grace, and MALACHI closes the old revelation with predictions of the coming ap pearance of the Sun of righteousness.

In the New Testament, MATTHEW, after a silence of the prophetic spirit for 400 years, connects the ancient Scriptures with the more recent, and completes prophecy by pointing out its fulfilment in Christ. LUKE reveals him as a light to lighten the Gentiles; MARK, as the mighty God; JOHN as the everlasting Father, and as the Prince of peace. The ACTS continue the illustration of the fulfilment of ancient predictions, and connect the facts of the Gospel history with the Epistles. Each Epistle, while giving most of the doctrines of the Gospel, embodies distinctly some particular truth. The Epistles to the THESSALONIANS exhibit the self-evidencing powers of the Gospel in the hearts of believers, and set forth the antecedents and result of the second coming. The Epistles to the CORINTHIANS explain Christian unity, and the doctrine of the resurrection. The Epistle to the ROMANS gives to those whom Paul had not then visited a full view of the Gospel, without reference to any previous communication, enlarging most on the great truth of "justification by faith." The simplicity of that faith, and its independence of the law, in opposition to the legality of Judaizing teachers, is maintained in the Epistle to the GALATIANS. The Epistle to the HEBREWS shows the connection between the Christian faith and the law; JAMES and JoHy (1 Ep.), the connection between the Christian faith and practical holiness; while the Epistle to the EPHESIANS shows that language is unequal to express the fulness which is communicated in all abounding grace, from the Head to the body. Other Epistles treat of specific duties or truths, and the system of revelation is completed by the APOCALYPSE, which unites and closes the prophecies that go before, and introduces the Church after all her trials and changes, first into millennial rest on earth, and then into never-ending blessedness in Heaven.*

AFRICA'S MOUNTAIN VALLEY: Or, the Church in Regent's Town, West Africa. By the Author of "Ministering Children." New York. Robert Carter and Brothers. 1856.

God's ways towards the children of Ethiopia, are wonderful ways. This delightful little volume will stir the depths of every pious heart, and enlarge the sympathies of the Church in behalf of missionary work, and especially of missionary work in Africa. It contains an account of the labours of Augustine Johnson, a German mechanic, who was brought into the Lutheran ministry, and made the instrument of saving many souls among the heathen. The work is written in an animated style, is full of instructive anecdote, and is worthy of a general circulation. It ought to be in every Sabbath-school library, together with "Abbeokuta, or Sunrise in the Tropics." Few men in the United States, we may add, are doing more good than the enterprising Christian firm who issue these publications. Carter's Religious Literature is a powerful element in advancing the Redeemer's kingdom.

We add an extract from "Africa's Mountain Valley:"

"AUGUSTINE JOHNSON stood not in Africa's Valley as the cedar alone-beautiful in its fadeless but solitary verdure. God had said, 'I will plant in the wilderness the oil-tree,' and such was he made of God to be to the perishing souls around him; he ministered to them the life-giving words by which their vessels were supplied, and their lamps kindled into a burning and shining light, by which the grave was illumined as the portal of glory, as the chamber prepared for putting off this corruptible' and 'putting on incorruption.' (1 Cor. 15.) 'The hand of the Lord had done this.' Busy in his London toil, the German mechanic thought not of Africa, nor of Africa's Redeemer; but the Lord who said of Saul of Tarsus, 'He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles,'

* See Douglas on the "Truths of Religion,"

no less effectually arrested Augustine Johnson, and gave unto him the word of reconciliation, to testify unto the heathen the Gospel of the Grace of God.

"Saturday evening [A. D. 1817], became a time strongly marked at Regent's Town, by instances of deep conviction of sin and awakening of heart to God; and then tidings reached the missionary that the holy men who sent him and his fellow-labourers forth, had been and still were devoting one hour of that evening in united supplication to God in behalf of Africa. By means so direct was the missionary encouraged and strengthened in looking up to God.

"The Doctor, son of the Bullom king, filled the office of clerk on Sunday; and continuing to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, he proved a great help in the work of the Lord. One evening the missionary was detained unexpectedly at a neighbouring station; at the fall of day two hundred of the negro people assembled as usual for family prayer' in the church, but their teacher was not there; then the Doctor came forward and took the teacher's place. Mrs. Johnson, who was present, says that he gave a most affecting exhortation; persuading the people to give their whole hearts to Jesus Christ: so quickly did 'the planting of the Lord' bud and blossom and breathe heavenly fragrance on its native air!

"At this time, Tamba, one of the liberated slaves, was brought in repentance and prayer to his divine Redeemer's feet; he afterwards became so faithful a 'fellow-labourer unto the kingdom of God,' that it is most interesting to mark him as one of the first-fruits of that mountain-valley, before the ministerial office invested the faithful schoolmaster.

"At this time also, one of the children from Mrs. Johnson's school was called away by death; three hundred of the negro people followed the black girl to her grave, over which many tears were shed by them, for she was beloved of all who knew her, and the missionary could look heavenward and rejoice in hope that his departed scholar was gathered to the skies.

