account which all must give of their stewardship." These are the topics of three of the discourses. The other two are on "youthful piety," and "the consolations of believing parents on the death of their children." One cannot but feel, in reading the three last sermons in the volume, that circumstances of very solemn interest attach to them. As the editor states in the preface, they were the last sermons which the author wrote; and though written, they were never preached. On his death-bed, holding the note book which contained them in his hand, and turning over the leaves, he said to his wife, "I had great pleasure in writing these sermons: they will never be delivered; but I think they were blessed to myself." We rejoice that, by their publication, the author "being dead, yet speaketh :" and we are confident that by this means, though he sowed in tears, he will reap a harvest of usefulness, long after his body has mouldered into dust.

As the biographical sketch of Mr Tod, prefixed to these sermons, appeared, with some abridgement, in our pages, it is unnecessary to advert to it further than to say, that it is throughout characterised by that judiciousness and skill which Dr Peddie exemplifies in the biographical efforts of his pen. The notice by Mr Brodie, of the eldest son of Mr Tod, contained in the Appendix, is a fit companion to the Sketch.

We give the following felicitous exposition of a passage of Scripture as a specimen of the discourses:

"The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. They are not absolutely wiser. The very re.. verse of this is the case. The latter only are wise men, truly wise men, possessed of that 'wisdom which is from above;' a wisdom more precious than rubies, the merchandise of which is better than the merchandise of silver, and the price thereof than fine gold.' The former are fools, absolutely fools. Their very wisdom is foolishness; this their way is their folly.' The statement, however, of the Saviour is, that in their generation they are wiser than the children of light. The meaning is, that in their own sphere, in managing their worldly matters, in prosecuting their worldly objects, in gaining their worldly ends, they show a greater degree of wisdom; they adopt the appropriate means; they employ these with greater vigour and energy; they prosecute the object more perseveringly; they stick to it more tenaciously than, generally speaking, the children of light do in their particular sphere, that is, in caring for the things of their souls, and in prosecuting what, as the children of light, should be the great object of their lives, the promoting, in subserviency to the glory of God, their own spiritual and eternal welfare.

"The case adduced, illustrative of this statement, is exceedingly appropriate. It is that of an unjust steward, who has been accused

to his master of wasting his goods. The man was a blackguard. He was an accomplished villain, a clever scoundrel. He saw that he not, in the circumstances, expect to get another of the same kind. His character was discovered, and no one would trust him. He could not dig. He had not been accustomed to such menial labour, and perhaps he was not disposed to try to learn it; and to beg he was ashamed. Well, what does he do? His object is to get a comfortable home, with as little trouble as possible to himself. His mind is made up. He calls together his lord's debtors, all of them; and he said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.' And in this way, no doubt, he went over them all. We see in all this the worldly wisdom of the man, his consummate cunning, the admirable adaptation of the means which he employed to secure his object. In the first place, he does what the debtors would regard as a favour. This would dispose them,from gratitude, to show him kindness, and when he had no house of his own to receive him into their houses. Then he showed this favour not merely to some of them, to one or two of them, but to the whole of them, to every one of them. Thus he secured houses to which he could go; and when the generosity of one was exhausted he could betake himself to another. Then, he not only does them a favour, but he makes them accomplices in his fraud. He does not write for them, but he makes them for themselves to

was about to lose his situation. He would

write down the amount of the debts; and he does not give them time to think what they are doing, to ponder what might be the consequences of the fraud. 'He said unto the first, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he unto another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, write fourscore.' He thus, as it were, gets their character into his keeping; and should they not prove so kind as he expected them to be, he could appeal not merely to their gratitude but to their fears, by threatening to discover what they had concurred with him in doing. The whole method of procedure, then, was admirably adapted to secure his object, to induce them when he was put out of his office to receive him into their houses. Accordingly, we are told that the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely.' This does not mean that he approved of his conduct, that he commended its injustice. He was not likely to do so when he himself was the sufferer, but simply that he admired its worldly wisdom, the ingenuity of the plan he had contrived and adopted to meet and to modify the consequences of his misconduct. Here, then, we have an illustration of the wisdom which, in their generation, or in their own peculiar sphere, the children of this world often manifest, and in which they so often surpass the children of light; and though not in the immoral principle of his conduct, yet in its wisdom, in the skilful adaptation of the means employed to gain the end,

his conduct is recorded for our imitation; that is to say, that in their generation, in their particular sphere, and in the highest principles on which they act, the children of light should seek to be equally guided by wisdom, by a skilful and persevering employment of means to promote their spiritual well-being, and to gain the great end which, as children of light, they have in view."

