The power of saving the human race is power over the heavens and over the hells.-A. C. 10,019.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE history of the Old Church points to the Clergy as a principal cause of the loss of spiritual liberty and rationality in the Church, and in the world dependent upon the Church. Their lust of domination from the love of self led. to spiritual slavery; the teaching derived from their self-intelligence led to the obscuration and final loss of every spiritual truth: so terrible in its consequences was the abuse of functions in themselves orderly-functions given by the LORD Himself to the priesthood of His Church.
Title Unspecified 1895
AS, in the past Church, the destruction of freedom and reason was mainly due to the clergy, so in the New Church, growth in freedom and reason is largely dependent upon the priests, whose use of charity, according to the Doctrine, is to provide that the Divine be in the community, by teaching the truth, and leading thereby to good-in other words, by instructing the reason, and thereby promoting freedom.
Title Unspecified 1895
BECAUSE the rulers of the Church and State principally had caused the decay of freedom, the tendency, with men at large, was to withdraw confidence in rulers generally, and to substitute self-confidence in place of it. Thus arose the tenet that the people should be, and of right are, their own governors; and that the power to govern, originating in the people themselves, is simply delegated to the authorities. Hence the conceit that the governed know the business of the governors as well as they, if not better; and hence the many criticisms, and the gratuitous instruction directed to the governors. This falsity has militated against the orderly establishment of the priesthood in the largest general bodies of the New Church. It has led to a perverted conception of the office of the priesthood and of its uses, and to great irregularities and disorders in the government of the Church. Priests are governors, not by virtue of human appointment, but by virtue of the Holy Spirit. It is the public function of priests to consult the good of the freedom and reason of men; and this function should be considered sacred and inviolable, nor ought it be subjected to molestation and interference.
Title Unspecified 1895
FOR emancipation from the evils, introduced by an evil priesthood, to which the Churches have succumbed in the past, the Church must look to a faithful priesthood, who are true to the significance of their office, that of the good of love to the LORD: especially must the Church look to the high-priesthood, to which is committed the supreme human government in the Church. The LORD is the Redeemer and Saviour, and He redeems and saves through His office in the Church. Men can not save from evils. If they make the attempt, they plunge into evils greater still.
Title Unspecified 1895
AMONG those who have attained distinction in their strenuous opposition to an orderly priesthood, is the New York Association, their opposition involving that the office of the priesthood is not the LORD'S office among men, but is dependent upon the good pleasure of a minister's constituency. in one of the component societies of that Association this pernicious error has led to an act, probably unforeseen by the Association itself, but nevertheless the logical outgrowth of the dominant opposition to a Divinely instituted priesthood. In one of the Brooklyn German Societies one of the lay members was elected to the pastorate, and a lay committee was appointed to grant him, by the laying on of hands, the powers of the sacerdotal office. In justification they refer to the Book of Numbers viii, 10, and to the Arcana Coelestia, n. 10,023;-as if the act of the children of Israel, of laying their hands on the Levites, constituted the consecration of the latter to the priesthood, when in reality it signified the "transfer of the power of ministering for them, and the reception of this power on the part of the Levites, and thus separation." Not that the people actually possessed the power of ministering in the holy things, but that they acknowledged that the Levites were to have it from the LORD. For it is further stated that the Levites should place their hands upon the head of the bullocks, which "signified the transfer of that power to JEHOVAH-that is, the LORD." Evidently the Levites had no original power which they could transfer to the LORD, but by "transfer" is meant the acknowledgment of the power which is in, and derived from, the LORD. So with the transfer by the people to the Levites.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE case of the Brooklyn German Society is not isolated in the history of the Church, either as to the act or an to the mistaken justification of it. Like all heresies, it is based upon a single truth, which is not regarded in connection with other truths, and therefore becomes distorted and is falsified. Like the fakirs of India, who enter into a hypnotic sleep by gazing fixedly upon one single spot, to the exclusion of other objects, so these heretics, regarding one single truth intently, to the exclusion of other explanatory truths, have induced a spiritual sleep upon their understanding. The one single fact upon which these "lay ordainers" have fixed their vision is the imposition of the hands upon the Levites. The many other representative acts concerning the priesthood they have disregarded entirely.
Title Unspecified 1895
AN examination of the sacred record concerning the priesthood in the Representative of the Church, reveals these facts: 1st. The priesthood was vested essentially, not w the Levites, but in Aaron, who represented the LORD as to the priesthood-that is, as to Divine Love (A. C. S325). 2d. The Levites were given to JEHOVAH in place of the first-born, by the laying on of hands, as noted above (Numbers viii), and JEHOVAH gave them to Aaron, because he represented the LORD as to the priesthood (Numbers iii, 9, 12, 13, 40 to end; viii, 16-19; A. C. 6148, 3326), and they thus became the priesthood. 3d. The priesthood represented by Aaron is the work of salvation of those who are in the celestial kingdom of the LORD, which kingdom in the Word is properly understood by the kingdom of priests, while the priesthood which was represented by the sons of Aaron is the work of salvation of those who are in the spiritual kingdom of the LORD, proximately proceeding from His celestial kingdom; but the priesthood represented by the Levites is the work of salvation of the LORD again proceeding from the second (A. C. 10,017). 4th. The inauguration of Aaron into the priesthood, or his consecration to it, was not by election on the part of the people, nor was it effected by the imposition of the hands of the children of Israel; in fact, at no time did they lay hands upon either him or his sons. 5th. The consecration of Aaron to the office of the priesthood consisted in the ceremony of washing, clothing with the priestly garments, anointing, filling the hands and hallowing, and was attended with sacrifices and offerings (Exodus xxix). 6th. The consecration of the Levites to the office of the priesthood consisted in the LORD'S gift of them to Aaron, after they had been separated from the people of Israel, and after they had been offered by Aaron to the LORD.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE teaching concerning the priesthood, as very briefly outlined above, emphatically condemns the persuasion that the priestly powers originate with and in the people; and that they are with any propriety whatever, representatively transferred by them to any person or persons. The priesthood is from the LORD, and is communicated by the Holy Spirit, which operates and into lower, through the clergy to the laity, and among the clergy though the high priest to the subordinate clergy. The priesthood is essentially in the office of the high priest, and is with the lower ranks of the clergy only, derivatively.
Title Unspecified 1895
EVEN in quarters where there has been an affirmative disposition to this doctrine in application to a priesthood once established in the Church, it has been held that in the beginning the priesthood resides with the collective members; that it needs to be transferred to special incumbents of the sacred office, but that then it is surrendered to them, and does not revert to the people, except when the Church is at an end. In illustration of this view, the establishment of the priesthood of the New Church in England, in the year 1788, has been referred to, where twelve members were chosen by lot to lay their hands upon the two candidates. But the special circumstance so graphically narrated by Robert Hindmarsh in his Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church (see page. 73 of New Church Life for 1894) led the early Newchurchmen to see, that priestly authority was, not conferred thereby, and that the priesthood was not originally established with the two candidates. Robert Hindmarsh was, de facto, the ordainer, and the Church soon acknowledged him to be an ordaining minister. No human hands had been laid upon him as sign of the transfer of the Holy Spirit, but the Church publicly acknowledged that he, the first high priest of the New Church, had been "ordained by the Divine auspices of the LORD."
Title Unspecified 1895
That the Lord has that power He Himself teaches in open expressions in Matthew, "All power is given unto Me in the heavens and in the earths."-A. C. 10,019.
LORD THE RULER AND DEFENSE OF HIS CHURCH. Rev. ALFRED ACTON 1895
A SERMON
"And said Moses unto the people, Fear not, stand ye, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He wilt make for you this day, for the Egyptians whom ye see to-day, ye shall not add to see them any more, even to eternity. The LORD will fight for you, and ye, ye shall be silent."-Exodus xiv, 13, 14.
THE Spiritual Church: this is the subject which has occupied our thought and our attention in the daily worship for many months past; and that worship, and the instruction therein received, must ever cause us to think, and our thought to be illustrated, as to the nature and quality of the Spiritual Church, and those who are members thereof. A Celestial Church is one the men of which are led from love undefiled by a perverse proprium to a more and more interior perception of and love of the LORD. The men of such a Church are of the Celestial Kingdom. A Spiritual Church, however, is one the men of which are led out from their perverse proprium by means of the truths of faith. Such men are connected with the Spiritual Kingdom of the LORD. They may progress no further than simple obedience to the truth, or they may go forward and receive such truths into their understanding and enter rationally into them; they may, indeed, progress still further, and, from truth rationally understood and made of the life, come into the sphere and state of the Celestial Heavens, the state of the perception of truth from love. But the universal in all these states is the spiritual,-the being led first by truth to good. Thus the Spiritual Church maybe, and is, Celestial and Spiritual and Natural; the essential of its spiritual quality being that the LORD appears to it and teaches it, and elevates it to Heaven, only by the Divine Truth, received first externally and then more and more interiorly. Because the sons of Israel represented such a Church, therefore they were led by Moses, for by Moses is represented the Divine Truth. Nor did the LORD ever lead them or address and teach them in Person, but always by and through the Man; and hence it is so often said, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Speak unto the sons of Israel." This New Church now instituted by the LORD is a Spiritual Church, the men of which are of entirely depraved proprium, and are to be elevated from their proprium by means of the Divine Truth. Nor could this Church have been established before the LORD was made flesh, and, being despised, rejected, and crucified by the Pharaohs of this world, had risen again and appeared as the Divine Moses to establish and lead her. To this Church JEHOVAH the Divine Good, cannot appear immediately, nor can the men of this Church approach Him and, be instructed by Him immediately. All the guidance and wisdom of His Divine Love came only through and by the Divine Moses, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Divine Truth now revealed in the Heavenly Writings. To those Writings-to Him as those Writings we must go, for the instruction and guidance of the Divine Love. They are the Moses to whom the LORD says that He should tell to the Sons of Israel the Divine commands, obedience to which will insure deliverance from the trials of Egypt and the desert, and entrance into the peace and rest of the Heavenly Canaan.
3
Keeping in mind, then, that the Sons of Israel, led by Moses, represent the New Church, led by the LORD as the Divine Man, the Truth made manifest, the story of the deliverance of those Israelites becomes of the utmost importance to us. Their trials are our trials, their journeyings our journeyings, and their deliverance our deliverance. And in the revelation of the material sense of their history the LORD does indeed lead His New Church over the same way, through the same trials and despair, to the same, manifestation of His Divine Power, and through the same worship of Him as the Only God; not, however, as the Israelites were led, naturally, but spiritually. Under His Leadership, from a small band surrounded by the infesters of the former Church, in whose midst it is, the New Church will go forward through temptation after temptation and trial after trial, with many apparent backward steps, but ever with real progress, until it becomes a nation which cannot be numbered for multitude. This forward and upward march is taught as to every least particular in the journeyings of the Sons of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. When the New Church was first established, in place of the former Church, it was surrounded on every side by the falses of that former Church, which attacked openly and violently the first appearance of the Divine Truth. The men of the New Church had not only to meet this outward attack, but they had also to wage war against the falses implanted in their own mind from early childhood, in order that they might learn to think aright concerning the Doctrines of the Church. The state was one of learning the Doctrines and constantly purging the mind of the false ideas ever springing up. Thus the whole early history of the New Church is a history of open and bitter attack by the Old Church, and defense by the men of the New Church; a history of controversy and dispute. When these open infestations gradually subsided, the evil spirit of the former Church found other and more interior means of continuing the bitter and relentless warfare against the Church. By their insidious influence, acting in and through the evils of real and professed members of the Church, dissensions and heresies began quickly to arise and to disturb and split the Church; and the spreading and refutation of such heresies constitute the second stave in the progress of the Church. The conclusion of this state was the separation and liberation of the Church from the infesting falses which have trammeled its freedom; a separation from heresies in the New Church, a separation mercifully effected under the LORD'S guidance, in order that the Church might worship Him removed a way of three days from the falses which inspire doubt in His Authority, the trend of which is to keep the Church in the obscurity and bondage of the former Church. The use of these infestations is manifest. By them the Church has learned to think aright-that is, to think more and more from the Revealed Doctrines, and less and less from the falses which are, on every side. By this a habit has been formed, the habit of going to the Writings for all truths, for all subjects of thought; the habit of carefully guarding against the infusion of self-intelligence and thought therefrom, in the consideration of the Order of the Church. By infestation the Church is reformed and the man of the Church is reformed-i. e., his understanding and his thoughts are formed again, formed into the habit of thinking from the truth. This is the first general state of the Church, the state of infestation; and the result, for the sake of which infestation is permitted, is Reformation. It is this state which is fully described in the first thirteen chapters of Exodus. In the fourteenth chapter, which we are now considering, a new state is described; the state of temptation. When the Church was finally separated from the falses and heresies which continually held her back from further progress; when she was thus left free to think and act from the Divine Truth-the prospect seemed one of peace and rest. But the voice of the Divine Leader speaking in the Heavenly Writings taught her that more trials, and trials more interior, must yet be undergone, before the peace and the happiness of Canaan could be reached,-before the doctrines could be more interiorly seen, and more fully carried out. The liberated sons of Israel would at once have hastened to Canaan, there-to possess their inheritance, but for the command to turn back and encamp near the sea. When a Church, or a man of the Church, comes into the habit of thought from the truth, into which it-or he-is led by infestation from falses, and into deliverance therefrom, the state becomes one in which the truths formerly received in the thought become interiorly illustrated. Truths which were-before the subjects of combat and controversy, shine in the clearer light which follows liberation from combat. It is such interior truths, and the incorporation of them into the life of the Church, which constitute the next scene in the history and progress of the New Church; and that these maybe so incorporated a new combat is necessary: not the combat of infestation, but the combat of temptation. Infestation is combat against truths, but temptation is combat against conscience (A. C. 7474). The Church by infestations has acquired a conscience-a conscience formed by the truth of the Word-a conscience in which is the LORD, the Lamb of God. The conscience is her life-her reason for existence. To act against it is anguish and torment and death to the Church; to act according to it is blessedness and happiness and eternal life. And that she may progress to such blessed states she must meet the opposition and attack of the falses that surround her, must pass through the hells of faith alone-faith conjoined with the evils of life-which are on every side. The first temptation combat for this end which the Church undergoes, and which is described in this, the fourteenth chapter of Exodus, appears very similar to the infestations which she has formerly suffered. The same spirits attack, and with the same end. But there is a real and essential difference, for the state of such spirits is changed; as also is the state of those whom they attack. The spirits who attack the Church in her first temptations are indeed the same Egyptian spirits who infested; but now their slaves are freed, their own firstborn slain; every truth by which they formerly exercised their power has been torn away from them; they are vastated, and in the state of damnation, only awaiting the one final attack against the good which will cast them into Hell. They are powerless now to again enslave the Church, but their will to do this is still unchanged. With impotent anger at sight of the progressing Church, they exclaim, as exclaimed the Egyptians, "What is this we have done, that we have sent away Israel from serving us?" And in the rage and hatred of their final state of damnation, with all their false doctrines and persuasions, they make one last attempt to drag back the Church.
