of hope, as to earthly ease and comfort, and expressed myself, I fear, sinfully. "It is as easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle," as for me to expect ease from the only customary means formerly resorted to. Although I knew all things were possible with God, yet I also thought my time of dissolution was come, and that no help was to be found for me on earth. My request to my Saviour was, some short interval of ease, or patience to bear my lot of suffer ing; when, in an instant, what before appeared most improbable took place, and ease was restored. What can I offer to my merciful Saviour and deliverer? Alas! I have nothing but empty thanks; but the thanks of a grateful heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Oh! may I ever bear in mind the wonderful goodness of my gracious God! July 26.-Very unwell; not able to attend public worship. No expectation of comfort in this world; though I have all that heart can wish, administered by a kind partner; may the Lord make her bed in all her sickness. I am blessed in all my children; they are all kind and dutiful to me: may the Lord pour a blessing upon them, and all they possess. May all who have or may have children, bring them up "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;" pray with them and for them; and then they may reason. ably hope to receive comfort and consolation from them in time of need. October 18.-I am, through Divine goodness, spared hitherto; but, in all probability, shall not be long on this side the grave, "this house appointed for all living:" and not knowing whether I may be sudden ly removed, or, if not, whether I may have power to address any thing to my dear wife and children at the awful hour of death, I purpose, through God's assistance, from time to time, to put down in this little manual, whatever occurs to my mind which may any ways be useful and profitable for them, either spiritual or temporal. May the "Giver of every good and perfect gift" assist me to advance nothing but what is agreeable to his holy word, and then I can humbly hope he will, in his infinite mercy and goodness, bless my endeavours to their welfare here and ever. First, above all things, endeavour to live in the fear and love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the ever-blessed and eternal Trinity. And, as prayer is a reasonable service commanded by God our Saviour, and enforced by his example, and followed up by his blessed Apostles and followers in every age, and every Cristian country, let it never be restrained in any of your families; for without it the Divine blessing cannot be expected. Can any thing be more reasonable, had it not been enjoined, than for a poor sinful creature, dependant on the bounty of his Creator for every comfort and convenience, and even life itself, to offer him his morning and evening sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise for mercies already received, and to implore a continuance of them? And also, above all, to sue for pardon and forgiveness for past offences: "for there is no man that liveth and sinneth not; nor can any deliver his own soul." Our blessed Lord has, in many places in the holy Gospel, enforced the necessity and efficacy of this duty, especially in that which he taught in Matt. vi. xviii. Luke xi. &c. condly, I enjoin each and every one of you, constantly to peruse with care and fervent prayer the sacred Scriptures; that you may "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that, by patience and comfort of God's holy word, you may ever embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which God hath given us through his dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Se REVIEW OF BOOKS. The Second Advent; or the glorious Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ: being an Attempt to elucidate, in chronological Order, the Prophecies of the Old and New Testaments which relate to the approaching Appearance of the Redeemer, &c. By the Rev. John Fry, B. A. 2 vols. Pp. 588 & 516. Ogle, &c. The Crisis, or an Attempt to shew from Prophecy, illustrated by the Signs of the Times, the Prophets, &c. the Duties of the Church of Christ at the present Period: with an Inquiry into the probable Destiny of England during the predicted Revolutions of the Papal Kingdoms. By the Rev. Edward Cooper. Pp. xxxii. and 253. Cadell: 1825. WE must confess, that, in our official character, we have rather shrunk from the review of works on the Prophecies: not that we underrate the value and importance of prophecy; not that we have for gotten the declaration, "Blessed is be that readeth and understandeth the words of this book;" but because we have felt it impossible, within our limits, to give any sufficiently correct idea of the views and arguments of different writers; and because the examination of their positions would, in many cases, necessarily lead to critical discussions which would certainly be very far from edifying to the majority of our readers. This must be our apology for having so long neglected the work of Mr. Fry, and for now passing it over with a very brief notice. It contains a new translation and a commentary on all the prophecies relating to the approaching appearance of the Redeemer and the manifestation of the sons of God; to the judgment of the apostate nations of the Christian faith, the restoration of Israel, and the erection of the kingdom of Christ upon MAY 1825. earth. He maintains the literal restoration of the Jews to their own land; their being again placed under aTheocracy; the restoration and purifying of the Priests and Levites, the temple and temple service; the personal reign of Christ upon earth; and the residence of the saints in this world, after the first resurrection, for a thousand years, prior to the resurrection of the ungodly: though he has not given any decided opinion whether this thousand years is or is not to be interpreted of common or prophetical years, that is, whether it is to be literally 1000 or 365,000 years. It is obvious that each of these points has been the subject of much discussion; and that an examination of the various arguments would lead to an inconvenient length, and very possibly terminate in an unsatisfactory conclusion.We therefore hasten from the general subject to the single point presented to our notice in the work