THE CHURCH ONE IN CHRIST: a Sermon preached before the Synod of the United Presbyterian Church, October 1847. By WILLIAM KIDSTON, D.D., Glasgow.

Glasgow: D. Robertson.

It is unnecessary, and would be in bad taste, for us to offer any formal commendation of a discourse which has already been stamped with the admiring approval of our church in her assembled capacity. We listened with mingled veneration and delight to Dr Kidston's sermon when it was delivered before the Synod, and having had occasion, in referring to it before, to record the opinion entertained respecting it by the esteemed professor who moved the court for its publication, it may be sufficient for us now simply to express with what pleasure we announce that the author has conceded to the request of his brethren. The subject is the union of the Christian church -a subject exciting, as it does at the present moment, more attention throughout Christendom than it has done since the Pentecostal era, and being in.beautiful harmony with the occasion-the first meeting of the united Synod after the act of union. The topics educed for illustration from the text (Gal. iii. 28) are two:-The foundation of Christian Unity, and the near relation which, in virtue of it, is formed between all true Christians. The legal and mystical union subsisting between Christ and his people; its origin in divine grace, its close intimacy, its happy results, its indissoluble nature, are pointed out, under the first head, with that clear theological discrimination which only the student well versed in systematic divinity can bring to bear on such a discussion. The relation existing between all true Christians, and resting on this common foundation of union to Christ, is shown to be purely spiritual, and to be formed and maintained only by spiritual means; while its chief characteristic elements are that they who are thus related form one body, the visible church; and have one spirit, one Lord, one faith. Various important practical principles are deduced from the subject. Among these, the spirituality of the Saviour's kingdom, its distinction from the governments of the earth, and the incongruity of temporal pains and penalties in promoting it, are exhibited in a pungent and forcible style.

It cannot fail we think, to prove a high

satisfaction to the members of the United Presbyterian Church, to reflect that the father of the Synod, and its first moderator, should send down to posterity such a production as a symbol of the views and spirit of the body at the date of its formation. We sincerely believe that the rich scriptural divinity in which the sermon abounds, the close and compact thought, and the generous catholicity of sentiment which it displays, will cause it to be referred to as an exponent of Christian principles many days hence; and when the universal church, already one in Christ Jesus, shall be much farther advanced than it is now toward the visible union which awaits it.

We quote, not simply as a specimen of the discourse, but as a summary of the doctrine held by the United Church, an extract from the author's illustration of the unity of faith prevailing among all true Christians.

"The distinction between fundamental truths, and those which are of inferior importance, is fully sanctioned by the unerring standard of faith and practice. That any thing which God has revealed in the scripture may lawfully be regarded as a matter of indifference, is a position utterly inadmissible. To think or to speak in this manner is to pour contempt on the Author of the sacred volume. It is in effect to say, that the foolishness of men is wiser than God. When he speaks to his rational offspring, they are bound to hear with reverence-to hear with a willing and an obedient ear. To fix and determine particularly those truths which must be regarded as fundamental, would be a difficult, a delicate, perhaps a presumptuous undertaking. Were I to give a short summary of the great truths which must be known and believed to the saving of the soul,-of those truths without the knowledge and the faith of which there is no salvation for any of our race, it would be comprehended in two articles. These are the following:-1st, Justification by faith, without the works of the law, which is appropriately described by Luther as the article by which the church must stand or fall; and 2dly, Sanctification by the word and by the Spirit of God, as the necessary result and the only decisive evidence of being 'justified freely by the grace of God, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.' These two short and plain sentences either express, or do fairly imply, all that is peculiar all that is essential to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. If I understand and receive with the heart these two articles, I must receive the doctrine of scripture, as to the existence of the Godhead in three distinct persons,-the sovereign purpose of God according to election-the supreme Deity of the Saviour-his voluntary and vicarious obedience and sufferings-the perfection of his work in his humbled state, and his Father's acceptance of it-the perfection and the immutable obligation of the law of righteousness-the necessity of holiness as an important part of salvation, and the security for its attainment by all who are justi

