efitrf,sllAlll4lflM.
OPEN AIR PREACHERS.
NO. VII.
RICHARD WEAVER AND HIS OPEN AIR
➢IEETIINGS
BY EDWARD PAYSON HAMMOND.
The name orYIksHARD WEAVER, THE
CONVERTED COLLIER," has occasionally
appeared on this side of the water, and
no doubt many would be glad to learn
something more of the history of this
man, whom God has so wonderfully used
in leading souls to Christ.
In the summer of 1860 it was first my
privilege to listen to the earnest words
of this reclaimed pugilist, while address
ing several thousands at a series of open
air meetings on Glasgow Green. As I
saw strong men wiping the tears from
their eyes, I could but mark the power
which God had given to this uneducated
layman. During the weeks which fol
lowed, as again and again, in towns and
cities, I heaT-d his pungent appeals, I was
often led to think of Luke's description of
Apollos, in Acts xviii. 24-28. ,While
the pen of inspiration has left us to form
our ideas of the characters and tempera
ments of the apostles from their writings,
or from the simple history of their ac
tions, it has furnished us with a clear
portrait of Apollos.
Dr. John Campbell, of the British
Standard, London, says that "the charac
ter of Apollos was the prototype of all
the most eminent pastors, evangelists,
and missionaries of every succeeding age.
Names in support of this view might be
noted by the hundred, but It may - suffice
to mention those of Luther and of Knox,
of Wesley and Whitefield, =of Howell
Harris in Wales, and of Messrs. Tennent
in America. All these men had much
in common, and all of those attributes
which they thus shared will be found to
ha" signalized their great archetype,
.Apollos. These attributes are an exalted
piety, resulting from a change of heart;;
a profound acqltantance with the word!
of God; a deep, doctrinal knowledge of,
the gospel ; a seraphic fervor of tempera- .
ment ; a moving eloquence ; a high and
dauntless moral courage, and great per
sonal activity."
Richard Weaver certainly seems to
possess these attributes, and though but;
a few years ago he could not write his
own name, he will be remembered, and
loved when thousands who now stand
high in the literary - world are forgotten.
If "the righteous shall be in everlasting
remembrance," then I believe that in ,
heaven Richard Weaver will be forever'
remembered with affection by the multi
tudes who have heard and received the
words of "eternal life " which fell from
his lips at open air meetings.
Thouigh he is but thirty-seven years
of age, a sketch of his life and labors has
been published by Messrs. Morgan &
Chase, London.
Again and again have I heard him
speak, with tearful tenderness, of 'his
praying mother, who taught him in child
hood of the Saviour,and who often plead
ed with him, as he grew up, not to follow
'the example of his drunken father. One
of these scenes connected with his mother
is thus described in the sketch referred
to •
He had been spending the night in noisy
revelry, and had had a quarrel with a 'ohm. ,
whieh ended as usual in a
- With bruised and bleeding face he reached
home just as day was breaking.; .andthe first
. .sound that fell upon his ears was the faithful
'niother- praying God to save her son. • This
-lint him more, he says, than the blows he
had received in the fight; it came home to,
~,his heart. As soon as his knock was heard,'
;the poor old woman ran to the door,. and the
eyes that had been weeping in prayer for him
:were greeted by his disfigured and drunken
lace. When she had given him a chair; and
Washed away the dirt and blood; and minis
.tered to him as he needed, she knelt down
and prayed again that God, for the sake of
-Christ, would save her boy: and pleaded with
the 'lad himself that " God so loved the
world, that He gave his only begotten Son,-
that whosoever believeth on Him should not
perish; but have everlasting life:" But while •
she prayed the lad cursed, swearing that he
-would murder her if she did not leave off
praying and preaching to him. He went up
to bed, but the motlier'slove constrained. her
to follow him; and, kneeling down by his
bedside, again poured out the abundance of
her complaint and grief before her heavenly
'Father. But no comforting voice said to her,
" Go in peace ; and the God of Israel giant
thee thy petition that thou bast asked of Him."