of Mr. Cooper. This small volume is principally occupied in an explanation and improvement of Dan. xi. 36, and xii. 1-9. Mr. C. has prefixed a prophetical chart, explanatory of the most striking prophecies relating to the destruction of the Papal kingdoms, &c. from Daniel, Ezekiel, Joel,Zechariah, the Revelations, &c. which conveys at one view very important information. Our attention, however, has chiefly been drawn to that portion of Scripture which Mr. C. considers as especially relating to the present period, and of which he has given a striking, and in many respects, we think, a satisfactory interpretation. One great difficulty in explaining the prophecies is, to determine their transition from one person or subject to another. Thus Dan. xi. 30 is generally understood to refer to the interruption occasioned by the Roman ambassadors (the ships of 2 B Chittim) to the ambitious plans of Antiochus Epiphanes; and hence the following verses have usually been explained as relating to his cruelties in Judea. When, however, we compare Dan. xi. 31, with Matt. xxiv. 15-28, we are compelled to refer the passage to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies; and, consequently, to apply the 32d, 33d, and 34th verses to the period between the destruction of Jerusalem and the death of Constantine, when many were converted converted to Christianity by faithful ministers, many suffered grievously under cruel persecutions; when the church received a little help by the profession of Christianity by Constantine; but when, at the same time, many from worldly motives assumed the religion of their prince, by whom eventually grievous persecutions and apostasies were introduced, which continued to the time of the end. The "time of the end," introduces a new era, which Mr. C. calls the period of the seventh trumpet, commencing at the close of the 1260 years, which he, in common with several others, regards as taking place in 1792: and he therefore views the 36th verse as introducing a new era, and pointing out a character who should then exist, but whose career should terminate with the expiration of the 1290 years, that is, in the year 1822;-this person he conceives to have been Napoleon Bonaparte. he magnified himself above every god *; proclaimed himself a Pagan in the field of battle, and when he set up the image of Mars in a church at Paris and worshipped it; a Mohammedan in the plains of Egypt; a Papist when it suited his purpose in France; and appears to have been in his heart an infidel, nor regarded any god, but magnified himself above all. He cared nothing for Popish idols, whom his fathers worshipped: he cared nothing for the Messiah, "the desire of women," the desire of all nations. He spake blasphemously against Jehovah; but he honoured the God of forces. His army was his idol, on which he depended-a god his fathers knew not. His parents were not, like Philip and Alexander, &c. princes and soldiers, but quiet, retired personages, who appear to have had nothing warlike about them. Upon these forces he spent his gold and silver, &c., dividing with his troops the plunder of conquered countries. He proceeded in his exploits with unexampled rapidity. When the armies opposed to him, and the difficulties he had to contend with, are considered, the conquests of Alexander appear trifling in comparison with those of Bonaparte. He entered into Egypt and Palestine, and fixed his palaces (pavilions or tents) between the seas, between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. He took possession of Mount Tabor, the Mount of Transfiguration, in the glorious land; and had complete power over the treasures of Egypt, and recruited his army with Mamelouks, Libyans, and Ethiopians. He approached the borders of Edom and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and would have overrun their territories, had he persevered in his supposed project of attacking our possessions in India. But the tidings from the East and Mr. C. argues, that as the Prophet, in the 2d, 3d, and 4th verses of the chapter, speaks of individual kings, so here he is speaking of an individual, and not, according to the symbolical language of prophecy, of a series of kings. And having established this point, he maintains Bonaparte to be the person, from the time of his appearance, his character, his exploits, and his end. According to Mr. C.'s view, Bonaparte appeared almost immediately titudes of these persons subject to him as after the close of the 1260 years: *This may be interpreted of princes and magistrates; and who had ever such mul Bonaparte? the North troubled him: he, in consequence, proceeded to Syria; was foiled in his attempts upon Acre, and eventually returned to France; having occasioned by this expedition, on the most moderate calculation, the loss of 50,000 persons of different nations. Here again, in Europe, he experienced the most extraordinary success; but at length the king of the south (Spain and Portugal) pushed at him, the king of the north (Great Britain, Russia,&c.) came against him like a whirlwind; and the final blow was given to his dominion on the plains of Waterloo: "He came to his end, and none did help him." And what an extraordinary, what an unexpected end it was! From the day in which he was compelled, through fear of his life, to surrender himself a prisoner into the hands of the English, he exhibited to the eyes of the astonished world as wonderful a spectacle as it had ever witnessed. Let the situation of this mighty conqueror, who for so long a time had "done according to his will," and "had exalted and magnified himself," be contrasted with that which he afterwards occupied; when conveyed to a barren rock in the midst of the Atlantic ocean, he was there detained for the remainder of his life, the grand state prisoner of the world. Never in the history of mankind had such a career been followed by such an end. And how emphatically true was the prediction," and none shall help him!" We cannot but remember, when Napoleon was first transported to St. Helena, how universal was the persuasion, that He seemed in the some would help him. general opinion of mankind to be reserved for future destinies; and, notwithstanding the precautions which were taken to prevent his escape, it was commonly believed that he would yet escape,-and suddenly making his