Review of Books.

THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD: An Exposition of the Twenty Third Psalm. By the Rev. John Stevenson, Perpetual Curate of Cury and Gunwalloe, Cornwall.-Jackson.

MR. Stevenson has entered with deep spiritual zest and feeling into the full meaning of this most lovely psalm. His exposition is, what a commentary on such a portion of God's word ought to be-cheering, animating, full of hope and joy. We wish, however, that he had been less declamatory: the multitude of notes of admiration weary the eye; and if properly done justice to in reading the work aloud, must render it, in some places, a continuous series of exclamations. This, we admit, is a mere matter of taste; but there are many devout Christians to whom a glance down some pages most profusely scattered with these notes would prove a stumbling-block: they like sobriety of style, and may not readily believe that it can consist, as here it does, OCTOBER, 1845.

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with the semblance of what they deem affectation. For the sake of such, and for the wider spread of a most refreshingly delightful volume, breathing the purest spirit of Christian faith, hope, and love, we notice this slight blemish.

Mr. Stevenson has contributed more than one valuable work to the highest order of religious literature— the most universally valuable, because it embraces the wants and the sorrows of all classes of God's people. There is no portion of the sacred volume more richly abounding in all the treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge than the book of Psalms and no Psalm that presents an epitome more complete of all that man can need in life, death, and eternity than the one so aptly selected by this devoted expositor. The Lord has greatly aided him in the work may His gracious blessing accompany its diffusion!

FIVE LETTERS ON CHRISTIAN UNION. By the Rev. E. Bickersteth, Rector of Watton, Herts.Seeleys.

ORIGINALLY appearing in the valuable columns of the "Record" Newspaper, these letters are now stitched into a neat little pamphlet ; and we trust they are doing an important work in the Church of Christ. It is one of the few tokens for good, in our day, that many among us are openly striving for that union, the absence of which has, we think very unscripturally, been pleaded as a favorable badge of liberty enjoyed by the Church. Of course, we would not bend our necks to such an

iron yoke of despotic uniformity as that of Rome, or of any other Church that may dare to set up a claim to exclusiveness of privileges. A measure of freedom in choice must ever be conceded; but disunion is no other than a biting and devouring of each other, to be abhorred of all who desire to see the fulfilment of our Lord's almost dying prayer. John xvii. In fact, this evil spirit of liberalism carried to licentiousness, is the very thing that most menaces our existence as a community of openly professing Protestants. In cases where membership cannot be decently denied, nor, perhaps, is it wished to deny it, though the hand will not say to the foot in plain words "I have no need of thee," yet such grievous fault is found with the fashion of the shoe; while the foot in like manner, overlooking the divine membership of the hand, is so bitterly severe on the make of the glove, that in the end it very nearly amounts, sometimes it does quite amount, to the same mutual excommunication. And now, when the enemy comes in upon us, lifting up their idolatrous banners for tokens, those who should be found with one mind and one heart striving together for the faith of the gospel, are alas! too generally found striving each for the exaltation of what he conceives to be the scriptural model of church government, warring against establishments, or against non-episcopal ordination, or almost against any thing that Satan may contrive to invest with an ugly mask, and to place between himself and them as a fitting object of attack. Multitudes there are, in every Church holding Christ as the head, who lament this state of things as truly as our beloved and honoured brother Bickersteth does, and who would struggle which should be foremost in linking and strengthening the band of pure, holy, perfect union, irrespective of all

external distinctions, not affecting the great foundation of their faith. If but this multitude would speak out, and declare each his and her own solemn convictions on a subject more momentous than language can express, or thought conceive, we should soon see a wonderful and a blessed change commenced in the aspect of our Protestantism, in other words, our Christianity.

Meanwhile, as conducive to such an end, we would have the diminutive pamphlet before us rained thick as the falling leaves of autumn over the land; and we press it on each individual who desires the prosperity of Christ's body, the Church, to use every effort in the work. It is written in the usual calm, sweet, loving spirit of its revered author: it can give no offence to any; but many a sore offence may it be the means of removing from among us. The Lord in His mercy

grant it!

LORD ABERDEEN AND THE AMEER OF BOKHARA in reply to the Edinburgh Review. By Captain Grover, F.R.S. Fourth Edition.-Chapman.

SINCE our last number was published, this brief but most conclusive answer to the ungenerous, uncandid, and untrue animadversions of the Edinburgh Review' on Captain Grover, has not only appeared, but reached a fourth impression. Rarely have we been more disgusted and ashamed than when reading that flippant mis-statement of one who evidently had documents placed in his hands inaccessible but to a person in the enjoyment both of official and of family confidence, in

reference to the lamented victims of our un-British government; but the able, though unstudied hand of Captain Grover has paid the scribe in a coin that will pass current through the world. Truly it is gratifying to see how the public-press is taking the matter up; and, as is usually the case where plain truth and justice stand openly confronted with falsehood and wrong, is, in the main, passing a very fair verdict. New facts are brought out in this pamphlet with great effect; and facts already laid before the country by its author, are again drawn out from under the mass of rubbish, vituperation, and bold denial with which his opponents had overlaid them. Captain Grover will not allow his good to be evil spoken of; and he is right; nor has the diplomatic reviewer gained much by his attempts to browbeat and defame a generous soldier, whose only fault is, that he has too much of the old chivalric character about him to be understood by the too commonly selfish generation among whom his lot is cast.

Our readers will be compelled to smile at some of the well-merited castigations given, in perfect good-humour, by the assailed to his assailants. Dr. Wolff's work has been a sad discomfiture to the latter; and we are very much mistaken if this disgraceful matter is allowed to go to sleep until a lesson has been scourged into heartless officials that will prove highly beneficial to the country at large. Captain Grover has the respect, sympathy, and we will add, the gratitude of the great bulk of all whose opinions are worth looking to, throughout the almost unlimited space where this tale of blood has been heard.