of sacramentalism, preaching has loosened its hold upon the popular mind, and has been compelled to substitute for the verities of Revelation the legends which are akin to such a counterfeit of the true grace of God. It would thus show that, so long as it is employed in the manifestation of the truth to the conscience of every man, its power remains unbroken; and that whenever it ceases to ply revealed truth as the divinely-appointed means to convert men, it becomes powerless for good, and is only an instrument of spiritual despotism. When used as the apostles used it, preaching is the guarantee of knowledge and freedom amongst a people; but when used to decoy men away from the Scriptures as the ultimate standard of appeal, it is not so much the advocate of superstition, as it is the contemner of reason and faith in the one case it developes a noble manhood, in the other it extinguishes the desire to be men in understanding.

Happily for our race there is still something left even in our fallen nature which can respond to the voice of truth. However much conscience may be perverted by the sophisms of daily life, it does not readily lose its ability to discern truth from error, and we can thus explain the influence which evangelical preachers have had amongst a people long kept under the spell of ritualism. The history of our own country shows with what power the exhibition of the gospel was accompanied in the times of the Plantagenets, no less than of the Tudors and Stuarts. The Lollards and Puritans and Nonconformists owed all their influence to the resoluteness with which they preached not themselves but Christ Jesus the Lord; and they succeeded in making the pulpit a power strong

enough to confront a haughty hierarchy and despotic sovereigns, to abate the arrogance of massmongers and their prelatic counterparts, and to vindicate for every man the right to hold his faith not by favour of the Church, or at the instance of the State, but upon the authority and by the grace of God.

The revival of evangelical religion in the last century, and its influence in the present day, must be chiefly ascribed to the same cause; for though we do not forget or wish to undervalue the services which a sound and abundant literature has rendered, there can be no just reason to call in question the preponderating influence of the pastors and teachers who are scattered throughout the land. The bulk of the congregations which assemble on every Lord's-day is composed of those who have small means, and it is to be feared little opportunity or disposition, to provide themselves with literary helps to a godly life; they are, for the most part, dependent on what the pulpit can supply. And even of those who can command a free use of everything that issues from the press, there can be but very few who are more subject to

the power of printed matter than to the influence of a discourse which is spoken with the energy of conviction and of faith. It is, therefore, one of the most important questions of the present day how we may increase, or failing that, how we may best maintain the efficiency of preaching?"

It must be obvious to any one, on reflection, that there is the same difficulty to be confronted now which the apostles dealt with. The offence of the cross has not ceased amongst us, and there are not a few of the wise men of the world who can tolerate anything rather than a frank out-spokenness of the whole

counsel of God. It is still as great a humiliation as ever to the pride of man to be taught that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," and that salvation is to every one who enjoys it, "the gift of God." And it requires but a small acquaintance with the tendencies of the educated classes to know that they specially desire to have Christianity presented to them in a form as little repugnant as may be, to their taste and sensibilities; whilst many who profess to feel a special interest in the condition of the poor insist upon the uselessness of any other sort of preaching than that which they regard as practical-that is which makes forms of faith indifferent, and a "right" life all in all. It is characteristic, too, of our age, that in many of the efforts to secure union small regard has been had to the landmarks of truth, and a vague impression has become almost universal that Christian charity is inconsistent with the maintenance of distinc. tive doctrinal intrepretations of the Scriptures.

There is so much plausibility in the manner of those who feel thus, that it is hard to withstand them; yet, if their sophistries be yielded to, preaching will be in vain. No man ought to enter the pulpit who does not resolve, God helping him, that whether men will hear him or forbear to do so, he will not put a gloss upon the obvious meaning of the Scriptures, but will use them as conveying to men a truthful description of their utter helplessness as transgressors of the law of God, and of the abundant grace which has brought salvation unto them in Jesus Christ. For we have no reason to expect similar success to that of the apostles, unless the ministry of the gospel be conducted upon the same principles as they avowed always and everywhere.

With these convictions, we have recently read, with much sorrow of heart, a volume of "Sermons preached before H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, during his tour in the East, in the spring of 1862," by Dr. Stanley, the present Dean of Westminster. There is a want of evangelical frankness and power, which extorts the question every now and again-Is this all that could have been said, or that ought to have been said, when these sermons were preached? That there are many wise reflections in the volume, suggested by the topics discoursed upon, we cheerfully admit; and the wonderful beauty of the Dean's style sets them off to great advantage: but, after all, we miss the explicitness we have a right to expect, in dealing with the fundamental facts and doctrines of the Gospel; for example, with such a subject as the death of Christ. In a sermon preached at Nazareth on Good Friday, the question is put and answered-"What are the lessons of Good Friday?"

