wisdom, to which we are now attending. In the hand of him, who issues its commission, it may come like the resistless torrent from the clouds, and instantly bear down every thing that opposes; for we are not to suppose that he is fettered by rules, nor can we without extreme presumption set bounds to his operations. But facts, as well as reason and analogy, afford ground to apprehend that such effects may be as transient as they are sudden; as fruitless of abiding good as they are full of wonder. Cases of this kind appear much less like the rain and the snow, as they usually come down from heaven, than like what is called the bursting of a cloud upon the mountains; which inundates the neighbourhood instead of softening and fertilising it, and sometimes tears up the very soil, and leaves the spot a ruin which before was a wilderness. "And if the representation before us do thes reprove on the one hand, it no less effectually elevates and comforts on the other. The friends of divine truth often lament that its effects are not more apparent and striking. They, who have laboured long to unfold and inculcate it, seeing as they imagine the little fruit of their endeavours, are continually ready to take up the mournful complaint,ah, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought. Let them remember that it is the determination of him, from whom this word proceeds, that its operation and progress shall be like those of the rain and the snow. Let them recollect that there may be very desirable fruits of their labour, where these effects are but little manifest to the world. Let them hope that in many cases, the word, which seems to return unto them void, is yet operating for good slowly and silently. The christian, who mourns that he is unimpressed and unedified by their ministry, may, in a state of greater light, discern that it would have been fatal to his character and his hopes, to have been left without the aid which they afforded him." The friends of the author have, we believe, not indulged a vain hope, that these sermons will be acceptable and useful in a much larger circle than that to which they have been confined.' By JOHN GROSE, A. M. F.A.S. Curate ART. XXIII. Sermons on various Subjects. of the United Parishes of St. Margaret Pattens, and St, Gabriel, Fenchurch, Lecturer, C. 8vo. pp. 213. THIS is a second volume of discourses, from the same author, and it owes its publicity, as he informs us in the preface, to the liberal encouragement which was shewn to the former volume. The sermons are thirteen in number, and upon the following subjects: 1. Gratitude to God. 2. The case of the leper mentioned in the 5th chapter of Luke. 3. On not living to ourselves. 4. On the parable of the virgins. 5. On the fall of Peter. 6. On indifference in religion. 7. On conforming to the world. &. On a future resurrection. 9. On the power of conscience. 10. On doing well. 11. On the parable of the debtor and two creditors. 12. On the love of God. 13. On the fear of death. In this volume we meet with no instructive elucidation of the language of scripture, no laboured defence of our common faith, no flights of a bold and towering eloquence. Upon the principles of the established religion, in lan guage generally plain, but sometimes approaching to affectation, the preacher addresses himself not so much to the judgment as to the feelings of his audience, and endeavours not so much to convey information, as from the influence of those motives which arise from the revelation of a future life, to lead them to a wise use of that which is present. ART. XXIV. Sermons chiefly designed to elucidate some of the leading Doctrines of the • Gospel. By the Rev. EDWARD COOPER, Rector of Hamstall Ridware, Sc. &c. 8vo. pp. 344. THE author of this volume, as he himself informs us, once preached a sermon before the archdeacon and clergy Stafford, and afterwards printed it at their request. This sermon was favourably received, and the preacher obtained many concurring testimonies from different highly respected quarters, of the soundness and orthodoxy of the doctrines which he had maintained. By this circumstance he was induced to pre pare a small volume of sermons, in which those doctrines should be more distinctly stated, and more clearly elucidated. In the composition of these, the object he kept immediately in view, he assures us, was to give a faithful and perspicuous statement of evangelical truth, and he now submits them to the public eye with the hope that they may be instrumental in spreading the knowledge of that truth. That such was the object, which the author proposed to himself, we have no reason to doubt; that such was his ardent wish, we are not disposed, as we are not qualified, to question. But the objects of our fondest pursuit are not always obtained, nor are our purest and most benevolent wishes always gratified. The author thinks he has discovered evangelical truth; others have thought the same, who have maintained scarcely any of the principles that are here expounded; others also, with equal zeal, and with more ability, have recommended their discoveries to general notice and acceptance, have met with partial attention, and soon passed away into oblivion. Our readers may judge of the system to which Mr. Cooper attaches the title of evangelical truth, by the following enumeration of the subjects upon which he treats: 1. God glorified in the sufferings of Christ. 