Bishop Burnet; together with other miscellaneous matters connected with Jewish Rites and Ceremonies, &c. &c. By the Rev. J. B. SMITH, of Christ's College, Cambridge, &c. &c. For the use of Students. London: Rivingtons. 1830. 12mo. pp. xxiv. 502. Price 9s. THERE are three classes of persons to whom this Manual will be of considerable utility. To the young divine it will be of service in refreshing his memory with the main substance of those works, to which he has lately been indebted for laying a firm foundation in theological knowledge: to the student it will be of infinite advantage, in supplying heads of selfexamination, or as an outline of arguments, which he may fill up by way of exercise: and to the general reader, whose avocations are incompatible with more extensive inquiry, it will afford a convenient and salutary guide to the study of the Scriptures. The analyses throughout are carefully and comprehensively digested; the leading arguments, and the most prominent proofs, judiciously methodized; and the collateral and connecting links dovetailed in with great perspicuity. Though a great bulk of matter is condensed into its pages, the volume is not of an inconvenient size for the pocket, and the type is sufficiently distinct to be read easily during a walk. Reasons for Seceding from the Dissenters, and Conforming to the Established Church of England. London: Seeley. 1830. 12mo. Pp. xxi. 40. WE have here four reasons addressed by an anonymous Dissenter to an anonymous Bishop, in the hopes, it should seem, of inducing his Lordship to grant him ordination in the Established Church. His reasons for conformity are sufficiently cogent; but whether his eloquence will avail with the Prelate, whom he addresses, to comply with his wishes, we are not prepared to say. The beneficial effects which naturally result from an Established form of worship; the painful state of dependance in which a dissenting minister is placed with his congregation; the frequent disputes and contentions which agitate dissenting communities; and the genuine spirit of Christianity which pervades the doctrines and discipline of the Church of England, are the ground of the petitioner's secession from dissent. They are urged, the former more especially, with a degree of prolixity, but at the same time with an earnestness which bespeaks conviction on the part of the writer; and, coming from such a quarter, they afford a valuable testimony in favour of the superior claims of our venerable Church. JUST PUBLISHED. An Introductory Lecture to a Course of Political Economy, recently delivered at Columbia College, New York. By the Rev. J. M'Vickar, D. D. Professor of Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in that Institution. A Country Rector's Address to his Parishioners, at the Close of the Twenty-fifth Year of his Residence amongst them, with Reference to the Disturbed State of the Times. The Medical Annual, containing a Practical Estimate of the Therapeutic Value of all the Remedies which have been introduced into the Practice of Medicine within the last ten Years; an Account of the Mechanical Auxiliaries to Medicine; a Priced Catalogue of Drugs; and a List of Diseases, with References to the Remedies that have been found most beneficial in their Cure or Palliation, &c. IN THE PRESS. The Scripture Doctrine of the State of the Departed, both before and after the Resurrection. By John Peers, A. M. The History of the Christian Church Transduring the Three First Centuries. lated from the German of Neander, by the Rev. Henry John Rose, M. A. Waldensian Researches, during a Second Visit to the Waldenses of the Valleys of Piedmont. By W. S. Gilly, M. A. An Inquiry into the Proofs, Nature, and Extent of Inspiration, and into the Authority of Scripture. By the Rev. Samuel Hinds, A.M., &c. A SERMON. FOR THE NEW YEAR. JOHN xii. 35. Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. THESE words of our blessed Saviour were addressed to the Jews, when they were doubting in their minds whether he were the Christ, or no; and are a solemn admonition to them to open their hearts to the evidence afforded by the wonderful miracles he performed, and the sublime doctrines he preached, and be persuaded, by this convincing testimony, to receive him as the promised Messiah, the seed of David, and the Redeemer of the world. He tells them it was their interest speedily to acknowledge him, because the opportunity of beholding his works, and listening to his instructions, would be but short, and he would soon be withdrawn from among them. Such were the circumstances and motives under which these words were delivered; but, though especially directed to the Jews, the application is not to be confined to them alone. They contain, likewise, a powerful exhortation to Christians of every age, to be active and diligent in the duties of their profession, and not to abuse that time which the goodness of their heavenly Father permits them to enjoy. For, if the Jews were blessed with the presence of their Saviour for but a short period, we have only a short space, compared with the eternity of our future existence, in which to " prepare to meet our God:" and if they, again, who refused to profit by the light of their Messiah, were, when that forsook them, abandoned to the darkness of their own hard and unbelieving hearts, so shall we be delivered to "blackness and darkness for ever," if we neglect the means of grace