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and will, unless we are greatly mistaken, be generally pronounced one of the ablest and best. The Commentary on Ezekiel is from the German of the late Mr. Schröder, a preacher and theologian of considerable eminence, a sound Hebrew scholar, and an expositor of more than ordinary insight. The work

of translation and editing was undertaken by the late Principal Fairbairn, of the Free Church College, Glasgow, who himself wrote our best English commentary on Ezekiel; and the present edition, though he did not live to see it completed, is enriched by many valuable quotations from his work. Dr. Fairbairn's writings are invaluable to the theological student, and invariably display the fruits of mature scholarship, sound judgment, and fervent Evangelical faith; and Mr. Schröder's comments have in the English translation gained greatly in worth by these additions from the Scotch expositor. The section on Daniel is from the pen of Dr. Otto Zöckler, who has already furnished contributions to the Lange series on the Books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. It is translated, edited, and enlarged by Dr. Strong, of Madison, New Jersey. Zöckler's views are generally trustworthy. He is of the liberal-evangelical school, and, while he conducts his investigations with the fearlessness of one who is resolutely bent on the discovery of the truth, he rarely forgets the reverence and humility by which all such investigations should be guided. Occasionally he concedes more than is necessary to the demands of Rationalistic criticism; and we are glad that his editor has delicately, but firmly, combated his position as to ex eventu interpolations in ch. x.-xii., and more particularly in xi. 5—39. On the general question of the integrity of the Book of Daniel,

Zöckler's arguments are valid, and, in view of such attacks as have recently been made on it, e.g., by Dean Stanley, in his third series of lectures on the Jewish Church, it has great value. The assignment of the book to the age of the Maccabees is the result of a predetermined rejection of the supernatural; and, apart from that unscientific prejudice, we should hear little of the difficulties which arise from peculiarities of language and style, from the Greek names of musical instruments, &c. Zöckler's work is a real addition to our critical and hermeneutical literature; and an ordinary student will require no further help than he can here find. There is certainly no other commentary which presents so many and such varied excellences as this, and it ought to have a place in every theological library in the kingdom.

MEDITATIONS ON THE LOVING WORDS OF OUR LOVING LORD AND SAVIOUR. By James Grant, author of "Our Heavenly Home," &c. London: W. H. Guest, 29, Paternoster Row.

AMONGST the numerous valuable contributions to Christian instruetion and edification our friend Mr. Grant has made, we estimate none at a higher rate than this charming little volnme. It is just such a work as every Christian will delight in for private perusal. Mr. Grant's comments are devout, impressive, and suggestive; they do not profess to be exhaustive, nor do they burden the reader's mind with either diffusive or recondite speculations. They have been written, and we believe will be read, under the influence of the memorable utterance, "The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are Life."

PULPIT AND PEW: Sketches of Popular Preachers of the Period. By An Anglican Layman. London: William Tegg & Co., Pancras Lane, Cheapside. 1877.

THE "Anglican Layman" has made himself acquainted with most of the popular preachers of the day, and endeavoured, often with considerable success, to describe the main characteristics of their style. There are about fifty sketches, brief and suggestive, the subjects of which are selected from all sections of the Christian Church, the writer having aimed at strict impartiality. His volume is a useful one, and introduces us to men whom it is a pleasure to know. His standpoint is not ours, and he does not seem to us to have formed in all cases a fair and unprejudiced estimate of the men whom he places in the balance. His sympathies strongly incline to the Broad Church party, and he is certainly not, in the commonly understood sense of the word, an Evangelical; neither is he free from prejudice against Dissent. He knows it tolerably well. Are we wrong in thinking that he himself once had a place in its ranks, and that he cherishes for it "the affection of a deserter"? To many of his sketches we can take little exception; others are decidedly partial. Restricting our remarks to sketches of Nonconformist ministers, those of Mr. Spurgeon, Mr. Hall, Dr. Punshon, Dr. Dykes, Mr. Mursell, Mr. Maclaren, Mr. Dale, and Dr. Donald Fraser are (considering the author's standpoint) good; those on Dr. Landels and Mr. Stowell Brown are conspicuously unfair. Dr. Landels is anything but "a political parson," and does not unduly introduce politics into the pulpit, and we imagine the writer has confused his platform and pulpit utterances; besides which Dr. Landels is intellectually a stronger man than this sketch would suggest. Neither is Mr. Stowell Brown a man of " coarse wit." He did not, even on the occasion referred to, indulge in "bitter and ignorant denunciation of a body of gentlemen," &c., nor is he fond of giving the rein to his enmity. The writer could not have written in this

strain if he had read Mr. Brown's "Quarter of a Century in the Nonconformist Ministry," or if he heard him

constantly" in his own chapel. There are other instances of an unfair judgment in reference both to Churchmen and Dissenters, and we regret them the more because the writer has in this way marred an otherwise capital book.

OUGHT PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS TO CIRCULATE ROMISH VERSIONS OF THE WORD OF GOD? By the Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A. London: Trinitarian Bible Society, 96, Newgate Street, E.C. 1877. MR. GRANT'S essay obtained the first prize, as awarded by the Trinitarian Bible Society, for the best work on "The Origin, Growth, and Effects of the Circulation of Romish and other Corrupted Versions of the Holy Scriptures in Foreign Countries; and on the Best Means of putting an End to the Pernicious Practice." We have never been among the most ardent admirers of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and consider that its action in relation to the labours of our missionaries in India is strangely out of harmony with its professed object; while the adoption of Roman Catholic versions, acknowledged to be corrupt, is no less anomalous. Our ministerial readers will have received a copy of Mr. Grant's essay, as well as of Mr. Froggatt's (the second-prize essay), and we trust they will read both, and

find in them an incentive to aid the circulation of such versions only as are accurate and faithful.