4
Pharaoh collected all his horses, his chariots, I and-his horsemen, and pursued the fleeing band -oft Israelites. This is no fanciful or allegorical scene, drawn to picture infernal hatred, but is a state which actually exists, and which is to be seen every day in the World of Spirits. There, spirits nearest to Hell, their final abode, do actually congregate, and plot and scheme to destroy the New Church. Such spirits act against the Church by means of all men who are in the Church but not of the Church; who have progressed with the Church, but have not entered into that progress; who have accepted the faith of the Church, not from interior perception that it is true, but because it appeals to their natural rational, or returns them honor and gain, or because they have been carried along by various external motives: men who are in persuasive faith, but not, in saving faith, which is the faith and confidence in the truths of the Church because they are true. Yea, and such spirits act also by the good, but by those who have not entered interiorly into the life of the Church, and by listening to their own fallacious notions give themselves up as tools for evil plotters. In a word, the Church is tempted by means of each one of the men of the Church so far as he allows his own intelligence and the reasonings of his own proprium to enter into the life of the Church. And this should make us prayerfully and humbly go to the LORD, and carefully guard lest from fallacies suggested by our own self-love we attempt to stay,-or put ourselves in the attitude of staying,-the progress of Israel. Though such a state may be dormant for a long time, though we may blind our eyes to its existence, or keep it mouldering in our hearts, it will surely be manifested and judged; for it is an infallible law of Divine Order, that as goods and truths are ordained, in the same degree, yea, by that very ordination, evils and falses are manifested and judged. As the Church comes into order, so it is that more and, more are those separated who are contrary to that order. In temptations the Pharaonic spirits who assail do so by dragging the thought of the Church back to old states of disorder and obscurity; and this, not according to order, that by self-examination the Church may see more clearly her evils and be further removed from them, but with the end of again bringing her into such states of obscurity, of again enchaining her with the bonds of Egypt. They strive to blind the eyes of the Church to the light of and perception of conscience, and to hinder her progress in the direction of that light. Thus conscience is hurt and, indeed, obscured, so that the truth seems dark and the way of progress beset with dangers. Then comes obscurity as to the Divine guidance, as to sureness of the Divine deliverance, and as to the wisdom of the Divine Providence. With the disturbance and intranquillity of mind which is thus induced, there inevitably comes the thought that with every fresh progress, every new opening of the eyes to the sight of interior truths, will come new and more violent disturbances and splits and thus destruction of the whole work so far accomplished,-the thought that it were better that progress should be delayed; that the Church should continue longer in old states rather than going forward, meet such disturbance and threatened disruption Losing sight of all the past Guidance of the LORD, of the miracles by which His Divine power for deliverance has been manifested, we think the meaning of the words "Were there no sepulchres in Egypt that thou has taken us to die in the desert? It is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert." The Israelites were permitted to represent the Church, because from their se an unbelieving nature, they could fully ultimate the life of the Spiritual Church in its onward progress. Can we wonder at their murmurings and rebellions after the many wonderful miracles wrought in Egypt? At their doubt of the power of Moses and of the LORD? Can we wonder at this, when we, after miracles far greater-miracles not seen by the natural man, but clear to him, who is spiritual, miracles by which the LORD has thus far wonderfully led and sustained His Church from assaults an infestation and led her into a state in which she can worship Him in interior light-when we, in the face of such miracles, yea, having so recently seen them, again, allow doubts concerning the LORD to enter our minds, and fear for the Church, to invade! As with the sons of Israel, the LORD does not therefore cast us off nor condemn; but from His Divine Love, by; the hand of Moses His servant, He bids us, Fear not, stand ye still and see the salvation of the LORD; He will fight for you, and ye, ye shall be silent. From the same Infinite Love, the Divine Moses admonishes the members of His Church, in the spiritual sense of these words, that they cease from fear lest the Church be destroyed, cease to despair and stand still, leave all to the LORD, Who alone has power to save and deliver; nor strive to save the Church by their own powers and their own prudence, but to see the salvation of the LORD; to have trust in his Divine Guidance and in His Omnipotence to really see this with the eyes of rational faith. For the LORD alone fights for His Church; He alone guards and protects her and leads her to Himself. Our own prudence, our own intelligence must be cast for they are as nothing against the assault of hell. Not that man must let down his hands and await influx from heaven to effect deliverance. This is against the Divinely created nature of man; but let him cease to take upon himself, by reason of a groundless fear-induced by assault-the duties of others; and above all, the work of the LORD, Who is the Sole Guardian of the Church. The Israelites were first told to fear not, and then to stand still and see the salvation of the LORD. The fear of the Israelites was a fear lest they be overcome by natural enemies; a fear lest the LORD could not protect them. In the New Church, when, as she progresses onward, temptations come, the men of the Church, becoming obscured by the apparent strength of false and fallacious persuasions, also enter into states of distrust of the LORD, and of His Divine Power and Wisdom in leading His Church. This distrust of the LORD, this fear for the Church, they are commanded to shun; and when they do so shun it, then they can see the salvation of the LORD. As the praise and glorification of the LORD was ever on the lips of the sons of Israel in their peace and prosperity, or immediately after some wonderful manifestations of the Divine Power, so we, in the time of the Church's rest and peace, and when some signal progress has been made, some great danger safely past, are ever-ready with our lips to attribute all the guidance, all the power, to our LORD. But, with the sons of Israel, we also, in times of temptation, when the light of truth seems obscured by the fallacies springing from the proprium, are ever ready to fear and despair, to distrust the LORD, and in our hearts and actions to murmur against Him. "Fear not," the LORD says. "Shun distrust of the LORD, that you may see, yea actually see, the salvation of the LORD." Before man shuns distrust, of the LORD and of His guidance in the very least things of the Church he cannot see, as in clear day, the salvation of the LORD.
5
By the command to stand still it was not meant that the Israelites should actually stand still, for they were immediately afterward commanded to go forward through the sea; but that they should take no active measures of resistance, simply obeying the voice of Moses; and trusting in the power of JEHOVAH. The very essential of trust in the LORD is the shunning of trust in self the genuine acknowledgment that one's self has not the least power to save or preserve the Church. This acknowledgment and trust, however, as was said, does not bring with it inactivity, but rather the cheerful and willing obedience to the Divine Commands; commands which teach that man shall go on in the work before him, knowing that the LORD guards each man, either as priest or layman, whether his duty in the Church be to teach or to receive instruction, to command or to obey, to repress disturbance or to shun creating disturbance, to bring into order or to shun disorder-man must go forward and do that work which lies before him; he must cease from being in anxiety and doubt and despair as to the Church, cease from his efforts to save the Church-efforts which spring from trust in self and distrust of the LORD-and must do that work in the Church which the LORD has given him perform. "Fear not, stand ye still and see the salvation of the LORD; He will fight for you and ye, ye shall be silent." The LORD does indeed fight for His Church and protect and guard her. He is her LORD, and she cannot be moved. Not alone in general, or universally, is His watchful care over her, but in the most minute particulars is He ever present, ever leading onward. Actions in which man, from his own prudence, sees naught but retrogression, the LORD guides and turns and bends, that the One End, the full establishment of His Church, may ever be inserved. What is a Church without her Head, Who is the LORD? and what is a head to a body unless that head rule and direct every least action of the body? We, we shall indeed be silent in the infinite work of building up the LORD'S Church. It is His Work-an infinite work of Infinite Love, in which man has no part, except to believe and to live the truth, that the LORD fights for and protects His Church; "Ye, ye shall be silent." It behooves us to take to heart a warning which this subject suggests; that we attribute to ourselves nothing the state and the progress of the Church. The Church has under the lead of Her LORD, gone safely forward though many trials, and has come to more interior states of perception and of worship; but let each man beware lest he attribute such states, and the merit of such states, to himself. It is indeed a certain truth, that, because this New Church is not merely a representative, is an internal Church, therefore the external states of thought and worship in that Church are ultimations of the internal state of the Church established in the heart and mind of some-few or many-of its members; but who those are the LORD alone knows, and concerning such knowledge by man He teaches us that he who would be the greatest shall be least. We have no merit in the establishment of the church; we can neither build up nor destroy, for "the Divine of the LORD makes the Church." All we can do, all we must do, is to so learn and pray and act that the Church may be established within us, that we may thus become true worshipers in the Church without us. The heartfelt acknowledgment of this truth should humble our pride and bow down our haughtiness, sprung from the conceit of a superior learning and intelligence and apparently greater zeal for the truth. It should give us full and interior confidence in our brothers in the Church, believing and acknowledging that the LORD, who rules His Church, has brought them within her fold to work and to worship with us. And, above all, this acknowledgment that the LORD alone constitutes and rules the Church, should give us full and free confidence and trust in the Rulers of the Church, men who have been elevated to the dignity, honor, and responsibility of their high office, not by man, but by the LORD, the LORD Whose whole Divine Providence, from bounteous love and all-seeing wisdom, has for its end, in every least thing, the establishment and eternal progress of that Church which He hath promised to our fathers, which shall endure to eternity, the Crown of all the Churches. Confidence in her Rulers, appointed and consecrated to their holy office by Him, is, then, not confidence in a man or in men, but is confidence and trust in the LORD, the Appointer and the Consecrator, the sole Ruler and Defense of His Church. "It is His doing; it is wonderful in our eyes."- AMEN.
Title Unspecified 1895
By the priesthood was signified the whole work of the Lord's salvation.-A. C. 10,019.
CELEBRATION OF THE LORD. 1895
EXODUS XV, 1-19.
IN the internal sense of this chapter the LORD is celebrated, that after He glorified His Human, He cast down Into the hells the evil who infested the good in the other life, and elevated into heaven the good, who were infested: these are the things which are contained in the internal sense in the Prophetic Song.
(1, 2.) THOSE who were of the spiritual Church glorified the LORD on account of their liberation, "then sang Moses and the sons of Israel this song to JEHOVAH"-and as they were in holy veneration and humility, they received influx out of heaven, "and they said, saying"-from which they acknowledged and confessed from the heart that to the LORD alone is glory due, "I will sing to JEHOVAH"-for He manifested His Divine in the Human, "because exalting He hath exalted"-and from His mere Presence the falses from evil were damned and cast into hell, "the horse and the rider hath He cast into the sea." Everything of power, "my virtue"-and everything of faith, and hence of glory, is from the Divine Truth which is from Him, "and Song is JAH"-whence is salvation, "and He was to me for safety." In His Human made Divine He will be with them in the good which is from Him, as in His Heaven. "He is my God, and a habitation I shall establish for Him"-and as there was no other Divine in the Ancient Churches, "the God of my father"-so also now Divine worship is for Him, "and I shall exalt Him." (3-5.) The LORD protects from all the evils and falses which are from the hells, "JEVHOAH is a Man of War"- He alone it is from Whom are all things, "JEHOVAH is His Name"-the species and genera of the falses and evils of those who were of the Church and there in the life of evil, cast themselves into the hells at His Presence, "the chariot of Pharaoh and his army hath He cast into the sea"-all with every single one, and the choice of the leaders of thirds"-shut themselves up in the falses from evil, "were submerged in the sea Suph"-and the falses from cupidities covered them up, "the abysses covered them"-and glided down into the inferior regions as though they were weighted down, "they descended into the depths as a stone."
6
(6-8.) The Omnipotence of the LORD was shown, "Thy right hand O JEHOVAH was magnified in strength"-when, having become Divine Good, He, by the Divine Truth from this Good, shut up the evils and falses in the hells, "with Thy right hand O JEHOVAH Thou breakest in pieces the foe"-and from the Divine the things opposite to it were rejected as nothing, "and in the multitude of Thins excellence Thou destroyest those that rise up against Thee"-while the fury of cupidities and the endeavor to do violence which existed with the evil," Thou sendest forth Thy wrath"-devastated and damned them from themselves, "it eateth them up as stubble." Through the presence of heaven the falses were gathered together into one, "and by the wind of Thy nostrils piled up were the waters"-and those that were continually endeavoring evil could not at all infest, "the floods stood together as a heap"-and the mere falses from evil, of the cupidities of the love of self, could by no means emerge out of their hells, "congealed were the abysses in the heart of the sea." Those who were in evils and thence in falses, before the Advent of the LORD, thought, "said the foe"-to infest, "I will pursue"-and to subjugate, "I will follow up"-and to reduce to servitude, "I wilt divide the spoil"-for the sake of the delight thus afforded by such evil, "infilled with them shall be my soul"-and to fight continually from the false from evil, "I will unsheathe my sword"-so that from their evil power heaven might be destroyed, "expel them shalt my hand."-But by the Presence of the LORD with the angels, "Thou didst breathe with Thy wind"-all the false that was theirs stopped them up, "the sea covered them"-so that the evils drew them down to the inferiors as heavy things in the world, "the depths sought they, like lead"-where falses in great abundance were circumfused about them, "in mighty waters." (11-13.) Every truth of good proceeds from the Divine Human of the LORD, "who, is as Thou in the gods, JEHOVAH?"-from Him Who is holiness itself is everything holy, "who is as Thou magnificent in holiness"-to Him alone is glory and thanksgiving, "to be venerated with praises"-from Him are all the means by which is power, "doing the wonderful."- The dominion of His power over all things appeared from this, "Thou stretchedst forth Thy right hand"-that from His mere presence, damnation and hell became theirs, "swallowed them up the earth"-while those who abstained from evils, and thus through Divine influx received good, "Thou leddest in Thy Mercy that people"- He liberated from hell, "Thou didst redeem"-and by His Divine Power He elevated unto heaven into the Divine there, "Thou leddest them down in Thy virtue unto the habitation of Thy holiness." (14-16.) All who were in the false from evil, everywhere, "the people heard"-were filled with terror, "they trembled"-and those who were in faith separate from charity, were in despair at no longer being able to enlarge their dominion, "grief took hold of the inhabitants of Philistia"-likewise those who were in a life of evil from the love of self, "then were in consternation the dukes of Edom"-and those who were in the life of the false from that love, "the potentates of Moab"-dared nothing, "terror took hold of them"-so also those who were of the Church, and had adulterated goods, and falsified truths, "melted together all the inhabitants of Canaan"-all were without any hope of having dominion, "there fell upon them fright and dread."-From the LORD'S Omnipotence, "in the greatness of Thine Arm"-they down as a weight, "they shall be cut off as a stone." So all those who were in the faculty of receiving the truth of good, and the good of truth, were to be saved, without danger of being infested, "even until shall pass over Thy people"-and thus those were to be saved who were in the truth and good from the Church, "even until there shall pass over this people." Thus they became the LORD'S, "Thou hast possessed." (17-19.) They were to be elevated," Thou wilt bring them in"-and continually regenerated, "and wilt plant them"-in heaven where is the good of charity, "in the mountain of Thine inheritance"-where the LORD is, "in the place for Thee to dwell"-their regeneration, and heaven itself; being from the LORD alone, "Thou hast wrought, JEHOVAH"-and they were also to be elevated into the heaven where is the truth of faith from the LORD, "the sanctuary, O LORD, Thy hands have prepared"-the more internal, ones of the spiritual Church, who are in charity itself and in faith from this, being in the one heaven (the "mountain" of the LORD'S "inheritance") and the more external, who are in faith, but not yet in charity, being in the other heaven (the "sanctuary"). The LORD alone is the LORD of heaven and earth, "JEHOVAH shall reign to an age and eternity"-all the falses from the perverse intellectual with those who are in faith-separated, from a life of evil, "because hath come the horse of Pharaoh in his chariot and in his horsemen"-came into damnation, "into the sea"-the falses from evil, which they intended for the good, relapsed upon themselves owing to the LORD'S presence with those who were in good, "and JEHOVAH brought back upon them the waters of the sea"-while those who were in the good of truth and the truth of good passed safely through the region of that hell, "and the sons of Israel went in die dry through the midst of the sea."
Title Unspecified 1895
Whatsoever represents the Lord, represents Him also with the men of the Church.-A. C. 10,125.
SPIRITUAL SUN NOT THE LORD. 1895
THE LORD appears above the Heavens as the Spiritual Sun. This, however, it must be clearly understood, is only the appearance of the LORD, not the LORD Himself; for no finite being, whether spiritual or natural, can see God and live (Ex, xxxiii, 20)-that is, perceive the Infinite Divine which is called in the Word, JEHOvAH, also, the FATHER, whom no one hath seen at any time save the Son (John i, 18; v, 37; vi, 46, etc). We are, therefore, distinctly cautioned against thinking or believing that the Sun of the spiritual world is the LORD Himself (D. L. W. 97; H. H. 121; D. L. W. 93), though from the appearance it is frequently so said. But to confirm that appearance would be to believe in sun-worship. The Spiritual Sun is not the LORD Himself; but it is the proximately surrounding sphere which proceeds from Him as a sun (T. C. R. 33, 365; A. E. 392; D. L. W 97), or, as stated in the True Christian Religion, n. 29, the Spiritual Sun "consists of the Divine Essence which goes forth from the LORD as a sphere; there and thence is the first of finition." By substances emitted from I Himself the Infinite God first finited Himself (T. C. R. 33). Thus regarded in itself the sun consists of the first created substances, and thus it, like all other created substances, is devoid of life (D. L. W. 152, 294), but being the primary origin of all subsequent created substances, both spiritual and natural, and because it proximately receives life from the LORD, Who is Life itself, this Sun is often called living, especially in contrast to the sun of the natural world, which is dead.
