Page images
PDF
EPUB

Notices of Books-The Strife of Sects.

appears to have assisted and directed his young masters in getting ready their lessons for school. In the Greek authors, the pædagogus is often introduced as a character, and as such is usually represented as of a severe and imperious description. In point of fact, then, the present text really represents Christ himself as the schoolmaster, to whose school the pupils are brought by the pædagogus,-the law.-Kitto."

Putting away lying.' (Eph. iv. 25.) This was by no means a superfluous injunction; for the heathen had no principle of truth among themselves, or anything on which a high standard of moral excellence might be erected. Whitby says on this injunction: The heathen philosophers thought lying lawful, when it was good or profitable; as owning that rule of Menander, " a lie is better than a hurtful truth; 999 and that of Proclus, "good (advantage) is better than truth; " and that of Darius in Herodotus, "when a lie will profit, let it be used;" and that of Plato, "he may lie who knows how to do it in a fit season," for, says Maximus Tyrus, "there is nothing decorous in truth, but when it is

17

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

No. 2. Does Gal. vi. 2. 'Ye see how large a letter I have written refer to the length of the letter, unto you with mine own hand,' which is not so long as some others: or to the size of the characters of the apostle's handwriting? J. No. 3. How are we to interpret If ye this saying of Christ ? had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.' Luke

xvii. 6.

B.

[Short pithy answers to the above will oblige.-ED.]

Notices of Books.

THE STRIFE OF SECTS. Tracts for the Thoughtful on Matters Relating to the Religious Condition of the Age. No. 1. London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.

ONE way of making out a good case for your client is-to ignore every argument of opposing counsel. The author of the pamphlet before us has acted in some such way as this. He has a great deal to say about the 'evils of denominational schism,' and very little to say about the unquestionable 'good' which has resulted from denominationalism itself. He will allow that every sect now existing probably originated in an

earnest conviction of mind, and a solemn sense of duty in its founders.' He will not allow that earnest convictions and a sense of duty influence the modern sectary.' Very black indeed is the picture he gives of him: he is uncharitable, egotistical, captious, fond of a little brief authority, neglects the weightier matters of the law for some petty detail or unimportant form, originates weak 'causes,' perpetuates the race of poor ministers, poor in more senses than one, builds mean-looking chapels, supports inefficient Sunday schools, and makes religion generally contemptible in the eyes of the thought

less and the irreligious! A man who feels so strongly the evils of modern sects must surely have some remedy at hand for their removal. What is this? An amalgamation of all congregational churches into one strong society, and the gradual absorption of the Wesleyans into the State Church. We are told, moreover, that a better understanding might be brought about between churchmen and dissenters, if the divisions among dissenters were removed. But with which section of 'churchmen ?' With the broad church? They are too latitudinarian. With the high church? They 'magnify their office,' and are disposed to turn up their nose at a 'vulgar dissenter. With the Puseyite section? The hatred of Popery is too intense in the great body of Englishmen, the remembrance of its fearful tyranny too indelible for any 'better understanding' with those who ape her forms and would restore her power. With the low church? Why dissenters are beginning to think that if the evangelical clergy were only honest to their avowed convictions, and acted like the noble men of 1662, the union between church and state would soon become so odious that its separation would not be far distant. While there are such divisions in the Establishment itself, and party spirit therein runs so high, it is worse than useless to talk to dissenters of denominational schism. The Anglican church really possesses many shades of opinion within her pale as are to be found without; the only difference being, that dissenters do not sign' a self-contradictory agreement, and then teach which ever way they please, but in their organizations honestly and openly avow their several distinctions of opinion on matters of faith and practice.

as

We must beg to correct one glaring blunder in this pamphlet which nearly touches all Baptists. It is not the main business of Baptist preachers to make Baptists, but to persuade men to believe;' and we hesitate not

to say that in every church among us there is far more rejoicing 'over one sinner that repenteth' than over one Wesleyan or Independent that asks baptism at our hands.

The evil of little causes' is an old theme to every General Baptist; and however strong the author may think his remarks on this subject, in our judgment they by no means express the whole of the evil. 'We shall often find,' he says, 'in connection with one of our small religious "causes" a knot of little-great people of a somewhat busy or fussy description, who find some gratification for their love of power and authority in the administration of the small affairs of this small cause. If this little cause were merged in some larger and more influential congregation, these worthies would probably sink down into the common herd. I do not affirm that these excellent people knowingly keep afoot their little cause in order that they may enjoy this petty greatness; but we all know how frequently motives of different kinds so interwove themselves in the texture of our desires and intentions, that we find it perplexing to distinguish between our virtues and our vices, between our strength and our weakness. Would to God I could believe that there is no deacon or church member in all our dissenting bodies who is in the slightest degree influenced by these unworthy motives in striving to maintain our denominational disunion!'

