is abundantly well informed on the subject. It becomes, therefore, an imperious duty on all who are interested in the welfare of our venerable establishment, to watch and to repress, as far as possible, the progress of this dangerous spirit of SCHISM in the Church. There is at Bristol a seminary for the express purpose of bringing up young sprigs of divinity of the Calvinistic order, to supply vacant curacies and lectureships; and to support it there is a pretty extensive fund, which goes also occasionally to purchase advowsons, particularly in the country, for the encouragement of these OVERTONIAN CHURCHMEN. What will be the end of these insidious efforts of fanaticism we pretend not to divine; but the consideration of them, connected with the observation of the indifference which prevails among the generality, towards the real interests of the Church of England, cannot but excite a fearful apprehension in the minds of those who have a good-will to the British Zion, and who "pray for the peace of our Jerusalem."

A Sermon preached in the Cathedral Church of Durham, on Sunday the 6th of November, 1803, before the Delivery of the Colours to the Corps of Durham Volunteer Infantry. By Reynold Gideon Bouyer, L. L. B. Prebendary of Durham. To which is added, an Address to the said Corps on the same Occasion, by Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick. 4to. pp. 20.

THIS

HIS is a very patriotic and loyal discourse, and such as we should naturally expect from the dignitary of a church, the appointments of which are made by a pre

late