references, making altogether nearly 3,500 passages quoted and cited on this one topic. Furthermore, many verses are cited as often as thirty times.

That which makes the work still more complete is the division of the most important topics into Sub-topics, which are printed in an alphabetical list at the head of the grand topic, and followed by references to the pages on which the passages may be found.

There is still in addition to these divisions a copious, elaborate system of Cross-References to all related and antithetical topics, which enables a student to study a subject in all its bearings and ramifications.

A complete textual Index closes the work. This seems to be everything required. It refers to the pages and columns in which each verse of the Bible is quoted or cited in the entire work.

Dr. Nave has done his work well, and has placed all Bible students under lasting obligations to him. We have no hesitation in expressing the belief that all other Digests and Analyses of the Bible must give place to The Topical Bible. S. C. BYRD.

Columbia, S. C.

DICKSON'S TRUTH THAT SAVES.

THE TRUTH THAT SAVES AND HOW TO PRESENT IT. By Rev. J. A. R. Dickson, B. D., Ph. D. New York: American Tract Society. Pp. 138. Price, 50 cents.

Here is an attractive little book, with a noble purpose, a chaste and perspicuous style, and loyal to the truth from lid to lid. The writer is happy in the use of illustrations, and rich in the employment of apt quotations. He handles the Bible reverently but dexterously, and as one reads, he finds his heart warming to the theme of the book.

Dr. Dickson's purpose is to focus attention on that truth in God's Word which saves, and which is to form the preacher's message in his effort to win souls. He deals with his subjects under these eight heads; "The Desire for Fruit;" "Different Kinds of Truths in the Word;" "The Truth that Saves;" "Substitutes for the Gospel ;" "Preparation for the Reception of Saving Truth;" "The Truth made Effectual to Salvation;" "How to Present the Gospel ;" and "The Joy of Preaching the Truth that Saves."

He analyzes the truth that saves into three elements as it deals with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.

"There is a soothing opiate," he says, "that many take to-day to give ease from the troublesome pain which comes of seeing no fruit; it is dispensed in this form: 'Duty is ours, results are God's.' That is true, but it evidently carries a very limited sense in the word 'duty,' if it leaves out all concern for the success of the Word in the soul of the hearer. . . . Truth may be preached, but not the truth that saves; and that being the case, conversions will be few and far between."

In treating of the substitutes for the Gospel, Dr. Dickson makes very clear the important point that faith does not create fact, but accepts and rests upon it as it is established by God's word. He compares a winsome and attractive invitation that lacks Gospel truth, to fishing with a bare hook, and shows

very tellingly how many preachers preach powerfully and eloquently, without ringing a single Gospel bell.

"It is not the offer, nor the invitation, nor anything springing out of the Gospel, that is the power of God unto salvation-but the Gospel itself'Christ died, the Just for the unjust.’

A very searching portion of the book is that in which he deals with the tendency of the modern pulpit to pass over or tone down the teachings of Scripture on eternal punishment.

"No marvel that to-day we hear of so few broken hearts. The truth of God is not presented in its fulness. It is emasculated. It is nerveless. It no longer clutches the conscience and shakes the soul with the terror of the Lord."

On p. 82 there is a fine passage, in which an intellectual apprehension of truth in the abstract is distinguished from the faith which embraces the same truth incarnate in the person of Christ.

The book is sound and orthodox, but it is something better than this. It is alive and throbs throughout with the inspired Word. It is timely, and will bear a careful, studious reading. If its message were better heeded by the pulpit, there would be less need of bemoaning the small number of conversions and the slow growth of the Church.

To the preacher or Christian worker who has gone daft on "church methods," and who is ever trying to furbish the ecclesiastical machine, I would commend the earnest, evangelical message of Dr. Dickson's book. What the preacher must handle, as "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed," is the inspired Word rather than the church machine; "the truth that saves" rather than "church methods."

Nashville, Tenn.

JAMES I. VANCE.

CHISOLM'S Gospel in Gold; or The GRACE OF GIVING.

