A Comparative View of the English and Scottish Dissenters; with a Preliminary Dissertation on their Views, Designs, and Duty, in reference to the Ecclesiastical Establishments of the Country; to which is appended, a Lecture on Patronage. By Adam Thomson, D. D. Coldstream. Edinburgh: Oliphant and Son. 12mo. Second Edition. 1839.

THE "Comparative View" is a highly meritorious production. The idea is as full of originality as of practical sagacity, and the execution is every way worthy of it. It is probable that posterity will assign to it a high place among the intellectual implements of the present period, by which the Head of the Church hath worked his sovereign pleasure in relation to his own cause in the northern part of the British Empire. The historian of the Voluntary Controversy-by far the most important question of our times-will doubtless appreciate the value of this publication at the time of its seasonable appearance, and do justice to the claims of its author. The late lamented Mr. Ballantyne fairly launched this great question, in his admirable "Comparison of Established and Dissenting Churches;" but that question, even in his master-hand, assumed rather a theoretical than a practical aspect. Enlightened and candid men entertained no doubt of the perfect conclusiveness of his reasonings; but the idea of giving them a practical direction seemed then visionary and impossible. The truth is, that had the merits of the question been even much more fully appreciated, and its immediate practical bearings much more distinctly seen, and much more powerfully felt by individuals, still the mass of the Dissenters, considered as churches and as bodies, were wholly unprepared for confederated efforts in support of it. Four years later, it pleased God to awaken a spirit of benevolent inquiry, the spirit of a peace-maker, in the bosom of the Secession Minister of Coldstream. It is clear, however, that the ruling idea in the mind of Dr. Thomson, when he wrote his " Comparative View," was not the shaking of establishments, but the spread of the kingdom of Christ, both at home and abroad. Indeed, he had not then discovered the extent to which such establishments stand in the way of that great and glorious enterprise. The writer appears to have clearly foreseen that the several bodies of Dissenters-especially Scottish Presbyterian Dissenters, required much individual improvement in order to successful evangelical effort, and that a more intimate and general union among the whole was also absolutely indispensable. To effect these two paramount objects was the avowed design of his book. This, as a governing principle, pervades every page of the volume. Possessing a mind strongly endowed with the power of generalizing, and almost, if not altogether, divested of the last remnant of denominational bigotry, he sat down to contemplate the religious condition of his country. He beheld, every where, the marks of feebleness arising from division, and the comparative inefficiency attending not a little of the existing evangelical instrumentality. His views of union being in the highest degree catholic as opposed to sectarian, and his object being not simply to unite, but to improve, the entire collective body of Scotch and English Dissenters, he framed his work accordingly; and that work

consists of the following chapters:-I. On the Education of Candidates for the Christian Ministry in Literature and Philosophy; II. On the Education of Candidates for the Ministry in Theology; III. On the Probation and Ordination of Candidates for the Ministry; IV. On the Pastoral Care, and on the Mode of Preaching, &c. &c.; V. On the Admission of Church Members; VI. On Public Worship; VII. On Creeds and Confessions; VIII. On Church Government; IX. On Church Discipline.

From the above Contents, it will appear that the "Comparative View" is a thoroughly ecclesiastical volume; and, in all its aspects, it is eminently practical. The value of such a work to the christian ministry, and its tendencies, in relation to the cause of Christ, must be immediately obvious; but the extreme difficulty of the execution may not be so readily apparent. That difficulty can be fully estimated only by the few who are equal to it. Comparisons are proverbially odious; and to conduct them with success, it requires a skilful hand, and a mind richly endowed with a delicate sense of propriety, as well as no small share of self-denial and moral courage. The first and second chapters involve a multiplicity of most momentous topics, which have, in divers ways, subjected the author to a severe and searching test; but he has nobly sustained the ordeal. He has boldly spoken the truth, the whole truth, and, in our view, nothing but the truth. He has most faithfully and fearlessly attacked some of the most cherished and darling prejudices of his connection and of his country, and with great force of argument he has, on most points, developed the "more excellent way." We particularly admire Chapter VI. on Public Worship, where the subject of Frequent and of Free Communion is handled with an ability and an enlightened liberality, never previously even approached by any Scottish Presbyterian writer on these topics. Only Scotchmen, we believe, can fully estimate the importance of such a disquisition in Scotland, and the moral courage at that time necessary to its publication among Presbyterian Dissenters. To deliver our opinions in full, would make a comment equal in magnitude to thrice the text; we must, therefore, satisfy ourselves with the brief and honest avowal, that Dr. Thomson has fully established his position, viz. that " Dissenting Churches in South and North Britain exhibit a remarkable similarity in whatever is essential, in the faith of the Gospel, in the administration of divine ordinances, and in the practice of holy obedience;" and "that there are some things which call for improvement, both among the one set of Dissenters and the other." In this similarity in all essential matters, Dr. Thomson insists and contends that he has found the basis of unity; and, in conclusion, he thus proceeds :

