I moft fincerely wish that young minifters would perufe thefe vo lumes with the deepest attention and ferioufnefs, and endeavour, in conjunction with earnest prayer for divine illumination and affistance, to form their difcourfes according to the model of our author; in which, if I mistake not, a critical fcrutiny into the facred texts which he chooses for his subjects, a natural deduction and clear reprefentation of their ge nuine meaning, an elaborate and fatisfactory proof of the various heads of doctrine, a fteady profecution of his point, together with an eafy and plain, but yet ftrong and pertinent enlargement, and a free, animated, and powerful application and improvement, wonderfully adapted to awaken the confciences, and strike the hearts of both faints and finners, mingle the various excellencies of learning, judgment, eloquence, piety, and feraphic zeal, in one uncommon glory; not unlike the beams of the fun collected by a burning-glafs, that at once fhine with a most dazzling brightness, and fet fire, wherever the blaze is directed, to objects fufceptive of their celeftial influence, and a transformation into their own nature.'

Such is the chara&er, which Dr. Gibbons gives of the fermons now before us; a character, which fome readers, we apprehend, will think fhews rather the warmnefs of the Editor's imagination and friendship, than the ftrength of his judgment. We mean not to infinuate, however, that the fermons are void of merit; on the contrary, we would obferve, that the Author appears to have been animated with a warm and generous concern for the best interefts of his fellow creatures; to have poffeffed a vigorous and lively imagination; and that there are many paffages in his difcourfes which fhew great fenfibility of heart, and true genius. -The fubjects of them are, chiefly, the divine authority and fufficiency of the Chriftian religion, the nature of falvation through Jefus Chrift, the connection between prefeat holiness and future felicity, -the divine mercy to mourning penitents, the danger of lukewarmness in religion, the general refurrection,-ingratitude to God an heinous but general iniquity, the neceffity and excellence of family-religion,

&c. &c.

R.

Art. 53. Theological Differtations; containing, 1. The Nature of the Sinai Covenant. 2. The Character and Privileges of the Apoftolic Churches, with an Examination of Dr. Taylor's Key to the Epiftles. 3. The Nature of Saving Faith. 4. The Law of Nature fufficiently promulgated to the Heathens. 5. An Attempt to promote the frequent difpenfing the Lord's Supper. By John Erfkine, M. A. one of the Minifters of Edinburgh. 12mo, 3s. Dilly.

The tree first of these differtations were never before printed; the two laft were published feveral years ago.- -A diftin&t account of what is contained in them would tend little to the inftruction or entertainment of our Readers; we fhall content ourfelves, therefore, with inferting a few paffages from the third differtation, as a specimen of the whole.

We must believe, that the Meffiah is the Son of God in the fulleft and moft emphatical fenfe of the word. Jefus is termed, John iii. 16. God's only begotten Son, i. e. the Son of God in a sense incommunicable to any creature, and which has net, nay cannot, have any thing parallel

to

to it in univerfal nature. A parent of many children divides among them his honours and poffeffions, and does not give all to any one. But, to an only-begotten fon, a parent gives all that he has to give without exception. The name, therefore, only-begotten Son of God, intimates, that the glory of the Son is as great as that of the Father, and that all things whatfoever, the Father hath, are his. Poffibly to fome it may appear a fpeculative point of fmall importance, that he who came in the name of the Lord to fave us, was indeed the equal and fellow of the Almighty. But the fcripture lays upon this the greateft ftrefs, as an evidence that Jefus is able to fave to the uttermoft, and an encouragement to rely on him for falvation. And faving faith accordingly views him as a perfon of infinite dignity, and therefore able to bear the weight of the Father's anger, to quench the fire of vindictive juftice; to begin, carry on, and complete the recovery of defiled and diseased fouls; and to make two people conquerors, and more than conquerors of all their enemies.

The fpirit takes from the fcripture, the grand evidence of faith which he had lodged there, and carries it to the hearts of the elect, and then the light and power of divine truth fo apprehends and overcomes the foul, that it can no longer refift.

