ART. VII.1. The Select Works of ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON, prepared for the Practical Use of Private Christians. With an Introductory View of the Life, Character, and Writings, of the Author. By GEORGE B. CHEever. Boston. Peirce & Parker. 1832. 8vo. pp. 570. 2. The complete Works of ROBERT LEIGHTON, D. D., some time Bishop of Dunblane, afterwards Archbishop of Glasgow. A new and enlarged Edition, together with The Life of the Author, by the Rev. G. JERMENT. Six vols. 8vo. London. 1828.

WE rejoice to find that the excellent works of the old divines of the seventeenth century are republishing among us; for they are worthy, and the memory of them is precious. It is a subject for congratulation, that, amidst the contentions. of controversy, and much in the aspect of the civil and religious world for apprehension or grief; we may say too, amidst the accumulating stores of modern theology, which he, who takes pains to gather, must pull down his study and build a greater, there is a disposition to look back to productions, not certainly of better but of former days, and to draw spiritual wisdom from sources which time has purified, and the piety of all Christians and of all periods will delight to honor. Such are the works of Baxter and of Leighton, of Hall and Taylor, of Bates and Barrow, of Howe and Tillotson. There are those, we know, whose opinions are not to be contemned, who affect to speak slightingly of this last. Yet it is easier to condemn than to equal Tillotson, whether we consider his matter or his manner. The whole life of this truly Christian bishop was a beautiful commentary on his faithful preaching. And though undoubtedly he was a debtor for many things to Barrow, and, in some of his discourses, there may be found carelessness, or even tameness, yet who more skilfully has vindicated truth? who has better exposed the practical errors of his day, or recommended virtue with sweeter persuasion? To adopt one of his own expressions in his sermon 'On the Happiness of a Heavenly Conversation,' he speaks of heaven as if it was open to his view, and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

We have said, that the times of these worthies were not better. They were, in truth, much worse than our own.

They were days of theological and political warfare, such as have seldom, for bitterness, been exceeded.

The church and the state were convulsed; and the moral condition of the people was such as might have been anticipated from the example of a profligate court, as was that of Charles, and from their own unsettled faith. It was partly to Leighton's disgust at these contentions, operating on a contemplative spirit and persuading him to withdraw from the contest, that we owe some of his choicest meditations. Happily, however, in this part of his example, he was not imitated by his brethren. In an age fruitful of great men of all professions, there were found in the church some of the wisest and purest that have ever adorned it, who stood firmly in their lot in the most perilous season, and to whose preaching, and writings, and active labors, adapted to the exigencies of the times, to the refutation of papal absurdities or of the cavils of infidelity, to the establishment of the Christian faith and the enforcement of a holy life, the nation under God stood indebted for the reformation that followed. Among these, as we have said, are the works of Baxter, and of others already named. And though we find reason to differ from the theological views upon which some of their ablest treatises were founded, though we must absolutely reject some of the doctrines which they were accustomed to mingle with their earnest exhortations to a holy life; yet, regarding only the spirit with which they were animated, their love of God and of souls, the courage and fidelity with which they discharged their ministry, even as seeing Him who is invisible,' we are ready to say of them, with one whose heart had been opened by the things spoken of Paul, 'These men are servants of the Most High God to show to us the way of salvation.' We can accept or reject, according to our light, their interpretations of the oracles by which we must together be judged, but we acknowledge in their productions the power of Christian eloquence, and in their lives the beauty of holiness. Regarded in the practical influences they proposed, their works cannot be too much commended. To borrow a sentence from old Hooker, They are to beginners a familiar introduction, a mighty augmentation of virtue and knowledge in such as are entered before, a strong confirmation to the most perfect among others.' They are a legacy of spiritual instruction, to be preserved and cherished by all

posterity. And no one can better express their value, than does Bishop Burnet - himself not least to be honored among them when he says to young ministers in those words often cited from 'The Pastoral Care,'-'By the frequent reading of these works, by that relish one has in them, by the delight they give and the effects they produce, a man will plainly perceive, whether his soul is made for divine matters or not; what suitableness there is between him and them; and whether he is touched with such a sense of religion as to be capable of dedicating himself to it.'

Of these writers, no one more deserves to be read, for there is none the study of whom will better repay the labor, than Leighton. He is spiritual and practical beyond all the rest; for he never troubles himself, as do Owen and Baxter, with metaphysical abstractions or needless argumentations, but takes for granted what most will admit, or perhaps none deny, and without useless applications to the brain to clear away doubts, enters at once and takes possession of the heart. His directness and brevity, too, are great recommendations, and they are almost peculiar to Leighton, in an age when, for the plainest subjects, elaborate treatises were composed; and he, who would exhort men to be honest, thought it necessary to prove first the being and perfections of a God, by whose law dishonesty would be judged.