"On some such basis as this, might not ALL the Evangelical Dissenters throughout the length and breadth of the land, unite for the purpose of promoting the spread of evangelical truth and practical religion at home, and also abroad, even to the ends of the earth? In the mean time, were the ministers, as well as those composing their respective flocks, to hold communion with one another as opportunity offered, and to be considered as the body of Christ and members in particular,' as one vast ecclesiastical body, united under the same divine Head, what an enchanting sight would this be to friends, and what a

terrific front would they present to their enemies, 'looking forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.'

"Union is strength. Were the many thousands of Dissenters in Britain, who hold precisely the same faith and hope, to unite for securing the maintenance and spread of the great cause about which they are perfectly agreed, what, under the guidance and with the blessing of Him whose cause it is, might they not speedily effect! They could thus bring into action such a mighty combination of piety and talent, patriotism and loyalty, as would ensure the continued enjoyment of the valuable civil privileges already possessed by them, and the speedy restoration of those of which, especially in England, they have been so unjustly deprived. It is because they have never done justice to themselves, by exhibiting their numerical importance and their moral strength; but, instead of acting in concert, have, by adhering to their party and paltry distinctions, given too much cause for the minions of men in power, both in church and state, to represent them as wretched staries, split into endless divisions, and deserving no consideration whatever-that they have been treated sometimes with gross injustice, and often with great contempt."—pp. 291, 292.

When the " Comparative View" was written, the voluntary controversy had not burst forth; and Dr. Thomson seems to have inculcated the great lesson of Evangelical unity mainly for the purpose of gospel diffusion. The spirit which breathes throughout the work is pre-eminently one of sweetness and good-natured benevolence, but there are not wanting springs of that power, and flashes of that light, by which the productions of the author have been since so signalized. The same acuteness, the same comprehensiveness, the same faculty of analysis and generalization, the same argumentative ability and penetrating sagacity, the same occasional sprightliness, and some of the other qualities which have rendered the author a first man in the first rank of voluntary writers, are every where apparent.-The result of the comparison between the Scotch and English Dissenters, is, upon the whole, very flattering to ourselves; in some cases, indeed, the author accords to us more than we think we can justly claim; at the same time we hold, that, in several places, we have been rather hardly dealt by. We might instance, in page 100, where, we are confident, the author labours under a misapprehension respecting English "invitation" to the pastorship. That mode, against which Dr. Thomson sees" many and strong objections," appears to us to be in exact harmony with nature and with scripture; and, in its practical working, we find no evils from which the Presbyterian mode could possibly deliver us. Again, in page 116, we must insist that Dr. Thomson really injures us, in his statements concerning the ordination of our pastors. He reprobates the practice of putting questions, at our ordinations, upon the subject of personal religion, and of motives for entering the ministry-questions to which we attach the greatest possible importance. He assumes, that we exact of the candidate “a minute detail of his past grievous sins, and his present great penitence and piety." We neither demand nor approve any thing of the sort; and seldom, indeed, is any such thing inflicted upon us. We have, in this respect, very rarely witnessed a violation of propriety. Dr. Thomson says, "a good experience, as they call it, is expected." "A good confession," and a true statement of the reason of the hope that is in him, are certainly expected; but, if this is to be identified

with something very wonderful, very transcendental, and captivating to the vulgar ear, it is incorrect. Yet Dr. Thomson maintains, that, to get up this "good experience," "the young minister is strongly tempted, if not to pour forth fabrications, yet so to distort some facts, and to give such a strong colouring to others, as to lead to conclusions, which simple and ingenuous statements could never have been found to warrant." In this assumption we desiderate the charity that thinketh no evil; and we can assure the author that his fears are groundless. That such things have occasionally occurred, we will not deny; but we do consider, that the fear of God, the love of Christ, and the grace of his Holy Spirit in our young brethren, are sufficient guarantees against the frequent recurrence of such evils. With these small abatements-which are but matters of opinion-we dismiss the "Comparative View," and do most cordially commend it to the pastors and churches of Christ as a work of the utmost importance, and more especially at the present time. It is admirably adapted to promote, not only unity, harmony, and holy confederation among all evangelical bodies, but also to promote their improvement in many matters of vital importance to their usefulness. We have reason to believe that it has done good and great service already in these respects. It deserves the deliberate and thoughtful perusal of every pastor and church officer in the British empire.