fied by grace-and the warrant and duty of all to whom the gospel is sent, to believe on the Son of God to the saving of their souls. These and other cognate articles of the faith once delivered to the saints, enter into that creed which is not only in theory, according to the measure of their knowledge, but experimentally, received by all who have believed through grace. That with saving truth, error, to a certain extent, may be blended, and that not of trivial import, must be admitted; else we would pronounce a most uncharitable and unjust sentence on not a few who give good evidence that they are living under the power of the gospel, and that their heart is better than their head. It is our duty to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints,' while certainly it is not required of us to pronounce sentence on the state of individuals. This is the exclusive prerogative of the Judge of all the earth, in whose hands we must leave them, where, with perfect safety, they may be left, and from whom we may be confident they will suffer no injustice."

The Congregational Calendar for 1848.

London: Jackson and Walford.

Wilson's Clerical Almanack for Scotland; and Civil and General Register for 1848. Edinburgh: Oliphant & Sons.

AFTER all, there is no book so cheap as a good Almanack, if the amount of actual information conveyed be a proper standard

of value. Here we have two rare sixpenny-worths, co-operating, not competing, in the dissemination of ecclesiastical statistics. The Congregational Calendar takes an imperial range, compendizing an immense amount of information respecting all the various religious denominations in Great Britain, and giving special attention to the affairs of Dissenting churches. The Clerical Almanack is more of a national affair, detailing with minute fulness the concerns of the various religious bodies in Scotland. Both works sustain the good character they had earned in former years, and both have our earnest commendation.

Infant Breathings, or Hymns for the Young. By JAMES EDMESTON. How will you Turn Out?-The Quarrelsome Children-George Washington, &c. &c.

Edinburgh: W. P. Kennedy. WE have here a large series of children's twopenny, and penny books, fitted for distribution at this gift-bestowing season, among the children of our Sabbath Schools. They are got up with much taste, and, as far as we have examined them, display good feeling, sound sentiment, and a just appreciation of what is needed to instruct and interest the young. Parents and Sabbath teachers will be thankful for this accession to the list of safe and suitable reward books.

DEATH OF MISSIONARIES.

THE latest arrivals from some of the most interesting fields of missions have brought us tidings of grief and dismay; if it be lawful for us to indulge such emotions over any dispensation of God. Our own JAMESON has fallen, in what is yet but the opening of our Mission in Western Africa; and, though not permitted to take possession of that land for the Redeemer, by establishing the kingdom of grace among its sable inhabitants, yet, like the patriarchs of old, he has with his bones taken possession of it as a land of promise; dying in the faith that the seed of Christ will soon occupy it. His prayers are left behind him; and we know not what the God of missions may accomplish even by his death. As a pious young friend remarked, there will be no human sacrifices at his burial; and it may be that this shall lead the blinded natives to reflect wherefore there should be such an effusion of blood at the death of their own chiefs, and yet none at the death of such a messenger of the God of heaven, who is in every moral respect higher than the highest of their princes. But the details of this

mournful event will meet the eye of our readers in another form elsewhere.

The missionaries of the cross are the common property of the Church; and, when any of them are cut off, it matters not to what country or denomination they have belonged, the whole friends of the conversion of the heathen world will mingle their tears together. The last arrivals from China bring us an account of the fate of one of the Missionaries of the American Presbyterian Missionary Society, with such circumstances of detail as seem to leave no doubt of its accuracy. The Rev. Walter M. Lowrie, who reached China in 1843, and was stationed at Ningpo, had occasion in May last to visit Shanghae, another of the five ports open to foreign trade, being nearly 100 miles to the north of it, in connexion with the revisal, along with other Missionaries, of the translation of the New Testament into Chinese. After spending some time with the brethren at Shanghae, he required to return for a little to his own station. Betwixt the two cities, a firth of about forty miles breadth required to be crossed. On the morning of the 18th of August, he took his place in one of the common passage

boats, which set sail about nine o'clock in the morning; and they had not proceeded above eight or ten miles, when they perceived a piratical craft bearing down upon them.