We would recommend our readers to get this pamphlet and read it, on the principle of the old Latin proverb, that we should be willing to be taught, even by an enemy. THE EARNEST MAN. A Memoir of

Adoniram Judson, D.D., First Missionary to Burmah. By H. C. CONANT. Edited by JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D. (Vol. III. of the 'Bunyan Library.') London: J. Heaton and Sons, 21, Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row.

WE simply announce the issue of the third volume of this popular Baptist series. A hasty dip into the

Notices of Books-The Church of England, &c.

volume has stimulated our desire to be better acquainted with its contents. The result of a careful examination shall be given next month. THE BAPTIST HAND-BOOK FOR 1862. Price Sixpence. London: Heaton and Son.

LINNÆUS Somewhere says, 'It is disgraceful to live in a country, and not to know it.' Want of leisure, want of good hand-books, and most of all, want of funds, are the ready excuses men make for this kind of ignorance. But none of these can now be pleaded by any Baptist for ignorance of his own denomination. For sixpence he may have an excellent hand-book full of information about Baptist societies, colleges, educational institutions, publications, an alphabetical list of Baptist ministers in Great Britain, and a general view of the state of the denomination. Our advice to one and all is-Buy the Baptist HandBook for 1862.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Reformation or Ruin? By JOHN HAMPDEN. London: Tresidder and Co. A CAUSTIC appeal to churchmen on the present evils in the Establishment. The writer wants Maynooth grants abolishing, a more equitable distribution of the immense revenues of the church among her ministers, ordination delayed till the candidate is thirty and has had a good drill in Baxter's Reformed Pastor,' one minister to every thousand of the population, no minister absent from his cure more than one month in twelve, a recognition of lay agency, a reform in the liturgy, and the abolition of church rates. We sincerely hope honest churchmen will lay the exposures of this pamphlet

to heart.

[ocr errors]

THE OLD THEOLOGY THE TRUE THE OLOGY; or Justification and Sunctification of the Holy Scriptures, of the Early Fathers, and of the Creed Books and Doctors of the Reformed Churches. By REV. W. ELLIOTT, Epsom. London: Nisbet and Co.

A BOOK with not a little evidence of extensive reading in it, sadly dis

19

figured in the 'getting up' by a prodigal use of italics and small capitals. The writer seems very like ignorant speakers who think they are making a deep impression when they shout out every third or fourth word at the top of their voice. We can assure Mr. Elliott that his emphasizing is sometimes equally absurd, and that in the attempt to make everything tell' he has wellnigh succeeded in making everything tedious.

The old theology is the best; but it must be primitive, as well as old. Mr. Elliott's dogmatic way of putting things will not win him many converts, and may prevent the very class from reading his book for whom he intends it. He is not always fair, either, in stating the case of his opponents, and shows a sad want of common sense in bracketing together Baldwin Brown and Dr. Wilson, of the Essays and Reviews. Nor will it materially serve the cause of truth to fling epithets at people's heads in place of supplying them with arguments: Vide page 55 and 56, where he speaks of Baldwin Brown as a Papist and a Jesuit. GOOD NEWS. BY BAPTIST W. NOEL, M.A. London: Nisbet and Co. A CHEAP and admirable tract on the words of the commission.'-Prayer Meeting Hymn Book. London: Tresidder.

This book contains one hundred and ninety hymns suitable for revival services and social worship.-Prayer Answered. London: Tresidder. A short history of the Crosby Hall Prayer Meeting. Mended Homes and what repaired them. London: Nisbet and Co.-An account of 'mother's meetings,' and the good effects of them in London. Pity it. is that similar meetings are not started in every crowded town of the country.-Aids to the Development of the Divine Life. By Rev. J. Baldwin Brown. No. 1. The Decease Accomplished at Jerusalem. London: Tresidder.- Mr. Baldwin Brown intends in this way to bring before the public in a cheap and accessible form some of the sermons preached in the ordinary course of

this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come.' We heartily commend the pamphlet to our readers. It is very sugges tive. The death of Christ the life of the world-that death which is

his ministry. The key-note to the whole, he says, he knows not how better to describe than by saying that the aim of Christ in the work of human redemption, is imparting to us 'power to become sons of God, sons, after the image of Himself-earth's outer and heaven's inner gate' THE SON. The text of this sermon is 1 Cor. xi. 26, 'For as oft as ye eat

this is the theme of the sermon.

Correspondence.

LETTER FROM THOMAS

COOPER.

I

'But why are you self-exiled into Scotland ? many friends ask. answer-partly, because I cannot help it. I did not expect to remain

To the Editor of the General Baptist so long on this side the Border

Magazine.

