These scholars, whether we are students of God's word, or his works, these are the men whom we should take as our guides. An example, which minds of this lofty order felt it to be no weakness for them to exhibit, it surely can be no weakness in us to follow. We cannot have less occasion certainly, than they, to avail ourselves of the truth, that it is the "Lord, who giveth wisdom; that out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." It is an exhortation, which addresses itself to those, who seek an acquaintance with human, as well as divine things, that if they "cry after knowledge, and lift up their voice for understanding, they shall find the knowledge of God." It is a promise which it requires but a weak faith to believe; for surely he, who permits us to ask him for our daily bread, will not be unmindful of the intellectual wants of his creatures.

ART. V. REVIEW OF THE WORKS OF REV. JOHN
ANGELL JAMES.

By Rev. WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE, D. D. Albany, N. Y.

I. Christian Fellowship, or the Church Members' Guide.

II. The Christian Father's Present to his Children.

III. Christian Charity explained, or the Influence of Religion upon Temper stated, in an Exposition of the thirteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

IV. The Family Monitor, or a Help to Domestic Happiness.

V. The Anxious Inquirer after Salvation, directed and encouraged.

THERE is scarcely any thing in connexion with the progress of the Gospel in these latter years, which strikes the mind of the Christian more impressively or delightfully, than the increased amount of intercourse it has involved between the disciples of Christ, not only of different communions, but especially of different countries. Within less than half a century past, the mass of Christian professors in this country were almost entirely ignorant of the condition and prospects of the church, in any other land than their own; and the same remark would no doubt equally apply to nearly every other country in which Christianity has been the prevailing religion. It is true indeed that a few of our most distinguished divines were in habits of correspondence with some of the learned theologians of Europe, but the intelligence which came hither through this channel, was limited to a few; for there were no religious newspapers or periodicals by which it could be borne, as on the wings of the morning, to the most obscure and distant hamlet in the land. But since the modern era of Christian benevolence has opened upon the world, the church has been learning the secret that she is substantially one body; that though mountains may rise, and oceans may roll, to separate her members from one another, yet they can still maintain, in various ways, a delightful communion; and, what is more, that in that spirit of charity which has begun so signally to control her movements, there is a celestial energy by which she can scale the still more formidable barriers that have been erected by a cold and sectarian jealousy. In most of the great religious movements of the present day, we may see unequivocal evidence that the church as a body is losing VOL. I.

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sight comparatively of the less in her increased regard for the greater; that she is becoming more willing to sacrifice local and party considerations, to her own spiritual interests and the honour of her Head; and that even Christians who dwell on opposite sides of the earth, and who hold different denominational peculiarities, and who have never seen, and have not the prospect of seeing each other in the flesh, can enter into a cordial co-operation for the advancement of the great cause of truth and righteousness.

As it cannot be questioned that the more intimate fellowship which exists among Christians in different countries results, in a great degree, from the spirit of benevolent action which has been poured out upon the church, so it is easy to see how the one has operated to the production of the other. The spirit of Christian benevolence is social and expansive in its very nature; and it were impossible that it should operate in any community of Christians without purifying them in a greater or less degree from a grovelling selfishness, and leading them to look abroad, not only for objects of charity, but also for a fraternal co-operation. And this is just what has been realized in the recent benevolent movements of the church. The true disciples of Christ all over the world have begun to feel, that they are labouring for the same great object; and while they are naturally attracted to each other by the spirit of Christian affection, they understand that union is strength; and that the church may be expected to labour the most efficiently when she labours the most harmoniously. Hence the necessity for an extended intercourse between Christians of different countries with a view to sustain and direct to the best advantage their various benevolent operations. Not only have numerous individuals in our country corresponded extensively with those who have been most active in the benevolent enterprize abroad, but not a small number of our charitable institutions have been in the habit of a constant interchange of views with kindred institutions in various parts of the world, and especially in Great Britain, which has the honour of taking the lead in these glorious achievements of Christian charity. And then in connexion with these institutions, or in consequence of them, there have been established a multitude of periodicals, by means of which the intelligence which is received and communicated, becomes almost instantly the common property of an extensive Christian community;

and thus even the most obscure Christian has an opportunity of knowing the passing history of many great and good minds, to whom he has no immediate access, and even of holding communion with them in the contemplation of their devout thoughts, and lofty purposes, and noble deeds. And there is the monthly concert, in which the church forgets, to a great extent, every thing but her own unity and the power of faith and prayer; in which she comes before the throne as if she bore but the one name which she takes from her exalted Head; in which oceans and distances are overlooked, and each member, baptized into the spirit of Christian love, intercedes for all the rest as a community of brethren. Nor may we omit to mention that the progressive benevolent operations of the day have led many Christians of this and other countries to travel extensively in foreign lands; and thus they have enjoyed the privilege of seeing face to face those with whom they have before been united in faith and prayer and effort, and have prepared themselves to become still more efficiently fellow-helpers with them unto the kingdom of God. We cannot forbear, in this connexion, to advert to the fact of our American churches having been recently visited by a most respectable delegation from the Congregational Union of London and Wales. We are quite sure that we record the universal sentiment of our churches when we say, that those able and excellent brethren who have recently left our shores, after a temporary sojourn among us, have done much to hallow and strengthen the tie that binds British and American Christians to each other; and while their impressive and eloquent addresses have been listened to with delight, and have helped to give a new impulse to some of our own great benevolent institutions, the kindly and fraternal spirit which they have exhibited, has not only secured to them the strong regard and enduring attachments of multitudes of Christians in our country, but has deepened the interest which is here felt in the great and good operations which they are helping to carry forward at home. As they were cordially welcomed here by those who were prepared to honour them, not only for their personal worth, but for the errand which had brought them hither, so they have borne away with them the affectionate wishes of thousands who have felt the benign influence of their visit, and who will gratefully retain the recollection of it to the hour of their meeting with them in a better world.

We trust that the intercourse which has been so happily begun in this fraternal arrangement between so large a portion of the American and British churches, will continue, and increase, and produce its legitimate fruits on both sides of

the Atlantic.

Among those who have contributed most efficiently to an increased degree of intercourse between Christians in our own country and in Great Britain, is the author of the several publications which it is proposed briefly to notice in this article. Nearly all our clerical brethren who have crossed the ocean within the last few years, have, we believe, had the privilege of making Mr. James' personal acquaintance; and they are ready with one consent to bear testimony to the deep interest he has evinced in the prosperity and influence of our institutions. Not a few of his letters, addressed to his American correspondents, have circulated in our religious newspapers, and have breathed a spirit of fraternal good will towards us, which have made us regard him more as a brother and friend, than a stranger; and more than all, his publications have long been familiarly known in almost every religious circle in our land, and have exerted, and are no doubt destined still to exert, an influence here, which the excellent author may well reckon among the richest tokens of divine favour. These works, as they are entirely practical and popular in their character, are well adapted to an extensive circulation; and we see no reason why they should not fully maintain their standing and usefulness with generations to come. Our design in this article is, not to report the existence of any thing that is new, nor to establish the merits of any thing that is doubtful, but to commend to the attention of our readers publications of acknowledged excellence, and to show that they are in many respects peculiarly adapted to meet the moral exigencies of our own country.

Before we proceed to notice Mr. James' works, it may gratify our readers that we should just advert to a few of the leading facts in his history; for where we approve and admire the author, it is natural that we should wish to know something of the man. He was born at Blandford in Dorsetshire, June 6, 1785. His family on both sides were pious Dissenters. His father was a respectable linen draper, and had originally intended him for the same business. At the age of eighteen, however, having previously, as he believed, felt the power of religion in his own soul, he relin