abundantly realise the special alleviations with which this severe trial is attended." NORWICH SUB-DIVISION.-The annual meetings of this Sub-division were held on Tuesday, the 15th ult., at the Assembly-rooms, one at twelve o'clock, and another at seven, P.M. At both meetings, the Rev. Canon Wodehouse presided. Among those who attended them were the Revds. M. Booth, P. Johnson, C. J. Blake, G. F. Osborne, W. K. Betts, R. Cobb, E. H. Bickersteth, Whitby (of the Church of England); the Revds. J. Alexander, J. S. Russell, A. Reed, M. T. Mayle, J. Scott, J. J. Kempster, G. Gould, J. Roland; John Wright, Esq., J. Venning, Esq., E. Burdwell, Esq., T. E. Watson, Esq., &c. The meetings were commenced with singing and reading the Scriptures. Prayer was offered, in the morning, by the Rev. J. Alexander and the Rev. J. Scott, and in the evening by the Rev. J. J. Kempster. The Rev. Chairman, in his opening remarks, expressed himself as not at all disheartened by the smallness of the number who generally attended the meetings, stating it as his conviction, that in these matters, as in many instances connected more immediately with natural objects, slow growth seemed to be a test of durability. He then gave a brief sketch of the objects and intentions which had led to the establishment of the Evangelical Alliance, and entered into a description of the evils resulting from the divisions among Protestants evils, in his opinion, as great, and as much opposed to the mind and spirit of Christ, and as hateful in the sight of God, as many of those errors which they very properly abhorred in Popery. He denied that the Alliance was hostile to the Established Church; the members of which he trusted would be brought, day by day, to see the utility of the effort it was making. As a member of that church, he must say that he often felt extremely shocked at the sentiments which he found poured out by Churchmen, in books and in other ways, against not only Dissenters in this country, but against Christian churches and bodies in other lands, which externally stood on a different basis to theirs. If those persons would but look back into the history of times past, they would find that a very different spirit at one time pervaded the English Church. He referred particularly to the time of the Reformation, and when James II. made so violent an attack on the privileges and liberties of the Protestant church. And if (he said) this spirit of unity and good fellowship existed, in periods of great danger, and in time of warfare, was it creditable or honourable that now, in times of peace and security, so different a state of things should be found to prevail? Was it reasonable, he asked, that persons should be found, in the present day, who argued and held their position as if-and he trusted he should not shock them by the expression-as if Jesus Christ died upon the cross for certain members of the Church of England only? The proceedings of that association, he remarked, in conclusion, had proved that there was still the same basis of scriptural truth held all over the world, by large numbers of professing Christians, of various denominations; and he believed that to hold out that fact to the world was honourable to the Gospel, and acceptable to Almighty God; and that if they wished to promote the Gospel throughout the world, the best way was to take every opportunity of making known those great scriptural truths in which all Christians were agreed, and cease to contend about minor points, which were not necessary to salvation. The Rev. Paul Johnson, of Sidestrand, one of the secretaries, read the report of the Committee, which entered into a description of the spiritual blessings resulting from co-operation in the labours of the Alliance, enumerating various instances of immense good which had accrued from its exertions; and stated that the Subdivision had received an accession of some valued Christian friends during the past year. The meetings were further addressed by the Revds. C. J. Blake, J. P. Dobson, E. H. Bickersteth, M. T. Mayle, J. S. Russell, J. Roland, and P. Johnson. - EDINBURGH SUB-DIVISION. -A quarterly morning meeting of the members of this Sub-division was held in the Class Room of the Queenstreet Hall, on Tuesday, Nov. 6, the Lord Provost being in the chair, and between seventy and eighty members present. The Rev. Mr. Woodroofe, from Cork, addressed the meeting, explaining the objects and proceedings of the Irish Society, of London. The following persons led devotional exercises, viz.-Rev. Norman Mc Leod, Dalkeith (Established Church), Rev. Charles J. Brown (Free Church), Rev. Jonathan Watson (Baptist), Rev. Henry Wight (Congregational.) ABERDEEN SUB-DIVISION.