point thought of, in order that he may have a plea for his schism. We however trust, that the members of our Church will be more alive to their own defence, and will examine the irrefragable proofs adduced in the excellent work, which we now recommend to their notice. A Collection of the Promises of Scripture under their proper Heads. By S. CLARK, D. D. London: Washbourne. 1834. Pp. 180. THE nature of this book may be seen from its title. Many are the Christians who have derived comfort and edification from its perusal: and to those who may not have seen the work, we give it our unqualified recommendation. Hymns of Redemption. The Music by Rev. Dr.CESAR MALAN, with an Accompaniment for the Piano Forte or Organ. By JOHN Goss. London : Addison & Beale. Small Folio. Pp. 40. DR. MALAN, of Geneva, has long been known to the religious world, as a divine endued with uncommon powers of intellect, and full of zeal for the propagation of the word of life, especially among the young and illi terate. The words of many of his hymns have been already published in this country; sometimes in the original French, and sometimes under the disadvantages of a translation. His music is now introduced among us, we believe for the first time, by the organist of St. Luke's, Chelsea, well known as the editor of the Sacred Minstrel, and other volumes of domestic and parochial Psalmody. The predilection of Dr. Malan for the gentle, tender, and pathetic, is no less manifest in his musical, than in his poetical, compositions; and we cannot but consider the introduction of the former, in the cheap and elegant volume before us, a valuable addition to the sources of gratification we possessed already in the latter. The words here given are selected from the hymns of Watts, Doddridge, Wesley, Toplady, Ifart, Cowper, Newton, Kirke White, Jane Taylor, and others, whose sentiments correspond (some what more closely than our own) with those of the Genevan pastor. A Narrative of the Sufferings and Martyrdom of Mr. Robert Glover, of Mancetter, a Protestant Gentleman, burnt at Coventry, A.D. 1555, and of Mrs. Lewes, of the same Place, a Lady, burnt at Lichfield, A. D. 1557; with some Account of their Friend, Augustine Bernher, Rector of Southam. By the Rev. B. RICHINGS, A. M., Vicar of Mancetler, Warwickshire. London: Seeley. 1833. Pp. 142. WHEN Popery is said to be making rapid strides in different parts of our land, it is a matter of sacred duty to recall to the minds of our fellowcountrymen the infernal spirit which actuated the Papists of olden days, and which we sincerely believe they would manifest in the present times had they the power, in the martyrdom of those who resisted their idolatry, their false doctrines, and their fraud. This we cannot do better than by recommending to the notice of our readers the elegant and pious narrative, with which we are here presented by the reverend author. The work is neatly printed, and an excellent lithographic drawing of the manorhouse which Mr. Glover occupied, and which is still inhabited by his descendants, is prefixed. A representation also is given of the tablets which have been put up in the church of Mancetter, to perpetuate the memory of these excellent worthies who suffered in the cause of Christ. The work is full of interest, and has our willing commendation. In illustration of what we have above stated, of the merciless spirit of Popery, we quote the following: 'John Glover having been before excommunicated for his confession of Christ and his gospel, was buried in Mancetter church-yard; no minister attending his remains, nor any service. being read, and that in an age when the greatest importance was attached to the rites and ceremonies of the Church, and when she could not affix on any character a greater mark of her abhorrence than to withhold them. But that the body of this saint should repose in his village church-yard, was too great an indulgence, in the eye of those who had long cast out his name as evil, and whose cruel persecutions had hurried him to the grave. Six weeks after he had been buried, Dr. Dracot, the Chancellor of the Diocese, having heard of his interment, sent for the Vicar, and demanded how it happened that he was buried in the church-yard. He answered, that he was ill at the time, and did not know of it. Then the Chancellor commauded him to go home, and to cause the body of the said John Glover to be taken up, and cast over the wall into the highway. To this he replied, that having been buried six weeks, it was now in such a state that it could not be done. "Well then," said Dr. Dracot, "take this writing, and pronounce him from the pulpit to be a damned soul; and twelve months after, take up his bones, and cast them over the wall, that carts and horses may trample upon them; and then I will come and hallow again that place in the church-yard where he was buried."-Pp. 59, 60. * Christian Psalmody; containing the Book of Psalms, arranged in suitable Portions, and Congregational Hymns. By the Rev. J. Č. FRANKS, London: Rivingtons. Huddersfield: Kemp. 12mo. Pp. 396. WE have perused this work, and are happy to say that the author has shewn he discrimination in the choice made of the different versions of the Psalms, and also of the numerous Hymns which are appended. The compiler states in his Preface, that he has been employed in his work for many years. Our readers may therefore be assured, that, with Mr. Franks's well-known judgment, they will meet with but little to disapprove. If there be any thing to which a fastidious taste might object, it is to the number of versions of one Psalm, frequently three and sometimes four, and to a few of the selections from the Old Version. For instance, in reference to the latter, the third version of Which was a copy of the sentence or curse against heretics. the 136th Psalm is scarcely singable : and to what tune could the 50th Psalm be sung? With trifling exceptions of this kind the volume deserves the attention of the Christian community. Illustrations of Modern Sculpture. No. VII.; including Introductory Essay, Preface, &c. London: Relfe and Fletcher. 