of the blind, to discover the illusions of unregeneracy, to lay bare the wiles of the tempter, to reveal the true nature of those mental exercises, which, according as they are correct. or spurious, may set the seal of everlasting destiny, for weal or wo, upon the human spirit. Many persons, it is to be feared, suppose that they have had evangelical repentance, who are strangers to godly sorrow; and who, in heart, are still in love with sin. A man is not certainly justified of God, because he thinks that he is justified; nor regenerate, because he thinks that he is regenerate; nor holy, because he thinks that he is holy. Nor is membership in the church a sufficient testimony that one has the spirit and the piety of a true disciple. A discriminating ministry is needed, perpetually to put men on their guard, lest they should be led away with the form, in the deficiency of the spirit; lest they should put awakenings and terror, in the place of evangelical repentance; or a fear of punishment, in the place of love for a holy heaven; or refined taste, intellectual cultivation, and a natural approbation of the perfect, in the place of a love of holiness, for its innate beauty and desirableness. Many a person thinks that he has renounced sin, because for some time he has not been exposed to temptation to commit it; or that he has exercised saving faith in Christ, because he has seen himself to be a sinner, and without any hope in himself; and, under that conviction, has publicly signified his serious purpose to flee to Christ for salvation. Many a person thinks that he is sanctified, because he is enabled to resist some of the temptations which assail him, or because he is not tempted at all, but whose spiritual pride and censoriousness bear constant testimony that he has mistaken his true condition. Or, persons who make no pretensions to religious faith, are contented to live in a sort of transition-state, confident that they are in a fair way to heaven; making real, though wholly imperceptible, progress in fitness for immortal life. And they who nourish habits of allowed transgression, and live in open sin, imagine that there is some force in the excuses by which they attempt to justify their ungodliness. A discriminating ministry points out the utter and eternal inadequateness of all such apologies. It holds them up, one by one, that the sunshine may pour its illumination through them. It winnows them out in detail, that the winds may scatter them. It grinds them to powder, like the Israelites' golden calf, that the ungodly

may drink of the bitter waters on which they are strewn. The present age demands such a ministry. There were unsound professors in the days of the apostles; but the liability to unsoundness, it seems to us, is much greater now. Then it was for a man's interest not to believe himself a Christian, or not to be taken for a Christian by others. It was the ruin of his earthly prospects; perhaps it might involve the sacrifice of his life. But now, in many communities, it is of the highest importance to a man's worldly interest, that he should pass for a Christian. It is a necessary condition of his acquiring public confidence. And, in order to meet special cases of this sort, the standard of religion has been lowered. Churches and individuals, it is to be feared, express themselves satisfied with defective evidence of Christian character, through fear of wounding the feelings of the candidate or of his friends; or, possibly, from a motive still less worthy; not considering the disastrous results which such a compromise may work, in the end. Truth is warped away from the forcibleness of its meaning. The strictness of the test is diminished, in order to accommodate the inability of men to come up to it, who, from the necessity of the case, must fall below it. Revelation, in its high demands, is adapted, by special interpretation, to the irreligion of those who have not grace enough to rise to the requirements of revelation. Thus it is, that the church lacks efficiency. Religion receives a meagre defence from doubtful supporters. Personal responsibility is forgotten; and the duty of love to the church, and of undying zeal for the promotion of its interests is overlooked in the great modern error, that religion is to be desired chiefly for the good it will bring to its possessor,-present respectability, influence and happiness, and, in the end, everlasting life; while the just claims of God, for the service of the human spirit, because he made it, and has a right to rule it, are wholly excluded from the question. In such a state of things, how little do we need learned discussions, suited to win the praise of the profound; or polished periods, to secure the approbation of the refined; or logical argumentation, to decide the skeptical or the wavering; or appeals to men's self-love, which will only rivet the chains of dangerous delusion! How much do we need a discerning ministry, capable of rending asunder the veil of hypocrisy and deceit; of opening men's eyes to their true condition; of dissipating the apologies of ungodliness; and of pouring floods of light upon the human soul!

The necessity of discriminating sermons will not be denied. Still, we venture to pursue our discussion a little further. Such sermons are due to the spiritual interests of our fellowmen. Many, in the present age, as we have already remarked, are very dependent upon the faithful demonstration of truth in the pulpit, in respect to their religious condition and eternal safety. Many, in the turmoil of worldly care, take no time to search into the things that pertain to the mysteries of divine truth, and their own prospects of a blessed immortality. And many more are so little accustomed to consecutive thought, that they have no thorough instruction, nor deep and close self-examination, except during the hour of public religious worship. If we were assured, that our brethren and fellowmen were accustomed to spend an hour every day in communion with their own hearts, and with God and divine things, there might be less necessity for such a tone of pulpit teaching. But, under existing circumstances, will any minister's garments be pure, who neglects it?

It is due also to evangelical truth, and to the purity of the church, that the trumpet should always give a certain sound. Truth should be stated and vindicated, with extreme exactness. If a slight error be admitted in the exhibition of doctrine, that error will open the flood-gate for the rushing in of other errors, indefinitely. Error in theory will pave the way for erroneous practice, or for deficiency in the foundation of Christian experience. Either an Antinomian indolence, or an Arminian self-trust, or an unholy life, the loss of spirituality, and an excessive attachment to the world, will follow in the train of such deficiency. If false professors, not being discerned, pass for sincere believers, and their lives are taken as specimens of the power of religion, great dishonor will come upon real religion, and true believers. Had the line been drawn with more strictness between true and false experiences, and that which is dubious kept without the church's enclosures, the church would be as pure as, in this imperfect state, is possible, and the profession of religion adorned by a life of piety.

The preparation of discriminating sermons is necessary to the intellectual character of the preacher, and to the proper performance of the duties of his office. His place is, in part, to discern spirits, and to enable others to discern them. The church and persons generally put this work upon him, as

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appropriate to his peculiar sphere. His office is to maintain the purity of the church, preventing, so far as he may be able, the admission of improper candidates, and, with the utmost zeal, laboring to give certainty, strength and consistency to those who have already been admitted. If his sermons be not of a discriminating character, the nature of his other duties will do little towards increasing his mental acumen. Some of his private duties, indeed, demand the profoundest discernment. In the visitation of the sick and dying, in conversation with the doubtful professor, or with the serious, or with the indifferent, great acuteness is demanded, that he may know whom to warn, and whom to encourage,-so that he may not distress the true believer, nor help the self-deceived to bind more fast the chains of their delusion. If he be not discriminating in his public performances, he will not be likely to be discriminating here. But faithfulness in the pulpit will open the way for special faithfulness in private. Nay, discriminating pulpit-exercises will obviate the necessity of much labor of a private kind. Persons will learn to discern. spirits for themselves, and to judge of their own exercises. And he who, by an accurate diagnosis, has made himself perfectly familiar with men's spiritual diseases, will find it comparatively easy to prescribe the necessary remedies. Care in this work will constantly increase the minister's acumen, and both physician and patient will find it beneficial. He who looks upon things generally and in the mass, will be far inferior in mental power to him who faithfully examines every thing in detail, and rightly estimates its true worth.

Discriminating preaching will also deepen the intellectual character of the hearers. The preaching which they enjoy always exerts a silent influence in this respect. It is the only literary and logical exercise which most persons attend. It is the main source of their higher cultivation. And, according to the character of the sermons which they hear, they will attain clearness of thought, grasp of intellect, the capacity of attention to minute particulars and nice distinctions, or to recondite and dubious emotions, or they will rest in general statements, and be weak and loose. A minister is, in some sense, responsible for the intellectual, as well as for the spiritual character of his congregation. He is capable of advancing their welfare in this respect. And if, by promoting their mental enlargement,-if, by making them competent to

higher enjoyments and attainments, he can prepare them for nobler service of God in this world and the world to come; if he can train them so that they will glorify God more, in their endless being, it is incumbent on him, as a good pastor, to do it. If, by a discriminating ministry, it is possible to save men from self-delusion, to improve the spiritual exercises of believers, to promote an understanding of, and attachment to, the old standards of Biblical doctrine, and thus secure the very ends of the ministry, how can any one think, that he has discharged his duty to God or man, to the church or the world, to earth or heaven, who is habitually deficient in this respect? Were this method of managing the word of God and the office of the ministry universal, the revivals of religion which adorn and bless our churches, would generally be the unadulterated work of God. No appliances would be used to help men to heaven which the Scriptures do not authorize, none which would have a tendency to build up a false hope, none which would lead to self-delusion. The spurious would, in most cases, be prevented, and the genuine promoted. Light, and purity, and strength, would dwell in the saints, and shine forth from them. For occasional impulses, driving men to extraordinary, but transitory exertion, we should have the steady influence of Christian principle. Consistent piety, humble assurance, and brotherly love, would bring back, we might hope, the habits of primitive Christianity, and every man would receive his portion of meat in due season. EDITOR.

ARTICLE VIII.

LITERARY NOTICES.

1. Kommentar zum Briefe Pauli an die Römer. Von Dr. A. THOLUCK. Neue Ausarbeitung. 1842. Commentary on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, &c. By Dr. THOLUCK.

Prof. THOLUCK's first work on the Romans was published in 1824, and again, in a third edition, in 1831. The present work has been entirely re-wrought, and stands so dissevered from the first, that, by the author's own designation, it begins a new series. Any one who considers the character of the interval, since the appearance of the first edition in 1824, will at once perceive what must be some of the changes in this