the very period of the last days before his coming. But the children of the light and of the day, though they may have slumbered with others, will awake; and that day shall not overtake them as a thief.' (1 Thess. v.) It is a great duty, then, to proclaim loudly and distinctly, Behold the Bridegroom cometh!' We are living under the sixth vial, and the wasting of the river Euphrates; and the admonition then to be especially given is, 'Behold, I come as a thief!' Let this truth be fully opened and developed, and it will be as the sword of the Spirit, cutting down and destroying all the unbelief, worldliness, mere formality, self-righteousness, lawlessness, and other reigning sins of these last days, leading us to all holy conversation and godliness, and to be diligent that we may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.' When the church was all alive to the subject, the Apostle said, 'Ye have no need that I write unto you of the times and seasons.' But the church does not now know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night;' and great then is the need that the times and seasons, revealed in so many ways in the chronological prophecies, should be unfolded, for bringing us to a watchful, praying, and prepared state of mind for that certain, most solemn, and awful, and near second coming of the Lord. tremendous, an everlasting judgment awaits the persevering rebel against God, at the close of the millennial kingdom." Pp. 83-86.

A

The Prophecy upon the Mount; a Practical Consideration of our Lord's Statement respecting the Destruction of Jerusalem, his own Appearing, and the End of the Age. By the REV. ALEXANDER DALLAS, A.M., Rector of Wonston, Hants. London: James Nisbet.

1843.

The great value of this volume consists in its being a simple exposition of the word of God. Its whole design is to open up our Lord's prophecy on the mount. This it does most ably and clearly. On many parts of this prophecy it casts much light, and the student of Scripture will prize it, even though not conceding every one of Mr Dallas' interpretations. Though objecting to some parts of his exposition of the 25th chapter, particularly that at page 114, regarding the heathen, we do not the less cordially welcome his exposition of the other parts of this and the preceding chapter. One brief extract will be sufficient. It is regarding the signs of the times in connection with the latter days, and the coming of the Son of Man.

"The gospel is to be preached in the different languages of the world; and so far amongst those who speak them, that it shall be a witness, at least so evidently as to be the means of converting those whose names are written in the book of life, in order to complete the number of God's elect; and thus the times for gathering God's especial church from amongst the Gentiles will be closed.

"The days of vengeance upon the Jews, written with the divine records of their sinful rebellions, are to be fulfilled;-their long ejection from their chartered inheritance is so far to be reversed and brought to conclusion, that a Gentile power is no longer to be predominant in Jerusalem; for which purpose that city must be restored to the government of some Jewish polity.

"There will be a state of distress and perplexity amongst the various nations of the earth; and a sinking of heart in many individuals, from the fearful forebodings arising out of the unsettled agitated state of all things; while at the same time, very many will be so careless of these forebodings, that they will be carrying on the ordinary course of their worldly concerns in ignorance or unbelief regarding the Lord's coming, just as did the antediluvian scoffers, and the sinners of Sodom, until the great consummation will be sudden to them, in spite of its signs.

"There will be physical derangements, both in the heavens and on the earth, so unusual and portentous, that to regard them will cease to be a symptom of superstition; but to be unheeding of them will rather be a token of carelessness and irreligion.

"One character, is especially to distinguish the days before the Lord's coming; all these signs are to creep upon the world so that their connection with the great event may be unperceived by those who view them without spiritual perceptions. To those who believe the forewarnings of Scripture, and search for the signs by the light of the Holy Spirit, the rising of each will produce a hopeful anticipation, and the clustering concurrence of all will swell the heart with the joyful assurance that their redemption draweth nigh. But to the world-emphatically the world—each succeeding event will come so, that it may be accounted for by natural causes; and the strangeness and eccentricity of one will prepare the way for a rational explanation of the next unusual thing; so that the religious argument drawn from each or all to prepare for the coming of the Lord will be rejected as unphilosophical and enthusiastic: and thus as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth;' requiring great care and watchfulness in the steps of those who are searching for the meshes of the net; and catching at unawares those who would not be warned."

The Christian's Walk with God. By the HONOURABLE Mrs Mburgh: Johnstone. 1844.

Edin

This little work is full of the true spirit of pure and undefiled religion. Though, perhaps, rather diffuse, still it is well written, and breathes throughout the savour of the Redeemer's name. May it aid many a pilgrim in walking with his God.

An Essay on Christian Love. By the Late REV. HUGH BINNING. With an Introduction by the HONOURABLE AUGUSTA MACKENZIE, of Seaforth. Edinburgh: Kennedy. 1844,

We owe many thanks to Miss Mackenzie for introducing this valuable work of Binning to the public. The original treatise, now nearly two centuries old, is truly excellent, and not less so is the introduction prefixed to the present edition. In an age of conflict and controversy like our's we need such publications. They come like oil upon the ruffled waters.

