Plain Scriptural Sermons. In two Volumes, by the Rev. R. P. BEACHCROFT, M. A. Rector of Blunham, Bedfordshire; dedicated to the Right Hon. Lord Grantham. pp. xv. 314, and xi. 335. London: Hatchard. 1816.

Sermons preached at Welbeck Chapel, St Mary-le-bone. By the Rev. THOMAS WHITE, M A. Minister of that Chapel, and late Vicar of Feckenham, Worcestershire. pp. xvi. and 461. London: Rivingtons. 1817.

WE agree with Mr. Beachcroft, in his preface to the two volumes of sermons mentioned at the head of this article, that "we have each of us our peculiar manner of expressing and enforcing the grand subjects of Christianity:" and we should extend the observation by adding, that hearers and readers of sermons have each their peculiar modes of feeling and judging upon the same awful subjects. It is to this great diversity of disposition, arising from whatever cause, that we are principally indebted for the unceasing production, disappearance, and reproduction of the vast mass of divinity which is almost weekly passing under our notice, and in no form more generally, than in that of the old fashioned, and longfavoured genuine English sermon.

Sermons, the easiest of all serious reading, and perhaps not the most difficult of all serious writing, seem to afford the widest range for that endless variety, both of thought and style, conception and execution, which is most suitable to the diversities of the human mind. Derived immediately from the word of God, the subjects for this species of composition are never at an end; and may truly be said to reach as far as the infinite resources of divinely revealed Wisdom itself, acting on all the possible circumstances and feelings of human existence. Not only does the Bible contain an inexhaustible store of sacred texts, each one differing from the other by some darker or lighter shades, but

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even each text, more particularly in an age when it is not quite the fashion, as in Barrow's time, 66 unfairly" to exhaust our matter, may be made capable of yielding different products under different hands. According to the deeper or more superficial examination of it, we derive strong meat for them that are of full age," or only "milk for babes." Viewed in connexion, or not, with the context, we find in the sacred words a subject prepared to our hand, or a motto only to one of our own choosing. this subject, any part is chosen or declined at the will of the preacher; and different preachers perform an office similar to that in the lower creation of different bees on the same flower, one of which extracts the honey, and another the wax. Of course, the choice will be strongly biassed by the peculiar views of sacred truth taken up by each and with the same views, as fancy or judgment predominate in the mind, so will their appropriate produce give colour to the composition. Hence, as writers of every description find scope for the exercise of their peculiar talent in this species of writing, so readers of all descriptions (we of course mean of those assuming the profession of religion, and which compose a vast and a mixed multitude) severally find here their congenial food. And when to this we add a large class of clerical readers, with perhaps a particular object, which, we humbly presume to suggest, might be better accomplished, were they to become writers instead of merely readers, we can be at no loss to account, even without reference to the principles of Mr. Malthus, for the constant demand for this intellectual supply, and the prodigious fertility of the age in its production.

Whilst the fact here stated suffi. ciently of itself speaks our excuse for not embracing within our very limited pages all the notices that either the authors or we ourselves might wish of the several publica

tions in question, it must plead our apology for occasionally attempting a degree of classification to assist us in this part of our duty. And though in classing together, under the present article, the two highly respectable names of Beachcroft and White, we are confident of placing those together who will rejoice to be recognised as of the same genus: yet we are conscious also of making that kind of arrangement which joins individuals specifically different, whilst they are generically the same. ject in so doing will perhaps appear to be, in a measure, of a mixed nature, not without some view to the effect of displaying the two species in juxtaposition with each other; and making such general observations upon both, as may at once express our opinion on the more legitimate style of sermonwriting, and put our readers in the way to choose, upon evidence of their several advantages, between the two.

