or with a view to enlarge his acquaintance with critical and theological knowlege, it is probable he may be disappointed. Instead of the above-mentioned qualities, we can encourage him to expect a good deal of Orthodoxy; but together with this, many marks of a grave, ferious, and honeft mind, devoted to the important duties of his ftation, and defirous of fulfilling the worthy ends of his profeffion. In his fecond Sermon, describing the duty of every Gospel Minifter, he expreffeth himself in the following plain and honest manner. "I come now to the fecond general head propofed, namely, to enquire, what is my duty and the duty of every Golpel Minifler. And I the more chearfully enter upon this head, my honoured Hearers, becaufe I would have every one of you informed what he has a right to expect from me; and that wherever I am known to fail, the meaneft here may reprove me, with a free, generous, and noble Christian Liberty." This fhould be the language of an humble and modeft mind, by no means elated with the self-fufficiency of priestly pride; and is an inftance too uncommon in Gentlemen of that order, to be paffed by unnoticed. "He goes on-It is my duty then, in the first place, conftantly to preach the Gospel of Chrift; that is, to make known to you, the fpirituality of the Gofpel Covenant; to reprefent to you the Fall of Man, with its inconceivably awful confequences, in the ruin of the whole human race; and from thence to fhew the great mystery and abfolute neceffity of our Redemption, &c.In the next place, it is my duty diligently to attend the Sick; and endeavour to awaken, comfort, and exhort, as refpective occafions may require. "Further, it is my duty to be compaffionate, merciful, and charitable. If the poorest object, therefore, in my parish shall ever find me indulging myself in eafe, in indolence, and affluence, whilst he, alas! is groaning in the bitterness of want, he may with juftice upbraid me as a falfe Steward of God's goods; as a Robber and a Thief, who cruelly detained from him what he has as much right to, from the law of God, as I have to the emoluments of my Ministry, from the laws of the land." Would to God! for the honour of Chriftianity, and the happiness of mankind, that the fame worthy fentiments poffeffed the heart of every Clergyman, and especially thofe who enjoy a large fhare of the good things of this world. Our Author concludes this paragraph with a paffage which is, at the fame time, an evidence of no mean understanding, and of a good heart. If ever there fhould come an age (we would gladly hope the prefent is not that age) when the Minifters of God's word are found not to be holy perfons, and entirely given up to God; if, on the contrary, they fhould be found worldly, proud, covetous, felf-feeking, indolent, Tipplers, given to company, full of obfcene and profane converfation, Liars, Perfecutors of the Truth, and Oppofers of God's holy fpirit; I fay, if ever there fhould come fuch an age, I will venture to foretel, without the fpirit of prophefy, that in that age Christianity Christianity will be treated as Prieftcraft, and men will endeavour to trample it under their feet.” With these Sermons are bound up two divine Odes, the one entitled LIBERTY, the other, THE JUDGMENT, which are not without fome fhare of merit. Art. 31. A Treatife concerning the Gospel Method of being Righteous. 8vo. Is. Longman. This, as the Author himself informs us, is the fubftance of several Sermons; the defign of which was, to exhibit a view of the general beads of that Righteoufnefs which the Gofpel indifpenfibly requires. According to this fenfible Writer's opinion, barely to profefs the Gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chrift; to be a zealous Member of this or that Church, or party of Chriftians; to be a firm Believer, and warm Advocate for the doctrines of any particular Creeds, or Confeffions; to be a conftant Attender upon the rites and ceremonies of the Church, are by no means fufficient to form the character of a righte ous man, in the Gofpel fenfe of that word: by Gospel righteousness, he apprehends, is meant, a conftant and habitual course of univerfal goodness and virtue; that it comprehends a conftant regular difcharge of our whole duty to God, our neighbour, and ourselves; that it is attended with a fincere and speedy return to our duty upon every inftance of failure or mifcarriage; and that whoever fhall affume to himself the character, or flatter himself with the hope of the future reward of a righteous man, from any other false and counterfeit fpecies of righteoufnefs, moft unhappily and wickedly deceiveth himself. In these fentiments the Author thinks himself abundantly confirmed by a