Contemporary Literature [pp. 541-573]

CON ~FE-MPTORAL;Y LlITRAT'URE.T5
pp. 263. This -vo-ine has grown out of a dise usson originally conducted in
the cirim fs (3f TAe l s,a, ie in Cincinnati. It is written i-n an eminenitly
friendly adi courteous spiiit, and wiith much vivacity andl abilit:y, and evidences
n(t or Iy a ready familiarity,ithh the tebrewv Scriptures buit with rabinnical
lii4er.ture. It aims to sh ow from the nfmoe of God employed by Moses
an: oether lwriters of the Old Tstament, as well as fromn oitr proo)fs, that a
disinction of p ersons wth ni o of cssence te Div ie Bin, is repeatedly
seeog'nzld o alluded to, and tlhat th Crist,ian dcloctrineo of the Triirty
shuldI, thieefore, ne~ t be a stumbling-bloe k to the Jew. Whil thoroughly
,fagreeing wit'.h M:r. M4iller in his general conelusion, and( hoping thlat this
voltune~ mfay b,e of service, in stiulating or t dir cting inquirie.s or the part
of somae of tle ehili-en of Abrah'nm, on whose hlearts a veil stil rssts whenr
their own S-criptuIres ore read, we iunlSt cinfess tihat many of his points,
however iigenions, seem to uLs too refined and abstract to be altogether corvincing. Yet it is possible that tlese very points may have muore fore a9nd
valune with thlt class of minds to whichi they are especially addressed, a. d
whose T-linudicai training has given t,heim a fancy for minute subtleties;
and that a sty'e of reasoning which to other s pp.r ovestrt inled mnay carry
convlction to thenm.
BIBLICAIL LITERATURE.
7the Bi[li:;'a[ lts:lol;{tu,: ~a Collection of Notes, Explanatory,:tmiletic and
Illustrative, forming a complete commentary on the Scriptures. By JAMES
COMIPER GRAY. 4 vols. Matthew to Philemon. New York: Randolph &
Co. This compact commentary is designed especially for miiniisters, Bible
Students, and Sunday-school Teachers, to facilitate their preparations for
their public labors. It is prepared on a simple and convenient plan, with
good judgment and devout reverence for God's WVord. Explanatory notes
give a concise view of the sense of the text. Homiletic Notes s-uggest topics
for exhortation and discourse; Illustrative Notes contain facts and anecdotes;
and MIarginal Notes contain the chronology, the contents, Scriipture references
and various literary material. \Vithout any pretension to learr;ig,, or original
investigation, it presents results in a handy and usefiul form.
Nelson & Phillips publish the S/zr of our Lord, or C'(Ais'i s, Kingg
f all WfZorlds, bot/z of Tirme or Szace, with ThoU:hts on ls./ira/ion, and
the Astrvonozic Doobt as to the Evidences of Cristi zni/y. By FBANCIS
UPHAM. The book consists of a series of essays, always highly decvout and
spiritual, but of various ability, which circle around the Star of our Lord as
their centre. It may be consulted with interest and profit. Its value is
much enhanced by a copious index at the close, enabling the reader to find
at once whatever be cares to look for in these discussions, which are linked
together more by a thread of association of ideas than of logic. Likewise,
HZ(and-Book of Bible Aziiners anzd Cistomrs. By Rev. JAMES M. FREEMAN, A.M., illustrated by one hundred and sixty-eight engravings, which,
with the accompanying sketches, are well fitted to throw light upon a multitude of Scriptural words, phrases and statements. otherwise fmore or less
obscure and unmeaning to ordinary readers.
1874.]
553