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It is also the first living created substance, and forms, as it were, the connecting link between the Infinite and the finite, regarding the Infinite end the one hand and the finite on the other. "The Infinite cannot be conjoined with the finite except by putting on something of the finite (A. C. 8760). By this first finite the Infinite can clothe Itself, and can flow forth and produce all subsequent creation. How the finite can receive the Infinite can be illustrated by light and heat of the sun. These are not creatable (T. C. R. 40), nor material, yet they affect all created substances, the light modifying them, and the heat changing their state. So with the Sun of the spiritual world; it serves as the first receptacle and proximate covering of the Divine Itself; from which, as from its centre, God can create, preserve, and govern the Universe, by means of spiritual heat, which is Divine Love proceeding, and spiritual light, which is Divine Truth proceeding. Thus there is given a ratio between the Infinite and the finite, not from the finite, but from, the Infinite in the finite (D. P. 54). Thus also is it possible for the finite to receive the Infinite, not from itself, but from the Infinite, from which it is, which enables it to receive. So with the creation of the Spiritual Sun; as the first finited substance, it can receive the Infinite Divine, and from it the Infinite Divine can proceed; not from the Sun itself; but through or by means of the Sun, thus from the Infinite. (See D. P. 219; also, D. L. W. 305; T. C. R. 33.) Note well that the first finite substance spoken of above must not be confounded with the "first finite" and "first simple" treated of in the Principia (Pt. I, Ch. II, III). The latter is the primary material substance of the natural world. The philosophical student may refer to that work, and also to the little treatise On the Infinite (especially Chapter I, Sections 9-13), for a clear and interesting discussion of the nature and origin of the medium which must exist between the Infinite and the finite, bearing in mind, of course, that when these books were written Swedenborg knew nothing about the Spiritual World and its Sun. The Spiritual Sun is the Divine Sphere. The relation of the Sun of the spiritual world to the Infinite Divine of the LORD on the one hand and to the created universe of the other, can be understood with difficulty in natural light, though the angels, from the light in which they are, can perceive it clearly; for that light is the Divine Wisdom of the LORD in the heavens. Let us, therefore, elevate our minds above the light of nature and look to the LORD for light and instruction. "In Thy light shall we see light" (Ps. xxxvi, 9). That the Spiritual Sun is not the LORD Himself, but the primary sphere of His Divine Love and Wisdom in substances emitted from His Divine, may he seen from the spheres of affections and thoughts which surround every angel, by which his presence is manifested in places near and remote, "That encompassing sphere is not, the angel himself but it is from all and single things of his body, from which substances continually emanate as a stream. The things which emanate circumscribe him. These substances contiguous to the body, being continually actuated by the heart and lungs, the two fountains of the motion of his life, excite the atmosphere into their activities, and by that present the perception as of his presence with others. Thus it is not another sphere of affections and thence of thoughts, although it is so said, which goes forth and is continued, because affections are mere states of the forms of the mind in him. Such a sphere is round about every angel, because there is such around the LORD." That sphere around the LORD is in like manner from Him, and is the Angelic Sun (D. L. W. 291), and from it, by its heat and light, are excited throughout the whole universe a common cardiac and a common pulmonic motion, or pulsation and respiration, and thus animation (D. L. W. 381), similar-but universally-to the activity excited by two fountains of life in an angel, his heart and lungs, or will and understanding. From this it can be perceived how the LORD, by means of the heat and light-or love and wisdom-proceeding from the Spiritual Sun, can be everywhere present in created objects and operate all things. The idea concerning the visible appearance of the Divine sphere encompassing the LORD, maybe further illustrated from the visible appearance of the spheres surrounding angels in the other life. This is presented to view in various sensible forms; in heaven, sometimes under the appearance of a thin (tenuis) flame, and sometimes as thin (tenuis), shining white cloud; and in bell, as a gross fire of smoky coal, and also as a dark, dusty rain-cloud (D. L. W. 292). That these spheres are composed of least substances, resolved and separated from the bodies they surround, is also manifest from the spheres surrounding objects in the natural world, as the sphere of light surrounding a flame of a candle which consists of nothing but minute particles in a state of intense heat. So, also, with odors, etc. (Concerning spheres, see T. C. R. 785, 499, 44; C. L. 386, 171; A. E. 1076, 889; H. H. 49, 591, and references to the Arcana Coelestia there; also A. C. 8630, 10,130; S. D. 2001-8, 3333-3345; T. C. R. 410, 433.) If a clear idea be formed concerning the nature and quality of the spheres surrounding all created objects, it will be possible to grasp something of an idea concerning the sphere which surrounds the Divine of the LORD, and which appears as the Angelic Sun, and it will then be manifest that God, Who is Infinite, in creating the Universe, first finited His Infinity by substances emitted from Himself; from which substances His proximate environment consists; and that this is the Sun of the Spiritual World, which thus consists of the first and unique substance (T. C. R. 33, 29; D. P. 5, 6). Heat and light, Love and Wisdom, activity regarded in itself and life, are not creatable (T. C. R. 472, 40), for all these are nothing else but various manifestations of the Infinite-which is of necessity uncreatable-in natural or spiritual forms in which It appears. Thus, in the first and unique form and substance the Infinite, or the Divine Itself, exists as pure Love or Spiritual Fire, which constitutes the very essence of that first substance which emanated from God. Fire is in the Sun. Light, in which is heat; is from the fire in the Sun. Or, to state the proposition in spiritual terms, the Divine is in the Angelic Sun. Divine Truth, in which is Divine Good, is from the Divine in the Sun. The Fire of that Sun, or the Divine Itself, could not approach to any man, spirit, or angel, for it is a "consuming-fire," far more ardent than the fire of the natural sun, which is but its ultimate natural receptacle. That spiritual light, united and one with the spiritual heat within it, produced from the sun the atmospheres by which they can pass, by successive modifications and accommodations to the angels in the heavens, to spirits in the World of Spirits and in the hells, down to men in the world. (See A. C. 8644, 6832, 8760.)
Title Unspecified 1895
Men themselves, viewed in themselves, do not constitute the Church, but the Lord with them.-A. C. 10,125.
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ANGELIC LANGUAGE. 1895
IN the Articles on Language which have appeared at intervals in New Church Life (the last in April, 1894), the consideration of the numbers in Heaven and Hell that treat of language in the, other world, had been begun. This article is a continuation of those referred to above; and we now come to the more particular treatment of Angelic Language. As a beginning let us consider the number vowels in Heaven. It is as follows: "THE Angels who are of the celestial Kingdom of the LORD speak like the Angels who are of the spiritual Kingdom of the LORD; but celestial Angels speak from more interior thought than spiritual Angels; and because celestial Angels are in the good of love to the LORD, they speak from wisdom, and the spiritual Angels, since they are the good of charity toward the neighbor, which in its essence is truth, speak from intelligence; for from good is wisdom, and from truth is intelligence; whence the speech of the Angels is like a gentle stream, soft, and as it were, continuous; but the speech of the spiritual Angels is somewhat vibratory and discrete; and further, the speech of the celestial Angels sounds much from the vowels U and 0; but the speech of the spiritual Angels from the vowels E and I; for vowels are for sound, and in sound is affection; for as has been said, the sound of the speech of the Angels corresponds to their affection, and the articulations of sound which are words, correspond to the ideas of thought from affection. Since vowels do not pertain to a language, but to the elevation of its words by sound to various affections according to the state of each, therefore in the Hebrew language the vowels were not expressed, and were also variously pronounced [are not expressed and, are also variously pronounced]. Thence the Angels know the quality of a man as to affection and love. The speech of the celestial Angels is also without hard consonants, and rarely glide from consonant to consonant, except by the interposition of a word which begins with a vowel; whence it is that in the Word the little word and is so often interposed, as may appear to those who read the Word in the Hebrew language, an which that little word is soft, and from both sides sounds from a vowel [illa vocula est mollis et utrinque sonat ex vocali]. From the words also in the Word, in that language, it can in some measure be known whether they [the words] pertain to the celestial class to the spiritual class, thus whether they involve good or truth; those which involve good derive much from U and O, and also somewhat from A; but those which involve truth, derive from E and I. Since affections especially put themselves forth by sounds, therefore also, when great things are treated of, as concerning Heaven and concerning God, those words in the speech of man are loved in which are U and O. Musical sounds also raise themselves to those vowels when similar things are expressed. It is otherwise when things not great are treated of. From this it is that the musical Art is skillful in expressing various kinds of affections."
Etymology.
Our English word vowel is derived to us from the French voyelle, which came from the Old French voelle without the y in it; this again was derived from the Latin vocalis, which is the word used in the original in the number quoted above. Vocalis is an adjective derived from the word vox, which means voice, sound, and also word. Vox is probably derived by mutation from the root which appears in the Greek word omicron psi, which also means voice, by having a soft breathing f sound placed before it, in a similar manner to that in which some of our English cousins put a h sound before words beginning with a vowel; this would give the word @ omicron psi; this breathing f sound, by receiving a tone, becomes a v or w; the p sound of the Greek psi was easily changed into the k sound of the Latin, giving the word vox. But let us return to the derived form vocalis, which means pertaining to vox-that is, to the voice.
Sound and Voice.
It will be necessary for us to make a distinction between sound and voice. Sound is general, and means any effect upon the drum of the ear that gives us the sensation we call hearing, no matter how that effect is produced; but voice is particular, and signifies the sound produced by the organs of speech, and for our present purpose we must restrict its meaning still more, so that we shall understand by it the sound produced by the vibrations of the column of air contained in the larynx set in motion by the vocal chords, which are situated in the throat and the upper end of the larynx. These vibrations are not necessarily assisted by any of organs of speech situated higher up or further forward in the mouth; for instance, a is voice, but hss is not, in our present view, considered to be voice. This adjective vocalis might always be followed by a noun, so that wherever it occurs we might have either vocalis littera or vocalis sonus-that is, a vowel letter or a vowel sound. It is necessary to note this point, or we may be confused in reading the Doctrines where the word vocalis is used. In the number I have just quoted, for instance, where it is said that "the speech of the celestial Angels sounds much from the vowels U and O," those characters are not meant, but the sounds represented by them; and where it is said that "in the Hebrew Language the vowels are not expressed," it is not meant that vowel sounds are not expressed or pronounced in reading or speaking Hebrew, but that the vowel signs, letters, or characters are not expressed in written Hebrew. This applies to Ancient Hebrew and to the Word in the Heavens, but not to the copies generally extant among us. In the passage above quoted from Heaven and Hell we have given us the acknowledged vowel system of all human languages. These five vowels, U, O, A, E, and I, the affections of which have been described to us in the passage under consideration, are the basic sounds of all vowels and diphthongs, and there are no other vowels that are not shadings from these, nor are there diphthongs that are not combinations of these. Linguists have graphically represented the relations of these five vowels in the following scheme:
A E O I U
This arrangement is correct to the extent that it shows A to be intermediate between U and O, and E and I.* But since we are told that the celestial heavens are above the, spiritual, if we wish to represent the relationship of these vowels as to their being celestial or spiritual, it would be better to do so in a perpendicular line, in this manner: * It is to be constantly borne in mind that in these articles the continental sounds of the five letters are meant, namely, u=oo in tool, o=o as in old, a=a as in father, e=a as in mate, and i=i as in machine.
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U O A E I
With this arrangement we would have the most interior and superior of the celestial vowels, U, at the top; the less interior celestial vowel, O, underneath it; and underneath this, and on the line which we may let represent the division between the celestial and spiritual heavens, we will place the A, which partakes in character of both the spiritual and celestial vowels; under this we will place the E, an interiorly spiritual vowel, and under this and at the bottom of the whole system the I, which is the lowest of the spiritual and the most ultimate of all. of But again we are taught concerning the Gorand Man Heaven, that he is, as to his right side, celestial, and as to his left side, spiritual; that with man in the world the right hand corresponds to good and the left to truth; that those on the right in the celestial heaven are inmostly celestial and may be called celestial of the celestial, while those on the left in the celestial heaven partake something of the character of the spiritual Angels and are called spiritual celestial. Note that in either case they are celestials. In the spiritual heaven those on the right partake something of the character of the celestial Angels, and are called celestial spiritual, while those on the left are purely spiritual and may be called spiritual of the spiritual. Note, again that, while above, in either case they were celestials, here in either case they are spirituals. Bringing the two statements together we may say that all in the celestial heaven are either celestial celestial or spiritual celestial, and all in the spiritual heaven are either celestial spiritual or spiritual spiritual. If the above analysis be correct may we not represent a double division by drawing lines at right angles to one another, thus
U O A E I
[There is a straight line descending through the A also.]
to represent this dual division into right and left and superior and inferior? Now since U is the most interior celestial vowel we will place this in the upper space at the right; O, which is still purely celestial, but less interior than U, we will place in the same space but a little lower down and a little farther toward the left; A, which involves truth and consequently partakes of both the celestial and the spiritual, we will place upon the intersection of the lines, thereby making it, in our representation, in every way intermediate; E, the interior of lower open space to the left, under and a little to the left two purely spiritual vowels, we will in the left of the A; I, the inferior of the two spiritual vowels, we will put in the lowest place and farthest to the left. In The Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture we read as follows: "The vowels there [in the third Heaven] are for the sound which corresponds to the affection, and in that Heaven they cannot pronounce the vowels I and E, but for them they have Y and EU. The vowels A, O, and U are in use with them, because they give a full sound" (S. S. 90). In the Spiritual Diary the following, is found: "They [the celestial Angels] said, as I also often perceived, that I and E are not with them, but A, O, and especially U, and that Y is intermediate between the celestial and the spiritual, and because they are such and serve only for sound, that also in the Hebrew Lane are no vowels as in other languages, but [they are expressed] by characters adjected above and below" (S. S. 5620). "In place of A there, they speak AO intermediate; in place of I is generally Y, and in place of AE is EU" (S. S. 5622). In addition to the five vowels given in the passage from Heaven and Hell, we have, in the above extract, four more vowels or diphthongs, or rather three, for one is said to be used in place of one of the others. In one of the passages it is said that the celestials have I in place of I and E, Y and EU, but in another place it is said that EU is in place of AE. It is further said that in place of A they speak AO. Now if we should resort again to our scheme of representing the relationships of these diphthongs by the diagram, I should say that we would write AE, EU, and Y in the upper open space at the left; for while we are taught that these are in use in the celestial Heaven, it is evident that they must belong to the spiritual celestial kind; for they contain as elements the spiritual vowels I and E. The sound of Y is acknowledged by all philologists to be a combination of the vowels U and I. This was its original sound in the English language. You will have noticed that it is said to be used in place of I, which could not be pronounced in the celestial heaven until it was modified by being combined with U. AO, which is used in place of A, I would put in the upper space at the right below the O, for it is compounded of a vowel that is in itself intermediate, and partakes of the celestial character, and O, a vowel purely celestial; and I should conclude that AO must be a vowel or diphthong of the celestial celestial kind.
y U eu O ae ao A E I
[There is a straight line descending through the A also.]
What lesson may we learn from this for use in regard to human language? One thing we must remember; it is this, that "vowels do not belong to language, but to the elevation of its words by sound to express various affections according to the state of each;" they are therefore not subject to philological study in the same way as are the other elements of language. No two people pronounce the same vowel alike; for that matter neither do they the same consonant; but the consonant sound is much more fixed and ultimate than the vowel. The teacher of language, therefore, must not insist too strenuously on what he may deem a great nicety in the pronunciation of this, that or any vowel, as thereby he may be violating an affection and taking away freedom. As to the intermediate character of A, we may obtain an ultimate confirmation, by noticing how it is pronounced, and in what manner the organs of speech shift in going from A to the celestial or to the spiritual classes of vowels. The vowel A is pronounced by opening the mouth wide, or by relaxing all the muscles of the jaws and mouth, so that the jaw drops to the full extent that it will without forcing, and then emitting the breath through the tense vocal chords, causing them to vibrate as does the reed of an organ when blown upon, or the; string of a fiddle when stroked with a bow.
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Thus A is pronounced by the vibration of the vocal chords without, any assistance from the organs of articulation, other than to get them out of the way and let the A come out. If from A we proceed to the next higher; celestial vowel, O, we shall see that the jaws are brought a little nearer together, and that the corners of the mouth are drawn somewhat toward each other. Proceeding to the next and highest celestial vowel U, we shall see that the jaws are brought still closer together, and the corners of the mouth drawn still more toward each other. If now we proceed from the A to the next lower spiritual vowel E, we shall see that while the jaws are brought somewhat closer together than in pronouncing A as was the case in pronouncing O, on the contrary he corners of the mouth are drawn apart. Proceeding to the next and most ultimate spiritual vowel I, we shall see that the jaws approach a little nearer than with the E, but the corners of the mouth are drawn still farther apart. Thus we see that in one series, those universal directors of the human voice,-namely, the lips,-are formed in one direction, and in the other series in just y the opposite direction. Thus, condensing, we have the two series, proceeding from the intermediate toward the celestial and toward the spiritual, A, O, U, and A, E, I. Or, to use a single series, beginning with the highest celestial vowel and proceeding to the lowest spiritual, U, O, A, E, I. What now follows is presented with some diffidence. No Kabala nor abracadabra nonsense contains anything for a Newchurchmen; but since we are taught that "number" means form and order, yea that number is the basis of all order; and since we all can see what wonderful things result from the combination and permutation of numbers in the science of mathematics, I cannot help thinking that there may be something in the scheme I have contrived for determining to the eye, whether certain vowels and diphthongs, in use in human language, correspond to celestial or to spiritual things. I propose to make in diagram a dual division, as above, to represent the distinction between the celestial and the spiritual Heavens, and the right and left side of each; but this time I shall use belts instead of lines, thus:
ui ue ua uo U
oi oe oa O ou
ai ae A ao au
ei E ea eo eu
I ie ia io iu
I will now draw lines enough to form a square 5 by 5, and across this, diagonally, I will write the five vowels we have been discussing at length. This, as you see, will bring A within the square formed by the intersection of the two belts. Now I will combine these vowels with one another in these squares, according to the castle's move in the game of chess, making the rule that at the left of the diagonal row of pure vowels, the upper vowel shall always precede the lower, while at the right the lower vowel shall always precede the higher. It takes but one glance to see that all the combinations that fall within the two belts contain each the intermediate vowel A. Each square in the upper line contains the highest celestial vowel U; but those in this line that are at the left of the belt dividing right and left contain each a vowel of the spiritual class. Take another description. The square composed of four squares at the right above contains nothing but celestial vowels and their compounds, namely, O and U, uo and ou. The lower corresponding square at the left contains only spiritual Vowels and their compounds, E and I, ei and ie. The upper corresponding square at the left contains both a celestial and spiritual vowel in each square, but with the celestial vowel leading in each case ui, ue, oi, oe. The lower square of four at the right contains a spiritual and a celestial vowel in each combination, but the spiritual vowel leads in each case; eo, eu, io and iu. Within the belt dividing right and left, the two squares above the A contain each a celestial vowel combined with the intermediate A, giving oa and ua. The two squares below the A contain each a spiritual vowel combined with the intermediate A, giving ea and ia. In the belt dividing into upper and lower halves, the two squares at the right of the A contain each a celestial vowel combined with the intermediate A, giving ao and au. The two squares at the left of the A contain each a spiritual vowel combined with the intermediate A, giving as and ai. This arrangement shows five pure vowels and twenty combinations. Please remember that - this is put forward as a suggestion only. If it seems to the render to contain anything useful he is welcome to it; if it does not so seem, let him forget it.