MY DEAR SIR,-It almost seems to me as if I ought to apologize, even at the beginning, for addressing a letter to you. An indulgent friend, however, urges me to write to you, and says, if I don't, my brethren in England will soon cease to reckon me among General Baptists, since they neither see nor hear anything of me, and I seem to be an exile in a far country. I trust, nevertheless, that the little church at Carleystreet, Leicester, will not cease to regard me as their fellow-memberalthough I met with them but once, and that simply to be received into membership. Nor, I confide, will the brethren at Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough, Burton-on-Trent, Melbourne, Ripley, Coalville, Boston, Macclesfield, Staley bridge, Burnley, Bacup, Bradford, Halifax, and elsewhere, to whom I have preached, and whose kind and hearty welcome I received, cease to regard me as one with themselves. I beg that they all will permit me to look forward to future meetings with them, if God should prolong my life, and that they will allow me to anticipate the pleasing renewal of welcome when I next see them, should it be even more than a twelvemonth before we meet.

[ocr errors]

when I crossed it last August. It
seemed to me then, clearly certain
that I should get back to dear old
England in about five months.
But when I endeavoured to form a
route back into England, one diffi-
culty after another presented itself
in regard to the dates which would
suit different English towns, until
I was utterly baffled in my attempts
to make out a consecutive list of
engagements' in that direction,-
and gave it up. On the other hand,
Scottish friends everywhere, publicly
and privately, pressed me to return,
and to return quickly-so that I
found I should have little difficulty
in making out a full list for 1862, in
Scotland alone. Yet, I have only
printed a half year's list this time,
and not a whole year's list, as I did
for 1861-really not liking to see
myself printed down for a full year's
exile to come, and entertaining a
faint hope that I may, after all, get
back into England before 1863. The
hope is only faint; for I shall only
get back as far north as Aberdeen,
if I live, by the end of next June,
and then I have a month or more to
spend in the country beyond (Moray-
shire, Inverness-shire, &c.,) and
afterwards to return all the way
through Scotland, calling again at
various towns-so that, I repeat, I
have only a faint hope of reaching
England again before 1863.

Correspondence-Letter from Thomas Cooper.

In Scotland, my brethren well know, I can do nothing for our cause as a General Baptist; but I entreat them to bear in mind that I am working for the cause of the Divine Master. My errand of duty to poor sceptics, I thank God, is not unsuccessful. I have kept no chronicle of instances; nor, if I had kept one, should I like to parade it to the general eye in any periodical. But, I can humbly and gratefully record, that I seldom visit a town the second time without hearing of good done by my former visit. In some places, men advanced in years come to me, and with streaming tears, tell me they were sceptics of many years' standing when they heard me last year, or so many months ago; and how their minds were gradually arrested as they listened, night after night, to the series of discourses,until one cloud of doubt after another was utterly dissipated, and at length, their hostility to God and Christ broke down, and shame and sorrowful repentance followed, and they cast their souls on the Redeemer for acceptance, and found mercy, and peace, and joy in His Name, and are now in membership with some Christian church. Testimonies from younger men are more frequent, and are sometimes peculiarly encouraging, from the fact these young men have become more valiant for Christ than they were for Atheism, or their so-called 'secularism.' I receive also many blessed and cheering testimonies by letter. Thus my heart is strengthened, and my mind confirmed in the conviction that I am doing the work God would have me do. And I entreat my General Baptist brethren to bear me up at the throne of grace -remembering that they have one more missionary among the heathen than is accounted for in their printed list.

I find that, during the three and a half years I have been wholly devoted to my itinerant work for Christ, I have lectured and preached about fifteen hundred times. How many thousand miles I have travelled

21

I cannot tell-for I keep no account of that; but I desire to have a heart filled with gratitude to God for the fact that I have been preserved in perfect safety during this time, and, with a few slight exceptions, have had strong and vigorous health. My Sabbath labours have been among all sects of evangelical Christians; and, even in this land of keen predilection for peculiar doctrines, my broad proclamation of a free and full salvation for all has been welcomed, although often delivered from the pulpit of high Calvinism. Here and there, a highprofessing preacher holds up his robe while he passes me by, as if to say Stand by, I am holier than thou!' But, it is only here and there: that is to say, religious exclusiveness has not 'given me the cold shoulder' more frequently in Scotland, hitherto, than in England. Sometimes, I find preachers here as in England, who are intent solely on keeping their own church, their own pulpit, their own people, their own meetings, fully before the eye of the world, and who cannot spare one hour to help the poor advocate of their Great Master's truth against sceptical error, or condescend to take the chair for him, or grace his lecture with their influential presence. Their coldness, however, seldom troubles me. 'Human natur !' I say, with Marryatt's old carpenter, in 'Jacob Faithful;' and pass on,-giving myself to more earnest work, because of their coldness.

In by far the greater number of places I visit, ministers of every evangelical denomination receive me with hearty affection and welcome; and with some of them I have, in this distant region, contracted loving friendships which, I trust, will en dure for the term of our earthly lives, and be renewed for ever in heaven. Some of these are Scotch Baptists (and very noble fellows, too, both in intellect and generosity of affection), some Independents, some Presbyterians, and some Evangelical Unionists, or Morisonians,'

[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »