Whoever looks back on the last century will have great reason to rejoice at the decline of Calvinism. Much of the divinity as held and preached by the more rigid religionists of those days, belonged to the school of Romaine, or at least of Milner. Yet the highest Calvinism of the present day is, we apprehend, far below even the lowest standard then held. The last lingering remains of it we hope will be exorcised by the powerful spell of Mr. Faber. LITERARY REPORT. Essays on the Church. By a LAYMAN. Third Edition, revised and considerably enlarged. London: Seeley & Burnside. 1836. Pp. 341. THIS is a most valuable work; it embraces all the most interesting points of controversy of the present day between the Church and the Dissenters. No Churchman ought to be without it. At the same time, we must deprecate the author's language on one or two points. His reference to the controversy of baptismal regeneration is couched in highly offensive language; and the only excuse for it is to be found in the sheer ignorance of the whole subject which he displays. In a work of this kind, which is a compendium of our controversies with the Dissenters, it would have been wisdom to have passed over the few points on which there was a difference among Churchmen; at any rate, the harshness of the language employed is highly to be condemned. It is as mischievous as it is unchristian. We would have the author in a future edition omit this part. With this exception the work is of the highest value. Journal of a Three Years' Residence in Abyssinia, in furtherance of the Objects of the Church Missionary Society. By the Rev. SAMUEL GOBAT, one of the Society's Missionaries. To which is prefixed A brief History of the Church of Abyssinia, by the Rev. PROFESSOR LEE, D.D. London: Hatchards and Seeleys. 1834. Pp. 371. We have in this volume a very mi nute account of the Abyssinians, and especially of their church, and the state of religion among them. It is impossible not to sympathise with the feelings of the missionary therein described; at the same time, we cannot give unqualified praise to the conduct of Mr. Gobat. We are willing to make every allowance for his zeal and general correctness of deportment; but, at the same time, we more than doubt the wisdom, and even charity of the rev. gentleman. His reception was such as does honour to the liberality of the people and Clergy of Abyssinia; we may even assert that, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, no European church or nation would have shown him equal forbearance and attention; and, as we read the narrative, the painful truth is forced upon us, that his reception was not duly appreciated by the missionary. The church of Abyssinia is certainly sunk very low into superstition and formalism; but we are certain that Calvinism is not the spirit by which that church is to be raised up again; and we think that the tone in which he seems to have indulged when speaking of that Clergy, and whereby he seems to have constantly endeavoured to sink them in the estimation of the people, was not only unnecessarily barsh, but, in the end, will tend the great work of reformation. Though to throw impediments in the way of the rev. missionary is a Presbyter of the English Church, yet his sentiments and doctrines are those of the Dissenters. As we read the narrative, a painful contrast arose in our minds Literary Report. between the narrow and sectarian views of the Calvinistic missionary and the truly catholic deportment of the late venerated Heber, when placed in someHeber's what similar circumstances. conduct towards the Christians of Malabar is a model for the conduct of missionaries towards the ancient churches. There is surely enough in common between ourselves and these ancient churches to enable us to endeavour to promote their reformation, without insisting upon their adoption of the principles of English dissent. A red-hot voluntary could hardly have been more harsh towards the native priesthood; and, as the reformation of this church will be greatly impeded by such missionaries, we would have the Society look to this! The Interpreter: a Summary View of the Revelation of St. John, founded chiefly on the Rev. H. Gauntlett's Exposition of that Book. By the Rev. T. JONES, of Creaton. London: Seeleys. 1836. Pp. 64. THIS is a useful little book, on a very difficult subject. Although we could have wished it had less reference to modern events, and kept to the admirable and sober views of Bishop Newton; yet it may safely be recommended, as on the whole a cheap and valuable exposition. answer. 