trine. As the author, however, appears to attach no weight or importance to them, we do not think they are to be regarded as detracting from the real value of his little treatise, which will be read with pleasure by all who are interested in the attempt to place the evidences in support of our sacred books and institutions derived from the researches of the traveller and antiquary within the reach of the multitude. Mr. Jordan confines his attention to the traces of the sabbath to be found in the period anterior to the giving of the law on Sinai, and presents his readers with those indications of its existence, establishing his positions by an appeal to the remaining records and monuments of the ancient world. He argues that the sabbath must have been known to and observed by the ancients universally, on account of the evidences we possess that the seventh day was held sacred, that the division of time into weeks was received by all nations of which we have authentic history, and that "the number seven was regarded with a mystical and superstitious reverence." That the seventh day was held sacred is proved by the fact that Cain and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord at the same time, when there were many reasons which we may properly suppose would have prevented Cain from choosing the same time for worship as his brother, had there not been a day set apart for the purpose of devotion; by the account which is given (Exod. xvi.) of the conduct of the Israelites in collecting a double portion of manna on the sixth day, without any command from their rulers, and by the fact that the earliest records in the family of Japheth, whose descendants cannot be supposed to have derived their knowledge of the sabbath from the Jews, show that the seventh day was held to be holy. Thus Hesiod and Homer, Callimachus and Lucian, speak of it. That time was by the ancients universally divided into weeks of seven days is established, by a reference to Gen. xxix. 21-30; by the institution of the Passover; by the innumerable indications of the practice among the Egyptians, Arabs, Assyrians, and Indians; and by our own names of the days of the week, derived immediately from our Saxon ancestors. And, lastly, our author shows the reverence anciently paid to the number seven, by an interesting and ingenious reference, among other things, to the statements of Herodotus respecting the temple of Belus at Babylon, and those stupendous monuments and vestiges of the past, the pyramids of Egypt. The inquiry is conducted in such a manner as to show that each of the three great fami- | lies of mankind afford traces of the existence among themselves of the venerable sabbatic institution; and the value Mr. Jordan at

taches to the proofs he has adduced as bearing upon the great question, it is the design of these tracts to discuss, may be best stated in his own words. After having discussed as fully as he could in the limits assigned, the points to which we have referred, "We pretend not," he says, "that either severally, or collectively, even, these facts amount to positive proof of the primitive institution of the sabbath; for we feel the danger of claiming more from evidence than it is legitimately entitled to, and earnestly deprecate the risk of enforcing matters of such great and momentous concern upon too slight a foundation, being convinced that such a system has too often recoiled upon its object, to its destruction. We do not ask the reader, then, to accept what we have offered as demonstration of the fact, but we beg him to bear in mind that the fact of the institution of the sabbath in Paradise, as recorded by Moses in Genesis, has been and is disputed by some who esteem themselves wise and prudent expositors of scripture, who have obtained some name and fame as commentators, whose opinion on the point is loudly hailed and re-echoed by many worldly-minded and lucre-loving persons, who would use it for their own gain; and thus it is, that the fact itself requires to be supported and corroborated by all the evidence that we can adduce. It is not, then, as positive proof, but as CORROBORATIVE and SUBSTANTIATING evidence, that the preceding details have been brought before the reader; and we invite him deliberately to weigh their influence, and to determine whether our conclusion from it is not equitable and just."

Our space will not allow us to notice particularly the third tract in the series. It is not, however, too much to say of it, that it is a worthy companion to the other two. It contains an excellent exposition of the fallacy of Paley's argument for the mere Judaical appointment of the sabbath, and concludes with a refutation, no less satisfactory than sufficient, of the popular objectious and fallacies upon the subject of sabbath sanctification in general; which, notwithstanding their repeated examination and refutation, are still urged with a pertinacity and doggedness which clearly show them to be the last resort of those who would teach us to "regard every day alike." On the whole we cannot but hail with delight the appearance of this series of tracts, and we augur well for the influence they are likely to exert over the public mind, if they only obtain the extensive circulation they deserve. Good must necessarily result from the calm investigation and able and efficient discussion of great subjects; men's minds are roused to serious thought and reflection; that which is true, and not that which is only venerable

or pleasing, gains the victory; and principle, in almost innumerable instances, takes the place of habit. The sabbath is a subject of this kind; good must result from its close examination, for we feel assured that the more scriptural our views and sound our principles with respect to it, the more complete and acceptable to our heavenly Father will be our sanctification of its hours. We have only to recommend our readers not only carefully to peruse these valuable essays themselves, but to circulate them as widely as they possibly can.

SERMONS, by the late Rev. DAVID CHARLES, of Carmarthen. Translated from the Welsh. With a Memoir. By H. HUGHES. Ward and Co.

These sermons had no sooner appeared in Welsh, than they were read with avidity, and spoken of in terms of high commenda. tion, by several of the first preachers in the principality. Mr. Rees, author of the Memoir of Williams, of Wern, pronounced them to be "like apples of gold in pictures of silver," intimating that, in the delivery of them, the preacher was like one exhibiting a quantity of "pearls" before his hearers, of so excellent a quality, as to justify the expectation, that some would be induced to "sell all they had, in order to purchase them." Such is the obvious meaning of a highly rhetorical passage; but, as 66 pearls" are not minerals, the writer should have said nothing about "a mine" of them, nor should he have spoken of "digging them out gradually," or of "purifying them in the furnace of eloquence." In speaking of these sermons, and of their author, Christmas Evans said, that "his mode of treating the deep things of God was so able and inimitable, that many of his sentences might be taken as texts to preach from," and that 64 many smaller caskets might be filled to overflowing with his abundant treasure." This witness we consider as strictly true; and if "sparks" had ever been known to "emanate from a star," and to "melt the frost," we should have felt a pleasure in quoting the bold figure of speech employed by this Welsh Demosthenes, in describing the effect produced by these sermons upon his own mind. Of the preacher we may, however, be permitted to speak thus, in a manner altogether his own: "We saw him, like Moses, passing direct between the Pihahiroth of legality, and the Baalzephon of Antinomianism, led by the fiery pillar of the doctrines of grace, and pursuing his way through the sea of the merits of Emmanuel, to the land of promise, bearing the rod of God in his hand." We also venture to in

troduce the following description, from the pen of Mr. Edwards, of Bala, in which, upon the whole, we are disposed to concur : "He was not one who concerned himself about the word only, but who laboured in the word and doctrine. He sailed not amongst the rocks, and between the sandbanks, but ventured into the midst of the ocean. He did not follow the track of other navigators, but proceeded to the discovery of unknown lands, and brought home from the old doctrines new ideas, more precious than the mines of Mexico, and more beautiful than the islands of the southern seas. And yet no one was found more unaffected. There was nothing in his manner that seemed to say to his brother, Sit thou there at my footstool.' No assumed dignity belonged to him. No one was more acceptable to his Christian brethren, and no one was less in his own esteem. In his highest flights he sought not to exhibit himself; his object was to bring back from the mountains of spices substantial fruits for the revival and consolation of his hearers. His gems were not so remarkable for their outward polish, as precious in magnitude and sterling quality. They were like

'Orient pearls at random strung,'

and were, in that respect, like the work of the Creator himself. In listening to him, we felt ourselves in the centre of the creation of God-the mighty rocks under our feet, environed by the everlasting hills, immeasurable space extending before us, and reaching even to infinitude. Of him we had views of new worlds of thought; and, having seen them, they appeared so plain, and so near, that we wondered we did not find them out ourselves."

The sermons before us have no formal divisions, but in each of them a strict unity is generally maintained. They consist of trains of manly thought, suggested by the text; and yet the text is always explained. Often, indeed, the several clauses of the text are distinctly repeated, and briefly illustrated. Some may probably conceive that these sermons are defective in respect of application, while others may think that the application is sufficiently intimated, without being inculcated in a lengthened peroration. The sermons are twenty in number, and on the following subjects — "God our Refuge-The Believer's Choice -The Happiness of the Righteous-Selfdenial-The Apostle's Choice - Looking unto Jesus - Keeping the Heart - The Coming of the Son of Man-The Lord's Death-Who gave himself for us-Christ the Wisdom of God-God's Marvellous Light-Access unto the Father-The God of Peace-God the Father of his PeopleChrist All and in All-God's Way of Sal

vation-The Kingdom of God in PowerGod's Immutable Counsel-The Name of God." The concluding Memoir is peculiarly interesting, and contains a good deal of information respecting the ecclesiastical polity of the Calvinistic Methodists in Wales, of which body Mr. Charles was a distinguished ornament.

