given a commandment which he knew man could not keep," must appear" paradoxical at the first view;" but he reconciles the impropriety of a doubt on this point by an insinuation that every opinion impugning his, proceeds from the vain wisdom of men, who " are not called upon to criticise the will and teaching of God, but to prostrate the heart before him, and receive instruction in righteousness." P. 138. The theological reader will see, in this happy way of denying all access to reason, the foundation stone of every absurdity, and perhaps heresy, foisted on the Scriptures by the prejudice or the obstinacy or the folly of man, from the first century downwards to the present day.

With the exception, however, of the argument in favour of a belief in a state of perfectibility, as attainable in this life, which our author defends upon the principle, that if we deny it we must in fact deny the "power of the Holy Ghost," p. 274, we shall find much more to praise than to blame in the remainder of the volume. The views taken of the doctrine of the Trinity appear to be peculiarly sound and happy; and what perhaps is not less desirable, on many accounts, they are intelligible and rational.

"To us," says he, "who believe that Christ is one with God, whilst we are assured of his distinct personality, the belief also of the personality of the Holy Ghost is but the exercise of the same faith. To argue against it by saying that we cannot comprehend this spiritual personality, and this mystical union, is to bound the omnipotency of God by our finite comprehension. Much more ingenious and philosophical would it be to reason from what we know of the power and wisdom of the works of God: e. g. that, as we cannot comprehend, yet still acknowledge, that pencils of light may possess some of the secondary, without all their primary qualities of matter being objects of sensation, so may the Holy Ghost exist in some glorious state of individuality, far too pure and spiritualized for our gross conception. And also as we cannot comprehend how certain properties and accidents are united in the same substance, e. g. the figure, colour, and odour of the rose, we may readily conceive the possibility, and implicitly believe in the 'connection' of those divine persons of the Holy Trinity, constituting the mystical union of the Godhead." P. 209.

This opinion will be found in strict conformity with that of the generality of the ancient Fathers, particularly of St. Athanasius, which we quote the more readily, as it may be satisfactory to many who chuse to object to the creed which is called by his name. He compares God the Father to the Mos or to the pws, the sun or the original light; and God the Son to the απαυγασμα, the splendour or brightness of it. 6 εδε γαρ τρεις

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αρχας εισαγομεν, επει μηδε τριων ηλιων υπεισθεμεθα την εικόνα, αλλα ηλιον και απαυγασμα και εν το εξ ηλις εν τω απαυγασματι φως. εσω μιαν apny aidaμev. For it appears from the similitude used by us that we do not introduce three principles (as the Marcionists and Manicheans did) we not comparing the Trinity to three suns, but only to the sun and its splendour. So that we acknowledge only one principle." Again, he affirms the Son to have been begotten of the essence or substance of the Father: " ως το φωτος απαύγασμα, ως υδατος ατμις, as the splendour of the light, and as the vapour of the water;" adding “Tε yap то añаvyaoμа STE η ATμις αυτο το ύδωρ εςιν η αυτός ο ηλιος, ετε αλλότριον αλλα απορροια της το πατρος ουσίας. For neither the splendour nor the vapour is the very sun nor the very water; nor is it yet alien from it or a stranger to its nature; but they are both effluxes from the essence or substance of them; as the Son is an efflux from the substance of the Father, yet so as he is no way diminished or lessened thereby."

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The doctrine of Regeneration is treated in a manner which shews that the author's opinions on this vital question are clear and strong, and in accordance with the principles of our Church, as they are declared in her articles and liturgy.

"We must," says he, "consider regeneration as the first step which the Holy Spirit takes in our salvation; the last is that high and excellent degree of Christian perfection by which we partake of the divine emanation of love, which flows from the throne of God. The intermediate steps are various, according to the state of that heart upon which the spirit of grace is shedding its sacred influence," P. 23.

It is defined to be "that change of the state of the heart in which its capabilities are altered, or its organic disease removed, and its primordial powers restored, that as before this change man is necessarily disobedient to God; so after this change he has the power both of religious perception and religious obedience. It may be the more proper," it is added, " to confine the meaning of Regeneration to this inceptive state of a religious life; as the secondary or metonymical sense leads both to illogical reasoning, and erroneous conception." P. 231.

The author then proceeds more largely to shew that baptism is the "medium" of regeneration.

"If it be not so," he concludes," alas ! for human nature; you must sin in spite of all discipline and teaching, until it please God to draw you to Christ; if, indeed, it please him ever so to do it: whilst the pious mother would lose her sense of the mercy and love of God whom she adores, could she believe that the lessons of faith, of obedience, of charity, of worship, and of love, which she sought and delighted to in

culcate in her little children, could not be received until they determined to be baptized." P. 247.

In Letter XX. there is an interesting discussion concerning pleasure and happiness, in which, however, we tread on very tender ground. The argument amounts to this, that "if faith and grace do not so dwell and rule in our hearts that every thought and word and action be not designed to please God, they are sin." P. 257. The author allows that it may be probably thought that this argument is pushed to an extreme. Most decidedly we do think so: for granting the justness of his extreme view, every man who eats beyond what is absolutely necessary to the support of nature, or clothes himself in garments beyond what are requisite for mere comfort and decency, either to gratify his palate or please his taste, is committing sin; and according to the conclusion here drawn, "is not in a state of salvation." P. 257.