2. Scriptural statement of the doctrine of justification. 3. The doctrine of justification by faith only, vindicated from the charge of encouraging licentiousness. licentiousness. 4. Scriptural statement of the doctrines of human corruption, and of the renewal of the heart to holiness. 5. On the gift of the spirit. 6. On the danger of being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 7. Christ's yoke an easy yoke. 8. Christ's burden an easy burden. 9. The danger of a worldly spirit illustrated in the history of Lot. 10. On the design and duties of the sabbath. 11. On the danger and misery of self-deception. 12. Christ the beloved and the friend of his people. Concerning the truth of our author's principles, it is not our province to judge. They are such as have received the sanc tion of councils and synods, and are avowed in the articles of our national church. We shall, therefore, only ob serve, that they are recommended by the preacher by means of the usual argu ments, without any attempt to give to them any new interest, either by no velty of thought, or eloquence of diction. ART. XXV. Lectures delivered in the Parish Church of Wakefield, in the Year 1802, on that Part of the Liturgy of the Church of England contained in the Morning Prayer. By THOMAS ROGERS, M. A. Master of the Grammar School, &c. Sc. 2 vols. pp. 275 and 286. THESE volumes comprehend thirtyone lectures, in which every part of the morning service is distinctly treated; not indeed, as the author himself confesses, with any originality of thought, but in such a manner as he conceived would impress upon the minds of the people, to whom these lectures were delivered, a due sense of the excellency and utility of the liturgy of the church, and lead them, as far as possible, to reduce to daily practice, what is professedly admired and believed by her members. The preacher congratulates himself upon having attained his object; and for the sake of his own fame, he would have been wise had he been satisfied with this. Having by the delivery of these lectures answered, as he supposes, so important an end, he ought to have been aware that the publication of them, however solicited by his parishioners, who cannot be supposed to know so much of books as himself, was entirely superseded by the similar, but superior and more extensive publications of Wheatley, Shepherd, and others; and he ought to have recommended the perusal of these, as conveying more information than he had to communicate. But powerful is the charm of seeing our name emblazoned by the magic hand of the typographer; then displayed in the diurnal, or the monthly, or the annual publications; and finally exposed to the wandering eye that skims the motley surface of the loaded table of the bookseller. Many charitable institution, and many a suffering individual, receives the boon that is to purchase the honour of a printed name; many a starving son of genius, by the lure of a printed list of subscribers, obtains the reward which his talents alone would not have earned; and over many a dull and useless volume, are we condemned to pore, and nod, which, but from a similar principle, would have been kept in its original and merited ob scurity. Two sermons are added to the lectures, one preached on Christmas-day, 1802; the other on the first Sunday in the year 1803. These, like the lectures, display great seriousness and great orthodoxy, and like them, are destitute of every other qua lity that can entitle them to the honour of publication. ART: XXVI. Sermons, by the Rev. THOMAS GISBORNE, M. A. Vol. II. 2d edit. pp. 442. Mr. GISBORNE is so well known to the public, and so generally respected as a wise and able instructor in religion and morality, that all praise from us would be superfluous. We have only to an nounce, what many will hear with pleas sure, that the second volume of his use. ful sermons has arrived at a second edition. ART. XXVII. Sermons, selected and abridged chiefly from Minor Authors, from Trinity Sunday to the Twenty-fifth Sunday inclusive, adapted generally to the Epistle, Gospel, or first Lessons, or to the several Seasons of the Year. Together with Eight cocasional Serms on important Subjects; and an earnest Exhortation to attend Public Worship, &c. E addressed by a Clergyman to his Parishioners. For the Use of Families. By the Rev. S. CLAPHAM, Vicar of Christ Church, Hants, &c. &c. Vol. II. Svo. PP. 716. THIS ponderous volume, properly introduced to the world by a heavy title, is composed of the labours of many divines, whose works are rarely met with, and some of whose names are recorded only in their own scanty and almost forgotten works, or on the mouldering stone that covers their earthly remains, in some obscure repository of the dead. The most considerable contributors are Skelton, Dr. St. John and Riddoch; bishop Richmond, Dr. Lawson, Dr. Lewis Atterbury, Peters, and Reay, have also afforded their aid. Dr. Elsmere has furnished one sermon, as also Munton, Goddard, bishop Hickman, Lloyd, Scattergood, bishop Pearce, Dr. Powell, and Catcott. And six of the sixty sermons that form the volume, are from the pen of the editor. These are upon the following subjects: Nathan's reply to David; the second sermon for the sixth Sunday after Trinity; the pharisee and the publican; the second sermon