The vault of heaven, on either fide,
Retained the long vibration,

And seemed to shake the very throne of GOD!
A folemn pause.

And now the filver trumpets found;

And all the golden harps are heard,

In fweetelt fymphony.

The whole affembly of the juft approach the throne.
Nor Jew, nor Greek; nor rich, nor poor;

Nor young, nor old; nor bond, nor free, are here.
One precious name includes the whole,

For CHRIST, a precious CHRIST! is all in all !

Of the whole doctrine and fpirit of this puritanical produca tion [N. B. to prevent mistakes, we give notice that we make ufe of the word puritanical, not as a term of obloquy, but merely as a diftinguishing appellation ], and of others of the fame kind, the Author has furnished us with a good refutation in the following conference between Mr. Clement and John the foot

man :

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Well, but, John, do you not think real religion as neceffary for you, and for the meaneft fervant in the family, as it is for me, and even for Euphraftus himself? You are greatly mistaken if you think any of us can be truly happy without it.".

"To be fure," replied John, "we should all of us be good and I think we may be all good without fo much reading and praying. Befides I have a very bad memory, and cannot get fo many prayers by heart as I believe many of the fervants have in this family. I have overheard Hortenfius, and two or three more of you feveral times; but you have always a different form. You fometimes, indeed, make use of the Lord's Prayer; but even this is faid different ways; and I wonder, for my part, where you could get fo many prayers, and how you can remember them all-But it may be, on this account you think yourselves better than other folk.-Perhaps, however, you may be mistaken. Others may be as good who do not pray half fo much, nor half fo often as you do!"

"Yes, John, that is very true; we might do with lefs of the form, had we more of the power. But, you may depend upon it, he that lives without prayer, lives without GoD in the world!"

"And do you think," fays John, "that I am one of them! Pray don't be fo uncharitable !"

Well faid, John! Good advice, and well timed! Whatever your mafter, or his parfon, may fay to the contrary, maintain it as long as you live, that " others may be as good, who do hot pray half fo much nor half fo often as they do.:" for you may read it in your Bible, that "Pure religion and undefiled beFore God, is-not hearing long fermons or faying long prayersbut, vifiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and keeping ourselves unfpotted from the world; or in other words, keeping ourselves fober and honeft, and doing all the good we can."

ART. IV. An Effay on the Compofition of a Sermon. Tranflated from the original French of the Rev. John Claude, Minifter of the French Reformed Church at Charenton. With Notes. By Robert Robinfon. 2 Vols. 8vo. 12 s. Boards. Fletcher, Cambridge. Buckland, London. 1779.

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HE Art of Preaching, from the nature of the objects on which it is employed, and the importance of the ends which it is intended to anfwer, fo well deferves, and, after all the varieties of forms in which it has been practifed in different ages, is fo capable of farther improvements, that every judicious attempt to place it on its true foundation, to deduce its laws from rational principles, to point out the defects which have attended, and still attend, the practice of it, and to render it of more general utility, merits the attention of the Public. In the work here tranflated, though the rational divine will not meet with such a complete and philofophical difcuffion of the fubject as he might wish; though he will probably think many of the rules here laid down, rather adapted to fupport a particular fyftem of faith, and encourage mysticism in religion, than to direct the labours of the moral and practical preacher, he will nevertheless meet with much good advice, which a judicious understanding and improved tafte may apply to great advantage in the compofition and delivery of fermons.

This publication, however, derives its principal value from the original notes which the Tranflator has fubjoined, in which, fomewhat after the manner, though not in the fpirit of Bayle, he has introduced a great variety of remarks and quotations, which answer a better purpose than that of elucidating the text, affording the reader much valuable information and agreeable entertainment. These notes are exceedingly miscellaneous, confifting of pertinent examples of the beauties or faults of preaching, from various writers, and these many of them little known, curious and often humorous anecdotes, fenfible reflections, and bold and free ftrokes of fatire. From this miscellany we could, with pleasure, felect many amusing articles; but we chufe rather to fill up the fpace which we can allot to this work, with a few extracts from the Tranflator's introductory effays, from which it will appear that he writes with great boldness of language, and with all the zeal of a reformer.

