superstition of Joachim Casparin more transparent than the alleged superstition of the Christian? With all its arrogant assumption, the work, which we had great difficulty in reading through, is every here and there disfigured by faulty spelling and faulty composition.

Predestination and Foreordination. them in the Confession of Faith? the darkness? By REV. ALEX. T. D. Morison, 8 Bath Street.

What is the distinction between And, Does the distinction lighten DAVIDSON, Greenock. Glasgow:

ALREADY the controversy begins to keep the printers busy. Dr. Hutton of Paisley, in his speech at Greenock in reply to Mr. Macrae, had split a hair as to the distinction between Predestination and Foreordination in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and had endeavoured to show that, while predestination meant God's purpose to save the elect, foreordination meant only his determination to punish the wicked for their sins. In this opportune discourse, the publication of which was immediately desired by his congregation, our much esteemed brother, Mr. Davidson, in a characteristically clear and vigorous discourse, shows that not only has Dr. Hutton not a leg to stand upon in making this imaginary distinction, but not even a toe, nor even a shred of skin for the sole of an argumentative foot. This he makes good by proving the interchangeableness of the two terms in Scripture, and in the writings of Calvinistic authors themselves, both ancient and modern. He also proves, like Mr. Macrae in his pamphlet, by an array of imposing authorities, that the compilers of the Confession believed in the damnation of non-elect infants. The circulation of this discourse in thousands of copies over the country would do much good at the present time.

Sermons by the late Mr. William Nivison, Probationer of the U. P. Church, with a Biographical Sketch, by the Rev. William Watson, Kirkcudbright. Edinburgh: William Oliphant & Co. Pp. 137. THIS modest young man died of consumption before he had received a call to be pastor of any church. He seems to have been highly respected by the Dumfries Presbytery, within whose bounds he was ordained. The seven discourses which are given here as specimens of his pulpit compositions, show that their author had clear views of Gospel truth, and was at home experimentally both in the doctrine of the justification of the sinner and the sanctification of the saint. Mr. Watson has given a finely digested Memoir of his young friend.

A Break in the Ocean Cable. By MAURICE S. BALDWIN, M.A., Rector of the Parish of Montreal, and Canon of the Cathedral. CANON BALDWIN, in this clear and impressive discourse, beautifully works out the illustration of human sin resembling a break in the cable of connection between earth and heaven, and the work of Christ viewed as a rejoining of the cable.

Dr. Parker and "The Ultimate Aspects of Christ's Priesthood." A review, by J. S. BALMER, Minister of the Gospel, Manchester. John Boyd, Manchester; Thomas D. Morison, Bath Street, Glasgow. Pp. 64.

THIS pamphlet has been called forth by a chapter in Dr. Parker's recent work on the priesthood of Christ, in which that able but somewhat erratic divine seemed to deny the reality of a future heaven and the personal immortality of man. It is true that Dr. Parker, in a letter to the English Independent, disclaimed the interpretation which the author and others had put upon his words, and maintained that he was only personating and representing those who held by the immortality of the race and not of the individual. If that was his meaning it certainly was expressed in an unfortunate manner. Balmer refutes that position, as well as Dr. Parker's theory that God teaches man by illusions, in a way that proves him to be an accomplished, as well as an earnest man, and one eagerly conservative of the precious lessons of the Word of God.

Mr.

Words of Comfort for Bereaved Parents, edited by WILLIAM LOGAN. With an Introduction by Rev. John Ker, D.D., Glasgow. Ninth British Edition. Twenty-second Thousand, 1877.

THIS is another edition of an immortal work about young immortals. It must continue to be read and prized till the world's end; for bereaved parents will constantly seek comfort, and where is the book, next to the Bible itself, that will give them comfort like Words of Comfort? This handsome edition is rendered specially acceptable by a characteristically consolatory introduction from the pen of Dr. John Ker, and among other fresh contributions, by a touching poem by Rev. Fergus Ferguson, of Queen's Park U. P. Church, Glasgow, on the death of his child, and in which he comes before the public as an accomplished poet as well as a theologian-manifestly as tender at the fireside as some think him formidable in the forum of debate.

In

Origin and Doctrines of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
two parts.
By E. B. CRISMAN, D.D., St. Louis, Mo. 1877.
Pp. 150.

Ir any one wishes a not very long, able, and readable book, in which there is a clear and succinct account of the origin of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as well as a statement and defence of their doctrines, he should send for this volume. It was the former

edition of this book which first showed us, to our delight, the remarkable similarity between both the testimony and the history of the E. U. Church and our friends across the water; and therefore our heart warms to this enlarged and improved edition of the volume.

Manual of Pilgrim Congregational Church, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Boston: Press of Cochrane & Sampson.

WE are glad to see from this excellent manual that our old and tried friend, Rev. W. W. Lyle, is now in a position of great comfort in this influential Massachusetts church. One peculiarity which we admire much in their mode of admitting members is this, that at a certain point of the ceremony the entire church rises up, and by so doing, takes part in the public recognition of their new associates.

The Shield of Faith. This is a penny monthly magazine which Mr. Elliott Stock has begun to issue in opposition to Mr. Bradlaugh and his followers. The clergyman who edits it seems to be thoroughly competent for his work, and while determined to criticise the sayings and doings of Secularists unsparingly, wisely declines to bandy personalities about. The specimen number which has been sent us contains an interesting letter from the Rev. A. Stewart of Aberdeen, in which he successfully convicts Mr. Bradlaugh of misrepresentation in a recent lecture in that city.—Theological Medium. We are too late in noticing the numbers of this quarterly for July and October, 1876. It still sustains its reputation. The two contributions that have interested us most are the continuation of Dr. Lindsley's History, and the articles on the Origin of Language, by Mr. Smith of Murfreesboro.—Prospective Pardon. By REV. J. M'LELLAN, Edinburgh. A convincing pamphlet, in which Mr. M'Lellan refutes one of the tenets of the Plymouth Brethren.- -The Christian an Epistle of Christ. By REV. JOHN BOGUE, M.A., Stockton-on-Tees. A finely illustrated discourse, that does great credit to a native of Glasgow.

OUR readers will observe that we have laboured under a manifest disadvantage this quarter, from the fact that the Synod of the United Presbyterian Church has been sitting, and passing most important resolutions as to the liberalising of their Confession, while we were compelled to go to press. We regret especially that, on this account, we have been unable to take any notice of the magnificent stand which the Rev. David Macrae took, almost single-handed and alone, in defence of a world-wide gospel. Although he was met by the bitter hisses of many of his brethren on that occasion, he may be consoled to know that he has earned the lasting gratitude of the friends of unrestricted grace.

INDEX TO VOLUME III.

SIXTH SERIES.

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X

Eyemouth, how there came to be an Hudson River, descent of the, 251.