balanced and combined in the Christian minister, so as to account for the hold which he maintained to the very last on the understanding and hearts of his congregation.

The volume before us gives the substance of more than one hundred sermons, preached some of them as early as 1794, some of them as late as 1807, presenting a good picture of what was passing in Cecil's mind during those most eventful years; and the scenes of which now seem, as it were, to be acted over again before our eyes. Not that any of these sermons are political, or specially refer to the events which are taking place in the world; but that, under such trying circumstances, men especially need to have their faith strengthened; and need to remember continually that the Lord of Hosts ruleth among the inhabitants of the earth-that none can stay his hand from working, or say unto Him, What doest thou?

The substance of each sermon is given: some of them are very short-not more than four or five pages-therefore they give little idea of the style of Cecil. But from their simplicity most of them are very suitable for family reading, and each would suggest very profitable subjects of meditation during the day, or even furnish topics which might be enlarged and put into a more diffuse and popular form for the pulpit.

The volume consists of nearly seven hundred pages, and it has prefixed to it a very excellent portrait of Cecil himself.

The Gathering of Israel; or, the Patriarchal Blessing, as contained in the Forty-ninth Chapter of Genesis. By AARON PICK, Author of "The Bible Student's Concordance." Nisbet. 1848.

MR. PICK is, we believe, a baptized Jew-a class of men who have, at various times, rendered essential services to the Church by bringing Hebrew learning to bear upon the doctrines of the Gospel. But we must not expect too much from them: it is only in their own walk that they are mighty, and the knowledge of Hebrew which we derive from them has to be spiritualized and Christianized by those who have been trained and disciplined from childhood in the school of the Gospel; for Hebrew learning passes not beyond the letter of Scripture, while the Christian is expected on all occasions, habitually and instinctively, to look beyond the literal meaning of all present and visible things by that faith which is the substance of things hoped for and is the evidence of things not seen. The work before us treats of Jacob's dying predictions concerning his twelve sons. Mr. Pick shews in what manner these promises were fulfilled in the first settlements of the tribes of Israel in the land of Canaan; but we have been accustomed to view some of

the predictions as passing far beyond those times, and having regard to a future gathering of Israel at the second coming of Christ; and, therefore, in our eyes the first and partial fulfilment of these promises has very little interest in comparison with that which yet remains to be accomplished.

It is true that this future time is incidentally referred to in commenting on the difference between the names Jacob and Israel. But we believe that nearly all the prophecies of Ezekiel and very large portions of Isaiah and the minor prophets are yet unfulfilled and necessarily so, for the simple reason that the most important part of the temple was never renewed. The ark, the tables of the law, the cherubim on the mercy seat, and all the contents of the most holy place, were destroyed at the taking of Jerusalem, by Nebuchadnezzar, and were wanting in the temple which was built after the return from Babylon: and even the sceptre of David could not properly be regarded as restored, seeing that the kingdom was ever after tributary to the kings of the East, or to the Romans.

The fulfilment which we have been accustomed to expect, even of the prophecy concerning Shiloh, is this-that the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet for ever, when Shiloh shall come; for to him shall the gathering of the people be-that is, Christ is the Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of the Everlasting Age, and Prince of Peace; and of the increase of his government and peace there shall then be no end, on the throne of David, to order and establish it thenceforth and for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall perform this (Isaiah ix. 7).

Baptism; or, the Ministration of Public Baptism of Infants, to be used in the Church, scripturally illustrated and explained. By the Ven. C. J. HOARE, A.M., Archdeacon of Surrey. London: Hatchard and Son. 1848. 8vo.

THIS volume is a valuable accession to our popular theology, which we cordially commend to the attentive perusal of our readers generally, and especially to heads of families. The reverend author of it has treated a subject of no ordinary difficulty in a spirit so gentle and devout, and with so much judgment and discretion, that what in other hands might have proved a new apple of discord, now promises to be as oil cast upon the troubled waters.

Mr. Hoare takes his ground on the baptismal services of our Church, on which his volume is a full and continuous commentary. It is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three parts of the baptismal service-viz., “One before

baptism, one at the ceremony, and one after it." Each part is divided into sections of convenient length, so as to render the devout perusal of it profitable to the reader. The author has happily steered between that crude dogmatic teaching which makes the sacrament of baptism all but an opus operatum, and that laxity of interpretation which we have often had occasion to deplore in the course of our labours, and which would reduce this sacred ordinance to a mere naked ceremony. He has satisfactorily shown from the office of baptism that our Church teaches that a distinct blessing is conveyed by virtue of this ordinance; and he has successfully vindicated her application of the term "regeneration" to it. "A blessing" (it is truly remarked) "is prayed for, and the blessing is acknowledged as received. The covenant is opened, and she never more dares to close it to any human being. here her deliberate judgment on the point: and who shall venture to say, after so much care in her execution, and so much opportunity for knowledge and experience in her preparation of this service, that she has intimated either more or less than the truth of God in this matter; and this gathered from her only source of information or authority-the word of God?" (p. 105). In short, the work may be regarded as a practical illustration of that fine passage of St. Paul in Tit. iii. 5 :"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, He (God our Saviour) saved us by the washing of regeneration AND renewing of the Holy Ghost."

