Church, and has prefaced them with about twenty pages. of eulogy, in honour of the exemplary manner in which the parochial clergy perform the duties of their sacred calling.

"From the foregoing data," says Mr. Pons, "the reader will be enabled to form a judgment for himself, and it can hardly be an unfavourable one, respecting the clergy of Geneva; and the discourses brought together in this volume, are, the Editor humbly thinks, calculated to confirm that impression: conscientiously attached to the doctrines of the Church of England, and a sincere friend to her venerable establishments, he has long felt an earnest desire to introduce more directly to the notice, and to recommend to the liberal judgment of its members, a clergy inconsiderable indeed, as far as regards numbers, but still a national clergy." Preface, p. xxix.

The Sermons contained in this volume, are :

I. On the Christian Faith, by J.T. S. Cellerier.

II. On the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, by C. E. F. Moulinie.

III. On the Nature and Necessity of Repentance, by S. R. L. Gaussen.

IV. On the Nature of Repentance, and the only method of attaining it, by S. R. L. Gaussen.

V. On the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Ph. Mouchon.

VI. On the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Ph. Mouchon.

VII. On the Holy Ghost, by P. de Joux.

VIII. The Cross of Christ the Glory of the Christian, by Al. A. E. Diodati.

IX. On the Condition of Justification, by A. Thouron.

X. On Beneficence, by P. Picot.

XI. On the real Obstacles to a Holy Life, by L. Ferriere. XII. Christ washing his Disciples' Feet, a Lesson of Humility, by J. El. Cellerier, jun.

Now, without going into the merits of these Sermons, (some of which we esteem to be rather equivocal in point of doctrine,) we must say at once, that so small a selection cannot possibly illustrate the doctrines of a whole Church; nor can the opinions of ten ministers only be received as the sentiments of the national clergy of Geneva; more particularly as three out of these ten, Messrs. Cellerier, Gaussen, and Moulinie, refused to sign the well-known Arrêté of 1817, in which "the venerable company of pastors" declared themselves hostile to a public exposition of those articles of faith, which are essentially Christian.

The venerable company of pastors, twenty-five in number, are considered as the organ of the Church of Geneva: they ordain

ministers, they determine what tenets shall be preached from the pulpits of the Canton; and from their decision there is no appeal. From what then are we to gather the doctrines of the established clergy? from the sermons of a few individuals, or from the declarations of this body? Most undoubtedly from the latter; and we therefore refer our readers to the decree issued by the venerable company, on the 3d of May, 1817, which imposed the following obligation on themselves, and on all who should hereafter present themselves as candidates for Ordination.

"Nous promettons de nous abstenir, tant que nous residerons, et que nous prêcherons dans les églises du Canton de Genève, d'établir, soit par un discours entier, soit par une partie de discours dirigé vers ce but, notre opinion.

"1. Sur la maniere dont la nature divine est unie a la personne de Jésus-Christ.

"2. Sur le péché originel.

"3. Sur la manière dont la grâce opère, ou sur la grâce efficace. 4. Sur la predestination.

If a church, which thus forbids its clergy to preach upon the divine nature of Christ, or to expound the doctrines of briginal sin, and the efficacy of grace, be not anti-trinitarian, we are at a loss to know what to call it. M. Chenevierè is one of the venerable company of pastors, and theological professor of the academy of Geneva; and this divine, in a publication printed in 1819, and entitled "Causes qui retardent chez les Reformés les Progres de la Théologie," declares himself thus: "On est heureux de pouvoir se dire, j'ai réprouvé selon mes forces cette manie Athanasienne."

As long as such sentiments as these are avowed by the body, to which the people and government of the Canton refer all matters of religion, and by the authorities who hold the most important situations in the university, we shall not be inclined to consult the sermons of individuals for an illustration of the doetrines of the Church of Geneva. Nor can we exactly call these productions the sermons of the modern divines, when we remember that one half of the number at least, that Cellerier, Gaussen, Moulinié, De Joux, and Picot, are among the oldest of the national clergy, and generally considered as the upholders of the ancient Helvetic creed, in opposition to the more recent opinions.

As we ourselves, however, take as much pleasure as Mr. Pons can possibly do, when we find what we esteem the pure doctrines of Christianity advanced by any of the parochial ministers

of Geneva, we select the subjoined passage from the sermon of De Joux, in defence of the Godhead of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: but we must again observe, that we take it rather as the doctrine of the individual, than of the national church to which he professes adherence.

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Lastly, the Holy Ghost is expressly joined with the Father and the Son in the divine sacrament of baptism, and a coequal authority is ascribed to him: Teach ye all nations,' saith Christ to his apostles, ⚫ baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' And in the solemn benediction with which St. Paul closes his epistle to the Church of Corinth, the Holy Ghost is understood to communicate powers and gifts indispensable to the happiness of believers: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,' writes the apostle, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.'

