German Theological Literature.

211

church history that can lay claim to a higher interest than the wide-spread missionary labours of the Culdean church. The Culdees of the sixth and seventh centuries preached and widely disseminated substantially the same doctrines as the reformers of the sixteenth, and their noble but fruitless struggles to prevent the imposition of the Roman yoke form a striking counterpart to the equally noble, but more successful, struggles of their like-minded successors to throw it off, after it had pressed like an incubus upon the Christian life of Europe for a thousand years. We are anxious, therefore, to put our readers in possession of all that is most interesting and valuable in Dr Ebrard's papers as soon as possible; and we propose to make a commencement of the execution of this design in our next number. L.

The Gospel History: A Compendium of Critical Investigations in Support of the Historical Character of the Four Gospels. By Dr J. II. A. EBRARD, Professor of Theology in the University of Erlangen. Translated by James Martin, B.A. Revised and Edited by A. B. Bruce. Edinburgh; T. & T. Clark. 1863.

Nothing could have been more opportune than the re-publication in English of this admirable work. It has long been highly valued in Germany, and has done most effective service against the many assailants of the Gospels in that country. Its arguments are chiefly levelled against the mythical hypothesis of Strauss, and the destructive criticism of the Tubingen school. But although originally composed with the view of maintaining the true historic character of the Gospels, and their apostolic origin, against the assaults led by Baur and Strauss, the reasoning of the author will be found equally valid in the present warfare with M. Renan. We are heartily glad that such a thorough and comprehensive work on the vital subject of the Gospels should at this moment have been presented to the British public, and we anticipate much good from it, in view of the attacks which have already been made, and which will doubtless for a time be continued, on the inestimably precious records of our Saviour's life.

The plan of Dr Ebrard leads him to divide his work into two parts, the first treating of the contents of the four Gospels, and the second dealing with the critical questions connected with their authorship and origin. In both divisions we have much valuable information conveyed in a somewhat livelier style than is common among German writers. Take the following example illustrating the principle (in opposition to Straussian criticism) that it is quite possible for two different occurrences happening within the same sphere, and amidst the same circumstances, to resemble each other in several particulars;" Ebrard remarks, "We might appeal to our own surgeons and ask whether, in the course of their practice, they have not met with cases exactly resembling one another. We might go still further and obtain proofs from history. Was not Jung Stilling twice in danger of his life in the Binger-Loch? And what are we to say of the fact that Cromwell's principal battles, on more than two occasions, were fought upon his birth-day? Does any one venture to dispute these facts? Yet there is no necessity even to adduce such illustrations as these. For it is still easier to explain the instances of repetition in the Gospel history. What shall we say, e. g., when Strauss finds it impossible that "a cure at a distance," as in the case of the child of the nobleman, could be repeated in the case of the servant of the centurion? That a servant can be sick as well as a child will be admitted. That a centurion, when he heard of Jesus, could ask him to heal as well as a Barinós, there is also no great difficulty in believing. The only surprising thing would have been their asking him both in the same way with the same words. This, however, is not the

case.

The centurion asks full of faith, and takes for granted Jesus cam heal in the distance, and is praised on that account. The Baoiλixóc brings on himself a reproof for the weakness of his faith. But still one thing remains the same,—the fact of healing at a distance. Strauss thinks such an occurrence could not be repeated. He here falls again into the old confusion of ideas. On his dogmatic assumption, the fact could certainly not be repeated, but neither could it happen at all even once. But if one treats the Gospel institution with a view to ascertain whether, apart from dogma, it contains purely historical impossibilities (which is the only scientific way of procceding), it results that if Jesus had the power to heal once at a distance, he had it at another time, and that he could use this power as often as the power to give sight to the blind."-P. 60.