1847; and to this it professes to be an And well does the writer answer the design be had in view; we would earnestly recommend, to those who are bitten with the mania of the modern notions of the Millennium, the Author's exposure of the fallacy of the new system of interpretation. His expositions of the texts of Scripture bearing on this and other difficult points, especially as relating to the chronology of prophecy, deserve the most attentive perusal. An Appeal to every Christian in Eng- A MOST excellent and seasonable little tract, and cannot be too widely circulated. The Pulpit Pocket Companion, and Liturgical Manual of general Devotion. By the Rev. J. E. N. MolesWORTH, Rector of St. Peter with St. Paul, and one of the six Preachers of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury. London: Rivingtons, 1836. Pp. 108. THIS is a very useful work, and one much needed. It presents the Collects, generally, in the very words of our Liturgy, or only occasionally slightly varied; with some other useful forms of prayer taken from the Prayer-Book, for the use of the Clergy before and It is very elegantly after sermon. printed and bound, and of a most convenient size for the purpose intended, and, we doubt not, will be very acceptable to the Clergy Meditations and Addresses, chiefly on the subject of Prayer. By the Rev. H. WHITE, A.M. Curate of St. Mary's Parish. Dublin: Curry. 1835. Pp. 827. We have here a book of great usefulness, full of excellent reflections and pious meditations. Exercised deeply in the school of affliction, the author here offers to others those consolations "wherewith he himself is comforted." 4 Q May his design be fully answered to all the children of affliction! Essays, Letters, and Interesting Papers of the late Rev. T. Charles, A.B. Bala, Merionethshire. Edited by the Rev. E. MORGAN, M. A. Vicar of Syston and Ratcliffe, Leicestershire. London: Seeleys. 1836. Pp. 477. THE author of these papers had much to do with the early formation of the Bible Society. The rev. editor, in adverting to certain minutes of discussion held at the quarterly meetings of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, which were drawn up by Mr. Charles, and published in the magazine which he edited, is very abundant in his admiration of those people, and seems to sigh over the present state of the Church of England, which is not, in his view, equally favoured with their associations. He pathetically exclams: "Could any thing of this kind be introduced into our National Church!" Mr. Charles, we doubt not, was a clever and excellent man, and his editor perhaps may be the same; still we cannot sigh along with him for an adoption by our Church of the system of "the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists." The Analogy of Faith; or, an Attempt to show God's Methods of Grace with the Church of Christ, as set forth in the Experience of David. By the Rev. J. T. HOLLOWAY, D.D. some time Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and Minister of Fitzroy Chapel, Fitzroy Square. London: Hatchards. 1836. Pp. 261. THESE are valuable discourses, and accurately trace the life of David, and the methods of God's dealings with him. They are, however, based on the Calvinistic Interpretation of the 17th Article of our Church; we need not observe to our readers, that that Article was framed without any reference to" Master Calvin," whose name was little known at the time of its promulgation. Their Calvinism will be perhaps to some a passport to com mendation; we need not say what our sentiments are on this head; they are well known, and probably the readers of this notice will join with us in wishing these sermons had been more scriptural, and less Calvinistic. Christ, the True and Faithful Witness of the Everlasting Covenant. By HENRY BOURNE, Esq. York: John Hill. Hull: Noble. Leeds: Cullingworth. 1836. Pp. vi. 170. A TRULY valuable and well-adjusted compendium of doctrines respecting Christ's nature, character, and offices, illustrated by abundant texts from Scripture, &c., themselves in turn illustrated each by the other, and by the quoted opinions of the English and other orthodox liturgies. Books of this kind are very useful, and Mr. Bourne deserves our thanks. The Atonement, and other Sacred Poems. By W. S.OKE, M.D. Extra Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians in London. London: Longmans. 1836. Pp. viii. 176. THIS is true poetry, and true piety also. After being wearied with the tedious and vain attempt of others, at rivalling Milton in blank verse, it is positively delightful to turn to the refreshing old English couplet, consecrated so ably to the sweetest theme that poet ever sung, or human reason ever explored. It deserves a place with the best of the Seatonian prize poems. A History of British Quadrupeds. By T. BELL, F.R.S., F.L.S. Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy at Guy's Hospital. Illustrated by a Woodcut of each Species, and numerous Vignettes. Part II. London: John Van Voorst. 1836. Pp. 50. THIS is a very valuable and interesting work, and highly useful to the student of natural history. A SERMON FOR ADVENT. GENESIS II. 9. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. THE history of man's state of innocency in Eden, and of his fall through the suggestions of the evil spirit, is one of those portions of holy Scripture on which heretics and infidels have laid hold, in order to exhaust upon it the whole force of their unholy efforts. The Socinians of former times, and the Unitarians (as they call themselves) of the present day, treat it as a mere figurative narrative, or parable of events, which never really happened, while infidels have ever endeavoured to throw over the whole transaction an air of ridicule and scoffing. Their intentions in this are sufficiently plain. The Unitarian or Socinian, for instance, being determined to deny the divinity and atoning sacrifice of our Redeemer, and to reduce him to the mere