Though thy ways be dark, O Lord, Firmly on my mind impress'd, Blest indeed-supremely blest. None there is on earth to save, All around is darkest gloom; Barren as my mother's grave Dreary as my father's tomb. Whilst I press the clay-cold earth, Sorrow presses forth a sigh; And the pang that gives it birth Wafts it to thy throne, the sky. Thou the softest sigh wilt own, For with Him who waits to hear, Oh! how prevalent a groan, Oh! how eloquent a tear. This petition shall express All I now would ask of thee"Father of the fatherless, Parent to the orphan be!" Deal. " TO ZELUDA. E. B. Time shall not see The hour that tears my soul from thee. E'en Azrael, from his deadly quiver When flies that shaft, and fly it must That parts all else, shall doom for ever Our hearts to undivided dust!" I see thee smile, as when the summer's sun Looks through the mists that hid his twilight beam, So has thy gentlest aspect now begun T'illume my soul, to raise an hopeful gleam; Increase thy smiles, create a noonday beam; Complete my bliss, bid each desponding thought Far hence retreat, and vanish as a dream; No fear, no pain, shall then disturb my lot, Forgetting all beside-love only unforgot. And think not, dearest, that my love can change When ripened autumn's withering tints "What manner of man is this, that even the WHY those fears? behold, 'tis Jesus Where the mourners cease to weep. Though the shore we hope to land on, Through the trackless deep move on. We shall pass the wat'ry waste- Think on toils and dangers past. There the tempests cease to roar; On that tranquil happy shore. REVIEW.-An Alarm to Unconverted Sinners. By the Rev. Joseph Alleine. With an introductory Essay. By the Rev. Andrew Thomson, M.Å. Minister of St. George's, Edinburgh. 8vo. pp. 396. London. Whittaker. 1823. ALLEINE'S ALARM is scarcely less known, or less valued, than Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, or John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. It has passed through numerous editions, and obtained a footing in many houses where more splendid compositions can find no place. It contains plain is at once calculated to alarm the contruth, delivered in plain language, and science, and to renovate the heart, Its character has been so long and so commendation is superseded. permanently established, that all reCriticism can add nothing to its lustre, and take nothing from its merit. 3 B The various operations of the human heart he seems to have watched with the most unremitting attention, and few men have made greater proficiency in the cultivation of this exalted science. Nearly five hundred years have elapsed since he entered on the theatre of life, and what improvements soever may have been made by philosophical researches, during this long period, but little has been added to the delineations of the spiritual character, which he has recorded. To those who hold an intimate communion with God, this work is well known, and by such it is highly prized; but to all others, it appears as the dream of an idle visionary, who expatiates in the region of ro The introductory essay, by Mr. | have exposed him to the charge of Thomson, which occupies forty-six enthusiasm, but few publications have pages, is well written, unfolding its descended to us from that benighted excellencies, and combating those ob- period, which have so little of either, jections to which, in the estimation of and so much of vital Christianity. the squeamish and fastidious, some of its plain dealings might seem liable. The Rev. Joseph Alleine " was serious in a serious cause;" his aim was to reach the hearts of his hearers, without dreading their censures, or courting their applause. He considered himself as amenable to a higher tribunal, and under this impression he discharged his duty, leaving the event to God. In this light Mr. Thomson has surveyed this justly celebrated book, the author of which neither flatters vice, nor resorts to any temporizing expedients. Mr. Alleine, "knowing the terrors of the Lord," endeavours to persuade men; and Mr. Thomson has satisfactorily shewn, that although the author has expatiated largely on God's displeasure to-mance. wards the wicked, and placed their danger in an awful light, he has no where gone beyond the boundaries prescribed by scripture, or taken his stand on ground that is untenable. But whatever may be the opinions of those who fear nothing so much as their having too much religion, the numerous editions through which this book has passed, furnishes decisive evidence, that in every intervening age, men have been found, who knew how to appreciate its value. Among these, some of strong minds and vigorous intellects have appeared, on whom the charge of enthusiasm cannot be justly thrown. These have sanctioned their approbation with. their names; and many thousands of pious Christians have read it with much profit in their closets, and found from the perusal, the sacred fire kindling in their hearts. thor of the introductory essay, affords The name of Dr. Chalmers, the auwork; and although the author's sena powerful testimony in favour of this incide with his own, he acknowledges timents do not in every punctilio coits general value, and subscribes to its spiritual and practical tendency. In this essay he enters into the author's design, points out the relation which spiritual communion with God bears to the great doctrines of the cross, and urges the necessity of holiness as the grand criterion of the Christian's character, and as the only way to heaven. The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis, is too well known to require any further recommendation. REVIEW.