his arguments may perhaps incline that way. -For our account of Mr. Taylor's Differtation, fee Review for December 1787, P. 509. Art. 56. Sermons and Difcourfes on feveral Occafions. By George Skene Keith, M. A. Minifter of Keith-Hall, Aberdeenshire. 8vo. 5s. Boards. Evans. 1785. Most of these fermons are in two parts, fome in three, and one in four. The fubjects are the following: I. Character of Jefus Chrift: John i. 14. II. Religious Inquiry; Luke vii. 35. III. Greatnefs of Mind; Exod. xxxiii. 32. IV. True Eloquence; Ads xxiv. 25. V. Falfe Eloquence; As xii. 21, 22, 23. VI. Progrefs of Virtue and Happiness; Proverbs iv. 18. VII. Progrefs of Vice and Mifery; Proverbs iv. 19. VIII. Union of Prudence and Innocence; Matth. x. 16, IX. Abraham offering up Ifaac; Genefis xxii. 1-14. X. The Parable of the Prodigal Son; Luke xv. 11-end. It would not be difficult to make fome extracts from these discourses which would be acceptable to many of our Readers, but brevity obliges us to be fatisfied with a general account. They are rational, fenfible, and ufeful; partly of a declamatory, partly of an argumentative kind. On the whole, they are well calculated to advance thofe great and good ends, which whatever is delivered from the pulpit ought always to fubferve. Art. 57. Evangelical Truth defended: or, a Reply to a Letter containing Strictures on a Sermon preached at Lancaster, by the Rev. Mr. Houfman; in which the principal Doctrines of the Gospel are enumerated and enforced. By George Burder. 8vo. 6d. Evans. 1788. The letter to which Mr. Burder's tract is oppofed, was noticed, together with Mr. Houfman's difcourfe, in our 76th Vol. p. 544.We take no part in this controverfy; but any one may obferve the advantage which our Author poffeffes over his antagonist, by having on his fide the articles, homilies, and liturgy of the church; to which he can, at pleafure, add quotations from Archbishop Secker, &c.-Separately from this connexion, every man has, certainly, a right to judge for himself concerning religious truth. And Chriftian charity, together with common obfervation and experience, will teach us, that there are wife, learned, pious, and worthy perfons, under every denomination, and every peculiarity of opinion and fentiment.-Why, then, will good people continue to keep alive difputes which anfwer no truly valuable end, and only ferve to fet neighbours at variance with each other? Art. 58. The Influence of Piety in promoting the perfonal Happiness of Man and the Peace of Society, illuftrated in a Series of Sermons. By William Lamport. Vol. I. 12mo. 3s. Buckland. 1787. Of thefe eight difcourfes, the fubjects are as follow; I. General Defcription of Piety; Gen. v. 24. II. Profperity; Job xxix. 14. III. Adverfity; Job xiii. 15. IV. Foundation of Piety; 1 Peter 1. 16. V. Influence of Piety on the Paffions; Gen. xxxix. 9. VI, VII. Nature, Defign, and Tendency of Chriftianity; Titus ii. 11-14. Vill. Enlarged Views, Purposes, and Conduct of a Chriftian; Phil. i. 21. The fermons have a connection with each other, other, and bear the marks of the Preacher's good heart, as well as of his refpectable ability; they are compofed with fome attention, and directed folely to a practical purpose. The first five difcourfes are taken principally from the general character of God, as our Creator and Governor; thofe which follow are derived chiefly from Chriftianity; the effential principles of which, obferves the Preacher, have the moft powerfully pleafing influence on the heart. Whether another volume will follow, feems uncertain, on account of the ill ftate of the author's health. Art. 59. An Appeal to the Scriptures in general, on the Univerfality of Divine Love to Man, and the univerfal Extent of our Saviour's Death. By William Kingsford. 8vo. 5s. Boards. Buckland. 1788. This volume owes its rife to a pamphlet published by W. Button, fee Review for July 1786, p. 79.Nothing can be more inconfiftent with the ideas of wisdom, juftice, and rectitude, not to speak of goodnefs, than the fuppofition that the Almighty Creator dooms any of his creatures, without any fault of theirs, to unavoidable mifery, or places them in circumftances of which this must be the neceffary confequence.-Excited by fome fuch thought, this writer tells us, that he fearched the Bible from the beginning to the end: 'and,' he fays, on fumming up the evidence of the paffages, I found those which fpake of the universal extent of the death of Chrift, and of the free, gracious, and generous intentions of God towards all men, to be numerous, clear, and undeniable, and fo very full and expreffive, that a wayfaring man, though a fool in the eyes of the great and wife, may understand them and on the contrary, I could find none that confined the extent of the death of Chrift to only a number, or part of the whole; and but very few that seemed to favour the doctrines of perfonal, unconditional election and reprobation, and these few were fo far from being plain, and exprefs to that purpofe, that they might, without any perverfion, be understood in a different fenfe.' Mr. Kingsford has ufed great attention and diligence in his inquiry. The work confifts of three parts, or, as the Author terms them, Scales: the firft of which contains explications, remarks, &c. very pertinent to the defign; the fecond is a numerous collection of paffages to thew that Calvinistic notions are unfcriptural, and to prove that the Chriftian falvation is offered to and defigned for all, without exception; and the third part examines paffages which have been fuppofed to favour election and reprobation. Our prefent limits forbid any extracts; but we cannot refrain from inferting the following thort paffage relative to reprobation: I know that fome of them are afhamed to own this horrible doctrine, and well they may. But it is not fo with all. The late Dr. Gill, in his anfwer to the Birmingham Dialogue, p. 28, fays, "That, as infants come into the world children of wrath, he fees no injuftice in it, if they fhould be taken out of the world under wrath." O rare doctrines! that paint the God of love, the Father of mercies, as others would paint Herod and the devil.' The ftyle of this work might admit of fome correction and improvement, yet it is on the whole a fenfible and ufeful performance: it manifefts thought and ftudy, with the ufe of proper helps on the fubject. Without entering into verbal and learned criticifm, a variety of phrafes and paffages feem to be here rationally explained, which have for ages been, and still are, mifapplied by numbers of Christians. Art. 60. An Evangelical Summary of corroborative Testimonies concerning the holy Birth, virtuous Life, painful Death, and glorious Refur rection and Afcenfion of Jefus Chrift. By a Member of the Church of England. 8vo. Is. 6d. Evans. 1788. Simple truth has fometimes more efficacy than a long train of argument and elaborate proof. On a principle of this kind we may fuppofe our author offers this performance to the Public. It confifts of a collection of paffages from the Evangelifts on the fubjects mentioned in the above title, each fubject being introduced by a quotation from the Old Teftament, of prophecies relative to it. He very properly concludes that a cool and thoughtful attention to thefe topics is likely to convince us of the truth of Christianity, and confirm a practical adherence to it. The intention is good; and the introduction contains feveral pertinent and useful remarks. He appears to be a young adventurer who wishes to ferve the caufe of Chriftian piety and virtue. Art. 61. An Addrefs to the Deifts; or an Inquiry into the Character of the Author of the Book of Revelation. With an Appendix, in which the Argument of Mr. Hume against the Credibility of Miracles is confidered and refuted. By one who thinks, with that eminent Judge, Sir Matthew Hale, That Religion is the first Concern of Man. 8vo. 2s. Rivingtons. 1788. The principal intention of this piece is, to vindicate the character of the Author of the Book of Revelation from the charges of enthufiafm and impolture, and to prove that many prophecies in that book have been actually accomplished. Thofe who are acquainted with the writings of Mede, Lowman, and others, on this fubject, will not find much new matter in thefe remarks. The Appendix adds little to what was long ago offered in reply to Hume by Dr. Adams. The work is, however, written with clearness and candour; and the laudable views of the Author are farther evinced by his declaration, that it is intended to give the whole receipt of this publication, to the Society for promoting Chriftian Knowledge, for the purpofe of carrying on their religious defigns.' Art. 62. An Essay on the Church. 8vo. 2s. Gloucefter printed; fold by Robinfons, &c. in London. 1787. This cry against herefy and fchifm might have paffed in the days of Sacheverel, but it will have little effect in the prefent day, in which the position, ftrenuoufly denied by this writer, is almoft univerfally admitted, that all men have a right to judge and chufe for themfelves in matters of religion. SINGLE SERMONS. I. Preached to the Convicts under Sentence of Death in Newgate, "Believe, Believe, and all your fins forgiven; Only believe, and yours is heaven." Dr. Barry's fermon is, with refpect to the doctrinal part, all fet to the fame tune. Such doctrine, no doubt, must be comfortable to poor wretches fo circumftanced as thofe were to whom this pious preacher had the goodness to addrefs his difcourfe; but fome (and thofe not men of fhallow reflection) have queftioned whether it is altogether right, thus to free the moft flagitious outcafts of fociety from the terrors of an after-reckoning; fince it is too well known, that most of them make little account of their punishment in this world.-Inftead of the "fearful looking for of [future] judgment," they are enraptured with the profpect of a joyful flight to the expanded arms of a loving Saviour,' longing to embrace his long loft children! Surely this is not the way [humanly speaking] to check the alarming progrefs of moral depravity: to which, one would think, no kind of encouragement ought to be given.