most ignorant and base, of men. The very office of apostle involved the power of bearing witness to the life, death, and resurrection, of the Son of God; and their preaching was mainly a witnessing, to work a conviction of these facts into the world's conscience, and the world's heart. striking characteristic of apostolic preaching. But was it special to those times, or does it sum up the whole work of a preacher now?

This is the

It will at once be conceded that the preacher at the present day has a widely different state of things to deal with. The facts are now universally accepted. Those who question them are the sceptics, the unbelievers in the faith of society, as the Christians were once called the sceptics in relation to the gods of Rome. Is reiteration of them our duty, or are there new directions opened by the wants of such an age as ours, in which the energy of the Christian preacher may more profitably be employed? It will be seen at once that every fact, received as such, suggests questions as to how it came to be a fact-how it stands related to other facts-whether it remodels our belief in other things, which we have accepted, perhaps, without sufficient caution—and whether it will itself bear the searching criticism of an intellect resolved, if there be one, to discover and expose the flaw. The moment a prima facie evidence of a fact compels us to accept it and handle it, the office of the intellect commences. It has to inquire into its origin, history, relations, and crediblity. Not otherwise is it with things spiritual. A new truth, announced as a fresh revelation from God, may be at once accepted by the heart, because it seems to supply its needs; but the mind will not let it rest there: it seizes it, inquires about its origin and credibility, sees how it stands related to other facts and truths, and only, after keen criticism, acquiesces in the judgment of the heart. For instance, the apostles preached Christianity as a Divine revelation; Christ as God's sacrifice and man's priest. But the question at once arose- -How? There is already a sacrifice and a priest ordained of God: how can there be a fresh one? Did the apostles neglect to

give satisfaction to these, and still deeper, inquiries of the intellect concerning the gospel of life and immortality? Did they content themselves with simply bearing witness to the facts, and leaving contradictions to explain themselves? By no means. They wrote the epistles to supplement the gospel, to meet this very state of things, to explain difficulties, remove objections, and dissipate doubts, which could not but rise in the minds of those whose hearts had already wedded themselves to the truth. They recognised the office of the intellect in things spiritual, and endeavoured to meet its just claims to satisfaction, but their preaching remained full of witness to the living reality of the facts which are the gospel; they felt that the satisfaction of the intellect was second altogether to the ministry which these proffered to the spiritual life. Intellect has been for eighteen centuries at work upon the gospel, and while faith in it has grown mightily, these difficulties have accumulated too. The question, at the present day, presses very gravely on the preacher, how far shall he confine his witness to the facts of Christianity, and their practical influence?-how far shall he, in the track of the epistles, try to satisfy the wants of an inquiring not to say sceptical age about the gospel? Any absolute decision, one way or the other, would be foolish. Much depends on the mind of the man, much on the speciality of his position; but, on the whole, as a general principle, we conclude that it would be wise still for the preacher to take the apostle as his model, and deal more largely than is at present the tendency with the facts of the life of Christ, and the substantial realities of Christian truth. It were much to be desired if there could be a recognition of two classes of teachers in the Church—the preacher and the teacher; or if, in each great centre of intellectual and social activity, there could be one or two men specially qualified, and specially constituted, to deal with the intellectual side of the question, and make the satisfaction of the inquiring intellect their chief concern. But, for myself, I do not look to the pulpit as the instrument for dealing with the scepticism of this or any other age. The battle must be

