true meaning of the Old Testament itself, which, wherever it existed, was invariably found to embrace the gospel when it was first proclaimed. There was an affinity betwixt the faith of a spiritual Jew or proselyte, and the faith of the New Testament; in virtue of which the one led on to the other, and found in it not a new creed, but the completion, the perfecting of the old one.' The other purpose served by these events was of a public nature, with reference to the church at large-to make it manifest that the middle wall of partition, which had long divided the Jews from the Gentiles, had been taken down."Pp. 326-328.

This is clearly the only proper view to be taken of the case of Cornelius. The whole chapter from which it is taken is accordingly interesting and satisfactory; much more so, we must add, however, than those devoted to the cases of the Ethiopian treasurer' and Lydia; for in both of these cases we are positively unable to determine whether Mr Buchanan conceives them, previous to their acceptance of the gospel message, to have been in a regenerate or unregenerate state, or to reconcile what he says of them on either supposition. Of the first, for instance, it is said, that he was both by conviction and profession a believer in the one only, the living and the true God, and a proselyte to the Jewish faith, and also a devout worshipper,' p. 309; that he was already imbued with a spirit of prayer,' p. 310; it is implied, (p. 310,) that he was possessed of a simple faith, and a devout spirit, and an earnest mind;' it is said, (p. 312,) that besides a spirit of prayer, he had also a spirit of diligent inquiry, combined with that humility and teachableness, which may be justly regarded as the most hopeful symptom of a great and blessed change. But then it is inferred from his not understanding the 53d of Isaiah, that he had no correct apprehension of the spiritual meaning of the Old Testament in which he professed to believe,' p. 313; that his language betrays a lamentable degree of ignorance, and makes it manifest that he was still in a condition like that of the Jews themselves, of whom it is said by the apostle, their minds are blinded,' &c. ; that his language seems to indicate that he had no acquaintance with the spiritual import of the Old Testament, and that if he was attached to the Jewish faith, he adhered to it chiefly as a sublime system of religion, which taught his duty to the one living and true God, but without any intelligent apprehension of its connection with the scheme of grace and redemption, or the work of Messiah who had been promised to the fathers.' Take away its connection with the scheme of grace and redemption,-take away the work of Messiah either from the Jewish or Christian faith, and you leave nothing but a refined system of natural religion, by which, as so apprehended, no man can be saved, or be considered in a regenerate state. And so Mr Buchanan seems to think; for while in the case of Cornelius, he had said that the change in his views ought to be re

garded as his advancement from an imperfect to a more perfect state, rather than as his first conversion to God;' of the treasurer he says, The means by which his conversion was effected, was simply the truth as it is in Jesus; and herein it resembles the conversion of every other sinner,' Pp. 316, 317. Up to the time of his meeting with Philip, then, he must have been, in Mr Buchanan's opinion, in an unregenerate state; but is this consistent with the view given or implied of his former character as an inquiring, prayerful, and exemplary man,' (p. 319 ;) of his previous habit of mind, as devout,' humble,' teachable,' imbued with a spirit of prayer. Can such things be truly said of the natural man which receives not the things of God,'-of the carnal mind, which is enmity against God,'-of the unregenerate soul, which is 'dead in trespasses and sins,'-whose understanding is darkened,-whose mind is blinded,'-which desires not the knowledge of God's ways.' We are told, indeed, as an inference from the case, that a long preparatory work often precedes a sinner's conversion; and if by this be meant, that by the arrangements of providence or otherwise, means are taken to instruct, to present the truth, and bring it under the notice of the mind, we have no objections; but we do seriously object to it, as inconsistent with all the views given us in Scripture of the unregenerate, if it imply that there is any long process whereby the spiritual state of unconverted, and therefore dead souls, is gradually improved previous and preparatory to conversion. Yet something like this seems to be implied, both in the chapter we are considering, and in that devoted to the case of Lydia, who is spoken of previous to her conversion as being really devout, and imbued with a spirit of prayer,' and in other similar terms. We earnestly solicit Mr Buchanan's attention to these two chapters. We assure him we are not alone in thinking his views, as there set forth, require to be somewhat more explicitly stated or cleared. We do not see any difficulty in the case. On the one hand, we do not think that all the good he supposes is necessary, though it may be naturally implied in what is said of these individuals, previous to their acceptance of the truth. Or granting this, then, on the other hand, we do not think that anything said of them necessarily implies they were in an unregenerate state up to this. Like Cornelius, they may have been true proselytes-sincere and spiritual worshipperswho were waiting for the consolation of Israel. In the case of the Ethiopian, ignorance of the application of one chapter, however explicit, to Messiah, by no means implies ignorance of Messiah altogether. He may have been thoroughly aware of the spiritual application and meaning of the types and services of the law, though he had never been instructed, and from its

