lel instance in Rom. i. 3, 4.-Dr. Carpenter's recognition of the distinction between Christ's natural and spiritual descent.

" IV. 1 Cor. viii. 4-6. One God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ.A principal Unitarian proof-passage.-Its real scope and import.-Explanation of the terms 'GOD' and 'LORD.'-Kvpios, as used in the Septuagint, does not denote inferiority of nature.-The title LORD applied to Christ in a signification incomparably superior to any merely human application of it.-This passage a continuation of the general argument in favour of Christ's deity.

"V. Col. i. 14-17. Christ the image of the invisible God-first-born of every creature, &c. Christ the Deity manifested, the import of the former expression.-Arian view of the latter-and that of Bishop Middleton-both objected to.-Christ's rights of ownership and sovereignty most probably signified by it.-— Creation of all things by and for Christ-the universe at large intended, not the new moral creation merely.

"VI. Col. ii. 9. The fulness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily.-Terms discussed.-Pool's synopsis and annotations on the passage.-Whitby's representation of the judgment of the council of Antioch.-View of Dr. Doddridge.Argument derived from the connexion.

"VII. 1 Tim. iii. 16. God manifest in the flesh.' The various readings of this text stated and considered.-Dr. Henderson's dissertation.-Dr. J. P. Smith's summary of the evidence in the third edition of his Scripture Testimony. -Singular statements and exposition of Dr. Drummond.

“VIII. Titus ii. 13. 'Jesus Christ our Great God and Saviour.'-This the proper rendering.—Bishop Middleton's rule respecting the article stated.-Instances in point.-Inconsistent manner in which such passages are treated in the 'Improved Version.'

"IX. 2 Pet. i. 1. 'Our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.'-The principle of the preceding instance applicable here.—Bearing of the Apostle's argument on this question.

"X. 2 Pet. ii. 1. Christ a sovereign, destorns.-Opinions of Wetstein, Dr. Drummond, and Schleusner on the term here employed.-Not probable that it denotes delegated power. The context shows that Christ is intended.

"XI. 1 John v. 20. Christ the true God and eternal life.'-Argument in favour of the application of this expression to the Saviour.

"XII. Jude 4. Christ our Sovereign and Lord.'-The word 'God' omitted by Mill, Wetstein, and Griesbach.

"XIII. Rev. i. 8. Christ the Alpha and Omega,' the beginning and the ending-who was, and is, and is to come.-Doubt to whom the language is to be referred stated, and removed by verses 11, 17, 18.

"XIV. Rev. xxii. 12, 13. Same description as the foregoing-compared with Isa. xliv. 6.-Dr. Drummond's Gloss.

"Proofs from the Old Testament.

"XV. Isa. viii. 13-15. Christ Jehovah of Hosts.'-New Testament quotations of this passage, in Rom. ix. 31-33; 1 Pet. ii. 6-8.-Its connexion with Isa. xxviii. 16—and meaning.

6

"XVI. Isa. ix. 6, 7. Christ the mighty God.'-Proved to refer to Christ by the quotation in Matt. iv. 13-16.

"“XVII. Isa. xl. 3-11. Christ Jehovah God of Judah.'-Implied reference in Luke i. 76.-Its reference to Christ assumed by all the four evangelists. -Import of the passage.

"XVIII. Isa. xlv. 21-25. Christ' Jehovah-just God.'-Clearly refers to the Messiah.-Applied to Christ in Rom. xiv. 9-12.

"XIX. Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. Jehovah our righteousness.'-Compared with Jer. xxxiii. 14-18.-Argument from the tenor of both passages.-Difficulty respecting the latter passage.-How read and rendered by Drs. Boothroyd and J. Pye Smith.

"XX. Mal. iii. 1-3. Christ the Lord of the Temple.' -Applied to him in Matt. xi. 10.-Argument from the passage."

While going over these chapters to extract the above summaries, as instances of an improvement, we would recommend to Dr. Urwick, if not for others' sake, yet for the sake of a class whom he knows how to regard, we mean our theological students, to whom clearness of analysis and the saving of time in study are both very precious things, we have been sorely tempted to linger on some passages, and add our mite to the discussion; but this we could not have done without neglecting the remainder of the work. Of course we do not consider all the arguments equally valid,-that the author himself does not do,-and in some few of the texts, those from Jeremiah, for instance, in Letter IV., we should have been pleased, had certain opposite considerations been more closely grappled with; but such as the argument is, we recommend it with great confidence to all who may need either information or satisfaction on this most important subject.

Having illustrated the preceding chapters by analysis, we shall exhibit those which follow by extracts. In Chapter V., which contains an elaborate examination of the 1st chapter of the Hebrews, we find the following valuable thoughts upon the 5th verse.

