Above and beyond all other lessons, which may be learned from the words of the text, let me in conclusion turn your attention to that GREAT DISCOVERY OF THE GOSPEL, which is the pledge of our pardon and acceptance before God. "We preach CHRIST CRUCIFIED;" we proclaim that awful "mystery of Godliness; GOD manifest in the flesh," yet "humbling Himself even to the death upon the cross, for us, miserable sinners." Here, indeed, is the highest exercise of our faith; the strongest incentive to our humility; at once the proof and the remedy of the corruption of our earthly nature, the foundation of all our hope that it may be exalted into a participation with the heavenly. No wonder that, at the first announcement of this amazing fact, it proved" to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness;" but with us, who have never been benighted with Heathen ignorance, nor beset with Jewish prejudice; who can carefully compare the prophecies before the birth of our Lord with the stupendous events by which they were fulfilled with us, wonder subsides into gratitude, and derision is extinguished by conviction. Joyfully therefore do we recognise THE TRUTH, and humbly do we claim the benefits, of THIS dispensation. Deeply impressed with a sense of OUR OWN UNWORTHINESS, yet placing full reliance upon THE MERITS OF CHRIST, we bow in lowliness of heart before the cross, and hail our great Redeemer as at once "THE POWER OF GOD AND THE WISDOM OF GOD."-P. 68.

The topic, which is chiefly handled throughout the chapter, but a topic that required to be handled with the utmost delicacy and caution, is THE UTTER INEFFICIENCY of the Law as to all those purposes which the Gospel professed to accomplish; and that the ends to which it really was subservient being now attained, it was no longer necessary to be observed. He argues that it contained in itself no intrinsic power to remove sin; nay, that in some respects it had rendered the Jews more liable to punishment for sin, than they would have been, if the law had not been revealed. He then proceeds to describe himself under the character of a sinner, in order to prove in a more lively manner how ineffectual the law was to cleanse from moral pollution; or to supply sufficient motives or impart sufficient strength, in order to avoid it. He personates the feelings of a Jew in the state of sin and guilt which he had described in the second and third chapters; and, in the strongest terms, represents the misery of such a condition, the better to establish his inference,-namely, that relief from such a state could not be afforded by the law, but ONLY through the knowledge of the Gospel, and the MERITS OF THE SAVIOUR. "O wretched man that I am!" he exclaims, in his assumed character, "who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank my God," he rejoins, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Thus the conclusion of this, as of most other chapters, certainly of his whole argument, is the infinite benefit procured through the mission and DEATH of Christ; the comfort and advantage of the Gospel-in the knowledge it reveals, in the motives it supplies, in the feelings it awakens, in the strength it imparts, in the mercy it displays, in the PARDON IT ENSURES.-Pp. 182, 183.

66

With regard to the necessity of spiritual aid, the Bishop observes: It is only necessary to state, in the weighty words of the Apostle, that "the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." It is only necessary to contrast the certain glory of the future world with the uncertain and often deceitful views of the present. In a mere appeal to the judgment, the conclusion in favour of the former forces itself upon us irresistibly. Yet the present acts with a power so much more direct, and immediate gratification stifles the voice of reason so effectually, that it requires a great constraint upon the inclination; nay, IT REQUIRES A STRENGTH SUPERIOR TO OUR own, to assist us in assigning to these different objects their relative value, and to give them their due place in our hearts and affections. We must betake ourselves with humble and fervent supplication unto that Being who puts into our minds good desires, that he will be graciously pleased to bring the same to good effect. WE MUST HEARTILY IMPLORE THE AID OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT to direct our erring imaginations, improve our imperfect designs, confirm our good resolutions, and

cooperate with us in our virtuous and unceasing struggles against "the world and the flesh."-Pp. 124, 125.

Some occasional infirmity will still frustrate the noblest purposes, and impair the most useful acts of fallen man. Yet is it the constant endeavour of the really religious to counteract this natural tendency to evil, by invoking the aid of THE HOLY SPIRIT, and relying upon the MERITORIOUS sufferings and mediation of the Saviour. While they are unremitting in their efforts to obtain the succours of DIVINE GRACE, they call up every faculty of their souls to cooperate with His effectual aid: and, while they meditate with pious industry upon the pages of Inspiration, they are anxious to reflect its holy precepts by the purity and innocence of their lives.-Pp. 132, 133.

