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    Christinas and the close of the yettr . We meet , p . 102 , with the doubtful phrase , " the Almighty Regent of the Universe . " The Vlth Ser . is on " Resignation to the Will of God , after the Example of Jesus" ( from John xii . 27 , 28 ) . This interesting- subject is introduced with some excellent observations on the internal evidence of the truth of the gospel history , of which the following is the substance :

    ( i The evangelist , by a concise , artle . SvS relation of simple facts , without any observation or comment of his own , has here exhibited our honoured master as a pattern of piety and devotion , far beyond the ordinary limits of human attainment : a devotion the most affecting and sublime , and at the same time at an infinite remove both from the ignorance and folly of a mean and blind superstition , and from the wild ravings and the still more odious familiarities of a gross and fanatical enthusiasm . I will venture to say that no one , whose mind had not been enlightened with tlie purest and most exalted conceptions of God , and whose heart had not been moulded into the most entire subjection to his will would have been capable of imagining or delineating such a character as this The evangelist would never have formed the conception of an incident , so unusual , and at the same time so natural , and which so beautifully illustrates the dignity and the devoted piety of the mind of Jesus , had not the event really occurred . It is an incident which in

    the reflecting mind must excite the highest idea of our Lord ' s character , and in the pious mind an earnest desire to resemble it ; while the truly humble spirit will uot dare to hope that it shall ever equal the great original . ' *—Pp . 120—122 .

    Mr . 3 elsham , after Mr . Wakeficld , reads the second clause in the text interrogatively . He thus explains and paraphrases the passage : cc Now , saith he , is my soul troubled . The scenes of agony through which 1 am destined to jjllss , are so near at hand , and so exceedingly formidable , that in the immediate prospect of them human

    nature recoils , and my heart trembles . And what shall I say ?—What prayer shall I oiler u [> to my heavenly Father , who heareth me always , at this alarming crisis ?—' Shall 1 listen to flesh and blood ?—Shall 1 desert the honourable cauisc in which I am embarked ?—Shall 1 ask to be excused from the dreadful

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    conflict ?—Shall I say , Father , save me , from this hour ? ' u This is evidently our Lord ' s meaning , and the clause ought to be read with an interrogation . It is not honourable to our Lord ' s character , it is not consistent with the usual firm and digni . fied tenor of his mind , to suppose that

    he first offers an unqualified prayer to be excused from suffering , and then immediately retracts it . His meaning in this brief but interesting soliloquy unquestionably is , to express the firmness of his resolution , and his entire devotedness to the will of God , in the discharge of his mission : q . d What prayer will

    it become me to offer in these trying circumstances ?—Will it suit ray character and office—will it agree with the glorious prospects which are now opening" before me , and the immortal prize which I have in view , to listen to the

    suggestions of appalled and fainting tia- < ture ? I cannot act so base , so unworthy a part . If I were now to . decline the cup of suffering , I should defeat the main purpose of my mission . It was for this cause that 1 came to this hour .

    It was that by my death I might ratify the covenant of love ; that I might redeem mankind from the bondage of error , idolatry , and vice , and might sare them from wrath and ruin ; that I was sent to preach the gospel , and was empowered to authenticate my divine mission by signs and miracles : to

    accotfiplish , therefore , this gracious purpose of reconciling the world to God , and of bringing many sons to glory , I willingly submit to all that it is necessary previously to undergo : I refuse not to die : I shrink not from any suffering , however severe . I have only one petition to

    offer : Father , glorify thy name ; fulfil all thy good pleasure in thy devoted servant . I came into the world to do thy will , for that will is mine . Let God be honoured , and 1 am well pleased : whether it be by labour or sufferings by life or death . "—Pp . 124—127 .

    The title of the Vllth Ser . is " The Profit of Labour ; " the text is Prov . xiv . 23 . This is a very ingenious discourse , and quite out of the beaten track of the pulpit . Labour , the preacher shews , is of three kinds , corporeal , intellectual , moral ; each

    of which is profitable in its measure : Uodily labour is conducive to health , competence , cheerfulness , reputation ctud virtue ; mental labour enriclies the understanding , strengthens the intellectual powers , leads to useful discoveries , promotes true religion ; moral labour ( which seems to be autici-

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    418 Review . —Belsham ' s Doctrinal and Practical Discoursed .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1826, page 418, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2550/page/38/