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ing, not avaricious, not envious, not full of care, but striving calmly and steadily to perform their duty, and cheerfully leaving the event in the hands of God. In their families you behold them quiet, considerate, affectionate, patterns of kind tempers, abounding in kind actions; setting their faces against folly, against vanity, against the appearance of evil, against pernicious customs, however popular, however widely diffused; and taking pains day by day to train their household in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. -Universally you discern that their desire is to do all to the glory of God, that God may in all things be glorified through Jesus Christ; to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts; to seek not their own things, but the things which are Jesus Christ's; to live not unto themselves, but unto Christ who died for them; to adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things; and to omit no means and opportunities which can discreetly be embraced of striving to attract others to the knowledge and love of genuine religion. When they converse in the retired circle of their friends on sacred subjects, you read in their countenances the interest which pervades the heart. You behold them labouring to grow in grace: not stationary in religion, but making a progress; laying up more and more treasure in heaven; press*ing forward towards the mark; advancing onward towards perfection. For these men are not perfect; they are still frail and sinful. You behold among them many humbling instances of infirmity, many sins of surprise, many proofs of the power of temptation, many tokens and effects of inherent corruption. But they do not allow themselves in sin: they abhor it; they fight against it; they suffer it not to obtain the dominion over them; they oppose it in the armour of God, in the strength of his grace; they bitterly repent when they have fallen into transgression; they fervently sue for pardon through the great atonement; they derive from their fall additional motives to self-abasement, watchfulness, and prayer.” (p. 28-33.)

In the third sermon "On Proneness to disparage religious Characters," is the following passage which we would strongly recommend to the 'serious attention of our readers.

"If you are a zealous servant of God, prepare to behold many of your purest intentions misconstrued; prepare to hear yourself reproved and vilified for actions, which, according to a more equitable interpretation, would have been deemed worthy of praise. Prepare yourself to hear

principles ascribed to you the reverse of those which you hold, the reverse of those which you publicly maintain. Prepare to hear epithets and appellations borrowed

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from obnoxious sects; sects, it may be, from whose errors you may have been the instrument in the hand of God of rescuing or guarding weaker brethren; prepare to hear them borrowed for the purpose of fixing the odium of those errors upon yourself. What is the lesson which this expectation should teach you? It should teach you how great is the folly of solicitude for the applause of men. When you deserve it not, it may be copiously poured out upon you; when you have the fairest claim to it, you may be repelled with censure and contempt. Woe unto you, said our Lord to his disciples, when all men speak well of you; for so did their fathers unto the false prophets. If you are praised by the world, is it not because you are conformed to the evil principles and practices of the world? Is it not because you live to the world, not unto Christ? The world will love its own. Men will praise thee, saith David, when thou dost well to thyself. If you are successful in your worldly plans; if you give the reins to van'ty and pleasure; if you devote your riches to splendid and luxurious enjoyment; then it is that the world will flatter you and proclaim you happy. Live to the world, and the world will applaud you. Live to Christ, and an evil world cannot but revile and condemn you." (p. 5759.)

But in order to guard his observation from abuse, Mr. Gisborne adds, tions a conclusion which they do not war"Draw not from the preceding observa

rant.

If you are censured by the world on account of your opinions, or your conduct respecting religion, imagine not that the The censure of the world, though often censure is a proof that you are religious. misplaced, is not always misplaced. If neously, it may be that you have judged you are charged with having judged erroerroneously. If you are accused of having acted amiss, you may have acted amiss. If enthusiasm or fanaticism be imputed to you, perhaps you more or less deserve the imputation. Let the censure and the praise of others equally send you to your Bible. Search the word of truth. Compare your religious opinions, your religious practice, with the doctrines and commandments of your Lord." (p. 59, 60.)

The fourth sermon is "On coming unto Jesus Christ for Life." The universality of the offer of salvation is here affirmed, as well as the inexcuseableness of those who will not believe. The obstacles which prevent men from coming to Christ are then described, with that precision which characterizes Mr. Gisborne.

"Numbers who denominate themselves christians in principle, resemble the con

temptuous Pharisee. They cherish high opinions of themselves. They humble not their souls before God. Outwardly decent in their conduct, and not inattentive to the externals of religion; they presume that they are substantially righteous, and perhaps despise others. Their hearts, in the mean time, are set upon their idols, upon wealth, or power, or consequence, or pleasure, or praise. Of the depravity of human nature, of the heinous guilt of sin as an offence against God, of the need in which they stand of a Saviour who can bestow upon them forgiveness and sanctification; they have a very inadequate and feeble conception. Their love of Christ is cold, their gratitude to him languid. With their hips they acknowledge that through Him alone they expect salvation. But so far are they from discerning that their salvation, if they are saved, will be wholly owing to his grace: and that their own best works, when tried by the pure and spiritual law of God, will be found defective and sinful; that they look for an inheritance in heaven chiefly through the assumed merit of their own works; and deem themselves dependent upon a Saviour only for a little assistance to make up for their imperfections.

come not unto Christ: for the carnal mind is enmity with God. They despise or deride the method of salvation revealed in the scriptures. For the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him. They turn with secret aversion from the purity of the gospel and the strictness of its laws. They hate the light, neither come they unto the light, lest their deeds should be reproved, because they are evil. They wink with their eyes lest they should see, and shut their cars lest they should hear. They take wickedness for their portion, and this world for their hope.

