a book profeffedly published for schools, fhould contain nothing contrary to the doctrines of the national religion.'

This expreffion might lead us to fuppofe, that the Author condemns. the principles of the reformation; but from what follows, it is plain fhe means nothing more than this, that children fhould not be troubled with religious controverfies.

Art. 43. A Letter to the Rev. William Bell, D D. Prebendary of St. Peter's Weftmintter, on the subject of his late Publications upon the Authority, Nature, and Defign of the Lord's Supper. By Lewis Bagot, LL. D. Dean of Chrift-Church. 8vo. 1 s. Rivington. 1781.

It was not to be expected that fo plain and rational an account of the Lord's Supper, as that given by Dr. Bell in his late publications + on the fubject, fhould pafs uncenfured by those whofe inclination or intereft attaches them to obfcurity and mystery. That no immediate attempt has been made to fubvert his doctrine, or confute his reasoning, may be justly imputed to the truth of his pofitions, and the force of his argument. I he prefent is an attack upon the author, rather than pon his doctrine. The Prebendary of St. Peter's is accufed of advancing principles inconfiitent with the Public Doctrines and Service of the established Church.'

According to D. Bagot, to endeavour to undeceive the unlearned believer with refpect to any mistake into which his Prayer Book may have led him, is to trifle with the confciences of men, and can only tend to weaken the influence of religious principle.' The unlearned who wants inftruction on any religious fubject ought to apply to the minister of his parish; and that minifter, on fuch application ought to refer him,' not to the bible, but to his catechism and to the church fervice, as most competent to determine his judgment.'

Such are the principles, and fuch is the fpirit of this publication; and in our opinion, they are as inconfiftent with thofe of protettantism, as any thing in Dr. Bell's Tract can be with the doctrines and fervices of the ellablished church

Near the clofe of his Letter, the Dean has infinuated a charge of difingenuity againt Dr. Bell, because in his Practical Enquiry, p. 19. n. j. he has mentioned a paffage in St John's goipel, and another in St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians, as having been falfely fuppofed to relate to the Lord's fupper; for the proof of which he refers to the Appendix and notes of his attempt to ascertain, &c. the Nature of that Institution; whereas in that larger work no notice at all is taken of the paffage in St. John's gofpel. Candour would have imputed this to inadvertence. The charge may be eafily obviated whenever another edition of either of Dr. Bell's publications is called for. Surely, even Dr. Bagot himself cannot believe, that any part of the vi. chap. of St. John's gofpel has a reference to the Lord's fupper. In our opinion, it requires but a little more credulity to underfland the expreffions, as the Papifts do, in their literal fenfe.

Promoted to a feat in the Epifcopal Bench, fince the publication

of this Letter.

+ See a large account of Dr. Bell's " Attempt to afcertain, &c." in our Review for December, 1780. p. 448.

Art.

Art. 44. An Authentic Narrative of the Life and Converfion of I. C. Leberecht, a Jew, who died in the Faith of the Son of God, November 13th, 1775, at Koning fberg, in Pruffia. To which is added, a remarkable Account of three Jewith Children of Berlin. Founded on Fact. 12mo. 3 d. Wallis.

The Editor of this account profeffes his hope that it may obviate what he terms, a rash and urjuft prejudice which has been formed, viz. That a Jew can never become a Chriftian, and that all baptized Jews return to Judaism before their death.' The narrative may poffibly be true; but it contains nothing that will greatly excite attention. It is however very happy when any perfon, who has been under miflakes of an important kind, is convinced of his error, embraces truth, and acts under its influence.

Art. 45. Evangelical Sermons. By Thomas Adam, Rector of Wintringham, Lincolnshire. 8vo. 6 s. bound. Buckland.

1781.

The number of thefe Sermons is eleven: they are fomewhat long, and feveral of them are divided into two parts. They are filed, Evangelical, a term which certain writers are very fond of affuming, and confining to themfelves, but which muft, nevertheless, belong to others who fincerely endeavour to make divine revelation their fludy and guide

Thefe Difcourfes are in the calvinistical ftrain, of the declamatory kind, very warm and urgent, and appear to proceed from a heart fervently defirous of doing good to mankind. We are informed, that the Author, being incapacitated through age and infirmities from appearing in the pulpit, is defirous of contributing to the benefit of his fellow-creatures by fuch means as are yet in his power. Art. 46. A New Tranflation, with a Paraphrafe of fome Parts of Ecclefiaftes. Iz mo. 1 d. Leicester, printed. Lowndes. 1781. This, though indeed a little performance, deferves fome attention, efpecially as it may be defigned as a specimen of a larger work. It was intended, we are told, to print only a few copies of this paper, to be given to the Tranflator's particular friends; but on confideration, that the more it is difperfed, the better the fentiments of the Public in general concerning it must be known, the Tranflator has ordered a number to be printed, and fold.' To give our Readers fome view of this Tranflation, we fhall felect two or three verses from the account of old age, or of fick nefs and diforders to which the human conftitution is liable, in the twelfth chapter.

V. 4. When the gates of difcourse shall be kept shut because the voice is low and deftitute of grace, and founds like the voice of a little bird, and all relish for mufick shall be loft.

• V. 5.

Then bills in the way shall frighten, and waters terrify him, and he shall grow negligent of business, and feasting shall be troublefome to him, and the love of quiet fhall grow on him, as the man draws towards his long home, and his friends come about him in the street with condolence.

V. 6 Before the fchemes of getting money are laid afide, and the pleasure of [poliefling] gold be weakened, and instead of Springing hope, he fhall have [only] a prospect of diffolution, and the wheel be rolled into the pit."

6

Το

To each of the verfes is added a kind of paraphrafe, but the Author does not furnish his readers with particular criticilms, or affign his reafons for the feveral and great alterations which he makes in the text. We must leave this for the contemplation of Hebricians, and fhall finish our article by adding the following paffage from this petit publication. The Tranilator confiders the Hebrew text as it appears in our printed Bibles, merely as a tranflation: the original text being the letters without vowel points, without paufes, and even without any division into words. He therefore thinks himself at liberty, whenever the context requires it, either to read with different points, or to divide the letters differently into words or fentences. He fuppofes himself too at liberty to read fome forts of words either with or without a vary, with or without a god For all readers have feen and allowed the neceflity of doing this in many infances, and theref. re it may be neceffary in others, which they are not aware of. He has too, how and then, taken the liberty of applying that common rule, Litera homogenea, five unius organi facile inter je permutantur; where no application of it has been made before. And the e are all the liberties he has prefumed to take, except he has in a fingle infance fuppofed a word thould be read with an Aleph epentheticum, as is done in the prefent way of reading the text in many places.' N. B. A fecond, a much larger, part of this werk is published; which we fhall duly notice.

I.

Grace without Enthufiafm. Pieached at All Saints, Colchefter, on Trinity Sunday, 1781. By Nathaniel Forder, D. D. Rector of the faid Parish, and Chaplain to the Countess Dowager of Northington. 8vo. 6d. Robinson, &c.

The extravagant ideas that have been entertained by ancient ard modern enthufiatts, refpe&ting the influence and operation of the holy fpirit on the human mind, are well known, and cannot but be fincerely lamented by every fober minded Chritian. it is the profeffed defign of Dr. Forter, in this Difcourfe, fo to explain the doctrine as to guard against the abuse of it, and to reconcile his explanation to the articles and litu gy of the Church of England.

Now there is one obvious way' fays he, in which the holy Spiit may very prope.ly be faid to afit all Christians, as well in the knowledge, as in the practice of their duty; and that without any infringement upon the freedom of our rational powers (for it is by the free exercife of thefe powers that fuch alitance can alore be obtained), and this is, by that plain rule of life, which is laid before us in the Gospel, and the powerful motives held out by the fame Gofpel, to the offervance of it. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." When therefore we are taught, are converted, are comforted, by thofe Scriptures, we may very properly be faid to be taught, to be converted, to be comforted, by God, the Author of them. When we are thus led into the paths of truth, of virtue, and happiness, by the word of God, it is God himself who is our teacher, our leader, and our guide. He hath revealed his will to us, by the mouth of his infpired Apofiles and Prophets, which have been fince the world began. He hath opened life and immortality to our view,

as the great reward of all our labours, by the Gofpel of his Son. He hath moreover given us reafon and understanding (without which every other bleffing would have been loft to us) to know his will, as thus revealed, and to weigh the force of thofe motives which are fet before us in this revelation. All therefore that we know, all that we think, and all that we do, in confequence of thefe lights, whether from without or within us, whatever virtue, whatever praise there may be, in our own endeavours, and in our own improvements under them, is, in this view, ultimately and folely to be referred to God: is to be afcribed to his unbounded benevolence, thus plainly fhewing us what is good, and what he requireth; and affording us the molt powerful motives to perfevere in that path of duty, which he hath prefcribed.'