Title Unspecified 1895
The priesthood is the first of the Church.-A. E. 229.
MEETING, IN LONDON, OF PRIESTS OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE SECOND DAY.
ON Friday, August 10th, 1894, at the second session of the council of Academy Priests, the first session of which was reported in the December number of this journal, the attendance was as before: Chancellor Benade, Vice- Chancellor Pendleton, Pastors Bostock, Schreck, Hyatt, N. D. Pendleton, Tilson, and Waelchli; Ministers Ottley, Robinson, and Stephenson, and as visitors, Candidate Charles E. Doering and Student Ernest J. Stebbing. The Chancellor, assisted by Pastor Pendleton, conducted worship, the usual opening being followed by the reading of numbers 213 to 215 of Heaven and Hell. After giving opportunity for the bringing forward of questions which might have been suggested by the previous deliberations upon the Government of the Church, but without eliciting any, the Chancellor placed before the meeting the proposition: "Priests are appointed to administer the things of the Divine Law and Worship" (H. D. 319), for discussion as to what constitutes priestly administration of the Divine Law. The following is a summary of the leading points brought out in the discussion, the general connection of which has been preserved so far as possible: Administration of the Divine Law by the Priest involves both teaching the Law and seeing that it is carried out. In general it concerns the conservation of freedom, or, what amounts to the same, the securing of obedience to the Divine Law.
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In effecting this the Priest has to take the responsibility of deciding all matters occurring within his jurisdiction. It is his duty to teach according to the Doctrine of the Church and thereby to lead to the good of life, and to this end order must be preserved in the Church. Order is established by the LORD for the sake of the salvation of the men of the Church; while disorder is from hell and causes the destruction of the Church. It is the Priest's duty to guard the Church by preserving order. This is the first and foremost idea in considering administration of the Divine Law. It is analogous to shunning evils, which is necessary before good can be done. The duty and the responsibility for this rest upon the Priest, who must, therefore, assume the responsibility and must be given the power to administer the law. (Here, in order to define more clearly the discrimination between two of the functions of administration, namely, teaching the law and preserving order, numbers 312 and 313 of The Heavenly Doctrine were read.) The numbers read indicate that this administration by those in authority involves, on their part, noticing what is done according to order and what is done against order; and rewarding the one and punishing the other. As relating to the superior governors it involves seeing whether evils have been committed against order from ignorance or willfulness, which destroys order. Thus administration of the law involves Observation. Among ecclesiastical rewards and punishments were mentioned honors and dignities, their bestowal and removal. Right-minded members of the Church who regard the functions of use as dignity and honor will ascribe the honor to the LORD, and will perform the function in a true and orderly manner. They will feel the responsibility of the use, and not permit themselves to perform it in a slovenly, irresponsible way. If they do it well they should have dignity and honor according to the use performed. The reward is, the delight of the use; punishment is the deprivation of that delight. Proportion must be observed-an important feature in the system of education of the old Greeks. Each ought to have responsibilities in proportion to the function he is charged with, and the dignity and honor conceded him ought to be in his performance of that function; for, any office in the Church, because it is a use, ought to be regarded as an honor and dignity. Those who are taught so to regard uses and functions, and to ascribe the honor to the LORD, will then perform each his own function in a true and orderly manner. They will be less apt to assume the position of judgment and criticism of others, which is a great evil in the Church; especially the criticism of Priests, in which laymen sometimes indulge, assuming that they are in an equal degree of illustration in regard to the things they are judging, and that their opinion is of more weight than the Priest's teaching. An orderly public ecclesiastical opinion, formed by true teaching, will lead to a shunning of the disposition to judge and condemn priestly government by the standard of external civil government in the world. A great deal of trouble comes from the importation of the evil of the world into the Church, and from an exercise of judgment based not on the Doctrine of the Church, but on the doctrines established by men in their relations to each other. This difficulty confronts the Priest at every step he makes in the direction of administering the Divine Law from judgment. But if these things were taught by the Priests-as well as put in practice in administration-laymen would not be so apt to fall into these errors. Priests should make this matter a subject of teaching. Learning to recognize and observe the distinctions of uses, and to go forward undisturbed and unswervingly in one's own use, is a matter of regeneration-that is, each man is to discover that he has to perform his own use, and that this is what the LORD gives him to do; and so he is to be content in that use. For one's use is one's lot in the world; and when a man recognizes this he will learn not to make comparisons between his lot and the lot of others; but to make comparisons with himself, of what he is and what he ought to be. And he should come to see that every man can be great in his own use. When that is seen he will find his reward there, in the use, and not elsewhere. He has the responsibility of that use, the dignity and the reward of it, no matter what it may be. His regeneration consists in that; and his relation to the neighbor is, to recognize and acknowledge the freedom of the neighbor, in his use, and at the same time maintain his own freedom. This will produce contentment in seeing others in more advanced and higher uses than one's self. Every man is great in his own use. When this is recognized and acknowledged the Church will come into order and there will be peace and happiness in the Church as in the Heavens. Still, criticism of others in their use prevails, and will prevail for some time. We have to contend with it in ourselves and suffer from it in others. But our effort should be, first, to avoid making undue criticism, and second, to shun as an evil the feelings aroused by criticism. If we do not shun them it will affect our judgment, and there is where the evil spirits get possession of us. Thus, to attend strictly to one's own use, to be patient and content in that use, and to avoid invading the use of another, are matters of regeneration. This is equally true of Priest and Layman. By this course the individual may attain a higher degree of intelligence, by which he may help others. This, in the case of the Priest, is involved in "teaching the Truth and leading to good." In regard to criticism, there is a tendency with all to ascribe to the actions of others motives which may really exist in ourselves, and perhaps not in them at all. It is important, first, to turn the criticism to one's self and see that there exists there that freedom from the evil criticized which will leave the judgment free to judge justly of what the neighbor is doing The Priest needs to shun the dangers of criticising. This will leave his mind more clear to teach the minds of laymen, especially to recognize the distinctions of priestly and lay functions. The honest, conscientious, and proper administration of the law may offend the members of the Church and hurt their feelings, and they may imagine that the Priest is acting against them and from personal feeling, when the real desire is, to see the Church progress to a more interior life. It is the business of the Priest to teach, and of the layman to learn from that teaching, and then to act according to it. It is not a question of agreeing with the Priest; but of agreeing with the Doctrine. The question with the layman should be, not as to how it is usually done among men, but as to whether he understands the Doctrines as taught, and understands his duty to them according as he sees their truth. Administration will differ in different Churches, in the New Church, according to interpretation, but the difference, where the administration is conscientious, will be the difference of variety, not of opposition. If each priest studies from the Doctrine his own priestly functions, and conscientiously administers them, there will be an illustration with him according to his function an illustration which can come in no other way.
12
There being a variety will be an advantage to all. Everyone can contribute from his own to the common store. Sameness of ideas is not necessary nor desirable. Variety will produce order, for the essential of order is good, and good is the common object, where conscience rules. The Divine Good is use; the Truth is but the means to the attainment of good as an end. Each priest should make original studies in regard to the order of the Church. There is abundance of teaching on the subject; in the Doctrines. The dissimilarities which give rise to misunderstandings are dissimilarities of will. Self-will entering in makes a dissimilarity which is one of opposition, not of variety When such a dissimilarity arises there should be introspection, which may reveal to those who are disturbed, causes of disturbance in themselves, not suspected. Sometimes we are influenced by others applying themselves to our infirmities, we not realizing it. There are those who seek-so to influence and gain control. It is not uncommon for us to think the thoughts of others and not our own. It is a moral obsession to be guarded against. Hence the warning in the Doctrines against "friendships of love." Such dangers as these will inevitably assail the man who is honestly endeavoring to administer his office for the good and welfare of the Church, and they will have to be resisted, again and again. It is necessary to be prepared, by a study of the Priestly office. The reason the Church has not grown is, non recognition of the LORD and the substitution of man's will. In past the clergy have over-ruled the opposition of the laity, and imposed upon them their own law-not the Divine Law. At the present day the tendency is in the opposite direction the Clergy have been expected largely to carry out the behests of the laity. Therefore it is not to be wondered at if now, in trying to establish the Church on the Truths of Doctrine, we find ourselves confronted with that sphere-the desire to tell the Priest what he is to do; and if what he does appears to the layman not just the right thing, the layman thinks it not incompatible with his privilege to quietly suggest to him what he should do. Thus the Church's progress is hindered. On the other hand, the Church cannot progress until there is a determination, first, to study the Doctrine of the Church, and then to teach it systematically from the pulpit, leaving to the LORD the power which He alone has, of bringing the minds of the people into agreement with that law. The real difficulty is, the lack of individual regeneration, and that is largely the outcome of lack of teaching. The best-disposed layman, unless he is taught the law, cannot come into a better state. Indeed the best disposed men are those most apt to be infested. Evil spirits are intent upon disturbing them in their progress toward Heaven. Infestation comes to them inure than to others. Thus they may make disturbance, being tempted to do so by spirits who desire to injure them as well as others. It is a matter of regeneration-this not man's;- and this is true equally of the Priest and of recognizing use and function as being the LORD'S and the Layman. It is very important to consider what should be the state and attitude of the Priest, or what quality he should endeavor to cultivate looking to his own regeneration, and at the same time, to the best good of the Church Two qualities he ought particularly to cultivate, which experience has shown to be most important-Patience and Endurance. Here a speaker suggested that, while disturbances and infestations often come from the non-recognition of the Priestly office by the laity, history shows that the real disturbances which have affected the life of the Church have come from the Priests, and that the difficulty with laymen is often but a reflex of a more internal difficulty existing among the Priests themselves. It is of first and essential importance that they themselves be in order, so that from that order, order may exist among the laity also. While the disturbances which arise from time to time, from evils with the laymen, must be met and checked, we should never lose sight of the more interior condition which exists with the Priest, and which is largely responsible for the disturbance. Where a Priest has been fitted for his office, is capable and from justice performs his duties from the LORD-while he will make mistakes; and will have faults and evils of his own-if it be perceived that he is a sincere and honorable man, performing his functions sincerely and honorably, all sincere and honorable lay-men will give him the honor and respect due his office. Where laymen hold the office in disrespect, the primal trouble is that the priest does not sufficiently respect his sacred duties; but where he does, the very sphere of this his regard will communicate itself to others. That sphere is from the LORD, and it will affect the minds of men with what is holy and sacred; and laymen will respect that office, often more than the Priests themselves, because in a more simple state in regard to it-their evils are not in such close relation to it. Therefore we should remember the other Bide, and so considering remember that-the Church has been destroyed by the nests; and if it be destroyed in the future it will be because of the Priests: the laymen will follow. Although, in reply to this speaker, it was suggested that even the best of Priests, doing his duty, could not by his sphere effect much with laymen who were not in a suitable state of regeneration, his position was confirmed by another speaker, who pointed to history to show, that in the destruction of the priestly office the ministers of the New Church in general, acting in their official capacity to their congregations, have begun the work of destruction. They have no adequate idea, if any, of what is really involved in the function; and by abdication of the position have set the example of disrespect to it. While it is inevitable, from the love of dominion and from the evil state in which the people are at this day, that many ministers would in any case have been unable to rightly impress and lead their congregations, still, had they as a body been faithful to the requirements of their office, we should not see the New Church at large in the awful state to which it has come. Men are now showing no desire to enter the priesthood at all, as is seen in the Conference, where, for two successive years, no young men have applied to become students, and Conference itself is now realizing the very serious aspect of the fact. It is well, perhaps, that they should. In their idea there is really no distinction between the priestly and the lay functions. No Priest-they hold-has a right to claim any more authority than a layman, for "every one is a Priest." The result of this idea is the destruction of the Church, a state of chaos due in large extent to the ministers' not being trained to their functions, in the first place, and especially to their entering upon them without recognizing the importance of carrying out what they believe to be the Divine Law. Thus the priestly office becomes extinct. Another speaker mentioned, as a requisite in a priest, moral courage, which means trust in Divine Providence in carrying out one's duties without fear or favor.
13
True, he may so trust and so act, and still meet trouble, yet his courage will compel respect. The official actions of a Priest are an important means of teaching, as well as what he says. If in them be has not the courage to act up to the teachings of his office, he is so far unfaithful to the teachings and to his office. As to the manner of his performance, where the laymen are right-minded they will look rather to the end in view than to his manner of accomplishing it. He may, indeed, seek to accommodate his acts to states, but there may be too much accommodation. Accommodation is good if there be wisdom in it; wisdom is proper judgment from what is good and true. That is what a Priest has to learn: wisdom in his actions with men. All are subject to infestation and to be most interiorly affected by the infestations which come from the hells. We should charge most of the evil upon hell. Patience and endurance need to be cultivated. A man must be patient with himself as well as with his neighbors, and not demand too much before the time. If he is quiet, and waits upon the LORD, and lets the LORD guide him, he will conquer the evil that is in him, and the difficulties that arise from that evil. Much disorder has come to the Church from lack of true teaching, and this again-has been from lack of true knowledge concerning the office and function of the Priest. The first part of that office is to learn truth from the LORD, to acknowledge it and to apply it to the uses and functions of his office. There has been a hesitation to teach laymen concerning the Priest's office. There is a sphere of reproach with respect to the Priest. Laymen are apt to charge him with teaching that which is of advantage to himself. When he teaches them concerning the Priest's office, and concerning the respect due to it, he teaches what he is teaching to himself if he is an honest man. But he is apt to hesitate on account of the personal bearing. This is a very false modesty. It arises from a lack of appreciation of his office, or perhaps from a desire to please the people. If he truly appreciates the office he will not mingle himself with it, but, whenever occasion requires, he cannot refrain from showing and teaching the true order and use of the holy office which is not his, but the LORD'S; for he sees that it is not for his own gain, but for the gain of the Church that he teaches them to respect that by which the LORD operates their salvation. Without this teaching the minds of the men to whom he is to administer cannot come into the proper attitude to receive the administration. The habit of self-examination will help man to see the distinctions between man and his office. There is often, with the laity, the idea that confidence in the priest can be withheld or given on the condition of his personal acceptability. But the priest will not ask for confidence in himself as a man, but in the office. It is right for him to ask for that confidence. The teacher has a right to say to his scholars, Do not doubt everything, but have confidence that what I say to you is said from a knowledge of the truth. The priest does not mean, Have confidence in me as a man, but, Have confidence that this is one of the teachings of the Divine Word, which is to be given by the Priest to the people. Each priest must study his functions and duties, and their limitations. This is a means of regeneration and entrance into the state of charity which exists in al human society. Every man must see to the limitations of his own functions and duties and not allow them to run over the lines of the functions and duties of others. Where each one has the common good at heart, and is not ignorant as to the scope of his functions, there ought to be no trouble or difficulty. In conclusion, it must be recognized that generals of administration must be seen before they can be worked out in detail. If obscurity arises it is apt to be from impatience. Waiting is absolutely necessary. The Church is growing slowly in different ways. Impatience is likely to throw things into disorder. The meeting here adjourned.
Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
OWING to delay in publication of the Index, bound copies of New Church Life for 1894 will not be ready before the latter part of January.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Buddhist Ray, established seven years ago by "Philangi Dasa," under a vow to continue its issue for that period, has now been "extinguished" by its founder.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Works On Heaven and Hell and The Doctrine of Charily, translated into classical Arabic, are being printed at Cairo, at the expense of the British Swedenborg Society, and will shortly be published in England, Egypt, and India.
Title Unspecified 1895
PASTOR Boyesen, of Stockholm has translated Dr. John Ellis's Science and Divine Revelation into the Norwegian language. The book will be presented to all clergymen in Norway, at the expense of the author. Pastor Boyesen has also completed the translation of The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine into Norwegian, and has begun the translation of The Doctrine Concerning the LORD.