-Treatises upon the Life, Walk, and Triumph of Faith. By the Rev. W. Romaine, A.M. With an Introductory Essay. By Thomas Chalmers, D.D. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 372 +364. London. Whittaker. 1822. ven is the abode of holy creatures, and that ere we are qualified for admittance there, we must become holy and heavenly ourselves. Nor is there a likelier way of speeding this practical transformation upon our souls, than by keeping up there, through the blood of Christ, a peace in the conscience, which is never truly done, without a love in the heart being kept up along with it. Those who are THE Rev. William Romaine was well justified by faith in the righteousness of Christ, and, in consequence of which, have that peace known, much followed, and highly rewith God which this Author labours so earspected while living; and death, which nestly to maintain in the mind, walk not after has claimed him as a victim, had no the flesh, but after the Spirit; and that man's dart that could wound his reputation. faith in the offered Saviour is not real, nor has he His Treatises on Faith have been ex-given a cordial acceptance to that grace which is so freely revealed in the gospel, if he do not tensively read, and almost as univerdemonstrate the existence of this faith in his sally esteemed. They have already heart, by its operation in his character. A passed the ordeal of criticism, and bypocrite may pervert the grace of the gospel; they now occupy a permanent station as he will seek a shelter for his iniquities in our theological libraries. Of true wherever it can be found. But because he receives it deceitfully, this is no reason why Christian faith the author has taken a it should be withheld from those who receive comprehensive survey, tracing its va- it in truth. The truths which he abuses to rious connexions with other doctrines his own destruction, are nevertheless the very of the gospel, its influence on the truths which serve to aliment the gratitude heart and life, and its immediate and the new obedience of every honest believer, who gives welcome acceptance to all bearings on the realities of an unseen things whatsoever that are written in the book world. of God's counsel, and finds room enough in his moral system for both of the positions, that he is justified by faith, and that he is judged by works."-Vol. I. pp. 20 to 22. " The author's views of faith, being what is called strictly "evangelical,' many of his readers have thought that he has steered within the Antinomian attraction, and on that account have hesitated to follow him in all the walks which faith has taken. Mr. Romaine has certainly said nothing to countenance this pernicious heresy, though it cannot be denied, that he sometimes touches on its confines, and, without designing it, places the unwary in danger. Of this fact, Dr. Chalmers, to whom these volumes are indebted for an introductory essay, appears to have entertained some apprehensions, though he touches the point with a delicate hand, in the following paragraph: "But it is of importance to remark, that the theme on which Mr. Romaine so much loves to expatiate, is a purifying as well as a pleasing theme. It is not only not grievous to indulge in it, bat, most assuredly, to every truehearted Christian, it is safe. We are aware of the alleged danger which some entertain of the tendency of such a full and free exhibition of the grace of the gospel, to produce Antinomianism. But the way to avert this, is, not by casting any part of gospel truth into the shade. It is to spread open the whole of it, and give to every one part the relief and the prominency that it has in Scripture. We are not to mitigate the doctrines of a justifying faith, and an all-perfect righteousness, because of the abuse that has been made of them by hypocrites but, leaving to these doctrines all their prominency, we are to place by their side the no less important, and undeniable truths, that hea This essay contains some peculiar excellencies. Its chief design is to combat objections that may be raised against the author's uniform sameness, and to shield his doctrines from the censures to which they might be exposed. In the former he has displayed much ingenuity, which can hardly fail to ensure success; and in the latter, the specimen we have given will To those bring its own evidence. who have embraced the author's creed, his treatises will be long read with much interest and much affection; while those who fear the quicksands which he seems to approach rather too nearly, will lose the advantages that might be derived from a perusal of his book, through the suspicions which their apprehensions generate. REVIEW.