This is rational and judicious. By flopping here, Dr. Forfter would, in our opinion, have much more effectually guarded his pa. rithioners against enthusiallic delufions,' than by talking, as he afterwards does, of a communication, influence, and operation of the fpirit, of which we have no confcicusness, or perception; the effects of which cannot be diftinguished from the natural fuggetions of our own minds; from which no human being can ever fay, that any thought, any word, any work of his, immediately, much lets exclufively, proceeds;' and which no mortal can ever know, without a miracle, that he is favoured with. But perhaps the fentiments contained in the former paragraph, however confonant to reafon or Scripture, might not have been fo eafily reconciled to the articles or liturgy of the church of England.

In a note, profeffedly defigned for the philofophical reader', Dr. F. has fuggefted, that every moral and free agent being determined by motives, and the Almighty having the abfolute direction of every motive in nature, a wide field is opened for the divine agency, and interpolition, without the least infringement of human liberty. But he had previously afferted in the Difcourfe itself, that the strongest motives are no motives, to thofe whofe hearts are infenfible to their impreffion.' So that in order to give efficacy to motives, there must be fome operation upon the mind itfelf; which, though according to the Doctor's fuppofition, we be not confcious of it, it will be difficult to prove entirely confiftent with moral and free agency.

PREVIOUS TO THE GENERAL FAST, February 28, 1782. 1. A Short Alarm before the Fuft, in 1782; and, to be feriously confidered after. By a Friend to his Country. 8vo. 1 s. Dilly. A warm advocate for America, makes no fcruple, in this little piece, to arraign the conduct of government in the most bitter language, and to load even royalty with opprobrium. Amidit the marks of degeneracy which appear with fuch aggravated colours on the face of our country, we may rank, as one of the most alarming, that contempt of legal authority, which this pamphlet is evidently calculated to promote amidit the lower ranks of people: it is one of the laft fymptoms of a falling ftate!

11. A Faithful Picture of the Times; being a Sermon for the Year 1782, addreffed to the King, N-bility, Clergy, and Laity of this profligate and perithing Kingdom. By a Believer of the exploded

and almoft antiquated Doctrines of Chriftianity. 12mo.

Bladon.

2 d.

A frightful caricatura !—not a Faithful PiЯure :——at least it is overcharged, if not distorted.

III. A Sermon preached before Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in the Abbey Church of Westminster, on the late Faft. By Samuel, Lord Bishop of Gloucester. 40. 1 S. Cadell

This is a very elegant and fentible Difcourfe.. The object of it is to prove that war cannot be the natural state of man :-that one great caufe of the Ruin of public communities, is the power of internal corruption; which corruption, arifing from infidelity and an indifference to all religion, manifests itself in all the forms of vice and immorality; and that the only probable means of averting impending judgments, and recovering the peace and profperity of this country, confift in what ought to be the ruling principles of a FAST -humility, repentance, and reformation.

The following reflections, which feem principally levelled at the infinuating and pernicious fyltem of education inculcated by Lord Chesterfield, are as juft as they are elegant. The time was, when

a ferious regard to the commands of God was thought to be the fureft foundation on which to erect the ftructure of virtue; when impreffing maxims of probity on the young and yielding mind was judged to be the best fecurity from the dominion of inward paffion, or the fudden violence of outward temptation. But a fervile respect to the will of a fuperior, we are told, would deftroy the merit of obedience; and infufing early habits of felf-government, would cramp the efforts of natural genius. An eafier difcipline hath been invented, in which the fevere and antiquated rules of morality are difcarded, and other regulations introduced, better fuited to the capricious delicacy of modern manners. In this fchool of polite inftruction, a prudent accomodation to the modes of thinking and acting, which prevail in fashionable life, is inculcated as the great leffon to be learnt by every afpirant to worldly distinctions, the cardinal excellence which is to lead to certain honour and fortune. An obfequious and unmeaning civility, in which the affections have no concern, is taught to affume the air and ufurp the place of benevolence; and a ftudied attention to exterior accomplishments, ferves as a decent veil to hide the hollowness and corruption of the heart.'

IV.

Before the Houfe of Commons. By Thomas Dampier, D. D.
Prebendary of Durham. 4to. I s. Payne.

A plain and practical Difcourfe on Ezek. xviii. 30. "Repent and turn yourselves from your iniquities, and fo fin fhall not be your ruin."

V. Preached in the Parish Church of Swinderby, in the County of Lincoln. By John Disney, D. D. F. A. S. 8vo. 6d. Johnfon. Spirited and free: perhaps it will he thought too much fo for the occafion for the idea of a faft implies modefty and meeknefs. But the wound is deep and dangerous; and the Doctor thinks it his duty to probe it to the quick.