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though on many others erroneous. The whole subject of the sermon, indeed, is debateable ground; and to give our own sentiments at sufficient length upon it, would be inconsistent with the plan of this work, or the demands of the present occasion. We shall be content with stating that the measure which Mr. Bromby would recommend, in order to promote the stability of the Church Establishment, the peace of the country, and the prevalence of Christian affection, is an exchange of the present Articles for others, which should be "few, plain, evidently practical, and beneficial in their tendency." He would doubtless be far less sanguine in his expectations of benefit from any enlargement of the pale of the Church, producible by demolishing its articles, were he to consider that it is not to the articles that the great body of Nonconformists object. The liberality and benevolence of the preacher are very conspicuous.

Art. XV. Letters from an Elder to a Younger Brother on the Conduct to be pursued in Life. 12mo, pp. 128, price 3s. 6d. Taylor and Hessey. 1809.

IT is impossible that a book of this kind should not contain many instructive admonitions; but its morality is often defective and erroneous, and the accuracy of the religious advice may be estimated from the following passage. ، The New Testament has admirably defined true religion in these simple words, (I quote from memory,) To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God." The next time this writer quotes the New Testament,' we would recommend him not ' quote from memory.'

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Art. XVI. The Union of Piety and Literature. A Sermon, preached Jan. 18. 1809, at the Rev. Mr. Gaffee's Meeting, New Broad Street, before the Promoters of the Protestant Dissenters' Grammar-School, lately opened at Mill-Hill, in the Parish of Hendon, Middlesex. To which are annexed, the Regulations of the Society, and a List of the Subscribers, &c. By James Hinton, A. M. 8vo. pp. 35. Price 1s. Conder. 1809.

OUR notice of this interesting discourse has been accidentally delayed;

but though it is not probable that so valuable an Institution can long stand in need of recommendation to the public esteem, yet the value of the Sermon is not entirely of a local or temporary nature.

The text adopted is Ps. xc. 17. Establish thou the work of our hands, upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. The preacher first argues the propriety of using this prayer on behalf of the Institution, he recommends, from various important and striking views of its utility.. He next observes the natural and necessary connexion between prayer and exertion for its support, and, lastly, observes that it is the aid which cometh from above on which the highest expectations of its success depend. The zeal which Mr. Hinton manifests for an institution, of this kind is peculiarly commendable in a preacher, who is himself, we believe, at the head of a private seminary. The sermon is well arranged, well argued, and well written; and, on the whole, while it reflects credit on his understanding and observation, evinces the correctness of his taste and the goodness of his heart. The principal fault

of the style is, the too frequent personification of a quality as the representative of a person or a class: for instance, "nor shall volatility be allowed to sport in the view of industry," &c.

Art. XVII. A Sermon preached in the Parish Church of Chard on Wednesday the 25th Oct 1809. By the Rev. W. S. Bradley, A. M. Vicar of Chard, and Chaplain to the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Published at the Request of the Congregation, 4to. pp. 20. price 1s. 6d. Crosby and Co. 1809.

MR. Bradley's text is Prov. xxix. 2. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. If it had occurred to him how much besidee panegyric on the Sovereign was impériously required on such an occasion as this, he would no doubt have stood a better chance of securing the public acquiescence in the approbation expressed by his parishioners

Art. XVIII. Britons' Jubilee ; or the duties of Subjects to their King, and the Blessings of Liberty A Sermon preached at the Chapel of the Rev. Rowland Hill, London, on the 25th of October, 1809, being the 50th year of the reign of his present Majesty. By John Griffin, Portsea 8vo. pp. 74. price 18. 6d. Williams and Co.

MR. Griffin takes a much wider, and, we may add, a much juster view,

of public affairs, than most preachers of political sermons. His remarks appear to us in general so correct, and so important, that we wish his present performance a very extensive circulation. Among those who have perused his sermon " on the encouraging aspect of the times," to which indeed the sermon now before us may be considered as an Appendix, we have no doubt the preacher's name will sufficiently recommend

ît.

From 1 Tim. ii. 1-3, Mr. Griffin first considers and explains the duty of honouring the king; and secondly, that of praying for him. He then enforces the duty of thankfulness to God for the blessings we enjoy under the present reign; and for this purpose briefly reviews the principal events of this important period of our history. If, in some of his delineations, Mr. Griffin's pencil should be deemed too favourable to the rulers and too flattering to the people of this country, the general spirit of his discourse, as well as particular passages in it, will plead his excuse. Admitting the distresses which at present afflict the nation, Mr. G. is of opinion, however, that the constitution has, upon the whole, been improved, rather than impaired, during the present reign. As religious advantages, for which we should be grateful, Mr. G. mentions freedom of printing, freedom of preaching, freedom of teaching, and freedom of associating for benevolent purposes. In conclusion, he explains the typical import of the Jewish Jubilee.

Art. XIX. The Happy Nation; two Sermons, preached at Henley. upon-Thames, on the Jubilee, occasioned by King George the Third entering the Fiftieth Year of his Reign. By James Churchill. 8vo. PP. 41. Price 1s. 6d. Conder. 1809.

IN the first of these Sermons, one preached on the Jubilee, the other on the following Sunday, and both from Ps. cxliv. 15. Happy is

the people whose God is the Lord, Mr. Churchill expatiates on the temporal blessings we enjoy as a nation; and in the second, on the spiritual blessings. He proves himself a loyal subject, a firm dissenter, and a zealous Christian.

Art. XX. Righteousness the Dignity and Ornament of Old Age A Sermon, preached at Pell-Street Meeting-House, Ratcliffe-Highway, Wednesday, October, 25, 1809, being the day on which His Majesty King George the Third entered the Fiftieth Year of his Reign. By Thomas Cloutt. 8vo. pp. 38. Price 1s. Conder, 1809.

THE theme adopted by this preacher is sufficiently intimated in the

title. His text is Prov. xvi. 21. He introduces a panegyric on the character of our venerable monarch, by an illustration of the natural claims of old age, and its peculiar dignity and blessedness when associated with virtue. Mindful of his solemn office, he takes occasion to inculcate reverence for old age, enforces the duty of self-examination, and explains the method of reconciliation to God. The discourse will not be uninteresting to those, who candidly accept generous feeling as a substitute for vigorous thought.

Art. XXI. Onesimus examined, or Strictures on his Accounts of Popular Preachers. By an Evangelical Minister. 8vo. pp. 27. price 1s. Sherwood and Co. 1809.

THIS letter, we are told, was a confidential communication; but

as it discusses subjects of considerable importance with zeal and truth, the person to whom it was originally addressed, now offers it to the world.' For this, we cannot commend him. To answer Onesimus, is to follow his example, to accept his challenge. The radi cal objection to that writer's publication, is, that it aims to gratify a malicious or impertinent curiosity, and we must add, an unprincipled cupidity, by a forcible exposure of individuals to the public eye. The Evangelical Minister' might with great propriety declare his sentiments on the book in general, and on particular parts of it, in a private letter to a friend; but we cannot help thinking it ought to have struck the mind of that friend, that to publish those sentiments, whether just or not, whether favourable or unfavourable to the persons concerned, was to merit the principal part of the censure which had been levelled at Onesimus.

Art. XXII. The Battle of the Blocks, a Heroic Poem, in three Cantos. By the Author of the Fantoccini. 8vo. pp. 36. price 1s. Maxwell and Wilson. 1809.

A LATE martial exploit of two of his Majesty's confidential advisers, has afforded this humourous writer a subject for three heroic cantos. The subject, however, was in some respects unfortunate; in one view, it was so irresistibly ludicrous, in another so solemnly and odiously of fensive to every feeling of morality and decorum, that the powers of ridicule would seem either unnecessary to increase merriment, or incapable of provoking it. Every effort, nevertheless, to bring contempt upon the practice of duelling is laudable, and some passages of the poem are not without merit.

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The author's whimsical turn will appear in the following lines, relating to the unfortunate army dispatched on the expedition to Walcheren under the illustrious John Earl of Chatham.

Thus baffled, wasted, their retreat review,

'Like pallid spectres, drench'd with midnight dew!
Not twenty ships, nor towns, nor bulwark'd holds
They take-but twenty thousand colds!'

Art XXIII.Present Sate of the British Constitution, Historically considered.
By Britannicus., 8vo. pp. 182. price. 3s. 6d. Longman and Co.
THIS able and instructive pamphlet deserves far more attention from

the public than it has hitherto obtained. The author's historical deductions are generally correct, his political principles liberal, and his design patriotic. We will subjoin a brief paragraph as a favourable specimen.

