Our Protestant Forefathers. By the Rev. W. Gilly, D.D.

THEY who have read Dr. Gilly's former most interesting and agreeable works, and know how pleasant and acceptable a writer he must always be, will not be surprised to learn that, since October first, four editions, of one thousand each, of this very useful tract, have been issued by Messrs. Rivingtons in London, and one of the same extent by Fraser, at Edinburgh.

The Works of William Cowper, Esq., with a Life by R. Southey, Esq. LL.D. (Vol. I.) Baldwin and Cradock. 12mo. 1835.

Ir is a great satisfaction to find that the wish exprest in a former number has been realized, and that the quarrel between two rival publishers has not deprived the public of what would have been an irreparable loss,—a life of Cowper, by Southey. The first volume of that work (bringing Cowper's life down to the friendship with Lady Austen) has now appeared. It not only contains many new particulars, but tells what has been told already with that peculiar simplicity, strength, and beauty, which belongs to Mr. Southey; and, what is still better, gives that calm and just view of Cowper's unhappy case, which might be expected from one who is at once a poet and a Christian philosopher.

Memoir of Mary M. Ellis. By the Rev. W. Ellis. London: Fishers. 1835. 12mo. pp. 278.

Ir is impossible to read the life of one who braved the fatigues and dangers of missionary exertion from conscientious motives, and then submitted to a long disease of the most frightful form with the unbroken patience of a Christian, without deep sympathy and admiration. Such feelings must attend us in reading Mr. Ellis's life of his wife, without inducing us, however, to assent to her views or opinions. It is painful to speak harshly of the style of a book written under these circumstances. But it is positively necessary to say that no stronger instance of religious slang can be found. This is very unpardonable in Mr. Ellis, who could do much better. The introductory pages, down to the time of Mr. Ellis's marriage, are written in the extreme of that terrible dialect with which we are destined to become too familiar, both in and out of the church, and of which it is hard to say whether it is more vulgar, profane, or nonsensical.

Some Account of the Writings and Opinions of Clement of Alexandria. By John, Bishop of Lincoln. London: Rivingtons. 1835. 8vo. pp. 476. No one who observes the frequent reference, in modern publications, to the Bishop of Lincoln's former works (on Tertullian and on Justin Martyr,) of a similar character to this, can doubt their great usefulness. Many, doubtless, they have led, and will lead, to the study of the writers of whom they treat; and many more they will prevent from being misled, and from misleading and exposing themselves, by shewing, or by warning them, what is to be found in writings of which they are ignorant. The labour of a faithful and accurate analysis of the works of authors like Tertullian and of Clement of Alexandria can hardly be overstated, difficult as it is frequently to ascertain their meaning, from the affected obscurity of the one, and the figurative vagueness of the other. The one thing which one heartily wishes for in all these volumes of the Bishop of Lincoln's is, that he would have given us more frequently the pleasure and benefit of his own opinion of the writer's object and characters; all which he does give is so characterized by judgment, by accuracy, and by clearness, that one feels perpetually the strongest wish for a general view of the philosophy and character of the author from one so able to give it.

(1.) The Neglect and Profanation of the Sabbath their own Punishment.
(2.) The Wages of Incendiarism.

(3.) Cobbett's Legacies examined, and proved to be null and void.

THESE three tracts, published at Norwich by a Norfolk clergyman, are very creditable to their author, and likely to be most useful. The last tract, especially, shews a good deal of ingenuity. Could not the author, in the next edition, expose some of the notorious falsehoods in "Cobbett's Legacy?" For example, Lord Nevill is mentioned as having four livings. In the first place, the four are three; in the next, Lord Nevill had only two of them at any one time; and in the third place, he has not, for several years, had any living at all. So, again, as to Mr. Blomfield. He is cited in the preface as holding two livings, which is a positive falsehood, as he has but one.

Scripture Biography, comprehending all the Names mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. By Esther Copley. London: Fishers. pp. 632.

THIS book is intended for general readers, not for students in divinity, and is full of moral and religious reflexions of a respectable ordinary kind, and of the very best intention, but not of a very profound character, nor always such as longer thought and wider views would dictate. The interpretations of the names are curious affairs; thus― Cæsar, to cut! or I cut! (alluding to some particular circumstance connected with the birth of the individual,) or a head of hair! or blue eyes'! What can any mortal learn from this?

The Consolations of Christianity, in Four Discourses. By the Rev. W. Hull. London: Rivingtons. 12mo, pp. 126.

THESE are pleasing, sensible, and thoughtful sermons on a subject interesting to all Christians.

An Account of New Zealand, and of the Church Missionary Society's Mission in the Northern Island. By the Rev. W. Yate. London: Seeley and Burnside. 1835. pp. 320.

THIS is a very simple, unpretending, and sensible account of New Zealandnot, perhaps, arranged in the most taking form, nor written in the best style (nor the best grammar, now and then), but still affording real and interesting information as to the country, and giving, apparently, an unvarnished account of the progress of the mission. Whether one agrees with all the proceedings of the Society or not; it is impossible not to feel deep interest in the history of the individual missionaries, those especially sent among such savages as the New Zealanders, and warm respect for their devotion to their Master's cause. There are very many plates containing views of the country, which seems extremely beautiful.