The utter insufficiency as well as arbitrariness of the life of Jesus as set forth by Strauss, is powerfully exposed. Many of the remarks (p. 476, &c.) are as applicable to the legendary hypothesis, now suggested by M. Renan, as to the mythical theory of his predecessor. We strongly recommend those who are at all startled by the speculations of this last infidel life of Jesus, to read the answers here given to the far abler work of Strauss, and they will soon feel that infidelity has already done its worst, and that any new attack upon the Gospels need cause no apprehension.

In some points, such as those connected with the original language of St Matthew's Gospel, we think Dr Ebrard in error. But the editor of the present volume has judiciously introduced some notes bearing on this and kindred questions, and the whole work is so translated and edited as to merit our warm commendation.

Die Christliche Kirche d. Mitlealters. V. Dr F. C. BAUR. Tubingen, Fues. The theological bias of Dr Baur is well known to our readers, and we need not warn them against it. The volume before us is published from the deceased Professor's manuscript, by his son, Dr F. F. Baur. The period embraced is from the beginning of the seventh century to the Reformation. The learned author has diligently availed himself of the great accumulation of foreign materials which late years have produced upon the period in question. As usual, British works upon the era are but little noticed. How much, however, has in this country been written since the first edition of Hallam's Middle Ages! On comparing Baur's work with our latest British authority, the Middle Age Church History of the late lamented Archdeacon Hardwick, it will be found that the latter excels his German competitor in clear presentation of the mind and spirit of an epoch. Baur is informing on most subjects, except when poetry, architecture, or art in general, come into play. That side of Middle Age Life is most vaguely and feebly brought out. But the philosophy, as well as the theology of the "Dark Ages," receive an exhaustive treatment from him. We recommend the volume to all who take an interest in church history, believing that their favourite study should be looked at in every light,-even that of the Rationalist.

XIII.-CRITICAL NOTICES.

The Typology of Scripture: viewed in connection with the whole series of the Divine Dispensations. By PATRICK FAIRBAIRN, D.D., Principal, and Professor of Divinity, Free Church College, Glasgow. Fourth Edition. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. 1864. 2 vols., pp. 499, 542, 8vo.

The demand for a fourth edition of these volumes is eminently creditable alike to the author and to his readers: to the author who produced a work

so fresh and comprehensive, so learned and sensible, so sound in its theology and so full of practical religious feeling; and also to the readers who appreciated a production which is necessarily unattractive to the indolent, the frivolous, and those who read for mere excitement. It is no longer needful to speak in terms of commendation of a treatise which has secured for Dr Fairbairn a singularly high position in the estimation of the best theologians in Great Britain, America, and Germany; and which, while thus approving itself to the scholarship of Christendom, has no less manifested its adaptation to the wants of hard-working pastors who have discovered its usefulness in their ordinary preparation for the pulpit, and to missionaries who have made it a text-book from which to train native candidates for the ministry. Those who know the author personally, and indeed those who have read his books with attention, are well aware of his conscientious and untiring energy; and they will not be slow to give him credit for the truth of his statement in the preface, that in successive editions he has not merely reprinted what he had already written, but has revised it carefully, modifying, condensing, expanding, and explaining, as the workings of his own mind and his reading in the writings of others enabled and impelled him to do. And thus, while no great principle has been altered, and while the present form of the very details evinces the maturity and correctness of his views when he first laid them before the world, there are nevertheless very many improvements, and continual efforts to keep pace with the progress of theological discussion. In the present edition he himself points out chiefly two new portions of the work: a chapter on recent speculations respecting the relation of God's work in creation to the destined incarnation of the Son; and a statement of the relation of the Mosaic sin-offerings to transgressions of a moral kind. On the whole, the reader of this edition may experience a mingled feeling of satisfaction and of regret, as he lights upon the statement, "Having now again, probably for the last time, traversed the field with some care, and expressed what may be considered my matured views on the topics embraced in it, I leave the fruit of my labours to the candid consideration of others, and commend it anew to the blessing of Him whose word it seeks to explain and vindicate."

