a. X / ] h Y*^v±. i* Y ^ NOV 1 ! 4 \T I 1865.] QUEEN CANDACE. 265 Our final question is about the quantity of the penult in the word KavSamf) and it is a question of practical interest, since a ship Candace is traversing the ocean. And on this question we must, first of all, hold fast the position that the original mime is lost. It is certainly not Ethiopic ; it occurs in the Abyssinian, but this, as Prof. Dillmann testifies, only proves tha\ the Abyssinians knew the name which they took from the New Testament. They write it sometime Chendake, sometimes Ghendeke, and again Chendeke : "just as foreign words are generally diversely spoken and written." " It can- not," says Pillraann, " be at all explained from the Ethiopic, or from the Semitic tongues." The same learned writer assures us. that the language of Meroe' is lost. We may then well as- sume that the same is the case with the language of Nepata and the kingdom of Candace. which bordered on Meroe. We are, then, in reference to the name Katjddu/j, restrict- ed to the laws of quantity in the Greek language. These laws decidedly favor the view that the penult syllable is short. Fran/, Passow, in his Doctrine of Quantity in the Greek Language, says : " 1. axis, contracted am, as the ending of the numeral adverbs, always has the a short, e.g. Terpanir, 7toXXccKii. The accent itself implies this, for else we must write rtoWaxic. 2. The adjective ending axoi, any, anor, has short a : thus in paXaur), fiifiXitxHi), Srfpiaxr}" This alone, it seems to me, were enough to show that the word is to be spoken with the accent on the first syllable Yet we can also refer to the substantives cpvXam), aHivanip. The question would of course be decided by a line from the poets ; but such an one I have not been able to find. For the verses from Tzetzes, cited above, are not to be read by the quantity but by the accent ; and though KavSam/v has there the tone in the penult, this is as little proof that a is long, as in the directly following diaypdcpeiv, where, too, the a of the pe- nult, though short, has the tone. Accordingly one who reads the Greek by the accent, will say KavSdxrf, as he does nsrsXoTTi/, 2ooK/j(yT>/?, ApiffTOTiXf??, that is, with a short, though accented penultimate. But in German [and English ] whoever says Candace, must also say Penelope, Socrates, Aristoteles. The sum of our view, then, is this ; that the queen Candace (mentioned in Acts viii. 27), 1. was so called as a proper name, as in the case of the Ptolemies, and not as a title, like Pharaoh ; 2. That the name Candace, from the Latin forms, has the penult a short; 3. That the word Kavd&Krj can not ^Wmo^ THE NOV 11 1932 ^ M E HI C ^ N -^SBYTERIAN AND THEOLOGICAL REVIEW. NEW SERIES. NO. X.-APRIL, 1865. VI— THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. By Henry Hakbauch, D. D., Prof, of Didactic Theology, at Mercersburg, Pa. Art. The Hymn, as a part of Christian Cultus, is properly a lit- urgical form. The Hymn Book, and — when prepared forms of prayer are used — the Liturgy are properly, not two, but one book. In any case, the hymns and prayers of the Church are coordinate in nature and character. As the prayer that flows from the heart and lips of the minister becomes the means and channel through which the worshipping congregation presents its own devout offerings to God, so the Hymn is in like man- ner prepared and used as the means of at once inspiring, em- bodying and helping to present their devotions before the throne of grace. Thus the Hvmn occupies an important place in the public service of God. Its use has been recognized as an acceptable part of divine worship, both in the Old Testament and the New ; and it has endeared itself to the Christian mind, by the edification and comfort it has furnished, in all ages of the Church. Ail that pertains to the Hymns of the Church well deserves the attention and study of every pastor who desires rightly to conduct the public worship of the sanctuary. Hymn-forms, like creed-forms, have a historical develop- ment. The peculiar formulas of Creeds, in which the Church presents its faith, as is well known from Church History, have assumed their true form and fixed use through a process. Every prominent word, and every phrase, has been borne as a standard through a more or less severe and protracted bat- tle. It has been only after such a process, that creed-formu- las have attained authoritative form. The same is true of the form and language of prayer. Whether extemporaneous or liturgical, there are words and phrases which are devotional, 1865.] THE HYMNS OP THE CHURCH. 2G7 and others which are not. Devout formulas have grown up gradually in the pious life of the Church, and have come to their present sai-red honor and use in a historical or tradition- ary way. It will always be found that his prayers best suit and inspire the devotions of others, who has most extensively mastered and most deeply appropriated what has come down through the ages as the sacred and spiritually savored style and form of truly devotional thought and feeling. In like manner, and under the power of the same law, have hymn- forms, their history and development. Sacred songs, in some form, for purposes of divine worship, are coeval with the history of religion. Forms of this kind, as first-fruits of the inspirations of piety, existed in the earli- est ages of Judaism ; and the Jewish church gradually creat- ed for itself rich treasures of sacred song, which lie scattered as gems throughout the Old Testament, and are specially col- lected in the Book of Psalms. In our Saviour's time, the Old Testament Psalms were used in public worship, whilst with the inauguration of Christiani- ty, others were produced, more directly out of the spirit of the new economy. The supposition is very natural, that those precious hymns preserved in the gospel, the Hymn of the Virgin Mary, (St. Luke. i. 46-55.) the Hymn of Zacharias, (St. Luke, i. 68-79.) and the Hymn of Simeon, (St. Luke, ii. 20-32) may have been sung in our Saviour's immediate spirit- ual family. That they were preserved by them, seems evi- dent from the fact that they were subsequently embodied in the Gospel. Other hymnal compositions, besides the Old Testament Psalms and those preserved by St. Luke, were evidently pre- served and used in the Apostolic Church. Fragments of these, at least, are supposed to be embodied in such passages as I Tim. iii, 18, II Tim. ii, 11, James i, 17, and especially Eph. v, 14, which passage — Awake, thou that sleepest, And arise from the dead. And Christ shall give thee light. — is introduced by the words, " Wherefore he saith ;" and yet. the passage is no quotation from any part of the Scriptures. Similar parts of primitive hymns are supposed to be found in Rev. i, 4--8 ; v, 9--14 ; xi. 15-19; xv, 3. sq: xxi, 1-8: xii, 10-17. 20. Besides, St. Paul directly refers to psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs as existing among the saints at Ephesus and Colosse. and exhorts them to use these for their mutual edification, (Eph. v, 19, Col. iii, 16.) 