illustrate and enforce our words. By these means we may drive selfishness from its strongholds in the church, and bring all who name the name of Christ, to imitate his benevolence, and live to bless mankind.

BOOKS.

I know no books on religion, equal to those of Baxter. The works of Barrow and Tillotson are freer from Calvinism, and they are, in consequence, freer also from obscure and mysterious passages; but they lack a many excellencies which Baxter's works possess. Baxter is more earnest and pressing. He goes about his work as one who means to reach the hearts of his readers, and not to leave them till he has taught them to feel the power of the truth, and to resolve to comply with its demands. He has always in view the right object, to bring sinners to repentance, and believers to greater diligence; and he labours to obtain his object with his whole soul. He writes as one who feels the truth and weight of every sentence, and as one who cannot rest until he has made his readers feel. He never seems to pay any attention to his style, and yet he is the most eloquent of all religious writers. Tillotson seems as careless of his style as Baxter, and his style is free and clear and manly; but it wants fervour. His works enlighten, but they do not warm. Barrow is more laboured than Tillotson, but very clear and full : he also gives you light enough; his floods of light are almost overwhelming, but he does not melt the soul. Baxter, like the sun, enlightens and warms you at the same time. Baxter thought more of eternity than Tillotson and Barrow; he lived more in heaven. He had more afflictions and troubles, and fewer earthly accommodations; and he was made to feel that religion and God and heaven were every thing. Hence he wrote as from the verge of the eternal state, and as one in full view of the awful realities of the unseen worlds. He is always on the stretch; urging, and reasoning, and calling, and

entreating, as if his own soul's salvation depended on the salvation of his readers; and as if he could not rest till he had said every thing that could move and persuade and convert their hearts. He was full of love to souls, and he was full of love to God, and he was always full of his subject, and out of the abundance of his heart he brought forth, in endless variety and copiousness, things new and old.

His SAINT'S REST, and his CALL TO THE UNCONVERTED, were among the first books that ever produced any strong religious feelings in my mind. His Saint's rest was the companion of my eldest brother; he carried it in his bosom all the day long, and read it or kept it under his pillow all the night through. It was my mother's favourite, and with the exception of her Bible, almost her only book. It was the means of converting a relation and friend of mine, and I have met with none who have read it without profit. I have been more indebted to his Christian Directory, than to all the books of men in the world beside. I never can look into it without receiving good. I first met with it at school, when about nineteen years of age; and it has been my favourite ever since. I was astonished when I first looked into it; and found religion made so plain, and all its duties proved to be so reasonable. I was amazed at the boundlessness of the instruction it gave, and at the easy and sweet simplicity of style employed, on all the subjects on which I was nost anxious to be informed. I had a greedy appetite for religious knowledge at that time; and here I found a feast richer and more plentiful than my hungry soul had ever dreamed about. With what rapture did I drink in and devour the feast! I seemed as if I could never be satisfied; and I never was satisfied. I still went to the library, whenever the regulations of the school left me at liberty; and pulled down the great old folio. The other scholars wondered what I had found, in such a big ugly-looking book; but I was too much delighted to pay much attention to what

they said. Meeting with this book was of more use to me, than all the advantages I met with at school besides; and it was an excellent one notwithstanding. After I left school, I never ceased to long and sigh for the Christian Directory; and I was overwhelmed with joy when at length I found a copy on sale. I engaged it instantly, and it has been my favourite ever since.

I have read hundreds of books since then; perhaps thousands, great and small together; and I have read many good ones amongst them, on various subjects; but I have never met with one that so well deserves, next to the Bible, to be called the Book of books, as the Christian Directory. It treats on almost every subject connected with religion; and it gives the substance of almost all that can well be said on every subject. It is written with the intention of co-operat ing with the Bible, in thoroughly furnishing the christian, to every good word and work, and it is wonderfully adapted to that end. It is divided into four parts, entitled Christian Ethics, Christian Economics, Christian Ecclesiastics, and Christian Polities. The first part treats chiefly of the private duties of christians, and dwells at large on the first and leading branches of piety and temperance. This part begins with an address to unbelievers and then proceeds to the unconverted generally. After this it gives directions to young christians, for their establishment and growth in grace; and then proceeds to instruct and persuade christians without distinction. Here we have the full instructions in the nature and reasons of the great duties of loving and serving God, delighting and trusting in him, thanking and glorifying him, and of spiritual and heavenly mindedness. Then follow directions against the great sins contrary to godliness; unbelief, hardness of heart, hypocrisy, man-pleasing, pride, covetousness, and flesh-pleasing; with subordinate directions for redeeming time, governing the thoughts, the passions, the senses, the tongue, and the whole body,

The second part treats of marriage, of the duties of husbands and wives, of masters and servants, of the holy government of families, the right education of children, the duties of children to parents, to servants, and to one another, Then follow directions for holy conference, for the right spending of every ordinary day of the week, for the right spending of the Sabbath, for hearing God's word, reading the Bible, and other books, teaching children, prayer and sacraments. Then there are directions for troubled chris, tians, backsliding christians, for the poor, the rich, the weak, the aged, the sick and the dying and their friends.

