times, Latimer presented an English New | terden steeple is the cause of the destroyTestament, folded down at the text, Whore-ing and decay of Sandwich haven.'" mongers and adulterers God will judge.' When the habits and the temper of the monarch who received this present are considered, this will appear an act of heroic fidelity. It has been too much the fashion to connect the prevalence of crime, in these days of delinquency, with the general extension of education. Now it must be obvious to every man a little above an idiot, that things of simultaneous occurrence may have no relation as cause and effect. So thought Latimer, and to illustrate such a possibility he introduced into one of his sermons the following story:— "Master More (Sir John More) was once sent in commission into Kent, to find out, if it might be, what was the cause of Goodwin sands, and the shelf that stopped up Sandwich haven. Thither came Master More, and called the country before him, such as were thought to be men of experience, and men that could most likely best certify him concerning the stopping of Sandwich haven. Among others, came before him an old man with a white head, one that was thought to be little less than a hundred years old. When Master More saw this aged man, he thought it expedient to hear him say his mind in this matter; for being so old a man, it was likely that he knew most of any man in that company. So Master More called this old aged man unto him, and said, Father, tell me, if you can, what is the cause of this great rising of the sands and shelves here about this haven, which stop it up so that no ships can arrive here? You are the oldest man that I can espy in all this company, so that if any man can tell any cause of it, you it is likely can say most in it, or at least more than any other man here assembled.' Yea, forsooth, good master,' said this old man, for I am well nigh a hundred years old, and no man here in this company is anything near unto mine age.' Well, then,' quoth Master More, how say you in this matter? What think you are the causes of these shelves and flats that stop up Sandwich haven?' Forsooth, sir,' quoth he, I am an old man; I think that Tenterden steeple is the cause of Goodwin Sands. For I am an old man, sir,' quoth he, and I may remember the building of Tenterden steeple; and I may remember when there was no steeple at all there. And before that Tenterden steeple was building, there was no speaking of any flats or sands that stopped the haven, and therefore I think that Ten We will give one extract more, and take it from Latimer's last sermon before king Edward VI. "And therefore here is another suit to the body. Fear not the foreign princes your Highness' Fear not him that killeth and foreign powers: God shall make you strong enough. Stick to God; fear God, fear not them. God has sent you many storms in your youth; but forsake not God, and he will not forsake you. Peradventure you shall have them that shall move you, and say unto you, Oh, sir; oh, such a one is a great man, he is a mighty prince, a king of great power; you cannot be without his friendship; agree with him in religion, or else you shall have him your enemy,' &c. and he shall defend you. Well, fear them not, but cleave to God, Do not as king Ahaz did, who was afraid of the Assyrian king, and for fear lest he should have him for his enemy, was content to forsake God, and to agree with him in religion and worthe high-priest, who was ready at once to shipping of God; and anon sent to Uriah, set up the idolatry of the Assyrian king. Let not your Highness do so; fear not the best of them all, but fear God." The other volume, the title of which we have placed at the head of this pais the work of one who was worper, thy the age of Latimer. The Rev. John Bradford was appointed by Bishop Ridley to a prebend in St. Paul's. He preached in the metropolis with much acceptance during the latter part of the reign of king Edward VI. The sum and substance of his discourses is thus described by Fox:-" Sharply he opened and reproved sin; sweetly he preached Christ crucified; pithily he impugned heresy and error; and earnestly he persuaded to godly life." This faithful servant of the Lord was burned in Smithfield, on the 1st of July, 1555. His last words that could be heard were, "Strait is the way and narrow is the. gate that leadeth to eternal life, and few there be that find it." This volume, which we recommend to general acceptance, contains a brief account of Bradford's life, his letters, sermons and tracts written by him, with meditations and prayers. All who are truly pious, and especially the afflicted, tempted, and persecuted believers, will find this a very useful book; and as what we have written will never meet eyes that need not weep on account of sin, we will conclude this article with a short extract from Bradford's Sermon on repentance, as not an unfair specimen of the style of the volume in which it is placed. "But better I trust you are, and will be, if you mark well my theme, that is, repent you; which I have humbly besought you to do, and yet once more I do again beseech you, and that for the tender mercies of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, repent you, repent you, for the kingdom of heaven (that is, a kingdom full of all riches, pleasures, joy. beauty, sweetness, and eternal felicity,) is at hand. The eye hath not seen the like, the ear hath not heard the like, the heart of man cannot conceive the treasures and pleasures of his kingdom, which is now at band, to such as repent, that is, to such as are sorry for their sins, believe God's mercy through Christ, and earnestly purpose to lead a new life." Sermons by Timothy Dwight, D.D. LL.D. late President of Yale College. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 1072. London: Jas. Duncan. THE very high estimation as a theologian which Dr. Dwight has obtained in this country, renders it quite unnecessary to say any thing more of these posthumous sermons, than that they are of a character with the author's former works, and will not diminish his wellearned reputation. The volumes consist of fifty-nine sermons, none of which, with the exception of three, have before been printed, not even in America. Two of these, Nos. 19 and 20, which occupy upwards of seventy pages, are entitled "The Nature and Danger of Infidel Philosophy." In these sermons, the Doctor does not satisfy himself, as Christian apologists generally have done, with defending Christianity from the attacks of infidels, but turns assailant, and charges them even in what they have accounted the strong holds of argument. He clearly proves, by the contradictions which abound in the writings of both ancient and modern infidels, that "professing themselves wise, they became fools." The confined limits of our work will admit of little beyond a few extracts from these learned and erudite dis courses. Speaking of infidels having arrogated, as their exclusive property, the character of ingenious and learned, the Doctor remarks: "I cheerfully admit, that many infidels have been ingenious men; that some of them have been learned men, and that a few of them have been great men. Hume, Tindal, and a few others, have been distinguished for superior strength of mind; Bolingbroke for eloquence of the pen, Voltaire for brilliancy of imagination, and various others for respectable talents of different kinds. But I am wholly unable to form a list of infidels which can, without extreme disadvantage, be compared with the two Bacons, Erasmus, Cumberland, Stillingfleet, Grotius, Locke, Butler, Newton, Boyle, In no Berkeley, Milton, Johnson, &c. walk of genius, in no path of knowledge, can infidels support a claim to superiority or equality with Christians." vol. i. 362. After enumerating the vices which the writings of the most distinguished infidels tolerate and recommend, the Doctor asks "What idea must be entertained of the morals of men who assert these things, not in careless conversation, not in sportive writings, but in solemn, didactic, philosophical treatises, sitting in the chair of moral and religious instruction, speaking to a world, uttering oracular opinions, deciding the truth and happiness, both temporal and eternal, of the whole human race, and unfolding professionally the will of the infinite God? They either believed or disbelieved these doctrines. If they disbelieved them, what apology can be made for so gross and lieved them, the conclusion is irresistibly so mischievous a falsehood? If they beforced upon us, that they practised as they believed. They have also laboured to the utmost to persuade mankind both to believe and practise them. If their labours prove successful, if their wishes should be accomplished, the world will be converted into one theatre of falsehood, perjury, fraud, theft, piracy, robbery, oppression, revenge, fornication, and adultery. What else is the hell of the Scriptures? Lewdness alone, extended as their doctrines extend it, would exterminate every moral feeling from the human breast, and every moral and virtuous action from the human conduct. Sodom would cease to be a proverbial name, and Gomorrah would be remembered only to wonder at her unhappy lot, and to drop the tear of History of the Inquisition from its eslabsympathy upon her ashes." p. 350. One of the all-important inferences which the Doctor draws from his investigations of the awful sentiments published by infidel writers, is Philosophy will not, and Christianity will, increase your distresses here, and save you from misery, and confer on you happiness hereafter. As mere infidelity, it teaches nothing but to contest all principles, and to adopt none. As scepticism, it is an ocean of doubt and agitation, in which there are no soundings, and to which there is no shore. As animalism and atheism, it completes the ravage and ruin of man, which in its preceding forms it had so successfully begun. It now holds out the rank Circæan draught, and sends the deluded wretches who are allured to taste, to bristle and wallow with the swine, to play tricks with the monkey, to rage and rend with the tiger, and to putrify into nothing with the herd of kindred brutes. Christianity, with an influence infinitely more benevolent, enhances the value of your present life beyond the reach of calculation. It informs you that you are the intelligent and moral creatures of the all-perfect Jehovah, who made, who preserves, and rules the universe; who is present in all