historical form, did not himself perceive the spiritual meaning and application of that one prophecy. His attention may have been turned to that chapter, by the very conversations he had heard in consequence of what had been done regarding Jesus of Nazareth. And then as to Lydia, which worshipped God,' we do not see that the expression, the Lord opened her heart that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul,' necessarily implies that it was previously shut by the bar of spiritual death. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,' was the prayer of a converted child of God. The truth is, every new insight we receive into the meaning and development of God's counsels of mercy, is by the Lord's opening our eyes-every new impression made, is by the Lord's opening our hearts to attend to things revealed. We do not say, (neither do we deny,) that these are actually our own views of the state of these two individuals; but we conceive, that if we did hold that, previous to their meeting with the apostles, they were devout, humble, teachable, and imbued with a spirit of prayer, they would leave us free to believe that it was all owing to their having been previously converted by their spiritual acquaintance with the truth set forth under the law. At all events, nothing should be said, nothing left unsaid, so as apparently to countenance the very prevalent and pernicious error, either that men may have something spiritually good about them previous to conversion, or that there is some intermediate state in which men are neither wholly carnal nor truly spiritual, neither absolutely converted nor absolutely unconverted. For as Mr Buchanan well and pointedly remarks,

"There is no one point in its history, at which it can be said of any soul, that it is neither converted nor unconverted. Conversion admits of no degrees. A man may be more or less wicked in his natural state, and he may be more or less holy in his regenerate state; but he cannot be more or less converted. He must either be converted or unconverted-regenerate or unregenerate-alive or dead. There is no medium. Every man who is not converted, is a mere natural, unregenerate man, however rational, moral, or amiable he may be in the common relations of life." P. 189.

CRITICAL NOTICES.

The Theory and Desirableness of Revivals; being Six Sermons by the Rev. ALBERT BARNES of New York. With a Preface by the Hon. and Rev. B. W. NOEL, M.A. London: Blackader.

1842.

We cannot call this a work of much power or deep spirituality; nevertheless, it contains much that is excellent. It is evidently the work of a good man,—and of a man who is seeking to spread the life of religion around him; yet it wants vigour and unction. În p. 66 he speaks of modern American revivals in a way which shows that he has formed too lofty an estimation of their fame and their importance. We would not disparage any awakening of the Spirit of God, however apparently inconsiderable; nor would we despise the day of small things,-yet to speak of the protestant world as in a measure dependent on them, and of " their influence being felt at every missionary station on the globe," is pure extravagance. But we turn to what is good in the volume, passing over what may be defective.

Though, perhaps, we may think that he overstates the results of American revivals, yet it is cheering to hear from him that "large portions of the community have been shaken to their centre by these religious movements" P. 24. Would that large portions of our community were thus shaken! Revolutions like these are blessed. To a certain extent this may be true of some of those interesting places of Scotland, where, in late years, awakenings have occurred, but still the shaking has been too partial and limited. Would that ministers were more in earnest in seeking such glorious results for their towns and parishes, even at the risk of being charged with imprudence, excitement, fanaticism, turning the world upside down! The extravagances of a devoted, zealous minister, are absolutely nothing; nay, they are excellencies when compared with the deadness, stupor, indifference, formality, unfaithfulness, that are allowing souls to sleep on and to die on in their iniquities.