"With some youth is the impediment. The morning of light shines bright, and portends a glowing noon. It will be long, very long, before the twilight of evening draws nigh; but they foresee not the gathering mists of sin, nor the intervening cloud of death!

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With others age is the obstacle. is now too late to change. My mind is settled.' The inertness of declining years co-operates with mental repugnance. He comes not unto Christ for life." (p. 7176.)

The fifth sermon, "On the calling of Matthew the Publican," is peculiar

"Others are prevented from throwing themselves at the foot of the cross by the ly excellent; but we shall not attempt

cares of the world. Religion seldom enters into their thoughts, and when it crosses their minds, is speedily expelled by business. Morning finds them eager to begin their daily occupation. Evening dismisses them weary with the labour and bustle of to-day, and meditating on plans of similar employment for to-morrow. Year after year rolls on, and beholds them in the same track. If you mention religion to them, they reply that they have no time for it; that every hour has its engagement; that they must provide for their families; that they must adhere closely to their business. They remark farther, that industry is commanded in the New Testament; that honesty is one of the principal virtues; that they are industrious and honest; that, as to public worship, they attend their church once in a day when they have opportunity; that for books and study they have no leisure; and that, when they can contrive to secure an interval from the hurry and toil of business, they have a right to aubend and enjoy themselves, and are not to be called to account for indulging in a little pleasure.

"Others come not unto Christ that they might have life, because they are fast bound in the chain of criminal practice. They are sensualists, or unchaste, or profane, or fraudulent, or rapacious. Their understandings are blinded, their hearts are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. They mind the things of the flesh; therefore they CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 28.

to give an epitome of it. The following passage, however, conveys so just a rebuke to numbers who bear the name of christians, that we are glad to introduce it.

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"We, like St. Matthew, are to renounce private interest, whenever it interferes with our obedience to Jesus Christ.' "Art thou conversant with the word of God, and ignorant that sacrifices, if less in amount, yet similar in nature, are requir ed from every christian? Compare the demands of conscience and of interest. How continual the opposition! How prevailing the temptation! How lawful, strange as the expression may sound, how lawful, in certain cases and within certain limits, in the estimation of many who arrogate the praise of uprightness, is dishonesty! In the daily and hourly dealings of life what opportunities of undue advantage! what inducements to profit by them! In the numerous departments of public service what openings for peculation! How commonly is the custom of trade' but another name for lucrative deceit! By the purchase of articles unwarrantably brought to sale; by frauds wilfully prac tised on the collectors of the revenue; by silence under their errors, their partiality, or their supineness; how frequent is the evasion of burthens legally imposed! But it is not to dishonesty, according to the ordinary acceptation of the term, that the guilt of unjust regard to interest is re

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stricted. Look around and thou shalt disCern countless occasions of acquiring or of retaining money, or of furthering thy ease, or thy advance:nent, or some other of thy worldly objects, by various methods, the iniquity of which, light as it may be deemed, is in many instances not inferior to that of dishonesty; by flattery, by bribery, by, complimentary assiduities, by hypocritical obsequiousness, by s nful compliances, by false and injurious pretences, by ministering to prejudice, to antipathy, or to pride, by raising or diffusing unfounded reports concerning thy competitors. Does the man who pursues his present benefit by any of these means leave alt for the sake of Christ? He prefers interest to Christ. Even he who prosecutes a lawful calling by lawful methods, yet permits it to withdraw his chief attention from the salvation of his soul, to occupy too large a proportion of his thoughts, or to agitate his mind with undue solicitude; has not left all for Christ, nor given to Christ the dominion of his heart." (p. 96, 97.)

The sixth sermon, entitled, "Goodness illustrated by the Character of Barnabas," contains a striking representation of several of those defective characters which obtain the applause of the world, namely, "the decent and orderly man;" the liberal man, a title which the profuse often obtain; the frugal man; and the cautious man. To these characters are added that of the easy good-humoured man, and of the man of honour. Of the last it is said,

"Ask him why he shuns any particular practice. Does he reply, Because it is sinful?' The expression is foreign to his lips. He auswers; Because it is mean, because it is lo e, because it is degrading, because it is unbecoming a gentieman, because it is beneath me, because it is disho

nourable. Why does he pursue a specified line of conduct? Because it is acceptable to God? Because it is conformable to

the example of Jesus Christ? He thinks not of such a standard. He pursues it because it has the stamp of fashionable estimation. Destitute, it may be, of a grain of true religion, this man is regarded by multitudes as a model of perfection!