268 THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. [April, The Greek Church was first and most prominent in the production of regular hymns, as distinguished from inspired scriptural compositions. These were first in the form of dox- olo;;ies and brief ascriptions of praise to Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity. The nucleus of the Gloria in Excehis, or An- gelic Hymn, the most ancient and complete of hymns, and which attained its present final form in the fourth century, is also found at an earlier period. Prom the Greek Church* we have also the Te Deum, which dates from the fifth century, afterwards by St. Ambrose translated into Latin, and some- what enlarged. The history of Latin hymnody begins in the fourth century. Quite a number of the Latin fathers of the mediaeval church, whose names are theologicallv familiar, composed hymns : — as St. Ambrose t396 ; St. Hilary, of Poitiers, t3G8, who translated the Gloria in Excelsis into Latin, and to whom some ascribe the completion of it in its present form ; Pruden- tius 1600 ; Notker t912 ; Bernard of Clairvaux, tll53 ; Thomas of Celano, about 11250, to whom the Dies Irce is as- cribed ; Bonaventura fl274 ; Thomas Aquinas tl274, and Benedictus tl30G, with others less prominent. Many of their hymns came down to the later church, and have formed the basis of some of the very best hymns of the Reformation pe- riod, and since. Of the thirty-seven hymns written by Lu- ther, there are only six purely new ; the rest were all based on psalms, Bible passages, or mediaeval hymns. The Reformation, as a vigorous outburst of the Christian life, gave a powerful impulse to hymn-writing. While the fifteen centuries before the Reformation produced not over one thousand hymns, the three hundred years since the Re- formation have, in the German language alone, produced, ac- cording to Dr. Alt, about eighty thousand. Dr. Phelps sets down the number of English hymns at thirty thousand. Oth- er languages also contain large numbers. Rationalism, in Germany, and Naturalism, in England, did much, not only to corrupt the true hymnological taste, by producing a large number of merely didactic and moral hymns, but also by eviscerating many of the old anointed hymns of their truly Christian contents, and changing them so that, they might chime in with their own specious infidelity. The pietistic movement, in Germany, and kindred movements in England, whilst they have produced some hymns of high inspiration, tended to turn the hymnological taste too much into a subjective and sentimental channel, having weakened the nerves of faith by unduly cultivating the mere devotional 1865.] THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. 269 nature, thus furnishing: the people rather what they wished than what they needed. We venture the opinion that this is the radical defect which characterizes the hymns which the church, in our own country, has, during the last several dec- ades, been producing in connexion with a certain peculiar style of popular music. The vast amount of hymnological matter which the history of the church has accumulated, and the foreign element which has infused itself into a large portion of this class of compositions, has made the creation of a hymnological science necessary ; so that by such tests as the true idea of Christian- ity and the true spirit of Christian worship furnish, the chaff may be separated from the wheat. It is the office of this science to sit-in judgment on the products of the sacred po- ets ; to examine the hymnological material scientifically, and to give it historical, critical and systematic presentation. The science, as a part of practical theology, is comparatively new, but has, in the last two decades, been earnestly and suc- cessfully furthered, especially by German divines, and it now stands in its place, in all German systems of practical theolo- gy, in the same way ns homiletics. catechetics, liturgies, and poimenics or pastoral theology. Scientific hymnological in- quiries received special impulse from Schleiermacher, who gave a deeper and wider foundation to the science of practi- cal theology, which has caused the fact to be more deeply felt, that hymnody constitutes an essential part of the public wor- ship of the sanctuary. Besides large collections of hymns, there have appeared histories of hymnody, biographies of the authors of hymns, as well as various attempts to form and per- fect the science of hymnology.* In this last department none have rendered better service to the church than Lange and Palmer. The subject of hymnology has during eight years attracted new* and increased attention also in this country. Works which, though not designed to be scientific treatices on hymn- ology, are yet more or less related to the general subject, as that of Dr. Belcher's on the Authors of Hymns, " Hymns and Choirs" jointly by Prof's. Phelps and Park of Andover, and the Rev. Mr. Furber of Newton, have appeared as at once signs and preparatory" labors in this interesting department. As an evidence of the general want that is felt to exist in the present hymnological status may also be * See notices of these various works in Herzog's Real Encyclopedia Vol. VI- pp. 350 354. 270 THE HYMNS OF THE CHUliCH. [April, mentioned the fact that almost all the prominent denomina- tions in the land have lately published, or are present engaged in producing new hymn books. Not merely new collections, nor r yet larger collections, are to be desired ; rather collec- tions smaller if need be, but made with a deeper knowledge of what constitutes the true nature of a hymn suitable for use in public worship. This general want is itself beyond doubt the growth of a newly awakened interest, in the question as to what consti- tutes the true nature of worship. It begins to be more clearly seen, and more deeply felt, that Christian worship does not consist in mere sentiment, self-awakened and vaguely exercised by subjective endeavors, but rather in a steady, solemn self-surrender, and the offering of our whole being ro the Triune God ; that true Christian worship is not " will- worship," but a worship called forth by a gracious power exerted upon our faith by the true objects of Christian wor- ship and love — God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, the Holy Ghost the Comforter ; by the glorious facts of redemp- tion — the birth, sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension. intercession, and reigning of Jesus Christ ; by the person and work of the Holy Ghost; and by the church, with its holy sacraments and motherly nurture. As the genial heavens above, and the gladdening earth around, call forth the springing of herbs, the bloom of flowers, and the songs of birds, so does this glorious, spiritual firmament of divine facts, acts, sacra- ments, ordinances, and gracious supernatural powers, over and around us in the church, evoke from faith the true form and spirit of worship. The earth is bright, warm, and wakeful when it is shone upon ; in like manner is the Christian heart lively with the spirit of worship, when the divine and heav- enly, as revealed in Christ, and still present in the Church, are in its cultus made present also to the consciousness of faith. To be apprehended by these, and to apprehend them in turn, and yield to their power, is to have the true position of a worshipper. A re-discussion of the nature of Christian worship has led the mind of the church to a new interest in all that pertains to it, in all its elements and relations. Such discussion begins, of course, with the inward and central — as the person and work of Christ and the Spirit, the nature of the church, the sacra- ments and ordinances ; but by logical necessity it must extend also to matters more outward, such as Christian architecture, church music, symbols of faith, liturgies, and hymn-books. Hence, all these subjects are at the present time receiving un- usual attention, and especially that of hymnology. 1865.] THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. 