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pocket, the existence of which never entered into their heads (i. e. the douaniers) to conceive!" How should it? Who would ever dream of a Smuggler in a pepper and salt, or mahogany suit of ditto, with a broad brim, and a broader face: and Lessing's aphorism,“ Nature ! TU ne peux pas mentir," must, one would have thought, have proved that a Friend is incapable of turning contre bandier. Oh! verily, these Quakers are rare casuists!

After this little anecdote, we suppose we must not omit to mention that just preceding it (about ten pages off) there is a long note on the advantages, blessings, and prospects of Quakerism, winding up with a reference to authorities" Should the reader wish to consult any work on the subject of our peculiar views!” (P. 96.) This is almost as sly as importing the needles in the unthought-of pocket; it is regular smuggling of another kind! And what with his "single-eyed Christianity," and single-eyed needles, we have been alternately instructed, pleased, and amazed, by the quiet way in which he lets us into the secrets of his heart, head, and poeket. We sincerely wish the truly christian sentiments he advocates and enforces upon almost all occasions may have as good success as the 20,000 needles, and produce a 40 per cent. profit to his readers as well as himself; but we will be candid and say, that all his anxiety lest, through the inconsistencies of its professors, the "vessel of Quakerism should founder," will not save it, whilst they who voyage in it over the ocean of time, abjure the chief symbol of their being bound for eternity, the initiatory rite instituted by Him whom they call" their adorable Lord," viz. the rite of baptism. We think this consideration would solve the difficulty which is expressed in the following remark, and with which we conclude:-" Admitting that we, the Quakers, are right in our views of religion, and in its practical bearings upon the daily conduct, the question, why our sentiments have not obtained more extensive adoption in the world, must remain as one of those secret things which belong only to Him who

governs and decrees according to his own unsearchable will." (P. 94.) The admission required is, we take it, a begging of the question, even if we take no account of" the practical bearings" of Quakerism.

As we do not admit the premises, any speculations upon, or corrollaries from them, must fall to the ground as surely as the Solitaire slid down the mountain.

Hymns for the Service of the Church,

with a Selection of Music. London: Hatchard. 1835. 4to.

In this elegant work we are supplied with a suitable hymn for every Sunday in the year, besides others for baptism, marriage, funeral, &c. &c. &c. Each hymn is accompanied with an appropriate tune, which has, on the whole, been selected with good taste. The volume contains seventy-seven long since appropriated to our own good melodies, many of which we have forthcoming work. A large majority of the words appear to be selected from Bishop Heber; and in the arrangement of them, the editor appears to have taken many liberties;-we allude particularly to those for the third Sunday in Advent and for Christmas Day. The volume would form an excellent present, and will be found highly useful in the domestic circle.

Hints to Young Clergymen on various matters of Form and Duty. To which are prefixed, Hints for a simple Course of Study, preparatory and subsequent to taking Holy Orders. By the INCUMBENT OF A COUNTRY PARISH. Second Edition. London: Rivingtons. 1835. 24mo. Pp. 81.

It is with much pleasure that we find the public have called for a second edition of this very useful little work. Many additional remarks have been made, and the whole forms a manual which ought to be possessed by every young Clergyman who is at all anxious to become acquainted with the “various matters of form and duty" necessarily attendant on this sacred office.

The Consolations of Christianity viewed in Connexion with the Paternal Character of God, and with Human Life considered as a state of Probation; in Four Discourses. By the Rev. WILLIAM HULL, Curate of Markham, Norfolk. London: Rivingtons. 1835. Pp. xii. 126.

Respecting the present volume, we cannot do better than echo, which we do very readily, the opinion of a contemporary respecting it :-"These are pleasing, sensible, and thoughful sermons, on a subject interesting to all Christians."

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IN our Number for June, pp. 330, 331, we called the attention of our readers to these unanswered and unanswerable treatises on Episcopacy; and stated, that as Dr. Miller's Letters were on the point of being republished in this country, we should communicate to our readers the arrival of copies of the "Works on Episcopacy" in London. We now fulfil our promise, and reiterate a recommendation of them to every one who has the means of procuring a copy, as forming a complete antidote to, and refutation of the misrepresentations of the Presbyterian" Letters on the Constitution and Order of the Christian Ministry.” The volumes are handsomely printed, and are sold at a price which barely covers the cost of importation and advertising.

The Spread of the Gospel the Safeguard of England! A Sermon, preached in St. Stephen's Church,

Walbrook, on Sunday, October 4, 1835: being the Tercentenary of the Translation of the whole Bible into the English Language. By the Rev. GEORGE CROLY, LL.D. Rector of the United Parishes of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, and St. Benet's, London. Duncan. 8vo. 1835. Pp. 40.

