Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together." Against this combined strength of our enemies, we should be much better able to contend, were we as firmly united in the defence of our Church as they are in assaulting it. The Philistines have put their battle in array against us, and our Israel is threatened by the giants of Reform; but in the name of the Lord God of Hosts, we may go forth to meet them; trusting to the goodness of our cause, Goliaths as they are, we need not fear to attack them, though armed with nothing but a pebble and a sling. LITERARY REPORT. Lives of Eminent and Illustrious Englishmen, from Alfred the Great to the Latest Times, on an Original Plan, comprising the two-fold advantage of a General English Biography, and a History of England. Edited by GEORge Godfrey CUNNINGHAM. Illustrated by a Series of finely executed Portraits. Glasgow: Fullarton and Co. Vol. I. Pp. 486. Vol. II. Pp. 474. NOTHING can exceed the style in which these volumes are got up. The plates are splendid, and the typography worthy the second city of Scotland. Their external appearance, however, is far from being their most important, or even their most attractive feature. For the information they contain on subjects of the deepest interest is incalculable. The work is to be arranged in nine general divisions, corresponding with nine distinct periods of English History; and these are to be farther subdivided into a political, ecclesiastical, and literary department. In the ecclesiastical department, which is more peculiarly attractive to us, we find the names of all our most eminent Prelates and Churchmen, from Venerable Bede to the Reformation. And we have great pleasure in bearing our testimony, not only to the general accuracy and fidelity of the VOL. XVI. NO. II. narrative, but to the deep research displayed by the writers. In a work of this description, we should not have expected so much originality, nor so close an attention to the beauties of language; but we are bound to say, that we have met with some passages, where the deep interest of the narrative is materially heightened by the eloquence of the author. And if— "The proper study of mankind is man," we do not know any source to which we could direct the attention of our readers, where they could pursue this delightful study with more pleasure and advantage than in the beautiful volumes before us. No library ought to be without them. The Churchman -the politician-the literateur - all will therein find a "ryghte dauntye and toothsome baunquet" for the mind, and will rise from their "mind's feast" grateful to us for having been such excellent purveyors. Social Evils, and their Remedy; by the Rev. CHARLES B. TAYLER, M.A. No. I. The Mechanic. Pp. viii. 123. No. II. The Lady and the Lady's Maid. Pp. 135. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. THE first number of this new and interesting work by the author of "May you like it," &c., was published in N October. It would have received earlier notice, but for unavoidable circumstances. The design of Mr. Tayler is praiseworthy; his object being to counteract, by a series of tales, illustrative of the power and necessity of religion in the daily and hourly concerns of life, "the confusion of error with truth in Miss Martineau's Entertaining Stories."(p.vi.) Miss Martineau,as is well known, is a Unitarian,—and in her Prize Essay, advertised on the covers of her "Illustrations of Political Economy," has not scrupled to declare, that the Divinity of Christ, "is a doctrine absolutely false." (p. vii.). Mr. Tayler, feeling the want of something better than the reveries of an unbeliever to guide the minds of the young and half-informed, has, in the most laudable stood forward to say a "word way, in season on the excellence and the importance of our holy faith. This specimen of his work (which will be published in quarterly numbers,) is creditable to his talents and his heart; and we sincerely hope his beneficent purpose will meet its reward in the success of the undertaking. The little work is well got up, and is written in the Author's peculiar and agreeable style. The second part, containing "The Lady and the Lady's Maid," is by no means inferior to the former; and, if our author continues his career as successfully as he has commenced, we venture to prophesy that the Political Economists will be utterly defeated. The Oxford Papers:— 1. Adherence to the Apostolical Succession, the Safest Course. 2. The Catholic Church. 3. The Present Obligation of Primitive Practice. 4. Thoughts on the Ministerial Com- 5. Richard Nelson. Nos. I. II. 7. The Ember Days. 8. Thoughts, respectfully addressed to the Clergy, on Alterations in the Liturgy. 9. Sunday Lessons. The Principle 10. The Gospel a Law of Liberty. 12. Heads of a Week-day Lecture, ad- Printed by King, Oxford. To be had of Turrill, Regent-street. THE titles of the above short tracts will sufficiently explain the objects had in view by the authors. We can only say that they are all written in a lucid and masterly style, and cannot be too widely circulated in these times. The manner in which the Apostolic succession in the ministry is maintained, commands our warmest approbation. And the "Records of the Church," containing historical facts connected with the history and persecution of the immediate successors of the Apostles, are at once interesting and invaluable. We sincerely hope the pious labourers in this vast and holy field, will receive their wages both here and hereafter. The Annual Pastoral Letter, intended for general Parochial Distribution. By the Rev. HENRY HUGHES, M.A. &c. London: Rivingtons. Pp. 8. A USEFUL tract at the present crisis, containing sound scriptural doctrine, and some very apposite remarks on Dissent; and practical advice to all who are apt to be blown about "with every wind of doctrine." A Manual for the Afflicted; comprising a Practical Essay on Affliction, with Prayers and Meditations of the Rev. T. H. Horne, B. D. Rector of St. Edmund the King, &c, &c., with an Introduction, and an Appendix of Devotional Poetry. By the Right Rev. GEORGE W. DOANE, Bishop of New Jersey. Boston: Allen and Tickner. 