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Intelligence.

RECENT DEATH.

MRS. GEORGE.

On February 20th, Mrs. George, widow of the Rev. Jonathan George, formerly pastor of the Church at Arthur-street Chapel, Camberwell Gate, departed this life for the better, at the ripe age of eighty-one.

Her life was one of child-like trust in her Redeemer, and deep interest in His cause. As a prudent wife, an excellent mother, and a helper in good, her memory is endeared to many. Confined to home long before her death, she there served the Lord in suffering, as before in action; and she was at length permitted literally to "fall asleep" in her old arm-chair. "So He giveth His beloved sleep."

The funeral, conducted by her pastor, took place on the 27th February, at Nunhead Cemetery; and on Lord's Day morning, March 4th, her death was improved from the words "A mother in Israel."

She has left behind two sons to mourn their great loss and rejoice in her gain. We magnify the grace of God in her.

S. C.

News of the Churches.

INVITATIONS ACCEPTED.

Finch, T. C. (Tiverton, Somersetshire), Penknap, Wilts.
Foston, T. (Hemel Hempstead), Shipley, Yorkshire.
Hobling, W. B. (Gold Hill, Bucks), South Street, Hull.
Speed, R. (Bedford), Milnsbridge, Yorkshire.

Tarbox, W. (Regent's Park College), Addlestone.
Williams, J. (Aberdare), Derby.

Williams, J. (Abergavenny), Hereford.

RECOGNITION SERVICES.

Bangor, Rev. T. P. Davies, February 20th.

Bath, Rev. J. Baillie, February 28th.

Paisley, Rev. J. C. Thompson, March 11th.

RESIGNATIONS.

Backhouse, Rev. S., Every Street, Manchester.
Chenery, Rev. R., Mose Side, Manchester.

DEATH.

Williams, Rev. J. R., Rhondda Valley, February 12th.

THE

BAPTIST MAGAZINE.

MAY, 1877.

Contemporary Preachers.

ས.

THE REV. WILLIAM LANDELS, D.D.

HE addresses delivered by Dr. Landels from the Chair of the Baptist Union, raised a needlessly long and angry controversy, in the course of which he was subjected to criticism as unjust as it was ungenerous. He has not, however, lost the esteem of those who know him best, either in our own or in other churches; on the contrary, he is, as many who cannot unreservedly assent to his main position will testify, more widely "honoured for his brave words," while the wise administrative power, the unwearied diligence, and the evident self-sacrifice with which he has fulfilled the duties of the Chair, have met with a cordial appreciation, and will long form one of the brightest chapters in the history of our denomination. It is not, however, on this account that we include the name of Dr. Landels in the present series of articles. Apart from his recent prominence as the representative of the Baptist Union, he would have claimed our attention as one of the best-known and most influential preachers in the metropolis, and an acquaintance with his honourable and successful career should supply an incentive to ministers and students to "stir up the gift that is in them," and to aim at the highest measure of power within their reach.

Like his predecessor in the Chair of the Baptist Union, Dr. Landels is a Scotchman. He was born at Eyemouth, a small fishing village, not far from Berwick-on-Tweed, in 1823. His parents were members of one of the Presbyterian churches, and duly instructed their children in the doctrines of the Westminster " Shorter Catechism" and "Confession of Faith "—those ancient and venerated "Standards

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from which, in Presbyterian families, and in Presbyterian churches and Church Courts, there is supposed to be no appeal. Our friend, however, was, even in his early years, too thoughtful and self-reliant blindly to accept the teachings of even the most august "assembly of divines," and fearlessly made his appeal to the one "law and testimony" on which all churches must ultimately rest and the result of this appeal was that he became a member of the Morisonian or Evangelical Union Church--a church which may be briefly, and with sufficient accuracy, described as Congregational in polity, and Arminian in doctrine, and for whose separate existence there would have been no scope if a spirit of larger and wiser tolerance had animated the religious communities of the North.

It was natural that a young man who was distinguished among his companions both by strength of intellect and devoutness of spirit should turn his thoughts to the Christian ministry. Mr. Landels' first efforts at preaching were, we have been told, among the Wesleyans, "before he was well out of his teens." He afterwards entered the Evangelical Union College at Glasgow, but the curriculum in those days was not so long as it has since become. His first church was in a village in Ayrshire, but he did not retain it long, for his study of the Scriptures engendered in his mind doubts as to the lawfulness of infant baptism. The subject was investigated with that thoroughness and impartiality which have always been so conspicuous a feature of his character; his convictions underwent a change; he abandoned his connection with the denomination in which he was rapidly rising to distinction, and avowed himself a Baptist. After some time he accepted an invitation to the church at Cupar-Fife, where he laboured in a manner which gave unmistakable signs of his future eminence. The Baptists in Scotland were at that time much more "isolated" than-thanks to their old "Association" and

more recent " Union"-they are now; and the young minister of Cupar was one of a small band who strove earnestly to remove this reproach, and to bring the churches into closer sympathy and connection. He also devoted himself, in company with several other ministers, to Evangelistic labours in districts where the Baptists were unrepresented, and where, indeed, there was a crying need for help.

Had he remained much longer in Scotland, he would soon have become the most popular minister in the denomination; but he was strongly recommended to the Church which met in the Circus Chapel, Birmingham. The recommendation was more than justified, and the acceptance of the offered pastorate formed its natural and appropriate sequel. Even in a town where John Angell James was at the height of his popularity-where George Dawson was attracting general attention Mr. Landels was welcomed by the Nonconformist churches as a valuable ally and recognised as one of their leaders. The congregations of the thinly-attended chapel rapidly in

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