His object, as expressly announced by himself, has ever been to treat of the Typology of Scripture in the only way in which it can be thoroughly and satisfactorily treated, by refusing to confine himself to isolated parts of the Jewish system and worship, by taking, on the contrary, a comprehensive view of it as one entire scheme, and by tracing the development and connection of the Divine dispensations. Accordingly, he has divided his work into three books. The first book contains a good deal of preliminary matter; for instance, a survey of the history of the science, and a defence of its reality and importance, as against the abuse of it by allegorisers on the one hand, and by those on the other who have gone to the extreme of a superficial literalism. More particularly it points out the essential nature of a type as a prophetic symbol; distinguishes the peculiarities of all theological types, as well as of those in which type and prophecy have been so combined as to occasion the hypothesis of a double sense in prophecy; describes how the types became a great means of subjective training to the Old Testament Church, side by side with the objective training of an increasing revelation ; and explains the only true method of interpreting particular types by ascertaining their symbolic meaning before attempting to determine their prophetic reference to the unveiled mysteries of the New Testament. The second book treats of " the dispensation of primeval and patriarchal times;" under this head it discusses the divine truths embodied in the historical transactions on which the first symbolical religion for fallen men was based; then the tree of life; the cherubim with the flaming sword; sacrifices; marriage and the Sabbath; and, finally, the several historical types which appeared during the progress of that dispensation. The third book,

which occupies the entire second volume, embraces a very full and admirable discussion of "the dispensation by and with the law," beginning, as before, with the truths embodied in the history of its introduction, that is, the Exodus viewed in connection with the symbolical institutions which Moses was to establish; the direct instruction given previous to the erection of the tabernacle; including the consideration of the law, what it was, and what it could and could not do; the symbolical institutions and services themselves, in a singularly lucid and complete statement of the substance of the ceremonial law in itself, and in its reference to Christ; and, lastly, the historical developments of the Mosaic system. To both volumes there are attached valuable appendices, and the usefulness of the work is enhanced by an index, as well as a good analytical table of contents.

The Work and the Word: or, the Dealings and Doctrines of God in relation to the State and Salvation of Man, summarily Reviewed, Reconciled, and Recommended, in accordance with the dictates of Human Reason. By THOMAS MONCK MASON. London: Wertheim, Macintosh, and Hunt. 1862.

We do not think the title of this work a happy one; for, even with the aid of the lengthy explanation on the title-page, it will hardly convey to the reader an exact idea of the scope of the volume. It is, in fact, a system of theology; "the work" or "dealings of God," as it is explained, being neither more nor less than the divine procedure recorded in the "word," and embodied in its "doctrines." The book itself, however, is of no ordinary merit; it is original, ingenious, and suggestive; the matured produce of a thoughtful mind, which has long bent, in devout reverence, over the sacred volume. Mr Mason is a layman, and has thought out his own system of Christian doctrine, in the absence of all other "bodies of divinity," and aided only by the light of the Scriptures studied in their original languages. The conclusions which a layman may reach, under the guidance of unbiassed judgment, shrewdness of intellect, and honesty of purpose, must be worthy of special attention; and there is a freshness, both of sentiment and diction, in such disquisitions which impart to them a peculiar charm. We are happy to find that, following his own independent path of investigation, the conclusions which the author has reached on the doctrines of Christianity do not diverge in any essential points from those of evangelical religion. He is sound in the vital truths of original sin, of justification by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, and of regeneration by the Spirit. Occasionally, however, he has, in our judgment, been led, either by the love of theory, or by an ambition to succeed in reconciling the doctrines of revelation with "the dictates of human reason," into rather questionable and untenable positions. We are not prepared to subscribe his views of the "innate imputation" of Adam's sin, which would lead, and seems indeed to have led him to plead for something like an innate imputation of the holiness of Jesus Christ (p. 194). His idea of sanctification as being simply the act of consecration to the service of God, which is realized in the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit, has carried him, we think, decidedly too far, when he denies that the holiness of the Christian admits of degrees, or that advancement in it is a duty required in order to meetness for heaven (p. 191-2). That the term "sanctify" retained, in the lips of the apostles, something of the flavour of its original ceremonial usage, is a fact which goes far to explain the sense of various passages. "By the sanctified in Christ Jesus," we are doubtless to understand the separated and consecrated; but separated from what? consecrated to what? Surely, not in the sense in which the sacrifice, the temple, or the priest were so called, without any reference to moral character. Then, so long as we meet with such injunctions as, " Be ye holy, for I am holy,' "Follow holiness,' ""Perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord," we cannot shut our eyes to the obvious truth, that Christian holiness must consist in