Plea for a Church to be erected at North Berwick, as a Memorial of the Martyrs of the Bass Rock. Edinburgh: Johnstone. 1844.

An admirable plea. Its authorship is anonymous, but notwithstanding this, it is really an interesting little work, of thirty-eight pages, printed in rather a peculiar, but most handsome style. Let our readers buy a copy of the plea, and then send a subscription to aid in the erection of this "Church of the Bass."

The Doctrines of Atonement and Election considered. By A LAYMAN. Glas1844.

gow.

One fool said in his heart, "There is no God;" and another fool says with

perhaps somewhat less audacity, but more inconsistency than the former, “Oh there is a God, but he foreknows, fixes, chooses, arranges NOTHING. It is not his will but ours that orders events here below; it is not his choice but ours that determines all things connected with the creature." These two fools are near kin to each other, and the author before us seems related to the latter of them. His work is a mixture of vanity, sophistry, and ignorance.

Memoirs of Christian Missionaries; with an Essay on the Extension of the Missionary Spirit. By the Rev. J. Gardner, A.M., M.D. Edinburgh: Johnstone. 1843.

We have formerly noticed Dr Gardner's excellent volume, entitled, "Memoirs of Christian Females;" we have before us the above similar work, no less excellent, containing the biographies of twelve of our most distinguished and devoted missionaries. The essay prefixed, though brief, is valuable, and the book itself is even superior to his former one. The lives of these missionaries are, of course, very considerably abridged. But this we will say, that, having previously read the full original biography of most of them, we can testify that the whole substance and spirit have been preserved in the present abridgments. This will be most useful for general circulation, and was much needed; for many of the memoirs here given, such as Morrison and Campbell, are, in their original state, too large and too dear to admit of a wide circulation among those who may happen to be rather short both of money and of time.

Memoirs of Gaspar de Colligny, Admiral of France, with an Account of the Massacre of St Bartholomew's Day, August 24, 1572. Translated and edited by D. D. SCOTT, Esq. Edinburgh: Oliphant. 1844.

The subject of these memoirs, alike one of the greatest heroes that France ever knew, and, with Prince Condé, among the first of the nobility boldly to join, and when driven to it, to defend with arms, those who held the doctrines of the Reformation; also the deep interest of the period in which he lived, and of the events, both of a national and religious character, which circle rouud the history of his career,—these, added to the well-known name on the title page, the name of the translator of D'Aubigné, all insure to this work the cordial reception which it so well merits. Our thanks are due to the translator, not only for the elegance and purity with which he has executed his task, but also for his excellent historical introduction. It greatly elucidates the work, and enables us to enter upon it with a clearer idea of the state of France in the sixteenth century, and especially of the persecuted followers of Jesus there, who greatly increased between the reigns of Francis I. and Charles IX. A brief extract which he introduces from a speech made by the Bishop of Valence, in presence of the King at Fountainbleau, so beautifully contrasts the life and character which even their enemies were constrained to admire in those who received and preached the truth of the gospel" in the love of it," with the dark picture given of the state of morals generally, and of those of the Romish clergy in particular, that we cannot think it will be out of place here. P. 43. "The doctrine, sire, which occupies the thoughts of your subjects, has been sown during thirty years, not in one, two, or three days; it has been brought hither by three or four hundred diligent ministers, men well versed in literature, distinguished by great modesty, seriousness, and apparent holiness, professing a detestation of all vices, and especially of avarice, devoid of all fear of losing their lives, as a testimony to the truth of what they preach, having ever in their mouths Jesus Christ, a word, whose sweetness is such, as easily to

open ears the most shut, and to find its way into the heart of the most hardened."

The piety, simplicity, and manifest truthfulness of the narrative itself are its chief beauty. It bears evidence of having been written by one who not only lived near the times of which he speaks, but probably had himself some share in the scenes which so tragically close the lives of Colligny and his numerous friends. Perhaps we ought to remind our readers that, after the great Condé's death in battle, Colligny succeeded to the command of the war. While his horror of war (especially civil war,) made him use every honourable means to secure peace, and almost too ready to come to terms with those who possessed neither his high sense of integrity nor honour, yet he was ever the foremost in battle, and the first to encourage his men by his own brave example, when fighting was unavoidable. Thrice were the armies of the Reformed attacked, after being lulled into a fatal security by promises and declarations of peace. The irascible malignity of the Dukes of Guise, high in power ever since the alliance of their niece, Mary Queen of Scotts, with the former king, was too well known for any trust to be placed in them. Better things however, were vainly hoped for, from the queen-mother, Catherine de Medicis, who at various times had made professions of friendliness to their cause, and was known to exercise an unbounded influence over the weak mind of the young king. How she repaid this trust, and how this influence was used, the sequel fearfully discloses.

