CRITICAL NOTICES.

The Land of Israel, according to the Covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. By ALEXANDER Keith, D.D., Author of "The Evidence of Prophecy." Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1843.

A work by Dr Keith since his visit to Palestine has long been desired. But this book is one which does not bear very immediate reference to the author's travels or observations in that land. It is a volume on the future locations of Israel, when they shall return to their own land, enriched by many illustrations of prophecy. There is considerable diffuseness in the treatment of the subject, which, together with its abundance of geographical details, renders it less interesting than it might have been to general readers; and there is occasionally a tendency to overstretch the application of particular passages. Yet it is a work of great value, and must possess much interest for those who " favour the dust of Zion."

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The grand merit of the book is this, that it has rightly expounded, and, so far as we know, has been the first to do it-what are the true boundaries of Israel's land. The author seems in this way to be really employed of the Lord to "set up the way-marks," in the days when the virgin of Israel is about to "turn again to those her cities." And certainly he is one of those who may be said most literally to "take pleasure in the stones of Zion." His work takes a wide view of the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He takes the word and promise of God in its fullest and plainest sense. lieving the generous heart of the Lord who gives, he counts upon finding the Lord's word to be like himself. And one result of his inquiries as to the future inheritance of restored, and converted, and happy Israel, is, that their possessions shall form an empire of no ordinary magnitude and capacities. "In round numbers, the average breadth of the promised land would thus be 600 miles, which, multiplied by its length, 500, gives an area of 300,000 square miles, or more than that of any kingdom or empire of Europe, Russia alone excepted. It exceeds, in the aggregate amount of square miles, the territories of ten kingdoms of Europe." P. 162.

He arrives at this conclusion, by showing most satisfactorily, that most geographers have mistaken the boundaries assigned to Israel by the Lord. Because Israel never possessed more than a certain territory, therefore most have taken for granted that no more was ever promised them. But he shows that the promise-a promise that was quite unconditional, and therefore remains to be fulfilled in these latter days-gave them a boundary that reaches far beyond Lebanon, even up to Mount Amanus. Searching for the entrance of Hamath, he takes up Numb. xxxiv. 7, and reads for himself, "From the great sea, ye shall point out for you a very high mountain,"(Hor-ha-hor.) He then looks around, and the eye forthwith rests on Mount Casius, a peculiar mountain on the coast, answering exactly to all that is said in the text, and from which the entrance of Hamath is at once to be traced. He fully investigates the point, till he at last proves, that the northern boundary runs just in the line which the British engineers selected in their way to the Euphrates.

This is but a specimen of his inquiries. The river of Egypt is proved to be the Nile; and in short, Israel's limits assume their true dimensions. "A good land and a large,” (Exod. iii, 8), is the motto of this chapter of his work; and

he succeeds in proving the justness of both epithets. In no other way but what Dr Keith has shown, can the epithet" large," in the Hebrew "rehava," be applicable. And as to its being a “good” land, all who know its former fertility, are aware of its richness. Even at this day, in the Hauran, wheat yields twenty-five fold in middling years, and in some places, lately has yielded fifty or eighty fold, (p. 346.) Á sheikh assured Burckhardt, that he once obtained one hundred and twenty fold from wheat seed. No wonder, then, if in peaceful times, and when the curse is removed, the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed. The author seems also to have the idea, that among the other singular advantages of this land for a returning nation, the abundance of ruined cities is one; for thus there are materials ready hewn for building their dwellings. Certainly there is no land known where such an immensity of ruined towns can be found, covered over generally by the rich vegetation of the country, but ready to be brought to view as a heap of quarried stones for restored Israel's cities. The very pillars of the temples at Baalbee will then come to be used for the Lord. How amazing the word of the Lord! Such a land as this kept empty, though population would be its very deliverance from present barrenness! Territories like these left unpeopled, while nations are colonizing far-off regions, that yield poor returns! Lands lying waste, which nevertheless retain inherent richness and natural beauty, "worthy of being claimed by the Lord of the whole earth as his own." How evident it is, that this spot of earth is kept for a peculiar people!" The kingdom shall come to the daughter of Zion," though we know not "the times and seasons." And is it for a peculiar people only that it is kept? Is it not also for the sake of Him whose blood sprinkled the soil, and whose feet are to stand again upon the mount of Olives?

