who might be competent to treat the loftiest themes, betake themselves to lower ground, where, while their talents and accomplishments insure them distinction, little is hazarded. Matters of fact and erudition;-all things minute, definite, and immediately applicable; the fields of history-technical criticism, and ingenious elucidation, are safe and facile. The ephemeral controversies that spring from the collision of our religious factions, are also free from the peculiar peril which weighs upon us. And happily, too, the very humblest style of de vout or practical exposition is exempt from the eye and interference of the giant criticism we tremble at. These and similar topics employ therefore superior minds.

"But who ventures to rise toward the upper region of celestial meditation? Who forgets the world-its madness, and its scorn, while he enters the gate of immortal hope? Who is it that, as if the contemners of heaven were not in hearing, converses with, and concerning, the glories of the Supreme? Who, with a reverent yet uncurbed eloquence, fitting the occasion, speaks of the mysteries of Redemption? Or who, regardless of the powers of calumny that keep their state as ministers of vengeance around the throne of ancient Prejudice, explores anew the half-hidden, half-revealed wonders that yet couch beneath the words of Scripture? Labours like these, and enterprises so great, demand, in times such as our own, an intrepidity equal almost to that needed to profess the Gospel at the stake!

"While the rudiments of truth are happily preserved among us, there never has been an age, perhaps, wherein less of the intensity of the meditative faculty was concentrated upon sacred themes, than at present. Our biblical industry is all devoted to the letter: and it must be confessed that exegetical erudition abounds in a very fair degree. These lower studies (indispensable indeed) fall in marvellously well with the frigid timidity of the times, and with its love of palpable utility: they run glibly by the side of those practical and applicatory sciences which are receiving universal homage. Professors and students of theology feel to be quite in harmony with the spirit of the age, while they thus confine their attention to matters of fact-to things small and tangible, and which may instantly and visibly be carried home to some specific point of interpretation.

"Shall we then, because we wish for what may seem more great and substan

tial than we see, invite the return of some one of the obsolete forms of theology? Better be meagre as we are, than be so enlarged. And yet it must be admitted that those ponderous schemes of sacred philosophy, though they spoiled, in their turns, the simplicity of the Gospel, did call into exercise a force of mind-a sustained power of comprehension and discussion, which have long ceased to appear within the precincts of the Church, The Flatonic, or profound and meditative theology, after a long reign, fell before the activity and the tactics of the Aristotelian, or logical and disputatious, This again, having lived to its dotage, received a deadly wound from the hand of the Reformers; who erected in its place its IMAGE, the Dogmatic theology; and to this all men did obeisance :--and still in measure do so; for it has neither given a place to a successor, nor been formally consigned to oblivion. theless it exists rather in skeleton, to fill an unclaimed chair of state, than exercises any positive domination. Nothing rises in the room of the ancient systems.--There is silence in the halls of Sacred Science, as if all men were waiting, in anxious expectation of the descent upon earth of the bright and fair form of Celestial Wisdom."-pp. 114— 118.

Never

In the article on the state of souls, we find many passages which we would gladly quote, and on some of which we should be constrained to offer a few strictures: but we shall satisfy ourselves with a single citation from this essay. It strikes us as one of the most interesting and powerful passages in the book.

"We must here note, in passing, the essential folly of the enthusiast, who contemning the true and purifying discernment of God in the brightness of his moral attributes, seeks in its stead certain flashes of the animal spirits, which he deems to be better proof of the presence of God than joy, and peace, and assurance, in the Spirit.'--He turns away from the divine converse of the heart with its Regenerator; and reverts, as a child or novice to the earthly elements of turbulent or passionate emotion. Give him but a bauble, and he will at any time throw away the jewel. He would be more delighted could you promise him a dazzling vision, which should have nothing in it but a blaze, than with that glory which shineth into the hearts of the children of

God, admitting them to behold the true image of God, in the person of his Son. And if you call in question the genuineness of this, his bad preference, he saysYou deny all that is divine and peculiar in the Gospel, and oppugn the truth that Christ manifests himself to his people as he does not to the world.'

"The ordinary process of knowledge, or that natural order whereby, in the present state (revelation apart) we attain any conception of God, is an ascent from the natural to the moral attributes. In following certain abstract notions we infer his Eternity, and Infinitude; – then we read the displays of his power, and wisdom, and bounty in the visible world; and we go on to assign to him -Holiness and Goodness. This method regulates, in great measure, all our theological notions and religious sentiments. We dwell much upon that which in truth is secondary, or mediate; and see only at a distance that which is primary and essential. By the ladder of reason we have gone up to behold the Most High; and so are we apt to frequent the same artificial line of approach, even when we draw near for worship.

"The Spirit of Grace takes us by another path, and shews us that the Moral

Perfections are the end and reason of the Natural. And who can doubt but that, when matter and its dark symbols are done with-that which is principal shall seem so ?--In bursting from the confinement of the body, the spirit shall (with amazement perhaps) in a moment reverse the order of its old conceptions; and almost cease to think of Omnipotence, Eternity, Infinitude, while the more dominant notions of Purity, and Blessedness, and Love, fill the soul. This revolution must (if we might so say) immensely reduce the apparent distance between the created and uncreated Mind; for so long as the first named class of notions have principal possession of our thoughts, the impression that prevails is that of immeasurable disparity; and of course, the more we meditate on these themes, the more is such an impression enhanced. But though the disparity between God and his intelligent creatures is as absolute in the attributes of Goodness or Holiness, as in those of power and wisdom, there belongs to the former a homogeneity which affords ground of communion between God and man. --The conversion of the heart to God is a bringing God near to us; for this reason, that we thenceforward think of Him

more in his moral than his natural attributes. We approach the throne by a direct path, and in the stead of the mute N. S. No. 92.

awe which heretofore had held us far from the Incomprehensible Being, we admit an intimate and personal affection, not untruly symbolized by the relation of children to a father.

"The dissolution of the body must consummate the same approximation, if it has already had its commencement. Love, casting out fear, will then reach its cli. max; and all reclaimed souls shall drink of the river of pleasures that makes glad the city of God.' 'All shall live unto God.'-pp. 404-407.

Notwithstanding the general excellence of the volume, there appear to us to be passages which occasionally betray haste, or even impetuosity of thought. The following is certainly a palpable instance of the kind, in which the author, in endeavouring to down the error of the dogmatist, actually makes war upon liberty of conscience, a warfare in which we should presume he could have no intention of engaging, and would not like to be caught.

run

citement excepted, the leaders of sects "Times of extraordinary fanatical exgnage which, by its arrogance, would supdo not allow to themselves the use of lanply its own refutation. But the occult and fundamental principle of all eccleof all factions separation on the other-siastical despotism on the one side, and of all religious rancour and hostility, assumption of Divine authority on behalf whether it be avowed or not, is this of what is simply an individual opinion. 'I THINK SO,' is the whole residuum that digious pretensions of the zealot-demacan be found after evaporating the pro

gogue.

What is this will of the Lord'-this authority of heaven'--this sacred thing, absolutely nothing more than-cause of truth and righteousness?' No

decision of any other judgment between the Scriptures and the individual? And if not, why throw this bitterness of scorn upon what he calls the individual opinion? What, then, is is the individual opinion to give way before an aggregate opinion, or any earthly tribunal; where, then, is our Protestantism? What becomes of the right of private judgment? We think the author has failed in this passage, to discriminate the cha racter of the dogmatist, and has supplied ground for a definition of schism, which would inevitably sap the foundation of the Protestant church. He must excuse us for the freeness of these remarks, and, if we have mistaken his meaning, he must forgive us.

We cannot, however, part with the volume without assuring him, that it has given us, in the main, much pleasure, and that we do very cordially recommend Our most thoughtful and accomplished readers to gratify themselves by the perusal of it. At the same time we must say, plainly, there are a few sentiments in the book which we cannot approve, but which do not, however, materially vitiate the admirable body of Christian sentiment which the work contains.

Memoir of the Rev. Levi Parsons, first Missionary to Palestine, from the United States Originally compiled by the Rev. Dan. O. Morton, A.M.; now edited and abridged by William Innes, Minister of the Gospel 18mo. pp. ix. 283. Edinburgh: 1832.

THIS is another of those delightful specimens of biography with which our transatlantic brethren have, of late years, so frequently favoured us, and from the perusal of which so much pleasure and edification has been derived by a large portion of British Christians. Biography, especially religious

biography, is a department of literature in which, we think, the Americans peculiarly excel; indeed, if we except the writings of Edwards (and even his most popular work is biographical), of Dwight, and of Moses Stuart, we have received little from them of much importance, in a religious point of view, besides the Memoirs to which we have alluded. We need only mention the names of Brainerd, Mrs. Newell, Mrs. Graham, Mrs. Huntingdon, Mrs. Judson, Dr. Payson, Pliny Fisk, and Matthias Bruen, (the last not indeed written by an American, but, nevertheless, entirely American in its spirit and its details, as well as in its subject)* in order to recal to the minds of our readers the remembrance of some of the most pleasing and instructive specimens of biography which our language contains. In all these productions there is a freshness and virility of thought and manner, a freedom of sentiment and expression, and a somewhat bold originality of feeling and opinion, which is peculiarly American, and which, we confess, is to our minds singularly enlivening and impressive. We like to find men speaking in our own language, and yet preserving the peculiar tone and bias of a nation whose habits and feelings are very different from our own; and especially are we interested in seeing in their religious writings an infusion of that spirit of independence of all merely human modes of thought and action, the want of which has too often, in other countries, retarded, we fear, the progress of the truth.

* We might have added the name of Edwards, whose memory has recently received the respect due to it from a memoir by the Rev. Sereno Dwight; but we fear the work is as yet too little known in Britain, to be ranked among our received biographies.

Another thing which pleases us in the writings of the Americans generally, is the manifest honesty and good faith with which all their positions are advanced, and the obvious practical tendency of all their speculations and undertakings. They may be mistaken; but they never seek to mislead. They have no pleasure in paradoxes, and just as little in the proving of truisms. When they speak, it is because they have something to say, which they deem it important should be said. They are most rigid Utilitarians, not only in philosophy and politics, but in every department of human knowledge. In all their engagements, they never fail to have before their view a definite and certain object, to the attainment of which their materials are accurately disposed, and their exertions nicely adjusted. Hence their preference of physical to psychological philosophy; hence their determined subordination of science to art; hence the superior estimation in which they hold the sound common sense and hard-headed judgment of such men as Franklin and Jefferson in matters of politics, to the speculations and deductions of the acutest and most refined jurisconsult; and hence also among their theologians and preachers that steady direction of all their efforts to the one grand point of making the truth as it is in Jesus tell upon the hearts and consciences of their hearers, to the neglect of much of the inward essence and frequently all of the outward form of pulpit oratory, for which they are so remarkable, and by means of which they have been honoured to be so useful.

The influence of the same practical spirit is evident in all their biographical compositions. The one grand object in all these is, evidently, the exhibition of a cor

rect delineation of the character and conduct of the individual, not merely for the gratification of friends, or the satisfaction of idle curiosity, but for the purpose of doing good, and exerting a salutary influence upon the minds of others. To this all their remarks, all their illustrations, all their quotations, are made conducive. It is certainly true that they not unfrequently err in carrying these to too great a length, and so swell their books to such an extent, that the perusal of them, except to persons who have much spare time, and are strongly attached to such works, is rendered almost impossible; but notwithstanding this, we are bold to say, that from few, if from any, of the numerous memoirs of transatlantic worth, with which we have of late been furnished, any reader has risen with any thing approaching to a sense of weariness, or without having derived much improvement, both in an intellectual, and a spiritual point of view. With these feelings it is with peculiar pleasure that we hail the present accession to our previous stores in this department of religious literature, especially in the very cheap and convenient form in which it is presented to us by its excellent and highly esteemed editor. Containing, as it does, the memoirs of the life, and large extracts from the journal and letters, of a most pious and devoted man, the friend and fellow-labourer of Pliny Fisk, composed in a style of simple but lively narrative by a near relative of the deceased, and now coming in a condensed and portable form, nullo verbo omisso quod proprium, nullo retento quod nimium sit-from the hands of one who has long been known for his station in the church, and his exertions in the cause of truth and piety; we know no work which we could with more confidence

