He had the melancholy office to perform of laying ten of his children in the grave, while only one (the excellent daughter to whose filial piety, it appears, we are chiefly indebted for these memorials) was spared to survive him, and, with her devoted mother, to smooth the dying pillow of their venerated relative. These numerous bereavements tended greatly, we doubt not, to modify and mellow his character, and under the working of the Spirit of God to promote that deep inward saintliness which is not the least charming feature of this memoir. Our German neighbours have a proverb, that it is the wine-press alone that gives wine. It is impossible to read without being sensibly and beneficially impressed by many of the reflections he entered in his diary, as, from time to time, the wounds of his spirit were opened afresh by the successive invasions of his family circle. Let one specimen suffice of his exercise under these fatherly chastisements.

"In five months more I was visited with a still heavier affliction, by the death of my only surviving son, David, a boy eight years old, who caught scarlet fever, on Friday, the 14th of August, 1812, and departed to the eternal world in the forenoon of the following Sabbath. This stroke was sudden, and the blow severe. But there was a 'need be' for it, and I desire most heartily to approve of it. My child had come too much between me and God. I thought I could not live in the world if God took him from us; and now he has wisely put me to the test. Let me not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when I am rebuked of him. While this dear boy was spared, with his two sisters, I considered my family as still having a representative, and was ready to say with the father of Noah, 'This same shall comfort us.'

But God's ways are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts. This dispensation is a mercy to my soul, notwithstanding all my former breaches. So long as I had one son remaining, my proud and carnal heart was still disposed to cleave to something else than God, and to estimate my happiness, not by an interest in God's sure and well-ordered covenant, but by earthly prospects and earthly enjoyments. I looked around, and presumed that I was as happy as others; without considering, as I ought, that neither children, nor any other blessing, must be looked to as the foundation of happiness, but only received as pledges of new covenant love, which will be continued as long as God sees them for our good, and which he may see meet to take from us in the exercise of a still greater love than he has bestowed them. Oh, that I may be kept from measuring my heavenly Father's regards to my soul by my having a son or a daughter, but by his suiting his dispensation to my particular

condition and circumstances.—not with respect to my present comfort, which is but a poor perishing thing at best, but with respect to my eternal well-being, which will more than compensate for all the hardships and sufferings to which I may be subjected in my way to it. There is no reason for murmuring at what I have met with. In looking back over these few months, I find that my zeal for the interests of religion in the congregation, and the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom in the world, has been cold and languid,-that I have been carnal in my thoughts, and worldly in my discourse,-formal in family religion, and remiss in secret prayer. Surely, then, it was needful, that for a season I should be in heaviness through manifold temptations.' Happy will it be for me if, by the sadness of the countenance, my heart is made better. Oh, where shall I go with my burdened and guilty soul but to the blood which cleanseth from all sin! Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more; that which I see not, teach thou me; if I have done iniquity, I will do so no more.'" pp. 53, 54.

Our space will not admit of further extracts, neither can we enter on a critique of the sermons and addresses, which are highly favourable specimens of pulpit compositions, especially when it is considered that the author most certainly never contemplated their being used as anything else. It will be interesting to many of our readers, to be informed of the near relation in which Dr. Hay stood to our late admirable friend, Dr. Waugh, and of the cordial and affectionate intimacy early begun, and uninterruptedly maintained, between the two excellent and congenial kins

"When I was about eleven years of age, I went, at his own request, to reside with my maternal uncle, Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Waugh, who had been recently ordained (1780) at Newtown, a small village in the parish of Melrose, from which he was soon after translated to London. The congregation over which he was called to preside had been newly formed, and as yet had no manse for their minister, who continued to reside with his father at Caldronbrae, a farm in the parish of Stitchel, and where I spent the winter with him, his object being to acquaint himself with my capacity and attainments, in order to advise with my friends respecting my future destination in life. was frequently from home, as most clergymen in the commencement of their ministry necessarily are, yet his kind and affable manner attached me so ardently to him, that when he was about to remove to London, I entreated him to take me with him,

Though he

thinking life would not be bearable if he left me behind, a wish which I ought not to have expressed, and it was not expedient for him to gratify. Nevertheless, his deportment towards me taught me a lesson, which I would also seek to inculcate upon others, that if we wish young persons to profit by our instructions or example, these must be affectionate and amiable. Mr. Waugh having advised that I should enter upon a course of education for the holy ministry, I was sent to Stitchel school by way of experiment, where I commenced the Latin rudiments."— pp. 9, 10.