Dr Keith has introduced into the work many remarkable instances of the fulfilment of prophecy; and at p. 256 he remarks, as the reason why these regions were not known thoroughly till now, "Had they been known in past centuries as in the present day, before the judgments had come upon them to the uttermost, men might have sought to qualify a prophecy, if not wholly accomplished; or even, as was the practice in earlier ages, they might have renounced the literal interpretation, and wrested the Scriptures into some imaginary significancy, while the time was not come for the word itself to speak, or for the things to be seen which the prophets had declared. And even if these cities and regions had been opened to European research long after the days of Abulfeda, much testimony would have been wanting then which is most abundant now; and men would either not have known the sign which the Lord had set up to mark the time when Israel's blindness should speedily cease, or else they might have looked on the prospective abandonment and desolation of so many cities of the land as a dream never to be realized, or only to be thought of as a reality when a new age of wonders should arise.”

Ŏ that the salvation of Israel was come out of Zion! O for that outpouring of the Spirit which shall begin with the house of David and inhabitants of Jerusalem! O for that deep work of holiness, whereby the Holy Ghost shall manifest his full indwelling in men-when "the weakest among them shall be as David!" O for those songs of thanksgiving, from the happy multitudes that shall enter the gates of their overflowing cities, till the gates are called "Praise!" And O for the joy, which the Lord himself shall be satisfied with, (Zeph. iii. 17), when he rests over Israel in his love. Root and offspring of David, bright Morning-Star, arise speedily and shine on thy holy mountain, that lieth desolate! Defer not, for thine own sake, O our God!

Lectures on the Sympathies, Sufferings, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, delivered in St Jude's Church, Liverpool, during Passion-week, and on Easter-day. By the Rev. HUGH M'NEILE, M.A. Second edition. London, 1843.

There is much refreshing truth in these lectures, and nothing whatever of Puseyism. In the Preface, Mr M. has some touching remarks on the sympathy of our Lord, and how a better acquaintance with it might fill up the chasm in many whose religion is intermittent. "Their view of the gospel supplies them with a refuge from the paroxysms of conscience, which are intermittent; but not finding herein an habitual companionship for their hearts, they cannot enjoy it as an habitual religion. The reason is, that while the Godhead of the Saviour is contemplated, his true and proper manhood is grievously neglected." P. 8. And he shows how there is a repose to our state of sin and guilt in the Saviour's divine nature giving atonement; and to our sense of misery, in the Saviour meeting the cravings of our souls for companionship, by revealing God in human nature coming forward to be his friend, and fill his affections. He then incidentally shows how much of Puseyism is an attempt to occupy the place of Christ's humanity.

Some original ideas are brought out in regard to a few portions of the evangelical narratives-not all with equal success. That on Mary anointing the Lord for his burial is well argued; but that on the motive that influenced Judas to betray our Lord is a decided failure. His theory of Judas is, that it is inconceivable how he should seek no more than the paltry sum of thirty pieces for so great a favour done to those who employed him-and hence, he is led on to maintain that Judas' treachery was part of a plan to get Jesus openly to declare himself Messiah, if in truth he were so. But when we read Psalm cix., (the Iscariotic Psalm) his theory falls. It there appears that the man was so abandoned to evil that his heart became a cage of all wickedness, capable at length of doing the most tremendous deed of villany for the most paltry recompense. Nor do we like his view of Peter's case, so far as it implies that the Saviour's heart was at that moment pierced by Peter's fall, on account of the dark prospect it held out in regard to the future stedfastness of his people. It is all true, what he says in p. 67. of many things being hid from Jesus as man; but this was not one of the things hidden. Only read Isaiah xlix. 4, 5, and Psalm cii. 13. &c. Surely these were in Christ's hand as man? And there we read, as in many other places, of a seed secured to him in spite of all apparent opposition.