appearance again, as he had done from Elba, in some part of his former empire, would once more become the terror of his enemies, and resume his power. And doubtless there were numbers who were anxiously desirous that he should escape, and would gladly have assisted in any practical plan of procuring his deliverance; while many, perhaps, did secretly meditate some attempt of this kind, and were frustrated only by the impossibility of accomplishing it. But, notwithstanding these expectations, desires, and efforts, none actually did help him. No known attempt was made for his release. And he, whose name had made the world to tremble, lived to sink into such obscu rity and insignificance, that the news of his death was scarcely felt by the public mind; nor did it make the slightest impression on the affairs of Europe. Needs it to be remarked, how much more striking a fulfilment of the prophecy was thus exhibited, than if Napoleon had perished beneath the severities of a Russian climate, or had been slain on the plains of Waterloo? The world has now had the oppor tuity of contemplating him in his fallen and friendless state; and during the time of his helpless and hopeless captivity, he was an object of as universal attention as he had been in the plenitude of his power and prosperity. It has been clearly seen, that he came to his end, and none did help him.”—Pp. 52–55. The chief objections to this view arise from the chronological order, of Bonaparte's exploits not agreeing with the order of Scripture ; that his expedition to Egypt took place while he was only a general; and that the final results of his career are comparatively small. To these Mr. C. answers, that the several remarkable circumstances by which the wilful king should be discriminated, are, perhaps, purposely detailed with a disregard to the particular order of succession; that in his expedition to Egypt he. was supreme; and that we are not justified in objecting to the interpretation on the ground that his exploits were not attended with that permament effect which we might have anticipated. If, as Mr. C. thinks, the great object of the vision in Dan. x. xi. and xii. was to vouchsafe to Daniel an assurance of the certain though distant accomplishment of the prophecies relating to the deliverence of his people, and to lead the minds of the people of God to the contemplation of that great event, then the grand end is answered by the remarkable correspondence between the person and the prophecy; and we may now consider the time predicted to have arrived, when "Michael the great prince" (that is, Christ) shall stand up for the children of Israel, and when they shall be delivered. That period is to be a season of great trouble. Mr. C. considers it 2 B 2 as comprising 45 years; that is, as extending to the close of the 1335 years, or the year 1867. In this period the remaining vials of God's wrath are to be poured out on the seat of the beast-that is, on those countries where the Papal superstitions are still retained. On this ground Mr. C. hopes well for England. He considers, with the generality of commentators, that this country was one of the ten horns of the beast, but that it fell from allegiance to the Church of Rome at the Reformation, and has not again 'returned to that allegiance, and will therefore be exempt from her plagues. We indulge the same hope; yet we cannot contemplate without anxiety the present leaning towards the Catholic question; and feel that our conduct in Ireland, in Canada, at Malta, &c. have deeply implicated us of late years in the guilt of that "mother of harlots, which deceiveth the princes of the earth." We turn, however, with cheering hopes to what God is doing amongst, in, and by us. His cause is, we trust, prospering in our land; and much, very much, has been done, and is doing, by our instrumentality, to check the progress of Popery, and subvert the dominion of Antichrist in the world. In Ireland, especially, the beast is receiving a deadly wound by the labours of the London Hibernian Society. The Popish priests, indeed, are beyond measure enraged, and nothing but the strong arm of the law restrains them from actual violence. Meanwhile, 80 or 90,000 scholars are reading God's word, and committing it to memory; their schoolmasters, inspectors, and Scripture readers, are reading the Scriptures in English or Irish in the cabins of the poor; and nothing but the increase of British liberality is wanting to produce, in a comparatively short period, the subjugation of Antichrist in the sister country. If Mr. Cooper is right in his view of the period in which we live, and the events which lie before us--and he cannot be far wrong— -we are perfectly clear that the Scriptural education of the people of Ireland is a point of vital importance, at once our duty and our safety: and while we would send the Bible to the ends of the earth, and patronize Missions wherever they are established, and seek out the Jews amidst all their hiding-places and dispersions, we must ever maintain that Ireland, and the poor, neglected, ignorant, and oppressed people of Ireland, have the first and most pressing claim on our sympathies, on our prayers, and on our liberal contributions; that they may be delivered from the most cruel slavery of ignorant, bigoted, and persecuting Popish priests. A Sermon for the Irish Society of London, preached in Percy Chapel April 6, 1824. By the Rev. Hugh M'Neile, A. M. Hatchards. Pp. ix. and 46. 1825. We are indebted for the publication of this Sermon to the intrusions of Mr. Eneas Macdonnell, the accredited agent of the late Catholic Association, who has given us a fair sample of the real intentions of his employers, by impertinently interfering at the public meetings of some valuable institutions, and by inserting sundry letters in the newspapers, containing various false representations, for the purpose of producing an impression favourable to his own party and unfavourable to their opponents. This is a grave charge; but we apprehend it can be substantiated by evidence which cannot be denied. These things were not done in a corner; and Mr. M. must be a very unfit person to conduct the affairs of a large institution, if all these mistakes were really unintentional. His memory must be very bad, his apprehensions very erroneous, or his regard for truth very |