271 Of the one thousand hymns produced by the church prior to the Reformation, it is reckoned, by critics, that not over one hundred and fifty can bear the test of the true hymn, ami, in fact, only about that number have attained to classical hon- or. It is the expressed opinion of German hymnodists, that of the eighty thousand extant in their language, not over two hundred are classical, and have come into any kind of general approved use. Though there are in the English language thirty thousand hymns, a truly critical sifting of them would no doubt show that Prof. Edwards was correct when he gave it as his judgment that " two or three hundred of the most excellent songs of Zion, would include all our psalms and hymns which are of sterling value for the sanctuary."' We fear that even this estimate is too high ; for it must be remem- bered that not every poetical composition which has become a favorite with this or that Christian, can be regarded as a true hymn. Some particular circumstance, some event or experi- ence may endear a particular hymn to one when it has no such attraction for another. Besides, individual taste can not be allowed to pronounce final judgment on a hymn ; individual tastes may be very much at fault in regard to its true merits as a hymn, and it is the province of hymnological science to correct such taste— to bring the church to furnish to its mem- bers, not such hymns as may please their own natural private capricious fancies, but such as they ought to sing, and such as when properly led and instructed they will love. What is a true hymn ? 1. The hymn differs from some other sacred compositions. St. Paul mentions three kinds as suitable for devotional use — psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, or odes (cadaiS nvevjxan- nah). Eph. v. 19 ; Col. iii. 16. The psalm is a composition produced in the earlier stage of religious and scientific development, and in it, therefore, the free flow of religious feeling, in the determination of its form, prevails over the artistical. Psalms are historico-poetical ; they celebrate divine acts, and rehearse sacred events connected with the gracious dealings of God with his people. They are historically objective in their character, allied to the epic. When they express the subjective pious sense of the author, it is mostly as this is awakened and enlivened and called forth into utterance by a grateful review of objective historical divine acts and events. The hymn grows out of the subjective pious general consciousness to which its author as the organ of this conscious- ness, gives objective form and representation. If the psalm 272 THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. [April, celebrates what God has done, is doing, and still promises to do for his church and people, the hymn expresses what the church feels and experiences in consequence of such merciful love. The hymn, however, while it grows forth from the sub- jective pious consciousness, does not embody merely the sub- jectivity of the individaal author, but what it expresses is the consciousness of the church in its universal character. This gives the hymn at last a truly objective character, which constitutes the fundamental difference between it and the spiritual song. The spiritual song or ode, expresses the subjective feeling of the individual, and represents the individual consciousness of the author at the time, and in the particular mood and frame which controlled him in its composition ; it is, therefore, adapted to other individuals in the same mood and frame. Spiritual songs are the hymnings of the heart in its own per- gonal exercises, agreeably to its own peculiar tastes and experi- ences, and in its own hours of meditative devotion. They ex- press privately and for the individual Christian's edification what cannot be presumed to be general in a public service of the church. If suitable at all beyond such individual use, it is only in small, familiar, confidential circles, where mutuality of feeling may be certainly taken for granted. Though characteristically distinguished, as we have shown, these three kinds of sacred composition, are not in such way distinct and separated from each other as to have nothing in common. They contain allied features, and the elements of one may enter more or less into and modify the others. Speaking of these three kinds of sacred lyrical compositions as having been in use in the apostolic church, according to Eph. v. 18, 19, Dr. Lange furnishes the following criticism on their unity and difference. " The psalms were the religious songs which had come down to them ; hymns and odes, as to their form, were also at hand, but the Christian spirit was made to constitute their substance. The psalm may be regarded as a primitive form which comprehends in one, as well the substance of the hymn as of the ode. The psalm is a hymn, a festive song, a word of revelation, an oracle utterance, so far as it proclaims the divine teaching, the right, the truth, the praise of God, in the festive frame of one inspired ; but it is an ode, a song, a rhythmical effusion of the heart, so far as the inspired one, in making his utterance, rocks on the waves of sound, balanc- ing himself with winged skill. That the hymn expresses more the objective doctrine, the ode more the subjective of elevated feeling, in a poetical form, is clearly seen as well from the 1865.] THE HYMNS OP THE CHURCH. 273 etymology of both words, as from the forms of poetry indicated by them ; and we must not suffer ourselves to be misled as to this distinction, by the cool spirit of some odes of Horace and Klopstock. The measured movement characterizes the more objective nature of the hymn : the winged form indicates the character of the ode — a beautiful melodious warble, which expresses itself in the life of metre. The psalm, as capable of including the ode and the hymn in its contents and its form, expresses the essence of both ; at one time, however, it approaches more the measured nature of the hymn, at another more the variability of the ode. In the sphere of Hebrew- life, the psalm did not come to unfold fully and purely both the elements which lay in it, because, with the Hebrews, the religious interest prevailed over the artistic ; Christianity, on the other hand, entering the sphere of Grecian culture which had developed the form of the ode and the hymn, poured its festive spirit into both forms. Gradually, however, it brought the separated forms together again in a higher unity when it constructed the church-hymn. Thus the church-hymn is the psalm completed in the spirit of the New Testament, in which the hymn and the ode have again become one. The affinity of the church-hymn and the psalm is seen in the reigning of the religious principle ; the difference between it and the psalm is seen in the fact that the religious principle has become one with the perfected jesthetical form. The hymn is known by the measured, solemn form of the verse, the ode by the variety and liveliness, the rhythmical and musical nature of its verse. Moreover, this unity had to be reached, because in Christianity the powers from above, do not, as Chrysostom asserts, form merely hymns, but also reveal themselves in psalm-songs, for as much as they become flesh like the eternal Word itself, and because the human powers, which indeed rise as on the wings of the ode, are illumined and tempered through the peace of the divine spirit. For a time these forms could stand in force side by side. Thus, in the speak- ing with tongues in the church at Jerusalem, the essence of the hymn was predominant ; they spake of the wonderful works of God ; they spake in a way intelligible to the people of various dialects. (Acts ii.) In Corinth, on the other hand, the form of the ode prevailed ; the enthusiastic Christians spoke confusedly in soaring, dark effusions of feeling ; they required interpreters ; they were obscure to many of their own companions, to say nothing of strangers (Cor. xiv. 23) ; yea, this inspirited life in its degeneracy, seems to have approached the dithyrambus. Just as a didactic poem, whose 274 THE HYMNS OP THE CHURCH. [April, shortest form is the Gnome, may be regarded as the boundary of the hymn, so the dithyrambus is the boundary of the ode. In the hymn the subjective life is caught up into the serene ether of festive contemplation ; the divine predominates ; but then also in the didactic poem the human is