"With the goodness of these various

characters," adds Mr. Gisborne," and of others which might have been described, some praised by one set of men, some by another set, and all of them extolled by themselves, the world rings. In the midst of these universal encomiums, the mind naturally observes to itself; If all these oifferent characters are good men, how easy must it be to be good! And how excellent must the world be, which contains so much goodness! Now, unfortunately

for that view of the subject, this representation of the excellence of the world, and of the easiness of being good, is not exactly the language of the scriptures. The scriptures speak of the world as lying in wickedness, as being under the power of Satan. They pronounce its friendship to be enmity with God. They afirm that christians are not to be conformed to this world; that we are to be crucified unto the world; that if we love the world, we shall perish with the world. Then with respect to the facility of attaining goodness, the scriptures aver that the imagination of the heart of every man is evil from his youth; that the heart is by nature deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Their common representation of a christian life is that of a state of war, of a struggle for the mastery over sin, of wrestling against principalities and powers of darkness. They call upon us to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ, to endure hardship for Him, to take unto ourselves the whole armour of God, the shield of faith, the breast-plate of righteousness, the sword of the spirit. They command us not to follow the multitude to do evil; but to walk in the narrow gate, if we seek to inherit salvation. They way, and strive to enter through the strait teach us, with an immediate reference to the prevailing opinions of the world respecting goodness, how frequently that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. We may therefore feel well assured, without minute inquiry, that all these different descriptons of men cannot be models of goodness. We may, perhaps, reasonably suspect that not one of them is good.

"While we are thus bewildered in obscurity and confusion, the word of God holds out a lantern to our paths. The word of God sets a good man before us, Barnabas was a good man." (p. 112-115.).

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Barnabas, it is then observed, first, was full of the Holy Ghost;" sanctified by divine grace;" "" born again, not of water only, but of the spirit.' Second, He was "full of faith;" he could affirm with Paul," the life which I now lead in the flesh, I lead by the faith of the Son of God, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Third, Barnabas, "when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad." "When he was an eye witness of the number of the Grecian disciples, and of the efficacious working of the spirit of God in turning them from darkness to light, in leading them to the knowledge of a crucified Redeemer, and animating them with an ardent desire of that salvation which was to be obtained orly through his merits and atone

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"The joy of Barnabas did not waste itself in idle contemplation. His sense of duty permitted him not to slumber. His love of Christ constrained him to labour for Christ. His love of man impelled him to the assistance of man."-" He went about as minister to mankind of those blessings, which exclusively confer complete and durable consolation; deliverance from sin, spiritual strength, support to the soul, the bread of life, the garment of righteousness." (p. 119, 120.)

The seventh discourse is "On Pride," a sin which, as Mr. Hall in his Sermon on the Fast has very justly observed, appears to have made great advances in this nation; for in proportion as the gospel is supplanted by human codes of morality, pride is always found to rise in credit, and is, in fact, resorted to as the main spring of virtue. Mr. Gisborne is very strong, though not stronger than the scriptures, in the condemnation of this principle. He notices the universality of it; all nations being proud, while their other qualities are more varied. When nations communicate with each other in manifestoes and memorials, pride, as he observes, is "the master note by which the whole strain and cadence are governed." What is the impediment to treaty? Pride. The party which has invaded the right of the other, "is not unwilling to restore his prize; but he cannot brook humiliation."-"The disgrace of concession must be veiled. Some specious pretence must be framed, some ostensible equivalent devised, some decent interval allowed. His pride must be managed." Applying this general observation to ourselves," Has Providence," he says, "blessed us with a victory? What has been the popular cry, Behold, a proud day for England!" Are we defeated? We must rouse the proud spirit of Britons!"

Pride is then traced in several of the walks of private life. The pride of birth, the pride of authority, of wealth, of genius, and of literary and professional attainments, are successively described, and the wrath of God, against every species of pride, i illustrated by abundant references

to scripture, while the humility of Jesus Christ is held up as an example for our imitation.

"My brethren," adds Mr. Gisborne towards the close of this discourse, “Is not pride convicted as in every shape utterly unchristian?"-"Yet bave ye not beheld Satan tranformed into an angel of light?"-"Have ye not heard of proper pride, of decent pride, of honourable pride, of manly pride? Do you not incessantly hear this jargon from the lips of professed christians? Proper pride, decent pride, honourable pride, manly pride! Talk rather of proper malignity, of decent blasphemy, of honourable barbarity, of manly murder! Be not deceived: God is not mocked. Pride, with whatever epithets it may be attended, under whatever decorations it may be disguised, is pride, is sin.