-On Thursday, November 1st, a public meeting was held in the Town Hall, Inverury, Aberdeenshire, in connection with the Inverury branch of the Aberdeen Sub-division. The Provost of Inverury, a zealous member of the Evangelical Alliance, took the chair. Owing to the circumstance of the meeting being held during the day, and not in the evening, as on former occasions, when the hall had been always crowded to excess, the attendance was not so large. The presence of the Lord, however, was much enjoyed by those assembled. After a short address from the Provost, and devotional exercises, which were conducted by the Congregational and Wesleyan ministers of the town, Mr. Burnett, of Kemnay, followed in an address on the present state and prospects of the Alliance, giving a particular account of what had been done at the Glasgow Conference. His address, though long, was listened to with the deepest attention. The meeting was then addressed by the Rev. S. A. Walker, of Aberdeen, who gave an exposition of the principles of the Alliance. The same evening, at six, a meeting was held at Kemnay, in the Baptist Chapel, which was well attended. After devotional exercises, Mr. Burnett introduced the Rev. S. A. Walker, who again gave a lucid explanation of Alliance principles, with a short history of the whole proceedings from the commencement up to the present time. Mr. Burnett gave a further detail of what had been done at Glasgow, and especially with refe➡ rence to the case of Dr. Achilli, requesting the Rev. S. A. Walker to offer special prayer on his behalf. Such prayers will not be unavailing. This was the first Alliance meeting ever held at Kemnay, and so interesting was it felt to be, that we believe an almost universal feeling of regret was experienced when it was over. The prospects of the cause are encouraging in this locality. MONIES RECEIVED FOR VARIOUS RELIGIOUS AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES AND OBJECTS, FROM JULY TO THE PRESENT TIME. The Posthumous Works of Rev. Thomas Chalmers, D.D., LL.D., edited by the Rev. W. HANNA, LL.D. Vol. IX. London: Hamilton and Co. This is the concluding volume of one of the most valuable series of posthumous works which, within the memory of living men, has been given to the public. The expectation excited by the announcement, after the decease of Dr. Chalmers, that he had left various manuscripts, which it was intended should be published, has been in no way disappointed. The successive volumes, diverse as some of them have been from the others, have all borne the stamp of his vigorous, ingenuous, and richly-cultivated mind. His rare endowments, sanctified to the noblest ends, and exercised under a profound sense of deference to the teaching of the Word and Spirit of God, give him a title to speak to his fellow-christians, whether as the familiar expositor of Scripture, or as the philo sophical and accomplished theologian. The first five volumes of the series, consisting of comments on consecutive portions of the Bible, in the form rather of devout and practical thoughts, suggested and set down at the time of reading, than of systematic exposition, afford profitable helps to the unlearned in their daily perusal of the sacred book. They will be used as a manual in the closet, and can never be so used without disclosing to the reader new charms and attractions in the inspired writings, and helping him the better to derive from them the wisdom and strength he needs in the toils and conflicts of everyday life. The sixth volume is composed of sermons chronologically arranged, with a view to exhibit the progress of the author's mind, as he gradually advanced towards his final views of the doctrines of the Gospel. Doubts may be entertained on the propriety of publishing some of these sermons, composed in the early period of the writer's ministry, when he had not yet apprehended the true and only way of salvation, and could not, therefore, declare it; at the same time, they have a value, as exhibiting the reality and the process of that spiritual enlightenment of which be became so distinguished an instance and illustration. The seventh and eighth volumes contain "Institutes of Theology," and in the ninth are given "Prelections on Butler's Analogy, Paley's Evidences of Christianity, and Hill's Lectures on Divinity." These three volumes are the most valuable of the series, and are calculated to exert a powerful influence in forming the current theology of the Christian pulpit for many years to come. And we deem it a matter for much thankfulness that the mind which, through the medium of these pages, will convey its principles and strong impressions to so many other minds, and those principally of young men, who will become the pastors and ministers of the Church of God, and the public expositors of his word, should be altogether so trustworthy on every point of vital interest, whether in relation to the doctrines or to the moralities of Christianity. Let not even Dr. Chalmers, indeed, be implicitly relied upon and blindly followed. He himself always declaims against that unscrupulous and unscrutinising homage to great names which paralyses inquiry, is fatal to independent thought, and puts a stop to all mental progress; and in the freedom which he uses, when commenting on the sentiments of those masters in theological science, whose works he takes for his text-books, gives an example of the manner in which we should canvass his own positions. Still, we can heartily rejoice that wherever we have found occasion to differ from him, it has not been on any of those truths which are of fundamental importance, and rarely in his scientific statement or logical development and definitions of them; but only in things about which diverse judgments may be entertained without detriment to personal religion, or to the general interests of our common Christianity. These lectures and