A judicious selection, therefore, from the works of this admirable writer was much to be desired; and in making it, Mr. Cheever has conferred a favor on the religious community. Even those, who were already familiar with them, will be tempted to renew their gratification by the attractive dress in which they are now presented; and those, who are yet strangers, may be won to a study, in which it must be their own fault if they fail of benefit. And this, precisely, is the use of these new editions of our best ancient writers. They awake from the grave the sleeping dust. They strip of its grave-clothes the mouldering folio; and, arraying it in less cumbrous garments, they send it forth, as it were, to a new existence, for the instruction of another generation.

In the memoir prefixed to this work, the editor has assembled, with fidelity and judgment, the prominent, though not all the important, passages in the life of Bishop Leighton, with copious extracts from Burnet and other biographers. A fuller narrative of his history will be found in the work

of Jerment; but as a delineation of character, this, by Mr. Cheever, is highly interesting. It is a beautiful copy traced by no common hand, showing how well the artist had conceived, and how fervently also he admired, the original. There is, indeed, an ardor of admiration occasionally betraying to some slight extravagance of eulogy; yet, as a whole, it will be read, we doubt not, with lively pleasure. We were prepared to think favorably of the author's spirit from a few sentences in his preface, which are so much in accordance with the very spirit of Leighton, and so applicable, moreover, to the times, that we cannot forbear to quote them.

'There is a tendency in the external religious effort of this age to stand in the place of prayer and the study of the Bible, instead of proceeding from the steady performance of those duties, as their inevitable, legitimate result. Our religion, then, is in danger of becoming bustling and superficial.'

Our danger is that of neglecting prayer and the Bible, the only means that can fit us for usefulness, and of entering on external effort, too much because the general current sets that way, and to be consistent we must go with it, whether our hearts are humble, broken, and contrite, or not. We are in danger of endeavouring to promote revivals, not because, by the acquisition of scriptural wisdom, and by habits of fervent, frequent, persevering prayer, our heads and hearts are prepared for it, and would naturally constrain us to it, but because others are working, the world is busy, and we ask, what will men of us. say La société, la société !" says Madame De Staël, (and oh how much melancholy truth there is in it, even in regard to social religious effort,) "comme elle rend le cœur dur et l'esprit frivole! comme elle fait vivre pour ce que l'on dira de vous ! Society, society! how it renders the heart hard and the mind frivolous! how it makes you live for what people will say of you!'- pp. iii, iv.

And in coincidence with these views, which we wish might be considered by all whom in any degree they concern, Mr. Cheever, in remarking on Leighton's familiarity with the Scriptures, and the appositeness no less than frequency of his use of them, thus observes:

'Christians of the seventeenth century meditated much more on the Bible than we do now. We are too exclusively external, busy, revival Christians; they were thoughtful, inward, biblical Christians. They were formed to the stature of men so perfect in Christ Jesus, by much prayer, and long and quiet meditation

on the word of God. They received the grace of God, and it grew like peach trees with a southern exposure, and the fruit was rich, mellow, beautiful. Now "the tender plant in a strange unkindly soil" is exposed to all manner of storms and tempests (at least of temptation by growing for the observance of others) before it has become sufficiently indurated; it is not left long enough in the nursery, to expand quietly and happily beneath the beams of the sun of righteousness; and in our worldly, unwise haste, the fruit is plucked before it is ripe.'

Humility and heavenly-mindedness were the characteristics of Leighton. He understood the Apostle's meaning when he said, to be spiritually-minded is life and peace,' and he sought to obtain the blessing by 'having his conversation in heaven.' We admire his spirituality, we reverence his piety; but we cannot give unqualified praise to the means by which he sought to preserve them. He withdrew himself from public affairs, and quitted stations of honor and of duty, which were to be filled by some one, and by whom so well as himself? In the bishopric of Dunblane or of Glasgow, and especially at the head of the University, his piety and sanctity, his genius and learning, might have exerted a precious influence, and availed beyond any mere human power, to correct the very abuses he lamented. But he resigned them all out of impatience of the times. We can commend him with safety only in the confidence, that his example would not often be imitated; for men in general, and even good men, affect nothing so little as seclusion and obscurity. We rejoice that it is so, and for the same reasons must confess, that there must be some defect in an example, which, being generally imitated, would sacrifice some of the most important interests of society, and leave unperformed, or that which is nearly as bad, performed by unworthy or incompetent hands, its most responsible duties. Admitting that the susceptible conscience of Leighton found the fulfillment of his trusts in those stormy times incompatible with his high principles; that he was called, at the head of his church and as the servant of his sovereign, to do, or forbear, or even to suffer much that his judgment or inclination, or even his conscience, could not approve; yet who could more successfully have resisted than he? We are commanded to use the world as not abusing it. Our Saviour himself does not pray for his disciples that they may be taken out of the world, but that, being sanctified by the truth, they may be kept from the evil. And in estimat