Our ob

We have first then to state, in assigning to our present authors their place amongst the numerous and heterogeneous varieties above alluded to, that as to the nature of their doctrine we perceive no fundamental distinction between them. They are thus far of the same class; and we may safely assert the main object of both to be, that of leading their hearers to knowledge of the true method of salvation, by a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, evidenced in all the corresponding fruits of the new life. The distinction between faith and works in the office of justifying the sinner before God; the nature, and vital necessity of the renovating change through the grace of the Holy Spirit; and this as sacramentally exbibited in the rite of baptism, have been of late so fully laid down, and the views of our Church respecting them in her admirable formularies so clearly ascertained to be in agreement with the plain and unequivocal dictates

of Scripture, that we own we should have been unwilling to have associated two writers together, for any purpose, who seemed to us widely to differ from each other on these essential points. A material disagreement on any one grand doctrine, which could fairly be represented as an "articulus stantis aut cadentis ecclesiæ," would have left us little leisure or inclination for discussing any other point of diversity between them. On the great articles of doctrine here mentioned, as issuing from, and seen in connexion with, the depraved condition and total excision of man's original nature from the favour and glory of God, we perceive a substantial agreement in our two authors; such an agreement as cannot fail of marking the strong and imperishable nature of truth even in minds otherwise, we should apprehend, very dissimilar from each other. Our readers will be pleased to receive from both these pious writers such instructions as are conveyed in the following remarks:

"By this expression, virtue is gone out of me,' we may understand the secret communion which the humble Christian holds with his God, by fervent prayer and other devout religious exercises. It is by the constant use of these means of grace, that the believer obtains the assistance of God's Holy Spirit to sanctify his corrupt heart. By faith, hope, and charity, he becomes likeminded with his blessed Master; by a spirit of dutiful obedience springing from faith, he is engrafted upon Christ the true Vine; he daily brings forth more fruit, and by it his heavenly Father is glorified. Thus the same vital principle, the same virtue and efficacy which pervade the parent stock, give life and vigour to the branches; they shoot forth abundantly, they become fruitful in every good word and work." Beachcroft, vol. I. pp. 31, 32.

Again, in Sermon U. on the constraining Efficacy of the Love of Christ:"

"In the day in which he [Adam] disobeyed God's positive commandment, he died in all his faculties and powers: he sustained a grievous loss; he con

tracted a deep stain; the sentence was passed upon him, and upon his posterity, not merely that he should die in a temporal sense, but that he should die eternally. All the precious gifts were lost which had been given him, and he became the bond-slave of that old serpent who had tempted him to sin.* Thus in Adam all died." Beachcroft,vol.I.p.108. "Salvation is every where promised to faith in that Saviour, who has purchased this blessing for a lost world: and faith, if it be the saving faith of the Gospel, will be fruitful in every good word and work. Faith is said to be the gift of God, and they who believe are said to be given by the Father to the Son, as the purchase of his sufferings.

All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me; and whosoever cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out;' of those whom thou hast given me, have I lost none.' God must be--he was, and ever

will be,--the Author of every good and perfect gift, and amongst these, gifts of faith. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. As, then, by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so, by the obedience of one, shall many be made righteous.' Lay the whole of Scripture together, as it speaks of the efficacy of the Redeemer's sacrifice for sin, and you will find, that he offers you this greatest and best of gifts, salvation, without money and without price. In this manner love of Christ will constrain you to be obedient, because you will thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: you will rejoice in a new principle of life thus conferred upon you; you will remember that he died, that they which live should not henceforth live

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unto themselves, but unto him that died for them and rose again." Ibid. pp. 111,

112.

Again, in Sermon VIII. on Enoch's Removal:

"Before man can hold converse with his Maker, he must have a new nature given him; his appetites, his inclinations, his desires, must be turned from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God. Our blessed Saviour was very clear in his statement of this doctrine, when conversing with that learned doctor of the law, Nicodemus; Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God:" he will have no eyes to per

*See Homily on Christmas Day.

ceive, no ears to hear, no heart to understand the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel dispensation; nor will he ever experience the joys of God's kingdom above, unless he be regenerate; born of water and of the Spirit." Ibid. p. 120.

"We came into this world the sinful children of a fallen, disobedient parent. By the offence of one, and that one our forefather Adam, judgment came upon all men to condemnation: we are all born in sin, the children of wrath; but we are not shut up under condemnation: there is a way of becoming the children of God: this change must be brought about by the Holy Spirit of God. The waters of baptism are a sign of this regeneration, or the new birth." Ibid. p. 262.

We do not find any thing more specific as to the peculiar efficacy of the rite of baptism in Mr. Beachcroft's pages. But Mr. White has a sermon expressly on the subject: and indeed may be considered as more detailed and precise in his enunciation of all the several doctrines of the Christian faith. has given, in his valuable volume of Sermons, what we cannot but highly approve of, discourses on the specific "mysteries" of our holy religion, as embodied in the services

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able sacred festivals and fasts.* From these, as well as from his Sermon on the Sacrament of Baptism, our readers will doubtless be pleased and edified with the following extracts, containing clear and strong enunciations of important doctrines. In his third sermon, "On the duty of confessing our Sins," preached on St. John the Evangelist's Day, from 1 John i 9, 10, we have the following delineation of the nature of sin :

of our church on her more remark

"This then is the nature of sin: it is opposition to, or want of conformity with, the revealed will of God: in the words of the Apostle, sin is the transgression of the law.' The law of God

* In Mr. Beachcroft's second volume spectively appropriated to Christmas we observe, it is true, three sermons reDay, Good Friday, and Easter Day; but the second only of these embraces the doctrine of the day.

requires that we should consecrate ourselves without reserve to his service. It demands that we should love him with supreme affection; that we should trust in him with entire dependence; that we should yield him perfect, cheerful, and unremitted obedience. It requires also that we should love our neighbour as ourselves. Whatsoever then is inconsistent with entire devotedness to God; whatsoever is in any degree impure, unjust, untrue; whatsoever is incompatible with the most enlarged benevolence towards man, is denounced as sin, by that holy law which declares to us the will of the Most High. That law is, like himself, unchangeable; and, as he observes, so does it take cognizance of the most secret thoughts and intentions of the heart. Often, therefore, when no evil is apparent to human eyes, there is much seen by Him who knoweth all things. The evil of sin is to be judged of, not according to the low conceptions of our blinded understanding, but according to the estimate formed of it by God, who perhaps alone fully knows its nature and tendency." White, pp. 42, 43.

Mr. White afterwards well illustrates "the commandment coming," and consequently "sin reviving," and the sinner "dying," (Rom. vii.) by the admission of a ray of sunshine into a darkened room, which discovers the dust, and other light matters floating in the air, till then unperceived: "So, when the entering in of the commandment giveth light to the soul, the hidden evils of the heart are detected," &c. Again; in Sermon V. for Good Friday, "On the universal Apostacy of Mankind, and the Imputation of their Guilt to Christ," from Isaiah liii. 6, we are told

"The text teaches the duty of simple and stedfast confidence in our Redeemer.. By declaring to us, that all our iniquities are laid on him, it gives us the assurance of pardon. Only let us come to him as the devoted scape-goat, and laying, as it were, by faith, our hands upon his head, confess our transgressions, and trust to him to bear them away. It is by faith only that we obtain the benefits of his atonement. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so was the Son of Man lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but

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have eternal life. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.' Let us then beware lest we neglect this great salvation. Having had the Son of God set forth as it were crucified before us, let us come unto him that we may obtain deliverance from the guilt and power of sin, and be made partakers of his righteousness, which is unto all, and upon all them that be lieve." Ibid. pp. 90, 91.

We cannot refrain from giving another lengthened extract from this sermon, as a specimen of Mr. White's powers in the pathetic, and of his general eloquence, both which, we think, are considerable.

quity of us all. He hath made him to "On him, therefore, was laid the ini

be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.' Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, was appointed to take away the sin of the world.' Though not only innocent, but in the highest degree praiseworthy, he was treated as if he had been the greatest of offenders. On his devoted head were accumulated the offences of all mankind; and Oh! how heavily did they press upon him! See how they have laid him prostrate on the earth, and forced from him a sweat like unto great drops of blood falling to the ground. See how they have made him sore amazed and very heavy, yea, exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Consider well that it is the Son of God who is thus dejected: it is He who be seeches his Father, with tears and reite

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rated prayers, that if it be possible the cup of bitterness may pass from him: it is He who, agonizing on the cross, exclaims, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" Alas! the cup cannot pass away; it must be drained to the uttermost! Thy Father's wrath must be endured, O thou compassionate Saviour! and thou must be deprived for a season of the light of his countenance, or we must endure that wrath, we must be deprived of that light, for ever and for ever. But, if we cannot mitigate thy sufferings, let us at least abhor the sins which caused them; let us, whilst we lift up our eyes to thy cross, in order to obtain the healing of our souls, mourn with unfeigned sorrow for the offences which nailed thee to it, and resolve that from henceforth we

will watch with the utmost care against transgression. Surely, my brethren, the contemplation of a crucified Saviour ought to melt our stony hearts, ought to produce in us true repentance, ought to convince us that sin, which is in itself detestable, is in us, who know what Christ has suffered for it, exceedingly sinful. Let each of us, in looking back upon his past life, regard every offence that he has committed as a thorn implanted by him in our Saviour's temples, as a pang added to his excruciating torments; and whenever we are again tempted to transgress, let us say to ourselves, What! shall I give my Deliverer another wound! Shall I crucify the Son of God afresh, and once more put him to an open shame?" White, pp. 84, 85.

In Sermon VIII. " on the Ascension of Christ to the Divine Presence on our behalf," Mr. White states the doctrine of "the aputation of Christ's righteousness to believers" as "written with a sunbeam on the pages of Scripture." This position he subsequently explains, and guards from abuse by saying

"Our hopes of everlasting blessedness must depend exclusively on that righteousness which our Saviour has wrought, and which he pleads in our behalf in the presence of his Father. But, whilst we, who are the ministers of Christ, uphold this doctrine, as in faithfulness we must do, shall we countenance the error of those who teach men that there is no necessity for personal boliness? Shall we encourage the opinion, that, provided we trust to the righteousness of Christ, we have no need to be scrupulous in practising righteousness ourselves, and endeavouring to walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless? God forbid that any of us should support such detestable opinions. No, my brethren: the same blessed book which teaches us to say, 'In the Lord have I righteousness and strength,' teaches us also that ⚫ without holiness no man shall see him;' teaches us that to those who are regardless of the Divine precepts Christ will say, 'I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.' There is, indeed, 'no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus: but, be it remembered, the description given of them is, that they walk not after the flesh, but

after the Spirit.' 'If any man have not the Spirit of Christ (let him say what he will about his faith) he is none of his.'

Faith without works is dead, being alone;' and most certainly a dead faith can never avail for our justification before God. Thus much I have thought it needful to say, by way of guard to a doctrine on which the text naturally led me to speak, a doctrine which some, in every age, have been but too ready to abuse; and of which the abuse is dangerous, in proportion as the right use is excellent. Let it then, on no account, be forgotten, that they only must hope to be accepted to everlasting happiness through the imputed righteousness of Christ, who are spiritually united to him, and show the reality of that union, by their resemblance to his holy charac ter." Ibid. pp. 143-145.

In Sermon XI. on the Sacrament White gives a very plain and manly of Baptism, from 1 Pet. iii. 21, Mr.

avowal of his sentiments on this much controverted point; and seems to us to take ground equally rational, churchman like and scriptural. He considers baptism as a figurative representation of an inward and spiritual grace; as a mean of salvation; and as an ordinance, the efficacy of which, under the Divine blessing, depends on the right dispositions of those who receive it. We must content ourselves, if not the reader, by two quotations from the second of these heads, which, we apprehend, will put him in possession of the views contained in the sermon. The first describes the Apostle's views of the benefits of baptism.

"He says, 'Baptism doth now save us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.' It must be, then, by making us partakers of his resurrection, which seals to believers all the blessings of his covenant. Christ was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification. By baptism we are admitted into the church, which is his body, and being planted together in the likeness of his death, have the hope that we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. The church into which we are thus admitted is to us what the ark was to Noah and his family. Whilst we continue in it we are in a state of salva