and greater pleasure commend to the notice of our readers. For ourselves we value it very highly, not only for the information which it contains, which is by no means trifling, but also for the clear exhibition which it gives us of a character in which Christian feeling and Christian principle are associated with talents, literature, and personal influence, and yet maintain a superiority to which the others are cheerfully subservient, as well as for the pleasing and animating impression which the perusal of it leaves upon the mind. For, as Mr. Innes justly remarks:

"In reading the Memoir of Mr. Parsons, we are carried back to the days of EDWARDS, and BRAINERD, and HENRY MARTYN, and are reminded of that hightoned piety by which these eminent servants of God were distinguished; and while every reader must be struck with the contrast between the singular devotedness of such men, and that dwarfish Christianity with which professors in general, in the present day, rest satisfied, it is useful and edifying to place such models before our view. While such a contrast is fitted to fill us with deep hunility, we shall not improve these examples as we ought if they do not stimulate us to increased zeal and activity, while they show what, even in this state of imperfection, men of like passions with ourselves have attained."-Pref. p. ix.

As the incidents of Mr. Parsons's life present us with little that is very new or striking, we shall not occupy the time of our readers with a recital of them. We shall better, we apprehend, engage their attention, and give them a better notion of the interest of the volume, by presenting them with a few extracts from his diary and letters as they are furnished to us in the Memoir. The following letter to the Rev. Moses Hallock, of Plainfield, Mass., written when Mr. Parsons was at college, is valuable, both from the exhibition which it gives of the lively interest which, at a very early age, he took in the progress of Christ's king

dom, and from the illustration which it affords of the manner in which revivals in America are brought about, and the point of view in which they are regarded by Christians there:

The

"Middlebury College, June 24, 1814. "REV. SIR The present is a solemn period. God is pleased, in his mysterious providence, to visit this seminary again by the effusions of his Holy Spirit. work commenced about four weeks since. Four young gentlemen of promising talents, who had been long regardless of God and their own salvation, are now proclaiming their Maker's praises. At present they appear to possess the spirit of Christ, and are much engaged for the sal vation of their fellow-students. Thousands may be brought to glory through the instrumentality of these young disciples, perhaps many perishing heathen. Bless the Lord, O my soul! let all the saints praise him.' Last evening, about a hundred students assembled in a conference meeting, and many were deeply affected. While the brethren spoke of the attri butes of God, particularly his justice in the destruction of the incorrigible sinner, and his mercy in saving any, all was silent as the grave. One who had for a long time neglected his duty as a Christian, and mingled with the world, arose with a burdened heart. His countenance strongly indicated the anguish of his mind. He spake of his past conduct with the deepest regret, and solemnly warned sinners not to let his life prove the ruin of their souls Many wept; 0 yes, many, who, a few days since, trifled with serious subjects, now weep for their immortal souls. The scene reminded us of the general judgment, when saints will rejoice in the smiles of their Saviour, and sinners will tremble at his final sentence. Some of those very individuals, who were most active in wickedness, now cry for mercy. God has smiled upon this institution in a peculiar manner. This is the fourth revival which I have witnessed here. In the senior class twenty-five are hopefully pious; in the freshmen all but four. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but to thy name be all the glory.' What

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wonders are wrought in the name of the holy child Jesus!' There is the sound of much rain. Oh! that the saints at Plainfield would pray for us at this critical moment. Who can tell but God designs to raise up many in this college to proclaim salvation to the heathen, and hasten on the latter glorious day?

"The revival among your dear people