From these passages it will be evident that Bishop Maltby's present doctrine, at all events, is that of his Church; but it cannot be disguised that he has a most untheological way of expressing himself occasionally. So incorrect indeed is his phraseology, that, were it not regarded in combination with what we have already quoted, and (which is more to the purpose) its own context, we see not how he could defend himself against very severe charges. Thus he says,

By religion then, I do not mean merely a system of thinking, but a habit of acting; not merely correct opinions, but a virtuous and useful life. Religion, properly understood, implies unfeigned belief in Almighty God, as revealed to us in the Bible; reverence for His perfections, with an ardent desire to imitate them; implicit reliance upon His promises, with au unceasing endeavour to DESERVE them. Religion also implies faith in the Son of God, with a grateful sense of all we owe to Him, in that He descended from the bosom of His Father, quitted the glories of heaven, and took upon Him our flesh, to save us from the dreadful effects of sin, even from everlasting death. It implies a disavowal of all claim from OUR OWN MERIT to the happiness of eternity, but a profession of dependence on the EFFECTUAL ATONEMENT of the Saviour; it implies also a hearty reliance upon the proffered aid of GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT, to strengthen our feeble resolutions, to elevate our devout affections, to guide us to every good word and work.—Pp. 323, 324.

Now the meaning of this passage is excellent; but surely never did divine express himself more loosely. It is evident, from the whole paragraph, that the Bishop did not mean to claim any desert for the sincere Christian; because he says that religion implies "a disavowal of ALL claim from OUR OWN MERIT;" and yet he says, this same religion implies "an unceasing endeavour to DESERVE the Divine promises." Had he said OBTAIN, instead of deserve, he would, we conceive, have expressed his meaning. None would here charge him with intentional heterodoxy; the passage, taken at length, forbids it; but the wording is lamentably lax and defective. To the same class belongs the following:

But it will be contended,-it is contended by the generous but mistaken enthusiast, that faith availeth to salvation, that "the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." These propositions, no doubt, are true, provided they be rightly understood. FAITH ONLY AVAILETH TO SALVATION; but it must be that "true and lively faith, out of which good works do necessarily spring." Again, we agree

THAT NOTHING CAN EFFECTUALLY CLEANSE FROM SIN, EXCEPT THE BLOOD OF

CHRIST; but certain conditions are imposed on those for whom these precious

tneans of grace are provided. They must render themselves worthy to be cleansed; they must not only "repent and turn to God," but they must "do works meet for repentance."-Pp. 337, 338.

The doctrine of this passage is so evident, that none but a most ungenerous adversary could accuse Dr. Maltby of an intentional perversion. Yet the expression, "render themselves worthy to be cleansed," is very much like the school doctrine of merit, "de congruo," justly impugned in our Thirteenth Article; and though the context clears the Bishop from this interpretation, we confess it is out of our power to assign the exact meaning of his phrase. Other parts of the volume are defaced with such expressions as "self-complacency of virtue," &c. One passage indeed seems pirated without acknowledgment from Cowper's Orthodox Vinoso. We will first set this gentleman's confession of faith before our readers, if their memories should fail, or their shelves and sofas be inconveniently distant; and then we will submit the Bishop's diffuser version, marking the more palpable plagiarisms.

VINOSO.

"My firm persuasion is (at least sometimes)

That heaven will weigh man's virtues and his crimes
With nice attention, in a righteous scale,
And save or damn as these or those prevail.
I plant my foot upon this ground of trust,
And silence every fear with- God is just.'
But if, perchance, on some dull drizzling day,
A thought intrude that says, or seems to say,
If thus the important cause is to be tried,
Suppose the beam should dip on the wrong side?'
I soon recover from these needless frights,

And God is merciful' sets all to rights.

Thus, between justice, as my prime support,
And mercy fled to as the last resort,

I glide and steal along, with heaven in view,
And-pardon me!-the bottle stands with you."

And now let me ask, whether any description of a future state can be imagined more suitable to the perfections of the Deity, or more adapted to the condition and feelings of such a creature as man, than the account which we actually find to be contained in the Scriptures? Can any state of things be more encouraging to the good, and more consoling to the afflicted? Can any have a more evident tendency to repress the audacity of the transgressor, and dispose him to turn aside from the path he has been pursuing into better habits, than that which represents the Supreme Judge of all the world, with power unlimited as His wisdom, and goodness proportioned to both;-than that, I say, which represents the Supreme Judge as weighing in the most impartial scale the precise amount of merit or demerit belonging to each individual, and then awarding a recompense of good or evil, fitted with the nicest adjustment to the aggregate of virtue and of vice? Will it not induce the righteous to persevere more steadily in his virtuous and Christian career, when he knows that each successive step in goodness will increase the quantity of reward? Will not even the audacious transgressor pause in his iniquitous undertaking, when he is distinctly informed, that, for each additional act of guilt, fresh coals of vengeance will be heaped upon his head?

In what particular manner this end will be obtained; by what species of allotment these proceedings regulated; what will be the condition of that existence, in which the balance of good and evil in this previous state of being shall be ascertained with unerring certainty, while the exact preponderance of virtue or of vice shall obtain its corresponding reward or chastisement; it is not given us to understand in this our mortal state.--Pp. 357, 358.