THE following single Sermons deserve notice :-Mr. Tollemache's Sermon at Northampton; The Christian Husbandman, by the Rev. G. Jarvis; The duty of acknowledging Jesus Christ in all we do, preached at Bury, by a Country Rector; What does the Church for the People? by the Rev. S. J. Allen, of Salisbury; a Sermon at Peterhead (Aberdeenshire), by the Rev. J. B. Pratt, M.A., Episcopal Minister of Cruden; the reprint of a Sermon On Popery, by Dr. Fordyce; What do ye more than others? by Mr. Chancellor Raikes; The Ordination Vow, by the Rev. W. Powell, of Stroud.

Archdeacon Broughton's very able Sermon, at the Canterbury King's School Festival; and (without reference to the occasion) Mr. Molesworth's Sermon, called The Reformation not the establishment of a new Religion; Dr. Shuttle

worth's The Carnal Mind's Enmity against God, full of thought and ability, like all Dr. Shuttleworth's works, ought to be noticed much more particularly.

THE wholesale reprinting of loose American divinity goes on. The only sound quarter there is the episcopalian, and that seems the only quarter from which little or nothing is taken. One specimen is noticed in the Reviews, but Dr. Spring's "Hints to Parents," among many others, requires severe notice also. Why will not some able person take up American divinity as his peculiar department, and explode the heresies and falsehoods with which we are deluged? From Germany and France we cannot import without translating; from America there is only to reprint. And as divines of all communions have introduced Mr. Abbott (than whom, no modern writer contains more noxious, heretical, or mischievous matter,) it is high time that public and vigorous protests should be made.

The Editor begs to inquire if no correspondent is likely to take up Lord Brougham's "Natural Theology" and Mr. Wallace's "Reply"? The subject is one of deep importance, and great extent and difficulty, and it is not creditable that it should be passed over in silence. He has written a long paper on the subject, but has destroyed it, from being discontented with what is necessarily written in haste and under pressure of business. Will some one who has leisure take it up?

MISCELLANEA.

VOLUNTARY SYSTEM.

Ir the following most remarkable extract came from an enemy, the dissenters might complain of unfairness, but it comes from one of their own body—a dissenting minister, calling himself the Rev. C. Stovel, who has written a volume, called "Hints on the Regulation of Christian Churches," published by Jackson and Walford. Let it be observed that Mr. Stovel is not a dissenter coming over to the church, but a vehement dissenter, full of love for this very voluntary system of which he gives such a picture, and (as a specimen of his candour to the church) telling us that there is a stream of fines, &c. &c., flowing in to the Bishop of London, often not less than 1000l. per day, and that the whole church revenue is six millions-that the clergy are covetous, &c. &c.

First, then, in all independent churches-that is, those who are able to support their own minister, the choice rests with the members alone. They elect the man whom they love most; and whom they think most likely to lead their devotions, to advance their improvement, and secure the efficiency of their united exertions in promoting the kingdom of their Lord. He is separated from the world, and set apart to this work, at their solemn request. He did not make the overture, but they. He listened to their proposal from a regard to their interests and wishes. From his regard to their interests and wishes, he threw himself on their generosity and the care of Providence. In this case he becomes perfectly dependent. At their request he resigns his all for them. They, at the same time, promise a constant and generous support. In this case, therefore, there is a clear and solemn engagement, like that subsisting between a man and his wife; and the wife is not more dependent on the generous and faithful care of her husband, than the pastor on the church's."

"There are five serious errors connected with this duty, which ought to be exposed and reprehended, because each has been productive of much guilt and desolation in the churches.

"The first is a neglect of its real obligation, which is too frequently indulged even by the members of churches themselves. The duty is then placed amongst their gratuities; to be disregarded or continued with little, or perhaps without any, consideration. If they have a loss, or a bad year in trade, or anything that calls for a little retrenchment, this is the first thing to be withheld, forgetting that, on the faith of that engagement, the pastor has rested the wants of himself and family; whilst he is devoted to their best interests. By this means, the support of the ministry ofttimes becomes exceedingly precarious. The engagements made by the whole body are unfulfilled, those individuals who feel their responsibility are deeply oppressed, and the fellowship of the church first becomes burdensome, then contentious, and finally it is forsaken; thus the interest either fails entirely, leaving the neighbourhood in destitution, or else it drags along from year to year a diseased and paralyzed existence; attended with very little comfort to the saints (!), and with still less benefit to the sinners that are perishing around them.

"Sometimes the case is even worse than this. In these days of generous (!) exertion in the work of God, the credit of devotedness is of great importance. Hence it is no uncommon thing to find the name of a church and its pastor in the list of those who seek the charitable assistance of some public society, whilst the members of that very church are, at the same time, advertised as subscribers to a much greater amount to some foreign object. Here it is plain that the defective support of the pastor was not the result of poverty, but neglect. A man who has a family may be generous if he can afford it, but he must not wring the materials for generosity out of the teeth of his hungry children. Members of a church who have a pastor should be generous to all; but, before they are generous to others, they ought to remember that God will require them to be just to him.

