long swayed here; whether the Son of God is soon to come in glory, and assume the sceptre of the earth; and whether the race is to be redeemed by him from sin, suffering, and death, and raised to the spotlessness and bliss of unfallen immortals?

Those whose chief interest is in the Redeemer's kingdom cannot but be roused by the approach of these momentous events to a fresh desire and endeavor to reach a true knowledge of the purposes he has revealed. Laying aside prejudices and preconceptions, they will be prompted to receive the teachings of his word in their simple and natural import; and in proportion as they comprehend them, they will find themselves transported with wonder and joy at the vastness and glory of the redemptive scheme he is to pursue through his everlasting reign.

While a fresh investigation of these great themes is thus a duty, a strict adherence is peculiarly obligatory to the indubitable laws of interpretation, a careful avoidance of unauthorized theories, and a stern repression of the disposition which has so often revealed itself in students of prophecy, to precipitate events, and treat all unexpected and startling occurrences, however irrelevant they may be, as verifications of important predictions. Nothing has contributed more to discredit the subject than the impatience that has sometimes been exhibited at the tardiness with which events advance; the eagerness with which watch is kept for catastrophes; and the indiscretion with which occurrences of little significance are elevated into a rank that none but the most lofty and awe-inspiring symbols could denote. Calmness, a serene trust in God, an unfailing expectation of the exact accomplishment of his word, submission to his wisdom and sovereignty, and earnest desires to do his will in the spheres he appoints, are the affections that should reign in the heart; and their presence will be at once the proof and the pledge of the enlightening, guiding, and sustaining aids of the Spirit.

It is obviously the duty, also, of those whom God has led to a knowledge of the truth, to endeavor to win others to the consideration and reception of it. Though many are not likely to be withdrawn from their false faiths, except by avenging judgments that confound and overwhelm, there

are multitudes that are held in no such vassalage to error, who may be easily led to look with interest to the prophetic word, and receive the forewarnings and promises God has given respecting the overthrow which is at hand of the antichristian powers, the coming and reign of Christ, and the redemption of the world. And it is the part of fidelity to Christ, and love to his disciples, to endeavor to bring such to share in the joys and hopes which faith in these great realities inspires.

ART. XI.-LITERARY AND CRITICAL NOTICES.

1. THOUGHTS on PREACHING, being Contributions to Homiletics, by James W. Alexander, DD. New York: Charles Scribner, 1861.

THIS volume consists first, of a series of Remarks or Hints on the course to be pursued by a minister in his studies and preparation for the pulpit; which the author designed to unfold in a systematic treatise on the subject. Next, of a course of Letters on the theme addressed to a young minister, and published in the Presbyterian;' and lastly, of a number of essays on the subject, published in the Princeton Review. The HomileticParagraphs owe their chief interest to the picture they present of his peculiar cast of mind, and the views he had formed of the preaching that is most likely to be attended with proper effects on a congregation. The chief topics treated in the Letters, are Devotion to the Work of the Ministry; Cultivation of Personal Piety; Enjoyments in the Labors of the Office; Studies, Use of Time, and Extempore Preaching. They are marked by ease, spirit, good judgment and taste; present a cheerful, rousing, and elevating view of the toils and joys of the calling; and may be read with pleasure and benefit by others, as well as those in the sacred office. The essays that follow on Studies and Discipline Preparatory for the Pulpit; the Matter of Preaching; Expository Discourses; the Pulpit of Ancient and Modern Times; the Eloquence of the French Pulpit; and Miscellaneous Preaching-are of a higher order, in learning, thought, and style. His delineations of the great preachers of the Ancient church, and the Catholic Orators of France especially, are highly pleas

ing, and cannot be read without profit by those who are entering the ministry.

One of the most important of the counsels he gives in respect to a preparation for the pulpit is, that the original text, especially of the New Testament, should be critically studied, and the exact force of the words, the connexion of the thought, and the bearing of the reasoning ascertained with the minuteness and exactitude that would be requisite, were a formal exposition to be written, instead of a discourse for the desk. It is not only a better method than any other; it is the only one that can lead to a truly accurate and profound knowledge of the Sacred Word. A beauty and greatness of meaning—a height and depth of truth, are unfolded in such a process that escape the glance of the cursory reader.

Another counsel he gives, and earnestly urges, is-that a share of the discourses from the pulpit should be devoted to systematic exposition of the Scriptures. There is no mode of instruction, we believe, so easy, or so beneficial and grateful to the preacher, who is prepared by a critical knowledge of the passages he expounds, or so intelligible, attractive, and edifying to a congregation. It unfolds the finest opportunity, and presents the happiest excitement to the free, energetic, and lofty play of the preacher's powers, both as a thinker and speaker; and enables him to present a great variety of truths in natural, graceful, and impressive attitudes, which he would scarcely treat in more formal discourses. It is in such discourses often that the most resplendent flashes of thought are seen; the loftiest bursts of eloquence are heard.

2. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW : Explained by Joseph Addison Alexander. New York: C. Scribner, 1861.

THIS work was unfortunately left unfinished by the author. It is without an Introduction, and the Commentary closes with the sixteenth chapter, though the Analysis is given, which would have been prefixed to each of the others, had not death intercepted him from completing the exposition. In his synopsis of hapter xxiv., he exhibits vs. 23-31, as a prediction, that Christ's coming will be as conspicuous as the lightning or the flight of eagles to their prey, and be followed by the most terrific changes in the frame of nature, and the final gathering of God's elect; and yet he states that "in a certain sense this whole prophetic scheme was to be verified before the end of the contemporary generation."

He thus ascribes to the prediction, as he had in his comment on Mark, a double meaning. In that work he maintained, it will be recollected, that "from the very nature and design of prophecy it cannot be certainly determined which of those senses is literal and which figurative, until the event shall make it clear." The overthrow of Jerusalem, which he held is one of the events foreshown in the passage, most certainly is not the event it literally denotes; and there as certainly was no literal advent of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven at that epoch. If verses 29, 30, then, were in any sense a prophecy of the desolation of Jerusalem, it must have been a mere tropical sense. The event, consequently, which the prediction literally foreshows, is still future, and can, by the supposition, be nothing else than the literal personal advent of the Son of Man in the clouds, in great power and glory.

The work bears the usual marks of Dr. A.'s eminent learning. Who shall assume the task he has left unfinished? Similar comments on Luke and John, are greatly to be desired. But a long time will pass, we fear, ere another will rise of the requisite genius, scholarship, and judgment, to fill the sphere he occupied.

3. NOTES ON SCRIPTURE, by Joel Jones, LL.D. Philadelphia: W. S. & A. Martien, 1861.

THESE Notes occupied a conspicuous place in the Journal for a series of years, and drew, in an unusual measure, the attention and approval of readers. They are now arranged in chronological order, divided into chapters, with lists prefixed of their themes, and at the close, a full index is given of topics, and a table of texts, that render a reference easy to subjects and passages. The volume opens with a brief testimonial to Judge Jones's high character as a man, a jurist, a Christian, and a scholar, and commendation of the Notes, from the Rev. R. J. Breckenridge, D.D.; and also a delicate and appreciative Memoir from the pen of the Rev. C. W. Shields. It is not necessary that we should state at large our estimate of the work. With the exception of here and there a view, it meets our hearty assent, and is, in our judgment, one of the most important, most pleasing, and most timely contributions to Biblical exposition that has been made of late years. The author had a larger measure of that insight into the meaning of the Divine Word, which seems to be the special gift of the Spirit, than perhaps any other person we have had the happiness to know.

4. THE CHARACter of Jesus, FORBIDDING HIS POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION WITH MEN, by Horace Bushnell. New York: Charles Scribner, 1861.

AMONG the images of the deities worshipped by the Asiatics, there were several that were formed partly of the human and partly of an animal shape. The human head, bust, or limbs, may have been eminently true to nature; while the figure, as a whole, was false and revolting. And such is Dr. Bushnell's Nature and the Supernatural, from which the chapter republished in this elegant form is taken. As a whole, it is neither Nature nor the Supernatural, but a repulsive distortion; while the part here given-set in it like a gem to reflect a glow on the dark ground by which it is surrounded-is, disconnected with the treatise at large, and interpreted as those unaware of his system will naturally understand it, eminently truthful and beautiful.

5. BLIND BARTIMEUS; or the Story of a Sightless Sinner and His Great Physician, by Rev. Wm. J. Hoge, D.D. Published by the American Tract Society. New York, 1861.

WE are glad to see this earnest work-abounding in vivid pic. tures and bold appeals-noticed by us in a former number, issued in this tasteful form by the American Tract Society. It is especially adapted to interest, impress, and win the young.

6. THE HOP-PICKERS; by the late Sarah Maria Fry. Published by the American Tract Society, 150 Nassau Street, New York.

THIS simple narrative presents an instructive exemplification of the manner in which God owns the sympathies, the labors, and the prayers of his children for those who are placed within their reach, and leads on sometimes to the conversion of a group of persons, who if repelled or neglected, because of formidable discouragements, would have continued in ignorance and sin, and perished. Many a gem is thus drawn by humble hands from the dark mines of the world, that is to sparkle and glow for ever among Christ's jewels.

7. THE VOCABULARY OF PHILOSOPHY, MENTAL, MORAL, AND METAPHYSICAL, with Quotations and References for the Use of Students. By William Fleming, D.D., Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. From the second