Title Unspecified 1895
"SINCE all the old churches ceased to exist at the time of the Last Judgment, all the churches since that event are New Churches" (New Church Independent, October, p. 456): a bald, bold statement of a heresy which-more or less consciously-is held by a majority of the leaders of the Convention and the Conference but not expressed with the frankness of the writer in the Independent.
Title Unspecified 1895
AMONG other rare and interesting additions to the Library of the Academy, that have been made lately, is a copy of the first Swedish edition of Divine Love and Wisdom, translated by Professor P. Falck, and published at Copenhagen, in the year 1795. Though a century old, the pages of the book, when it was received in Philadelphia, were still uncut.
Title Unspecified 1895
ANOTHER valuable acquisition to the Library is the first German edition of the work Heaven and Hell, published in the year 1774, the place of publication not given. (Dr. R. L. Tafel, in the Documents, Vol. II. 981, incorrectly gives 1775 as the year of publication.) The translator, who is said to have been a Mr. Cude, wrote a preface of forty-six pages, containing a very good biographical account of Emanuel Swedenborg. From this it appears that Mr. Cude was a full receiver of the Doctrines of the New Church, probably the first in Germany. He republished his translation at Altenburg, in 1784, publishing, in the same year and place, the first German translation of The True Christian Religion.
Title Unspecified 1895
YET another acquisition, one which has never been mentioned in the literature of the Church, is a tract of twenty-four pages, published in Danish, in Copenhagen 1779. It is entitled Tre Merkwoerdige Breve ("Three Remarkable Letters written by the Swedish assessor Emanuel Swedenborg who during twenty-eight years, has had intercourse with the angels and spirits, together with some information concerning his Life and Writings"). It contains a recommendatory preface and a translation of Swedenborg's letters to Hartley and OEtinger, and is the first appearance in Danish of anything relating to the New Church.
14
The anonymous publisher may have been Swedenborg's intimate friend, General Tuxen, or Count von Bernstorff, the Danish Minister of State, who at this period were the only persons in Denmark known as readers of the Heavenly Doctrines.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE LIBRARY of the Academy has recently come into possession of an extremely rare old book, which is of some collateral interest to the New Church. It is a copy of a work which was published at Skara, Sweden, in the year 1724, by Jasper Swedenborg, the younger brother of Emanuel Swedenborg, and is entitled, Then Sidste Basun ofwer Tyskland (The Last Trumpet over Germany to awaken the world from the sleep of sin). The body of the book is a Swedish translation from an old German work, which had been published in 1664, but the preface is the original production of the translator, Jasper Swedenborg, who here narrates the leading events of his past life. Like St. Augustine, young Jesper confesses that he had been "a bad boy" in his youth, and that his father, Bishop Swedberg, put him in military service with the Swedish army in Pomerania, in 1710, in order that strict discipline might teach him mores. After a few years the still impenitent son returned home, but was shortly sent to England to learn navigation, "in order that the wildness of youth might be tamed on the wild ocean." When also this proved a failure, the troubled father sent him to the Swedish colonies in Pennsylvania, as a last resort. "In that country I dwelt among many kinds of Christians and heathens. There I first learned to know God and myself. . . . I suffered many hardships, and supported myself by teaching children." (He was school-master, for five years, in the parish of Rathkungs Kihl, in Delaware). "In America there are various religious sects, but the heathen possess the greater part of the country. These, indeed, sit in a sad darkness-but, to tell the truth in many respects-following the light of nature-they live in a more praiseworthy manner than very many who have the clear light of the Gospel and bear the name of Christ." Jesper Swedenborg, after his return to Sweden, became an officer in the Swedish army, and died about the year 1 60. From him descends the present family of the Swedenborg's in Sweden, of whom most have followed a military career. The Last Trumpet is the only work published by Jesper Swedenborg, and is considered so rare by bibliophiles that a few years ago the book was offered for sale at the price of one hundred and fifty dollars.
Title Unspecified 1895
When it is said, the Church and Heaven, is meant the Divine of the Lord with those who are there.-A. C. 10,125.
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
"VIVAT NOVA ECCLESIA." JAMES CALDWELL 1895
To THE EDITOR NEW CHURCH LIFE:
DEAR SIR:- Has any attempt been made to translate our beloved "Vivat" into English? Perhaps it is not thought to be desirable to do so. Anyhow, I have "wrestled" with it, and herewith I give the result which, of the many, pleased me most. If it is of any service I shall be glad. Yours, sincerely, JAMES CALDWELL.
92 VICTORIA ROAD, NEW BRIGHTON, LIVERPOOL, October 14th, 1894.
THE BIRTH OF the CHURCH.
Hail, New Church, unending, Now to earth descending! Faithful may she ever stay- Bride in beautiful array- 'LORD, Thy favor lending.
DAY OF LOVE. 1895
A PROSE POEM.
DAWN.
Time is, time was, and time will be, when young folk sigh unhappily for bright heart-sunshine, which the LORD can never give, but in contentment.
MORNING.
Sweet smiles of innocence and peace go hand in band with usefulness, and turn the heavy dropping clouds to fleecy rainbow-tinted auras and laughing dew-drops; whence the tender budding spring of youth grows to a sturdy summer, full of fruits and happiness.
NOON.
The golden-crimson marriage-couch, with 'broidery of fruits and flowers, is pressed by those alone whose inner chambers are in heaven, where Angel Consorts dwell. Such happiness the LORD will ever give to those who love Him truly.
EVENING.
O promise sweet, half realized already, that Thou wilt lend to earth this treasured gem of heaven. So dawns our love, so noons to its fruition; and like the lengthening shadows of the dusk it sees the future through a sunset haze of glory, dreaming away this first day of its beauty, real-unreal,-too much or one small breast to hold.
NIGHT.
But night comes on apace; The errant crew, with faces leering grimly, start up on every hand; and as a rheumy mist that thickens to despair, with thoughts of self neglected, they crowd around-above, beneath, and with envenomed breath, and instil their lethal phantasies. Where now thy dream of heaven? With reeling brain, and heart consumed with fever, thou totterest-perchance dost fall. Oh! is there none to save? Ah, yes, that promise! It cannot fail, for God Himself hath said it. Hence! to hell, you hated crew! The LORD shall be my Master!
THE NEW DAY.
The combat's o'er, the-vict'ry won. Thrice blessed peace that thrills the soul! The rosy fingers of the radiant dawn push back the sombre curtains of the night, and flood the world with calm tranquillity. How smiles each bright-eyed flower now! How sweet the fragrance of the pregnant air! Now angels glad the eyes with visions of fair paradise; while heart to heart we sit-and look beyond the jeweled gates which open to the morn; and all the universe is singing: "This is the Day which the Lord hath made; let us be glad and exult in it."
Title Unspecified 1895
"Conjugial love is heavenly when man lives content in the LORD with his wife whom he most tenderly loves; and with his children. Hence in the world he has interior amenity, and in the other Life heavenly joy" (A. C. 6051).
15
LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.-ON December 2d, Minister Acton preached on "The LORD the Leader and Protector of the Church" (Exod. xiv, 12-13). The sermon appears in the present number of this journal. On December 9th, Bishop Pendleton preached on "Spontaneity" (Psalm i, 1). On December 16th, Candidate Keep preached on "The Glorification of the LORD" (Apocalypse i, 5). THE Sunday Evening Services have been discontinued. ON December 22d the Incarnation of the LORD was celebrated in the schools by a service, which comprised brief statements of doctrine from the Word in its Letter and in its Spiritual Sense, read by the priests; of passages of the Letter, sung by the Schools, in English, Greek, and in Hebrew; and an address by Bishop Pendleton, explaining to the younger children that the LORD who had created the universe, had deigned to be born on earth like another man, in order to save man from evil and make him happy. After the address young and old brought forward offerings to the LORD in forms of use for His service in the Schools and in the Church. This was followed by a distribution of fruit which was part of the service, representing the Divine Bounty, the reception of which is always increased by reciprocation on man's part. The Anthem "Hallelujah," in Hebrew, was sung and the Benediction was pronounced. After the service an impromptu reception was tendered Chancellor Benade and his wife, who had just arrived from New York, where they had landed from England the day before. ON December 23d, the Incarnation of the was celebrated by a special church service. Doctrinal readings, by the Priests, from the Word in the Letter and in the Internal Sense, alternated with the singing of Psalms, or unisonal reading. Seven priests officiated; the orchestra gave valuable aid, and after the service dosed, played a peaceful and lovely selection, the congregation being seated, affording a quiet and fitting transition to more external states. ON December 30th the Holy Supper was administered to ninety-eight communicants. BISHOP and Mrs. Benade sailed from England on the "Brittanic," on the 12th of December, and after a favorable voyage, landed in New York on the 21st. They were met at the steamer by friends, and the next day were greeted by others on their arrival at their Philadelphia home. Many loving hands had contributed to prepare it for the home-coming. A warm welcome awaited him and his English wife among his many friends who have been expecting his return, for many months; and who are delighted with the manifest improvement in the Bishop's health and strength. ALTHOUGH the erection at Huntingdon Valley, of buildings for the Academy Schools, has been delayed, families have begun to make their homes in the locality. The new year finds one home completed and occupied and three more nearly ready. One of these latter, the large and handsome residence of Mr. John Pitcairn, on the highest point in the vicinity, makes a prominent feature of the landscape. During the year 1894 this home-building has been identified with the distinctive life of the New Church by solemn rites. CHICAGO.- THE Oak Glen School of the Academy celebrated the LORD'S nativity on Thursday afternoon, December 20th. The Assembly Room was tastefully decorated with cedar branches, and two representations, one of a stable and three wise men bringing their offering, and one of the angelic annunciation to the shepherds. The services were conducted by the Head-Master, the Rev. W. H. Acton, assisted by Pastor N. D. Pendleton. Afterward the offerings were exhibited by the Head-Master. Among these were a series of large and beautiful sketches traced from the designs of Mr. Faber, drawing master of the Philadelphia Academy Schools, and intended to accompany and illustrate the new primary reading lessons in use there. These lessons and the tracings were received by the school in Oak Glen as a token of love for the use of the Academy and of a desire, on the part of the Philadelphia schools, to impart to others of the good things they have received from the LORD. They will prove a valuable addition to the material of the school. The exhibition of the presents was followed by a social.
CANADA.
Berlin.- THE Festival of the Incarnation was celebrated by the Church in Berlin, on December 23d.
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT
Chicago.-ON November 10th Pastor Pendleton dedicated the new residence of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh L. Burnham, at Oak Glen, the uses of the home and of the Church, in the presence of several intimate friends of the family. After the opening prayer the pastor read from the Doctrines concerning the signification of a house (A. C. 4390), concerning Conjugial Love (C. L. 50), concerning the education of infants in heaven (H. H. 324, etc.), and concerning feasts (A. C. 7998). He read also Psalm cxxvii, and then made remarks, comparing the use of a house, in protecting its occupants, to that of the body in clothing and serving the mind; and alluding to the effect of the spiritual associates who attach themselves to natural objects, such as houses, according to the faith and the invitation of the occupants. As by baptism spirits are conjoined with man, so they are adjoined to a house by a dedication, which is an invitation to them and a sign of the faith of the inhabitants. In pursuance of this idea the husband and wife now repeated the Faith of the New Heaven and of the New Church. The pastor then raised his hands and solemnly dedicated the house to the various uses of domestic life; first to the most holy use of conjugial love; second, to the most excellent use of rearing and educating children; and, lastly, to the beneficent uses of hospitality. He then invoked the Divine Blessing, and placed copies of The True Christian Religion and of the Word in the sacrarium. The husband and wife then placed a copy of Conjugial Love and one of the Word in the same, devoting the room to the holy use of conjugial love; and, going together alone to the other rooms, devoted them also to their respective uses. The rite closed with the Benediction. THE doings and happenings of the Immanuel Church settlement at Oak Glen receive attentive and, for the most part, humorous treatment in The Park Gazette, the first and experimental number of which appeared in December, with promise of more to follow in case of sufficient encouragement.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
Maine.- THE November Manuel of the Portland Society indicates considerable activity in that body, as the Messenger observes; and that journal quotes therefrom: "Please remember that it is more important that our children and young people study their Sunday-school lessons at home than their day-school lessons." In so far as this involves a recognition of the supreme importance of training for heaven, as compared with training for the world, it seems to indicate an advance beyond the position of only too many nominal New Church Societies at this day. Theoretically few would contradict the doctrine, but how many teach or apply it? Massachusetts.- THE New Church circle in Lawrenceville hold a Bible-class every Sunday afternoon, for which purpose they have rented a room. Twice a month the Rev. John Hayes visits them and preaches. Books are lent outside, also, and papers distributed. IN Boston, December 4th, the Massachusetts New- Church Woman's Union held its second meeting of the season, about fifty ladies attending. Prof. John Fiske's lecture, "Evolution: Its Scope and Influence" was read and discussed in comparison with the teachings of the New Church. One of the ladies also read a portion of a review of Swedenborg's Work, "The Brain." Here, as in other Associations, is manifested the influence of the "Woman Agitation" which is making portentous advance in the dead Church. Emulating men in their own distinctively rational field of thought festers a conceit which is foreign to and destructive of the essential feminine. Connecticut.- AT Mystic, on April 3d, 1893, the Rev. J. A. Lamb, a pioneer of the Church in Connecticut, passed into the Spiritual World. He was a contemporary and friend of the Rev. J. P. Stuart, and a sturdy worker in the cause. Pennsylvania.-ON Sunday, December 16th, the Rev. J. E. Bowers preached at Bear Lake, Warren Co., in the, meeting-house of the United Brethren, to an audience of 200 in the morning and 150 in the evening. It happened that the man who officiates there was away on that day. The distinctive teachings of the Church were presented on the subjects of Immortality and the Future Life of Man, and the Second Advent of the LORD. The new truths were put in contrast to the old falsities, and the people were very attentive. So far as known there is only one member of the New Church in that vicinity, and Mr. Bowers did not even know his name until after his arrival at Bear Lake. Several persons are favorable to the Heavenly Doctrines. IN the Philadelphia First Society two "neighborhood circles" meet on Sunday evenings to read and discuss the assignments from "Lessons in Correspondences," arranged by the American League. ON Thanksgiving Day this Society, which has been "thrown into quite intimate and altogether kindly relations with two Unitarian Societies in this city, united with them in a Thanksgiving Service." The ground alleged for this action is that of gratitude for hospitable civilities offered by one of the Societies during a homeless state of the First Society during its building operations, as well as considerations of good fellowship. "Nothing doctrinal was involved; it was merely an invitation to join in Thanksgiving to the Giver of all good?" (Messenger, Dec. 12th, p. 376.)
16
Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITIAN. Mr. James Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W. PHILADELPHIA, JANUARY, 1895=125.
Title Unspecified 1895
CONTENTS. PAGE
EDITORIAL: Notes, 1 The LORD the Ruler and Defense of His Church (a Sermon) 2 Celebration of the LORD (Exodus xv, 1-19) 5 The Spiritual Sun not the LORD 6 Angelic Language 8 Meeting to London of the Priests of the Academy of the New Church (Second Day) 10 NOTES AND REVIEWS 13 COMMUNICATED-"Vivat Nova Ecclesia" (a Poem) 14 A Day of Love (a Prose Poem) 14 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH 15 BIRTHS AND DEATH 15 A strange plea, indeed, for immunity from the, condemnation which the Word pronounces upon a mixed worship offered conjointly by those who acknowledge the LORD, and those who deny Him! "Thanksgiving to the Giver of all good," surely can mean nothing else to a Newchurchman than worship of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and since all worship is necessarily performed according to the doctrine by which it is prescribed-for this teaches who the LORD is, and how He is to be approached-the plea that "nothing doctrinal was involved," is as foolish as the act of worship itself was a willful sacrificing of obedience to the LORD'S commandment, to satisfy a merely natural sentiment of gratitude for obligations which ought never to have existed. New York.-ON November 25th the members of the First German New Church Society of Brooklyn, according to a unanimous decision, ordained Mr. F. Muhlert as Pastor of the Society, the ceremony being performed by a committee of laymen representing the laity of the Society. This departure from the order of the Church they seek to justify by referring to Numbers viii, 10, and Arcana Coelestia, n. 10,023.
