CONTENTS TO VOL. XXI. No. CXXI.-Our Scottish Pulpit, 1.-American Theology-Princeton and Andover, 13.-Buchanan's Faith in God, and Modern Atheism, 19. Notes on the Book of Revelation, continued, 30.-Poetry :- Sonnet, To a Pomegranate from Delphi, 37; Miss Nightingale, 38; The Vanished Star, 39.-A Batch of New Books, 40.-Preaching, Past and Present, 50.-Is it Peace? 58.-Literary Notices, 62. No. CXXII.-Islamism, 65.-Notes on the Book of Revelation, con- tinued, 78.-Poetry :-"Oh! See Whar Yonder Burnie Rins," 91; Charge of the Light Brigade, 25th October 1854, 91.-Our Scottish Pulpit, 93.-Clark's Foreign Theological Library, 104.—Customs and Characteristics of the Jews, 110.-Works on Education, 115.— John, Earl of Rochester, 120.-Literary Notices, 127.-Ecclesiasti- No. CXXIII.-Remarkable Case of Conviction on Circumstantial Evidence, 129.-Jesuitism in France, 132.-Fraser's Magazine and Scottish Preaching, 138.-Typical Forms, 143.-Theories of Edu- cation Secular and Christian, 147.-Notes on the Book of Revel- ation, continued, 168.-Poetry:-Cathcart Hill, 172.-The National Gallery, 173.-Robert Burns, 183.-Gillespie on Strauss, 187.— No. CXXIV.-Geology in Harmony with Revelation, 193.-Notes Question, 218.-Swords and Horses, 221.-The Rational Creation, 227.-Grants in Aid and the Gospel, 232.-Poetry:-India, by W. S. Daniel, 239; Thanksgiving Ode for Peace, 242.-The Poets of the Day, 244.-Literary Notices, 255.-Ecclesiastical Intelligence, No. CXXV.-Reminiscences of the Canongate,-Ancient and Modern, 257.-A Chapter on Chronology, with Speculations, 287.-The National Gallery, continued, 294.-Lays of the War.-No. vi., The Last Dream of Nicholas, 302.-The Peace and its Consequences, 303. "Am I Fit to Die ?" 312.-Naturalism and Spiritualism, 313. Literary Notices, 317.-Ecclesiastical Intelligence, 320. MACPHAIL'S EDINBURGH ECCLESIASTICAL JOURNAL. No. CXXI. FEBRUARY 1856. OUR SCOTTISH PULPIT.1 "The Gospel in Ezekiel !" Such is the title of the volume now before us, the volume for whose advent the public has been made to wait on the tip-toe of expectation. The title is odd enough. Ezekiel is not a book, but a man. "In" what part of him "the Gospel" was found Dr T. Guthrie does not condescend to say. It might be in the head, or in the heart, for it was certainly to be found in both. But then, how comes it about that Dr Guthrie is able to conduct so extremely subtle researches as this hypothesis implies? The process and method of discovery might be useful to philosophers, and more especially to our philosophic cousins across the Atlantic, who have established a regular correspondence with dead poets, and who would give a goodly sum, we have no doubt, for the more enviable privilege of being brought en rapport with dead prophets. We would press Dr Guthrie, with respectful urgency, to publish, like Bacon and Descartes, a treatise disclosing and illustrating his Method. But stop! "The Gospel in Ezekiel,-thirty-sixth chapter." Ah! then Ezekiel is not a man; he is a congeries of chapters, and "the Gospel" is found in the thirty-sixth. How many chapters he is composed of on the whole we are not informed, but say forty-eight. In the other forty-seven it is to be presumed that the Gospel is not to be found. It has been stored away carefully in the thirty-sixth,-but in the others there may be alas! anything but the Gospel. We could not have believed all this of Ezekiel, and feel ashamed of having thought of him so differently, and given him credit for a far more evangelical spirit than, it would appear, he possesses. The Gospel in Ezekiel. Illustrated in a Series of Discourses, by the Rev. THOMAS GUTHRIE, D.D., Author of " Plea for Ragged Schools." Edinburgh: A. & C. Black. VOL. XXI. Ꭺ But perhaps the publisher is to blame in this affair, if blame be attachable to any party. And now when we consider the thing gravely, we are convinced that the above title, like the famous order to the light brigade, is not what was meant, "Some one has blundered;" and it is impossible to believe that it was Dr Guthrie. It does look, too, we admit, strangely heterodox to suppose at this time of day that his publisher is the blame-worthy person; for if there is one quality for which Adam Black is distinguished more than another it is his sharpsightedness. But Adam Black may nod as well as Homer, and while he was nodding, his corrector of the press thought it his privilege to snore; and, at that unlucky moment of security, an enemy could easily steal upon their unwatchfulness to substitute "in" for " of." Of would do. The Principia "in" Newton,-the Sonnets "in" Shakespeare,-the Paradise Lost "in" Milton! The "ins" there would create such a nausea in the stomach of a scholar, that he would be prompted to some deed of violence to relieve his distress. But of instead of in sets all to rights. Therefore, "the Gospel of Ezekiel" is the correct reading. Having thus satisfactorily proved that the blame is traceable to the publisher, we could as easily prove that Dr Guthrie is incapable of, the confusion of mind implied in the published title. Again and again in this volume, he shews us that a silk worm is not the same thing as the silk threads which that worm spins. An intellect capable of discriminating between a silk worm and its threads, is equally capable, or nearly so, of discriminating between an author and his book, or a prophet and his prophecies. A very little additional training in ratiocinative processes would enable him to penetrate the difficulties in his way to the detection of a logical parallelism. It is with no common satisfaction that we thus rescue Dr Guthrie, for whom, we do assure thee, O gentle reader, we cherish the most decided partiality. It was somewhat daring in Dr Guthrie, to risk his high reputation as a preacher, by publishing the sermons which have been so be-praised. A learned judge, falling into the humour of the time, once compared him to one of the most brilliant of the French preachers of a famous past era. It was hazardous to challenge the comparison further, by placing a volume of even his most effective discourses beside those of the famous Frenchman. For in the event of failure, the former praises would sound very much like mockery; or, if regarded as serious, could be explained only by the strange, but not uncommon delusion of those, whose geese, according to the proverb, are all swans. We call it a delusion. Some would be apt to call it finesse and stratagem,-a specimen of those fetches and subtle tactics by which a party woos a glorification. But, indeed, there is a strange credulous facility and easy faith in partizanship. The spectacles of sectarianism on the nose of any man, create as great deceptions as the mirage of the desert. A man, looking through them within the pale of party, sees every object pleasantly magnified. The goose looks to him a veritable swan,-the body as large and well-rounded, the carriage as stately, the neck as proudly curved, and the voice as melodious and musical. The looker-on actually believes it all, and is as seriously affected by it as though it were all as true as the Gospel. But |