has just issued an ordnance, which is to be annexed to the military code of the empire, granting to all Jewish soldiers exemption from military service during their Sabbath and feast-days, so as to allow them to repair re

that he must die; and having hesitated whether they should directly fall upon him, or throw him overboard, the latter was decided on; and two of them having attempted it in vain, a third came to their aid, and they succeeded. He was seen coming once or twice to the surface, and then he sunk to rise no more. His servants, of course, so soon as they escaped from the danger, and reached the nearest land, hastened to inform the public authorities; and both the American and British agents are exerting their influence for getting the perpetrators brought to justice. Such awful and mysterious events baffle all our scrutiny into the Divine procedure; and while musing on them in the heaviness of our minds, we can only hear a voice proclaiming from heaven, "Be still, and know that I am God." The faith and perseverance of the Church must not be staggered by these trials. Such men as Jameson and Lowrie are the forlorn hope, who fall in the breach; others must, with the standard of the cross in their hands, hasten to follow them, and take possession of the city.

JEWS.

THE melancholy interest associated with this forlorn and outcast people, leads us to notice any incidents bearing upon their religious or political condition, which transpire amid the occurrences of the day. The progress of light, and the growth of liberal sentiment among the nations, are gradually releasing them from the bonds and degradation with which they have been so long oppressed; and in the infliction of which Gentile nations have delighted to sport themselves.

But very

of Bavaria has just decided that Jews may exercise the profession of advocates in that country. Till now there has only been one Jew in all the kingdom permitted to act as an advocate. In the province of Galicia, the Jews have been, for many ages, prohibited from addicting themselves to agricultural pursuits, with numerous other restrictions, which prevented them from following various honest callings. But these are so far modified by a regulation recently adopted by the civil authorities, which grants liberty to the Jews to possess and cultivate land.

much remains still to be done, even among the nations of Europe, ere the Jews be freed from all penal restrictions, and placed on an equal footing with their fellow citizens. And it is therefore gratifying to observe symptoms of these nations feeling ashamed of such relics of a barbarous age, and doing a little, and a little of all that can be done towards a reparation of the wrongs of the Jewish people; and in bringing about the period, when, among the nations, as well as in the Christian church, there shall be neither Greek nor Jew." The King of Sweden has commanded his minister of justice to prepare a law to admit Israelites to the enjoyment of civil rights in his dominions; from which they have been hitherto excluded. The Emperor of Russia

On the other hand, disgraceful occurrences are occasionally taking place, which show that the cup of suffering of the Jewish people is not yet exhausted; inasmuch as their unabated enmity at Him whom their fathers crucified, gives clear evidence that his blood is, with their own consent, still upon their heads. It is humiliating to see that thirst for oppression which appears to be inherent in human nature, and, in the less enlightened states of society, is ever ready to burst forth upon its victim on the most frivolous pretext. The Jewish people have long been the victims of insatiable cruelty in various lands, Christian as well as Mohammedan, excited by absurd and antiquated calumnies against them, which, after refutation a thousand times, their heartless oppressors choose still to revive, and the senseless mob to believe, whenever they can find an excuse for renewing their cutrages on that unhappy people. A short time ago, at Konin, a town on the frontiers of Poland, a Christian child having disappeared, the usual report was industriously spread, that she had been stolen and sacrificed by the Jews; and a witness offered evidence that he had seen her carried off. The populace was fearfully excited and enraged; and the head magistrate had the indiscretion to summon the chief rabbi, and demand from him that the hapless sacrifice be given up, or the thief detected and surrendered. He, of course, denied the fact with scorn; but the infuriated mob, having armed themselves with such instruments of destruction as came to their hands, crowded the streets, and though withstood by a small company of military, were preparing to assail the Jews and the military both, when a peasant suddenly appeared with the child in his arms, which he had found asleep on the common; and then the tumult was allayed.

More recently, at Galatz, in Turkey, a tumult was excited by the presence of a Jew, as a spectator, at the fooleries of their carnival; in the course of which a young man, in breaking a window of a house of one of the Jews, got his hand cut, from which the blood flowed freely. A rumour was immediately spread that a Jew had killed a Christian, in order to obtain his blood. And although the governor at once interposed his authority,

yet he was borne down by the fury of the multitude, who rushed through the streets, looking for victims to their rage. They plundered some houses of the Jews, broke into the synagogue, demolished all they found in it, and tore and trampled under foot the rolls of the law. More than once these scenes of outrage were renewed; and it was owing to the energetic interference of the Austrian and English consuls, in support of the governor, that the result was not more tragical. Only one life was lost in the tumult; that of a Jewish child.