12mo. 1833. WE are delighted to see Mr. Horne's excellent manual republished under the favourable auspices of that truly amiable man and pious Christian, Bishop Doane. It affords a pleasing confirmation of the flourishing state of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and is a standing and recorded proof of the affectionate anxiety with which the proceedings of the venerable mother Church in England are watched by our transatlantic brethren. We cannot refrain copying the following short, but beautiful specimen of the devotional poetry written by the worthy prelate. "IT IS WELL." Beloved, "it is well!" God's ways are always right; And love is o'er them all, Though far above our sight. Beloved, "it is well!" Though deep and sore the smart, He wounds who skills to bind, And heal the broken heart. Beloved, "it is well!"— Though sorrow clouds our way, 'Twill make the joy more clear, That ushers in the day. Beloved, "it is well!" The path that Jesus trod, Though rough and dark it be, Leads home to heav'n and God. A Respectful Letter to the Peeresses of Great Britain. By an ENGLISHWOMAN. London: Rivingtons; Whittaker and Co. Pp. 19. A SMALL tract, by the excellent Mrs. Sargent, full of eloquence and truth; and well worthy the serious attention of the female aristocracy of this country, when our strong-holds are threatened. National Education considered; in a & Co. Pp. 26. AN admirable defence of "National Education," and a powerful incentive for all Churchmen to concentrate their efforts in the instruction of the humbler classes, who, as the venerable Archdeacon says, "may possibly again become, what they once unquestionably were, the stronghold of Apostolical Christianity." or an Accom A Gift for Youth; paniment to the Book of Common Prayer. By A LADY. London : Simpkin and Marshall. Pp. 36. THIS is merely an arrangement of the prayers in the order in which they are read; and intended for the very young, who sometimes interrupt their friends, and indeed the congregation, by their inability to follow the minister. It is followed by a plain, but impressive address to the parties for whom it is intended; and for whom, we may add, it appears to us to be well calculated. Reformation of the Church Revolution in Disguise; a Country Clergyman's second humble and earnest Appeal to the Hearts and Understandings of the Lords and Commons of the British Parliament. London: Roake and Varty. Oxford: Parker. Cambridge: Deightons. Pp.71. A PAMPHLET full of good sense and sound principles, wherein the "restitution of the ancient rights and privileges" of our Convocation is most ably advocated, and the designs of the dissenters unmasked. Our senators would do well to "Read it by day, and meditate by night." The Unitarians Defeated. Substance of the Judgment delivered Dec. 23, 1833, by His Honour, the Right Hon. Sir LAUNCELOT SHADWELL, Vice-Chancellor of England, in the Case of the Attorney General v. Shore, as to the Construction of the Trust Deeds of Dame Sarah Hewley, deceased. Printed by permission of the ViceChancellor. London: Fraser. Pp. 19. It is our intention in a future number to publish a report of this most interesting and important trial. not be known to all our readers, that, as Mr. Chesnutt has observed in his "Solemn Appeal," (noticed in this number) “it is a melancholy and dis It may honourable fact, that numerous pulpits, among the dissenters, which were once endowed by pious individuals, for the preaching of the great truths of the gospel, by the gradual decline of the congregation from the faith of their fathers and grandfathers, came, about the middle of the last century, to be occupied by Socinians."!!! The present decision will, we hope, be instrumental in restoring these desecrated endowments to their legitimate purposes; and in re-establishing in the pulpit once occupied by the great Baxter, a minister, who at least believes in the Divinity of the Son of God, which we understand is not at present the case. At all events the decision of Sir L. Shadwell must be hailed by every CHRISTIAN with feelings of satisfaction and gratitude; as one step towards the extirpation of a schism directly opposed to Christianity, the corner-stone of which is the Divinity of the Son of God. The present State and Prospects of Dissent; being a Solemn Appeal to the Orthodox Dissenters, on the Necessity of an immediate Union among themselves and with the Established Church. Part I. By the Rev. GILBERT CHESNUTT, B. A. London: Pickering. Pp. 32. MR. CHESNUTT in this pamphlet has fully maintained the reputation he acquired by his celebrated work on the Popish Question. He clearly proves that dissent, in all its avowed objects in separating from the Church, has been a most complete failure; and that Christianity owes nothing to these schismatics who have professed so much. The second part will, we understand, embrace a much