Far otherwise; her reprobate son in a rage
sprang out of bed, and, grasping her grey
hair; shook. her while . on her,levees. ,She
took hold of his arm with her trembling
hands, and said, "This is hard work, Lord,
toxirse and watch. our children till they begin
to be men, . and then:to- hear them, say
that they will. Murder us for. asking Thee to
'save- them.' 'But though Thou slay me, .yet
will I trust in Thee.". And then turning to
her son, she said; " I will never give thee up "
Impatient ofthe restraints Of this pious
.mother, -he ran away, from home. But
her prayers and letters followed the
thankless prodigal. And they were not
in vain, as we see from the sketch already
*quotecl. It says
One day he sat in . his accustomed place,
the 'public house, and a letter came to him.
A: companion read it ; and there were the
sikixieblil:werdS; " I will never give thee Up,
my 'child." After the young man — had read
it, Richard wanted to burn it. "Nay, it will
never do to burn the praying mother's letter,"
he replied; 'and with tears - he added,. " I wish
I had:ii , praying mother. I wish My mother
was alive now. Her last word was, ' Samuel,
will you meet me in "heaven?' And, by the
help of God," i:e cried, "I will. meet her in
heaven:" ..'fb.tt, was the turning point in his
career; t'L) Spirit of God strove with him,
and wive Ili ru peace until he laid his weary
heaclA n uon the Saviour's breast. . - Subse-
Hiento? he died full - of faith' and joy fn. the
Holy . b ost. -• •
The Spirit began to operate OR wea ' ver's
mink and, he, theught, " If I die now, 'hell
will 136 my dobin." That was a 'sleepless
night. The morning brought him no com
fort; and after a weary day, and another
anxious, sleepless night, he thought he would
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1865
endure this no longer, but would drive away
the feeling which oppressed him, and drown
the memory of it in drink. He went to Con
gleton, four miles from Biddulph, where he
lived, and got drunk. As he returned home,
hell seemed to open before him, and such
words as these were sounded in his ears,
" Who shall dwell with everlasting burnings ?"
Every step he took, he prayed for mercy, and
promised that if spared till morning he would
decide for God.
The next morning, when the drunkenness
had died out of him, Richard, still in fear of
hell, went out into a field and crept into a
sand-hole, where no eye could see him but
the eye of God ; and there, praying to his
Father in secret, he told Him all his sorrows,
confessed all his iniquities, cried to be de
livered, trusted in the blood, and was made
free. He was to have fought with a man that
day, but he began the day with a more terri
ble adversary. "In that sand-hole," so he
says, "I had - a battle - with theldevil. Christ
and Satan fought it, and •Christ gained the
victory ; and I came off more than conqueror
through Him that love4.me."
That conflict , in the , sand-pit marked, in
deed, an era in his history. Then and there
he passed from death to life ; there and then
God brought him out of darkness into His
marvellous light; and from that hour he
knew that he had no longer to wrestle against
flesh and blood, but against principalities and
powers, against the rulers of the darkness.of
the world, against wicked spirits in heavenly
places.
With what joy was the intelligence sent to
the poor old mother, and how differently was
she, thought of, now that her prayer was an
swered, and the rebel brought into the arms
of his Saviour.' As soon as she received the
joyful news, she went into her closet, and on
her knees thanked her Father in heaven for
hearing and answering her. prayers. It
seemed, indeed, too good to be true, and the
tempter whispered doubts into her ear: 1 But
God said, "Be not faithless,. but believe.
The child is made whole."
An open air meeting was announced
at a place not far from where Mr. Weaver
lived in England. Reginald Radcliffe
was expected to address it. Five or
six thousand " assembled, among whom
where Richard Weaver, anxious to catch
a glimpse of " the lawyer from Liver
pool." But as Mr. Radcliffe was not
able to be present, those who knew of
Weaver's remarkable conversion asked
him: to come up to the stand and relate
it.• The Lord helped him, and from.that
hour' e became an" open air preacher."
One night in Liverpool, when Mr.
Weaver' ad been preaching in the open
air, " while on his way home, singing, :a
policeman caught hold of him, and asked
him if he would not stop singing. Nay,' .
said he, I shan't stop.' The policeman
said''he - would make him, and caught
him by the collar. He sprang his rattle,
another policeman came to his help, and
they took him to the lock-up."