entirely excluded, and by this means also the lyric life of the poem. In the ode, on the other hand, the divine life is drawn into the blessed, joyful emotional exercise of the feelings ; the human predomi- nates. In the dithyrambus, finally, man seeks violently to draw the divine into his own wild, sensuous inspiration ; but the divine, agreeably to the holiness and power of its own nature, firmly refuses to be so drawn into a sphere foreign to itself. The pure church-hymn has excluded all that is dithv- rambic through the light of the Spirit of God, and all that is gnomical through the lively affection of the human spirit ; yea, it has abolished the antitheses of ode and hymn itself in the harmony of its divine-human nature and character, even though it belongs to the revelation of its richness, that in some single productions the character of the ode, in others, that of the hymn, should be more predominant f 2. As regards its substance, the true hymn must be based on, and centre in the great facts of redemption — those namely, which constitute the basis of the Apostles' Creed — the love of God the Father, and His work in creation and redemption ; the grace of Jesus Christ, as it appears in His birth, passion, death, resurrection, ascension, and reign in heaven ; the communion of the Holy Ghost through, his vari- ous offices in the church ; and the communion of saints, the festive joys and hopes of the new life in Christ Jesus, as it is now and shall continue forever in the ineffable joys of heaven. That the substance of the true hymn must be based on /acts, not ideas merely, is illustrated by reference to an analo- gous case. What constitutes a national song? Not a descrip- tion of patriotism. Not an ode on any great principle or policy of government. It must centre in some sacred thing : as " The Star-Spangled Banner ;" " Rally Round the Flag :"' " The Red, White and Blue." It must celebrate some /act. event, or name. Volumes of poetry of either character, fully equal to it, yea, exceeding it in merit as poetry, will never be married to music, or touch the chords of the national heart. How few, among all the lyrics of the present Avar for the Union, has the national heart accepted as the true exponents of its feelings, purposes, and hopes. Those which have touched the heart of the nation, and been accepted as the organs of its patriotic life, will all be found to be character' ized bv the marks of the true national sona; as indicated. 1865.] THE HYMNS OP THE CHURCH. 275 The same general criteria must be applied to the true hymn. It must be based on great and glorious facts and events, and set forth the perennial life which flows from them as the true life of all human hopes. Hence it must not so much describe such events and deeds — which is rather the province of the psalm — as reproduce them, and render them present in their life and spirit. It must incarnate them. It mast make them live in the heart, as they once lived in the hearts of others, and are designed to live in all hearts whom they concern. We know that the very earliest sacred writers character- ized the first hymns of the church as being sung in honor of the Holy Trinity ; and from them, as well as from pagan authors, we learn that they were accustomed to '"sing hymns to Christ as to God." In a word, the central substance of all the most ancient hymns, inspired and uninspired, is Jesus Christ as the fundamental fact, and absolute principle and source of Christianity, and the Christian life. Of this character are the "Magnificat," the " Benedictus," the ''Nunc Dimittis," the " Trisagion," the " Gloria in Excelsis," the " Te Deum," the " Dies Irae." As all the prophets before He appeared, gave witness of Him, so all the sacred hymnodists after him in the early church celebrated him. It needs but a careful examination of them, to as-ure any one that all the truly classic mediaeval, and more modern German and English hymns, have the same peculiarity. The life of Jesus Christ is itself the song of songs, the hymn of hymns, the harmony of harmonies ; and a church-song as designed to celebrate His life in a gracious and festive spirit, is great, and true, and glorious, only so far as His life is its spirit and light. 3. The true hymn must have unity — the unity, not of a me- chanical structure, but of an organism — a unity in which the uniting power is one that acts from within — a unity in which the several parts are not produced as by the sequence of logical deduction, but grow forth according to the logic or laws of life. One thought or life must pervade all its parts. An aggregation of thoughts, however just, devout, and beau- tifully expressed, is not sufficient to constitute a true hymn. It must have a living oneness and wholeness — the inspiring, invigorating, illuminating life must be central and generic, which all the subordinate parts only serve to unfold, and, at the same time, still more fully to enliven. Our present purpose does not contemplate a critical exam- 1. Die Kirchliche Hynmologie, von Dr. J. P. Lange, Zurich, 1843, pp. 29-3). 18 276 THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. [April, ination of particular hymns ; but let any one, in the light of what has just been said, examine any of the earliest Chris- tian hymn-:, as, for instance, the Magnificat, the Gloria in Ex- celsis, or the Te Deuin, or even the most classic of modern hymns. What, wonderful organisms ! What intuitive logic of life will be found to underlie and pervade them ! To the thoughtful mind they are themselves sufficient to furnish overwhelming evidence that Christianity, which is able to raise the human mind to the capacity of producing such transcendant creations, is fully and fairly supernatural and superhuman. The attempt of the merely natural mind to perfect such creations, would be precisely as preposterous and futile as it would be for an arborist to attempt the pro- duction of a tree! The unity of these grand Hymns of the Ages lies in no sense in that "which is in part," but in that sphere whence man himself, " trailing clouds of glory," origin- ally came, in which forever rests the deepest basis of his true life, and into which, even before he leaves the present sphere of his being, the Christian spirit, in seasons of inspired ec- stacy, in solemn hours, is caught up by the festive spirit and force of the Christian life. The Christian poet does not produce a hymn by calm, med- itative process. He does not construct it by adding thought to thought in perfectly self-conscious calmness, as a joiner or mason builds a house, by placing timber upon timber and stone on stone. He does not apprehend thought, but the Spi lit that apprehends him lifts him up by His own inspira- tion, and wrests it from him by a kind of spiritual coup de main. Hence it has the unity, not of meditated logic, but of the apprehending force which called it forth. It has the unity given it by the one inspiring power. From such a hymn no part can ever be left out or seriously changed. The omission of a single stanza would be like the separation of an eye or an ear from the human body. Hymns compiled of stanzas, however smooth the)' may seem to an unpractised taste, will ever have the same fault as that Egyptian statuary, in the production of which the furnishing of each separate limb or member was a separate and special trade ! 4. The true hymn must have high inspiration— what the Germans call schwung. It must have the uplifting, away- bearing power. As it can only be composed under the pres- sure of a pious enthusiasm, when the spirit of the sacred poet is apprehended by an inspiration beyond his ordinary state and frame, so the same inspiring spirit must inhere in it, live and breathe in it, producing again in those who use it the 1865.] THE HYMNS OP THE CHDRCH. 