10 OCTOBER 1896, Page 12

The Permanent IfIssagx of the Exodus. By the R3 1 1. John

Smith, D.D. (Hodder and Stoughton.)—Dr. Smith in his preface states the results of a close examination of the Mosaic nar- rative, begun after a visit to Egypt, and afterwards followed up. " Not only was the narrative brimful of suggestive corre- sp3nd :laces with the present, but, by every evidence that could influence the religious sense, it was more and more felt to be on the highest plane of revelaion." What is meant by the words we have italicised ? Is anything in the Old Testament On the " highest plane"—i.e., on the plane of the Sermon on the Mount or of 1 Cor. xv. ? Dr. Smith's exposition of the history will bo found interesting ; but ho seems to be somewhat over-confident in the precision with which he traces out the narrative. There seems to be a curious coming together between him and a thinker so remote as Professor Cheyne. Professor Cheyne would say that a narrative may be used for devotional purposes even when criticism has destroyed its reality ; and it is really not very far from this to the contention of the volume now under review.