There is a remark at the commencement of the twenty-second Letter which may be a profitable subject for consideration with many religious characters.

"How truly lamentable is it to see men, to whom the Gospel has long been familiar, betrayed into passion and uncharitableness after they have succeeded in reducing the more sensual affections into obedience! they have learned that the work of the Spirit is to change the heart, and of that change they boast; they have read that the Spirit itself witnesseth with our spirit that they are the children of God,' and they arrogate to themselves that exalted degree of holiness ;—a sure sign of the hollowness of such pretensions." P. 279.

In the same chapter, we find the following beautiful and expressive passage:

"Whatever state of feeling the mind may be in, the certain test of godliness is the correspondence of our life with that feeling. And we may here remark, that the best life is only a test of the most spiritual heart. How much then we degrade the soul, when we look at the works of the body as meriting eternal life. Rather should we exert our faculties, and look for higher analogies. The seasons are the productions of time; but, instead of being the purpose of his motion, they are only the incidental consequences of that motion, as time himself moves to his ultimate condition: so are the best works of men but mere casualties, which take their form and character from the circumstances and contingents through which the living soul' passes on its way through the valley of death to the great city of God.' In pursuing this end, in striving after perfection, our whole time and powers should be employed. Eternity has been beautifully likened to the ocean, and life to a river pursuing its course to the great abyss. We may reduce the picture, and compare the life of a Christian to a rivulet

rising from some polluted source, and winding its constant and unobtrusive way over a bed of pebbles. Every impurity gently subsides, and leaves the stream, as it glides along, clear and purified, until the pellucid water flows on its way in the unmixed purity of its native element." P. 282.

The too much contended subject of faith and works is thus explained :

"The word faith is frequently used to express both the state of the heart, and the religious blessings which are promised to a stedfast belief, and which arise from such belief. Hence the word is liable to be abused. St. Paul therefore, and St. James, qualify the doctrine, and shew that faith itself is a fruit of the Spirit, and worketh by love; for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. When, therefore, the former apostle says, we are justified by faith; and the latter declares that we are justified by works, and not by faith only; a consideration of the primary and secondary effect of that deliverance from the charge and power of sin, will reconcile them both. God judges the heart; man judges the actions: with reference, therefore, to the judgment of the Deity, we are justified by faith; but with reference to our own judgment, we are justified by the works which that faith will produce; that only being a justifying faith, which is the belief of the heart unto righteousness." P. 285.

On reading the Scriptures, our author expresses himself in these terms.

"We should approach the Word of God with different feelings and views from that with which we open any other book. The Gospel being a spiritual truth, is in its nature essentially different from scientific truth; the latter being but the outward defect of the understanding, whilst the former has a positive influence upon the heart. And such an influence accords with those sublime notices of its origin and power, which lie scattered over its pages, like the stars in the firmament, and tell of the celestial source from whence the light of salvation flows." P. 287.

It is chiefly for the beautiful illustration at the close of this passage that we insert it; for we have great doubt (but the question would lead us to a length of discussion on which we are not now prepared to enter) as to the extent of the asserted difference between spiritual and scientific truth. A sceptic, unless we are much mistaken, would eagerly seize upon it as leading to conclusions, in which we should be most unwilling to agree.

It will be seen from the foregoing extracts and observations, that there is, in the volume before us, much to commend-something to admire; but perhaps more which awakens a suspicious feeling in the mind, that all is not sound beneath, which makes

great caution necessary in assenting to the arguments, and great discrimination requisite in detecting the just limits of the inferences which are to be drawn from them.

Our readers will perceive, from the note at the end of the Introductory Letter, which it is but bare justice to the author to insert, that the whole discussion is very liable to be misapprehended, from the terms having been employed in a different sense from that in which the writers, whose systems are opposed, have used them: and in which they are used in common. We consider, too, that the distinction made between moral and good works, altogether unfounded and dangerous. So long as that which is denominated the moral law, constitutes a part of the Christian code, there can be nothing improper in calling obedience to that law, morality. Works are not less moral because they are done on Christian motives: it is true, that a man may be moral without being religious; but he cannot be religious without being moral. The caveat above alluded to, is as follows:

"Lest the meaning of the author respecting morality, as expressed in the following pages, be either misapprehended or misrepresented, he thinks it advisable to say, that whilst arguing that moral works,— whereby he means works performed neither from a religious motive, nor for a religious end,-have no religious merit, he has unequivocally insisted upon the performance of good works, i. e. such works as arise from a religious motive, and are performed for a religious end, as the fruit of faith, and the only test whereby men can be assured of their acceptance with God. As an authority for this distinction, the author names the twelfth and thirteenth Articles of Religion. It is hoped, therefore, that no one will be so weak, or so wicked, after this explanation, as to say, that because the author denies religious merit to moral works, he either, by argument or inference, advocates immorality." P. 12.

This note looks like the effect of certain misgivings, for which, we confess, there seems to us some reason.

The Harmony of the Law and the Gospel with regard to the Doctrine of a Future State. By THOMAS WILLIAM LANCASTER, M.A., Vicar of Banbury, and formerly Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford, 8vo. 486 pp. 12s. London. Rivingtons. 1825.

THE storm of controversy which was raised by the bold hypothesis, and still more audacious method of supporting it, adopted by the author of the Divine Legation of Moses, has long ceas