As they went, a fellow-Christian shouted,
after him, "Never irkirid, brother, look VI)."
Wcaver said, "Loose me, and take hold of
thlit noisy Chap." They accordingly took both
of them. to the station. When they arrived'•
there they had hard work to• keep the .people
-out, for as they went. along-two or three hun
dred had followed them, many of whom were
the prisoners' friends._ ._No...sooner were they;
inside, than Weaver 'fell "on his knees and
prayed,. while the people w, ere',' holding a
prayer-meetingin)•th&ttratt. When he had
concluded, he got up and preached to the,
police officers, telling them that if they did'
not repent, they would all be lost.
",Dear me," said the inspector, "I never
heard such a man. The next time you come
here you will have to be sent to Rainhill,",
(lunatic asylum,) and ordered him to go out!
"I Slian't go ,ott.t, replied,the prisoner ;
was
" I s' publicly Put sand :I
in; am: shall be pub
licly put out."
Just then a gentleman came in, a friend of
Weaver's, at whose suggestion Weaver with'
drew, and went home singing, as before :
" For the Lion of - sn4ah shall break every chain,'
And give: , us the victoryagain and again."
A few nights after this, the policeman who
had taken him into custody met him and
'asked him to forgive:him.• •
"Don't ask - my pardon, ask God's pardon;"
said Weaver. "I forgive thee freely,- ilk
God to forgive thee."
" Oh," said the poor fellow, with tear - s;,
"I'd give every hair of rny , :head to know
what you do—to know my sins forgiven:"
"You needn't give anything," was the
reply. " God gave Christ for you, and He
will forgive every one that comes to Him by
Jesus." _
The man believed the love of God, and was
made happy then and there. While they
were speaking, a crowd had gathered, and an
Irishwoman began to abuse Weaver, and= call
him a heretic But the told her if
she did not gb along quietly, lie ihould take
her into custody, and after that he always de
fended Weaver when he came in his way.
Mr. W.'s words, " I shan't go out ; I
was publicly put in, and I shall be pub-,
licly put out," call to mind Paul's words
to the magistratbs, when urged to leave
the prison "in peace.". " They halre
cast us into prison, and now dothey
thrust us out privily. Nay,,,verily, but
let them come themselves and put -us
one,._i our nakt•we Shall try collect
some further -facts with regard to this
man, who has witnessed_ more extensive
outpourings of the Holy Spirit than
alinost any'other man , in- Great Britain.
He is one of the " missing links "' vrhOna
God has used to reach thousands upon
thousands who were:beyond the reach of
`the- ordinary means of grace.
Would that those in this country, who
have experience and talents somewhat
similar to this "converted collier," might
be encouraged to follow the Saviour td
the " highways and hedges."
NORTH BRITISH REPIEw, y November,
1864. New York, L. Scott' 8 - 5- Co. Phi
ladelphia : for sale by W. R. Zieber, 106
South Third street, eoutainx : Commev
cial PhilanthroPy; Latham''S Johnson's
Dictionary; Liturgical Reform; Early
oman Tragedy, and Epic Poetry; Wild
bad and its Waters ; Giuseppe Giusti
and his Times; the late John Richardson.'
WHEN thonbelievest and comest to Christ,
thou must leave thy own righteousness be-,
hind-thee, and 'bring nothing with thee hitt
thy sins. You must behind all your,
holiness,' duties, humhlings, ete., • anclibring
nothing but your wants and miseries; else,
Christ is not fit for thee, nor thou for Christ.
CHAPLAIN ARMSTRONG'S LETTER.
HEADQUARTERS 4TH MICH. CAVALRY,
Bivouacked 5 miles out of Nashville,
January 9th, 1865.