We would not accuse Bishop Maltby of adopting all the reasoning of the philosopher, from whom his language is so evidently borrowed; but we claim leave to think the latter the better logician. In a sermon on the reward of every man according to his works, no mention is made of that "work of God," the reception of Christ by faith! The following also is startling to plain Bible Christians :—

:

That account of a future state, which divides the whole world into two classes only, and consigns one to everlasting glory, the other to everlasting shame, must have a tendency on the one hand to give security to the careless, and confidence to the bold; while, on the other, it may repress the exertions of the timid, and sink the casual offender into despair!!!—P. 350.

Such language would lead us to suppose that the Bishop had discovered some limbo in the immaterial regions, fitted for the reception of souls, whose "merit" and "demerit" should form a just equation : and, indeed, on the Vinoso-Maltbeian scheme, some such abode would be actually necessary whenever the "righteous scale" maintained a horizontal "exactness." But we are bound to say that, with all this laxity of expression, the Bishop's meaning afterwards develops itself in the very rational and scriptural proposition,-that there will be grades of reward and punishment in a future world. Yet a style of language like this, in a divine and a Bishop, must justly expose him

to censure.

Dr. Maltby has been charged by the Christian Observer with representing a large portion of the Scriptures as of no spiritual value at the present day. No such doctrine disgraces the sermons now before us. That many passages were of temporary application only, such as the ceremonial law of Moses,-the precept of the council of Jerusalem, not to eat things strangled,-the direction of St. James, to let the elders of the Church anoint the sick person with oil, &c.,—is what no sober-minded reader ever doubted. Still, however, Bishop Maltby has ridden this hobby somewhat roughly even in these ser

His opinion that generalization of such passages has produced most of the errors of modern growth may be true; but in order to shew that the application of a scriptural passage has ceased, something more than mere conjecture is necessary. Above all, we must protest against such opinions as the following. Dr. Maltby is not quite able to explain the history of the disobedient prophet (1 Kings xiii.), and thus he cuts the knot. Speaking of the Scriptures, he says,

The prodigious antiquity of these writings, and the many hands through which they must have passed before the invention of printing, although they were undoubtedly preserved with singular care and fidelity, yet prevent the absolute certainty that we have, in every instance, the exact words of the inspired writer. So that we may not be able to understand some passages, because we cannot ascertain the precise meaning of the original words; and in others, we cannot be sure that the original words themselves have been duly recorded.—Pp. 262, 263.

It is very possible, indeed, that the exact words of every inspired writer have not, in every instance, been recorded. Collated copies present us sometimes with N for 1, for, for ↳, kai for de, drò for væò, or even more important variations than these; but to suppose that any variation in the text has occurred sufficient to vitiate the FACTS of any portion of Scripture history would not only be a monstrous improbability, but would admit such a latitude of interpretation as must presently evacuate every legitimate inference from an historical text.

Some passages, however, we can quote with unmitigated approbation. Thus the address to those persons who make the total corruption of human nature an essential article of faith is very just and felicitous.

I dispute not but such as deservedly incur the censure of the wise man, may be found in all religions, aud in other modifications of our own. But it is to be feared they may more frequently be discovered among such as maintain most strenuously the doctrines of our fallen nature, our consequent liability to err, with the importance of humility and self-abasement. If, however, our nature be so fallen, and if it be so liable to err, should not the conviction of these awful truths impress us with a deep sense of our own weakness, and with the necessity of seeking for assistance from above? Should it not make us less confident of our own strength, and prevent us from wasting in censorious observation of others that time and opportunity which might be devoted to our own spiritual improvement? When we feel so strongly, and urge so importunately, the prevailing infirmity of purpose and weakness of judgment, are we possessed of that spirit of meekness and humility which our Lord inculcated, if we presume to think ourselves alone exempt from the danger of mistake?-Pp. 139, 140.

The presumption of unlearned interpreters of Scripture is also very fairly exposed:

Let us imagine a person totally ignorant of the Greek language, or but slightly acquainted with it, interposing his judgment upon a disputed passage in Homer or Pindar, Æschylus or Sophocles, Plato or Thucydides. Suppose him not only to interpose his judgment in it, but to maintain his opinion obstinately against another, who had devoted much of his time to the study of the language, and was accustomed to weigh the niceties of its structure and the peculiarities of its idiom. Would not all such interposition be justly deemed rash and presumptuous? Would it be any justification for such a one to say, that he had carefully studied the words of a translation? The translation, no doubt, may bring him acquainted with the general contents of a work; but, however well executed, it cannot be infallible; and, in matters of doubt, can only be appealed to as containing the opinion of the translators. Yet this very course is continually pursued in reference to the Holy Scriptures. Men who judge in haste, and who are ill qualified to judge at all, not only form their own opinions upon disputed points