in the sense in which Law was abolished by Christ and His Apostles. These lectures are followed by three Supplementary Dissertations: I. On the Double Form of the Decalogue. II. On the Historical Element in God's Revelations of Truth and Duty; and III. On whether a spirit of Revenge is countenanced in the writings of the Old Testament. And the volume concludes with an Exposition of the more important passages on the Law in St. Paul's Epistles, extending over 120 well-covered pages. No one acquainted with the recent phases of Theological sentiment in this country, and with the prevailing tendencies of the age, can fail (Dr. Fairbairn says) to perceive the special appropriateness of the subject of this volume, as a theme for discussion at the present time. And we are thankful that the discussion has fallen into the hands of one so capable of doing it justice. The Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers, down to A.D. 325. Edited by the Rev. ALEX. ROBERTS, D.D., and JAMES DONALDSON, LL.D. Vols. IX. and X. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark. THE ninth volume of the "Ante-Nicene Library," translated by Dr. Roberts and the Rev. W. H. Rambaut, A.B., contains the second portion of the writings of Irenæus. The tenth volume, translated by the Rev. Frederick Crombie, M.A., contains the first portion of the writings of Origen. We have repeatedly expressed our sense of the value of this series of the writings of the early Fathers. The editorship is all that can be desired. The introductory and biographical notices, and the Indices, are complete and valuable. Ecce Deus. Essays on the Life and Doctrine of Jesus Christ, with Controversial Notes on "Ecce Homo." By JOSEPH PARKER, D.D. Third Edition. London: Hodder and Stoughton. WE are somewhat amused now, at the speculations in which we indulged in August, 1867, touching the possible authorship of this volume, or rather, touching the possible explanation of what seemed strange, unaccountable, and self-inconsistent in the volume. In our notice of it, we expressed very high admiration of its general character, and, witn equal frankness, the regret with which we read certain portions of it. A month later, we entered into some discussion of the parts to which we took serious objection. And now on a further study of the book, and on a careful review of our own words, we find nothing to retract or qualify; and we confess, to not a little surprise, that further reflection has not led to any modification of Dr. Parker's charges against what he calls the Sect-Churches, in the tenth chapter of "Ecce Deus." His description of the Church (the "organised sects") as "the weakest, and, humanly speaking, the most despicable institution which men are now tolerating," is not "according to truth." But we have no wish to revive the controversy only so long as certain passages on the amusements which the Sect-Churches condemn remain unaltered, we must enter our protest against them. It gives us pleasure, notwithstanding, to repeat what we said in concluding our former notice: "We wish it to be understood, that we regret the existence of blemishes, mainly because of our high appreciation of the value of the book. Its blemishes are to the book itself only what faults are, geologically, to a great stratum, or system of rock." Sermons preached in the King's Weighhouse Chapel, London. 1829-1869. By T. BINNEY. London: MacMillan and Co. Mr. BINNEY has done at last what his friends have long wished him to dogiven them, in a collected and corrected form, some of those sermons which, though "preached in the King's Weighhouse Chapel," were likewise preached elsewhere, in circumstances which gave his ministerial brethren and the general public an opportunity of hearing them. The goodly volume before us contains seventeen sermons, all, with the exception of three or four, of this order. And those who remember hearing the sermons on "The Words of Jesus, and what underlies them," "The Blessed God," "Men in Understanding," "Natural and Revealed Religion," "Regeneration and Renewal," "The Creed of St. Paul," "Rationalism at Corinth," and others, will read them with all the more interest because they heard them. And we think they will not be disappointed. Much as these sermons owed in their delivery to the soul and voice of the preacher, they contain so much of sound and careful exposition, so much of clear and conclusive argument, so much of 99.66 stirring and eloquent appeal, that they cannot be read without profit and satisfaction. The volume, it will be seen, contains a memorial rather of Mr. Binney's general ministry, from "1829 to 1869," than of his home and pastoral ministry. A series of sermons in which we should find the every-day thought and life of the Weigh-house pulpit during these forty years reproduced, would be a fitting sequel. But such a series we scarcely hope to