277 6ame mood, state, and life, which characterized the spirit of its author. A true hymn has this power latent in itself, and communicates it whenever legitimately used. It may be dif- ficult to say precisely in what this mysterious virtue consists. We know, however, that some hymns have it, while others, that seem to have equal merit as poetical compositions, arc destitute of it. It would almost seem as if words had the power of embodying the very life of Christianity, with the additional capacity of communicating it perennially. Thus true hymns are always inspiring. 5. The true hymn is catholic. It is equally adapted to all ages, to all lands, to all languages, to all classes of Christians, to all acts of worship, to all periods of lite — childhood, youth, middle-life, old age — and to all branches of the Christian church. Thus the Gloria in Excelsis, the Te Deum, the Dies Irae, suit alike in the Protestant, the Roman, and the Greek church. The Magnificat, the Benedictus, the Nunc Diniit- tis, though imbued with much of the truest ami best Jewish life, are altogether Christian hymns. Classic hymns are sung by Calvinists and Arminians with equal delight. They speak the language of piety more than of creed. Though, as in truly liturgical forms of prayer, doctrine lies in their nexus, it lies there in the form of life— for consciousness more than for the mind's apprehension — and it appeals to faith rather than to knowledge. A hymn that can only appropriately be sung in one particular denomination of Christians, is not a true hymn. '" In the hymn," Herder has correctly said, "must sound the language of an universal confession of one heart and one faith." Hence the true hymn finds its place in all hymn-books. The general consciousness of the church, by a sovereign law of its own catholic life, determines the true hymn, rejecting all that speak not in its universal language, and admitting all that do, as the plastic life of the plant re- fuses what is not suited to its nature, and appropriates only congenial elements. Hymns which have tins catholic life take their places naturally and silently in the bosom of Chris- tian love, and go on in their pious mission from land to land, and from age to age, gathering a still richer savor around themselves by time, and are loved the more because loved by so many and loved so long. 6. Thus, also, the true hymn never grows old, but has the freshness and vigor of perpetual youth. It is always new, because it has always the power to awaken new life, as well as to bear and sustain it. In its latent and life-giving power, we liken it to a noble vessel, the very sight of which, as it 278 THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. [April, lies calmly in port, gives us the sense of power and of the capacity of movement, but which only properly enlivens as it bears us out into the open sea, when the sails are lifted and filled, and the now almost living structure carries us onward as if it were all and we nothing, becoming, at the same time, more and more a thing of power and life, as well as of beauty and joy. No truer test can be applied to a hymn. Does it get old ? Does it weary ? Does it ever seem common to us ? Then it is not a true hymn. The truly classic always bears acquaint- ance ; and it does this alike to all classes of minds and hearts. A classic painting, for instance, the child, the ignorant, and the amateur all admire. Those feel its power and beauty who cannot tell why. As a work of art it grows on us instead of becoming tiresome and common. It is just so in architecture. How brief is the pleasure that results from the contemplation of filigree work. How soon the taste tires of carved wreaths, vines, and flowers. As these are transient in their nature, so are they transient in taste. But who tires of the arch, the dome, the pillar, the column, the scroll, the alcove, the panel? These are classic forms. They do not grow old through the ages ; and they please the boy even as they do the man, the ignorant as well as the most cultivated scientific taste. One may see more in them than another, but all alike see in them beauty, and feel their power. The same holds true of hymns. Witness the short-lived character of the hosts of subjective spasm-hymns that come vaporing and dancing along on the popular wave of a languid sentimentality. They are as nose- gays, that intoxicate for a moment a feeble and sickly taste. They are generaly married to music as ephemeral as they are themselves. The church has at present a subtle and therefore formidable enemy in this superficial hymnodical and musical taste. Our Sunday schools are sorely afflicted by it, and it is entailing upon the young a deep and lasting injury. It is the same evil taste, which, in the days of Gregory, well-nigh pro- faned the entire Christian worships. Popular convivial tunes were introduced, and sang to parodied words with a galloping measure. In self-defence the Gregorian chant was introduced, and by its classic power the popular taste was gradually changed ; and these rude hordes of " twaddling rhymes, set to frisking tunes" were lashed out of the temple of God. In the period of the Reformation the same tendency manifested itself.* * Tim use of this class of hymns is regarded by some as justified by the au- thority of Scripture. (Eph. v. 19, Col. iii. 6.) This last passage, taken as it stands in our translation, would seem to designate mutual teaching and admo 1865.] THE HYMNS OP THE CHURCH. 279 The evil was remedied by the triumph of the solid, solemn German chorals. The old trouble has in our time again ap- pealed on the stage, and is jubilating through the land, treat- ing the unstable taste to new variations in hymn and tune at every change of the moon. If no new remedies for this false taste can be discovered, perhaps those which were effective in other ages would still prove themselves adequate. A correct hymnological taste, based on a true conception of Christian worship, must exclude from public use in worship all compositions that belong prevailingly to the following classes : 1. Mere doctrinal statement of truth, however correct. This belongs to catechism and confession. 2. Poetry directly didactic. This belongs to the pulpit, and to the catechetical and Bible class.* 3. Hymns in praise of virtues, graces, acts of worship, the Sabbath, Sunday schools, the Bible. Singing is worship, and we can no more worship these than we can worship saints or relics. 4. Mere descriptions of religious experiences, feelings, and emotions. These are to be awakened by worshipping God, not by singing to them, or of them. 5. Sentimental poems. The^se have their appropriate place in other circumstances and circles of social life. 15. Descriptions of particular sins, or classes of sinners. This belongs to the sermon. 7. Compositions addressed to sinners with the view of alarming, instructing, or exhorting them. This also belongs to the sermon. Singing to sinners ! Why not rather to saints ? uition ;is the proper purpose of psa!m3, hymns, and spiritual sonsrs. But a different punctuation of the ' ireek gives the passage another sense. Conybeare and How^oo, in the'- Life and Epistles of St. Paul," adopting the punctuation of Ti-chendorf, render the passage thus : '• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly ; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom. Let your singing be of psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, sung in thanksgiving, with your heart unto God.'' in their comments on the corresponding passage, (Eph. v. 1!).) where a similar punctuation is followed, the most satisfact >ry reasons for this* rend ring, based on the context and scope, are given. On Col. iii. 1C. I r. Clark say3 : •■Through bad pointing this verse is not very intelligible ; the several members should be distinguished thus : '• Let the doctrine of Christ dwell richly among you ; teaching and admonishing each other in all wisdom ; singing, with grace in your hearts, unto the Lord, in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This arrangement the original will not. only bear, but it absolutely requires it." Thus, neither of these passages does in fact bear any witness against the test of the true hymn which we have presented. But without even resortiug to this rendering of thepas^ages in h md. it may be remarked, that Christians may mu- tually teach and admonish one another by the use of a hymn that is neither directly didactic nor hortatory, even as they may do the same by devoutly offer- ing together the Lord's Prayer, which is wholly devotional, and which becomes edifying in the way of teaching and hortation only indirectly. * See Dr. Ait, I)er Christliche Cultus, pp. 443 444. 