Popery, whether of past or of present Times, shown to dishonour the Word of God, and to obstruct its free Diffusion. A Sermon, preached on Sunday, October 4, 1835, in All Saints' Church, Worcester. By the Rev. T. DAVIS, A.M. Curate of All Saints'. Worcester: Child. London: Rivingtons. Pp. 27.

The Jubilee of the Bible; or, Three Hundredth Anniversary of Coverdale's Translation of the whole Bible into English, "Prynted in the Yeare of our Lorde M.D. XXXV. and fynished the fourthe daye of October." A Sermon, preached at St. John's Church, Cheltenham, by the Rev. W. M. KENSEY, B.D. Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.

"WHEN the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever;" and the enemies of truth are allowed to gain ascendency over the church of God, only that they may at length be taken in their own traps, and destroyed by their own success. Thus, in our day, the triumph of the Papists in breaking down the securities of our Protestant constitution, has proved to demonstration, what modern liberalism had denied, that perjury and blood are still as ever the character of Romanism; and our maligned Church in Ireland, given over by a feeble government to the will of her deadly enemies, walks unhurt in the midst of the fire, while they who bound her hand and foot are perishing by the flames they kindled for her destruc

tion.

Was it chance, or was it not rather brought to pass by the overruling providence of God, that the jubilee of the Reformation fell just at the year and the month when it was most desirable

that Protestant England should have her attention strongly fixed on that great event, and be led to reflect deeply on the blessings it secured? Certainly the event could not have been better timed, as occurring just when the Popish demagogue was labouring to mislead and agitate the country; nor could the question between Protestantism and Popery be tried upon a fairer issue than that of giving or withholding the Bible; nor, finally, could the consequences be more satisfactory than they have proved.

We have here three out of the many thousand sermons, or, we might perhaps say with truth, the tens of thousands of sermons, which were preached on the 4th of October. They who are familiar with Dr. Croly's splendid work on the Apocalypse will recognise a similar character in the discourse before us. Historical facts, described in the vivid language of a poet, are connected with prophecy on the one hand, and brought to bear upon passing events on the other; while the practical application is forcibly urged upon the judgment or conscience of the reader. How this is done it is not necessary for us to say.

Mr. Davis rests his argument on the guilt of Rome in withholding the Bible, and the privilege of Protestants in possessing it. His style is simple and clear, and he treats his subject ably.

The author of the third sermon on our list takes a wider range to embrace the chief corruptions of religion which have prevailed in all ages; and, after a rapid glance along their course, he rests on the chief subject of his sermon, and strongly applies it. All are illustrated with valuable notes.

The Sacred Classics. The Great Exemplar of Sanctity and Holy Life described in the History of the Life and Death of our ever-blessed Saviour Jesus Christ: with Considerations and Discourses upon the several parts of the Story, and Prayers fitted to the several Mysteries. By JEREMY TAYLOR, D.D. Chaplain in Ordinary to King Charles I., and

sometime Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. Vol. II. With an Introductory Essay, by the Rev. II. STEBBING, M.A. London: J. Hatchard & Son. 1835. Pp. 355.

THIS volume has a beautiful frontispiece of "The Holy Family, from a drawing by Correggio, in the National Gallery." The introductory matter, by the Rev. H. Stebbing, is extremely well written, being at once clear and elegant, and descriptive of the work. It is prefixed, we presume, from a compliance with the rule laid down by the editors, that each work should be ushered into the world with some such prefatory remarks, although the name of Jeremy Taylor, and the established character of the book, might well have dispensed with the observance of such a rule; and we cannot but think that the time and space thus devoted would have been better employed in a few short comments and explanations on the text, added at the foot of each page,wherever deemed necessary. This, indeed, would be a humbler, but certainly a more useful appendage to the volume. However excellent the Introduction, it is not wanted; whilst many expressions, and much of the allusions in the text, cannot but be obscure to the great mass of readers. Much of the theology, and the various systems of philosophy then prevalent, has long become obsolete; and though it would be a work of trouble, yet an editor would confer great benefit, who, whereever elucidation is required, should point out the sources of the materials from which the author drew, and clear up the obscurities which occasionally are met with in the text. Instead of giving the naked text, and an elaborate Introduction, we would point out to the editors the benefits they would confer on the public, if they were to give a few notes of the above character to the Sacred Classics; the service which the learned editor of Milton's newly discovered work on Theology, rendered both to his author and his readers by his elucidation of the text, is well worthy of imitation, and we trust the editors of the Sacred Classics would neither shrink from the trouble nor from the comparative humbleness of the task.