"It had now become evident to all, that the schoolmaster of Regent's Town was called of God 'to do the work of an evangelist.' Therefore the Committee of the Church Missionary Society in England expressed their desire that the ordained German missionaries should confer with Mr. Garnon, an English clergyman, then Chaplain at Freetown, the capital of the colony; and, if it appeared expedient to them all, ordain Augustine Johnson as a Lutheran minister. These servants of God assuredly gathering that the Lord had called the schoolmaster of Regent's Town to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, he was ordained to the sacred office by his three German brethren, Renner, Butscher, and Wenzel, on the 31st of March, 1817, eleven months from the day of his-landing on Africa's shore; while Mr. Pratt expressed, by letter, the joy of the Society at home in the success of his labours; and the hope they felt from such cheering evidence of the Lord's presence and favour, that a brighter day was dawning for Africa than she had yet seen. Many anxious questionings and sorrowful thoughts had oppressed the heart of the missionary as he looked on the responsibility he was about to enter upon: 'But,' he finally says, with that beautiful simplicity, that adorned his Christian life, '1 Cor. 1: 25, 26, removed all!'

"On Easter Sunday, April 6th, 1817, Augustine Johnson first preached the Gospel of Christ as an ordained pastor. It pleased God to pour out the spirit of grace and supplication so powerfully upon the listening people, that many among them, unable to restrain the overwhelming sense of feelings so strangely new, wept and prayed aloud. This continued through the services of the day, and in the evening prevailed to so great an extent, that the newly-ordained pastor, quite unable to restrain his own or his people's feelings, was compelled to leave them in the church; he retired to the solitude of his home, but still his ear and his heart were penetrated with the cry of his weeping people. Blessed be God, it was not now the groan that but a short time before broke on the merciless ear of the man-stealer from these children of captivity; no, it was a cry to the Father of mercies, who is rich unto all who call upon Him! Only a few months before, the missionary's anxious eye had sought in vain for one tear of contrition, vainly had he listened for one sigh of repentance, and now he sees his people prostrate, arresting the prayers of their pastor by their own agonized supplications to VOL. VI. NO. 10.

36

Heaven. Well may it remind of the promise, 'Prove me now herewith, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.' These outward manifestations of feeling continued at times for long after; the missionary used every suitable method to restrain them, and the door-keepers were ordered to convey at once from the church, every one so overcome, in order to prevent interruption to the congregation. Africans -accustomed from their birth to express every feeling with vehement emotion, poor captured slaves, whose every sense and every affection had been pierced, wounded, and torn-hearing from their pastor, on Easter-day, of the love that passeth knowledge, of One who died for our sins and rose again for our justifica tion, can we wonder that the weight of a love so great overcame the negro-or that sometimes the mention only of the name of JESUS, woke their hearts' response in strong crying and tears! May we not rather wonder that the declaration of infinite love often falls so lightly on our ears, so coldly on our hearts, as if our ears could not be penetrated, our hearts could not be moved! Tears and lamentations were not the only proof given of awakened souls. So eager were these poor Africans to hear the Word of Life, the Gospel of their salvation, that on Sundays when the church-bell sounded out its summons, it called to those already come, the church being filled an hour before the time of service! The bell was needless, but still it woke the mountain echoes, and filled the valley with the only sound, save that of prayer and praise, that broke the Sabbath stillness. The gallery built by the Governor's order was finished, and accommodated two hundred; but still there was not room; therefore a large addition to the church at the eastern end was now resolved upon. The schools were flourishing. By May, 1817, six men and three women had learned to read the New Testament; their minister asked one of the men how he liked his new book? He replied, 'I cannot thank the Lord Jesus Christ enough for this good Book, for I HAVE SEEN MYSELF IN IT.'

"On the 4th of May, Augustine Johnson, for the first time, administered the holy communion of the body and blood of Christ to above fifty of his people, all of whom only a year before were in heathen darkness-all of whom had received the knowledge of their divine Redeemer through him—all of whom looked up to him as their father in Christ."

TRADE AND LETTERS: THEIR JOURNEYINGS ROUND THE WORLD. Three discourses delivered before the Mercantile Library Association of San Francisco, and published, at the request of the Association. By W. A. SCOTT, D.D., New York. Robert Carter & Brothers, 185e.

Whilst the California merchants and miners are busy in worldly enterprises, Dr. Scott is aggressive in his literary and religious schemes. He is bound to do all he can for California-this is his motto. His discourses are on the following subjects. I. Homes of Trade and Letters. II. Trade and Letters-their connection and influence on the Progress of Nations. III. Hints on the Commercial Spirit of the Age. A large number of interesting notes form a valuable Appendix. Dr. Scott brings out many fine thoughts for the literary and mercantile communities, and shows how a minister, without making letters his trade, may do a profitable business outside of the pulpit.