That the proud in heart should vindicate pride; delusive distinctions, they should labour to that by subtleties of expression and provide excuses and pleas for the indulgence of their ruling passion, is not wonderful. Leave pride to the proud. Be not ye corrupted by evil communication to call evil good, and darkness light. The word of God is your standard. By that standard try every word, and motive, and temper, and action." (p. 148-149.)

This passage is so animated as to make the two subsequent pages appear comparatively cold: séveral of the sermons, indeed, end somewhat unexpectedly, and with rather too little strength.

The eighth sermon is "On Christian Zeal," the ninth "On the Parable of the Tares," and the tenth is on the text, (Genesis xliv. 33.) "What is your occupation?" We earnestly recommend this discourse to that numerous class of persons in this country, who are relieved from the necessity of profitable toil; and who, possessing some independent fortune, are unconscious of that obligation under which they are placed by the gospel, to labour by the means either of their mind or body for the good of their fellow-creatures.

(To be continued.)

CLII. An Exposition of the Lord's Prayer, in which are comprehended an Account of the Origin of the Prayer; an Explanation of its several Petitions; and a Demonstration that, according to its natural Interpretation, it contains a complete Summary of Christian Doctrine, with Notes critical and illustrative. By the Reverend JOSEPH MENDHAM,

M. A. pp. 236, 12mo. London,
Rivingtons. 1803.

Ir is justly observed by Dr. Paley, in his View of the Evidences of Christianity, that "the Lord's Prayer, for a succession of solemn thoughts; for fixing the attention upon a few great points; for suitableness to every condition; for sufficiency; for concise ness without obscurity; for the weight and real importance of its petitions; is without an equal or a rival." A prayer, therefore, of such excellence, and dictated by so high an authority as the divine head of the church, has naturally obtained a place in all prescribed forms of christian worship.

No one will suppose that our Lord's intention in prescribing to his followers this admirable form, can be answered by the thoughtless repetition of the words of which it is composed. It is much to be feared, however, that inattention to the sense of this extraordinary composition, too often accompanies its use; and even those who are not chargeable with carelessness or formality in repeating it, may yet have too contracted a view of its meaning; and may, therefore, stand greatly in need of the assistance to be derived from the valuable work now under our review, the main object of which is to point out the comprehensive import of its text. But Mr. Mendham's exposition will be found useful not only in elucidating the meaning of this summary of devotion, but in impressing upon the heart those momentous doctrines of christianity, which, though briefly noticed, he endeavours to shew are fairly implied in the Lord's Prayer. The present volume, indeed, appears to us to possess a superiority over former attempts of the same kind, not only in steadily keeping in view the essential points of the christian system, but in marking with precision their correspondence with the several parts of this prayer. To the christian worshipper, therefore; to him who desires to "pray with the understanding," to approach the throne of grace with the sentiments and feelings suited to a fallen creature; and to rise from his knees with the hopes which the gospel encourages, this little volume cannot fail to prove highly serviceable; and to such we recommend its perusal.

We should not, however, do jus tice to the author were we to confine

our commendation to the orthodoxy of his principles, and the beneficial tendency of his labours; though, unquestionably, these are points of paramount importance, compared with which every other praise werghs in our estimation as the small dust in the balance: his learning and his taste are of his faith, and his solicitude for the no less conspicuous than the soundness interests of vital godliness. Mr. Mendham's style is distinguished by purity, propriety, and classical correctness; qualities which appear to advantage when contrasted with the inflated language, false metaphors, and quaint allusions, which pollute the pages of The notes critical and illustrative will many modern theological publications. be found to enhance the value of the present volume, and to reflect very great credit on the author's learning.

We shall now proceed to give a general view of the contents of this work, and likewise to justify the praise we have bestowed on it, by a few extracts.

conclusive reply to the objections The preface contains a short but commonly urged against prayer. In an introduction of twenty-four pages, the author enquires into some circumcontents, and the proper use of the stances respecting the origin, the Lord's Prayer; on each of which heads, and particularly on the last, many important observations, are brought forward: from these we select, lowing passage, in which the author as highly meriting attention, the fol inculcates the necessity of fervency in using this prayer.

"The benefits which we are there taught to implore are not benefits of secondary concern, not such as pertain only to this sent being. They are high and heavenly world, and the circumstances of our preblessings, blessings of the first rank and importance. The great objects of our prayer are the divine glory and our supreme happiness; objects united and identified, not only in themselves, but likewise in our view of them, as far as our souls are restored to their original rectitude. The glory, the kingdom, and the will, of God; our preservation, our pardon, and our deliverance from evil, are unquestionably objects of the highest importance, and dewho makes them the subject of his prayer. mand no common degree of desire in him

Their value exceeds our most exalted conception, and requires an intensity, a fervency of desire, in some degree proportionable to that value. Could we dissipate the

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