DEAR BROTHER MEARS :-
LETTERS IN'THE ARMY
are among the pleasantest messengers
that greet the soldier. They bring to
him, in the midst of his labors, and suf
fering, and loneliness, (and no place ex
cept a crowded city is like the army for
loneliness,) familiar faces, loving voices,
help, sympathy, and cheer. The bugle
sends forth its calls, here in the regiment,
in the camp, and on .the march, , some to
duty and some to rest,..: Wt have*" re
veille," " sick call," " breakfast call,"
" stable call , 4 " water call," " roll
"taps," and many other callS: We have
" distribution" of ratiens, d£ clothing; &c.;
but, no call of the bugle is greeted:With
such a thrill of delight as " distribution;"
when it means " mail." Often whon
that call is heard in ' camp it is greeted
with shouts that make these Southern
woods and hills ring again and reverbe=
rate as peal follows 'peal.'
So recently came to greet the writer,
with other precious missives, a welcome
letter from the editorial chair_of, the
AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN. It is:
taking the hand of a. friend, and that is
indeed a luxury in this far away, land,
where nearly all are enemies. We are
looking daily= into stranger faces, : , and
hearing, in Southern dialect, - stranger
voices, and it is sweet to hear orlmagine
the home sounds. By the way,
HOME TO THE SOLDIER.
signifies here what it never did before.
It is the sweet land of the far away, in
which he, ondly lives over again his life
"Tang sync." It is the goal of his
hopes, and none but a'soldier can tell
how bright is the horoscope of, your bro
ther soldier, "when this cruelwar is over."
Now he understands what home is. He
sees volumes of holy meaning in the'
word never seen before. Aye, how we'
learn to prize, and rightly to interpret,
the homellegt feature of our far off homes, ,
and the time of our service here is counted
down to Weeks and days, till the, term. of
our soldiering is expired.
WINTER CAMPAIGNING
The soldier's life is hard, even in. sum-.
mer ; but you can foim any conception
of our condition then, add to everything
that you then imagine—bating only the
:the heat and dust—all the rigors of a
'Southern winter. Perhaps you Penn- ,
sylvanians may be inclined to smile at
this thought, inasmuch as we are seven'
or eight degrees-nearerthe equator„ But
do not be surprised when I tell you, that
there , are.few„if any, Michigan men here,
who do hot agree that to them the, winters
of the Peninsular State are by far more en-1
durable than those 6f the "sunny South."
Por we do get occasional gleams of sun
shine, and sometimes a day, or a half day
. of sun ; but ;we have weeks of stem:
here, and the time would fail me to,
attempt to describe the stornis, and the ,
results of ;them to us poor campaigners.'
When - a hody of six or eight' "thousand:
men has passed over the road in Penn
sylvania you will have mud; but the red
mud of these Southern States "beats
all" the mud that I have ever seen. The;
snows and rains all turn to mud. riji
soldier is marching all day'in, the • mud;
,- and turns to his bivouac -at night tired
and wet, or both. He must sleep, evenlf
his bed be in the mud, and - in wet,: or
cold, nature is peremptory. Then. he is
roused. „at reveille, and finds it., Mud
;again.- „Mud for his horse, mud for.him ;
,Self, mud, deeper and dirtier, more - tt,dh,-
sive and unrelenting, than we "'mud sills",
.of the North• ever saw before. -, Thit, when
the rain turns to snow the' mud" is mud
still, only frozen, and then sorry work it
is, indeed, for the man or animal that
attempts to march over it. Yet forward
go the Union soldiers, and many a noble
horse - and patient mule falls and remains
as a'wlay mark of our winter campaign- 1
ing. 'BO trying as is the mud, the cold
and rough winds seem often harder still.
These 'fight almost claim a NeW England
paternity, but that they are mostly from
a southerly direction. Never, in VeY
wont - or Michigan, have I suffered more
keenly : from cold winds than in this
Winter march from Louisville, Kenthcky,
to Nashville, TenneSsee.