1834. Folio. CHANGES of editor, and other minor considerations, have interfered with the regular appearance of this delightful publication. The first voluine, however, is at length complete; aud a most exquisite volume it is. In the sixth number, besides the usual compliment of engravings, is given a masterly Essay on the Art of Sculpture, its progressive history and present state, which will amply repay an attentive perusal. Of the eighteen illustrations of which the volume consists, we would call especial notice to "Eve" in the present number, and "Michael and Satan" in an earlier portion of the work. The" Distressed" and "Happy Mother" form a beautiful contrast. We were surprised to find that the work has not yet met with an adequate sale, to remunerate the enterprising publishers; but we trust, that the patrons of the art will not allow so noble an undertaking to fail of that support which it so richly merits. 415. Sermons, chiefly for particular Sundays and Occasions. By the Rev. JAMES ASPINALL, A. M., Minister of St. Luke's Church, Liverpool, London: Rivingtons. 1834. 8vo. Pp. xii. [Z 62 LITTLE need be said in noticing the numerous volumes of Sermons which issue from the... press, beyond the simple mention of the class to which they belong. Those before us are sound in doctrine, energetic and exhortative, and practically useful. They are thirty-one in number, and the following are the occasions to which they are adapted, and the subjects of which they treat:1. For the last Sunday in the Year, Rev, ii, 18. 2. On the spread of the Gospel, John xii. 32, 33.-3. On Repentance, Matt. iii. 7, 8.-4. The Raising of Lazarus, John xi. 43.-5 and 6, On Grace, John xi. 43.-7. Christ the Physician of the Soul, John xi. 4.-8. Advent, Heb. x. 37. 9. Hosea, iv. 6.-10. John xxi. 15.-11. On Faith and Works, James ii. 19, 20.-12. For the Fourth Sunday in Advent, John i. 26.—— 13. On the Vanity of Earthly Pleasures, 1 Tim. vi. 7.-14. For Septuagesima Sunday, Matt. xx. 16. - 15. The Triumph of Christian Faith, 2 Tim. i. 12.-16. For the Third Sunday in Lent, Eph. v. 8-17. On Scriptural Knowledge, 2 Peter i. 5.–18. Good Friday, John xiv. 15.- 19 & 20. For the Second Sunday after Faster, Numb. xxiii. 10.-21. Whit-Sunday, Acts ii. 1. —22, 23, 24. Trinity Sunday, Matt. ix. 27. John xx. 28. Acts v. 3, 4. -25. On the Female Character, Job ii. 9, 10.-26. For the First Sunday after Trinity, Luke xvi. 22, 23.-27 & 28. For the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, 2 Kings, v. 14, 20.-29. On Meditation, Gen. xxiv. 63.---30. The Lord ever at hand, Phil. iv. 5.---31. For the Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity, Phil. i. 9---11. Hora Lyrica: Poems, chiefly of the Lyric kind, in Three Books. Sacred to Devotion and Religion; to Virtue, Honour, and Friendship; to the Memory of the Dead. By ISAAC WATTS, D. D. To which is added a Supplement, containing Translations of all the Latin Poems, with Notes, by THOMAS GIBBONS, D. D. With a Memoir of the Author, by ROBERT SOUTHEY, Esq., LL. D. London: Hatchard. 1834. 12mo. Pp. cxii. 298. [Sacred Classics, No. IX.] NOT content with their own labours, which are of no ordinary kind, the editors of the Sacred Classics have enlisted Dr. Southey under their banners, and thereby shown an increased anxiety, which deserves an increased patronage, of rendering these publications every way worthy of public attention. As a biographer and a critic, the amiable laureate stands at the head of our literature, and it is sufficient to say, that his Memoir of Dr. Watts does not detract from his high fame in this, his peculiar part of authorship. The "Hora Lyrica" are too well known and appreciated to require any comment; and they form an appropriate introduction to the poetical department of the series, of which they form a part. We again repeat our most cordial wishes for the success of the "SACRED CLASSICS." A Sermon Preached in St. Martin's Church, Leicester, at the Leicestershire Anniversary Meeting of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and of the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. By the Rev. W. L. FANCOURT, D.D., Prebendary of Lincoln, and Vicar of St. Mary's and All Saints', Leicester. It is with feelings of no common satisfaction and pleasure that we have perused this excellent sermon, wherein we have most distinctly pointed out the antiquity of, and the scriptural authority for, an established religion. Our author ably contends that every established religion should possess the characteristics of scriptural identity and public utility; and has powerfully demonstrated these two features to be discoverable in our own Establishment. "Its basis," he observes," is truth, its object the welfare of mankind, and its end the glory of God in their everlasting salvation." To those who are desirous of instruction on these important topics we most cordially recommend the Discourse now under notice, and, at the same time, congratulate the Established Church of these realms in having an advocate so learned, upright, and zealous as the Vicar of St. Mary's, Leicester. A SERMON. THE ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND EFFECTS OF DIVISIONS. MATT. XII. 25. A kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a city or house divided against itself shall not stand. On the occasion to which the text relates, our Lord had been restoring, instantaneously, speech and sight to a person blind and dumb. by demoniacal possession, and had reduced the Pharisees to the desperate expedient of attributing to Satan this palpable exemplification of mastery over him, as their last resource for diverting the people from their own rational conclusion, that by this exercise of power our Lord had proved himself to be the Christ. To convict them in their own consciences of sinning against knowledge, in the utterance of this perverse insinuation, our Lord retorts upon it in the words of the text; the force of which consists in this, that they are the sententious wisdom of their own men, treasured up by themselves in those stores of national aphorisms to which the greatest deference was paid: and as it was an acknowledged truth, that, in both departments of God's rational creation, one law prevails, though the case specified applied to men, that of angels also was included in the decision; and, being brought home to the point at issue by the girding question with which our Lord follows it up "If Satan, then, be divided against Satan, how can his kingdom stand?"