In the preface to this volume we find a passage, which demands the especial attention of our readers, and which we, therefore, transcribe, for the consideration of those to whom five shillings, the price of the volume, is no object. "The friends of the gospel everywhere have rejoiced at its abundant success in Wales. The great work having been mainly accomplished by preaching, everything pertaining to the mode of treating evangelical doctrine by Welsh preachers is naturally an object of interest and curiosity with those who, being strangers to the language, have had little opportunity of judging for themselves. But few Welsh sermons have been translated into English. The present volume will be valued, therefore, as an example, independently of its great intrinsic merit. It may be regarded as a specimen of the instrumentality by which the entire character of a nation has been changed, and by which Christian churches have been multiplied to a degree unprecedented in any other country in modern times."

Any commendation of our own would now be deemed unnecessary; but we must endeavour to find room for a few of the "pearls at random strung," in order to justify the high opinion entertained by our Welsh brethren.

Righteousness greatly exalts its possessor; but who is he? The Bible says, 'There is none righteous, no, not one;' and yet it is full of announcements of good to the righteous. When we see a righteous man, it is right to ask who he is, and whence he came. He is unjust by nature, but is made just by the grace of God, and according to the appointment of God. 'Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' There is a name that justifies. This is the name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' The Spirit of our God' makes the soul to believe in his name, and he thereby becomes justified. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.' The change involved in justification is great and wonderful, and its consequences will for ever affect the state and condition of the soul. In the righteousness of Christ the believer will stand before God for ever. The justified man becomes just in nature and disposition. A holy disposition is implanted in him, when he is justified. He is

brought to submit to the way of God in justifying the ungodly: his perceptions and his judgment are brought to harmonize with the will and the institutions of God in reference to sin and pardon, as revealed in the gospel. No virtue that he possesses has any weight in his justification in his own sight, any more than in God's; and if all the holiness of saints were conferred upon him, he would still cry, 'I count all things but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him.' The Christian and the law understand each other well, since the time they stood together before the throne of God in justification. The law says, Thou hast been delivered out of my hand, and I ask for nothing more of thee than that I should be honoured; I have received an atonement from thy Surety, but reverence is still due to me. The blood of him who died on the cross is upon me, and I cannot be trodden under foot without that blood being also trodden upon. The understanding between us is complete-thou expectest not life of me, and I look for no compensation from thee-we both receive from the same source; thou hast life, and I have satisfaction and honour. Although these things could not be interchanged between us alone, yet we rejoice on each others behalf. I rejoice in thy life, and thou rejoicest in my honour. There shall be no enmity between us any more: we belong to the same owner and master, we are both objects of his love -he gave his life a sacrifice to one, and he gave it a sacrifice for thee.

ors.

"The people of God are chosen, not for anything that was in them, but for the purpose of bestowing upon them what they had not. Many things were chosen at the same time, but all for their sakes. A foundation was chosen, but it was for the edifice; a surety was chosen, but it was for the debtThe people of God are the people of his love. It was wonderful love, to give the greatest gift for them-the SON-the onlybegotten Son! It was love to perform the greatest work in them; to make their persons children of God, and unite their nature to God; to design for them the highest happiness, when they were in the lowest estate; and to make them meet for a glorious inheritance, even for heaven's highest glory. The people of God are the people of his peculiar care. His eye is upon them, and will not be turned away from them. He provides for them a suitable place on earth. All earth and all heaven are subservient to the will of God respecting them: every law of nature is subject to their interests. If you would know what sort of guide and protector God is, ask the sea, the rocks, the fiery furnace, and the lion's den. The saints are the people of God's delight. They call upon him, and he answers them;

he is with them in trouble: he delivers and honours them, and he shows them his salvation. He taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.' They are the people of his glory. He is manifested in them, and by them, to the world. His image is in them, and they spread the knowledge of his name. More of his moral image is seen in the work of his Spirit in them, than in all the visible creation besides. "This people I have formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.' These must, and do, exhibit, in their walk and conversation, a beauty and a grandeur, with which the magnificence of worldly men, called great, cannot be compared. Such beauty belongs to the brothereood,' however despicable in the sight of men the individuals may appear."