"These expressions, my brethren, as well as many others to be found in our sacred writings, cannot certainly be employed to designate any mere creature; and therefore they prove incontestibly, that the Holy Ghost partakes the same authority, the same perfections, and the same nature, with God the Father. We know, notwithstanding, that there is but one God, that there cannot be three Supreme Beings, that there is no being, inferior to God, who has a right to our adoration : Thus saith the Lord God of Hosts, There is no God but me. not declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Yea, there is no other God. I know not any. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.'

Have I

"It is clear, from all these passages, as well as from reason, that there is no plurality in the Divine nature; whilst at the same time, in the Apostles' Creed, the Son and the Holy Ghost are made to partake of the divinity with God the Father. Whence it plainly follows, as we profess to believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are essentially united in a manner ineffable and incomprehensible, and that these three are one,' according as it is declared by St. John, and by our sacred Liturgy, which saith of Jesus Christ, that he 'liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end!" P. 173.

reconcile his

4

If M. De Joux wrote the sermon from which this e extract is taken, after his signature to the Arrêté of 1817, we cannot easily and his practice. If it was composed and published before the Arrêté, it is no exposition of the modern doctrines of Geneva, of which that instrument may more properly be termed an illustration.

Sermons, by the REV. THOMAS FROGNALL DIBDIN, M.A. F.R.S. Minister of St. Mary's, Bryanston Square, and Vicar of Exning, in Suffolk. 8vo. pp. 462. 15s. London. Harding. 1825.

OUR readers will certainly expect from us some account of the theological productions of a gentleman, who is already known to them as a zealous prosecutor of studies of less obvious utility. They will be curious to discover the influences of the mechanical on the intellectual department of the art of writing; the connection of criticism Bibliographical with criticism Biblical; the aid which the spirit derives from the letter; how far the study of book-binding conduces to success in book-making; and what new readings and luminous interpretations have resulted from the learned Bibliologist's researches among old MSS. and rare editions. It is this naturally prevalent curiosity which has induced us to bestow some attention on Mr. Dibdin's volume of Sermons; but we find that, notwithstanding it is printed on handsome paper, and in elegant type, there is little in it to call for notice. It is obviously the work of a writer who never made the science of sacred eloquence his study. Novelty of subject or of argument is scarcely now to be expected in a sermon; but force, accuracy, and elegance may be reasonably required; and in all such qualifications these discourses appear to us to be miserably deficient. There is a careless laxity about them all, which seems to render the texts and sermons almost all mutually convertible.

"Abhor that which is evil: cleave to that which is good," is an excellent compendium of Scripture ethics; but congregations require that good and evil should be clearly and definitely understood. A preacher, for the most part, should be engaged in settling their nature and limits; and as it is quite impossible for this to be completed in a single sermon, each of his public discourses should be occupied in ascertaining their distinctions in some specific case. He who surveys from a mountain the boundaries of an extensive territory may have a general idea of its figure and extent: but he whose interest it is never to transgress the line will not content himself with this cursory view. He will visit in succession every point, and satisfy himself of the real demarcation. A general glance over the wide region of faith and practice may be useful, and even necessary; but this will prove altogether ineffectual, where the Christian does not accompany his guide round the border, and accurately possess himself of its details. This moral empire is to be found

in the Scriptures; and of these every person in this country possesses sufficient knowledge to be acquainted with the broad distinctions of good and evil, and of the rewards and punishments with which they are respectively encouraged and denounced:-but the misfortune is, that, in a very great number of cases, here mankind are content to rest. Either they will not closely examine the Volume in which right and wrong are limited with the unerring finger of God; or they suffer themselves to be misled by the sophistries of their own hearts, which raise mists and obscurities about the very points, the precise situation of which it is their first interest to ascertain. The labour of the preacher can never be unprofitably directed to the dissipation of these clouds of error. His discourse may not benefit every individual in his congregation, (as in what case can it?) but he may reckon on extensive and solid utility. It was this minuteness and rigorous restriction to individual points which formed the charm and the power, as it did the characteristic, of our Lord's discourses; and wherever he delivered a general precept, it was something so definite as well as comprehensive, that the auditor could not fail instantly to perceive where the line of demarcation had been drawn. It must be this which still gives the preacher such hold on the attention and the minds of a congregation as enables him to work substantial good: we should therefore consider that as the best discourse which enters most particularly on some important point of evangelical doctrine or practice; and that as the best Volume of sermons which embraces the most complete detailed view of the whole scheme and practice of Christianity.

In this opinion, we apprehend, we are countenanced by all the most illustrious ornaments of the English pulpit in the early part of the last century, and that which preceded it. Taylor, Barrow, and Tillotson, all very original, very powerful, and very different in style from each other, are agreed in this method of particularizing. This gives their writings an interest wholly independent of the erudition, the eloquence, and the piety which they display. The mind is irresistibly arrested by the strong light thrown around some point in the "wisdom unto salvation," which it probably could never have been said to have properly discerned before. The attention once engaged, the reader is not content until he has made a more perfect acquaintance with the general subject; he proceeds from sermon to sermon with increasing interest and attention, till the whole mind is at once riveted and enlightened. We are far from insensible of the difficulties necessarily attending a close imitation of the fathers of the English Church. The customs