Dr. Waugh's estimation of his nephew was afterwards most decisively indicated by his sending his sons to be educated at Kinross, under the superintendence of their cousin. We must not omit to add, that Dr. Mackel vie has added materially to the obligations under which the religious public already lie to him, by the manner in which he has performed his part in the production of this volume. He has given us a great body of interesting statistical information in the form of notes, and furnished us with a general estimate of Dr. Hay's character, as well as the account of the latter part of his life, the close of which was emphatically peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Let us die the death of the righteous, and let our last end be like his. We cordially recommend this work.

WESLEY, AND METHODISM. By ISAAC

TAYLOR. Post 8vo. pp. 376. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. THE title, the author, and the masculine power, of this essay, will secure its success. It is neither a eulogy, nor a traduction of Methodism; but a philosophical treatise on its genius, a sketch of its past history, and a sagacious glance at its probable future. It bears on every page the impress of an original mind; and affords palpable proof of a strong purpose of usefulness in the mind of the writer. If it should fail to benefit the great Methodist family, and, indeed, all other religionists of the earnest and evangelical class, it will not be the author's fault. The book is

pregnant with thought, thought of the highest order, and calculated to produce a salutary impression upon the age.

The topics discussed are of very stirring characters. We have "Methodism, as related to the present times;"'-we have " The Founders of Methodism,""-we have the" Substance of Methodism;”- -we have "The Form of (Wesleyan) Methodism;”—and we have " The Methodism of the Time coming."

We have not taken any active part in the recent Methodist controversy; but we have not, on that account, been indifferent to its effects upon Methodists themselves, and upon other bodies of evangelical Christians.

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Assuredly, it is melancholy enough to watch the antagonism, as it is conducted in "The Watchman" and "The Wesleyan Times;" and painful enough to listen to the remarks of those who contend for things as they are, and of those who rank themselves on the side of reform. Wishing well to all that we deem Scriptural in Methodism, we have a growing conviction that, without some radical changes in its platform, it will not long occupy the commanding position which has been assigned to it. The Conference may continue to stand on its legal pedestal; but in so doing, it will gradually lose its moral power, and continuous warfare will be its type, instead of the high spiritual function which has been the glory of Methodism.

We cannot help believing, from the study we have made of John Wesley's characterfor we have a high estimate of his burning zeal for the honour of God and the salvation of souls-that, had he lived in our times, and watched the progress of public opinion, he would have been the earnest leader of such a reform as would have placed Methodism in sympathy with the popular, and we may say enlightened, feeling of the age. His idea was evidently not that of a fully developed church system. He did what he thought he might do lawfully-worked the materials which Providence had put into his hand; but Methodism as he left it, with all its great powers, was not strictly a church;-and if his successors have made it one, we do not see why they might not have innovated to a still greater extent, and, by the infusion of a popular, or lay element, into their Conference, have saved themselves from the agitations to which they are now subjected.

"It does not appear," observes Mr. Taylor, "that the idea had at any time presented itself to Wesley, when thinking of his society, of a Christianized body-a congregation of faithful men, instructed, religiously intelligent, and competent to take the place, and to discharge the functions, that are implied and supposed in the apostolic writings as belonging to the PEOPLE, the body of the Faithful. We may understand how it was that this idea

this church aspect of the Christian system, did not force itself upon his thoughts. But even if it had, his principles, in relation to government, civil and ecclesiastical, were, in a high degree, autocratic, if not despotic. If he had come into the place of certain noted hierarchs of past ages, his course would have been theirs. With a fervent and paternal love he loved 'his people;' but the notion of a Christian laity, as something more than the patients of an hospital, or the recipients of 'relief,' he does not seem to have entertained, and therefore he made no provision for the constitutional of the society in perpetuity."