Maryland.- A WELL-KNOWN member of the Baltimore Society, Mr. Conrad L'Allemand, died on November 24th. Of late years he has been at work on a translation into German of the English work, The Science of Correspondences. Washington, D. C.- The Corner-stone of the "National New Church in Washington" was laid on December 12th. The ceremony, which was set for one o'clock, consisted mainly of Prayer; the unisonal reading of the Faith of the New Church (modified); the reading of appropriate passages of the Word; an address by Rev. William L, Worcester of Philadelphia; the depositing in a hollow of the Corner-stone some of the Writings, a Bible, various journals, New Church and otherwise, transactions of New Church bodies, circulars, and pictures of the former building of the Washington Society (destroyed by fire in 1889); and the laying of the stone. Mr. Worcester's remarks, otherwise good, concerning the representation of the rite, lacked the clear and positive annunciation of the distinctive quality of the New Church and of the Revelation from which that quality is derived. Ohio.- THE efforts of the recent convert, the Rev. F. W. Dahlmann, have led to the formation of the "New Church Peace Society, Toledo, Ohio," which has chose him as Pastor. The German Liturgy has been formally adopted. A NEW method of diffusing knowledge concerning the New Church Doctrines has been adopted by Mr. Horst, who has presented a thousand pamphlets to railroad book-sellers, with the understanding that they may be sold to travelers at a merely nominal price. THE Rev. John Goddard, during October, gave three lectures at Vermilion, on the Spiritual World, drawing good audiences. Questions were asked at the close. Kentucky.- THE Rev. A. J. Cleare, of Illinois, has been evangelizing in Kentucky. In Louisville a society was formed last summer, to which Mr. Cleare and also the Rev. E. A. Beaman have preached and lectured by invitation. The society now numbers about twenty-five, and desires co-operation from neighboring districts to employ a minister for that region. Tennessee.- THE Rev. A. J. Bartels has been ministering in Illinois and Tennessee, preaching and administering the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper. THE Rev. C. A. Nussbaum, of Gruetli, Tennessee, has been elected Pastor of the St. Louis German Society, of which the Rev. G. Bussmann has been in charge. The latter will remain in St. Louis. He recently visited Ely (Iowa) end Quincy (Ill.). Mr. Nussbaum's departure leaves the Swiss Colony at Gruetli without a pastor. California.- THE house of worship of the Rev. Joseph Worcester is expected to be finished ready for occupancy in a few weeks,
SOUTH AMERICA.
Rio de Janeiro.- ACCORDING to L'Eglise de l'Avenir the French brethren are doing energetic evangelistic work in Brazil. M. C. de Lafayette has already a group of a score of persons who are forming a nucleus of the New Church in Brazil. The Paris Committee has decided to furnish to M. de Lafayette all the works of Swedenborg. Furthermore a little pamphlet will be printed in the Portuguese language designed to propagate the Doctrines in Brazil.
GREAT BRITAIN.
London (Plaistow).- THE new Society in this place seems in a flourishing condition, the membership having increased from six to forty, and the finances being in a satisfactory state. Camberwell, November 11th, the Rev. W. A. Presland lectured on the Principles which should govern in the School Board Election. In the course of his remarks he alluded to "four remarkable systems of religion, the Roman Catholic, the Protestant Evangelical, the Unitarian, and the New Church or Swedenborgian," and affirmed his conviction that true religion was more pervasive than any of these four beliefs! Mr. Presland seems not to be aware that Swedenborg includes the first three in the dead and damned faith of a dead and putrefying church, while he tells the fourth the Crown of all the (true) Churches-the chosen and lovely Bride of the Lamb. THE annual meeting of the New Church Orphanage was held in London on October 27th, the Rev John Presland in the chair. The number of wards maintained during the year is thirty-six, at a cost of $3,100. The number maintained from the beginning, is sixty-eight, at a total cost of $25,270. The present number is thirty. The support ceases when the beneficiary reaches the age of fifteen years. THE Council of the New Church College has sent the various Societies of Conference a circular letter advertising the desire to equip young men for the ministry by rendering educational assistance, theological and secular, to eligible applicants. The true way to effect the end of raising up an effective and zealous ministry is to educate the young to an appreciation and affection for the spiritual things of the Church and of church use, and to a just conception and estimate of the holy office of the Priesthood, of its duties and scope. In that case special exertions would not necessary to invite to the high privileges of this use by inducements comparatively external in character. Bath.-JUBILEE services were held on October 21st by the Bath Society to commemorate the building of their house of worship in 1844. On the evening following a public meeting was held in the church. The present treasurer of the Society, like his predecessor, has been a collector of photographs, and as a result of their labors he was enabled to present to the Society the likenesses of the members of the Church Committee in the year 1844 and of the Committee of the present year, suitably framed. Bolton.-OCTOBER 28th marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Bolton Society.
INDIA.
Allahabad.-BISHOP John McGowan, on the 8th of September, passed into the spiritual world at the age of fifty years. Bishop McGowan was zealous in the work of planting the New Church In India, and undaunted by the opposition and ridicule with which he met-chiefly on account of his staunch advocacy of the teachings of Conjugial Love. He was a vegetarian and a total abstainer from tobacco, alcoholic or other stimulants. By his removal the publication of his paper, The Indian New- Church Messenger, is brought to a standstill. His son desires the co-operation of members of the New Church in other countries to raise a memorial to his father worthy of his devotion to the cause of the Church. Contributions should be addressed to Mr. S. R. McGowan, Allahahad, India.
There were Ancient Churches in the Asiatic world, and they had a Word, which was afterward lost.-A. R. 11.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE sudden bound of Japan into what, for want of a more correct appellation, is called civilization, and her arrested the attention of the world, causing widespread terrific onslaught on the great old empire of China, have astonishment. That this long-secluded nation should within twenty years have mastered the science of modern times, so that it now commands the respect and admiration of the "first-class powers," leads to speculation as to its future history, its industrial and commercial relations with other nations; and its development in the domain of literature, the latter largely dependent upon its progress in religion.
Title Unspecified 1895
TO the Newchurchman, into whose ears it has been constantly dinned by certain widely celebrated preachers, that the steamboat and the telegraph and other modern inventions are the direct out-birth of the Second Coming of the LORD, the development of the Japanese movement, unattended as it is by any step toward an acceptance of the Christian Scriptures, gives rise to the reflection that the coupling of modern improvements with Divine Revelation and the institution of the New Church, has been and is a very sad error, to say the least. For the Japanese have not merely borrowed from the Christians: there are suspicions of original inventions which far surpass the applied science of the Occident;-or, ought we now call the countries in which the New Church has been established, the Orient, from which, as of old, "the course of empires wends its way" westward?
Title Unspecified 1895
CHRISTIAN missionaries have long been active in Japan. Although they have been, at times, very successful, the Doctrines of the Old Church have not been suffered to take enduring hold upon this gentle people. But the enlarged intercourse with Christian nations, which Japan's new standing as a nation insures, may, and as every Newchurchman hopes, will, lead to the spread of the Doctrines of the New Church to the "island kingdom" of Asia, thence to run to the Continent, and complete the circling of the earth by the Church, which started in the land of Canaan and pursued its way toward the west.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE present conflict may have another effect. It may lead to the fulfillment of the injunction in the sacred Books of the New Church, to "seek for the Ancient Word." Whatever, the conditions upon which the Japanese will allow China to secure peace, certain it is that her very victory and the means of its attainment will have an effect upon China, similar to that which the demonstration of civilized powers had on Japan twenty years ago. The seclusion of China will virtually come to an end. The forces that have been at work for some time, from within and from without the "Celestial Empire," needed only the violent concussion, caused by the European organization and equipment of an Asiatic people, to burst the shell of seclusiveness. The literary treasures of China, with its Tartar dynasty, will then no doubt become accessible to scholars in touch with the thought of Christian countries, and then will arise the opportunity for obeying the injunction contained in the words: "Seek for it [the Ancient Word] in China, and perhaps you will find it there among the Tartars" (A. R. 11).
Title Unspecified 1895
From [the Ancient Word and from the Israelitish Word] religions emanated to the Indies and their islands.-S. S. 117.
Title Unspecified 1895
Bote der Neuen Kirche, which gained an unenviable reputation a few years ago for abetting the Artopean heresy, again manifests its predilection for sensational departures in the field of New Church theology. A recent issue of that journal contained a sixteen-page supplement from the pen of Mr. George M. Pope, of Hamburg, Ill. It consists of an autobiography with two introductions, the substance of all of which is that the author, who is a great reader of the Writings and has thought much about religious matters until he has heard voices and seen visions-has been led by spirits to believe that he has a peculiar mission in the regeneration of the New Church, in which his "celestial" genius is a dominant factor. The scope of his mission is not set forth in very lucid terms, but the following may serve to reveal its character. Mr. Pope is a native of Germany, and his name was, originally, "Bub," which is a German word for "boy." In quoting verse 5 of Apocalypse, chapter xii, "And she brought forth a man-child, who shall feed all nations with a rod of iron," he inserts the word "Bub" as interpretation of the words "man-child," making it refer literally to himself; and he declares that the LORD revealed to him that the contents of this chapter referred to his mission, it being written, "I have called thee by thy name, I have surnamed thee, when thou knewest me not" (is. xlv, 4). The sacrilege in this needs not to be pointed out. But, just as this new celestialist perverts the literal sense to favor himself, so also does he pervert the doctrine of the Internal Sense for the same purpose. Aside from the serious aspect of the case, it does not seem to have occurred to Mr. Pope that, if there is any significance in names, he has voluntarily relinquished one indicative of good, and adopted one which, as he signs his proclamation with it, stamps his pretensions as the very worst form of adulteration of good.
Title Unspecified 1895
Concerning this Ancient Word, which was in Asia before the Israelitish Word, it is fitting to relate, this news that it is still reserved there with the people who dwell in Great Tartary.-A. R. 11.
18
JUDGMENT. PENDLETON 1895
A SERMON
"Happy the man that walketh not in the counsel of the impious, and in the way of sinners standeth not, and in the seat of scoffers sitteth not."-Psalm i, 1.
NOTHING is openly revealed in the Old Testament concerning the life after death and the spiritual world. What has been seen there as teaching such a life has been seen in the light of the subsequent spiritual revelation made by the LORD; but nothing of it was seen by the Jew or Israelite. Man understands the Word or Divine Revelation according to the light that is in his own mind;' according to his faith, or the doctrine which he has been taught and believes. So it was with the sons of Israel: their faith was in a temporal Messiah or king, who was to come and subdue all nations under them, and place at their command the riches of the whole world; and the land of Canaan was to them the kingdom of the LORD; they-had no knowledge or belief in a life after death, in a spiritual world, no knowledge or belief in a spiritual kingdom in which the Messiah should reign. Even the Apostles shared these views, which prevailed at that time, until after the Resurrection of the LORD, and the day of Pentecost. Saturated thus with material views and material loves, no spiritual light could enter the mind of the Jew, and so therefore none was given him in the letter of the Old Testament, and that people understood all its sayings from beginning to end to treat of their temporal Messiah, and of themselves as His faithful subjects whom He was to reward with untold power and riches without limit; and when the Messiah came, revealing Himself as the spiritual ruler of the human race, the God of the universe, and His kingdom as a spiritual kingdom, they rejected and crucified Him. To the Christian Church the LORD gave in the New Testament a spiritual understanding of His Word, and in this light the men of that Church were able to see spiritual light in the Old Testament, but this was obscure and general; for the light of Divine Truth, such as it is in itself, was not and could not be given to the Christian Church. Let us now examine the first Psalm and see how that Psalm was understood by the Jew, how by the Christian, and how it is to be understood in the New Church; keeping in mind throughout that man understands the Word, and can only understand the Word, according to the light of doctrine which he believes and holds. The Jew understood by the impious, the sinner, and the scoffer, those who lived openly in the evils mentioned in the Ten Commandments, those who openly violated or did not observe and keep the ceremonial or ritual law, and those who made the same a subject of mockery and derision; but that those who kept these rites and laws in their external form, avoiding the company of those who did not keep them, would be rewarded by being made rich and prosperous in the things of the world; taking in their most literal sense, and in that sense only, the words, And all that he doeth shall prosper. They were also permitted in the Providence of the LORD to believe that natural prosperity would be the reward for the faithful observance of their law; and in fact they were so rewarded, and the words of this Psalm were true to them, and are true now in their most literal sense; But the Jew saw no other meaning in the words, not knowing that the letter merely treats of the ultimate effects that are added on to man, in this world or the next, as effects of internal spiritual conditions of love and wisdom; although they are given even to the evil temporarily, who observe natural laws, for the sake of the uses they can be made to perform, before the final judgment comes. By the judgment the Jew understood the day and time when the Messiah should come, who would then reward the faithful observers of the law. With power and riches, but the rest He would cast out His kingdom, and cause them to perish. The Christian understood by the impious, the sinner, and the scoffer, those who live in open evils of life, who openly deny God and the Word, and who make the things of religion a subject of mockery and derision; but holding at the same time that, while keeping the law of the Ten Commandments is binding upon man in his civil, social, and moral life, it contributes nothing whatever to his eternal salvation; and so to them the tree that is planted by the waters, is their all-saving faith, and he who has this will be rewarded with the gift of eternal life, when the last day, the day of Judgment, comes; and those who have it not will then be cast into Hell. The Christian, therefore, from the spiritual light of the New Testament, saw something spiritual in this Psalm, but having perverted that light to confirm the dogma of salvation by faith alone, without the works of the Law, or without the internal keeping of the Commandments, from that false and perverted light saw in this Psalm only confirmation of his false and evil faith; for man, as was before said, understands the Word, and all things of the Word, according to the light of the doctrine in his mind, whether this doctrine be true or false. When there was no longer any true doctrine in the world, or in the mind of man, by which the Word could be truly understood,-when all had become falsified and perverted,-it was necessary that the LORD Himself should come and reveal true doctrine to men, in order that there still might be conjunction of Heaven with the human race by the Word; for without the understanding of the Word there is no conjunction with Heaven by the Word, and therefore no salvation. True doctrine gives us a spiritual understanding of the Word, teaches us that the Word treats primarily and essentially of spiritual things, and not of things natural except by derivation and application; that the first of the things spiritual of which the Word treats, is the LORD Himself; and it may be said in truth that the Word treats of the LORD alone, and of other things by derivation and application. The Word treats of the LORD and His Divine works, all of which look to the salvation of the human race and the formation of an Angelic Heaven; for this was the end in the Divine Work of Creation, and it is the end in the Divine Work of Redemption. In the light of true Doctrine we learn that the first Psalm treats of the Divine Work of Judgment, or of the separation of the good from the evil, showing that in the Judgment, and by it, the good are taken into Heaven, there to dwell forever in a state of spiritual happiness and prosperity; and that the evil are cast into Hell, there to dwell in a state of eternal misery. First it is taught that the evil and the good are together; and how and when the separation begins to be effected, namely, when man doth not live ill, when man ceases to live an evil life by beginning the work of shunning evils as sins against God. Then a plane is made by which the LORD can enter into the work of actual repentance on the part of man, acting as of himself,-and can do His Divine Work of Judgment, of separating man from evil spirits; leading him out of the midst of the societies of infernals in which he has been, and introducing him into societies of the good, in one of "which he is finally to dwell in eternal happiness forever.