and salvation now vouchsafed to us. So inclined is human nature to forget the concerns of eternity, through a blind and over-great attachment to the things of this life, that we require to be continually reminded of the uncertain tenure by which we hold our present existence. And no occasion can be more proper to be thus employed than that which now offers on this day, in which we are entering on a new year. This, therefore, will be the subject of our meditation; and I earnestly entreat you, my brethren, to follow up the reflections and the admonitions I shall lay before you, by your own serious meditations; remembering, that, if they are conformable to the word of God, as I fervently hope and pray that they may be, as you regard, or disregard them, will your happiness or misery hereafter be promoted, and will be the account you shall hereafter render of the warnings you have received. The revolutions of the seasons are so regular, and the lives of men in general so little varied by extraordinary occurrences, to mark the course of time, that we are, alas, but too apt to forget that our days are consuming away; too frequently insensible to the rapid strides with which we approach eternity. The business and the pleasures of life have a strong tendency to produce this forgetfulness and insensibility; and, with those who are much engaged in either, one year glides away, and another appears, which also passes with little, if any, observation. It is considered that one year in a man's life is of small importance; but, even granting that one year wasted does no injury to a man's future prospects, yet it must be allowed, on the other hand, that the time so misemployed will most commonly be extended to a much longer period; when, most assuredly, that one year misspent will become a most serious offence in the eyes of Divine Goodness, and most dangerously increase the difficulty of repentance and amendment of life. The proneness of human nature to "love the world, and the things that are in the world," more than "the things which are not seen,' which " are eternal," renders the blessings of health and strength a snare and occasion of falling to many who possess them. Youth is generally considered a season of enjoyment; and how many there are who make it a time of enjoyment ONLY, and who, disregarding the counsel of Solomon then to "remember" their " Creator," purposely neglect the concerns of religion, or, at most, bestow very little of their attention on them, saying to themselves, that it will be soon enough to direct their thoughts thereto when sickness shall seize, or old age overtake them. As years increase, so will their indifference; and he who, in early youth, was careless of his soul's safety, will hardly be more mindful of it when the vigour of his life begins to decay. And, should length of days be granted to him, either he will spend the remainder of his years in the same thoughtlessness of futurity, or else, if awakened to better feelings and hopes, he will find, to his deep regret, that his time is but short in which to perform a work so important, and so entirely new to him, as that which lies before him; and he will be tormented with apprehensions lest he should at last fail of obtaining that salvation which he has so lately learnt properly to appreciate. Of those, who are thus unmindful of the voice of Revelation, there are some who refuse to listen to it because it interferes with pursuits to which they are warmly attached; because it commands them to abstain from practices which they are resolved not to abandon. The manner in which they are determined to pass their lives may be described in the language of Isaiah: "Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant." The lovers, however, to this degree of vicious pleasures would do well to remember the sentence addressed at such a time to the rich man, in the parable : "Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee." They will, of course, be unwilling to acknowledge it, even to themselves: but, however they may attempt to elude the terrifying idea, they must know that it is altogether uncertain how far their hopes of long life may be accomplished, and that it is at least possible they may prove entirely vain. Others, and the greater number of mankind, will neglect their duties as accountable creatures, not from obstinate perverseness, but from want of acquaintance with the doctrines of salvation, which produces indifference to the promises of the life to come. Suffering their whole attention to be occupied by the business of this world, they seek for no information concerning "the way which leadeth unto life;" or, at least, when they do come within reach of such information, the word preached makes no lasting impression on them, because, though they might open their ears, they did not open their hearts to receive it. And yet such persons will profess, and, indeed, really feel, a desire to obtain happiness, or rather perhaps to avoid misery, in the world to come, although, trusting to that fatal error which deceives so many to destruction-that the work of preparation may be entered upon and performed at any time, they delay seriously to begin it till little, perhaps no time remains for it. What says the wise man in the book of Proverbs? "Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Listen, likewise, I pray you, to the language which the Apostle James addresses to those