Yet allis 9heerful. There is .no corn;.
o co,
Oin citizen Volnnteers take it
ail in a truly soldierly way. It is now
raining, as it has done for,the last t*enty
four hoursi and, sitting:: on my, bed on
the ground, I ' am writing on my knee,
and turning this way and 'that to protect
myself from , _the dropping rain ; but I
hear, just a little over from my tent; a
chorus ofivices singing the-John Brown
song and:" Rally round the. Flag,'? &c:
.411,
,Tny brother, what that inspires
these reading and thinking-Men to leave
homes, of peace and plenty, homes of love
and • inteliigenee, for, the rigors and hard-.
ships of a winter, campaign ? Is it the
money that. Government pays them ?
trove not. There is something higher
than pelf to nerve them, and right noble
is their spirit and courage. Nay, sub-.
lime is their love of country and free
dom But the high and holy,princilk
of ,our Union soldiers seems all the nobler
when we contrast it with ,
KENTErCKY LOYALTY
It may be unexpected to you to hear
any suspicions of Kentucky's truth , and
devotion to the Union, and indeed, my
brother, such imputations are severe upon
any who may be truly and heartily loyal
and. of such, I doubt not, there may be a
few, and they are paying dear for theik .
loyalty They find enemies at horde
who prey upon them, and in the eyes of
all Union soldiers they are suspicious
characters "because of the company
they keep." But in all my travels in
this State, I have failed to find a person,
Man or woman, whose loyalty has the
true ring—very few who will wish our
GoVemment to succeed without an if or
a but. They do not talk like the people of
Michigan. The State is full of guerillas,
and no Union soldier is safe anywhere, un
less under the protection of an armed force.
Some facts of recent date may be in
!point, as they have been of painful
;'interest to us.
When_our division set out from Louis
ville, ordered to Nashville, Tennessee,
we had, among others,'two young Penn.,.
sylvania officers of great worth, and
universally lmown, loved, and honored
through the brigade, where they were,
'efficient staff officers. They were Dr.
John L. Sheik, son of Abraham Sherk,
of = Lebanon Pennsylvania, who was a
major-surgeon in the Seventh Pennsyl
vania Cavalry, and acting brigade-sur
geon. at the time of our march ; and Cap
tain Robert M. McCorrniek, Sinr — of
Robert AlfcCormick, of Milton, Permsyl r
vgliai who was brigade-inspector ; both
gentlemen of ediloation-and'of peculiarly
refined and iriterterestik character. On
the second day- of Our, march, when at
Bardstown,. the 'captain, at the request of
a brother, had balled on a family living
in the surbErbs of the town, who had, at
some fprmer time, befriended this brother.
Sherk accompanied him: They were
redly received, and had just fairly passed,
the first 'civilities of the. meeting, when ,
the.• house 'was surrounded by a gang of
sixteen ruffians, headed by the notorious
Magruder arid two other so-called Cap
tains, Somraerland and Davis. The
doctor and, captain were not even hailed
by these guerillas ; but, like wild beasts,
were shot down unguarded and unthink
ing. The doctor was pierced with two,
balls, and the captain with three, and
they were brought in to us in their blood.
HThe cowardly thieves who murdered
them stripped them of their watches,
hats, &e.,t took their horses that
-stood tied,
at thegate, and were soon beyond the,
reach of pursuit; and being transformed
at once into citizens, could defy detection.
Later in our. march, when near the
southe,rn line of the State, six of our men,
of Illinois regiments, being found beyoUdl
the limits of the ,command, and taken by
surprise, were captured. Then the fiendd
who had them'in their power, tied their
hands behind their backs,..and., placing
.them in a. row upon a log, amused •thein- 1
selves , by shooting them- off as, boys
'shoot squirrels. Five men were killed,l
and, the sixth' badly shot. .Thit last rep
mained insensible, for a while, but ieviv
ing; at length, wh'en his captors had fin-i
ished rifling their murdered victims and
left, he:made' his way to the , camp, his!
hands still- bound, and told the story.!
Now, my brother, you may imagine,the
feelings with which we regard the people
of KentuckY, when we know that' these
very bloody desperadoes are the citizen's!
of the State, and in this very
,fact lies'
immunity in. crime. They may defy pur-j
suit and detection. 'We march through
their very midst, and they watch all our
movements,iand so are ready to make a
descent upon 'any -unprotected soldier or
officer, and yet, when detected, have on
the smooth,speech and 'sober face of in;
nocence. But we have learned to Sus
pea everyman we meet, and why should
We not? In 'cool blood they murder as
whenever we come within their reach,
and in. the meanest and mesh; copy=
ardly - way. Had - Sherk.and McCormick
fallen'in open, henorable (?) warfare,' we
should have mourned their 'untimely fa,lj;
as noble , comrades perished ,in ' their
country's" cause ; but , • that they. .should
be meanly Murdered by a pack of liftw 7
ardly thieves, calling themselves loyal;
yet , burning with the vilest. and. most
venomous treason, whining and fawning
upon
,the Federal Government, ; living,
forsoeth, in " armed neutrality ;" another
phrase for armed rebellion, this was too
much. "The men whose professed:loyalty
is Marked with such deeds, the men who
grudge us the wood to keep us from
freezing, and the forage from their rich
cribs for our beasts, while we are here;
at the peril of all we love, to defend
them, the men who* though nominally in
the Union, are yet in, spirit out of it, the
men who whine and cringe, and meanly
ask' that the Government shall pay them
back "the cost of the war losses, which
nothing but their own disloYaltY has in
curred, these men should be -branded as
the blackest of traitors; as their record
makns them. I, honor South Carolina in
comparison, for while her:; hand Was .On
the-hilt, she did not cover the, blade;
while she hated, she did _not talk of love!
But-Kentucky is reaping some of the
legitimate fruits of, her deeds. In , the
'South she has enemies, arid in the North
she has failed to make friends, and, I fear,
she Must be made.but a charred and black:
ened waste before the end shall come.
Our diyision is ordered to Eastport,
Mississippi, and you perhaps, brother
editor, as well as we " Yankees" can
guess where. and what then. We are to
remain here till the 12th, to repair the
breakages of the march thus far, and then
on to the front
Men and animals have suffered beyond
Measure in this winter march. We are
sending many men to the hospital, and
many horses will go into hospitals too,
to be- recruited and saved, if posible.
This mud, cold, and warm, soft and hard,
will wear out men and beasts. But for
the men of our command I have -just
drawn and issued from the Sanitary and
Christian Commissions, sanitary sup
plies most liberally.. These will do good
iri relievint many suffering men, who
need a variation from the naked' army
rations. I have also received here a
good supply of fresh reading matter, and
a fine lot of mittens, which will be very
grateful to many a cold-fingered hand.
I say to the boys, "these are not from
Uncle Sam' they are from home," and
many a hearty " God bless you" do I re
ceive, that belongs to the kind hands and
thoughtful, loving hearts that have sup
plied these comforts. Ah, my brother,
how is our Great Father reaching back
to the hearts of his people through this
most bitter, yet most glorious of wars,
and developing their benevolence.
It is grand and awfully sublime to be
living and worldng in this day. To see
what God is doing, and to believe in the
glory which he is about to reveal. God
hasten it in its time. C. S. A.
WISHINGTON AT THE COMMUNION
IVLBLS .
IN~'THE PB . .E_,,,BTTE.RJA.N CHURCH AT
MORRISTOWN - , N. J.
The following interesting event was
related to Dr. Ilißyer by the Rev Dr.
Timothy Johnes, pastor of the church at
Morristewn; at the time,of its occurrence:
."Wlxile the 'American Army, under
the'. command: of Washington, lay en-
Camped in the environs of Morristown,
New Jersey, it occurred that the service
of the communion, then observed semi
annually only, was to be administered in
the Presbyterian Church of that village.
On a morning of a previous week, the
General, after his accustomed inspection
of the camp, visited the house of the Rev.
Dr. Johns, then pastor *Of that church,
and after the ,usual preliminaries, said:
'Doctor, I. understand that the Lord's
Suppei is to be celebrated with you next
Sunday, I would learn if it accords with
the canons of your Church to admit com
municants of another denomination?
The Doctor rejoined: 'Most certainly;
ours is not the Presbyterian Table, Gen
_eral, but. THE LOWS TABLE ; and hence
-we give the Lord's invitation to all his
followers, of whatever name.'
" The General replied : 'I am glad of
it; that is as it ought to be ; but, as I
was not quite sure of the fact, I thought
I would ascertain it from yourself, as I
proposed to join with you on that oc
casion. Though a member of the
Church - of England, I have no exclusive
partialities.'
" The Doctor reassured him of a
cordial welcome, and General Washing
ton was found seated with the commu
nicants the next Sabbath."
Il.tilt Z aiitE+
NEVIDER. History of the - Planting and
Training of the Christian ChUrch by the
Apostles. 'By Dr. Augustus Neander.
Translated from the German, by J. E.
Ryland. • Translation revised and corrected
according to the fourth German edition,
by, E. G. Robineaxi i D. D., Professor in
. ,Rochester Theolo_gigar Seminary. New
TOrk, Sheldon . & Co. Royal Svo., pp. 547.
Philadelphia: for sale by James Claxton,
606 Chestnut street:''`
This is a revised' edition, with all the
lamented author's"latest .touches, of a
standard theological work, one of the
most valuable of Neander's 'contributions
to the history, of Christianity, It forms
the. connecting . linii,betvieen his Life of
Christ and his, great History of the
Christian Religion and, Churph, It is .a
masterly, and profound exhibition of ;the
facts, personages, doctrines, polity, and
controversies of :the church, as presented
in the Acts and Epistles of the,New Tes
tament. ,An acute-and penetrating-mind,
a keen :criticism, blended ;with a , true
scientific spirit and ' breadth of philo
sophical view, are employed upon these
Momentous themes ; and a reverent, be
lieving temper, joined with perfect candor
and appreciation of the merits of diverse
views, assure the student as he follows
the lead of this most able thinker and
instructive teacher. Neander is not free
from some of the vices of. German criti-
CiSlll. His explana,tion, .of the gift of
tongues, at the very commencement of
the volume, is not only unsatisfactory--
as most , attempts are—but it concedes
the existence of unhistoric elements in
the account of that great transaction, and
it assumes the right , and the ability - of
criticism to eliminate them. But this is
an instance in Neander's treatment of
the facts of Scripture, the historical ac
curacy of which he is more often found
defending„ against the assaults of . Baur
and his school. Neander belonged to a
movement of reaction against the extremes
of rationalism. and negative criticism ;
his faults , are :remnants of a state of
things from which
,he •and others, like
Tholuck, were, emerging. They are yery
,different from even, the similar admissions
of the later English school of unbelief;
these are the symptoms of a violent and
_dangerous attack of illness just coming on,
the__others,are the renmants, of weakness
in a,,!eonvalescent
The tables, of contents, and •the indexes
of Scripture references and of subjects,
are exceedingly full, as inall of Nem
,
.deria great' Works. The more minute,
critical disCussions are'conveniently pack
ed'awp,y- iii foot-notes, and maybe omitted
in reading without any serious detriment.
MAGAZINES` AND RAMPITLFITS
BIBLICAL REPERTORY AND PRINCETON
RE v tem, January, 1865. Article L Are
James, the , son of Alpheit,s, and, James,
the brother- of the Lord, itlentical? This
is a long and learned discussion, the in
terest of whichi turns on the question
whether the mother of Christ has any
children beside our Saviour. The writer
takes the affilmative side; which he sup
ports with earnestness and 'ability: Ar
ticle A Plea' and Plan for Presbyte-
Han' Unify. This is' a: brief article, con
ceived in a, most escellent'4pirit touching
upon the reasons of policy for Presbyte
rian union—all the different branches of
the church being contemplated—answer
ing objections and proposing that a Sy
nodal Assembly be erected above all the
Assemblies (which should retain their
identity and perform their ordinary func
tions as before), composed of an equal
number of delegates from each of the
constituent denominations, which should
have a supreme federal authority in all
matters which should be submitted to it,
according to the constitution of union.
The boards or committees (composed also
of members from each of the constituent
denominations) sheuld be directly re
sponsible to this Synodal. Assembly, and
subject to its authority.. Article 111.
Nature and Ends of Prayer: Article
IV. Mason and Dixon's Line : An in
teresting historical sketch, in which . the
extraordinary difficulties incurred in set.-
tling the boundaries and, • running the
lines between the three States of Mary
land, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, are
graphically told. The document in whith
the final agreement was recorded: is said
to be among the most ~ creniarkable, o fAil
the great models of old Englig4llsy
ancing : consisting of thirty-fO&pages,
closely printed .octavo ; remarkable ter
legal precision and perspicuity; putting
at rest iorever the most vexing question,
according to ,Lord Hardwieke, that ever
engaged the councils and chanceries of
England." Article V. The -Nature of
Man; argues for the doctrine of dual
ism, or two substances, mind and matter,
and opposes the doctrine of trichotomy,
or three substances (body, soul, and
spirit), in man. Also, against the real
istic theory which makes humanity, hu
man nature, a something distinct from,
and independent of, the individuals com
posing the race. Article VI. What is
the use of breathing? A curious and
interesting psychological sketch, showing
the internal processes, the perpetual living
and dying involved in the processes of
inhalation and exhalation. Short notices
conclude the number. Philadelphia :
Peter Walker, 821 Chestnut street.
THE BIBEIOTHECA SACRA, January,
. 1865. Article I. Examination of the
various readings of 1 Tim. iii. 16. By
Rev. William H. Ward, Utica, N. Y. A
very full presentation of the authorities
for the one or the other reading, .9£ oc or
(1. being dismissed as untenable) in this
very celebrated passage. The writer
does not take either side of the two read
ings, contenting himself with presenting
the evidence. It is remarkable how both
readings have, in their turn, been re
garded as indications of heretical or .or
thodox tendencies among those who de
fended them, although just now 3 104 . is
considered the more orthodox reading.
Article 11. The Son of 'Nan. By Pro
fessor Tyler, of Amherst College. A
noble article, full of elevated views of
the nature of Christ as man, to which
ardent defenders of his divinity need, in
_those days, to be directed. Article 111.
The Supernatural in God's Promise to
,4brah'am:. By Professor Harris, Bangor
Theological Seminary The unity of the
entire work- of redemption requires us to
attribute divine character equally to its
beginning, in Abraham, as to its comple
tion in ChriSt. Colenso rejects the his
torical character of the New Testament,
because he' impugns so violently that of
the 011 The ,characteristics of God's
promise te Abrahain evincing its divine
origin, are perspicuously and learnedly
unfolded. Article IV. The Gift of
Tongues. By Rev'. David Greene, for
merly Secretary A. C. F. M. A
very natural theme for the pen of one
whose attention has been in= in any spe
cial way turned to Foreign 'Missions, for,
doubtless, many a toiling missionary,
embarrassed •with the perplexities. of a
barbarous language, has looked back
with longing to that pentecostal gift, as
an easy solution of his most formidable
difficulty. The writer takes the received
view of the Orthodox church on this dif
ficult subject, and defends it, with ability
and learning. Article V. The Tempta
tion. By Rev. L. S. Potwin, North
Greenwich; Conn. The view is main
tained that the main design of the tempter
was to call in question the sonshiP and
divinity of our Lord. Article VI. Re
marks on Renderings of the Common
Yersion, (in Galatians). By Professor
Hackett, Newton Theological Seminary.
The aim of the accomplished professor is
simply to point out the more obvious
changes. demanded in the renderings 'of
our English version. Article VII. Edi
torial -Correspondence; being letters from
Rev. Justin Perkins, on the ancient town
of , kinadia from Rev. George
Hurter, Beirut, Syria, on the discovery
of a spring of water near Mount Horeb.
Article Notices of Recent Publi
cations.
,That - of Dr. Hodge's last edition
of the COmmentarY on - Romans, signed
"C. E.-5.," is sufficiently severe,-though
admitting very great improvements as
compared_ with previous editions.•
BLACK.WOOD'S EDINBURGB litufAilNE
for December, 1864 (published_ and for
sale as above). Contents': ViSit to the
Cities and C aMpepf the Confederate States
in 1863-4. Part I: thoroughly Seces
sionist. ' Tony'Rutler. Part XV. Public
Schools' Report— eonclusion ; Winchester
and Shrewsbury, .My Latest Vacation
Excursion . . Part 11. • Aunt Ann's'Ghost
Story. Cornelius O'Dowd. Part XI.
Index.
TERMS FOR 1865
- For any one of the Reviews, $4 ; any
two,. ; any three, $lO ; all four, $l2 ;
Blackwood, $4 ; Blackwood and any one
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Address L. Scott & oo.iy :38 Walker
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