280 THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH. [April, 8. Compositions expressive of morbid feelings, of doubt, de- spondency, discouragement, and "sorrow of the world." This is not a penitential exercise, neither docs it awaken that sense. It is in idling but a sinful feeling of unbelief. 9. Compositions telling what we have done, are doing, or intend to do. This, if it does not actually fall into the sphere of vain boasting and bravado, belongs to the sphere of confes- sion or profession, and is appropriate in another place. 10. , Compositions for self-examination. Turning the thoughts on one's self is not worship, but only a preparation for it. The helps to self-examination are properly furnished by the sermon, or are found in manuals of devotion for Christians, the use of which belongs to the retirement of the closet. 11. Compositions so directly and formally referring to, and descriptive of, special occasions as to turn the mind more to the occasion and the circumstances, than to the' true object of worship. This is a defect which characterizes by far the largest number of hymns intended for anniversaries, national holidays, meetings of reform societies, and occasional celebra- tions of various kinds. It is because a degenerate taste has failed to apply the true tests to the hymn, that ous hymn books are overburdened with compositions that are never sung. Let anyone take only the tests which we have given, and honestly classify under them the contents of our hymn books, and he will be surprised to find how small a number is left. Indeed this is virtually done, though in an unconscious way. by those whose duty it is to select hymns to be sung in assemblies for public worship. To test the truth of this remark, let any pastor who has at all cultivated a hymnological taste, mark all the hymns which he uses any one year, and he will find at the end of the year that not one hundred, perhaps not fifty are marked as having been used. He will discover that the same hymn has been sung many times : and that an unconscious criticism, an instinct of good pious taste, has silently ignored the large mass contained in the book as not adapted to the purposes of public wor- ship. Yet this vast amount of mere poetry — it is often not even that — is earned along in our hymn books, the closing one being numbered somewhere between one and two thousand ! We doubt much whether two hundred hymns, worthy of that name, and truly adapted to the uses of public worship, can be found in the English language, or in any, or in all languages on earth. Sure we are that the pious taste of Christians gen- erally does not in fact recognize even that number, by feeling itself truly at home in the devotional use of them. Where is 1865.] THE DYMXS OF THE CHURCH. 281 the Christian, the congregation, or even the denomination, that has two hundred of what are generally called favorite hymns ? There are few universal favorites, because there are few that truly satisfy the universal Christian consciousness. The rest that make up the hundreds in our hymn books are poems, of more or less merit, put into their places under the erroneous idea that there must be hymns " adapted to subjects" instead of being - adapted to the worship of God. Hence, the table of contents of our hymn books would generally answer just as well as a table of contents for a system of theology ; and were it not that a hundred or more true hymns, the favorites of the ages, are scattered through the book, it would answer in fact as a scientifically arranged theological system in verse. In our hymn books for children and youths, as used in Sun- day schools, the tests of the true hymn are still more frequent- ly disregarded, under the erroneous idea that by such means a more practical influence may be exerted. The didactic, hortatoi y, biographical, and eulogistic features prevail in these collections. All manner of lessons are taught, all manner of motives are presented to the child ; forgetting altogether that in the spirit of a child, as also in the devotional spirit of the adult Christian, the heart and not the intellect prevails. The ruling idea in these collections seems to be to secure what is called adaptation — not, however, adaptation of the hymn to the true idea of the worship of God, but adaptation of the hymn to the child. The hymn is to effect something for the child — to instruct it, warn it ; in short, in its influence and use it is to terminate on the child rather than to be the help and channel of its devo- tions offered unto God. The same mistaken zeal for practical adaptation, is also responsible for the fact that so large a number of hymns for children are childish instead of childlike. True piety is child- like. Hymns that express faith, hope, love— directing the whole heart and mind toward the great atonement and media- tion of Christ — when clothed in simple, chaste, and tasteful language, are much better adapted to the childlike than any puerile attempts to address the mind of the child by the use of words and phrases, in which the sublime is so easily made ridiculous, and the solemn comes uncomfortably near the ludi- crous. Hymns for children are never adapted to their true needs, when they are such as they must outgrow. The true hymn for a child must be in spirit and contents as suitable for the future adult as to the present child. By this it is not denied that nursery rhymes have their mission ; but as they have their 282 THE HYMN'S OF THE CHORCH. [April, use so they have also their appropriate place. The childish the child will outgrow, hut the childlike it ought never to leave behind. The associations of childhood with the true hymn, give a savor and a power to it in after-life which it can have in no other way. Why give the children hymns to be interwoven with their memories and sacred associations, which in later life they must regard in the same light, as they then do their toys— the mere fossils of a period forever left behind? The hymns which they learn to love in childhood ought to be the same as those which shall best express their devotions amid the buoyancy of youth, the earnestness of middle life, and the decline of old age, There is such a thing as the heart of a child apprehending, and being apprehended, by a hymn which its mind may not full)' comprehend ; like as a seed finds the soil adapted to all its infant needs, even though it has not yet tested, and can not now appropriate all the powers that lie in that same soil for use. We are fully convinced that those are the best hymns for children which have the highest unction of devotion, and the least of puerile adaptation to the mere intellect of the child ; and it is by no means necessary that hymns, to be suitable to their wants, should be on a level with their understandings. Were this a necessity, could we regard the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, the Decalogue, as adapted to children, and •could it be regarded proper to induce them to commit them to memory in early life ? Yea, is not the Bible, the very best book for children, full of mysteries and truths that lie fairly beyond their early capacities ? Does not also common obser- vation teach us a lesson on this point ? Let it be noticed whether children from eight to twelve years old are not most fond of those classic hymns which move in a high inspiration — which are not only tar removed in their contents, spirit, and Language from the simplicity of nursery rhymes, but which ure even lofty in their style, and full of sublime adoration, awakened by the deepest mysteries of faith. Spiritually, even as naturally, children love the sublime, and stand gazing entranced into a flood of glory, without ever asking themselves whether they understand, it. The unction carries them with it ; and the impression made lies in the heart, like the seed in the soil, to be revealed in due time. Let the question be earnestly considered, whether great and lasting injury is not done to children by excluding from their hymn books the lofty hymns of tlie church, and giving them instead, the tame, simple, didactic rhymes — lessons in verse — which are so generally found to constitute the main body of 1865.] SCHELLING ON THE CHURCH. 