fought out elsewhere. The work of the preacher is not so much with the combat as the combatant-to tend him, arm him, cheer him, and stimulate him to fight for victory. We cannot settle this question in the pulpit, which agitates the minds of our hearers, but we can help them to make the settlement more sure and speedy, by keeping their best nature under constant training, and strengthening their moral hold on the good and true. It may be said, and with a colour of justice, men have heard the tale of the gospel so often that they do not realize it. It is an old song to them, floating mechanically through the brain, but leaving no record there; that we must try to interest them in other ways, and about other things, and then we shall get them to hear, with new interest, the tale of Christianity. Perhaps what we want most is the simple and vivid apprehension of these things ourselves—" the love of God," "the grace of the Lord Jesus," the cross, the tomb, the resurrection and ascension, and the coming of the Holy Ghost. Perhaps if they were less an old song to us, they would be less so to our hearers, and we should find it possible to waken those who seem to have heard of these facts till they make no impression, to a new and vivid apprehension of their reality and power. Then might we hopefully watch the progress of the struggle, if we had lodged a new belief in the reality of God's love and mercy in human hearts. Perhaps the most besetting sin of the preachers of the age is the notion that they can settle questions which every heart must settle for itself; and while men of keen, bright intellect render us noble service by unmasking and exposing the sophists who, with such easy assurance, lead multitudes astray, they are not working ill for Christ, or for truth, who lend themselves, in their preaching, to the work of twining more closely around Christ the tendrils of the heart's affections, and leave the great intellectual battle to be fought out with the heart on the right side. It is impossible, in a little space like this, to do more than glance. at the many things that crowd upon the thoughts; but the circumstances and needs of the age seem to us to call for a

more practical, and not a less practical, preaching. The human voice is never so touching, never so potent, as when it lends itself to the themes of pity, compassion, suffering, love. And what pity! what suffering! what love! Here is our secret of strength as preachers. Teachers there may be who may consider other things. We ourselves may don the garb of the teacher sometimes, and address ourselves to the intellects of men; but if we want to make our voice and utterance-the whole utterance of the man- -tell best, reach farthest, swell deepest, let us breathe through it the theme which lends to it its most rich expression-its most constraining power. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

J. B. BROWN, B.A.

Clapham.

LITERARY NOTICES.

SKETCHES FROM THE CROSS; a Review of the Characters connected with the Crucifixion of our Lord. To which is added, a Notice of the Character of Balaam. By JOHN JORDAN DAVIES. Ward and Co.

ALTHOUGH the central theme of this book is suited to break up other and deeper depths of thought than it contains, and to kindle other more glowing and luminous soul-fires than radiate on its pages, we have, nevertheless, a high estimate of it. It is free alike from theological platitudes and ambitious originalities. The writer displays a considerable acquaintance with the anatomy of the heart, and an unfeigned sympathy with the real and the true. The style is evidently natural, and therefore good. It is the real face of the author's soul, without grimace or paint. We can say of this book what we can say but of few now-a-days-that it has suggested profitable trains of thought.

TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED; or, Experimental Religion Distinguished from Formality and Enthusiasm. By JOSEPH BELLAMY, D.D. Ward and Co.

OUR reading experience does not incline us to join with those pulpit antiquaries who desire to fill the modern market with "old divinity," and to robe young preachers with costumes of thought hoary with the breath of centuries, and, for the most. part, of too frail a texture and scanty in make for the manly limb and varied labor of the nineteenth century. Albeit, such a work as that now before us-recommended, as it is, by such a metaphysical divine as Jonathan Edwards—we regard as well deserving the attention of the theological student.

THE SOUL'S ARENA; or, Views of Man's Great Contest. By WILLIAM BATHGATE. Ward and Co.

THIS is the book of a man who is evidently penetrated with solemn views of life. To our author life is no day-dream, or holiday, or routine of manual action, but a battle-a real, earnest, unremitting, awful battle. There is the stirring, agile, hearty air of a contest on every page. As an expression of deep and genuine earnestness-so rare, and yet so valuable and seemly, in religious literature-we prize and recommend it.

TWENTY SERMONS, by the late Rev. DAVID CHARLES, of Caermarthen. Ward and Co.

THESE are the discourses of a good man, who, in his vernacular speech, could fan "Welsh fire" into truth-revealing flames, and make assembled thousands tremblingly alive to the scene; but his thoughts, as they stand in the cold English type before us, do not certainly either warm or enlighten. Perhaps the vehicle is too contracted and cold to convey the great fiery thoughts of a Welsh soul. At any rate, the range