for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity; the advantages and disadvantages arising from Methodism examined, printed before separately; the duty and advantage of pastoral visits; perjury; and Sunday schools. The first volume of this selection has already come to a third edition, and a similar fate most probably awaits the present, both on account of the judicious manner in which it is in general compiled, and the extensive benefit it promises to those preachers who want the industry or the ability to furnish new things from the stores of their own minds, or old things from the labours of their predecessors in the gospel vineyard. ART. XXVIII. Sermons on several Subjects and Occasions. By GEORGE VANBRUGH, LL. B. Rector of Aughton, and Chaplain to his Royal Highness Prince William Fre derick. 8vo. pp. 181. THIS work is from the Liverpool press, and affords a very favourable speLimen of the excellence to which the art of printing may be carried in a provincial TOWNL. We wish it were in our power also to observe, that this small volume aforded us a favourable specimen of the preacher's abilities, as it does of his good intentions and his truly christian spirit. But what can we, with strict impartiality, say of an author who ventores before the public with such negligeat composition as the following sen truces exhibit? **But the case is not so with st: tes and gdoms: for God is the gracious parent of ali mwind; and these are more especially the objects of his care and protection, be cause they are eminently useful for the preservation of order and harmony in the moral And, therefore, we may suppose, whenever world, and the promotion of public good. they act contrary to this fundamental design of their several establishments, they certainly become subject to the just judgment of God." P.3. "We find a desire of happiness implanted within us, in common with all other creatures, which, we may be certain, was not given us in vain. To those beneath us, this has been placed in the present moment: but man, created in the image of his Maker, and endowed by him with the faculties of reason and understanding, has been thereby made capable of reflecting upon the past, and look¡ng forward to the future."-P. 71. K3 "How truly impressive, and awful this reflection, that almost every beat of the pendulum strikes the arrow of death to some human being!"-P. 122. "Let us first consider the event itself, and the remarkable circumstances which attended it, and we shall be enabled to make such observations upon it, as may be useful throughout the whole of our lives: but, more especially, as may produce in us that excellent virtue, humility; highly ornamental in every situation; and, with regard to our religious conduct, is able to lay in us that foundation for obedience in faith and practice, and for our acceptance with God, be removed, but standeth fast for ever." P. 127. which never can "From having been so near the person of his blessed Lord, the natural warmth of his disposition must have been excited to the most attached veneration."-P. 134, &c. We are disposed to give Mr. Vanbrugh full credit for the most upright intentions, and the purest zeal in the important situation that he holds as a minister of the gospel; but we are persuaded that neither the interests of the public, nor the fame of the preacher would have suffered, if the sermons now published had not been known beyond the walls within which they were originally delivered. The volume contains ten sermons, upon miscellaneous subjects; Remarks on the Sacrament; and a small tract, which, in a separate form, has passed through three editions, entitled, "Thoughts on the Observance of the Sabbath, and on Private Prayer, with suitable Devotions." A&T. XXIX. Sermons, and other Miscellaneous Pieces. By the late HENRY HUNTER, D. D. Minister of the Scots Church, London Wall. To which are prefixed, A Biogra phical Sketch of his Life, and a Critical Account of his Writings. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 327 and 346. IT is well for the fame of the late Dr. Hunter, that it does not rest upon the present posthumous publication. The editor indeed conceives that, in publishing these volumes, a duty due to their author is discharged. If we are not greatly mistaken in our judgment, the duty consisted in withholding them from the public. Not that they will prove altogether useless, but because they are in every respect inferior to the former discourses of this often eloquent preacher. The first volume contains the biographical sketch, and seventeen sermons composed for the service of the Lord's supper, with a few introductory addresses, suited to the peculiarities attending that service in the church of Scotland. The second volume contains two sermons delivered at the admission of ministers; a sermon addressed to seafaring men, and fourteen upon the following subjects: on Purity of Conscience; the exceeding Riches of God's Grace; the Promises of God an Incitement to Holiness; on the Parable of the Fig-Tree; on seeking the Kingdom of God; on Love to Christ; on the Duty of Praise; on Salvation by Grace; on returning to God; for a Fast-Day; on Affliction; on the certainty of Death; and, the Christian Traveller towards Zion. There are besides five funeral pieces, delivered at the grave, and an Address to the Female Society. In all these