which he advocates, be leaves his statements to produce, without adventitious aid, their proper effect upon his hearers. He is more anxious for their profit, than for a mere gratifying expression of his own sympathy, and the relief of his own burdened feelings. He therefore leaves with them as his parting words the following digest of the Christian Religion, which for clearness, precision, and strength, well deserves quotation. "If we imagine Christianity to be a mere set of moral precepts, a law to be observed, and a proportionate reward to be obtained at last, we virtually reestablish a law of works; by which it is expressly declared, as the very foundation of Christianity, that no flesh can be justified.' If, on the other hand, we regard it as a mere exemption from the law of works, on a supposed plea of faith; or a hope of pardon, on the condition of sincere, instead of perfect, obedience: then we each become the judge of our own sincerity; we indulge a hope of pardon on most uncertain grounds; we may still love the sin we partially forsake, and loathe the righteousness we partially practise; and, in truth, render the Gospel of Christ the means of encouragement in a negligent and worldly practice. Against both these errors it has been my object, as I believe it to be the end of true Christianity, to guard yon. to offer precepts of righteousness, by which they should not be directed to their original purity. The law of Christianity is, at once, a law of faith, and a law of holiness;-of faith, by remitting us, for our justification before God, to the merits of another, even of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ;-and of holiness, by exhibiting to us a perfect transcript, both by precept and example, of the holiness we have lost. It does more than merely exhibit to us such a tran, script. It directs us to effectual methods, by which we are enabled again to aspire after its resemblance. Weak, it offers us the means of spiritual strength; and dead as we may be represented to be in trespasses and sins, it furnishes the means of life and peace, through the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. "Christianity, viewed in this light, admits indeed of no reliance upon our selves, either for the attainment of pardon, or for the practice of righteousness. But yet it must be considered as leaving no ground for fear to the truly penitent and awakened sinner; whilst it offers no encouragement to those who seek the gratification of their evil inclinations. To every alarm of the humbled and awakened conscience, it replies by representing the fulness of the atoning Sacrifice for sin: but to every rising inclination to indulge sinful desires, or sinful practices, it replies, by pointing to the purity of the Divine law, and the The wilful fulness of Divine grace. sinner finds no refuge whatsoever in the code of pure Christianity. The selfdeceiver is driven from every strong hold; the careless roused from every lalling consideration; and no security is offered to any, but in a submission to the humbling and purifying doctrines of the Cross of Christ." pp. xi-xiv. Of the general utility of the work we shall now endeavour to enable our readers to judge for themselves by a view of its contents, which we believe will justify "Christianity, we must consider, is intended to furnish an adequate remedy for the existing disorder of human na'ture. That disorder consists in a departure from our original righteousness; an inclination, of our own nature, to evil; and, by consequence, an exposure to the wrath and displeasure of God. The remedy for this must be, to restore us by other means than our own merits, to the favour of God which we have for feited; and, at the same time, to lead us back to the very paths of righteousness which we have forsaken. Every thing our honest recommendation of it to short of this must be regarded as inap- general attention, as being no less plicable, or inadequate to our need; adapted to the instruction of the and, therefore, not as the language of public at large than to that of the true Christianity. To the guilty it were inapplicable to propound a law, by obe- persons originally addressed. dience to which they should procure their own justification before God: and to the depraved, it were also inadequate CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 244. The plan on which Mr. Hoare has proceeded differs from that of many of his predecessors in the 2 G same department of theology. His object is not so much to describe the basis, commencement, and growth of the Christian character, as to exhibit that character in its maturity; built indeed on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone, and deriving thence all its stability and support, but called forth into the actual operations of private, social, and civil life. Mr. Walker, of Truro, when advocating the same cause in his "Christian," published in the year 1755, following the more common plan, traced the character of the true believer, from what may be termed its first beginnings, through the successive stages of conviction of sin and danger, up to faith in Christ, and reconciliation withGod; and thence to the renovation of his corrupt nature by the Holy Spirit, and his advance in every Christian and virtuous attainment. Doddridge, in his Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, and many other authors have followed a somewhat similar plan. Now each of these two methods has its respective conveniences and defects. If to begin with the statement of our lost condition by nature, and to conduct the sinner through the regular stages of conviction and conversion, carry with it to the mind something more directly awakening and awful; it yet labours under the disadvantage of seeming to prescribe to all men, notwithstanding the variety in their circumstances and dispositions, the same train of thought and feeling in their return to God. On the other hand, if the picture of the Christian character, in its pre-eminent features, and with its attendant graces, be less arbitrary and systematic in itself, and less revolting to the worldly mind; if its appeal be less to our fears, and more to the imitative part of our nature, it must be allowed that it is also less forcible in its remonstrances, and less decisive in the sentence which it pronounces upon "a world lying. in wickedness." In these and other varieties however, in the mode of appeal, which may be found among the advocates of the same holy cause, we cannot but trace the goodness of God, who would have his religion, in this respect, accommodate itself to the almost infinitely varying cases and characters of men. In this