places; who beholds all things; who is eternal and immutable, infinitely benevolent, infinitely beneficent; the faithful friend of the virtuous, the unchanging enemy of sin; the rewarder and the reward of all returning sinners who diligently seek him. In this character it presents to you a direct, clear, and perfect system of rules for all your moral conduct; rules of thinking, speaking, and acting; rules reaching every possible case, and removing every rational doubt. Here is no uncertainty, no wavering, no tossing on the billows of anxiety, no plunging into the gulf of despair. Your path is a straight and beaten way, and were you wayfaring men and fools, you need not err therein." p. 386. The sermons from which these extracts are made were delivered to the students of Yale College; but many of those which compose these admirable volumes were preached to the Doctor's congregation on ordinary occasions :their being so decidedly evangelical is one of their prominent features, and their crowning excellence. lishment to the present time. By the Was there ever such a misnomer as that And this is Popery! Yes, Popery in rank luxuriance! in those countries where its principles are matured, and not counteracted by the civil authority or public opinion. The condensed history before us relates chiefly to the Spanish Inquisition both in ancient and modern times. The present King of Spain, Ferdinand VII. the most Christian king, who in his exile worked petticoats for our Lady of Loretta, and who owes his throne to English Protestants, patronizes the holy! say rather the bloody, office of the Inquisition ! We give an extract from page 144. "Llorente records the following fact, which he says was given by one who was present when the inquisition was thrown open in 1820, by orders of the Cortes of Madrid. Twenty-one prisoners were found in it, not one of whom knew the name of the city in which he was; some had been confined three years, some a longer period, and not one knew perfectly the nature of the crime of which he was accused. One of these prisoners had been condemned, and was to have suffered the next day. His punishment was to be death by the pendulum. The method of thus destroying the victim was as follows: The condemned is fastened in a groove upon a table on his back; suspended above him is a pendulum, the edge of which is sharp, and it is so constructed as to become longer with every movement. The wretch sees this implement of destruction swinging to and fro above him, and every moment the keen edge approaching nearer and nearer at length it cuts the skin of his nose, and gradually cuts on until life is extinct. It may be doubted if * Pollok's Course of Time. the holy office, in its mercy, ever invented a more humane and rapid method of exterminating heresy, or of securing confiscation! This, let it be remembered, was a punishment of the secret tribunal A. D. 1820!!! Yes indeed! Instruments of cruelty are in their habitation-My soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united." As children soon destroy their first book, the three parts are on that account sold separately, price 4d. each, stitched. Miscellaneous Tracts. By JOSEPH IVIMEY. 12mo. pp. 200. Price 3s. bds. cloth back. Wightman and Co. 1827. THIS neatly printed volume contains the following tracts, all of which have been previously printed, and some of them have passed through several editions: A brief history of the Dissenters; Memoirs of Miss Ann Price, Daniel Cuxon, Gradations in Reading and Spelling, upon an entirely new and original Plan, by which Dissyllables are rendered as easy as Monosyllables. In three Parts. By HENRY BUTTER. Second Edition, 1828. 1s. bound. Simpkin and Mar-Caleb Vernon, and Charles Whitfield; and an Introductory address at an Ordination on the Constitution of the Baptist Churches. lt does not seem shall. MR. BUTTER, the Master of an Academy in Rawstorne Street, Goswell Road, has conferred no small favour necessary that we should say much in upon the rising generation by the pub-praise of the volume, as most of the lication of this small but excellent Spelling Book. Its great excellence is, its gradual progression, by the most easy steps, from the alphabet to the simplest, and thence to the most difficult words in the language. Its peculiar feature is, its introduction of easy Dissyllables before more difficult Monosyllables; Ma-ry, for instance, before straight and wrought. Disregarding (and properly where children are concerned,) the etymological division of the words, the author takes as many letters for a syllable as contain its true sound. The Dissyllables he divides into no less than twenty-one distinct classes. The steps are thus brought so near to each other, and the gradation advances by such short intervals, that the child is taught to read with scarcely any difficulty. Mr. Butter has manifested great ingenuity in the construction of these steps, and must have taken no small pains to bring together suitable words for each class. Part I. consists of Monosyllables and Dissyllables of not more than three letters in each word or syllable. Part II. of not more than four letters in ditto. And Part III. Monosyllables and Dissyllables of any length, and few easy Polysyllables. pieces