borah, the composer of the song, is called by the sacred historian a prophetess. And then we have the further argument that if we reject the inspiration of the Song of Deborah, we shall in consistency be bound to reject many other parts of the Scripture, which rest on no better evidence. Now, as to the first, it would be uncandid to deny that the use of the word prophetess does create a presumption in favour of the person so designated. That is to say, the use of the term disposes us, to receive as inspired words spoken by the prophet on any solemn occasion, more especially if accompanied by a claim to speak with Divine authority.

"But it is quite certain that the Hebrew prophet did not always speak the truth, even when claiming to be the bearer of a message from GOD. The old prophet of Samaria was a real prophet, and subsequently proved that he was. He deliberately announced to his unfortunate brother his prophetical character, and claimed to be the bearer of a Divine message. 'But he lied unto him.' And the Jewish law itself contemplates the possibility that a prophet may arise, fortified by a real miracle, and yet enunciating falsehood. If there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet.'

"There are other less salient points which I might touch on, as for example, that inspiration is only claimed for one verse, namely, the curse upon Meroz, and that the egotistical tone of the seventh verse is hardly like the self-abandonment of the true prophet. These considerations are not without their weight, but I have no wish to press them and I am quite ready to admit that the balance of external evidence is, upon the whole, in favour of the inspiration of the Song of Deborah. What I do maintain is, that that balance is not sufficiently strong to overcome the tremendous internal improbabilities of the case. And I cannot too frequently remind you that that and no other is the question which we have to decide."-Pp. 13-15.

Of course this is not the way in which a Catholic would deal with the matter; nor is it the only alternative, it seems to us, that is open for persons who seek a solution. It is surely possible to suppose that Deborah had regard simply to the consequences of Jael's act, irrespective of its morality, in pronouncing the author of it to be "blessed." And is not her commemoration of it in some degree parallel to the Church calling the day on which the treachery of Judas and the malignity of the Jews were consummated "Good Friday?" In each case the wickedness of the act is overlooked in contemplating the deliverance which it was the means of effecting.

2. The conclusions at which Mr. Jellett arrives in considering the sacrifice of Isaac are twofold, (1) that it was done in obedience to a direct command, and (2) that it served a high moral purpose. The spiritual and typical significance of Holy Scripture seems never to be taken into account by this writer.

(1.) I think (he writes) that we cannot fairly deny that the command would present, to him, a certain amount of internal improbability. "On the other hand, unless we are prepared to reject the entire history of God's intercourse with Abraham as a fable, or (which is much the same thing) as a myth, we cannot deny that, to him, the external evidence was overwhelming. The constant intercourse with GOD, which he enjoyed, must have given to him a power of recognising the Divine commands, of which we can form but little conception. Had this been his first communication with God, he might, and, perhaps, ought to have regarded it with considerable scepticism. But at the close of a long life, spent in constant intercourse with GOD, in receiving and obeying His direct commands, this was a point on which Abraham could hardly be mistaken. We may then, I think, fairly infer, not only that the Christian Church is right in the view which it takes of the sacrifice; but that in receiving the command as truly Divine, Abraham acted in strict conformity with the rules of a rightly directed reason." -Pp. 34, 35.

(2.) On the second point he writes eloquently :

"If you would have the sacrifice of Isaac light such a fire in your hearts, my brethren, forget the cruel rites of Paganism, which this resembles in nothing but its material aspect, and try if you cannot find, scattered through the history of all time, many a juster analogy. Seek for the likeness of that noble man, not in the parent who made his child to pass through the fire to Moloch, but in those, and there have been many such, who have been willing to surrender all that they held dearest on earth to the call of duty-to that which is in truth the voice of GOD. Seek it in him who sends his child to an almost certain death in defence of his country. Seek it in the parent who sees his child go forth as a missionary, with scarce a hope that on this earth they shall ever meet again. And when you have learned to sympathize with—I had almost said to envy-the heart that is capable of sacrifices such as these, you may then raise your eyes to the throne of GOD, and understand why He permits, nay, ordains them. Strong in this sympathy, you will understand something of the function which the suffering of the innocent has to discharge in this life. You will read many a dark page in history, and be reconciled to the belief, that everything recorded there has happened under the overruling providence of GOD. Latimer in the flames at Oxford; Francis Xavier breathing his last on the wintry shore of China-was there nothing in these tragedies pleasing in the sight of GOD-nothing which reconciles us to the belief that they happened under His overruling providence? Yes, my brethren, there was: not because He is a Moloch, delighting in blood; not because, as some theologians falsely tell you, His glory is promoted by the misery of His creatures; but because, in and through all that cruel suffering, there shone a moral grandeur not to be purchased at a lower cost. Be of good cheer, my lord,' said one illustrious sufferer, with all the prophetic spirit of approaching death,' we shall this day light a candle in England which, with the blessing of GOD, shall never be extinguished.' It is to light these beacons, without which history were dark indeed, that