If arbitrary measures are adopted by government, it is no alleviation to the people that they receive the sanction of a house of commons; and since the system of influence has been carried into effect, we ought to be as jealous of the privileges of the legislature, as of the crown. A system of tyranny, concealed by the cloak of constitutional law, is more dangerous, because less suspected, than an avowed despotism. The assassin who stabs you in the dark is not less formidable than the bravo who attempts your life in open day. It becomes the people to take care, that while the forms of liberty remain, its essence does not entirely evaporate; and that the constitution does not sink into a mere caput mortuum, a vapid mass of dregs, from which the animating spirit has been allowed to escape.' pp. 180, 181. Art. XXIV. Gastronomy, or the Bon Vivant's Guide. A Poem, in Four Cantos. From the French of J. Berchoux. 4to. pp. 42. price 2s. 6d. Booth 1809.

A PUBLICATION like this, which is dedicated to the pleasures of the table, cannot be better employed, we think, than in lighting the kitchen-fire.

Art. XXV. Co-operation with Magistrates in the Suppression of Vice, the duty of all Christians; being the Substance of an Address delivered before the Society for promoting the more due Observance of the Lord's Day; at Ebenezer Chapel, Ratcliff Highway, London, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 1809. By Thomas Thomas, Minister of the Gospel at Chelmsford. 12mo. pp. 46. price 1s. Maxwell and Co. THE proposition stated in the title is here supported with various for

cible observations. We were much pleased with some hints to the members of the Society. Be sure that you hate the sins of men, and their sins only, while you strive to love their souls, and to do good to their persons. Take heed that all your exertions be made in the spirit of the gospel, with prayer, with patience, with tenderness. Let the discipline of your own families, and your own example tend to enforce those Laws, and exemplify those rules which you lay down for others.'

An Appendix is added, containing a History of the Rise and Progress of Societies for the Reformation of Manners, and a List of eminent Ministers of the Establishment, and among Dissenters, who have preached

before them.

Art. XXVI. The Christian Code; or, a Regular Digest of Christ's Dispensation; by an Old Graduate of Cambridge. 4to. pp. xxvi. 352. Lackington, Allen, and Co. 1808.

If he

BEFORE this venerable person appeared in public as a translator, and dissertator upon theology, or put himself to the trouble of manufacturing this ponderous quarto, he should have seriously considered, or diligently inquired, whether the public actually stood in need of any such services as he was able or willing to perform. He must surely have been aware, that his uncouth translations of a few passages of scripture could never justify the publication of nearly four hundred pages. was resolved to inform the people of England that he did not approve of some of the articles of their religious creed, or to give them a few hints in reference to the officers of their church, all this might have been done in a very narrow compass. He could not be ignorant of Locke's Common-place-book, Gastrell's Institutes, or Warden's System; nor is it possible that he could imagine the mere circumstance of his confining himself to the New Testament so very meritorious, as to induce those who keep libraries to afford a place for his publication, in company with those performances.

After due reflection, we cannot help thinking that the design of this author was to shew how very ill he could do what had before been done very well. The preface contains a heap of dull observations unconnected with the book, and with each other. So far from an account of the author's design, or any thing of that kind, the introduction is a long string of extracts, with here and there a clumsy remark about the contents of the gospel, John the Baptist, baptism, faith, and similar particulars. With regard to the book itself, it cannot be characterized otherwise, than by saying, it is the New Testament taken to pieces and put together again so as to be as unmeaning, as unimpressive, and as ludicrous as possible.

Art. XXVII. A Token for Children: (The only complete Edition ever
published) in Two Parts. By James Janeway. To which is added a
Third Part, containing some Account of the Life of Hephzibah
Mathews. Also the Child's Monitor, by the Rev. John Cooke,
Maidenhead. 12mo.
pp. 300.
Price 2s. 6d. bound. Mathews and
Leigh. 1809.

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MYSTERIOUS as some doctrines of natural and revealed religion confessedly are, the cardinal truths are so simple as to be within the comprehension of children or savages. There are abundant proofs on record, that distinct, permanent, effectual impressions may be made, even 'babes and sucklings,' of the ideas of human guilt and divine mercy; the radical truths of that religion which is able to save their souls. We therefore entirely agree with those writers, who have sneeringly said that children may be taught to be saints as well as to be any thing else;' and hope that this enlarged edition of a well known work may conduce, under the favour of heaven, to that important end. We cannot refrain from expressing a wish, however, that the interesting contents of the book were clothed in a style less open to the scoffs and mockery of the irreligious, and better suited to the taste which even children at a very early age acquire in refined society.

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