included in it received our critical approbation at the time they were first presented to the world; and the favourable view we then gave of them has been fully confirmed by the extensive sale they have met with. The first article is a very interesting and correct sketch of the history of the Dissenters, which deserves to be very widely known. We are glad to perceive that our worthy friend has added an appendix to this tract, which brings down the history to the time of the publication of the volume. The second, third, fourth, and fifth articles, as our readers will have perceived, are Memoirs; they are pleasing and instructive sketches of characters of different ages and stations, but all calculated for usefulness. We were a little alarmed when we read the first title of the 4th article," Scriptural Pædobaptism," but were quite satisfied when we found that the only idea intended to be conveyed is, that as Baptists we are ever ready to baptize even little children when, like Caleb Vernon, they give evidence of faith in Christ. The last piece in the volume we would especially recommend to our friends in this great metropolis, and would beseech them to enquire whether we have done all that can be done for the extension of the cause of the Redeemer among our neighbours. We are ashamed to say that there are not more] Baptist | to the end of the world, then it follows Churches in the Metropolis now than inevitably and irresistibly, that no unthere were in the year 1738! baptized believer can be lawfully re On the whole, we can heartily re-ceived into church-fellowship, nor concommend this volume as a very accept- sequently to the Lord's Supper, if that able addition to the Juvenile, the Vil- be accounted (as we apprehend it ought lage, or the Sabbath School Library. to be) as binding on church members and on them only. A Scripture Manual on the terms of Communion in the Primitive Churches: designed as an Appendix to Wilson's Scripture Manual on Baptism. Wightman and Cramp. Mr. Wilson's "Scripture Manual” has been long known to the public, and we trust, it has yet to receive a far wider circulation than it has ever yet had; we shall be happy to hear that the tract now before us accompanies it wherever "THE writer of this tract is of opinion it goes, and that both are made subserthat the controversy respecting terms of vient to the honour of the great king communion will yet for some time agi- who reigns in Zion: we were glad to tate our churches, and produce painful see an advertisement in the last numresults by interrupting their harmony ber of our work, stating that these two and preventing their increase." Fully tracts might be purchased either togeconcurring in this opinion, we recom-ther with a stiff cover at six pence, or mend to the reader's most serious at- separately at three-pence each. tention what he will here find in sect. 1. On the Institution of Baptism; sect. 2. Institution of the Lord's Supper; sect. 3.1. The Sun of Righteousness; a Favour The practice of the Apostles; sect. 4. Scripture Allusions; sect. 5. Scriptures supposed to favour the practice of mixed communion; and in the concluding remarks. The importance of the subject is well stated by the worthy author in p. 4. ite Christmas Piece. 2. Benevolence; a Sunday School Anniversary Piece. 3. An Original Dismission. By W. J. White, late of St. Alban's. Wightman and Co. MR. WHITE, an author of various pieces of Sacred Harmony, has for several years shone conspicuous among the nu"Relating as it professedly does to a merous stars that have enlightened our point of Christian duty; entering essentially musical hemisphere; and great praise into the enquiry what is the proper constitution of a church of Christ, intimately conis due to him for the simple, chaste, and nected with the permanency of an ordinance easy-flowing melody of his new Christof the gospel, and affecting the consistency mas piece throughout. It is a finished and peace of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, piece of composition, and will tend to it cannot be of trifling importance whether render the study of sacred music, as we judge rightly or erroneously respect-well as the performance of it, delightful. ing it." The piece," Benevolence," we have "Dis If, as it appears in this tract, the ori-noticed in a preceding Number, to which ginal institute required believers indi- we beg to refer our readers. vidually as such, to be baptized; if the mission" is very pretty, but somewhat apostles in planting the first churches, too light; it wants that fulness of tone never publicly and officially recognized and expression for which the author is any persons as Church members, besides justly praised in all his previous comthose who had been previously bap- positions. Our hint to Mr. W. to keep tized as individuals; if the "Acts of the within the compass of the human voice Apostles" must be regarded as an in- in the soprano part, we are glad to see fallible commentary on the original in- observed in his "Christmas piece," and stitute; if the new dispensation be we have no doubt, if attended to in his permanent, and if we have no reason to future publications, he will rank among expect it will be altered nor enlarged the highest of his profession. |