level of human nature, finds himself met at the very beginning of the Bible with the history of that event which lies at the foundation of these doctrines, viz. the fall of man from original righteousness. Being determined that Christ shall not be his Redeemer, being too proud and self-trusting to acknowledge himself in need of the precious blood of Christ for his pardon and sanctification, it is but natural that he should be eager to get rid of that portion of God's word which shows him that he is a fallen and perishing creature. He loves to contemplate human nature as something exceedingly excellent and all-sufficient in its own resources; and therefore shrinks from that page of revelation which shows it is degraded, strips it of its glory, and humbles it to the dust. Against the opinion of these men, that it is not a narrative of a real transaction, but a mere parable or figurative history, it might perhaps be sufficient to say, that it is simply their mere unsupported opinion, in behalf of which they cannot offer the shadow of an argument, or even the mere semblance of a probability. The holy Scriptures relate it, and every where treat it, as a real transaction; and there is ample proof that the Jewish nation all along believed it to be a true history of real events, and that under the form of the serpent, the devil, or one of his fallen angels, was the author of the temptation. It is, however, more difficult to deal with those who would endeavour to throw over the whole narrative an air of contempt and ridicule. For who can refute, even by the words of true reason and wisdom, the sneer, or the silence, of a man who is bent on scoffing and ridicule? It is only by appealing to those better feelings and principles, which, alas! such men seldom possess; it is only by appealing to that propriety of thought and action, that soberness and gravity, against which they have professedly hardened themselves. Is any one, then, inclined thus to treat this history? Let us try him at least with the force of contrast. Brethren, do you ever recollect to have heard or read of any one who had means of knowing the truth of this history, and of the effects which it had upon him? Did you ever hear of a man who knew the sad consequences of the fall upon human nature, and of the manner in which it affected him? If we can find such a man, his conduct will be some guide as to those feelings with which we should consider it, and of that spirit and temper in which we should listen to its history. There was certainly then one person to whom it was thus fully known; and that person was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ;—and how did it affect him? Whenever human misery or sin came under his notice, it called forth his most tender grief, and even vehement sorrow. And what is misery or sin, but the effects of the fall, and the inheritance of our first parents? How often do we read that Jesus sighed, Jesus groaned within himself, Jesus wept! And especially at the grave of Lazarus; there death, and all the miseries and pains which go before it, and the corruption and loathsomeness which come after it, must have presented to his omniscient mind the sad contrast between what man might have been, what man once really was, and what he had now become. Is it then surprising that Jesus, with such thoughts, seeing before him a grave, and thinking of the millions of graves which sin had opened, and would still continue to supply with unceasing victims,-is it surprising that Jesus should have groaned within himself,-that Jesus should have wept? But there was one occasion, on which the fall of man bore with all its force upon him; in which all its sad history, its tremendous consequences, and its future terrors, pressed upon his soul; and that occasion was, when he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. As the thoughts rushed into his mind he began to be sore amazed and very heavy; consternation and an indescribable horror seized his frame, and pervaded his very inmost body and soul; and his sweat fell down in large drops of mingled blood to the earth. Brethren, if we treat the history of the fall lightly, or irreverently, is it not because ours is not the mind of Christ? because we are, at least, utterly ignorant of its awful character and tremendous consequences? If sin and misery should at all times call forth our sorrows and griefs, how much more this history, which is none other than the first instance of disobedience; the source and fountain of all the sins and miseries which shall ever be? I. I propose, in the first place, to consider some of the principal events in the history of this awful transaction, as it can only be from not rightly appreciating them, or from gross ignorance of the reasons and nature of them, that any can continue unmoved and unaffected at the narrative. 1. The mode of the temptation shall be the first point considered: "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for on the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Now let us not be surprised at the simplicity of this temptation; the prohibition of the fruit of a particular tree may in itself seem a slight event, and the punishment denounced far more than commensurate to so slight an action. But the very easiness of |