The third part treats of the worship of God, the profession of our religion, and people's duty to their pastors. It then gives directions for the discovery of truth among contenders

and for the union and communion of saints. Then follow answers to one hundred and seventy four questions about church government and discipline, and the right course to be pursued in reference to these things by christians, under the changing circumstances to which they may be exposed.

The fourth part treats on Government, on the duties of Rulers and Subjects, Magistrates, Lawyers, Physicians, Schoolmasters and Soldiers. Then it proceeds to speak of murder, war, tyranny, persecution, unrighteous judgments, oppression, uncharitableness, robbery, forgiveness of wrongs and debts, suicide, scandal, soul-murder, partaking of other men's sins, furthering each other's salvation, reproving and exhorting one another, following peace with all men. Then follow directions against theft, about contracts, prodigality, law-suits, backbiting, slandering, evil-speaking, rash judging, trusts, secrets, selfishness, love of our neighbour, tove of the godly, love of enemies, marks of charity, confessing sins and injuries, satisfaction, restitution, obtaining pardon from God, and assurance of pardon and eternal life.

This is but a very brief outline of the work; to give you a proper idea of its contents would require a great many pages. But from what I have said, any one who has any idea of Baxter's copious and thorough way of explaining and enforcing every point, may form a pretty fair opinion of the great merits of the work. It comes the nearest to my idea of a perfect companion to the scriptures, or of a christian student's guide, or of a plain christian's encyclopedia, or of a common sense system of Divinity, or of a poor christian's complete library, of any book I ever saw besides. I do not think that any twenty of all the books I ever read or saw, would make one-half so good a household guide and counsellor to a serious seeker after truth and piety and happiness. And for young preachers it is beyond all price. All the commentaries, and skeletons, and introductions to the study of the scriptures, and sermons, and controversies, and systems of Divinity, and learned treatises on the evidences of christianity in our language put together, are not adapted to be so helpful and useful to a young preacher, as this one volume of Baxter. I would not have any one confine himself to this book, but I would have no one satisfied without it, if he had the best library in the land besides. Many a time has it lifted me over my difficulties, and set me free from doubts and perplexities. If my mind has been wearied, this book has given me fresh strength; if it has been exhausted, this book has filled me with fresh arguments. It has helped me in correcting my errors in opinion, and in curing my defects in character. It has en couraged me when disheartened, it has quickened me when languishing, and when slothful it has driven me to my work. It has been my chief assistant in interpreting the word of

God; and in gaining a correct and familiar acquaintance with its most important parts. With it and my Bible, I could read and write for ever; though I had not another book in the world. It is the best book, next to the Bible, for an aged minister also. It is so plain for one thing; it gives one no trouble to find out its meaning; and then it is so solid, every sentence satisfies: and it is so full; you have hardly anything more to look for when you have read this. It is an excellent remembrancer also, it is to me; bringing to my mind the best parts of other books that I have read. One of the best works a wealthy christian could undertake, would be to get it reprinted in a homely, cheap and carriageable form, and to assist in putting a copy into the hands of every minister and christian in the land. If christians and christian ministers could but once be brought to read it prayerfully, in connexion with their Bibles, it would increase the love and zeal and usefulness of the church three-fold. At present the old editions are scarce, and in the new editions of Baxter's works it is not to be had separately; but I would give five pounds for a copy before 1 would be without, ay, fifty; and you may get the whole of his practical works, twenty three large volumes, for about five pounds. I like Baxter for his deference to the word of God as much as any thing. There are some that seem as if they dare not quote above one-third of God's word, and when they do quote, they seem quite alarmed lest it should not speak according to their system. They seem wedded to a system, and they would wrest the Bible from its common sense and meaning, rather than give up an article of their creed. Baxter has nothing of this. He will quote scripture on every subject, and he will let it speak, unforced, its natural and proper meaning, though it flatly contradict his own old notions. To be sure, he sometimes tries to reconcile his errors and the scriptures together, but he does it by torturing his doctrines and making them bend, and not by torturing the scriptures. His manner always says," Let God be true," whatever be the consequence. Having been nursed and trained in Calvinism, he found it too hard to give up all its errors; yet he sacrificed a great deal. And even when he retained his old error, he admitted the opposite truth, when the scripture plainly taught it. He would believe both, and indulge a hope that he would be able to reconcile them by and by. This caused Baxter's works to be inconsistent at times, and sometimes perplexing to many of his readers. It is not however any disadvantage on the whole, but perhaps the contrary; as it is calculated to make people go to the scriptures, and see for themselves which is truth, in all disputed points. I hope that my young friends will spend their first book money in buying Baxter's works, and their first leisure in reading them in connexion with the first and best of all books, the WORD of God.

I, DAVIS, PRINTER, STALYBRIDGE: