We must mention together, and of necessity very briefly,. several
volumes of the " Gospel and the Age " series (Isbister and Co.)—It would require nearly all our space to criticise at all adequately the volumes of sermons which are sent to us for review. Only fiction exceeds them in number, and fiction can be more easily read and more summarily dismissed :—The Christian Certainties, by John Clifford, D.D., is of the Apologetic class. Its contents are rather essays than discourses, certainly in length,. and, in a way, in style. We may mention among them "The Great Forty Years," an exposition of the development of Christianity by the Apostolic teachers, foremost among whore are naturally placed St. John and St. Paul. The discourse,. entitled " The Fifth Gospel," is an appeal to the actual present- day work of Christ upon the hearts and lives of men. Next to. these in interest comes, perhaps, the last, " The Coming Theo- logy," an address delivered to the General Baptist Association in 1891.—Christ and Our Times, by Archdeacon Sinclair, contains some twenty sermons, extending in point of time over nearly as many years, in which the preacher deals with the relations between the Christian Faith and various developments—intel- lectual, social, and moral—of modern life. Scepticism, Secu- larism, the difficulties presented by the Christian documents, as they are made use of by enemies and as they perplex friends the great Doctrines of the Gospel as they bear upon life, the Sunday, the Home, the social problems of Wealth and Poverty, the Drink question, are among the subjects discussed, always with vigour.—Christ and Scepticism, by S. A. Alexander, MA., deals more particularly with one of the subjects which the author of the preceding volume has handled. Mr. Alexander discusses the action of the critical spirit on Christian belief, and its effects. The Bible, Art, the Ideal of Asceticism, the Future of Christianity, are among the subjects discussed. In the discourse dealing with this last, we see a reference to the text, " When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith upon the earth ? " Very significant words, to which the optimism of some of us scarcely pays due' attention. We may also men- tion the discourses on "Irrational" and " Rational Scepticism," and that on the " Limits of Revelation."—Voices and Silences, by the Very Rev. H. D. M. Spence, contains a selection of very various discourses. Some are controversial and apologetic, others are of an official kind, as having been preached on great social occasions ; others, again, are of the ordinary type of the sermon dealing with religion and its practical applications. We regret to find the Dean committing himself to the statement quoted from Bishop Ellicott that " every question relating to the Scriptures must be considered as finally and for ever settled by [Christ] wheresoever it can be shown, by the nature of his utterance, that the question must have been really before him."—Ten Minutes' .Sermons, by the Rev. W. Robertson Nicoll, will be found worthy of the reputation for learning, ability, and moderation which attaches to the editor of the Expositor.
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