To the firft volume Mr. Robinson has prefixed the life of Mr. Claude, where he introduces many reflections on ecclefiaftical power, in which, if there be much keennefs, and fometimes a fmall portion of acrimony, it must be acknowledged that there is likewife fome truth. On the fubject of religious Liberty he makes the following spirited remarks:

• The

< The union of all Chriftian congregations in one grand corporate body is a godlike defign. The author of Chriftianity profeffed to aim at making all his followers one fold under one fhepherd; and, had officious human folly let divine wisdom alone, union had been effected long ago. The idea has ftruck all mankind. Princes and prelates, civilians and divines have all attempted to produce union. Not a foul of them has fucceeded; and, we will venture to affirm, the man will never be born, who can fucceed on their principles. They have retained the end': but loft fight of the original means of effecting it. All other means foft or fanguinary, papal, epifcopal and fynodical, controverfial or pecuniary, all have divided Chriftians more and more, and widened thofe breaches, which they pretended to heal. This rage of union was the foul of the feventeenth century, and it convulfed and distorted the body, as fouls agitated by violent conflicting paffions transform the features of an incarnate angel into the face of a fiend.

• The true original remedy for all thefe ills is the restoration of that PRIMITIVE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, which the Saviour of the world bestowed on his firft followers. It was equal and univerfal. Church power was vested in the people, and the exercise of it limited to each congregation. So many congregations, fo many little ftates, each governed by its own laws, and all independent on one another. Like confederate ftates, they affembled by deputies in one large ecclefiaftical body, and deliberated about the common interefts of the whole. The whole was unconnected with fecular affairs, and all their opinions amounted to no more than advice devoid of coercion. Here was an union. Liberty was the object, and love was the bond. It was an evil day, when princes hired the church for a flanding army, and everlasting shame must cover the faces of those ecclefiaftics, who, like Judas, made their master a marketable commodity. Princes affected to be as wife as Solomon, and fet lions to guard the steps of their thrones: but they had not penetration equal to the Jewish monarch; his lions could not bite: but theirs have devoured the creators of their being, elevation and form.'

Again, he fays,

Whether the fourth community, of which we now speak, came from the valleys of Piedmont, or whether it originated among those reformers, who, confiftent with their own principles, made pure fcripture the rule of reformation, it is certain, fome focieties appeared, very early, advocates for congregational church-government, The churches included both Baptifts and Independents. Some, as the Brownifts, ran liberty into licentioufnefs; and others, as Robinfon in Holland, and Jacob in England, fometimes explained, and arranged, and at other times rather cramped matters: but all held the grand principle of felf-government, and the abfolute independence of each congregation on any exterior jurifdiction. Here, as in all fafe civil focieties, the bafes and principles of good government are held. Individuals are born free, each with liberty to difpose of himself. Several individuals congregated, carry together feparate power, and depofit it in any degree, more or lefs, as the whole think fit, in one aggregate fum, in one or more hands for the public good. Officers, chofen by all to hold and difpenfe this delegated power,

are

are in truft only, confequently refponfible to their conftituents, and all their power is conflitutionally revertible to the fource, whence it came, on abuse of the truft, or at the demife of the truflee. As all this business is fpiritual, power extends over only fpiritualities. Life, liberty, property, credit, and fo on, are all infured in another office, entrusted in other hands, under the care of civil governors. Here then is religious liberty. Various churches enjoy it in various degrees: but in thofe churches, where infants are excluded, and where all are volunteers, where each fociety pleafeth itself and injures nobody, where impofition is not known, and where blind fubmiflion cannot be borne; where each fociety is a feparate family, and all together a regular confederacy, unpaid for believing, and far from the fear of futtering; there does religious liberty reign. We enjoy this liberty in britain. It feems good to our civil governors to oblige us to purchase it by a refignation of fome of our civil birthrights. We think this hard. However, we pay the price, and en

joy the purchase.

This fort is more than tenable, it is invincible. Grant us vox populi vox Dei; only allow the PEOPLE to be the fource of power, and we have a with equal to that of Archimedes, and as much more glorious as the dignity of directing the world of fpirit is fuperior to that of guiding the motion of matter. Farewell popery, prelacy, prefbytery, I have understanding as well as you. My Creator gave me ability to judge for myfelf. My Redeemer brought a charter from Heaven to confirm my right of doing fo, and gave me a rule to guide the exercife of my right. in the exercise of this right I may be holy and happy. The univerfe can do no more for me.'