It will thus be seen how hard a part the Admiral had to act between his love of peace, his devotion to his king and country, and his horror of oppression, especially when exercised against the religion which he felt to be that of the Bible. It is worthy of notice, that his mother, after a life very unlike any thing to be met with in the licentious court in which she lived, died bearing her testimony to the salvation which is to be found in Jesus. Though years elapsed after her death, before her son, in an interval of retirement from the turmoil of public life, turned to the serious consideration of eternal things, we cannot but trace to the good seed sown in early youth, his decision, and the boldness with which, in spite of every difficulty which his high and marked position in the land presented, he acted up to his convictions, and openly embraced the reformed religion. He was also the instrument of leading his brothers and many connected with him, to the true light. Neither should the

firmness and moral courage of his faithful wife, Charlotte de la Val, be forgotten, nor the support she gave him in leaving all for Christ's sake. It were well, were there more of the nobility in our own day to follow this example of disinterested devotion to the cause of Christ. It is delightful to mark how a person of the highest rank, one of the ablest statesmen and generals of his age, while he shrunk not from his public duties, yet lost no opportunity of seclusion, and found no comfort and no joy like that which he derived from reading the Scriptures. The following passage gives a pleasing glimpse into his domestic arrangements, and explains the sobriety and good order for which his household was remarkable. P. 183. "As soon as he had risen, which was always at an early hour, putting on his morning-gown, and kneeling, as did those who were with him, he himself prayed in the form which is customary with the churches of France. After this, while waiting for the commencement of the sermon, which was delivered on alternate days, accompanied with psalmody, he gave audience to the church-deputies who were sent to him, or devoted the time to public business. This he resumed for a little, after the service was over, until the dinner hour. When that was come, such of his domestic servants as were not prevented by necessary engagements elsewhere, met in the hall, where the table was laid, standing by which, with his wife at his side, if there had been no preaching service, he engaged with them in singing a psalm, and then the ordinary blessing was said. We have this on the

testimony of a countless number of witnesses, not Frenchmen only, but also German captainsand colonels, who were often asked to dine with him, and can testify that this was his constant practice, not only in his own house, and while enjoying a quiet home, but in the army also.

"On the removal of the cloth, rising and standing up with his wife and the rest of the company, he either returned thanks himself or called on his minister to do so. Such also was his practice at supper; and finding that the members of his household could not without much discomfort, attend prayers so late as at bed-time-an hour, besides, which the diversity of his occupations prevented from being regularly fixed-his orders were that as soon as supper was over a psalm should be sung and prayer offered. It cannot be told how many of the French nobility began to establish this religious order in their families after the example of the Admiral, who used often to exhort them to the practice of true piety, and that it was not enough for the father of a family to live a holy and religious life, if he did not by his example bring all his people to the same rule.

"Indeed there is no doubt that such was the admiration entertained for his piety and sanctity, even by members of the Roman Catholic party, that, but for the dread of tortures and massacres, the greater part of France would have been converted to the same religion and discipline."

The constancy and Christian meekness with which he met his death, are what we might expect from one who had long lived in preparation for such an event. Never was confidence more foully abused; never was there a specimen of darker treachery, than that by which Colligny and his unsuspecting friends met their death. It was when a universal peace had been proclaimed, and when, as if in token of reconciliation, nearly all the nobility of the kingdom who professed" the religion" were assembled in Paris, to assist in the celebration of the marriage of Charles' sister with the king of Navarre, when differences seemed to be forgotten in one common interest, and a long disordered country once more began to breathe freely;-it was then that the murder of thousands of the most faithful subjects was coolly planned and executed. On the eve of the 24th of August, A.D. 1572, a pretext was found for assigning lodgings to all the Huguenots, in the neighbourhood of Colligny's. Secure of the royal protection, they calmly reposed till their slumbers were rudely broken, in the dead of night, by the ominous sound of the tocsin, the signal for the commencement of a slaughter which did not stop in Paris, but had for its aim the total extermination of all the Reformed throughout France.

The account of the massacre of St Bartholomew's day, with all its details of cruelty and bloodshed, is taken from the Reveille Matin des François, and being more minute and further extended than that in the memoir, forms a valuable addition to it. Sure that it will win its own way by its intrinsic merits, we feel that any further commendation of ours would be useless. It will be read with interest by all curious in the annals of a country in some respects nearly connected with our own, and especially by those who have received that gospel enlargement of heart which flows more freely in our own privileged country, than in our less enlightened sister kingdom, and which inclines them gladly to embrace as a dear brother, a great and a good man, whatever be his church, his country, or his tongue.

The Life and Times of John Reuchlin. By FRANCIS BARHAM, Esq.
Lond. 1843.

Reuchlin, were he nothing more than the most accomplished scholar of his age, and one who endured a hot and incessant persecution at the hands of the ignorant and bigotted, on behalf of literature, deserves to be gratefully re