THE GOSPEL IN GOLD; or the Grace of Giving. By Rev. James J. Chisolm, D. D. Richmond, Va. : Presbyterian Committee of Publication. 18mo. Paper, 5 cents. Pp. 60.

The more we study the subject of Christian giving, the deeper is our conviction that there is no doctrine that contains so much of the precious gold of the Gospel, and we have read no work in which this thought is so clearly and forcibly presented in so small a compass as in this. The thoughtful and studious author has for many years been delving in this mine, and here condenses the results of his studies in a few pages, as the banker reduces his paper currency to gold. It is a little treasury of thought, and will prove helpful to those who have not time to read larger treatises.

The meaning, the method, the motives, the measure, and the reward of Giving are briefly but forcibly presented. He clearly shows that Giving, according to the Scripture rule and measure, is the highest act of worship, as "the test of our honesty, the tribute of our loyalty, the token of our gratitude;" the crucial test of Christian character, as "the manifestation of our sonship, and the measure of our love;" and secures the richest rewards, as

"it enhances our temporal prosperity, ennobles the character and conduct of our earthly calling, and enriches the soul with the wealth of heaven."

We "are not redeemed by such a contemptible thing as gold," but many are not redeemed without it. It is the chief instrumentality in the outward extension of the kingdom of Christ, and of its internal development. Charleston, S. C. G. R. BRACKETT.

KENNEDY'S PUBLICATION.

PUBLICATION. By Rev. M. S. Kennedy. Richmond, Va. Presbyterian Committee of Publication. Pp. 16. Price, 2 cents.

This is a sermon from the text, "Give attendance to reading." It was preached for the purpose of arousing interest, in the congregation of the author, in the cause of Publication. The treatment of the subject is admirable, and wherever it is read the contributions to this important work will be increased. There is only one point in it open to criticism. The policy of the Committee, in devoting every cent contributed, and all of the profits from the business department, to the distribution of Christian literature, is commended. The wisdom of this is questionable. No one questions that such work is wise and profitable, and every one regrets that more of it can not be done; but what our Church most needs at present is a literature of her own, one that will give her prestige and influence in the nation and in the world. There is sufficient scholarship and literary talent in our Church to produce such a literature, yet most of the books that we ourselves read are the products of some other Church. The chief reason of this lies in our publication system. If one now writes a book, there is no possibility of getting it before the public unless the publisher is secured against loss. Few of our ministers are able to give this security, so he must himself hawk his wares before the public, begging for subscriptions to justify the publication of the work. This is humiliating, and few, even for the good of the Church, are willing to do it. The remedy is for the Committee of Publication to publish whatever would be worthy of preservation, whether it were a financial success or not. The benefits that would accrue would more than repay the Church for its expenditure. It would furnish the Church with a philosophical, theological, historical and devotional literature that would correctly represent our principles, conceptions, purposes and hopes; one that would increase the respect of the Church at large for the ability and scholarship of our minstry, and at the same time increase our influence and promote our usefulness. It would also have the effect of producing scholars, and of cultivating literary talents that now lie dormant. The policy that fails to recognize this is indeed shortsighted, and the result is that the Southern Church which has scholars, theologians and orators that could make her name famous throughout the world occupies a place that is almost provincial. The few whose writings have been published have done us honor, some of them have shown extraordinary genius, but their writings do not constitute a literature, the line is too thin to command attention. GEO. A. BLACKBURN.

Columbia, S. C.

IX. NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

CHINESE PHILOSOPHY. An Exposition of the Main Characteristic Features of Chinese Thought. By Dr. Paul Carus. Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company. 1898. 8vo. Pp. 64. Paper, 25 cents. Reprint of an article in The Open Court for January, 1896, with a useful Index. Interesting to students of Sinology, of Comparative Religion, and Comparative Philosophy, and to prospective missionaries-very useful to these last. It requires close study to follow and appreciate. After reading through one will reaffirm the statements of the author in his Introductory remarks, viz: “It (Chinese Philosophy) is a rare mixture of deep thought and vain speculations, of valuable ideas and useless subtleties. It shows us a noble beginning and a lame progress; a grand start and a dreary stagnation; a promising seed-time and a poor harvest."