19
Happy the man who walketh not in the counsel of the impious, and in the way of sinners standeth not, and in the seat of scoffers sitteth not. But in the Law of the LORD is his good pleasure, and in His Law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be as a tree planted by streams of waters, which giveth his fruit in his time, and his leaf shall not fall, and all that he doeth shall prosper. And the evil spirits, who have held man in spiritual captivity, will be separated from him, their societies in the world of spirits broken up, where they will no longer have power to remain, and so will be cast into Hell. Not so the impious, but they are as the chaff which the wind driveth. Therefore the impious shall not stand in the judgement nor sinners in the congregation of the just. The LORD alone is able to do this, for He alone knoweth the way of the life of every one. For the LORD knoweth the way of the just, and the way of the impious shall perish. The judgment or separation begins with the instruction given to man concerning the things which he is to shun and avoid, in order that the LORD may lead him away from the company and consociation of evil spirits, into the societies of the good; and it will be seen `that things to be shunned, and the steps by which he is to be led away, are presented in a series, so that his rescue from the societies of the infernals is progressive. First, he is to walk tact in the counsel of the impious; second, be is to stand not in the way of sinners; third, he is to sit not in the seat of scoffers. We have presented here man in his relation with the inhabitants of the spiritual world, who are with him and operate upon him in the different periods of his regenerate life, showing that there are three classes, or three general states of the inhabitants of that world with whom man associates from time to time in the course of his life; three classes of the infernals, or the three Hells three classes of angels, or the three Heavens; also three classes of evil spirits in the World of Spirits, representing the three Hells, and three classes of good spirits in the World of Spirits, representing the three Heavens; and as a consequence three classes or general states of men in the natural world, who are operated upon and consociated with one or another of the classes of evil or good spirits, as the case may be. The first or mildest Hell, and the evil spirits in the World of Spirits, who are consociated with that Hell, and are tending thither, are understood by the impious, in whose counsel man is not to walk; but instead thereof he is to seek and walk in the counsel of the opposite class of good spirits, who are consociated with the ultimate Heaven. The second or middle Hell, and the evil spirits in the World of Spirits who are consociated with that Hell, and are tending thither, are understood by the sinners, in whose way man is not to stand or take his stand, but instead thereof he is to take his stand with the opposite class of good spirits, who are consociated with the middle or spiritual Heaven, and for which they are preparing. The third or lowest Hell, and the class of spirits in the World of Spirits who are consociated with that Hell, and are tending thither, are understood by the scoffers, in whose seat man is not to sit; but instead thereof man is to seek the seat and dwelling-place of the opposite class of good spirits, who are consociated with the highest or celestial heaven, and who are preparing for introduction into that heaven. There are in general then three classes of evils, and the falses of evil, that man is to shun and avoid; and when he does this, when he does the work of actual repentance, when he doth not live ill, the LORD leads him away, separates him from the companies of evil spirits who are in those evils and falses, and introduces him into the companies of the good, who are in the goods and truths which are opposite to the evils and falses in which man was when be was consociated with the societies of Hell. First, he is commanded not to walk in the counsel of the impious. This indicates the first work, or the work that is done in the beginning of the life of regeneration. When man reaches adult age his whereabouts in the spiritual world is here indicated; he is in the company of the impious, and is prone to walk in their counsels. But he is then instructed by the LORD as to the real quality of their counsels, in order that, he himself may see what it is, shun it, walk not in it; in order that the LORD may lead him away from such company and consociation, inspiring him at the same time with the affection and desire for the counsels of the good, with whom he may dwell, and from whom he may learn the way of life, and be strengthened and supported in all his efforts to keep the law of the LORD. What are the counsels of the good, such counsels as man should receive in the age of youth and early manhood? The Jew and the Christian taught, and still teach, that the counsels of the good are such as respect moral life in the world, and the outward observance of the things of religion, a man's speech and conversation, and his conduct in his external relations with men, a strict observance of the rules of piety which religion teaches, a keeping of the letter of the Ten Commandments. A young man is taught that such a course of conversation and conduct is by far the best policy for him, in order to establish a reputation as a good man and citizen in the world; and that this is the road to honor and wealth, and all worldly success. The Jew stops here, as we have already seen, but the Christian adds to it-which we have also seen-that such a course of speech and conduct contributes nothing to spiritual life and eternal salvation, but that salvation is by faith in the merits of the LORD in His suffering upon the Cross for the sins of the human race, and by this, faith alone: for salvation or success in the world, a good moral life; but for salvation in the spiritual world, faith alone. We have here before us the differentiation of the doctrine of the old Church and the doctrine of the New Church as now revealed by the LORD. In the light of this new doctrine the youth and young man of the New Church receives the same counsel in general as that given by the Jew and Christian, in the external form, as respects life in the world. But with him the counsels to a moral life, whilst they do contribute to and establish a worldly success, do not present to him such success as the end for which he is to strive, but as the means to the end, which is eternal life. A moral life is presented to him- not as the best policy, but as that which is true and right in itself, and essential as the means of his eternal salvation; as a plane in the world in which and by which the LORD can lead him to his home eternal in the Heavens; as a means by which he places himself in a position to perform uses to the neighbor, and, in his daily use of charity among men, to daily grow in the life of regeneration and in the way of salvation. But this is not all. The counsels which a youth and young man of the New Church receives, include the doctrine of a true faith, which gives a true spiritual internal to his moral life, teaching that he is not only to shun the evils that invade the moral life, as sins against himself and success in the world-that prevent the proper and faithful performance of his natural use of charity-but that such evils are to be shunned as sins against God, and so against his spiritual and eternal life; that the doing of such evils are sins that not only destroy the peace and happiness of his natural life, but also all the peace and happiness of spiritual life, or his life eternal in the Heavens.
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But the counsels to the young man of the New Church go further; they teach him that the external evils of the moral life, such as are mentioned in the letter of the Commandments, and the falses which accompany them, do not include in their mere external form all the evils that are to be shunned as sins against God; but he is to shun also the thoughts of the understanding, and the intentions and lusts of the will from which these evils spring, and which give them their soul and life; he is to clean the inside of the cup and platter, that the outside also may-be clean. But true counsels do not even stop here. The young man of the New Church is not only to shun the external and internal evils of the moral life as sins against God, but he is also to shun the falses and evils of a false faith and a perverted religion, false ideas of God, false ideas of the spiritual world and the life after death, false ideas; of salvation, and others that are well known in the New Church. He is also to shun the evils from which those falsities spring, evils of the love of dominion in the things of religion, the thought, the purpose, and the will to dominate over the souls of men in those things which pertain to eternal life-evils which infest every man in the New Church, both priest and layman. He is also to shun the evils of the love, of the world in the things of religion, evils that would lead man to make merchandise of the Doctrines of the New church, for the sake of worldly fame and wealth-evils which also infest every man in the New Church, whether priest or layman. But the counsels to the young man of the New Church do not stop in what is negative; they are also positive and affirmative in their character; they not only teach him what he is to shun and reject, but also what he is to adopt and receive; they teach him the genuine doctrine of truth, give him a true idea of God, a true idea of the spiritual world, a true idea of the Word or Sacred Scripture, a true idea of the way of life and the means of salvation. And then, when the young man of the Church receives these counsels, repents of the evils, rejects the falses, receives with affection the genuine truths of doctrine, the LORD then in His Mercy transfers him from the societies of the impious in the spiritual world, leads him out of those societies, and introduces him into the societies of those who are in consociation with the ultimate Heaven; and he no longer walks in the counsel of the impious, but in the counsel of the just. He has taken, under the LORD'S auspices and Divine leading, the first important step in the regenerate life. The first step now taken has a two-fold form and relation: first, it respects man's relation with men in the natural world; second, it respects man's relation with men or spirits in the spiritual world. As to the first, by a true and genuine morality of speech and conduct, it separates the young man of the New Church from the company of those whose morals are bad, whose speech is lascivious and profane, and whose conduct is in open violation of the Ten Commandments and by his conversation and actions according to the law of morals taught in the letter of the Ten Commandments, he draws a line, or erects a wall between himself and them, which they cannot successfully assail, and in which they can make no breach. And further, by an outward confession and practice of the doctrines of the New Church, it also separates him from the company of those, who, while in the outward appearance are moral, pious, and religious, still within are under the domination of the dogma of Justification by Faith Alone, and who are therefore inwardly immoral, impious, and irreligious, whose entire religious and social life is therefore corrupt in their internal form. That is, it separates him from the religious and social life of the old Church, though it does not separate him from the civil and business plane of the world-for this is not possible in our day, nor is it necessary; for the laws of the civil state, and the laws of business, while infected by the internal corruption of the old Church, are yet under the government-in the ultimate form-of common influx from Heaven, making as it were one with the law of self-interest in ultimates among men; producing common perception, and leading to what is called common sense, thus to external law and order, and to what is just and equitable with men in their dealings with each other; and so in a measure dissociating the civil plane from the corrupt life of the, old Church, and enabling the young man of the New Church to co-operate with men in the world on that plane in some degree of freedom, though not without combat and temptation. Second, by a right thinking in spiritual things according to the general doctrines of the Church, it separates the young man of the New Church from the company of the impious and corrupt in the spiritual world, and as we have already seen, introduces him into the society of good spirits, who are in consociation with the ultimate Heaven, and are preparing for it. To walk not in the counsel of the impious on the one hand, and to walk in the counsel of the just on the other, is therefore the separation of man from the immoral and irreligious life of the world in speech and conduct; but primarily it respects his separation from the class of spirits spoken of, by a right thinking in spiritual things. To walk, in an external sense, is to act; but in an internal or spiritual sense it is to think from spiritual affection; and as man progresses and grows in his natural life by speaking and acting aright, so he progresses and grows in his spiritual life by thinking aright. Thinking aright in spiritual things is, however, but the first general step. If he grows in spiritual life he is afterward to depart from the way of sinners, from the company of those spirits, who still infest him, and who are consociated with the middle Hell; and to enter into the company of good spirits in the world of spirits, who are consociated with the middle or second Heaven. That is, he must give up his evil intentions, and come into the sphere of those who have only intentions of good, and thus be prepared for life with those who dwell in the spiritual Heaven. And if he is capable of progressing farther he must leave the company of the scoffers, depart from their seat, which is the lowest Hell, and enter into the sphere of the highest Heaven, which is a sphere of ends, and by true ends come into consociation with the spirits in the world of spirits, who are preparing for that Heaven.
Title Unspecified 1895
Judgment pertains to the Lord's Divine Human and Holy Proceeding.-A. C. 2320.
Title Unspecified 1895
THIS translation "affection of truth" is generally better, as well as more literal, than "affection for truth," as expressing the idea that not only is the Truth the LORD'S-yea, is the LORD with men, but that so is the affection. The other term accords more with the appearance that man's life is his own.
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SECOND TEMPTATION. 1895
EXODUS XV, 20-27.
THE celebration of the LORD, begun in the preceding part of this chapter, closes with the song of Miriam. Then the internal sense treats of the second temptation of those who were of the spiritual Church, which is described by the murmuring of the people at Marah, where were the bitter waters; and then of the consolation, which is signified by the encampment at Elim, where were the twelve wells and the seventy palms. (20, 21.) The LORD was also glorified from the good of faith, "and Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aharon, took a timbret in her hand,"-and all the goods of truth, "and went forth all the women after her"-celebrated Him from joy and gladness, "in timbrels and in dances"-in reciprocation, "and Miriam answered them"-that to the LORD alone is glory, "Sing ye to JEHOVAH"-Who has manifested His Divine in His Human, "because exalting He hath exalted"-and from Whose mere presence the falses of faith and the evils of life have cast themselves into hell, "the horse and his rider He hath cast into the sea." (22-26.) In the successive life according to the order of the Divine Truth, after they had passed through the region of hell, "and Moses made Israel to set forth from the sea Suph"-they were then led into a state of temptation through which they would acquire spiritual rife, "and they went forth unto the desert of Shur"-when truths would be deficient, and finally be lacking altogether, "and they went three days in the desert, and did not find waters"-and then they underwent a state of temptation, "and they came to Marah"-when truths appeared to them undelightful, because they were without the affection of good, "and they could not drink the waters for bitterness because they were bitter"-so that the state and quality of that temptation was bitter to them, "therefore he called the name thereof Marah." So they grieved from the harshness of the temptation, "and the people murmured against Moses"-because they did not sustain truths as they were undelightful from there being no affection of them, "saying, What shall we drink?"- Thus grieving, they made supplication to the LORD, "and he cried unto JEHOVAH"-Who inspired good, "and JEHOVAH showed him wood"-with which He affected the truths, "and He cast forth into the waters"-whence the truths became delightful, "and sweet were made the waters"-and the truth of order was then revealed, "there He placed for him a statute and judgment"-as to temptations in general, "and there He tempted him and instructed them, "and He said"-that if they will believe the precepts of the LORD, "If hearing thou wilt hear the voice of JEHOVAH thy God"-and live according to them, "and wilt do the right in His eyes"-and obey and live according to the goods of faith, which are the interiors of the Church. "And wilt hearken unto His precepts"-and according to the precepts of faith, which are the exteriors of the Church, "and wilt guard all His statutes"-then they will be kept from the evils which they have who are in faith separated and in the life of evil-"every disease which I have placed into the Egyptians, I shall not place upon thee"-for the LORD alone preserves from evils, "Because I am JEHOVAH thy Healer." (27.) After this temptation they entered upon a state of illustration, and affection, thus of consolation, "and they came unto Elim"-where they had truths in all abundance, "and there were twelve wells of waters"-and also goods of truth in all abundance, "and seventy palms"-and the truths of faith were set in order through the good of love, "and they encamped there by the waters."
Title Unspecified 1895
Since the Corner is strength and firmness, such as is of Divine Truth from Divine Good, therefore the Lord is called the Corner-stone.-A. C. 9494.
FOUNDATION- STONE. 1895
A STORY FOR CHILDREN.
How I ever came to lie in the bed in which I rested, I do not know. We stones lead a cold and very quiet life, and are rather dull to think about things. All I know is that I lay here a very long time. So long that to the wonderful little active beings called boys and girls, it must have seemed endless. I know that I gradually grew. The stones around me grew also; but what I was like in the beginning, and, in fact, how I ever came into existence, I do not know, and I doubt whether stones ever learn such things, in bed. I say that I led a very quiet and still life; indeed, men would say that we stones have no life at all. But I think that we do have me little life, only very different from the life that plants and animals have, or else how could we grow? You may imagine that my life must have been very monotonous and dreary, lying in the dark, cold ground. No, it was not; at least not to me. My brothers and I talked with one another, as we lay in our beds, just as I have heard that little brothers and sisters sometimes lie in bed and talk with each other. Only our language is very, very different from theirs. We cannot make such beautiful sounds as those called "words," but still we talked to one another by what I once heard a wise man speak of as our "spheres." We breathe our life forth to our brothers, and they know then what is in us, and that is the way we talk. And then we had visitors. Not other stones; for while we lived at home dear Mother Earth kept us all in her fond embrace, and no other stones could get near us. But there were wonderful little visitors that could creep in among us and tell us of the wonderful life that they led. They came a long, long journey before reaching us, and from a different world, and, after staying a short times would go on further, for they were a race of perpetual wanderers-never idle, always active-so different from us stones! And they were so kind to us, talking to us of the many places where they had been, and of the many things which they had seen and heard. These visitors all bore the family name of "water," and each one was called "drop." They sometimes came in company with one another, in the form of a procession, and called themselves "rills" and "courses," and other names which they had learned from those wonderful beings of whom they always told us, called "men." The water-drops said that they were all born in the place called "sky," and told us many, many stories of the lovely games they had in "cloud-land" and "mist," and other regions of the sky. We used to listen with awe to their accounts of a wonderful bright, central orb in the sky called "sun" which they said was the great father of all the water-drops, and even of us stones, and of millions and millions of other children besides. And then they told us how, when Father Sun veiled his face, the water-drops would form companies or regiments and race down to the earth, for then they did not care to live in the sky, but wanted to bury themselves in the earth.
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And when they arrived there they would find thousands and thousands of little doors open in it, through which they would enter and come down to us stones, deep in the ground. And, after a while, the dear Father Sun would call them up to the sky again. They were wise little visitors, and they said that sometimes they were called by a name that they loved even better than "water-drops,"-because that name was given them only by very wise men, and was not used often, but-that when it was used their Father Sun would smile much brighter than usual. That name was "truth." They said they could not exactly explain what it meant but that it was something very beautiful. They told us a great deal more about men, to whom, they said; Father Sun often sent them as servants, and they loved to be the servants of men. They told us of many of their own uses, as that they helped plants grow, and quenched the thirst of animals, and turned water-wheels, etc., but it was all so wonderful and so different from anything that we stones saw that we had very dull ideas as to what those things were. They said that men used many, many different kinds of servants, and that they had seen oh! so many of our relations, the stones, serving men, and that in different capacities. They told us that not far from where I was resting in my bed, with my brothers around me, many of our cousins were serving to hold up a bank of earth, and that in the fine order in which they were laid they were called a "wall." They were bound together by cement, which was a very kind and good servant. Then there were many of our relations serving in a house, in which lived a family consisting of husband and wife and five little children, and a grandmother, and an auntie, and servants. Then there were again other of our relations who served in a "well," and others who served in a "vault," and so forth. The dear drops of water told us that we also might some day be invited to leave our-beds and serve man, and that this would be the greatest good that we could perform, for Father Sun wanted all his children to be of service to man. My brothers and I often talked together about this great use of serving men, and I am afraid we often built what little boys call air-castles, even though we had never seen the air! However, there could not have been anything wrong in the fancies we cherished, for when we would talk together of the honor it would be, some day, to serve man in-a well," or a "vault" or a "house," and would talk of how strong we would try to be, there frequently came creeping in among us some of the dear little water-drops and kiss us dull stones, and whisper to us that they had come direct from the sky, from dear Father Sun, with a message of love from him? And then we would feel thankful and happy and stronger. One day the kind messengers of "truth" told us that the time had come at last; that the husband who lived in the "house" intended to build a new and better house and that the place where we had been lying so long was to be dug out for the cellar of the new house. They did not know whether any of us would be made servants as yet, but we would certainly come to the air and we would see Father Sun and Mother Earth, and all their many children, the plants and flowers and trees and, above all, men. You little boys and girls, who are listening to my story, may think that we all became very much excited over the news. I am sorry that I must dispel that idea; we were very glad,-but stones, you know, are rather cold, and have not much life. We remained still and quiet, and patiently waited for the time of our rising to come. You see, we had been lying in the ground for, well, I should say, thousands of years, and, of course, I we knew how to be patient, and not imagine that a minute was a day, as I have heard some little children do, when they are expecting some great event. In a few weeks we heard queer noises, and learned from the water-drops, who saw everything before they came down to us, that these noises were made by the men who were digging the cellar of the house. The noises came nearer and nearer, and at last several of my brethren fell away out of the beds in which they had been lying for ages, and then a wonderful light burst upon me, and I too fell out of my bed! I looked with astonishment at those superior beings, the "men," of whom the water-drops had told us so much. With all their descriptions, I had not been able to form a clear idea of what they looked like, and I was stupefied with amazement, and then, when I found them lifting me on my side, and turning me over and over, I wondered that I could ever be of use to them who could do so much for we, while I did not know even how to move the least little distance nearer to them. A stone thinks very slowly. By the time I had thought this over, a surprise came to me. I saw a man who looked different from the other men. I did not know what made me know, but I knew that he was different, and that he was the kind husband of whom I had heard. He looked at me critically, but kindly, and then said to one of the other men, who seemed to be the one who gave directions, "I should like you to lay this stone aside for me. It is a good, large, hard Rock!" I felt very glad that he liked me, and that he thought I might become one of his servants, but I was not prepared for the next words, which made me so happy that I heard nothing more. He said, "I want this Rock to be used as the Corner-stone of my house!" I felt very grateful and happy. What an honorable service this was to be! The dear water-drops had told us that the Corner-stone was the chief stone of the foundations, and kept the whole house solid. Just then Father Sun sent a number of warm, loving rays of sunshine down to me, and they danced around me in joy, and kissed my cold cheeks, and whispered to me, until even my cold heart grew warm and expanded, and thanked Father Sun and Mother Earth that they had made me, and also the dear water-drops that they had helped me grow so large and hard and strong, for the purpose of performing so great a service to man, and I said to the dear sunbeams that I would use all my strength to be a good servant in the honorable position for which I had been chosen. After awhile the sunbeams said good-night, and hastened away after their Father Sun, who was going down behind the woods in the west. I was musing upon the noble service I was to perform, when, suddenly, I felt a gentle little kiss upon my cheek, and then another, and another, and there came the dear little water-drops out of the sky. They said they had changed their name just then and were called "dew." They sat around, all over me and about me, and told me they had been up in the sky, where I could not see them, but where they ad seen me, and that they had rejoiced with me; that they had seen the dear sunshine come down to me, and that they had waited with their visit so as not to disturb the sunshine, and made their visit now after the sunshine was gone. They stayed all night.