-The Redeemer's Tears, wept over lost Souls, &c. By the Rev. John Howe, A.M. With an Introductory Essay. By R. Gordon, D.D. 8vo. pp. 276. London. Whittaker. 1824. THE Rev. John Howe was a celebrated nonconformist divine, and one who suffered much from the perilous times in which he lived. His writings, which were numerous and diversified, were collected, and published, in 1810, in 759 Review: Christian Remembrancer.-On Justification, &c. 760 one uniform edition, in eight octavo volumes. Of the author's piety and talents the religious public have long formed a favourable judgment, and no reason appears why that opinion should be disturbed. This volume furnishes a fair specimen of his views, of his mode of reasoning, and of his earnestness and zeal to impress the minds of his readers with the all important truths of the gospel. In many paragraphs we may discover a tincture of those times when the pulpit was an arena, on which the theological gladiators worried each other, and occasionally entertained and wearied their hearers. This, however, in the work before us, forms no part of the author's design. His grand object is, to reach the hearts and consciences of his hearers, to guard them against despondency, and to lead them to the Saviour of the world. These momentous points he always keeps in view, although they sometimes appear under a controversial aspect. and essential truths of the gospel are exhibited in a luminous and practical manner. The treatise is rather intended for hints to carry on the mind to farther meditations, than for full and exact meditations themselves; and it is brought into a narrow compass, that the serious Christian may find it a little remembrancer, with many short errands to the heart." REVIEW.-Treatises on Justification and Regeneration. By John Witherspoon, D.D. With an Introductory Essay. By William Wilberforce, Esq. 8vo. pp. 319. London. Whittaker. 1823. DR. WITHERSPOON has been long known in the religious world, and his Treatises on Justification and Regeneration have always been held in high estimation, especially by those whose theological sentiments coincide with his own. The author having embraced the doctrines advanced in Theron and Aspasio, communicates in a letter to the Rev. James Hervey the design of his own work, in the following words:-"I have always found the most specious and plausible ob The introductory essay corresponds with the title which it bears. It points out the distinguishing characteristics of the volume to which it is prefixed,jection, and that most frequently made inculcates the same principles, without a polemical countenance, and displays the same amiable spirit which it recommends. REVIEW.-The Christian Remembran cer. By Ambrose Serle, Esq. With an Introductory Essay. By Thomas Chalmers, D.D. 8vo. pp. 298. London. Whittaker. 1823. against the doctrine of justification by imputed righteousness, has been, in this case, as indeed usually before, that it loosens the obligations to practice. This is what I have particularly applied myself to refute, in the folobserved it done distinctly and at full lowing essay, because I have rarely length in any writer." This avowal furnishes the reader with a distinct view of the author's THIS volume discovers much pious intention, and awakens expectations, feeling, and contains no small portion which something bordering on a defiof spiritual instruction. It is divided nition renders specific. Unfortunateinto ninety-four chapters, which treatly, however, these expectations are of the various privileges, dangers, and duties of the Christian's life. Experimental and practical godliness are the grand points which it inculcates, and to these all other topics are made subservient. The author seems to have been well aware that the happiness of the soul depends upon its union with God, and his book is calculated to promote this important end. Dr. Chalmers seems to have been so sensible of its value, that he has furnished an introductory essay, in which he records his opinion of its merits in the following words:" In the Christian Remembrancer the great not destined to be always realized. Dr. W. starts objections which frown upon him with a menacing aspect. He attempts to drive them away, but they will not be frightened; and he has no weapon with which to inflict upon them a deadly wound. It is nevertheless fair to admit, that he has done all, if not more, than might have been anticipated; but being unable to find any other fulcrum on which to fix his lever, he is compelled in all cases to rest obedience on