variety of reafonings deduced from the moral character and perfections of God; and the plain declarations of the Gospel of Jefus Chrift. There are many who have put on the character of public Inftructors of mankind, and Minifters of religion, who ftudiously endeayour to conceal these great and important maxims from the minds of the people; and are perpetually turning their attention to things of infinitely inferior confequence, which ferve only to perplex their understandings, to puff up their minds with pride and conceit, and to make them unmindful of the great and unchangeable obligations of piety and goodness, which are the life and fubftance of true religion. -To our Author, and to all, who from the prefs or the pulpit, endeavour thus to explain the nature of true religion, and enforce the obedience of the commandments of God, we with the greatest fuccefs; and think ourselves and the public highly obliged to them. Art. 32. Inftructions for the profitable receiving the Word of God. By John Riland, M. A. Curate of Sutton-Coldfield in Warwickshire. 8vo. 6d. Baldwin. These Inftructions of Mr. Riland's, are a collection of Texts from the the Bible, and of particular paffages from the Prayers and Homilies of the Church, under different heads. As far as we have been able to obferve, they are not at all calculated to explain the fenfe of Scripture; which the unlearned Reader is left to find out as well as he can: to whom, therefore, we will take the liberty to leave this fhort hint; that though the Homilies and the Bible are both quoted and made ufe of without any diftinction in this little book, yet that it could not be Mr. Riland's design to fet them up as of equal authority in the eftimation of Chriftians. The Bible is the only fafe Guide. The Bible contains the religion of Proteflants. Art. 33. The Way to the Sabbath of Reft, &c. By Thomas Bromley. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Dilly, &c. The book now before us contains three feparate pieces: the first is, the Wa, to the Sabbath of Reft, or, the Scul's Progrefs in the New Birth: this, being only a republication of what was first printed above forty years ago, comes not within our notice; nor, indeed, from the indiftin&t and enthufiaftical manner in which it is written, have we the leaft temptation to trouble ourselves, or our Readers, with it. Religion is a plain, fimple, intelligible fubject, as every thing of importance to the falvation and happiness of man must be fuppofed to be: thofe, therefore, who depart from the fimplicity of the Gofpel, and labour to involve the duty and obligations of men in darknefs and mystery, however good their intentions may be, do greatly hurt the interests of true religion. The fecond of thefe pieces is, the Journeys of the Children of Ifrael, as they are reorded, Numbers, ch. xxxiii. The Reader is not to expect any thing historical or geographical in this treatife; the fcheme of the Author being to allegorize the hiftory of the Ifraelites; and, as he fays, to give the fpiritually mo ral Jef relating to the work of Regeneration. That the method of inftruction by parable, and the conveying great and important truths under the cover of fable and allegory, is an ancient and ufeful praçtice, we readily acknowlege: we have many instances of it in the belt Writers, and particularly in the facred writings. But to indulge this fpirit too far, to convert history into allegory, and under every plain and fimple narrative to fearch after a concealed and hidden meaning, gives fuch an unbounded licence to the roving and extravagant fancies of vifionary men, and introduces fuch firange confufien into fubje&s of the greatest importance, that the ill confequences of it are without number. Suppofe the history of the Life and Miracles of Jefus, and the A&s f his Apoltles, fhould be treated in this manner, as in some intances we believe has been attempted, what a tendency would it have to defroy the credibility of the Gofpel History; and to fink the great lacts on which Chriftianity refts, into the utmoft uncertainty, and then into the lowest contempt! If Gentlemen of this turn muft gratify this fanciful difpofition, let them take the Commentaries of Cæfar, the Confpiracy of Cataline, or the Annals of Tacitus, and and indulge their genius to the utmoft; but let them fpare thofe writings which contain the hiftory of the progrefs of true Religion, and are intended for the information and improvement of mankind in all ages. The third of thefe pieces is, an Account of the various Ways of God's manifefting himself to Man: but in this there is fo much darknefs and obfcurity, and fo little is it calculated for information and improvement, that we fhall take no farther notice of it. It seems this Mr. Bromley has been dead upwards of feventy years: we hope he is in poffeffion of that rest provided for good men: and if his too partial friends had fuffered his works to reft likewife, we are of opinion, that neither this Author's memory, nor the interefts of Truth and Religion would have fuffered by it. Art. 34. An Enquiry into the Spirit and Tendency of Letters on Theron and Afpafio. 