conformity to the Divine holiness, and must therefore involve a constant process of moral renovation. With the author's views of the atonement, and of faith, although in these he follows in the wake of modern theology, we cannot coincide. On the first of these subjects space will not permit us to enter; but we cannot refrain from inviting the author to review his statements regarding the faith that saves and justifies. Viewing belief as a mere mental act, it is quite true that "there are literally not two ways of believing" (p. 141). But when the question is, "What is faith in Jesus Christ ?" our author would surely not deem it a sufficient answer to say, that it was equivalent with believing that such a person existed, or even with believing that he died for sinners, as a mere historical fact. Faith in Christ is not mere belief in a fact, but trust in a person, and in a work accomplished by that person for our salvation. Nor is it merely belief in a doctrine or truth, but faith in a promiser who is faithful, and in a promise which is true. In consistency with the convertible terms of "coming to Christ," "trusting in Christ," as well as with his own system, our author would hardly, we think, admit that any man had complied with the invitation to believe in Christ who had not accepted him as a Saviour, and who was not relying upon his merits for salvation. There is a sad mystification in all such attempts to simplify the conception of saving faith. We really do not profess to understand what is meant by "faith in justifying facts." And when we are told, by way of explanation, that this faith consists in "the belief of the doctrine embodied in the principle which we have seen to consist in the establishment of the integrity of God's regard to the character of his own laws while pardoning the sinner, afforded in the consideration of the means by which that pardon is effected, namely, the exaction of the punishment due to the sinner in the person of his own dear Son" (p. 144),-we can only hold up our hands in blank amazement at the metaphysical puzzle which we are asked to receive as a substitute for Paul's simple confession, "I know in whom I have trusted." We have only to add, that the author abdicates his own notion" that a man's faith in good things is productive of good works," in his parenthetic admission, "when not otherwise determined by the overruling influence of his passions," and by his sound doctrine on the necessity of a divine influence to work the faith that saves the soul (p. 163).

While, however, we take exception to these and other statements, we cordially recommend the perusal of this volume, as the production of a candid, liberal, and intelligent thinker. On some dark points it will be found to shed light; and the reader, even when not prepared to follow the author to his conclusions, will do well to follow him in his devout, Samuel-like hearkening to the voice of inspiration.

Lectures on Theology, Science, and Revelation. By the late Rev. GEORGE LEGGE, LL.D. Jackson, Walford, & Hodder. London. 1863.

The author of these lectures was a worthy and excellent Scotchman, who succeeded the well-known Dr Leifchild in Bristol, but, leaving that charge, spent the greater part of his ministry in Leicester, where he died in November 1860. A short memoir of him, written by his brother, Dr James Legge, missionary at Hong Kong, informs us that he failed to acquire general popularity as a preacher, because "he could not be fashed" to cultivate the graces of oratory; but he was a man of much intellectual vigour, and rose to considerable distinction among his Congregational brethren. The aim of these lectures is rather ambitious. Their author, we are informed, professed to be dissatisfied with the ordinary methods of exhibiting divine truth, and "without materially departing from the old foundations, or seriously innovating on the established language of orthodoxy, considered it possible to set forth Christianity as in entire accord with the scientific mind, the moral sentiment, and the æsthetic spirit of the age." How far he has succeeded in this attempt, may be judged from the following samples.