light, indeed, we have been disposed to view the variety of representations which our Lord gives of his kingdom. In these especially, and in the whole volume of Inspiration, there is argument for the reasoning mind; persuasion for the docile; illustrations to arrest the imagination; and, for those who have a taste for the beautiful, such a picture of perfect virtue as could not fail, if the heart of man were not debased in its perceptions by sin, to delight and instruct them. Here, in short, in greater or less degrees, are reproof, correction, and establishment in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect; and that all may be left without excuse in their neglect or rejection of Divine truth. Mr. Hoare's volume consists of eight sermons on the Christian Character; and six occasional sermons on some of the principal seasons to which the church, with each revolving year, directs the attention of her members. As the chief object of the work is the exhibition of the Christian character, we shall attach ourselves principally to the dis courses upon that subject. The topics of this series are as follow:Sermon I. The Christian Name.II. The Christian in his Closet. III. The Christian in his Family.IV. The Christian in his Church.V. VI. & VII. The Christian in the World.-VIII. The Christian in Death. The first discourse has evidently exercised the Author's ingenuity. He states hypothetically, the three different ways by which Christians may have received the name they bear; and whether they obtained it as a stigma of reproach from their enemies; or whether they assumed it on their own authority by way of necessary distinction between themselves and the world; or whether they were divinely commissioned to adopt it; he asserts, that "we must regard ourselves as most imperatively called to inquire into the condition, character, and obligation connected with so sacred a mark," The author's observations on the place where this distinctive badge was first attained, are a fair specimen of his manner of writing.— "The origin of the Christian name, in reference to the place where it first arose, affords one instance of the many signal and instructive triumphs of Di. vine grace in the progress of Christianity. Antioch, the mistress of an empire once large and celebrated in the annals of heathenism, is recorded, in the verses preceding the text, as the first heathen city which embraced the Gospel. This city, once held in sway by a tyrannical and persecuting Epiphanes,was seen to admit into its bosom a few unprotected preachers of the Christian faith, Antioch, the seat of learning and the arts, but infamous for the most flagitious vices, and the practice of most abominable idolatries, listened with attention to the humbling and self-denying doctrines of the religion of Jesus: and so great was the number of converts, that here they gained their first Gentile settlement, and a name indicating their existence as a religious community. They which were scattered abroad, upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch.And some of them, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord."" pp. 2, 3. The difficulty of Mr. Hoare's subject consisted in shewing, with sufficient clearness, the difference between the mere profession, and the power of religion; and in connecting, in the strictest union, the new name with the new nature of the Christian. And this point is the more important in proportion to the liability to two different errors very common in the present day. Many persons are apt to substitute attention to the external forms of religion, and an open avowal of their creed, for the spirit and temper, the heavenly mindedness and the deadness to the world, required by the Gospel; whilst a still larger number consider their baptism and education as of necessity constituting them, to all desirable purposes, the disciples of a crucified Master. And though this sermon does not in every part keep fully in view that broad line of distinction which must ever subsist between nominal and real religion, yet the following spirited and discriminating application of the subject to the conscience will sufficiently attest the author's clear and scriptural sentiments upon this point. "To be a Christian is, as we have seen, to be allied to Christ; and this, not only by His sharing our human nature, but by our own participation in His divine nature. It is to have His Spirit within us; to be made in the image of God; to aspire after the lofty and inestimable privileges of the brethren of Christ, a share in His righteousness, an admission through Him into the presence of the most holy God, a fellow-inheritance with Him in eternal glory. To be a Christian, is, we have further seen, to believe the humbling doctrines of the Cross, which lay low the pride of man, and bring us, as needy supplicants, to the Throne of Mercy; it is, ever to follow the self-denying precepts, the meek and lowly example, of our Saviour.-Compare then, my brethren, this character with that of too many in the world, calling themselves Christians. Are they Christians, who are too proud to confess, and much too fond to forsake, those very sins, from which Christ came to redeem them; still, however, perhaps, trusting in themselves, to be saved by works of righteousness which they have done, not according to that mercy which He hath purchased for us by His own blood? Are they Christians, who choose, in preference to himself, the things which Christ has taught us to despise; who In rather than that which tends to the glory of Christ, or assimilates them to His Divine image? My brethren, examine yourselves conscientiously, and as if before God, by these tests; and according as conscience decides, so place yourselves, or not, amongst those who were, in the first ages of a pure church, 'called Christians."" pp. 16, 17. The next sermon presents to us "the Christian in his closet," from the words of the Psalmist, "Stand in awe, and sin not; commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still." (Psa. iv. 4.) From this discourse we quote the following just description of the nature of true religion, as demanding retirement for the purpose of keeping alive its salutary impressions. "The nature of Christ's religion is such, as both to need, and to court retirement Its principal seat is within the soul; where in secret it exerts its influence on the thoughts and affections, and presides over the springs and first movements of life. Where then will the Christian more readily be found, than where the heart may have its freest exercise, and the thoughts their fullest scope; and the mind, collected within itself, may watch the growth of