283 Sunday-school hymn books. We would yet add, why not, also, with the better hymns, give them also the better tunes? Why is the chant excluded so generally from books for chil- dren, in favor of a shallow, ephemeral, and rollicking kind of music? We speak from experience, and actual trial in what we are about to say. Children love chants wherever they are taught to sing them, and they learn them most readily. They afford room for the free, wild warblings of childhood ; and yet they maintain the dignity and solemnity which belong to di- vine worship. Whoever has had much to do with the instruc- tion of children knows bow fondly theycatch up the galloping glee tunes adapted — sometimes literally adapted — from the convivial and sentimental song-airs, with frolicking choruses attached. There is in children a fondness for tunes of free and lively movement ; the}' want the chant, and when this is not furnished them, they will catch up those frivolous airs referred to, and thus gradually lose all taste for the graver and more solid and solemn metrical tunes. When the chant is offered, they love it ; and when learned, they need never unlearn it ; since the chant, as it is admirably suited to the free, joyous simplicity of childhood's taste, so also is it ade- quate to give expression to the loftiest and sublimest worship to which the ripest tastes of adult age can attain. Art. VII.— SCHELLING ON TIIE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIF- FERENT CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. [Schelling's general outline of the characteristics of the main branches of the Christian Church is well known. He compared the Church of Rome to Peter ; the Church of the Reformation to Paul ; while the Church of the Future was to be animated by the spirit of John. In Der Gedanke, (The Thought,) 1864, a philosophical periodical representing the Hegelian school, there is a report of an interesting discussion, occasioned by an account which Professor Leopold Von Pfen- ning gave of an interview he had with Schelling on this sub- ject. Some striking points of view, for forming a philosoph- ical estimate of the different periods and characteristics of church history jare brought forward in this discussion, which was held at a session of the Philosophical Society at Berlin ; several members, representing different tendencies, taking 284 SCHELLING ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF [April, f>art in the debate. Professor Von Henning has taught phi- osophy for along time at Berlin. He was born in Gotha, Oct. 4, 1791. In 1824 he published a work on the Principles of Ethics in their Historical Development. He edited the Ber- lin Annals for Scientific Criticism from 1827 to 1844. He also edited Hegel's Lectures in the first part of his Encyclopedia, comprising logic. He belongs to the right wing of the He- gelian school. Professor Michelet is the president of the above-named Philosophical Society. He was born in Berlin, Dec. 4, 1801, and is the most zealous representative of the extreme left side of the Hegelians, carrying pantheism to its extremes. He is also one of the most prolific writers of the school ; the author of the History of Philosophy in Germany, from Kant to Hegel, two vols. 1838 : Schelling and Hegel, 1839-1842 ; Psychology, 1840 ; of several works on Aristotle's Ethics ; of a General History from 1775 to 1 859, etc. Another of the speakers in this discussion, Max Schasler, is a private teacher at Berlin, and editor of the Dioscuren, a journal de- voted to aesthetic subjects. Eds.] Von Henning. Some months since, in giving a short ac- count to this Society of the new collected edition of Schel- ling's works, I alluded to the fact that he had often been reproached for the abrupt way in which he set aside all objections to his doctrines, and rem irked that, so far as my personal intercourse was concerned, this reproach was without foundation. To illustrate this, I mentioned a conversation which I had with Schelling about his speculations on the dif- ferent characteristics of the leading branches of the church ; and now, in compliance with the desire then expressed, I am happy to give a fuller account of the substance of that con- versation. Let me remind you that Schelling, in his Lectures on the Philosophy of Revelation, represents Christianity as the union and the truth of Judaism an i heathenism (and this, rightly understood, with good reason); and then, within Christianity, he makes a broad distinction only between the Catholic and the Evangelical confessions: the former, with Peter at the head, he considers as representing the Jewish principle ; and the latter, with Paul at the head, as representing the heathen principle in the Christian church. [The word heathen is here used, not in reference to the religions of the Gentile nations, but in a general, historical sense.] I would also call to mind, that our philosopher speaks of another, a third Christian church, which he names the Church of the Future, and at whose head he puts the apostle John. American fresMeriau anb Ijicolagital Jltfriek NUMBER X . CONTENTS OF THE APRIL NUMBER, 1865. Page. Art. I. THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY 179 By Philip Sciiaff, D. D. H. THE MESSIAH'S SECOND ADVENT 195 By Edwin F. Hatfield, D. D., New York City. III. MISSIONARY INTERFERENCE AT THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 227 IV. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH... 245 By George Sidney Camp, Esq., Owego, N. Y. V. QUEEN CANDACE : Acts viii. 27 261 By J. C. M. Laurent. VI. THE HYMNS OF THE CHURCH 266 By Henry Harbaugii, D. D., Mercersburg, Pa. VII. SCHELLING ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIF- FERENT CHRISTIAN CHURCHES 283 Vm. DUNS SCOTUS, AS A THEOLOGIAN AND PHILOSOPHER 289 By Dr. J. E. Erdmann, Prof, of Philosophy in the Univer- sity of Halle. IX. EXEGESIS OF ROM. ii. 18, AND PHIL, ii, 10 308 By Rev. F. A. Adams, Orange, N. J. X. CRITICISMS ON BOOKS 311 Theology : Bishop Ellicott's Commentaries — Expository Lec- tures on Heidelberg Catechism — Guizot's Medi- tations 311 History ajjd Biography : Neander's Planting and Training of the Christian Church — Dr. Stevens' History of the Methodist Chinch — The Semitic and Indo-Ger- manic Races— Dean Milman's History of the Jews ^ — Autobiography of Lyman Beecher — Merivale's History of the Romans. 314 General Literature : Deutsche Ueberseizung der Zendbiicher — Muller's Lectures on the Science of Language — Wilson's Treatise on the History and Structure of Language — Wet DaysatEdgwood — The Culture of the Observing Faculties— Hooker's Science for the School and Family — Oh, Mother Dear, Jerusalem Tony Butler — Our Mutual Friend — Vanity Fair CONTENTS OF APRIL NUMBEB, (CONTINUED). Page. The Perpetual Curate — Mattie — My Brother's Wife — Knox's System of Sunday-School Instruction.. . 