see. The second volume which our honoured brother contemplates, "if life and leisure be granted, and circumstances warrant," may give to him, however, an opportunity of reproducing more of his ordinary discourses than are found in this first. One thing it is most gratifying to know, that after so long a ministry-a ministry of so much intellectual excitement, and a ministry in the midst of controversies so great and vital-Mr. Binney avows his unchanging faith in the Old Gospel. The first sermon in this volume, on "The Words of Jesus," is one of the latest, so far as production is concerned, and we find him saying in it, "We know of no way in which the troubled thoughts, the questionings and perplexities, which the words of the text (I am the way, the truth, and the life'), so naturally suggest, can be met, or any defensible sense given to the text itself, but that which is furnished by the doctrinal statements of the orthodox creed." The History of Balaam, in Five Discourses. By Rev. W. ROBERTS. London: Elliot Stock. THESE five discourses are entitled "Bal aam,' "The Way of Balaam," "The Prophecies of Balaam," "The Counsel of Balaam," and "The Fate of Balaam." The contrasts which appear in the character of the great diviner, Mr. Roberts states thus: "An honest and a truthful man; an independent and (in a certain sense) high-minded man; a God-fearing and religious man. Such is Balaam, the son of Beor, of Pethor, on one side of his character. And yet he is a bad man despite his many virtues, and a man who finally perished miserably with the enemies of God's people. A strange phenomenon, indeed, this Balaam! A diviner and a prophet; a heathen soothsayer, and an inspired servant of the Lord; a man full of the richest endowments, animated by many very noble impulses, uttering the most exalted sentiments; and yet, a man whose heart was rotten at the core, whose life is only written as a warning against sin, whose death was one unmitigated tragedy." A problem and a study, Mr. Roberts rightly characterises the history of Balaam. The problem is not easily solved, and we do not feel sure that Mr. Roberts's solution is the correct one. What he ascribes to conscience and high moral impulses, may, we think, be accounted for on other grounds. But the question is difficult, and the position taken by Mr. Roberts is no objection to his book, which we most cordially commend as one that may be of great service to students of Old Testament history. The practical lessons of the Life of Balaam make it a book for all classes. CONGREGATIONAL REGISTER. February-March. [To prevent mistakes and delay, all communications for the Register should be addressed to the Editor, 2, Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, E.C., and marked on the envelope "For Congregational Register."] Nov. 17. Rev. D. NIMMO, Victoria Parade, Melbourne. The Revs. R. Connebee, W. R. Fletcher, M.A., W. Moss, A. M. Henderson, R. Laishly, and A. Gosman took part in the service. Feb. 9. Rev. J. KNAGGS, Stratford. The service was conducted by the Revs. Dr. Ferguson, F. Soden, S. McAll, C. Dukes, M.A., E. T. Egg, and T. Aveling. Feb. 17 Rev. J. H. GWYTHER, B.A., Stalybridge. T. Jones, Esq., Revs. T. Sainsbury, B.A., R. E. Long, C. Scott, LL.B., A. Muir, E. Hassan, and J. Mann took part in the proceedings. Feb. 23. Rev. D. HORSCRAFT, New Hampton. The Revs. G. H. Jackson, G. S. Ingram, C. Gilbert, J. Sugden, B.A., G. B. Scott, and R. Goshawk spoke on the occasion. Feb. 25. Rev. J. BROADHOUSE, King's Cliffe. The Revs. B. O. Bendall, R. W. Dale, M.A., T. Islip, P. J. Rutter, and J. Hedges took part in the service. Mar. 10. Rev. SAMUEL PEARSON, M.A., Liverpool. Revs. J. Kelly, Dr. Halley, H. Stowell Brown, J. R. Welsh, P. T. Forfar, F. H. Robarts, and James Mann and took part in the services. CALLS ACCEPTED. L. T. MCLEAN, of Glasgow University, to Gainsborough. E. GREENWOOD, of Victoria College, to Emerald Hill, Victoria. W. A. MILLS, of Hackney College, to be co-pastor with Rev. S. Steer, Castle Hedingham. Rev. R. NOBBS, Fareham, to Dudley. Rev. E. BOLTON, Brixton, to Preston. Rev. D. DAVIES, East Grinstead, to Bromsgrove. Rev. F. F. THOMAS, Torquay, to Harrogate. Rev. E. BARKER, Pictou, to Garafraza. Rev. J. W. ATKINSON, Canonbury, to Latimer Chapel, Mile End. Rev. W. J. HOLDER, Rotherfield, to be Assistant to Rev. J. H. Hitchens, Luton. Rev. J. REDMAN, Nuneaton, to Desborough. Rev. W. E. DARBY, Stock, to Chippenham. Rev. A. BUTLER, Stonham, to Riddings. Rev. J. C. BURNETT, Burnham, to Saxmundham. FOREIGN CHRISTIAN WORK. Quarterly Supplement. OUR MISSION IN SHANGHAI. By the Reb. William Muirhead. SHANGHAI is situated on the banks of the river Whang-pu, an arm of the great Yang-tsze-kiang, and about fourteen miles from the point of junction with it. The longitude of the place is 121° 30' E., and the latitude 31° 10' N. The city is one of the third order in China, but is of the first maritime and commercial importance. Its walls are nearly four miles in circumference, and twenty-five feet high. Its population is about 400,000, the majority of whom, perhaps, live outside the city walls. There is a large amount of native shipping, lying in tiers together of twenty or thirty junks. Shops and places of business follow each other in a continuous line through a long series of streets. There are three foreign settlements: the French, which is nearest the city; the English in the centre; and the American on the other side. Of these the English concession, held by right of the first treaty with China, is the most important. I. THE RISE OF THE MISSION. This was in 1843, when the late Rev. Dr. Medhurst and Dr. Lockhart proceeded to Shanghai for the purpose. It was shortly after the conclusion of the first treaty with the Chinese Government. These brethren were honoured to be the first Protestant missionaries who established themselves in the northern portions of the Empire, and the wisdom and propriety of the measures they adopted have been abundantly shown. There were necessarily many difficulties connected with the work at the outset, but these were prudently overcome, and the Mission was started under the most promising auspices, having in Dr. Medhurst an able and accomplished Chinese scholar, who had been engaged in Batavia for more than twenty years previously, and in his devoted colleague one who, by his medical skill, attracted and benefited thousands of the natives. A suitable locality was chosen for the commencement of the Mission. A chapel was erected in the city, and a Chinese hospital in the English concession, the latter at the expense of the foreign community, by whom it has been maintained to the present time. VOL. V.-NEW SERIES. P II. THE LABOURS OF THE MISSION. From the very beginning, happily, Dr. Medhurst was able to enter actively on his work by his acquaintance with the language, and he commenced preaching as soon as possible. In his own house, and subsequently in the native chapel, he had numerous audiences, that were drawn together by curiosity and novelty in the first place. In the hospital, also, interesting congregations were convened, to whom from day to day the message of life and salvation was proclaimed. Not contented with these local labours, the brethren engaged in a course of itinerancy among the surrounding villages, towns, and cities. At the outset this was rather hazardous, and could only be done to a limited extent, from the consular restriction laid upon them not to go beyond a day's journey from the treaty port. In the condition of things at the time this was a prudent arrangement, with a view to prevent trouble and ensure greater safety should any trouble ensue. One consequence of these early tours was that the brethren in question became universally known, and their names are familiar to the country people, being spoken of as the general cognomen of all missionaries, even at this distant date. In the onward course of years their staff was increased by missionaries from England and America, both from our own and other Societies. This added much to the efficiency of the Mission, and both in the city and the country was the work carried on in an extended manner. In addition to these direct preaching efforts, other important aids were not lost sight of. Among these we regard as pre-eminent the revision or re-translation of the sacred Scriptures. This had been resolved on by a committee of missionaries at Hongkong, with the sanction of the Bible and Missionary Societies. Several were delegated from different stations to meet in Shanghai in 1847, and undertake the task. Dr. Medhurst was chairman and chief labourer in it. When the New Testament was finished, it was deemed advisable to accomplish the Old Testament in the same manner, principally on account of the advancing age of the senior member of the committee, whose services were invaluable in such a work. In six years from the commencement of the undertaking it was brought to a satisfactory completion, and forms a noble monument of the ability and fidelity of those who were engaged in it. We may here observe that while this difficult work was being carried on, a harassing controversy was brought about in reference to the most appropriate terms for God and Spirit in the Chinese language, and our honoured friend had a chief part in contending for the right. Besides these various labours, tract and printing operations had to be attended to, with a view to render the Mission as perfect as possible, and to increase its efficiency among a heathen people. III. THE RECEPTION OF THE MISSION. As might have been expected, this has been of a very varied kind. Looking at it in general, it must be regarded as highly satisfactory. The Chinese are not of that barbarous and savage character which has been met |