who labour under this delusion: "Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and get gain; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that." It is not indeed absolutely necessary that, in speaking of what we intend hereafter to do, we should always scrupulously and ceremoniously have these, or the like, words actually in our mouths; but the design of the admonition is to teach us, in forming our plans for the future, to have such thoughts in our hearts, and constantly to bear in recollection that, possibly, we may not live to complete our schemes, and that therefore our ideas and affections ought to be more fixed on our heavenly than on our earthly prospects. This frame of mind is essential to the character of a true Christian, and will ever prevent the possessor from becoming negligent of his spiritual concerns. If any thing is wanting to convince you of the uncertainty of your present existence, look back, I entreat you, on the events of the past year. Cast your eyes and your thoughts around you, and consider. Are there none absent in the cold grave of those who, twelve months ago, might have been assembled to worship in this place? Let each one of you recall to mind what has occurred within his own observation; and is there one among you who can say that none of his relations, his friends, or his acquaintance, have, within the last year, been carried to the silent tomb? No. I may safely venture to affirm that not one can say this. The hand of death has, as usual, been busy among us; it has, as usual, thinned our numbers; and, although some will have known more, some fewer, instances of mortality, none of us can declare that he has not witnessed any. Moreover, as there have been sufficient examples to remind us that the hand of death" is stretched out still," and still hovering over us, so will the different conditions of his victims suffice to show, that none of us can, with the smallest certainty, presume to say, that himself shall be spared till this season returns again. For it can hardly have escaped your notice that not only some who have died "full of years,' but also some in early youth, and in what is generally accounted the vigour of life, have alike been committed to their kindred dust. Shall then these things pass before our eyes; shall these merciful warnings and admonitions be bestowed upon us, and we be so blind, or so inconsiderate, as not to profit by them? "When" the Lord's "judgments," says the prophet," are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.' But far more happy are they who are excited to "amend" their " ways and" their "doings, and obey the voice of the Lord" their "God," without being awakened thereto by some terrible instance of divine power, but only through the ordinary calls to repentance and means of grace. Let it be remembered too, that we possess no power to delay, for one moment, our summons to eternity. Because we may be unwilling to prepare for death, or to think of it, its approach will not be retarded one instant. It must come, and will, perhaps, "in a day when we look not for it, and in an hour that we are not aware of;" and consider, what will then be the dismay of him who is thus surprised without having provided the wedding garment of faith and obedience, which alone can give security, since that alone can give confidence in the intercession of our Redeemer. It becomes then the part of wise men, and, which is much more, the duty of Christians, to apply to themselves the exhortation of our Saviour, and "walk while" they "have the light, lest darkness come upon" them; since the light will remain to them but a little while," 66 What mortal can presume to assert that he has no sins for which repentance is necessary; that there are no particulars of his obedience in which he has failed, and in which greater exactness for the future would not be more acceptable to his Maker, as well as more serviceable to himself? "In many things we offend all;" and though there should be few of us who require a total reformation of heart and life, yet there is scarcely one, if one, who does not need to acquire a greater zeal for the honour of Almighty God, and more thorough desire and determination in all things to govern himself, by the grace of his Holy Spirit, according to his laws, and more completely to make (like David) the "law" of the Lord his "delight." To all of us does our blessed Master address himself; and what season can be more suitable than the present for forming good resolutions and beginning a new course of life? We have lately celebrated the birth of our Redeemer, which service must have reminded us of the exceeding great love of God towards mankind, in sending "his only-begotten Son" into the world, "that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life;" and, also, how offensive is disobedience and wickedness in his sight, since so high a price was paid for our redemption. And we are now entering on a new year, that we have lived to see which, is entirely owing to the forbearance of our heavenly Father, on whose good pleasure it likewise depends whether we shall survive at the end of it. Let us, therefore, listen to the counsels of wisdom, before "darkness come upon" us, and it be too late. The Jews disbelieved the testimony which Jesus offered by "signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds," of his being the true Messiah; and the consequence was, that, |