But he had forebodings of what would arise

after his decease, and spoke and wrote of it on many occasions; and, it may be, that something like the following train of thought passed through the mind of Wesley, in his last days. "Wesley-let us for a moment imagine it, might thus have forecast the history of his people, and he might have said: 'I have had to do with babes; but these infants are becoming, and will become, men: then, as Christian men, they will acquire at once a mature discretion, and the consciousness of it. To treat them in perpetuity as children, will be not merely unwise, but wholly impracticable. My successors-the legal Conference Hundred, will not fail to know and feel this: they will understand-and will understand in good time, or before it be too late, that, as they do not wield the secular arm or sword, and as they stand in fact upon the ground of a voluntary association, their common interests, their duty as Christian men, as well as every motive of prudence and piety, will prompt them, at an early time after my decease, to invite the people, by their delegates, or otherwise, to consider, and to reconsider the Wesleyan Constitution-to form it anew by mutual concessions, made in the spirit of love, upon a broader basis; and, in a word, they will, no doubt, find the means of safely transmuting this temporary Wesleyan Methodism into a Protestant communion, or church. My preachers will, doubtless, take this course; and certainly they will take it rather than risk their own existence; and the perpetuity of the society itself, by a pertinacious adherence to that which has so little congruity, either with human nature, or with the temper and usages of the Anglo-Saxon race, or with the principles of apostolic Christianity.'"

In this way does Mr. Taylor venture to think and speak for Mr. Wesley; and we cannot but believe that, whether Mr. Wesley thus reasoned in his own mind or not, our Methodist brethren would best prove themselves to be the true successors of their distinguished leader, if they could bring themselves thus to deal with a pending and great controversy. Mr. Taylor has thrown ont precious materials for thought to those who would maintain, unimpaired, the Conference law as it is.

The work before us is no common-place affair. It will create a sensation, and it will aid the interests of truth and godliness.

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PROVIDENCE AND PROPHECY; or God's hand fulfilling his Word, more especially in the Revolutions of 1848, and Subsequent Events. By the Rev. WILLIAM REES. 12mo., pp.

218.

London: Hughes. Liverpool: Jones. WE have much pleasure in introducing the

above work to the Christian public. The writer is one who wisely and carefully observes the events that are passing around him, and who endeavours, inasmuch as the Providence of God is intimately connected with all events that occur, to trace that connection, and furnish thereby increased ground for the admiration and love of Him who regulates the whole according to infinite wisdom. We are furnished by the author in the earlier parts of his work, with an interesting account of those events that preceded and evidently led to that terrible outbreak and confusion of nations in 1848. The political intrigue of Louis Philippe with the court of Spain and other continental powers is well depicted. The writer then endeavours to trace a connexion between the revolution of 1848 and the prophecies of Holy Writ, especially those of Daniel and the Revelation; and to those who belong to the Vitringa and Mede school of prophetical interpretation, in opposition to that pursued by Moses Stuart, Dr. Davidson, and others, the mode of presenting the subject will be regarded as abundantly confirmatory of those views.

In so short a notice as the present it will of course be impossible to represent fully the claims of each particular school. It has, however, occurred to us, whether or not those of the latter school, finding that those of the former had given too great a licence to their imaginations in tracing an agreement where none really existed, have not gone into an opposite extreme, and instead of regarding the symbols employed by John, especially as relating to particular events, suppose that the imagery employed, and the whole machinery of the Revelations, are designed to set forth this general principle, that the church would have to contend with great and numerous enemies, but that it would be ultimately triumphant over all, and that this principle, pervading the whole book, is applicable to all time, and to all events, however diverse, connected with the opposition that the church would meet with. Care of course is required in both cases: while it is true that those of the former school have sought too much in Daniel and the Revelation, perhaps those of the latter have found too little. Independent, however, of these matters, the work before us will be found to amply repay a careful perusal, and by those, especially, who look with interest upon the present position of continental affairs, and it is well calculated to excite in all an increased desire to lend a helping hand in advancing that cause which is destined to give light and liberty to the whole world. We have much pleasure, therefore, in commending it to the attention of all our readers.