much human suffering has been permitted-nay, ordained. So it was with Abraham; so it has been with many. since.

"GOD grant to us, my brethren, so to read these histories, often perplexing enough, that we may recognise in them the mighty purpose which they were meant to serve. And may He grant to us, too, that the light, so dearly bought, shall not have shone upon our lives in vain. Amen."-Pp. 35-37.

3. The difficulties connected with the destruction of the Canaanites Mr. Jellett treats in a somewhat more faltering way, but the conclusion is on the side of orthodoxy.

"These difficulties are, for the most part, connected with a problem which the most cautious thinkers will pronounce, not absolutely insoluble, but most probably insoluble by us-I mean the existence of evil. Over that tremendous question hangs a cloud which in this world we shall never dispel, and whose dark shadow falls over every department of theology. But we may fairly ask-If this cloud were removed, would the sky be really clear? The existence of evil has been called, and perhaps, in a certain sense, truly called, the difficulty of theology. But is it indeed true that with it all difficulties would disappear? Is it even certain that, could we now sweep evil with all its attendant perplexities from off this world for ever, we might not thereby call into existence difficulties as perplexing. With the melting of that cloud might there not arise darkness as impenetrable to our mortal sight as any that now obscures it? The question is worth a moment's thought.

"Let us suppose that it were done. Let us suppose that danger and sorrow, and pain and death, were banished from this world. Let us think of man's life as of one unclouded day-a day which knows no storm- -a day which fears no night. What we should gain by such a change it is easy to see; but think for a moment what we should lose. Is there, to our limited intellect, no difficulty attendant on the existence of a being perfectly happy? Pass in review before you all the elements of human nature. Choose out of them those upon which we lookupon which, we irresistibly think, all must look with the truest admiration; all those qualities which make man the greatest and noblest of the creatures of earth; and then ask, what do these qualities require, to make them, I will not say active, but conceivable, at least by us? Is it not the existence of evil? Courage where there is no danger-fortitude where there is no suffering-compassion where there is no misery -how can these things be?

"Or cast your eye back over the page of history, dark as it is with so much sorrow-with so much sin, and say, if you could wipe off every stain that disfigures it now, does it not seem that it would be left a moral blank?

"It is in man's conflict with evil, not in a life of sunny and unmixed happiness, that we look for the highest types of humanity. It is beside that memorable altar on Moriah-through the dark night of the Exodus -before the assembled idolaters of Carmel, that the forms of Abraham, or Moses, or Elijah, tower in all their surpassing grandeur. Where

had room been found for their great qualities in a world of unmixed happiness? At best, they must have slumbered within their breasts, unknown to all around them, unfelt even by themselves, perhaps tó perish through disuse, certainly to remain barren.

And so, my brethren, if any one should derive from the admitted existence of evil an argument against the benevolence of his Creator, bid him draw for you a picture of an ideal world, and an ideal GOD; and then ask yourself, does not his conception involve as many difficulties as the world and the GOD of Scripture. Remember that, with such a Being, clothed with the best and greatest attributes which our fancy can paint, the object of His Providence must be twofold; to give to His creatures the largest amount of happiness, and to develope the highest forms of moral life; and that these objects, viewed by our limited intellects, are in much antagonistic, I think it impossible to deny. I can conceive a world of unmixed happiness; I can conceive a world morally great; but to provide for the growth of moral grandeur, in a world which knows neither sin nor sorrow-that is a problem of which I cannot conceive the solution.