317 Miscellany : Dr. Hodge's Inaugural Address— Dr. Canfield on the American Crisis — Mr. Maund's Address — Mr. Demming's Thanksgiving Sermon 323 XI. THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY INTELLIGENCE 323 Scandinavia 323 Switzerland 324 Italy i 324 Spain and Portugal 325 Germany 325 France 327 England 328 United States of America 332 Xn. ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD 334 By E. F. Hatfield, D. D. BUSINESS NOTICE. We send bills in the present number to such of our sub- scribers as have not yet paid. Early attention to the matter will greatly oblige us. TERMS FOR THE REVIEW FOR 1865. $3 strictly in advance at the beginning of the year ; $3,50 after April 1st, and $4 if delayed till the end of the year. Address, J. M. Sherwood, 5 Beekman Street, New York. PUBLISHER. April 1, 1865. Vol. 3. New Series. No. 10. THE \ AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN and THEOLOGICAL REVIEW. EDITORS: HENRY B. SMITH AND J. M. SHERWOOD. Associate Editon: ALBERT BARNES, i THOMAS BRAINERD. r Philadelphia. hUsWELL D. HITCHCOCK, Union Theological Seminary, N. Y. JONATHAN B. CONDIT, Auburn Theological Seminary. N. Y. GEORGE E. DAY, Dane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, O. APRIL 1865. NEW-YORK. : J. M. SHERWOOD No. 5 BKKKMAN STRHKT. PHILADELPHIA: PRESBYTERIAN BOOKSTORE, 1334 CHESTNUT 8TREET. Lokdok: TRUBNER k CO. Edikbceob : OGLE k MURRAY. THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND IMPORTANT BIBLICAL WORK OF THE AGE. langS^commentary. In the short space of three months, we have sold nearly three editions of this work and will soon have ready the 4th EDITION. We have received many favorable testimonials from our most eminent divines— as well as from the Religious Press of all evangelical denominations, und herewith furnish extracts from a few of the leading papers of the EPISCOPAL— METHODIST— PRESBYTERIAN— BAPTIST— CONGREGATIONAL- LUTHERAN— DUTCH REFORMED, Etc. A COMMENTARY OX THE. HOLY SCRIPTURES. Critical, Poctrina, and Homiletical , by John P. Lange, I).D. , in connection with a number of eminent European divines. Translated from the German, and edited, with additions, original and selected bv Philip Schajf DD in connection with American divines ot various evangelical denominations. Volume'lst containim: a eenera'l Introduction and the Gospel according to Matthew. Price $5. ' cuulaIum 6 a general The American edition is undertaken by an association of well-known scholars from the leading evangelical denominations of this country, under the editorial care and responsibility of Dr Schan" of New York and with the full approbation of Dr. Lange. It gives the original entire, without omission or alteration, and at tho same time valuable additions, which give tho work an Anglo-German character, and make it more useful to tho En«- lish reader. • The first volume contains one-fourth moro matter than tho original, other volumes of the Commentary are already in course of preparation by the editor, and Rev. Drs. SHEDS, LILUE, TEOMANS, STARBUCK SCHAFFER, HACKET, KENDRIOK mv ' POOR, TAYLOR, MOMBERT, LEWIS. Other eminent Biblical scholars and experienced translators will bo engaged as fast as Is desirable to complete the work. Each volume will contain one or more Books, end thus lx> complete In itself. FROM THE EPISCOPAL PRESS. From the Episcopal Recorder : Unique as to design, logical at to arrangement, sugges- tive as to treitment, select as to matter, evangelical and catholic as to theology, accurate as to scholarship, interesting as to style, it is the very beau ideal of a clergyman's commentary, and we predict for it the most extensive circulation. It possesses every feature to render it indispensable to tho earnest minister. FROM THE METHODIST PRESS. The New York Christian Advocate and Journal : At a contribution to the richest and most abounding literature, we place it among the best. Nostudentof the •acred page will fall to find great food for thought in its prolific columns. Its piety is 6imple and fervent ; its orthodoxy high and unquestioned ; its learning profuse and accurate ; its ideas novel and lofty. No work so thorough and original has been lately laid before American roaders. FROM THE PRESBYTERIAN PRESS. The American Theological Review for January, 1865. We welcome this commentary, upon the whole the best 6ingle exposition that can be found, comprising all that is esssential to a thorough, popular, and useful work. It treats the Bible as an inspired book ; yet it Is also critical, meeting and not giving the slip to diffi- cult questions. For textual criticism it affords ample means. Its exegesis is concise and pertinent. The doctrinal and homiletical parts are handled effectively. It is not sectarian, but adapted fer use in all denomina- tions. Those who may, here and there, differ from it. will not complain that it is wanting in either candor or learning. This edition is not only much superior to the Edinbuigh, but it also surpasses the German. The American Pr.sbyterian: In plan and in execution this Commentary exceeds any that have ever appeared. More than a hundred years ago a work on a similar plan was executed by a learned German, named Starke, but this of Lange's exceeds it in genius and geniality, besides having far richer stores of material from which to draw. . . . It may be regarded as a lucidly composed and arranged Cyclopedia of exegetical. doctrinal, and hopjiletical theology. A thorough acquaintance with it might well be accepted as a sufficient preparation for the regular work of the pastoral office. Price of this volume, $5. FROM THE BAPTIST PRESS. The Watchman and Reflt:tor : We can only call altentiou at present to this magnifi- cent Commentary. This volume on Matthew is admir- ably done, an immeasurable advance on any coram -n tary which has preceded it. It will give a new impulse to Biblical study ,and bo an invaluable help to all lovers of the Biblo. The National Baptitt says : An Invaluable addition to our Theological literature. FROM THE CONGREGATIONAL PRESS. The New York Independent says : There Is on every page evidence of the fullest reading and exactest thought. Every clergyman and teacher and student of the work will seek its pages, and the book should be on every Christian's shelf. THE LUTHERAN AND DUTCH REFORMED PRESS. The Luth an Obterver says : This is the greatest literary enterprise •<.. tho kind undertaken in the present century. Necessity demand- ed that tho fruits of these immense labors should be gathered and condensed in some practical form. A new comprehensive commentary combining scientific accu- racy with popular clearness, a work that should brinf to the minister the choice results of the half century's investigations, was demanded. . , . The volume on Matthew, the initial, specimen volume, performs even more than the foregoing outline promises. . . . We are struck with the fullness of tho work ; every inquiry is answered ; on every point on which information is wanted, we are met ; and over and above the questions with which we come there floods in a wealth of light that fairly inundates the subject The New York Christian InteUigtnctr says : All the latest trustworthy discoveries in the science of interpretation are judiciously employed by the au- thors of the Commentary. Yet there is neither prolixi- ty nor diffuseness in the treatment of any portion of the sacred text. The immense resources of German scholar- ship have been freely used, but in the truly evangelical way. The theories and speculations of German rational- ism find no place here. Copies sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of $5, by the publishers, CHARLES SCRIBNER £ CO,. 124 Granrl street, New York.