While thus much is due to the original work, we must bestow a passing notice on the invaluable accompaniments of this edition. The Preliminary Dissertation is, of itself no mean publication, comprising, as it does, one hundred and fourteen closely printed pages. It consists of three sections, the first of which sets forth" the views held, and the conduct hitherto pursued by English and Scottish Dissenters, in reference to ecclesiastical establishments;" the second discloses "the ultimate designs which Dissenters profess now to entertain, in reference to ecclesiastical establishments ;" and the third developes "the methods which Dissenters should henceforth pursue, in order to the attainment of their ultimate designs." The value of a dissertation on such topics, from such a pen, need scarcely be pointed out. To the Dissertation there are appended, as notes and illustrations, a multiplicity of very important documents, which have been issued by the religious bodies of Scotland, in connection with the great questions which have of late years been agitated in that country. The volume concludes with a Lecture on Church Patronage, which contains a most masterly view of that great question, such a view as we have never yet found in the same compass. This Lecture abounds with truthful remarks, which have been both justified and confirmed by the decision lately pronounced in the House of Lords, upon the celebrated case of the parish of Auchterauder, a decision fatal to the hope of Scottish high churchmen, who by it have been covered with confusion and overwhelmed with dismay the whole fabric of their boasted independence of the State being for ever demolished as if by the stroke of a thunderbolt.

VOL. III. N. S.

5 D

CRITICAL NOTICES.

The Missionary Vine, showing at one View all the Stations of the London Missionary Society since its Commencement. By Hannah Elizabeth Rahma. London: John Snow.

We regret that we have so long delayed to introduce this ingenious and useful sheet to the notice of our readers. It gives not only the names of the stations at present occupied by the Society's missionaries, but all those which ever have been the scene of their labours, with the dates of their commencement and discontinuance. It also enables the spectator to discover at a glance, where christian churches have been formed, and whether the agents employed are Europeans

or natives.

We should recommend it to every friend of missions to possess himself of the Missionary Vine. It would form a most appropriate addition, not only to the furniture of the closet, but to that of any room allotted to missionary committee or prayer-meetings.

But on young people especially, Miss Rahmn has conferred a great advantage, by presenting them with this information in a form so likely to engage and interest their minds. We trust the number of parents is increasing, who make it a regular part of their children's christian education, to familiarize them with the details of missionary labour and success. And such is now the rich variety of intelligence furnished to us, both by the publications and the living voice of many of the devoted labourers themselves, that scarcely a place can be found among the branches of this Vine, respecting which a teacher or parent may not be able to give his youthful circle a "true story"—such a story as children love, and which even angels disdain not to hear. May it be the ambition of our rising race, to aid in multiplying these precious clusters a hundred-fold.

Egypt: a familiar Description of the Land, People, and Produce. With a Map and fifty-three Wood Engravings. 12mo. cloth. pp. vi. 330. W. Smith, London.

EGYPT must necessarily be an interesting subject of inquiry to every intelligent reader of sacred or profane history. Egypt, as the seat of a branch of the immediate descendants of Noah-one of the most celebrated nations of antiquity— the nursery of ancient wisdom and science-as the "iron furnace" to the enslaved Israelites--as immediately connected with the "holy nation" throughout the fifteen centuries of their national existence - cannot fail to be deeply interesting to every attentive observer of Divine Providence, to every serious reader of the Holy Scriptures.

"A familiar Description of the Land, People, and Produce of Egypt,” therefore, must be valuable to all classes, and especially to those young persons who are receiving a superior christian education either at home or in schools. We sincerely recommend this highly instructive volume, which is the work of considerable skill and labour, compiled from the most respectable authorities, enriched with many quotations from the recent publications of Lane and Wilkinson.

The Table of the Lord.

By the Author of the Listener, &c. London: Seeley and Burnside. pp. 299.

To the admirers of Miss Fry's former productions, this little work will be very acceptable. It treats of "External Ordinances," "the Sacraments," "the Institution of the Lord's Supper," "the Benefits exhibited and received in the Lord's Supper," of "those who refuse to come to the Lord's Table," "those hat are afraid to come," "those that come unworthily, and worthily," "those hat have faithfully received the Sacrament," and "those receiving for the first