"I. Everywhere the event of Good Friday speaks to us of the universal love of God to His creatures. . . . It was for this that He sent His Son into the world; it was for this Christ died. It was by His death, more even than by His life, that He showed how His sympathy extended far beyond His own nation, His own friends, His own family

"II. I pass to the other lesson which Good Friday teaches us here. It is that whatever good is to be done in the world, even though it is God himself who does it, cannot be done without an effort-a preparation-a sacrifice. So it was especially in the death of Christ: so it was in His whole life. His whole life from the time when he grew up as a tender plant, in the seclusion of this valley, to the hour when he died at Jerusalem, was one long effort-one long struggle against misunderstanding, opposition, scorn, hatred, hardship, pain. He had doubtless his happier and gentler hours; we must not forget them. His friends at Bethany, His apostles who hung upon His lips, His mother who followed him in thought and mind wherever He went,

But here, amongst His own people, He met with angry opposition and jealousy He had to bear the hardships of toil and labour like any other Nazarene artizan. He had here, by a silent preparation of thirty years, to make Himself ready for the work which lay before Him. He had to endure the heat and the cold, the burning sun and the stormy rain of these hills and valleys. The foxes' of the plains of Esdraelon have holes,' 'the birds' of the Galilean forests 'have their nests,' but he had' often not where to lay His head.' And in Jerusalem, though there were momentary bursts of enthusiasm in His behalf, yet He came so directly across the interests, the fears, the pleasures, and the preju dices of those who there ruled and taught, that at last it cost Him His life. By no less a sacrifice could the world be redeemed; by no less a struggle could His work be finished."

Now it is beyond all controversy that the life of Christ had as direct a bearing upon our redemption as His death; so that had he not proved Himself sinless among sin ners, He never could have been a sacrifice for us. But, keeping this in mind, can any one read the extract we have made from this sermon, and discover any hint that Christ died for our sins, or that He gave Himself for us. The phrase "cost Him His life," may admit of an interpretation that is accordant with the records of our faith, but it does not at once suggest such a sense; and though we are very far from imputing to Dr. Stanley any disbelief in the vicarious sufferings of our Lord, because of the absence

of all allusions in this sermon, or throughout the volume, to that characteristic fact, we do feel that as surely as the apostolic method of setting forth the death of Christ was right, his method is defective, and so far wrong. And we regret this the more, as such an opportunity of enforcing the doctrines of revelation amidst the scenes in which they were first proclaimed, and before such an audience as gathered

round him, has never before been granted to any preacher, and may not occur again for centuries to come. We are not insensible to the power and freshness of the volume, as a whole, nor indifferent to the delicacy and pathos, which lend additional fascination to it; but the absence of that element which the distinct recognition of the doctrines of the Gospel can alone supply, is a defect to be censured as well as deplored. "That which is crooked cannot be made straight; neither that which is wanting be numbered."

Before dismissing this volume, it is fit that we notice the appositeness of the subjects treated of, to the various places in which they were preached. We think that preachers generally might take a hint, and with much advantage to themselves, and to the increased interest of their hearers, make their discourses bear upon the incidents of life. The infinite applicability of the Bible to all vicissitudes of fortune, and to all the influences which can affect our character and our destiny, appears to be overlooked by ministers in general. But it is wise to fall in with the current of men's thoughts, if so be they can be guided into right channels; and we strongly feel that the pulpit will not command the influence it is designed to wield until all questions which come home to men's hearts and bosoms are discussed there in the light of God's truth, and in relation to His will and love. Thus, we think Mr. Binney only fulfilled a great duty when he preached to his congregation about the bombardment of Kagosima, and that Dr. Stanley wisely turned to account his last appearance in the pulpit at Oxford, and his first appearance in the pulpit at Westminster, by preach

ing on "Great Opportunities," and on the "Reasonable, Holy, and Living Sacrifice," which every every man's history at a university affords, and which every man's calling in life enables him to offer unto God. By a judicious use of such topics as arrest public attention, all preachers might continue. to show that God's " commandment is exceeding broad," and might thus help to bring ordinary affairs. under the regulation of Christian principles.

Effective preaching will not only be pervaded by evangelical doctrines, but be marked by precision of thought, and simplicity of style. Turgid rhetoric is not eloquence, though it be sometimes mistaken for it; nor is eloquence any condition of success. The secret of power with an auditory is a thorough mastery of the subject to which their attention is directed; and whenever the preacher has possessed himself of his theme, he will seek to make others share in his

advantage. He will speak to be understood, and the words which accurately define his meaning to the most illiterate of his hearers, will usually be most acceptable to the cultivated and learned amongst them: but his style will not be bald or weak in consequence. No one can read the reported discourses of the late Robert Hall, and not acknowledge the felicitousness of his words as vehicles of thought; nor can the sermons of Archdeacon Manning be read without producing the conviction that a man may have an intellect as subtle as that of Aquinas, and use our mother tongue as a mirror in which his thoughts shall be seen. In fact, it is this singleness of eye as to the great end of preaching the lodging of the truth in the heart of the hearer -which will lend the needful per

suasiveness to every discourse. The heart of the preacher will be in his work, and that will rouse the attention and command the sympathy of his audience, when everything else would fall "flat, stale, and unprofitable."