His language in regard to universal atonement is once or twice very rash, to say the least of it. He speaks in p. 144 of Christ having bought many who deny him, so that Latimer was right in saying, "Judas was as truly redeemed as Peter." It is true he seems to mean by his language no more than that the price paid by Jesus was a price sufficient for the whole world; yet how apt is it to mislead other men. In p. 150 he more clearly shows his views in explaining the brazen serpent. Suppose a messenger had gone through the camp proclaiming that the serpent was lifted up only for some of the dying people, and that there was no provision made for the rest-this would be erroneous. If, again, he proclaimed that it was lifted up in such a way that all were undoubtedly healed, or to be healed-this, too, would be erroneous. But the true message is, that God has made provision, by the lifting of the serpent, for the healing of all; that the medium was, looking up to the serpent-and that whosoever looked should live. Such is his view-a view that may imply, we think, that God intended the cure to be for all; but which would be accurate and Scriptural, if leaving out the element of intention, it held out the absolute sufficiency of the cure for all.

There are many striking remarks that could come only from a mind of high

power, and many beautiful statements of well known truths. P. 170. "The resurrection of Jesus was not an extemporaneous act on God's part, arising out of existing circumstances. It was a fore-ordained act, for the sake of which all the preceding circumstances were brought to pass. The process of salvation through Christ had been going on from the beginning. And in or der that men, touched and taught by the divine Spirit, might learn that principle of confidence in God which links the human being to the divine Saviour, there were promises revealed of the purpose that was afterwards to be executed. On the credit of his purpose God acted; and on the revealed promise men depended." And so he remarks, that in every age "Salvation has been by grace from heaven, through faith on earth." Pp. 132, 133. "All things seemed in their usual tranquillity. The western sky still retained the streaks of its accustomed brilliancy ;-the moon, in her still mild lustre, glided along the blue expanse of the heavens; the evening breeze, in its wonted softness, sighed through the clustering vines on the slopes of the mount of Olives; the world, unconscious of any crisis in its history, sunk into its usual nightly rest. But now, from the recesses of Jehovah's holiness, and Jehovah's love,—now, from the unfathomed depths of the Father of Spirits, there waves the swelling of a tremendous storm. The world was the region of creation on which that storm was destined to fall, sufficient to destroy the world-and yet it arose out of infinite love to the world; and when it fell, it fell not to destroy, but that through it the world might be saved. The bosom of Jesus was the arena of that mighty conflict." P. 225. The resurrection of Jesus. "It is glad tidings, because it breaks the sad monotony of man's history. All had ended till then, with one and the same sound. Stone after stone had disappeared. One had made a somewhat louder noise, and caused a somewhat more extended commotion upon the surface than another; but all had given substantially the same sound-and none had been heard of more. He died! In infancy, in boyhood, in manhood, in age, whether threescore years and ten, or numbering centuries with the antediluvian patriarchstill the end was the same, he died. Was he in obscurity? He died; and the village church received his remains. Was he in public splendour? He died; and the marble mausoleum received his remains. Was he a beggar sitting at a rich man's door. He died. Was he a rich man faring sumptuously every day? The rich man also died. Experience, long, uniform, universal, had borne its ten thousand times ten thousand testimonies; all, always and altogether agreeing in the sound-he died. But now another sound emerges from the deep waters, a new sound, a glad sound. He is risen! The second volume of the history of man is opened."

Essays on Partial Derangement of the Mind, in supposed connection with Religion. By the late JOHN CHEYNE, M.D., Physician-General to her Majesty's Forces in Ireland, &c. Dublin. 1843.

