THEOLOGY AND CEITICHOL—The Epistles - of St. Paul to the Colossians,
Thessalonians, and Timothy, by the Rev. W. F. Sadler (G. Bell and Sons), and from the same author and publishers, Titus, Philemon, and the Hebrews,—useful works both of them, in which the homiletic element is prominent. —The Epistle to the Hebrews. With Notes. By C. J. Vaughan, D.D. (Macmillan.)— Nothing could be better than the few pages which Dean Vaughan devotes to the question of authorship. His view is, that the Epistle is eminently Pauline in some respects, but not St. Paul's, differing from the Apostle's work in its literary characteristics especially. But he is not prepared to substitute any other name for the Apostle's; if he is inclined to any one, it is to Barnabas. Turning to one of the most difficult passages in the Epistle, the account of Melchizedek, we find an exposition of admirable simplicity, which we venture to quote :—" The silence of Scrip- ture as to the parentage and ancestry of Melchizedek, as to his birth and death, the way in which he suddenly steps forth for one mysterious interview with the father of the faithful, and then retires again into profound mystery without one hint given as to the termination of either his life or his ministry,—all this serves to make him, and seems to have been designed to make him, a type of One to whom such super- natural characteristics actually belong." In xii., 2, Dr. Vaughan notes the distinction between " witnesses " and " spectators." The great heroes of faith, in virtue of that faith, were witnesses to Him in whom they believed : whether they were spectators of our conflict or not, it scarcely concerns us. We need not commend this book to readers who know the quality of Dr. Vaughan's works.—Jesus the Carpenter of Nazareth. By a Layman. (Kegan Paul, Trench, and Co.)—The Word. By the Rev. T. Mosley, M.A. (Longmans.)—The Golden Censer: being a Selection from the Prayers of the Saints. With Notes and Indices by Mr. Edward Liddell. (Same publishers.)
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