gratitude. To such as are truly alive to God, this is a motive sufficiently powerful; but those who are acquainted with the 761 Review: Thoughts on Religion. baseness of the human heart must be well aware, that instances too frequently occur, in which this exalted principle has no influence, and the consequences need no comment. The Treatise on Regeneration contains many important truths, but sentences might be selected, of doubtful import, that would be liable to some serious objections. Both of these treatises exhibit a polemical countenance, which wears a repulsive frown. Those who delight in peace will approach them with much caution, and regret that the appearance of the war-cloak and the tomahawk had not been wholly thrown aside. REVIEW.-Private Thoughts on Religion. By the Rev. Thomas Adam. With an Introductory Essay. By the Rev. Daniel Wilson, A.M. 8vo. pp. 300. London. Whittaker. 1823. Of this volume we can hardly give a more accurate character, than by quoting the following passages from Mr. Wilson's introductory essay, to which we think it unnecessary to make any additions:-- "The Private Thoughts on Religion of the late Rev. Mr. Adam of Wintringham, which are here republished, are inestimable. They are the produce of a very pious, a very acute, and a very honest mind. It is not a volume which charms by the force and purity of its style, by the closeness of its reasoning, or the tenderness of its persuasion. It is not a detail of Evidences, nor a series of Discourses. It was not even designed for publication; and partakes, therefore, of the disadvantages inseparable from merely private papers. The language is plain, and sometimes coarse. The topics are detached and unconnected. Some of the expressions are brief, and even obscure, and others strong and unguarded. But with all these, and perhaps some other defects, the thoughts are so acute and penetrating; they spring from such a mature know ledge of the Holy Scriptures; they open the recesses of the human heart with such skill and faithfulness; they lift up so boldly the veil which conceals the deformity of our motives; and the whole conception of Christianity which they exhibit, is so just and so comprehensive, as to render them a most valuable monument of practical and experimental Divinity. Such a writer as Mr. Adam, takes us out of our ordinary track of reading and reflection, and shews us ourselves. He scrutinizes the whole soul; dissipates the false glare which is apt to mislead the judgment; exposes the imperfections of what is apparently most pure and inviting; and thus teaches us to make our religion more and more spiritual, holy, solid, practical, humble, sincere. "The characteristic of the entire Volume is depth of scriptural and experimental know Works of Rev. J. Gambold. 762 ledge. It requires, therefore, thought and time, in order to be appreciated. But it will amply repay both. And it may perhaps be affirmed, that there is no work of modern Divinity which is more likely, under God's blessing, to elevate and purify the standard of religious sentiment in those who study it."-p. v. and vi. REVIEW.-The Works of the Rev. John Gambold, A.M. late one of the Bishops of the United Brethren. With an Introductory Essay. By Thomas Erskine, Esq. 8vo. pp. 300. London. Whittaker. 1823. THIS pious divine was a native of Pembrokeshire, South Wales, and, after becoming a member of Christ's M.A. in 1734. Some few years afterCollege, Oxford, took his degree of wards he was presented with a living by Archbishop Secker, but embracing the religious sentiments of the Moravians, he relinquished its emoluments and duties, and abandoning all prospect and all desire of preferment in the Establishment, he publicly joined himself to the United Brethren, among whom he was made a bishop. For many years he was the regular minister of the congregation that met in Fetter-lane, London. In 1768 he retired to his native county, where he died, universally respected, in 1771. Mr. Gambold was not a voluminous writer, but he assisted in many translations, and several compositions passed through his hands, with which his name is not publicly connected. The work now before us is somewhat miscellaneous, containing the martyrdom of Ignatius, hymns and poems, sermons and letters. The first of these subjects, with the history of which, his extensive learning made him intimately acquainted, he has wrought into an affecting drama. His poetry, though not of the highest order, is respectable; but the piety which breathes through all his compositions will secure for him lasting honours, although the pinions of his muse should fail. But even some of his poetical compositions are destined to live. His "epitaph on himself," and lines "on listening to the vibrations of a clock," include the seeds of immortality. Both of these pieces have already found their way into various publications, and, with some other productions of his pen, they will bear transplanting into other soils. |