It is a cause of devout gratitude to God that there are so many able ministers of the New Testament in our own and other Christian communities in the present day, and it is pleasant to remember that in all the principal towns of England we have brethren of more than local reputation as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Amongst these, our friend, Mr. McLaren, holds a foremost place; and in the volume of "Sermons preached at Manchester," which he has at last permitted to be published, we may study the characteristics of his ministry, and account for his reputation as a preacher.

The privately printed volume has long been prized by those who were fortunate enough to possess a copy, and has been lent about in all directions amongst their friends; but now the sermons will command a much larger circle of readers, and let us add of admirers too. We rejoice in the naturalness with which our friend has treated the subjects contained in the present edition, because, though many of the thoughts lie out of the way of ordinary men, he has not gone out of his way to get them. They are in their place, as branches and leaves in a tree. And they are uttered, for the most part, in forcible words, though sometimes the style is too jerking and spasmodic for our liking. Perhaps this may be accounted for by the manner in which the volume has been compiled; for if the sermons were, as from internal evidence we suppose them to have been, first reported,

and then revised for the press, we must not wonder that the thoughts which suddenly arose in the preacher's mind, should have been precipitated upon his hearers with equal suddenness, and with an effort as if to compel them to fall into order with previously-marshalled arguments and illustrations and appeals. As every other sensible man would do, Mr. McLaren evidently prepared these discourses with great care, putting into each the materials best fitted to complete his design, and to win his hearers to the conclusions he desired them to adopt; and though his method is unnecessarily stiff and formal, he has succeeded in making it glow with life and fervour. Observant and reflective-well read, and of many-sided sympathies with a vivid imagination, and a warm heart under a cold exterior-his whole manhood is shown by this volume to be under the sway of Christian truth, and everything is pressed into the service of the sanctuary He is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but speaks of it as a man must, if he speak at all, of his best treasure; and thus the implication of the highest truths is to be traced in all the thoughts which play only a secondary part in relation to his chief arguments. When delivered from the pulpit, these sermons must have commanded the rapt attention of his congregation, and now that they are printed, they will be read with pleasure by all who can appreciate the efforts of a thinker, or feel the power of close and wellsustained argumentation, or respect manly convictions as to the claims and beauty of Divine truth when spoken in an unaffected and manly manner. We cite one or two specimens. In a sermon on the "Sealing of the Holy Spirit of promise, as

the Earnest of our Inheritance," we read :

"The teaching of the passage is, that heaven is likest the selectest moments of devotion that a Christian has on earth. If you want to know most really and most truly what that 'rest which remaineth for the people of God' is, think of what the fruits of God's working in your hearts have already been, and expand and glorify these into an immor tal feature of loveliness and perfection.' The fruits of God's spirit-peace, holiness, fellowship with Him, calm love, deep joy, perfect power, these things are the elements of that inheritance which remaineth for God's people. And oh, brethren! if we want to know what it is to which we are hastering, and what that is which we ought to be longing for, let us take the grand teaching of such pas sages as this, and not befool ourselves with standing outside in the circumfer ence and circumstances, but get into the centre and substantial reality, and feel that though it is much and blessed to think of the inheritance as being the putting away of all that is sorrowful and dark in the conditions of this life:

though it is much to think of that inhe

ritance as being the time when we are no longer hemmed in by this feeble body and tortured by constant change, and needing to live by constant effort; yet that it is more to say, 'Heaven is like my present love to God, only better; heaven is like my present lowly devotion, only lofty and settled; heaven is like the knowledge that comes to me even here 'through the glass, in a riddle,' only there direct and solving every mystery; heaven is the spirit of God perfected; earth is the spirit of God begun! Oh! then, what a little thing that mighty Death dwindles to be, how small that becomes, which only affects, and that for a moment, the circumstances of a man, but does not touch the in-dwelling being of a man! What a little thing that death is, which simply is the means for the coming forth of the superlative of what here we have in the positive! What a grand thing that life is into the midst of which can be injected, as it were-like the branching veins of silver in the hard rock-the glorious rich metal of His Divine influence! What a solemn and sublime thought it is that a Christian carries through this world in his heart no smaller possession than the productive seed which only needs its natural