"Many pious and learned men have looked upon the words, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee,' as describing the origin of our Saviour's divine nature. As that, however, is a question distinct from our present inquiry, I shall not here touch upon it further than to say that however the difficulties, to my apprehension insuperable, inherent in the idea of 'eternal generation,' as it is called, may be cleared away, and whether the doctrine can or cannot be proved by other texts, I think we are not allowed by fair exposition to consider this passage as teaching it. If the statement before us can be understood as pointing out the origin of the Messiah's being in any respect, I should take it as pointing to the divine operation by which his humanity was formed, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that Holy Thing, which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God;' Luke i. 35; or, to that divine operation by which the person of the Logos incarnate was constituted, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,' Gal. iv. 4. But the application made of the passage by inspired authority, in the New Testament, seems to prevent our taking it as referring at all to the origin of the Messiah's being. It first occurs, as a quotation, in the discourse of Paul to the Jews at Antioch, Acts xiii. 32, 33, And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.' The statements preceding these show that Christ's resurrection from the dead is the event intended, as Bloomfield, in his Synoptica, observes,' ȧvaorhoas,' by causing him to rise from the dead.'

"The passage is quoted twice besides in the New Testament, namely, in Heb. i. 5, the verse I am considering, and in v. 4, 5, No man taketh this bonour to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron: so also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee,' where it evidently is introduced as prov ing the divine appointment of Christ to the priestly office. That office, as sustained by him, comprehended both the regal and the sacerdotal functions, his priesthood being after the order of Melchizedek, which united both offices in one person, for Melchizedek was king of Salem as well as priest of the Most High God. And if in Heb. v. 5, the quotation is applied as proving investiture with office, it may with equal propriety be understood in a similar way in Heb. i. 5, provided the context there leads to no other view. In the former place it unde

niably regards investiture with the sacerdotal part of his functions; in the latter place I think it equally regards investiture with the regal part of his functions. Certainly this accords with the tenor of the Psalm, the whole of which relates to Christ's kingly office. Certainly it agrees with the use made of the passage in Acts xiii. 33, since it was upon his resurrection from the dead that the formal investiture took place. And certainly pre-eminence in rank and prerogative is the topic of argument in Heb. i. 5-connecting the appeal with what precedes, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent NAME than they for unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.' The magistrates of Israel were called, in a very modified sense, children,' or 'sons,' of the Most High,' Psalm lxxxii. 6, because they inherited by divine appointment power to administer the divine laws among the people. But here is a personage appointed 'HEIR of all things,' verse 2-a personage on whom is devolved the supreme and sole government of the universe; as he himself declares, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,' Matt. xxviii. 18, The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son,' John v. 22. And I think it most congruous to understand "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee,' as a recognition and declaration of this heirship, and as signifying, Thou art the possessor of my throne; I have now invested thee with all my prerogatives.'"-pp. 221-223.

The same chapter also exhibits, in pp. 252, 253, what many will find a useful summary of texts illustrative of the Messiah's threefold power of prerogative, exercised in "the performance of divine works, the bestowment of divine gifts, and the administration of divine laws." The Saviour's divine prerogative is also represented in a very striking manner in the following chapter, where "the argument respecting the worship of Christ is resumed;" but the passage which occurs in the course of a very beautiful exposition of Isaiah vi. 1-10, is too long for our pages. The interested reader may find it in pp. 298-301.

The seventh letter, headed "General concluding Remarks," contains valuable matter throughout. There are not a few passages which, either from their moral beauty, or evangelical pathos, deserve an abiding place in the memory. The second, third, and fourth paragraphs would form a noble chapter in a catechism, and we recommend them to every parent who wishes to bring up his children in genuine congregational principles.

It occurred to us some years ago, when conversing with a relative, whose mind, long entangled in the meshes of Socinianism, had just been brought to recognize the clear light thrown upon the Saviour's proper deity, by one or two striking texts, to have this singular question proposed to us:-Well! now I believe this, am I safe? Is it enough to believe that Christ is God upon these passages? If it is, I'll go no further; for it is a mysterious subject, and I do not wish to have more to do with it than I am obliged.-Our readers, we imagine, will understand this case, Socinian opinions were felt to be damnable, when but a very small portion of real scripture light beamed forth upon them; but no real interest in the Saviour's glory had as yet taken the place of a long exercised disposition to depreciate him, and a timid selfishness and a horror of every thing

N. S. VOL. IV.

3 P

mysterious still occupied, though they do not now occupy that heart. If there be any of our present readers deterred in a similar way, or any other way, from the study of this interesting doctrine, though having doubts upon it, let him read what Dr. Urwick says upon the subject:

"On one account I always shall have agreeable associations connected with your name. Dr. Armstrong, though not himself intending it, was the means, under Providence, of leading me to a course of investigation the like of which, for pleasure and profit found in the pursuit, I had seldom traversed before, and in which I hope my meditations will often be engaged, obtaining increasing knowledge, combined with stronger faith and warmer love towards my blessed Redeemer, till by his divine mercy he takes me to himself, to see him as he is' and to serve him with perfected powers world without end.”—p. 375.