NOTES ON THE GOSPEL, CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY. Incorporating with the Notes, on a new plan, the most approved harmony of the four Gospels. By MELANCTHON W. JACOBUS, Professor of Biblical Literature in the Western Seminary, at Alleghany City, Pa. JOHN. Published by Robert Carter & Brothers. New York, 1856. The two previous volumes of Notes by Dr. Jacobus, the first on Matthew, and the second on Mark and Luke, are well known and highly

appreciated. The present volume on John fully sustains the reputation of the author as a ripe biblical scholar. The notes are brief, but perspicuous and satisfactory. They are the happy combination of the critical and historical, doctrinal and practical. The harmony exhibits at a single glance where the same narrative occurs in one or more of the other Evangelists; or if it is not found there, this is also indicated by blanks, thus: the Pool of Bethesda, the Healing of the Impotent Man, and our Lord's Discourse.

All the Gospels are rich in matter, and they mutually illustrate each other. It is therefore a valuable aid to the reader to be able to refer without inconvenience to the parallel passages in which the same incidents are recorded. In this respect, Dr. Jacobus's Notes on the Gospels are superior to any work of the kind which we have examined. For the use of Sunday School teachers this feature is of special importance, and affords a sufficient reason why they should purchase these Notes in preference to any other.

But the richest portion of John's Gospel is occupied with those precious sayings and discourses of our blessed Lord, which are recorded nowhere else. These furnish a golden mine for the labours of a commentator; and Dr. Jacobus has not failed to explore it. He has not only brought to view this precious metal, in order to gratify our eyes with its unparalleled lustre, but has brought us into personal contact with it, has placed it in our hands, that we might handle it, and proffered it to us as a glorious treasure, which by faith we may appropriate to our use and enjoyment forever. John was called the disciple whom Jesus loved; and one instance of his love is found in this, that he made him his amanuensis, to record those passages of Sacred Scripture which have been the favourite readings of God's people in every age of the Church.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A BLIND MINISTER. Including Sketches of the Men and Events of his Time. By TIMOTHY WOODBRIDGE, D.D. Boston, published by JOHN P. JEWETT and Company; pp. 312.

The author of this work is a descendant of John Woodbridge, of England, who, with many other distinguished men was ejected from their pulpits and living, for non-conformity. His mother was a daughter of President Edwards, one of "the three great lights of America." He was born in 1784; and this autobiography takes note of men and things from that day to the present. The writer is still alive. His blindness was induced by inflammation in the eyes, while pursuing his college course; after which time his acquisitions were made under this serious disadvantage. But being possessed of fine natural talents, and great industry and perseverance, he acquired, after leaving college, a considerable knowledge of the law, intending this as his profession; subsequently, having experienced religion, he studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary, and became a highly respectable and useful minister of the Presbyterian Church, in the State of New York. His autobiography gives of course some account of his personal labours, trials, and successes. But he has narrated much that is interesting concerning others, many of them men of

mark both in church and state, and in a style that is agreeable and often sprightly. We can commend it as a very readable, entertaining, and useful book. May our excellent brother enjoy a green old age and a peaceful departure to a better world.

HINTS ON MISSIONS TO INDIA; with Notices of some Proceedings of a Deputation from the American Board, and of Reports to it from the Missions. By MIRON WINSLOW, Missionary to Madras. New York, published by M. W. DODD, and sold by the Messrs. Martien, Philadelphia; pp. 236. 12mo.

This small volume is highly valuable as a directory to one who is about to embark as a missionary to the Foreign Field. There are many particulars which such a person will desire to know with reference to his passage, arrival, preservation of health, forms of labour, &c. &c., which he cannot learn beforehand from any other source, so well as from one who has been engaged for years in the work of Foreign Missions. Mr. Winslow has also some judicious remarks on the call and qualifications of a Missionary, and on the best mode of conducting missions. In the latter he expresses modestly his views concerning the proceedings of the deputation from the American Board, which have been discussed in the Board and elsewhere since their return. His remarks, however, were penned prior to the discussion which occurred in the Board, and contain his own individual sentiments, uninfluenced by the views of others. We ought to add, however, that he gives also in some instances the views of other missionaries in the Foreign Field, corroborating his own, but adverse to the policy proposed and carried into effect by the Deputation. We commend these statements to the careful perusal of the Christian reader. The best mode of conducting Missions is a matter which equally concerns all churches, and ought to be decided with serious and prayerful deliberation.

THE WORLD AND ITS INFLUENCES.

Written for the Board of Publication.

This neat little volume, published by the Presbyterian Board, consists of four chapters, viz.: The World as seen by its Votaries before Trial; the World regarded in the light of Revelation; the World as estimated by its Votaries after a Trial of its Pursuits; and, the World in comparison with the Better Way. These several points are well presented, and in a style calculated to interest and impress intelligent young persons, who are under special temptations, particularly those who belong to families that move in fashionable life, to make this world their chief object of pursuit, to the neglect of their immortal welfare. It is also adapted to benefit older persons of the same class, whose experience corroborates and confirms the positions and illustrations of the author concerning the vanity and uncertainty of this world.

THE SOWER AND THE SEED. By JOHN HALL, D.D. Philadelphia. Presbyterian Board of Publication.

This is a brief exposition of the Parable of the Sower. A chapter is appropriated to each of the four cases mentioned by our Lord, to show the different kinds of Gospel hearers. The explanation is clear and.