The following occurrence at Damascus is very lately reported:-A Jewish cloth-mer

chant having been insulted by a Turkish woman, complained to the authorities; on which the populace immediately became excited, and beat the man so violently that his life was endangered. To cover the outrage, they accused him of having stolen a Turkish child, and got him arrested; and for two days all the Jews who appeared in the streets were insulted, and even ill treated. But by the interference of the foreign consuls, an inquiry was instituted, when the Jew, being found guilty of no crime, was set at liberty; and two Turks who had affirmed, on their oath, that he had stolen a child, were sentenced to the galleys for life.

CHRISTIAN BRETHREN,-Those who now address you are Members of the PERSONAL ABSTINENCE SOCIETY. This Association was formed in May 1845, and consists of ministers, elders, preachers, and students, belonging to the United Presbyterian Church. Its bond of union is, "Abstinence from all intoxicating liquors ;" and its object, "the Suppression of Intemperance by all scriptural and proper means."

In now addressing you on this subject, we are deeply in earnest. We wish every member of our Church to see clearly what is duty, in reference to this important matter; and, being fully persuaded in his own mind, to act accordingly. And may we not take encouragement from the general character of our people? from their intelligence-from their Christian principle-from their readiness to follow their convictions? If, then, any hostile feeling or prejudice has been entertained by any of you against the cause, do we ask too much when we say,-let it be laid aside, and give what is here submitted to you a fair and full consideration.

Much has of late been spoken and written about drunkenness; but the monster evil has not yet been exhibited in all its hideousness. Drunkenness is the disgrace of our so-called Christian country. Look at it calmly and considerately-a country so full of Bibles and Sabbath schools, and churches and faithful ministers, and all other means of Christian improvement; and yet, withal, so full of drunkards. Surely there is here something fearfully wrong, and deeply humbling. Drunkenness is the curse of the land we live in, and love; wasting its best energies; causing the great proportion of its poverty and wretchedness, and nine-tenths of its crime. And worst of all, this monster evil has been tolerated among us so long, and permitted, unopposed, to acquire such giant strength, that it threatens to trample down every thing most valuable and venerated, leaving us only the alternative, of either destroying it, or being ourselves destroyed. What, then, is

to be done? Surely with such an enemy in the midst of us, we must sleep no longer. Surely, in such a time of peril, our kindred, our country, our religion, demand our instant and united energies. Surely every philanthropist, every patriot, every Christian, is bound to come forward at once, and do his utmost for the destruction of this great destroyer of our race.

A Let us proceed, therefore, to set before you our plan for its destruction. The plan is this: To abstain ourselves from all intoxicating drinks, and do every thing in our power, "by all scriptural and proper means,' to induce others to abstain. As to ourselves, we abstain, for our own safety and benefit; that we may be in a better position for the successful advocacy of the cause; that we may exhibit a protest against the drunkenness and drinking customs of our country, and give encouragement and support to all that are inclined to follow our example; because, in the present circumstances of our country, we believe abstinence to be one of the pressing duties of the day; and because, such being our present convictions of present duty, we would feel it to be wrong in us to hold back. With regard to others,—our ob ject is, by open and honest argument, to bring them to see as we see, and do as we have done. We wish, in conjunction with other abstainers, by sober but earnest discussion, to change the sentiments of our countrymen regarding intoxicating drinks, believing them to be thoroughly erroneous. then from a change of sentiment, we wish to lead to a change of conduct; till, all the wise and good taking part with us, these dangerous beverages shall be driven, with scorn and indignation, out of respectable society, and ultimately out of our country. And is it not proper that we should begin with you, the members of our own Church? We believe that we have your confidence, as largely as any office-bearers in any church enjoy the confidence of those who compose it. have our best affections and our prayers. And how can we better prove our love to you, than by telling you the truth, and pleading with you to abandon that which is destroying the bodies and souls of thousands of your fel

And

You