To this candid and enlightened guide we feel we may safely refer every conscientious inquirer, and not the less so, because he does not confound the speculative recognition of the truth respecting the Messiah's person, with the inward possession of the "truth as it is in Jesus." Dr. Urwick is entitled to our warmest thanks, not only for the able manner in which he has defended a most important article of the christian faith, but also for the care which he has taken, pp. 377, 378, to preserve all who are willing to be taught by him from resting in a barren orthodoxy.

It must be owned to be a considerable drawback, though almost the only one, from the pleasure of perusing this excellent volume, that it is defaced by so large a number of typographical errors. But we trust the work will speedily see a new edition, in which such blemishes will find no place. Were the "Table of Contents" enlarged as we have taken the liberty to recommend, and presented in that lucid form of which the "Contents" in Dr. Pye Smith's "Scripture Testimony" affords so admirable an instance; and were each page headed with its appropriate subject, instead of the mere numeral, the work would leave but little for any critic to desire. As it is, it constitutes an admirable manual for all students and thoughtful inquirers.

It was our intention, when we took up the pen, to have said a word or two upon the second work named at the head of this article, but the length to which our thoughts have run out, forbids our doing this at present. All that we can now say, therefore, is that it is a judicious and seasonable book; judicious on a subject which often leads to the greatest extravagance, and particularly acceptable at a time when the so called "brethren"-lucus a non lucendo-brethren, we suppose, because unbrotherly to all who do not see into the dark as they do, are, on principles mainly based upon peculiar interpretations of unfulfilled prophecy, doing all they can to break up the communion of our evangelical churches.

An Elucidation of the Prophecies: an Exposition of the Books of Daniel and the Revelation. By Joseph Tyso. Jackson and Walford. 1 Vol. 8vo. pp. 276.

The Crisis: or the great Revolution and the Fall of National Churches, according to the Revelation of St. John. By Rev. B. D. Bogie, Rector of Lusby. 1 Vol. 12mo. pp. 328. Ball: London. Second Edition.

Essays on the Apocalypse: with Illustrations from English History. By R. B. Sanderson. 1 Vol. 12mo. pp. 251. Simpkin and Marshall.

"PROPHECY is not designed to give men prescience; but to show that God possesses it." This important aphorism is singularly illustrated by the three works placed at the head of this article, as well as by the thousand and one interpretations of prophecy which have been published to the world. Every expositor has his favourite theory. Scarcely any two writers on the prophecies agree, either in their principles of interpretation, or in their detailed expositions. Both the fulfilled and the unfulfilled predictions present difficulties to the view of the prophetic student. The past, as well as the future, baffles and confounds the wisest and most sagacious minds. Time has already darkened the fair visions which many a sanguine interpreter had indulged, while it has thrown its irradiations over many a gloomy scene which the more sombre had depicted; and time alone will present the true interpretation, when the predicted events shall have arrived. It occasions us no surprise, that some of the best and most learned of commentators should have paused on approaching the Book of the Apocalypse, and, after due consideration, have declined to attempt its exposition. If their timidity should be deemed reprehensible, at least their humility was praiseworthy. They could not satisfy themselves, and therefore despaired of satisfying others. They judged silence to be better than mere speculation. They regarded the spirit of interpretation as identical with the spirit of prophecy: they deemed inspiration as necessary for an expounder of an unfulfilled prediction, as for the prophet himself.

We would not depreciate the labours of all who have attempted to unveil the mysteries of the Revelations, and to unravel the complicated thread of prophecy. We only disparage attempts at infallibility. We discountenance only oracular interpretations. Modesty is becoming a fallible teacher. If to teach in order to learn, is in any case admissible, it is peculiarly so in this. "I am but a little child," exclaimed the wisest of men, and such should be the language of all teachers of prophetic theology. The study of the Apocalypse is a sacred duty; and a benediction is pronounced on him "that readeth and they that hear the words" of "John the Divine." The whole book is designed as a test of faith and humility. Its more simple and obvious parts are full of spiritual instruction. The moral principles involved in many of the predictions, and illustrated in others, serve to elucidate the character and perfections, the designs and the government of the Almighty. A general idea