Dr Cheyne was born in Leith, and settled in Dublin. In 1810 he drew as his professional income at the rate of six guineas a-year-but by 1820 his practice steadily yielded five thousand pounds as its annual average, and he attained to the highest medical rank in Ireland, by being appointed PhysicianGeneral to the Army. From this it is evident that he was no common man. He was in fact to Dublin, what Abercrombie is in Edinburgh, and, like the latter, Cheyne too, amid all his reputation and success, was not ashamed to be a Christian. This is the inscription that himself prepared for his tomb,"Reader! the name, profession, and age of him whose body lies beneath, are of little importance, but it may be of great importance to you to know, that by the grace of God he was brought to look to the Lord Jesus, as the only

Saviour of sinners, and that this looking unto Jesus gave peace to his soul." Having found peace himself through the gospel, and being convinced that peace can flow from no other source, Dr Cheyne felt astonished as well as grieved, to hear it often reiterated in the course of his practice, that there is a tendency in evangelical religion to produce derangement; and at a time when it was needful to divert his mind from anxious thought, he composed these Essays" in hope of removing the prejudice to which they refer. By some it may be thought that he carries his peculiar explanation of the phenomena with which he deals, too far in one or two instances,-as for example, when he says "that there is every reason to believe that the vision of the excellent Colonel Gardiner was caused by a disordered condition of the organs of sense." Still in the main we think his principles sound, and well worthy of attention. First of all, he maintains, that mental derangements are invariably connected with bodily disorder,-next, that such derangements of the understanding as are attended with insane speculations on the subject of religion, are generally persuasions only of one mental power,-finally, that little benefit will arise to a melancholic patient by placing before him divine truth, until the bodily disease which sustains the mental delusion is relieved. These constitute the leading positions of Dr Cheyne's work, and alike as coming from such an authority, and concerning a subject so momentous, they deserve the most profound consideration. It adds interest to the volume to know, that whilst it originated in a desire to vindicate the truth as it is in Jesus from base aspersion, it was also the author's earnest hope, that it might be found useful in directing the ministers of Christ to a more effectual treatment of all cases connected with spiritual darkness than has hitherto obtained.

A Glimpse into the World to Come, in a Waking Dream. By the late GEORGE P. PHILLIPS, Preacher of the Gospel. With Extracts, illustrative of his Spiritual Progress. Edinburgh: William Oliphant & Sons. 1844. This little work has little of narrative to recommend it, being, as its title purports, a simple sketch of the religious experience of one who was early called to glory. It is presented to our readers, not so much on account of anything strange or new in his experience, as just that it embodies, briefly and pointedly, what has been and daily is the experience of many a soul. We feel sure that it will not be read with less profit or less interest from the ready response with which it will meet in many hearts. It may be that some, themselves unable to trace with equal honesty and closeness the hidden work within, will thankfully discover in this faithful revelation of another's heart, the portraiture of the undefined workings in their own breasts.

The anxious, doubting mind, unwilling to take Christ at his word and trust him fully, yet unwilling wholly to relinquish his hold of him, from a feeling that in him, if at all, is his hope, will find, in tracing the gradual progress of G. Phillips' mind, encouragement to seek the Lord and rest in him, assured that to him too he will arise with healing in his wings, if he too will cease from all efforts at his own cure, and take the healing which his wounded spirit will only find there. We quote a few words which well describe this state of mind; and a brief extract from the diary which follows, after he found peace in believing lets us into the secret of his long estrangement from the Beloved, while apparently seeking him in earnest :

"The voice of his beloved that knocked, saying, open to me' was heard, but not understood. Instead of opening his heart at once to welcome the pitying guest, he hastened to sweep and garnish it, to make it worthy of such a visit, and then when he opened, his beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: his soul failed him when he spoke he sought him but could not find him, he called him but he gave no answer." P. 43.

VOL. XVII. NO. I.

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