A COMPLETE Edition of Bunyan's Writings, in which nothing known to be his has been omitted, in which standard texts have only been used, and in which critical and historical notices are furnished of every separate work which fell from the pen of the great enchanter, was quite a desideratum. And of all men living, Mr. Offor was the best qualified for the performance of the important service. To a clear judgment of all matters of fact, and an enthusiastic admiration of the Author of "Pilgrim's Progress," he has added a taste for antiquarian research, in all matters pertaining to the history of books and editions, which makes that easy to him which would be very perplexing and recondite to others. His edition of the "Pilgrim" abundantly warrants the opinion of his Editorial ability which we have thus ventured to express. In modern times, there has been no better sample of thorough antiquarian skill applied to the production and elucidation of an authentic edition of a popular work. And from the examination we have been enabled to make of Mr. Offor's labours, on the two first volumes of Bunyan's works, we are disposed to award him equal merit in the execution of his somewhat arduous task. Great accuracy of text seems, in all cases, to have been reached;-pleasing lights are shed upon the circumstances and events which led Bunyan to publish his several works; and a great spirit of piety pervades the Editor's critical remarks. Indeed, we cannot but congratulate the Christian world upon the appearance of so handsome and cheap an edition of works which indicate theological excellence of the highest order.

To eulogize Bunyan, at this time of day, would be a presumption of which we would not be guilty. He was a Prince of Teachers, in his own evil times; and as long as piety and genius have admirers in the Christian church, his writings will be cherished with a never-dying esteem. The more we examine his theology, the more we regret, that his great allegory has, in some measure, tended to throw it into the shade. He a clear-sighted, — thorough-trained Biblical student, who, considering that he was selftaught, was the just wonder of his own age, and must ever rank in the first class of our English Divines.

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was

The illustrations of this Edition of Bunyan's Works, including a fine portrait, the Church and Village of Elstow, Bunyan's Tomb, the Prison in which he was confined,

his Cottage at Elstow, &c. &c., greatly enhance its value; and the paper and printing are all that could be desired.

The Works included in these Two Volumes are-"Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners;". -"Bunyan's Prison Thoughts;" "The Jerusalem Sinner

Saved;" -"The Greatness of the Soul;""The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate;" -"Christ a Complete Saviour; "-" Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ;"-"Of Justification by Imputed Righteousness; "Saved by Grace;"-" The Strait Gate; "-" Light for them that Sit in Darkness; "—"A Treatise on the Fear of God; "-"Israel's Hope Encouraged;"-"A Discourse touching Prayer; ""The Throne of Grace;"-"The Accepted Sacrifice;"- "Paul's Departure and Crown; "-" The Desire of the Righteous Granted;" "The Saint's Knowledge of Christ;"-"Of Antichrist and his Ruin; ""The Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Judgment;"-"Some Gospel Truths opened according to the Scriptures; "-" Vindication of Gospel Truths according to the Scriptures;" -"A Discourse upon the Pharisee and the Publican; "-" A Defence of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith in Jesus Christ;'

Reprobation Asserted; "-" Questions about the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventhday Sabbath;"-" Of the Trinity and a Christian;"- "Of the Law and a Christian ;"

"Scriptural Poems; "-" Exposition of the First Ten Chapters of Genesis; "-" A Holy Life the Beauty of Christianity; "-" Christian Behaviour;"-" Caution to Stir up to Watch against Sin; "-"A Discourse of the Building, Nature, Excellency, and Government of the House of God; "-" Bunyan on the Terms of Communion, and Fellowship of Christians, at the Table of the Lord;"-" On the Love of Christ;"-"A Case of Conscience Resolved; "-" John Bunyan's Catechism;" "Seasonable Counsel to Sufferers; "-"An Exhortation to Peace and Unity;" - and "Bunyan's Last Sermon."

We cannot but express an earnest hope that this splendid and accurate Edition of Bunyan's Works will realize an extensive circulation, equal to its great merits.