"The second error to be noticed is, an evasion of the duty, by transferring its obligation to those who are not members of the church, or to those who happen to be rich. By this means many an interest has been destroyed. The prosper. ous brother becomes the lounge, against which every individual throws down his burden until it can no longer be endured; and if it did not become oppressive through the pecuniary demand, yet its moral influence would be destructive.

"But, in respect to those who are not members of the church, the effect is very painful. There may be several, or, perhaps, but one or two who care nothing for the kingdom of our Lord; who despise the ordinances of his house; who never thought of serving or loving Him in their lives; still from some personal feeling they may attend, they may respect religion in general, but never have felt its power, nor ever have submitted to its discipline. They hold seats in the place, and they may subscribe to the support of the ministry; all this may be well if it be done freely, and without any spiritual sacrifice on the part of the church. But often when the church is poor, and even when it has no room to complain of poverty, a person in the congregation possessing a little wealth will be so infested with flattery and applications for pecuniary assistance, as to render his situation excessively galling, and place the gospel before him in a most repulsive view. The effect will be regulated by his disposition. If the worldly man have no particular attachment to the people, nor any interest connected with the place, he will soon forsake it; and multitudes who have thus been goaded by the claims of the church, before they had any sincere love for the truth, have been driven from the means of grace altogether. On the other hand, it will often happen that the attachments may be strong to the place, or, the interests of a worldly man may be interwoven with the people of God. (!) Policy then induces a compliance with the unguarded (!) wish of the church. The man of the world is made its benefactor-perhaps a manager of

the congregation, a trustee to the place of worship—until by virtue of his offices and his wealth, the government of the whole is within his power; then, without obeying the law of God himself, he can guide the service, regulate the elections of the church, and manage the whole according to his inclinations. If he take no interest in the truth, or happen to hold it in theory, it will be fortunate for the rest; but if he dislike it they will suffer. The wish of him who holds the power will not long remain unfulfilled. Hence the places built by our forefathers for the declaration of truth have been prostituted to the idol of Socinian heresy. Errors of all kinds, from the most gross to the most subtle, have thus been cherished in the precincts of the temple; and every ruinous enemy has been let loose to prey upon the flock, until they were scattered or devoured.

"The great cause of the whole is this. The men who do sincerely love the Lord, feel that the ministry and the worship of God ought to be supported; but then, they think it more wise to shift a portion of the load on those who are able to bear it. They forget, at the moment, that the engagement and the obligation are with them, and thus they are deluded into an act which they never thought of. (!) They flatter bad men to their utter ruin, and exalt the disobedient to their own destruction. Every man who loves the Saviour, ought to feel that he himself is bound to support the cause of God, to the utmost of his capability; striving to render it independent of worldly assistance and thus recommending his claim to the obedience of mankind, by the force of a generous example.

"The third error to be noted is, neglect of duty in consequence of help received from external sources. In this way, the worst effects of pauperism are produced in the Christian church. Perhaps the brethren may be really poor, but this involves them in the ruinous calamity of indolence, as well as poverty. They know that societies do exist for the help of such as need it. Their first object, therefore, is to state their case so as to obtain such help. Having done this, they think their pastor has received a favour from them, and they immediately slacken their exertions. Year after year passes, and they never add a farthing to his income. Some churches are known to stand in this position, sinking in their supineness and crying for charity, for ten, twenty, thirty, or even fifty years together, until the very wish for a state of independence has become extinct. The idleness of their hearts in respect to temporal, soon infects their spiritual, things. With a name to live, they become dead. Religion is so dishonoured in the circle around them, that their existence is regarded as a misfortuné which ages can scarcely repair."

"The fourth error is, the allowance of a selfish and worldly ambition. This operates in two ways-first, it diminishes the resources of the church; and, secondly, it poisons and pollutes them. In both cases, it is the danger of the rich, rather than of the poor; though both have need to beware of its influence. It diminishes the resources of the church, by drying up the stream of benevolence which flowed from the hearts that have become infected."

"On the other hand, it is quite possible, that the amount of money subscribed to an interest should be treated as a matter of too great importance. Amongst the wealthy, and often amongst those who only wish to be so, this is regarded as the one thing needful. They are not only Christians, they are respectable Christians; and they must maintain their elevation. Their subscriptions to every society must be the largest; their place of worship must be the most splendid. The salary of their minister must be the most generous. The mode of their intercourse must be expensive. In a word, everything must be done in a style worth mentioning. Consequently, every nerve must be strained, every eye is on the look out, and every hand is engaged in collecting materials. Some run on the edge of bankruptcy and some fall in. The respectable inhabi tants are courted, and in respectable ways. The intercourse of the saints is adapted to their taste. The discipline of the church is softened to their endurance. The doctrines of the Gospel are stated mildly, so as not to offend. Levities are