The Hebrew Twins. By the late Samuel Cox, D.D. (T.
Fisher Unwin.)—Dr. Cox left this volume, consisting of sermons which he had preached to his congregation at Nottingham, prepared for the Press. It represents, therefore, his latest work. The sermons discuss the lives and characters of Jacob and Esau. An introduc- tion states the problem, which is, briefly stated in Dr. Cox's words, this Our instincts and sympathies all go with the frank, daring hunter, and against the timid, crafty shepherd. God's sympathies go, or seem to go, the other way ; he prefers the subtle shepherd to the bold hunter." The preacher deals with the difficulties in the candid spirit and in the suggestive way that were characteristic of him. The broad views that Dr. Cox took of the divine dealings with man fitted him in an especial way to treat it satisfactorily; we may possibly doubt whether it is operae pretium to devote a volume to this topic. The sermons are amply justified by the exigencies of the pulpit. The demand is so large, and the capacity for supply so limited, that subjects must be treated at length, and in their side-lights as well as in their broader aspects. The published volume is more doubtful. Still, it is from Dr. Cox's pen, and it would be ungracious to limit our welcome. Would that he had left in his own communion and in the Anglican Church more like him ! The wish is intensified by the deeply interesting memoir which his widow has prefixed to the volume. Dr. Cox began life as a clerk in the Docks; but the occupation and companionship did not please him, and he entered as a student at Stepney, now Regent's Park College. His first ministerial engagement was with a Baptist church at Southsea. Then he went to a mixed congregation, mainly Independent, at Ryde. By this time his views were developing ; at the same time he suffered from physical weakness. The pen became a necessary means of live- lihood. He thoroughly enjoyed its use, more than he probably did the post of Secretary to the Bicentenary Committee (to com- memorate the Ejected of 1662). In 1863 he went to Mansfield Road Baptist Church, at Nottingham, and remained there for twenty-five years. Baptists ought to be Calvinists; but the• Nottingham congregation were happily superior to logic, and stood by their pastor till failing health compelled him to resign- Another employment, one greatly congenial to his tastes, the editorship of the Expositor, was taken from him. He felt the loss keenly, and it seems, to an outsider at least, to have been hard treatment, for he had made the magazine. The last years of his life were spent at Hastings. Dr. Cox was a pioneer, and had something of the hard lot of pioneers ; but he was highly esteemed by many of the best and most thoughtful men of his time.
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