"The friend of revivals (says the author in another place, p. 26), regards it as a fact of deep interest, that scarcely a village smiles upon the American landscape that has not been consecrated in early history by the presence and power of the Holy Ghost in a revival of religion." We are not disposed to deny the accuracy of this, taking the statement in a loose and general way. We believe that the awakening in the middle of last century, in America, was a very extensive and pervading one, and that God's mighty power was mightily and gloriously manifested in these days. Yet how much more truly may this be affirmed of Scotland, during the century before last? During the period from the reformation down to the revolution, it may be truly said that there is scarce an inch of Scottish ground that has not been the scene of some sacred movement. The like cannot indeed be said of Scotland for more than these hundred years, but should we not be looking out for such days and such scenes again?

We give a few extracts as specimens of the work itself. The first is his statement as to the meaning of a revival.

"Let many sinners simultaneously turn to God; let conversions to Christ, instead of being few and far between, become numerous, rapidly occurring, and decided in their charaeter, and you have all that is usually meant when we speak of revivals, so far as conversions are concerned. Still these are all individual conversions, accomplished in each case by the Holy Spirit, and in exact accordance with the design of the gospel, and evincing its glory. Each one is converted in the same way, by the same truth, by the same great agent, the Holy Spirit, as though he were alone, and not another mind had been 2 E

VOL. XV. NO. III.

awakened or converted. It is the conversion of a number of individuals from sin to holiness, and from Satan unto God. Look on the heavens in a clear night, and you will have an illustration of what we mean. The stars that are set in that broad zone of light which stretches over the firmament-the milky way-are single stars, each subject to its own laws, moving in its sphere, glorious, probably, in its own array of satellites; but their rays meet and mingle --not less beautiful because the light of millions is blended together. Alone, they all show God's power and wisdom; blended, they evince the same power and wisdom when he groups all their beauties and wonders into one. So in conversion from sin to God. Take the case of a single true conversion to God, and extend to a community-to many individuals passing through that change, and you have all the theory of a revival of religion. It is bringing together many conversions; arresting simultaneously many minds; perhaps condensing into a single place, and into a few weeks, the ordinary work of many distant places and many years." Pp. 39, 31.

Again, as to the manner in which Christians are quickened during such a period, the following remarks are excellent.

"2. The second fact is, that there may be times in the life of a Christian, of unusual peace and joy. To whatever it may be owing, it will be assumed as a fact for the truth of which I now depend on an appeal to the Christian's own feelings-that there are times in his life of far more than usual elevation in piety; times, when his peace is like a river,' and his love to God aud manlike the waves of the sea.' There are times when he feels an irresistible longing for communiou with God; when the breath of praise is sweet; when every thing seems to be full of God; when all his feelings prompt him to devotion; and when he becomes so impressed with the great truths of Christianity, and filled with the hope of heaven, that he desires to live only for God and for the skies. Earthly objects lose their lustre in his view; their brightest, gayest colours fade away; and an insatiable panting of soul leads him away from these to hold communion with the Redeemer. A light, pure, tranquil, constant, is shed on all the truths of religion, and the desire of the salvation of children, partners, parents, friends, of the church and of the world, enchains all the affections. Then to pray is easy, and to converse with Christians and with sinners is easy, and the prospect of boundless wealth and of the brightest honours would be gladly exchanged for the privilege of converting and saving a single soul.

"When this occurs in a church, and these feelings pervade any considerable portion of the people of God, there is a revival of religion so far as the church is concerned. Let Christians, as a body, live manifestly under the influence of their religion; let a feeling of devotion pervade a whole church, such as you have felt in the favoured times of your piety, and there would be a revival of religion--a work of grace that would soon extend to other minds, and catch, like spreading fires, on the altars of other hearts. Let a Christian community feel on the great subject of religion what individual Christians sometimes feel, and should always feel, and, so far as the church is concerned, there would be all the phenomena that exist in a revival of religion. A revival in the church is a revival in individual hearts-and nothing more. It is when each individual Christian becomes more sensible of his obligations, more prayerful, more holy, and more auxious for the salvation of men. Let every professing Christian awake to what he should be, and come under the full influence of his religion, and in such a church there would be a revival. Such a sense of obligation, and such joy, and peace, and love, and zeal in the individual members of a church would be a revival. But in the most earnest desires for your own salvation there is no violation of any of the proper laws of Christian action. In great, strenuous, and combined efforts for the salvation of others, in unceasing prayer for the redemption of all the world, there is no