That triumphant evidence, is no other than the glory and excellency of the gospel scheme of revelation, manifefted by the holy spirit in fuch a manner, as produces full conviction, that a fcheme fo glorious could have none but God for its author.

The word of God's grace falls with fuch power and evidence on the foul of the enlightened finner, that he can no more withhold his affent, than one who has his eyes open and found, can hinder himself from fceing light at noon-day, or than a philofopher can restrain his affent from a mathematical theorem, when his understanding is overpowered by demonstration. As even in thefe lower cafes, the foul is merely paffive, it must be much more fo here, when a divine power concurs with a convincing light, and wherever it comes, perfectly fubdues.

Saving faith may therefore be defined a perfuafion that Jefus is the Chrift, the Son of the living God, flowing from fpiritual views of fuch a glory in the gospel, as fatisfies and convinces the mind, that a scheme fo glorious could have none but God for its author.'

If any our Readers are pleased with this fpecimen, they will find a great deal to the fame purpose in the work itself, to which we refer them. R.

SERMONS.

1. Religio Medici, preached at a Vifitation holden in the Parith Church of All-Saints, in the Town of Huntingdon, Ap. 4, 1766. By W. Walton, M. D. Rector of Upton, in Huntingdonfhire. 4to. IS. Rivington.

Doctor Walton informs us that the principal motive for his preaching this difcourfe was to fupprefs an invidious fuggeftion of his having deferted his proper profeilion, and embraced principles of religion more

2

agrecable

agreeable to the notions of an ancient phyfician, than of a Chriftian diVine. If his fermon, therefore, answers this end, it is all that the Author ought to expect; for, as to the reft, the best thing we can find in it is, that the profits of the fale will be appropriated to the benefit of an indigent perfon.-From the Doctor's fourth propofition, that Chriftianity would at length become the univerfal religion, we did, indeed, expect fome argument; but we were entirely disappointed.

II. The eternal Exiftence of the Lord Jefus Chrift confidered and improved, at a Monthly Affociation in Grafton-ftreet, near the Seven Dials. By Benjamin Wallin. Buckland, &c.

III. At St. Mary's, Cambridge, at the Lent Affizes, 1766. By John Mainwaring, B. D. Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge.

White.

IV. At the Asylum-chapel, before the Guardians, May 16, 1766. By the Rev. James Hallifax, D. D. Rector of Chedington and Vicar of Ewell, Surry. Dodsley.

V. On Mufic, chiefly Church-mufic; occafioned by opening of the new Organ at St. Peter's Church in Liverpool, April 30; preached the Lord's Day following. By John Brekell, Waugh.

VI. At the Affize at Chefter, March 29, 1766. By Thomas Hodges, A. M. Curate of Church-Hulme. Fletcher.

VII. Dying in Faith explained, and the Happiness attending it, at the Old Jewry, May 18, 1766; on Occafion of the Death of the Rev. Sam. Chandler, D. D. and F. R. and A. S. S. who died May 8, in the 73d Year of his Age. By Thomas Amory. To which are added, the Speech at his Interment, and a Catalogue of his Works. Buckland.

WE

CORRESPONDENCE.

7E have been favoured with a letter from Mr. Ogilvie with regard to our review of his Solitude, or Elyftum of the Poets, (see Rev. for Feb. 1766) and are much obliged by the kind and candid manner in which he has been pleased to exprefs himself.-Such an address would certainly have drawn from us the readieft acknowledgments, had we, as he feems to think, formed too precipitate a judgment in certain objections which we took the liberty of making to that poem, and to Mr. O.'s writings in general; but, upon the most unprejudiced re-perufal of that article, we can really find nothing to retract.-Mr. O. objects to our having made certain ftrictures of cenfure without exemplifying our reafons:-As those strictures were of a general tendency, that could not be done within the compafs of one article, nor would it have been confiftent with the general plan and conduct of our Review. น.