- it cast irremediable refutation upon the calumnious reproach, and left the authors of it baffled and confounded, and not able, as in many other instances, to answer him a word. Such, then, being the circumstances under which the aphorism presents itself in the passage under consideration; viz. cited by our Lord from amongst the maxims of the Jewish sages; and, by the use he made of it, republished with the stamp of his own authority; whatever weight the collective sanction of long and uniform experience, enforced by the deliberate ratification of wisdom, both human and divine, can affix to any conclusion, belongs to this text; the purport of which is, that universally amongst men, through all their social combinations, whether they be a house, a city, or a kingdom-in either case it must be brought to desolation if divided against itself. The catastrophe is not a merely possible, or even probable result, the issue is inevitable. It is a consequence involved in the very nature of things. But of the kingdoms, cities, and families, thus wasted with misery, and of the bitter sufferings inflicted upon each by their respective members, whilst sweeping themselves from the face of the earth, it is truly observed by the Psalmist, that "their memorial is perished with them;" and together with it, the restraining and corrective influence of their terrific example. It is my purpose, therefore, to refresh your minds upon this deeply interesting subject, that a little wholesome pondering upon the accumulation of misery which, generation after generation, men have brought upon themselves by bursting those bands which bind society together, may contribute to preserve you from this most contagious infatuation and, as the Scriptures contain a complete history of divisions, I shall present you with a sketch, extracted from these sacred records, of the origin, the progress, and the effects of division. In those abodes of bliss irradiated by the majesty of the beneficent Creator, from whose divine presence fulness of joy beams upon every countenance, and fills every desire with transports of gratification, there could have existed no cause of dissatisfaction to give reasonable umbrage to the most subordinate of those myriads who surround his throne. Called out of nothing to the first rank amongst the creatures of God, and excelling in strength, filled with wisdom, and perfect in beauty, the only provocation to which they could have been subjected was to love the Giver of all good, and to tender to him the filial homage of praise and adoration. Yet here it is-for so Scripture avouches it even in these regions of transcendant felicity, that division was first engendered. Lucifer, that anointed cherub, together with legions of these supremely-gifted spirits, were its authors, and the splendor of their own perfections was the grievance which they made their occasion of offence; self-admiration intoxicated their minds, and, drunk with pride, they disdained an estate humiliated only by comparison with the Most High, and left their own habitations, the places assigned them in that wonderful economy in which their ministries had been ordained, and conspired to interrupt the celestial harmony in prosecution of their exorbitant self-seeking aspirations. But the same fiat of the Almighty which called them into life, and so distinguished them by their preeminent endowments, gave them also a law which could not be broken, -which did not admit even of a breath of contradiction,nay, further, of a disputatious thought. The penalty, therefore, of this first breach of unity was prompt and decisive. As our Lord describes the judicial proceeding, "hell was prepared for the devil and his angels;" and they were cast down into an abyss of darkness, there to visit upon themselves all that complication of misery in which every community must be necessarily involved where each member is striving for the mastery, and will sooner part with his life than his opinion. From these realms of light the scene changes to this lower world to that garden of God, the outer-court, as it were, of the heavenly mansion, furnished by the bountiful Framer of it with every thing that was either pleasant to the sight, or good for food, in luxuriant profusion; and, together with the other works of his hand, assigned over in subordinate dominion to us, an order of beings made but a little lower than the angels, equally distinguished by the endearment of the Almighty Father; and, as far as our mixed nature would admit of it, of one fellowship also with them in their intellectual and spiritual delights. Upon this earthly sanctuary of innocence and peace the apostate angels cast their evil eye. Their own case was desperate, but in its happy inmates there still remained, as they vainly imagined, one forlorn hope of making reprisals upon the Almighty; and they so laid their ambush in Paradise, that man, committing himself to his own council, in neglect of God's warning voice, became a guilty partner in their rebellion, and, through the excitement of ungoverned lusts now warring in his members, a fomenter of discord amongst his brethren. |