We have

Hints on the Management of Female Parochial Schools. By a Clergyman's Wife. London: Hatchard. 1848.

THIS small but most valuable little book is introduced as the result of the practical experience of the writer in a country village, and it has the genuine stamp of experience. The views of the author are, to our notions, remarkably sound, and expounded in the clearest possible language, while a kind and gentle spirit breathes throughout this useful little manual.

A Letter Addressed to the Church, by a Member of the Church of England, on the Holy Mystery of the "First Resurrection, the Day of the Restoration of the Kingdom of Israel."

THE lengthy title of this boarded pamphlet, of some seventy pages, will explain its object: the greater portion of the volume consists of texts of Scripture bearing upon the author's views. This has reached us so late that we cannot afford to it a more particular notice.

Fifty-two Sermons adapted to each Sunday in the Year, and designed more especially to trace and explain the Connection between the Doctrines, Duties, and Consolations of Religion. By the Rev. JEREMIAH SMITH, M.A. London: Seeleys. 1848. Svo.

THE title-page of this volume accurately states its object. The subject of each sermon is founded on some important thought, contained in the collect, epistle, and gospel, for each Sunday and holiday in the ecclesiastical year; and the several discourses, which are truly practical, are so arranged as to exhibit an exposition of the leading articles of our Christian faith, the rules of our duty, and the sources of our consolation. We think this volume well adapted to private and family reading.

The Revolutions of 1848. A Re-commencement of the Judgments upon the Papacy. By CHARLES RICHARD CAMERON, M.A., of Christ Church, Öxford, Rector of Swaby, Lincolnshire, Author of "The Antichrist of St. John." London: Painter.

THE object of this publication is succinctly propounded in the prefix to the introduction, in which the Revolutions of 1848 are designated "a re-commencement of the judgments upon the Papacy, suspended on the pouring out of the sixth vial, and after the loosing of Satan out of his prison, founded on the synchronisms of Mede, and anticipated in the writings of his followers." It in fact, purposes to show the connection of the present convulsions of Europe with the apocalyptic predictions; and, without venturing to pronounce on the views entertained by the author, we regard the theory propounded as one of great interest to all, and they are many, who devote their attention to the subject.

Defects in the Practice of Life Assurance, and Suggestions for their Remedy. London: Orr, 1848.

THIS is a very one-sided affair: it lays it down as a principle that no assurance office should dispute a claim, and holds up to obloquy, and by name, the offices which have appealed to a court of law against what they conceived to be a fraud upon their funds. The instances quoted are few, as well they may be, inasmuch as the directors of these establishments know well enough that they lose more by contesting a claim than by paying it without dispute. The author alleges-what, by the way, is not the fact that offices have the means of detecting fraudulent intention before granting a policy; and that, consequently, if they grant one without using those means, the fault is theirs, and they have no right to open the question afterwards. On this principle, half the offences against the law

would pass unpunished. We have the means of preventing our pockets from being picked by constantly keeping our hands upon them; and, therefore, forsooth, it is our own fault if we lose our purse. Some persons, however, are of a different opinion; and, at the hazard of being denounced by such theorists as the author, prosecute the thief, gaining as little by the process as do assurance offices in disputing a claim. Policies are granted mainly on the assumption of good faith on the part of those whose evidence is appealed to by the proposer of the assurance; and, if those referees play false, what means have offices of protecting themselves from the fraud? An office has recently been established professing to pay all policies granted by them, without dispute, no matter on what false representations they were issued. Of course, the pamphlet before us does not stand to this office in the relation of effect to cause we only remark on the coincidence. The author's practical knowledge of the subject on which he writes will be measured by his statement that, in the case of every proposal for assurance, two hundred questions, as to the health of the individual, are generally propounded and answered. We speak advisedly when we say that, in no one instance, do they, or can they, amount to onefourth of that number.

Matutina: Morning Readings, Selected and Original, Chiefly Practical, and adapted to the Use of the Younger Members of the Church of England. By the Rev. G. RENAUD, M.A. Longmans. 1848. THIS volume arose out of a want experienced by the author, and we may say very generally felt, of a book to be always at hand suggesting a profitable subject of thought, for each day in the year, yet so concise as not break in upon the time of the most busy, while the subjects should yet have sufficient point and variety to engage the attention. Each subject is so short as seldom to fill more than a page, and the authors from whom the selections are made exceed sixty in number, without including the contributions of anonymous friends. We give one of the shortest as an illustration:

"Jan. 3.-I have set the Lord always before me (Psalms xvi. 8). It is said we cannot be always thinking of God; and, if so, how can a sense of his presence continually bear upon our most intimate actions and concerns? To this I answer, that a person at court is not always thinking of the king. Nevertheless, there is an abiding though insensible impression upon his mind where he is and before whom he stands, so unerring and so effectual to every practical purpose as to declare, with infallible certainty, that nothing will be done to violate the laws of the most strict decorum. And so it is with the man who ts the Lord always before him."