A SERMON

ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH.

EPHESIANS iv. 3.

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

THIS passage from the letter to the Ephesians is an apt illustration of the doctrines professed by the Reformed Church of England, as well as of the purity of principle in which its members should act up to those doctrines. We cannot, therefore, do better than take into consideration the concise definition and brief exhortation thus set before us by St. Paul.

I shall then endeavour to shew, 1st, What we are to believe; and, 2dly, How we are to profess our belief, according to the Scriptures; under the former head explaining what is meant by the apostle's assertion-"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all," (ver. 4, 5, 6;) and under the latter what is intended by the apostle's exhortation-" I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called; with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Under the 1st head we read, " There is one body, one faith, one baptism." Now the Church of Rome has built upon these words her scriptural claim to a supposed unity and asserted supremacy, exhibited in her and her alone. Let us take her own definition in her own words, as stated by a writer whose work is a text-book with her Clergy. "By the name of the Church is understood an assembly of baptized men, united amongst each other by the profession of the same faith and the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of legitimate pastors, and especially of one chief pastor, viz. the Roman pontiff, who takes the place of Christ on earth. It is said, 1st, an assembly of baptized men, that Jews, Turks, Pagans, and other like infidels, who never were admitted into the Church by the sacrament of baptism, may be excluded. It is said, 2dly, united by the profession of the same faith, and participation of the same sacraments, in order to exclude heretics and apostates, who, although they may have been baptized, yet because they have fallen from the true faith, and on that account have been deprived of the communion of the sacraments, are therefore aliens from the Church. It is said, 3dly, under the government of legitimate pastors, and especially of the chief pastor, viz. the Roman pontiff, to exclude schismatics, who indeed have faith, and sometimes participate as aliens in the sacraments; but because they are not in subjection to their legitimate pastor, nor are willing to hear his voice,

are therefore deemed banished from the Church. And this St. Augustine (1 de Verâ Rel. 5,) beautifully expresses, where he says, that true religion is not to be sought for in the confusion of the pagans, nor in the filth of the heretics, nor in the feebleness of schismatics, but only amongst those who are called Christian, Catholic, and Orthodox.' Now (continues our author) to discover this true Church four particular characters are assigned in the creed of the Constantinopolitan Council, which afterwards the Catholic Church herself used in her sacred liturgies; which characters, indeed, are so suitable to her, that they cannot be applied to any other congregation of heretics or believers. These signs are, that the Church be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. One, because she every where professes one and the same doctrine of faith, and all Catholics scattered over the whole world, although they differ in manners, languages, and habits of life, yet acknowledge the same thing in all the dogmas of faith. It is also one, because there is one mystical body under one head, Christ, and the Roman pontiff his vicar upon earth. Holy, because (amongst other matters) in her the true sacrifice is performed (i. e. the mass,) by which we are sanctified. She is the only Church, says Gregory, by which God accepts sacrifice; the only one which intercedes confidently for the erring, the only one in which good is fruitfully performed. Apostolic, because founded by the apostles, to whom succeeded the bishops, each in his own church, and especially the Roman pontiffs, the successors of the prince of the apostles in the government of the universal Church, (Abelly, Medulla Theologica, I. 21, 24.) Moreover, not only does he deserve to be called a heretic who impugns any article of faith, or proposes any error contrary to it; but also he who knowingly and deliberately is doubtful about any truth of faith... shall be judged to suppose that the authority of the Church professing and teaching such and such doctrine is not sure and infallible; to which supposition none but a heretic can adhere. (Id. I. 56.)" These assertions are not mine respecting the Church of Rome, but the assertions of an author who is received by the members of that Church as expressing the doctrines she holds, and whose work was compiled with the intention of supplying a manual for the use of the candidates for holy orders, to instruct them, and furnish them with matter wherewith to instruct their flocks. Its testimony, therefore, cannot be disputed.

Judged, then, by this work, St. Paul himself must have been a heretic, for although he tells us that there is "one body, and one faith, and one baptism, one Lord, one God and Father of all," he does not say a syllable respecting one chief pastor, viz. the Roman pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth, the successor of the prince of the apostles in the government of the universal Church; nor does he declare that whosoever doubts respecting what this pontiff affirms is a heretic; nor does he say what the Council of Florence says, as elsewhere quoted by our author, that the Roman pontiff is the successor of the blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, and the true vicar of Christ; that "he is the head of the whole Church, and the father and teacher of all Christians, and that to him, in the blessed Peter, was delivered full power by our Lord Jesus Christ, of feeding, ruling, and governing the universal Church." (I. 61.) Nor does the apostle sanction, even by

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