"That it has a solution I am sure; that a time will come when virtue and suffering shall be separated I am sure; it may be that the trials of earth are its necessary condition; it may be that sorrow and temptation will then have done their work, and may be allowed to pass away for ever. But for the present, and to our mortal sight, it is a dark riddle, dark as the existence of a Borgia or a Catiline.

"And that it has a solution; that the virtuous man will not always be exposed to suffering; that a time will come when every end of his being can be accomplished without it; all this we learn from Revelation alone. It is Revelation which bids us hope for a happiness without alloy; it is Revelation which tells us that in heaven GOD shall wipe away tears from all faces."-Pp. 82-85.

REVIEWS AND NOTICES.

A Selection from the Sermons of the late Rev. SAMUEL RICKARDS, M.A., Rector of Stowlangtoft, and formerly Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. Mozleys.

THESE Sermons possess a very decided character. The writer of them had evidently made preaching a study, and that not only theoretically and generally, but by carefully adapting it to the wants of his congregation. The circumstance referred to imparts of course a certain sameness to the volume before us. The objective view of dogma is rather subordinated to the consideration of the external condition of the people; and it may be a question if such condescension on the part of a preacher is always necessary. Sermons of this kind, however, we may certainly say, mingled with others would be very effective. We would mention "Life's Sun and Sunshine," and "The Bond that links Time with Eternity," as admirable specimens of sermons addressed to country congregations—thoughtful, original, plain, and tender.

Diocesan Synods: a Letter to the Lord Bishop of S. David's on a Passage in his Recent Charge. By the Rev. RICHARD SEYMOUR, M.A. Rivingtons.

THE passage referred to in the Charge is that in which the Bishop in his strange desire to repress the life of the Church, denounces the proposal to revive Diocesan Synods, as an attempt to gain "a declaration of faith" against certain recent judgments. Mr. Seymour very respectfully, but very stoutly, takes the Bishop to task for this most unwarrantable statement. Were the office of a Bishop other than what it is, we should be constrained to apply to the recent conduct of the Bishop the heathen sentiment, Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat.

The Autobiography of John Brown the Cordwainer, &c. Mowbray, Oxford; and Masters, London.

THIS is a genuine, hearty book, which will afford amusement and interest in many circles. The stories, which abound in it, may not suit those mealy-mouthed persons who imagine that the Church is not canvassed by the vulgar,—and to clerical readers many of them are not new. But if the Church is to be popularized, she must be content to appeal to the feelings and judgment of the million in matters affecting her outward status and her ceremonial worship. Artistically we think that the author has been guilty of an error in commencing with a long preface, after the manner of Scott's early novels, professing to account for the manuscript of John Brown having fallen into his hands. But when the reader comes to the actual story he will find it abounding in quaint humour such as, we believe, prevails extensively in the artisan classes of society. The author is a great advocate for open churches, and for providing amusements of all kinds for the people.

Mr. Hodges, the enterprising publisher of Frome, has commenced a series of small Stories on the Festivals, of which we have seen two, called respectively "Beatrice Lindsay's Wish," and "Lonely Tim." School teachers will find them very useful.

Mr. Masters has just published what is certainly a marvel of cheapness-The People's Hymnal, containing 600 hymns beautifully printed for 6d. In the great abundance of matter here provided, where people may choose for themselves what they will use and what they will reject, it would be superfluous to criticise single hymns. Rather we would note that east and west, old and new, have been made to contribute to the collection. There is also a good index, which marks the authorship of the different hymns. Upwards of twenty of the Minor Festivals have special hymns provided for them; there are also Processional Hymns and Litanies.

To Dr. STAINER, the Organist of Magdalen College, Oxford, we are indebted for an entirely new set of harmonies for the Gregorian Tones, (Novello,) which he modestly calls only Suggestions to the Young Organist. Of course they cannot be exhaustive; and at the end he gives specimens of more elaborate harmonies. He also gives a large