"The pleasures of sin consist in the sinful enjoyment of things which God has given man for his good. It is not the thing enjoyed that is sinful, but the manner and circumstances of its enjoyment. Sin is not in the pleasure, but in the breach of the Divine law of pleasure. The fruit is God's; but is it forbidden to you? The pleasure of eating fruit not forbidden, is not the pleasure of sin. God forbids you even the desire of what he has kindly given to your neighbour for full enjoyment, namely, his property, consisting of all that is his.' The pleasures he enjoys lawfully, would be to you the pleasures of sin. The lawfulness or the sinfulness of pleasure is in the manner of seeking the pleasure, and according to the circumstances under which you obtain it. God has given the sabbath, for instance, for delight; but the lawfulness of the delight depends upon the manner in which the pleasure is sought. Where he has given the creature for enjoyment, he has not allowed himself to be superseded. He has made man to enjoy God, and he does not deny himself to those who seek him. He himself even seeks to become the chief good of every rational creature."

CHRISTIANITY in its POWER; or, Piety exemplified in the Heart, the Family, the Church, and the World. By JOHN MORISON, D.D., LL.D.

London: Ward and Co.

"AN Earnest Ministry," and "Christianity in its Power," as illustrated in this most seasonable and excellent treatise, universally prevalent in our churches, would indicate the approach, if not the actual arrival, of the millennium. We regard it as a happy coincidence that these works of Dr. Morison and Mr. James should be so nearly simultaneous in their appearance. Let "the young ministry" yield to the instructions and imbibe the spirit of the

one, and the churches intrusted to their care obey the admonitions and exemplify the piety recommended in the other, and unprecedented will be the success and the triumphs of the gospel. "The signs of the times," however, as we read them, awaken fear, quite as much as they inspire hope. There is a kind of preaching becoming popular which we cannot so well describe by what it is, as by what it wants; which has more earnestness of manner than of purpose; which attempts to invest common thoughts with an air of high intellectuality; and which presents evangelical truths, when it condescends to give them prominence, in the jargon of a vague philosophy, as foreign to the purity of our Saxon English, as it is unsuited to the simple and sublime doctrines which it mystifies and obscures.

And with as little satisfaction can we contemplate the piety which many of the professing Christians of the present day exemplify in the heart, the family, the church, and the world. Many of our churches with their pastors seem to be in a transition state; and whether it be for good or for evil must depend, under God, upon the wise, judicious, and devout efforts and examples of the apostolic men among us, who perceive the approaching crisis, and throw all their energies into the conflicting elements to neutralise and counteract the tendencies which threaten to make the crisis a catastrophe.

Among the foremost of these we welcome the author of the present volume. It is evidently the result of long observation and experience. It abounds not with novelties but verities. It is thoroughly adapted to the religious character of the age, and spares neither its foibles nor its faults; yet does it breathe only the spirit of kindness; it is at once faithful and affectionate. Could our recommendation have weight, we would that every congregation should present their pastor with a copy of James's "Earnest Ministry," and procure for themselves as many of Morison's "Christianity in its Power" as their numbers and circumstances may seem to require. We do not pretend to offer any analysis of the book. But for the sake of our numerous readers who may not have immediate access to the work itself, we make no apology for introducing the following extracts:

"Is there not some reason to apprehend that meditative piety is at a low ebb with many professed Christians in our day? But how can the soul prosper in religion in the absence of all retirement and devout reflection? It is not to the secular avocations of life, nor yet to active service in the cause of religion, that we must look as a preparation for the more retired exercises of vital godliness and heartfelt communion with