12mo. 2s. Dilly. In the Editor's preface to this piece, we are informed, that it was written by an eminent Minifter of the Church of Scotland, with a defign to obviate the many grofs miftakes of the Letter Writer; and to prevent the influence, that his fubtle abufe of the facred Writings may have on fome of those into whofe hands his books may have fallen. Art. 35. Prolegomena in Libris Veteris Teftamenti Poeticos; five Differtatio, in qua Viri eruditiffimi Francifci Harii nuper Epifcopi Cicefrienfis de antiqua Hebræorum Poefi Hypothefin ratione et veritate niti, fufe oftenditur, atque ad objecta quædam refpondetur a Thoma Edwards, A. M. Aul. Clar. Cantab. nuper focio. Subjicitur metricæ Lowthianæ confutatio, cum Indicibus Neceffariis. 8vo. 3s. 6d. Millar. Our opinion concerning Bishop Hare's hypothefs of Hebrew poetry, has already been intimated in the Review; fee vol. XII. page 285 and we have not discovered in the Prolegomena on the poetical books of the Old Teftament, written by this learned Author, any reafon fufficient to induce us to alter our fentiments One circumflance we cannot overlook; he fays in his title-page, fubjicitur Metrica Lowthione confutatio: but the ingenious and elegant Dr. Lowth denies the metre of the poetical books! The world, we hear, is foon to be favoured with a new edition of his Prælectione, when we hope he will give full fatisfaction with regard to certain doubts which may have arifen from fome remarks made on his works both at home and abroad. Art. 36. The feraphical young Shepherd. Being a very remarkable Account of a Shepherd in France, about eighteen Years of Age; who, without any other Means than the Scriptures, and the teachings of God's holy Spirit, attained to a very uncommon and and evangelical Knowlege of the true God, and Jefus Chrift whom he hath fent. Tranflated from the French, with Notes, by Cornelius Cayley, Jun. 12mo. 2s. Lewis. We remember to have met with this Mr. Cayley before he is the perfon whom we had the honour of introducing to the notice of our Readers, in the Appendix to our nineteenth volume; in which we gave fome extracts from his curious account of himself, in a tract entitled the Riches of God's Free-Grace. To that article we may now refer for an idea of this Author and his writings; only adding, that his feraphical French Shepherd appears to have been just fuch another Genius as himself: quite hand and glove with the Almighty: as familiar with his Maker as a Methodist Preacher with the ears of his audience. "He difcourfed one whole morning upon the different degrees of the Soul's intimate union with God; of the communications of the bleffed Trinity, diftindly to be experienced; and of the inconceivable familiarity that God ufeth with thofe whofe hearts are purified by Faith." The enthufiaftic Editor of this hare brain'd ftuff, has prefixed to it, an impudent Epiftle dedicatory, to Jefus Chrift, in verfe, and in the free and easy strain of, I pray thee, Lord, this Shepherd take adding, as an inducement for the L-to grant his petition, that he, in return, may expect, in due time, the honour and favour of a friendly visit from Mr. Cayley, Dear Lord, but grant me this request, Who this Mrs. Mary is, that is to bear Mr. Cayley company on the occafion above intimated, we are not informed; but, doubtless, it must be some favourite female Saint, from the purlieus of Moorfields or Tottenham Court. Aye! aye! let these Methodists alone for a téte a téte with the Ladies! fly rogues! wherever they take up their quarters, they are feldom at a lofs for good accommodations! Art. 37. A Specimen of Preaching, as practifed amongst the People called Methodists. By J. Helme. 8vo. 6d. Burd. A number of low, indecent, and abfurd expreffions, faid to have been made use of by the Methodists in their preaching, are here thrown into the form of a Sermon, on the following text; How shall we efcape if we neglect fo great Salvation? Mr. Helme, the Editor, conceives the Jefuits, and other Emiffaries of the Church of Rome, may be at the bottom of thofe fchemes of nonfenfe and delufion, by which fo great a part of the mob are infatuated, and drawn away from the established Church. However this be, certain it is, that the manner in which the Fanatics take upon them to treat the fu9 blime |