TO THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

VOLUME the THIRTY-FOURTH.

FOREIGN LITERATURE.

Hiftoire De L'Afrique et De L'Espagne, &c.

The Hiftory of Africa and Spain, under the Government of the Arabs; compiled from different Arabic Manufcripts in the Royal Library, and dedicated to the Dauphin. By M. Cardonne, Secretary-Interpreter to the King in the Oriental Languages, &c. 12mo. 3 Vols. Paris, 1765.

HE rapid fuccefs with which the Arabic empire was esta

TH blifhed in Afia, Africa and Europe, and the growing

war.

power of Mahomet and his fucceffors, form one of the most furprifing and moft interefting events in the hiftory of mankind. Religion had, undoubtedly, a leading influence in this; but enthusiasm alone,, unattempered and unconducted with policy, could never have atchieved fuch extraordinary things :-yet not even the profoundest policy, co-operating with the influences of a new religion, could have been fo generally fuccefsful, had it not been attended by a kind of ferocious valour, together with an unwearied affiduity, and long experience in the business of The Arabs, in the time of Mahomet, were the first people upon earth in horfemanship, and the fkill of the bow. The progrefs of their oriental conquefts has been frequently recorded and is well known, but their fucceffes in the weft have lain more obfcure. Our countryman Echard, in his Roman Hiftory, has made the fame obfervation, and complains that, for want of cotemporary hiftorians, the iffue of their weftern wars was in a great measure unknown. Marmol is the only author who has thrown any light upon thofe events, but the facts he relates with regard to the African conquefts are but thinly scattered through his works.

M. Cardonne has, however, almoft entirely obviated this complaint, and has rendered the hiftory of humankind much APP. Vol. xxxiv.

K k

more

more perfect by filling up thofe vacant annals. The fources from which he has derived his information, concerning the Arabic conquefts in the weft, are Arabic writers, whofe works were depofited in the king of France's library. He complains, indeed, that the drynefs and affectation of brevity peculiar to the hiftorians of that nation, had left him ftill poor, had not afforded him all the light he could have wished to obtain with regard to their hiftories, and fome dynafties he found in which the fucceffion of princes was difficult to difcover. This, however, might eafily be accounted for; as there were fome fultans who forbad, under pain of death, the annals of their reigns to be written and one of those actually put to death an author for difobeying the decree.

The principal revolutions in that part of Africa, where the Arabs prevailed, and the different dynasties, are recorded in this work with as much precision as poffible. The epoch of those revolutions, and that of the eftablishment of the dynasties extend to that period when the African governors, fecure in their refpective powers, threw off the common yoke, and aspired to fovereignty.

The hiftory of the Arabs in Spain is not lefs interefting than that of their African conquefts. Allured by the riches of that country, they came in vaft tribes both from Afia and Africa, and each of thofe tribes being defirous of obtaining thofe treafures undivided, they fell one upon another.

At the fame time there were revolutions in the dominion of the east. The dynafty of the Ommiads was overturned by the Abbaffids, and Abdoulrahman-ibu-Moavie, who was of the former party, fled into Spain, where he was foon invested with all the power of the Arabs in that country, as they had always been attached to his party.

From that time Spain was detached from the government of the eastern caliphs, and had its diftinct princes, who likewise took upon them the name of caliphs, and, like those, mixed the civil with the facerdotal power. The fucceffors of Abdoulrahman, intoxicated with affluence and luxury, abandoned the cares of government to their habjeds, a kind of comptrollers, who invefted themselves with abfolute authority. Thefe caliphs became at length fo contemptible that they were deprived of the crown; in confequence of which, fuch of the Arabs as had fuperior power, or credit, obtained the fovereignty of those provinces where their influence lay, and almoft every province had then its prince.

The ftrength of the Moors being thus divided, they became lefs formidable to the Chriftians. The latter gained feveral important victories over them; and had they not themselves fuffered from the fame divifion of power and dominion, they would