prelections were delivered from the Professor's Chair in the Divinity Halls of Edinburgh, and while they enhance our estimation of the learning and the genius of their author, they reflect new lustre upon that ancient and venerable University. We cannot express a better wish than that both her theological chairs, and those of the College of the Free Church, in the Principalship of which Dr. Chalmers has been so ably succeeded by the present learned occupant of that distinguished office, may ever be filled by men on whom his mantle has fallen. can be told us of lands amidst which the Most High has wrought his greatest works, and whose mountains and valleys are redolent of the devotion, and still echo with the music of the bards of holy writ. What is Parnassus to Sinai, or the Groves of Academus to the Garden of Gethsemane? It is a gratification, doubtless, to tread the soil of Socrates and Plato; but what, then, must be the emotions of a devout mind, when traversing those hallowed spots | amidst which the Son of Man lingered? "On this mount he appeared, under this tree Stood visible; among these pines his voice I heard, here with him at this fountain talked !" To all who covet such impressions, and would increase their knowledge of the scenes where God proclaimed his law, and the Incarnate Son of God paid its penalty in his blood, we recommend the volume now before us. A Memoir of Lady Colquhoun. By JAMES HAMIL. The biography of a Christian lady, of elevated rank, of cultivated taste, of refined sentiments, and of experimental religion, from the pen of so fascinating a writer, and so evangelical a pastor as the author of this volume, gives promise before you open it of a rich entertainment. And when you do open it, and read on from page to page, you are not disappointed. It is a book which can scarcely be read without making the heart better. The gentle piety of Lady Colquhoun was not a sentimental religiousness, but was as strong in principle as its fruits were sweet and lovely. Her diary, from which copious extracts are given, exhibits the godly jealousy with which she kept watch over her heart and daily conduct, and, at the same time, discloses the simplicity with which her faith took hold of the great atonement as her only hope. And nothing can surpass the skill and the delicacy with which her biographer has arranged his materials, sketched her character, and held forth her bright and beauteous example. The Mountains of the Bible: their Scenes and their : This volume consists of a series of lectures delivered by the author to his own congregation in the city of Glasgow. We are not surprised that they wished to possess them in a permanent and printed form. The subject itself is well chosen, and from the associations connected with it, is rich in materials. Nature and history alike lend their aid to invest it with attractions; to say nothing of the links which connect the mountains of the Bible with the most marvellous occurrences in God's providence, and man's redemption. The method pursued by Dr. McFarlane, in its treatment, is equally natural and judicious. He condenses the best information which travellers supply respecting the topography of the mountains, exhi bits in a striking form the scriptural facts connected with them, and then inculcates the great lessons of doctrinal or practical truth which they suggest. The Sinai and Golgotha; a Journey in the East. By work is a valuable addition to our stock of such FREDERICK ADOLPH STRAUSS. With an Intro-religious books as at once interest the mind and supply duction, by HENRY STEBBING, D.D., F.R.S. London: Blackwood. We profess a sympathy with those who explore the sacred regions of the Bible greater than with those who kindle their enthusiasm on the classic shores of Greece. We like to know everything that it with solid instruction. In forcible thoughts, in description of scenery, in the exposition of great principles, the deduction of practical counsels, and the inculcation of evangelical Christianity, exhibited in a flowing and vigorous style, it is what might have been expected from the cultivated mind and practised pen of its author. Reviews and Brief Notices. Adeline's Missionary Lays and other Poems .. 127 Chalmers's Christian Home Alexander's Spirits of Just Men Made Perfect 160 A Few Words of Warning to the Afflicted Ballock's Popular Education, an Antidote to 43 Vienna, Recent Councils of Bishops in 282 28 57 Wittenberg, Approaching Meeting at 215 332 149 ...... Wurtemburg 270 57 352 320 Bagster's Bible of Every Land.. .64, 191 The Almost Christian and the Reason- 352 96 Brown's Christian Watchman.... Juvenile Delinquency, and a Great Security of National Virtue Eadie's Biblical Cyclopædia 64 Binney's Closet and the Church the Presence of the Lord Blackburn's Mountain Monarchies Dissolved at Bickersteth's Message of God to the Nations.. 160 Brooks's Consolation for the Afflicted Christian 191 Celio Curio's Letters and Discourses Etheridge's Apostolical Acts and Epistles from 160 the Peschito or Ancient Syriac 192 Evans's Vintage Gleanings.. 320 Farquhar's Torch of Time. 191 Fraser's Moriah 192 224 96 Family Choir, The 320 128 Geneva's Abendberg 64 Chalmers's Sermons 160 Gleanings from Many Fields.. 128 Green's Biblical and Theological Dictionary... 224 256 352 .... 377 32 |