its own spiritual principles? Privacy, the solitary place, and lonely hour will be dear to the religious man for such purposes. And bearing the imperative command, Keep thy heart with all diligence,' he will much desire, and often plan, the secret opportunity for examining his heart, and discerning its thoughts and intentions." pp. 24, 25. quently, but improperly urged, of intense occupation in a worldly calling, as leaving no time for the duties of the closet, we meet with the following passage, in which the author not only exposes the futility of this excuse, but describes the beneficial effects produced, on the general habits, by the conscientious application even of a small pottion of time, daily, to the purposes of devotion. "The true reason why so many persons in the world can find no time for the retired devotions of the closet, amounts, after every excuse, to this, that they daily mispend or waste that portion of their time which they might devote to religious purposes, and the salvation of their souls. What, then, is the remedy? Teach them the strict necessity of giving in each day some time, some thought and attention to their spiritual concerns; and they will then look for moments which may be so employed; and soon will find themselves able to dedicate to retirement, and to God, what else had been employed on trifling pursuits, idle company, sinful pleasures, or vain amusements. Thus will a sober economy of time be induc. ed. We shall live under the impression that every moment has its value for some important purpose; and what is more, that every moment, as it passes, hastens to a durable record on high, from which it will, with its employment, again appear, either for us or against us, at a future day. Valuing our time for religions purposes, we should then also be led to employ it discreetly in temporal affairs. A real and effective industry for both worlds would grow up together: and increased usefulness to our family and friends would result from a plan, which still left room for profitable retirement, self-recollection, preparation for heaven, and delightful converse with our God and Saviour." pp. 37, 38. The next sermon, on "the Cbristian in his family," affords us the picture of a well-ordered household, exemplifying not the professed principles only, but the renewed dispositions, of those who are placed at its head; where regular instruction is accompanied In reply to the excuse too fre- and enforced by a consistent sober example; where a sober cheerfulness and a cheerful seriousness bespeak the repose of a good conscience; and where the glory of God and the everlasting benefit of men are the commanding principles of action. Whoever has witnessed the power of religion, as evinced in the chastised habits and devotional regularity, yet real enjoyments, of a truly Christian family will not wonder that, within this sacred enclosure, the vanities of the world are superseded by the higher resources of intelligence and piety. In these scenes of domestic retirement, the worldling and the infidel might find their most unanswerable refu tation; and the sincere, though at times dejected, servant of Christ, his best earthly encouragement and support. The influence of example, in producing these salutary effects upon a small community united under the same roof, is welldescribed in the following quota tion. "In addition to precept, the force of example is not to be forgotten, in keeping up family religion. The reflecting Christian is aware of the strength of this most important engine in society this magnet, as it were, of secret attraction felt through all the system of human motives, and human conduct. It has this most peculiar advantage, that, as the highest may influence the lowest by the force of example, so even the lowest may benefit and improve the highest rank. This, which may be every where exemplified, is never more. powerfully felt, than amongst the several branches of the same family. The features of the mind, as it is said of the body, become assimilated in our fre quent intercourse with each other. And this influence will more especially descend from the higher to the lower branches. It is often observable, that the character of the master will be that of his whole household. Knowing, in short, how much may depend upon it, the Christian will ever be careful to guard both what he says, and what he does, within the circle of the family. If at the head of it, he would be ashamed to appear before its youthful or lower members, but in consistency with his high and holy profession; and would tremble at the thought, that his presence should prove a curse in his house rather than a blessing. And if in the humblest domestic station, he will study to adorn it with a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price. He will remember, that even the little maid' in the house of Naaman the Syrian, was qualified to prove a blessing to her master: and for himself, he will desire that his character may agree with that of the Psaltion, yet do I not forget thy commandmist; I am small, and of no reputa ments.'" pp. 56-58. It was to be expected that Family Prayer would be advocated in a sermon of this kind, and that weight given to this necessary feature in the Christian's life which it deserves. We are glad to be able to furnish our readers with an extract, which, if duly considered, can scarcely fail to produce coo, viction as to the obligation of this important, but even to this day too much neglected, duty. "But L must here more particularly advert to a practice, which may be truly considered as first and last in the arrangements of the Christian Family; and that is, Family Prayer. This is indeed the only stated occasion on which the Christian can acknowledge God in his family; and this is the proper oppor tunity for diffusing religious instruction through his house. As we have here a subject of great moment, and through a too frequent neglect of the duty calling for the most serious admonition, permit me, my brethren, to premise my observations on it, with one remark of general application. It is this, that if we acknowledge the duty of assembling the members of our household night and morning, for the purpose of social worship and hearing the word of God, no consideration whatever of its singularity, or of its inconvenience, should be suffered to interfere with its perfor mance. Domestic arrangements might very soou be made to bend to this ob ject: they ought to do so; and it is a fact, that no families are so well ordered as those which begin and end the day with family prayer. A family without prayer has been well compared to a garment without hem or selvage.' And |