discourses we meet with some of the author's peculiar faults, but very few of the excellencies by which the discourses, published under his own direc tion, were so generally marked. When such instances as the present come be fore us, we feel but little disposed to censure those writers who, having earned a fair reputation during their days of mental vigour, consign to destruction all the secret fruits of their labours, lest the injudicious hand of surviving friendship should tarnish the name which it means to emblazon. The present editor stands convicted by his own confession. "The volumes at present offered to the public, close the list of his (Dr. Hunter's) printed discourses. Imperfections may no doubt be discovered in them: some of these posthumous sermons were written in haste; others were never revised; non of them received the author's finishing touch, nor were indeed at all designe for publication." ART. XXX. Sermons on the Evil, that are in the World, and on various other Topics; from the German of the Rev. GEORGE JOACHIM ZOLLIKOFER, Minister of the reformed Congregation at Leipsick. By the Rev. WILLIAM TOOKE, F.R. S. 8vo. THE character of Zollikofer, as a preacher, has been so long established, and the public have now had so many opportunities of judging of his merits, as far as they can be discovered under the veil of a translation, that we feel ourselves called upon to do little more than announce the subjects which are discussed in the volumes now before us. The sermons are in number fiftyeight 1. 2. 3. 4. Of the Evils that are in the World.-5. The Coming of the Kingdom of God.-6. Of the future general Judgment.-7. Joy on the Birth of Christ.-8. What we should have been without the Christian Doctrine; and what we are, and may become, by it.-9. The Holy Communion, a social Feast-10. Retrospect of the past Year. Il.-Prospect of the Year commenced. -12 and 13. Justification of Divine Providence, in regard to the terrestrial Welfare of the Impious and the Pious.-14. Sin considered as the primary Source of human Misery.-15. Sin considered as the primary Source of human Misery in regard to the future State.-16. How we make ourselves Partakers of other Men's Sins.-17. Directions for learning to pray from the Heart.-18. and 19. On Public Diversions.-20. The principal Sources of Infidelity.-21. Some of the Prejudices against Christianity combated. - Some of the Prejudices against the Christian Morality combated.-23. How every one is able, and ought to labour at promoting the Public Prosperity.-24. How we may and ought to make religion our main concern.-25. The Christian Preparation for future Sufferings.-26. How well it is for Mankind that they are ignorant of the Future.-27. The Behaviour of the Disciples of Jesus during his Sufferings and Death; and the Manner in which the Evangelists narrate this History considered as a Proof of their Integrity and Divine Mission.-28. The Account of the Sufferings and Death of Jesus considered as a Proof of his exalted Character and his Divine Mission.-29. The Triumph of Death, and the Triumph of Life.-30. and 31. Of loving God. 32. The comfortable Declaration of Jesus concerning the future Life.-33. The Holy Communion a Feast of Love. 34. The Spirit of Christianity. 35. The Prudence of the Worldly-minded a In 2 vols. Reproach to Christianity. -36. The Grounds and Sources of Christian Fortitude.$7. Religion the constant Guide and Friend of Man.--38. Of Self-Knowledge, and the Means of acquiring it.-39. The Impediments to Self-Knowledge.-40. Self-Examination concerning our Thoughts and Actions.--41. Self-Examination in regard to the Reception of the Holy Communion.42. The Advantages of virtuous Industry.-43. The Advantage of Moderation in the Enjoyment of sensual Pleasure.-44. What true Honour is, and how we should behave in regard to Honour.-45. The Substance of Christianity.-46. Whence it arises that Christianity operates not more efficaciously among its Professors. —— 47. Whether or not Christianity be favoura ble to Patriotism. - 48. The Value of Fidelity.-49. Signs of Growth in Goodness.-50. Encouragement and Direction to Growth in Goodness.-51. Mankind considered as Strangers and Sojourners on Earth.-52. The Duty of brotherly Correction.-53. Humility a Means of Contentment.-54. Who is particularly qualified for being a Christian.-55. By what Means the Sense of Truth is weakened and suppressed.56. The Christian a singular Character, in a good Sense of the Expression.57. Application of the Question, What do ye more than others? 58. The Brevity and Trouble of Life. In most of these discourses the preacher, maintains the high character he had be fore acquired by the eloquence with which he recommends the most important truths, and enforces the most weighty doctrines: and we are glad to find, from an advertisement accompanying the present publication, that two additional volumes are preparing for the press, containing Sermons on Education, and on various other topics. In these we hope the translator will be careful to avoid all such expressions as, streams of fugacity, harmonious jubilation,' ' immarcessible crowns,' through and through devout,' staving off reflection.'' contemptible spawn of fanaticism,'--with many others, far too numerous to be cited here;-not more offensive to the ear of taste, than contrary to the pure idiom of the English language. |