Thefe thort extracts may be fufficient to give our Readers an idea of Mr. Robinfon as a zealous champion for religious Liberty.

We now proceed to take notice of the differtation on Preaching prefixed to the fecond volume, which the Author informs his readers is only a fketch of a larger work, " An Effay towards the Hiftory of Public Preaching;" a plan which, it feems, he has laid afide, but which he appears fo well qualified to execute, that we cannot but with he may find fufficient inducements to resume the undertaking.

In this sketch, Mr. Robinfon traces the progress of preaching, in its feveral forms, through every age of the world.Speaking of the fcribes which were employed in the later ages of the Jewish church to copy the law, he fays,

Writing, reading, giving a fenfe of what is written, studying to find out a true fenfe to give, and proving and supporting the fenfe given, go together, and fcribes naturally became ftudious, difputatious, and learned men. Ezra, the reformer of the church at the return from captivity, was the molt eminent of his profeflion, a ready Scribe in the law of his God.

This man laid the foundation of reformation in feligious principle, and he relted religious principle on that infallible rock, the word of God. In order to lay a firm and good ground of this, he

collected

collected and collated manufcripts of the facred writings, added a few explanatory lines, and a few anecdotes (himself was infpired), and arranged and published the holy canon in its prefent form. To this he added a fecond work, as neceffary as the former; he revived, and new modelled public preaching, and exemplified his plan in his own perfon. The Jews had almoft loft in the feventy years captivity their original language, that was now become a dead language, and they spoke a jargon made up of their own language, and that of the Chaldeans, and other nations, with whom they had been con founded. Formerly preachers had only explained fubjects: now they were obliged to explain words, words which in the facred code were become obfolete, equivocal, or dead.

· Now alfo it became more neceffary than ever to open houfes for popular inftruction in towns all over the country, after the pattern of the fchools of the old prophets. Accordingly, houfes were erected, not for ceremonial worship, as facrificing, for this was confined to the temple: but for moral obedience, as praying, preaching, reading the law, divine worship, and tocial duties. Thefe houfes were called fynagogues, the people repaired hither morning and evening for prayer; and on Sabbaths and festivals the law was read and expounded to them. It is with a great deal of justice that learned men afcribe the following Jewith aversion to idolatry, and their attachment to the law, to conitant public preaching in their Synagogues.

We have a fhort, but beautiful description of the manner of Ezra's first preaching. Upwards of fifty thousand people affembled in a ftreet, or large fquare, near the Wate gate. It was early in the morning of a Sabbath day. A pulpit of wond, in the fashion of a fmall tower, was placed there on purpose for the preacher, and this turret was fupported by a fcaffold, or temporary gallery, where, in a wing on the right hand of the pulpit, fat fix of the principal preachers, and in another on the left feven. Thirteen other principal teachers, and many Levites, were prefent alfo, on fcaffolds erected for the purpose, alternately to othiciate. When Ezra afcended the pulpit, he produced and opened the book of the law, and the whole congregation inftantly rofe up from their feats, and stood. Then he offered up prayer and praise to God, the people bowing their heads, and worshipping the Lord with their faces to the ground; and at the clofe of the prayer with uplifted hands they folemnly pronounced Amen, Amen. Then, all standing, Ezra, affifted at times by the Levites, read the law difinatly, gave the fenfe, and caused them to understand the reading. The fermons delivered fo affected the hearers, that they wept exceffively, and about noon the forrow became fo exuberant and immeasurable, that it was thought neceffary by the governor, the preacher, and the Levites to reftrain it. They, therefore, reminded the congregation-that a just grief might run into excess-that there was an incongruity between a fettival and lamentation-and that on this festival, there were fingular caufes of extraordinary joy, they were delivered from captivity, the law was reftored, and they, the very poorelt of them, had been made by the pains of the preachers to understand it. Go your way, faid they, tat the fat-drink the fweet-fend portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared.-Be not difcouraged-religious joy is a people's ftrength.

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