wider range of argument than the present introduction; and in the subsequent numbers it is proposed to silence the clamours of these soi-disant only real Christians at once and for ever. hope the learned author will meet with every encouragement to persevere in his praiseworthy exertions to maintain the purity and effectiveness of that Church, in defence of which he is already so favourably known; and that the cause of truth may eventually We triumph against all the machinations both of secret and avowed enemies. The History of Jonah; for Children and Youth. By the Rev. T. H. GALLAUDET, lute Principal of the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. With Engravings. London: Seeley and Burnside. Pp. 169. AN excellent little work, wherein every passage in the life of the prophet is converted into a moral lesson. It would make a good class book. Readings in Biography. A Selection of the Lives of Eminent Men of all Nations. Published under the direction of the Committee of General Literature and Education, appointed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London: J. W. Parker. Pp. 407. THE exertions of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, in the noble task of stemming the progress of infidelity and profligacy, with which a portion of the press threatened to overwhelm the land, are above praise. The Saturday Magazine has already effected wonders; but we are happy to observe that their labours are not confined to works of that class. We have already noticed the sermons published under their direction, some of which we think might have been advantageously omitted; but of the work now under review our praise is unqualified. It contains forty-two brief histories of distinguished characters, from Sesostris to Napoleon, into which are compressed the chief incidents of their respective lives; a perusal of which will unquestionably excite in the mind of the reader a desire to be more intimately acquainted with the people and country to which they respectively belonged. And this we consider to be one of the chief uses of elementary works, with the higher order of which this book may be classed. Of the style in which this and similar volumes have been got up by Mr. Parker, too much cannot be said. They in every respect demand public support and admiration, vying in external appearance with the splendid annuals, whilst in intrinsic value they are immeasurably superior. A SERMON ON THE PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH. ACTS viii. 1. And at that time there was a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem. Ir cannot be a matter of surprise to any one at all conversant with the distinctive nature of Judaism, that Christianity, on its introduction and in its progress, should encounter the most virulent opposition from the bigoted followers of the Mosaic ritual. It is true that the Almighty, in his mercy, had gradually prepared their minds for the reception of the Christian scheme. "The law was their schoolmaster to bring them unto Christ;" and their prophets had plainly predicted the coming of that Messiah, whom they, in the hardness of their hearts, rejected and crucified. And some of them, availing themselves of Jehovah's mercy, and tracing the lineaments of redeeming love, were converted to the faith of the crucified Galilean, and boldly proclaimed Him, whom their countrymen had consigned to the ignominious cross, to be both Lord and Christ. Yet the great majority of the Jewish nation were unwilling to part with their darling prejudices; they could not relinquish a religion which appeared to them so agreeable to the natural man, (a religion which, in their mode of practising it, consisted so exclusively of forms and ceremonies,) and espouse a cause, which was opposed to all their prejudices and passions, and abrogated the ceremonial law for the introduction of a better system, which taught mankind to worship God in spirit and in truth. They had followed their religion more in letter than in spirit; and while with regard to one prevailing sect, they were scrupulously exact in fulfilling the ceremonial portion of their creed,—in paying tithes of mint, anise and cummin; in their frequent ablutions and fastings; in making long prayers, and in wearing broad phylacteries, they neglected the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. They were, therefore, naturally averse to any system which reproved their besetting sins, and enforced on its adherents the necessity of doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. Another leading party denied that there was any resurrection, and taught, that there was neither angel nor spirit. To the sceptical Sadducee, therefore, the Christian scheme must have been equally obnoxious as to the formal Pharisee. It was opposed to the cold and heartless views of the former, while it uprooted the self-righteous and uncharitable tenets of the other. All of them had read the prophets with a carnal eye, and had looked forward to Messiah's advent, as to the coming of a great temporal deliverer, who should restore to them their nation's importance and grandeur, and reign over Jerusalem in an earthly splendour, surpassing every thing before seen or heard of. All, therefore, were confounded, when they were told that the Messiah of their prophets was come; and when they were directed to behold Him—in the babe of Bethlehem, lying in a manger, they refused their belief, and as it had been foretold, Christ " came to his own, and his own received him not." |