CHRISTIAN BAPTISM, UNDER THE RULES OF EVIDENCE Governing Courts OF JUSTICE. By J. P. Hobson. Second Edition. Richmond, Va. : Presbyterian Committee of Publication. 16mo. Pp. 131.

Quite an able Tractate. The argument is conducted in a novel manner, and so successfully that it will be read with appreciation by every one that is interested in this controversy with the immersionists. We would especially recommend it to those in our Church who, under the influence of the English versions and of Dr. Broadus' great name, probably think that maybe, after all, the Baptists are right.

"TELL THEM," or The Life Story of a Medical Missionary. By George D. Dowkontt, M. D. Illustrated. New York: Office of The Medical Missionary Record. 1898. 12mo. Pp. 256. Cloth, 60 cents; Limp, 30 cents. Really an autobiographical sketch of the man who inaugurated Medical Missions in America, interspersed with many interesting incidents that go to show how God has sustained him in his work of faith. The faith element is quite as remarkable, so far as exhibited, as in the case of George Müller. The term "Medical Missions" is used in a wider sense than usual, so as to include work among the destitute and degraded masses of our large cities. That is the kind of medical missionary Dr. Dowkontt is, and has been from the beginning. But he has trained in connection with his work above a hundred men and women, who are serving as medical missionaries in foreign lands under the various Boards and Committees. It is a glorious work for Christ, whether at home or abroad, and the volume now presented shows how much may be done for the salvation of the soul while a skillful and consecrated physician or surgeon is ministering to the suffering body. It will

repay perusal. It enlarges one's view and warms his spiritual man and helps him to deeper consecration and greater faith.

THE PREPARATION FOR CHRISTIANITY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.

A Study

in the History of Modern Development. By R. M. Wenley, Sc. D. (Edin.), D. Phil., (Glas.), Professor of Philosophy in the University of Michigan, some time Honorary President of the Glasgow University Theological Society. New York, Chicago, Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company. 1898. 16mo. Pp. 194. 75 cents.

The problem which the learned author sets before himself in this work is, What were the essential features in the development of man's religious, moral, and social needs throughout the ancient classical and Hebrew civilizations that ultimately ended in a spiritual impotence curable by Christianity alone? To the solution of this he brings, in the compass of a work unusually compact and terse, a great array of facts and a careful study of great philosophical movements. Special attention is paid to Socrates and the Greek Selfcriticism, as well as to the mission of the Jews, and the general preparation of the world, as elements in the opening of the way for the appearing of Christ in the world. The little volume belongs to the collection of the Church of Scotland called the "Guild Series."

BIBLE COURSE. Outline and Notes. By Rev. F. H. Gaines, D. D. II. From the Kingdom to End of Old Testament. Atlanta: The Franklin

Printing and Publishing Company. 1898. 8vo. Pp. 118. This volume completes the author's Outlines of his Bible Course. Like the two volumes which have preceded it in publication, it is made up of Notes and Outlines. He divides the history covered into periods determined by the accession of Saul, the disruption of the kingdom, the fall of Samaria, the Babylonian exile, and the restoration. The subdivisions, analyses of historical books, and studies of the leading characters are marked by great thoughtfulness and painstaking care. The author's chief work is found in the arrangement and analysis. On leading events and characters he usually quotes, with discriminating taste and care, such well known writers as Blaikie, Geikie, Stanley, and others, and uses largely the compilations of Dr. Glentworth Butler. The analyses of the prophets are excellent. The literary questions connected with certain epoch, as the days of Josiah, for instance, are not considered very fully. Their discussion would not have been germane to the author's purpose. Like all Notes and Outlines, this volume admirably sets forth the author's method of teaching, and it is a fine one, but in this form will not be found so well adapted to general use as it will prove when fully elaborated. An expansion of it would make a valuable addition to the literature on the subject.

TWO PARABLES. By Charles R. Brown, Pastor of the First Congregational Church, Oakland, California. Chicago, New York, Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company. 1898. 12mo. Pp. 250. $1.25.

A series of ten striking and evangelical sermons, four of them upon the