-Chriftian charity, however, will have much to fay on this fubject; and we muit leave the question where we found it; having neither leifure nor opportunity to give it fo ample a difcuffion as it feems to deserve. II. The happy Tendency and extenfive Influence of the Chriftian Dif penfation. Preached at Salters-Hall, April 7th, 1788, before the Correfpondent Board in London of the Society in Scotland (incorporated by royal Charter) for propagating Chriftian Knowledge in the Highlands and Islands. By Robert Winter. 8vo. 6 d. Cadell. по Mr. Winter has chofen a fubject (Luke ii. 32. A light to lighten the Gentiles) proper for the occafion, and has difcuffed it in a judicious and pleafing manner. His difcourfe has none of the frippery of falfe eloquence, but is in that ferious and manly ftyle which is peculiarly fuited to addreffes from the pulpit. III. Preached at Great Baddow, Effex, on Whit-Monday 1788, being the first Anniversary Meeting of a Society of poor Tradefmen and Labourers in that Parish, formed for their mutual Support in Sickness and Old Age. By A. Longmore, LL. B. Vicar. 4to. Is. Robinsons. Societies of this kind, properly conducted, may prove highly beneficial. The preacher offers feasonable and useful advice on the occafion, from As iv. 32. He makes fome juft obfervations on the community of goods among the early Chriftians, and urges the neceffity of fobriety and induftry, if men would pafs comfortably through the world; and on the other hand expofes the meannefs and dishonesty of that intemperance or improvidence by which many fuffer themfelves to become burthenfome to their neighbours. IV. Read in the Chapel at Belvoir Caftle, after the Funeral of his Grace the Duke of Rutland, late Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. By the Rev. George Crabbe. 4to. 1s. Dodfley. 1788. High panegyric! Happy the man by whom the eulogium is justly merited! How far this was the cafe, in the prefent inftance, we pretend not to judge. What more immediately concerns us is, tions are here conveyed to us in fuitable language. CORRE that I CORRESPONDENCE. To the MONTHLY REVIEWERS. GENTLEMEN, AM much obliged to you, for having taken notice, in your va luable literary journal, of a German publication of mine, relative to a View of the prefent State of Politics, Literature, Arts and Com merce in Great Britain. It has, however, put me into a kind of embarrassment, on account of a wifh which it has excited in fome of your readers, that it might be tranflated into the English language. I never had the vanity to fuppofe, that my book, which was written merely for the benefit of my own countrymen, could convey any information to Englishmen; and had, therefore, not the leaft intention of publishing it in English. But as I find, that other perfons have formed a ferious defign of printing a tranflation of my work, I have refolved, fince it is to be done, to perform the task of a tranflator myfelf. I am undoubtedly the moft proper interpreter of my own words; and as I am about to publish a new edition in German, with corrections and additions, I fhall be able, at the fame time, to introduce them into the English tranflation. As the appearance of my book, in an English drefs, will be chiefly owing to the attention which the Monthly Reviewers pay even to foreign publications, I hope, Gentlemen, that you will do me the favour of inferting these few lines, at the end of one of your monthly publications, that no other tranflation may be attempted and rendered ufelefs, by that which I have refolved, though fomewhat unwillingly, to undertake myself. I am, New-Inn, Sept. 6, 1788. GENTLEMEN, Your most humble Servant, Adolefcens accufes us of having betrayed the truft tacitly repofed in us by the public,' becaufe we have not condemned the writings of M. Herrenfchwand with all the afperity which he thinks they deserve. We are not, however, convinced that this charge is well founded; nor has Adolefcens fuggefted one reprehenfible particular concerning that writer, which had not been previously noticed by ourselves. If we have not adopted that knock-dorun fyle which Adolefcens feems to wifh for, it is becaufe we deem it altogether improper in a work which we hope will ever be diftinguished for all the lenity that is confiftent with the fricteft impartiality. Were we to adopt the ftyle that would prove agreeable to the friends, or that would please the envious opponents of the feveral authors whose works come under our infpection, the Monthly Review would foon fink into merited contempt. We must therefore refolve to disregard the reprehenfions of the two claffes of men just named, and speak of the works that come before us, as they are; "Nothing extenuate, nor fet down aught in malice." Can Adolefcens be ferious when he calls upon us to ftigmatife M. Herrenschwand as a plagiary, because, on various occafions, his ideas 7 are |