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Some of the dew-drops went down into the earth to tell some others of my relations about my good fortune, but others stayed with me, and we talked about the fine house that was going to be built, and which I was going to serve. For several days I had visits from the sunbeams and the dew-drops. One day I saw something new about which the drops used to tell me. Father Sun veiled his face, and then all the water-drops came scurrying down to the earth as fast as they could hurry, and they laughed and said, "This is the sport that we call 'rain,'" and they danced to the music of the wind who blew hard and whistled; and the harder he blew and whistled, the faster danced the water-drops. It was fun to see my old friends changing so often, but they always did some service to man in some way, although, in my dullness, I could not always understand in what way that was. One day, it was in the month of April, they came to me, not as dew, and not as rain, but in the most beautiful dresses I ever saw. They were white, and looked like stars, but all the stars were of different shapes and sizes. And they came down and nestled on me and around me, and said, "Now, we are called 'snow.' This is the day that the Father of the house has decided appointed, as the one on which you are to be placed in the honorable position which you are to occupy in his new house. Father Sun has veiled his face, but his veil is light, and in honor of the occasion we have come to you in white garments, for we have heard that the white of the snow is loved by men, and by our Father Sun, for white also means truth. We will cover you with a white mantle on this great day." Two men came and lifted me into a chariot of state-at least it was this to poor me, who could not move myself-and they wheeled me along till they came to a place that they called the "southeast corner," where I was to be placed. They did not set me at once into the corner of the excavation, but placed me near it, because I was to be taught more about the noble service I was to perform before I could be introduced in to it. I lay on the ground quietly and looked about me. The earth had been dug away straight down all over the place where the house was to be. It was dug about eight or nine feet, I should judge. As it was snowing, the Father of the house had ordered his men to stretch a large piece of canvas over the corner where the ceremony was to take place, and where I lay. Those who were to take part in the ceremony appeared. There was the Father and Husband, and his Wife, and one of their five little children, and an aunt and a cousin of the little boy, and two of the men servants, and the two masons who wheeled me here, and the Priest. A small altar was made, and the Priest laid a beautiful Book upon it, open, and then he said, and I shall never forget the words, "Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it." I felt very strange-I believe men call it "humble" and "solemn"-and I wanted to know who the LORD was. And just as if the Priest knew what I wanted, he did something that helped me to know. He faced the beautiful Book, and bowed before it, and all the others did the same, and they prayed, "Our Father who art in the Heavens;" they prayed more, but I could only understand these few words, and then I thought that "the "LORD" must be Father Sun, and then I thought how I and all the brother stones who would be built into the house were all from Father Sun, and I thought the building must all be done in some way from the Sun. And then they sang something very beautiful about "coming into the LORD'S House." And then the Priest read something to which I listened very attentively. It was about the Corner-stone, and that the Corner-stone represents the LORD, and that, in the beautiful Book, which the Priest called the Word, the LORD is called the Corner-stone. And then the Priest went on to say that the Cornerstone was the chief stone in the foundation, that the foundation was to serve the house, and the house was to serve for a habitation, and that the habitation of men in the house was for the purpose of their serving their fellow-men by performing uses, and that in this way the men would become conjoined with the LORD and prepared for heaven. He said much more, but I could not understand it all. But it made me feel very humble, and made me know that the LORD was Some One mach higher and better than Father Sun, and that He had even made the Sun, and that if I were a faithful, strong Cornerstone, then men, when thinking of me as bearing up the house, would think of the LORD. Then all together read something called the "Faith of the New Heaven and of the New Church," which told Who and What the LORD is, how good and how loving He is, and what the men and women and their children ought to do in the house if they really loved the LORD. Then after I had been prepared in this way, the Father of the house placed me exactly in the southeast corner of the house. I kissed his warm hands as they touched me. He laid aside my mantle of white snow, and then the priest placed the altar, with the Word, on me, and the Father of the house said that I was now the Corner-stone, the Stone of Foundations, and that as I was to hold up the house which was to be built up, beginning with me, so he prayed that the LORD might help him, that all his affections and thoughts, and those of his children and children's children, might rest on the LORD, as He has revealed Himself in the Truth of His Word. Then they all sang a beautiful song, beginning "Odhecha," in the language of the Word, called Hebrew. The Priest read from the Word about a house that was built upon the Rock. Another song, a Psalm, sung responsively by the men and the women, followed. It began with the words-"O LORD, who shall sojourn in Thy Tent." Then the priest blessed the people, the Word was closed, and the ceremony was over. From being a common stone, hidden away in the ground, I had become a corner-stone in the house of my master! The people went away, and I was left alone to reflect upon the new feelings that were awakened in my heart, the new life that was open before me, the truths which I had been taught, and the duty that belonged to me. I now represented the Divine Truth of the Word! In the talk that is common to my stone brothers, always will I talk of the truths which I heard on that memorable day in April. I know my dear and faithful brothers, that they will breathe forth the sphere of their talk, the sphere of truth, out of the wall's in which they are set; and the Master of the house and his beloved household shall always rest safely and securely and in peace within the walls of which I am the Foundation; for the LORD buildeth the house.
Title Unspecified 1895
Stone, in the Word, signifies the truth which is of faith.-A. C. 8581.
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ORDINATION INTO THE SECOND DEGREE OF THE PRIESTHOOD, OF MINISTER SYNNESTVEDT. 1895
ON the 13th of January, in the presence of the congregation of the Academy of the New Church worshiping in Philadelphia, Minister Homer Synnestvedt was ordained into the Second, or Pastoral, Degree of the Priesthood by Bishop Benade. The service was introduced by the usual period of silence. The Ordinary entered, followed by Bishop Pendleton, who was to assist in the service, and the Candidate, who seated himself before the chancel. After the opening, the chapter of the Book of Doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit was read in unison. "Arise, O LORD," was sung, and then a period of silence ensued. Psalm xx was sung, and then Bishop Pendleton read the Lessons, The True Christian Religion, n. 231, and Matthew, chap. x, 1-22. Psalm xxiv was sung, and a pause of silence followed. The Ordinary then arose and gave the following
DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE PRIESTHOOD.
IN the Heavens, and in the Church on the Earth, the LORD has instituted and sanctified the Priesthood to be a Representative of Himself as to the Divine Good of His Divine Love-that is to say, as to every office which He discharges as the Saviour of men (A. C. 9807). "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit" (John xv, 16). In the Jewish Church, which prefigures the true Christian Church, "the people represented Heaven and the Church, but Aaron, with his sons and with the Levites, represented the good of love and faith which makes Heaven and the Church, thus the LORD from Whom that good is; therefore the land was given to the people for an inheritance, but not to the Priests, for the LORD is in them, but not amongst them as one and distinct" (A. C. 9809). The Priesthood is, therefore, an office to the LORD in the Church-that is, it is the LORD'S office in the Church, but not an office distinct from the Church; as the soul is distinctly in the body, but not one and distinct from the body. "All the laws of order by which the LORD governs the universe as King are Truths; but all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest, and by which He also rules Truths themselves, are goods; for government from Truths alone would condemn every one to hell, but government from goods raises out of hell and elevates into Heaven" (A. C. 2015). The government of the Priesthood is a ministry and service to the LORD, for the salvation of souls. He does good to all from Love of all, and, as He provides that His will be done on earth as in the Heavens, He has given; to the Priesthood the office of ministering the things of Heaven, and of administering the things of the Church, all of which are good (H. H. 218). Thus it is from the LORD'S government from goods that in the Church Priests are "Governors over those things among men which are of Heaven, or over things ecclesiastical" (H. D. 311), and this makes the Priesthood an Office to the LORD in the Church. By means of this office the celestial things of the Divine Love and Wisdom come into the active exercise of their life and power in the Church. When Priests teach Truth from the Word according to the Doctrine of the Church revealed out of Heaven from the-LORD, and lead men to live according to that truth, and also when they administer the Sacraments and holy rites of the Church, they lead men to the good of life, and thus to the LORD by Whom they are saved. So are they good shepherds of the sheep, doing the will of the Divine Shepherd, in "hearing Whose voice men go in and out and find pasture," and this to the end that the Word which He said may be fulfilled, "Of them which Thou gavest Me, have I lost none." Those among men to whom is adjoined the sacred office of governing the Church, of teaching Truth from the Word, and of leading to the LORD, need above all things to consider and realize the responsibility to the Divine Head of the Church, laid upon them and assumed by them by their office; and, whilst ascribing to Him alone all dignity and honor, they are called upon to cherish the wisdom of humility because of the assignment of a holy use by which the LORD effects the salvation of souls. In the strength of this humility they shall go to Him to be taught the way in which to lead to the good of life, and thus learning they shall be prepared to bear gifts of eternal life to their fellow-men. If this preparation be made from a love of the Truth for its own sake, there will flow into them from God out of Heaven a deep desire for the salvation of souls, and an earnest purpose of free-giving. The LORD ever breathes upon the disciple who hearkens to the Master's voice and opens his mind to the coming of the Holy Spirit. His breath will animate all the disciple's performance of duty, bringing with it a sweet benediction from Him Who is the Blessed forever. The Church may well pray to the LORD to gift the Priest's performance of duty with a heart in the doing of it, and to fill that heart with the warmth of a fire lighted by a spark from the ardor of the Divine Love, which burned to the very heart of Heaven, and coming down to Earth in human form brought life and immortality to the light of feeble, finite minds. In His Love and in His pity our Infinite LORD came to redeem us; in His Love and in His pity He saves all who rise up to meet Him at His coming, and who trust in His Mercy. He is the Good Shepherd to Whom the sheep are to be led; Who knows His Own, Who is known by His Own, for whom He pre pares a place of rest and peace that shall be with Him for evermore. Heaven is the reign of love to the LORD, and of love toward the neighbor, and in that Kingdom every love is a living good in an active and heavenly form of use. As the Infinite God took on a human form in the womb of an earthly virgin for the purpose of liberating angels and men from the powers of darkness and death, so His Divine descends now into human forms of use, by inflowing into the affection of truth with man, represented by a virgin, and by making active in the hearts of Priest and People the love of knowing, of teaching, and of doing the Divine will of good. As both cherish this virgin affection, so is the Church instituted with them and grows to its establishment by becoming more and more the means of conjoining Heaven and Earth, and causing the LORD to be the all in all in them. Priests are Governors appointed in the Church to administer the things of the Divine Law and Worship" (H. D. 319). Since the Priesthood is an office to the LORD in the Church, instituted to be a representative of every office which He performs as Saviour (A. C. 9809), and also for the purpose of "presenting Divine Truth such as it is in His Spiritual Kingdom adjoined to His Celestial Kingdom in an internal and external form" (A. C. 9805), it is of Divine Order that this office shall be adjoined to men of the Church who desire and who have been prepared to devote themselves to the discharge of its functions, and that they shall he duly inaugurated into the same.
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And because they are to teach from the Word doctrine concerning the LORD, and concerning Redemption and Salvation by Him, it is of Divine Order that they receive the covenant of the Holy Spirit, and the representation of the communication and transference of the Holy Spirit, which is effected by the imposition of hands in the sacred rite of ordination (A. E. 79; A. C. 878, 6292; D. L. W. 150, 220). The Divine which is called the Holy Spirit, proceeding from God by His Human, passes through the Angelic Heaven, and by this into the world, thus by angels to men (Can., H. Sp., iii), and in the Church especially by the clergy to the laity" (Ibid. iv). The Holy Spirit is not transferred from man to man, but from the LORD by man to man, but does not remain except so long as the man who received it believes in the LORD and at the same time is in the doctrine of truth from the Word, and in a life according to it. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the LORD by the Priesthood to the laity by means of preaching and the Word, according to the reception of the doctrine of truth thence; also by the Sacrament of the Holy Supper according to repentance before it. Thus the Holy of God, which is called the Holy Spirit, flows in order into the Heavens; immediately into the supreme heaven (called the third), immediately and also mediately into the middle heaven (called the second), in like manner into the ultimate heaven (the last) (Can. H. Sp. iii). The Divine virtue and operation, which is the sending of the Holy Spirit, is with the Priesthood in particular, Illustration and Instruction; these are of their office, and inauguration into the Priesthood carries them with it (T. C. R. 146). And to these accede two intermediate virtues, Perception and Disposition: thus, there are four operations of the Holy Spirit which, with the Priesthood, succeed in order-Illustration, Perception, Disposition, and Instruction. Illustration is from the LORD, Perception is with man according to the state of his mind formed by doctrinals, but Disposition is from the affection of the love of the will, the delight of which love, disposes. And Instruction follows as an effect from the former as causes" (T. C. R. 155). Inasmuch as inauguration into the Priesthood adjoins to man the office of Governor over the things which relate to Heaven, or over things ecclesiastical; and because order, in accord with the three degrees of Divine influx, requires that there be higher and lower governors, among whom there is subordination; it is evident that the higher and lower grades of the Priesthood are to be strictly discriminated, and that ordination into the several degrees of the office, by which is granted authority to perform new and distinct functions for the elevation and extension of the administration of the office, is to be effected with like solemnity by the laying on of hands, as a representation of the transfer even of the Holy Spirit, by which are to be met the requirements of the more interior uses of the higher grades of the office.
Continuing, the Ordinary said: "By the Divine Mercy of the LORD the rite of ordination into the second or Pastoral degree of the Priesthood of the New Church, is now to be performed in the presence of this assembly of the Church.
"Our Brother, the Reverend Homer Synnestvedt, having been inaugurated into the first degree of the Priesthood, and having for a time discharged the duties of that Office, is here present in order that he may declare his acceptance of the Pastoral Office of the Priesthood which has been tendered to him, and to the end that he may be duly inaugurated into the same. The Candidate here rose, while the Ordinary put to him the following interrogatories and received his replies: "Reverend Homer Synnestvedt, you are to be introduced into the second degree of the Priesthood, specifically termed the Pastoral Office. Do you accept this tender as of the choice and Providence of the LORD?" The Candidate: "I do." "Do you desire and intend to enter into this office to the end that you may minister to and serve the LORD in the same, for the salvation of souls, by teaching the Truth now revealed out of Heaven from the LORD, for the formation of a true Faith which shall lead to the good of life through observance to 'every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God'? And to the same holy end will you administer the sacraments and rites of the Church?" Answer "I will." The Ordinary: "And now, in order that the Church may hear from your own lips the confession of your Faith in the LORD the Redeemer and Saviour, in the Word as revealed in the Letter of Scripture and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and your purpose in accepting the Office of Pastor, I ask you to declare the same in the audience of this assembly of the Church." The Candidate here read the, following
DECLARATION OF FAITH. I believe that the LORD our Savior JESUS CHRIST, Who is our Father in the Heavens, is alone God of Heaven and Earth, and that He alone in His Divine Human is able to redeem and save those who seek Him in His Word, and who obey His voice. He it is Who prophesied of old that He would come Himself into the world to take on a Human and overcome the hells. And after he had fulfilled all this, it was Himself Who prophesied that He would come a second time to finish the work of His beginning, to establish the New Church, Crown of all the Churches which have been from the beginning. This New Church, which was foretold in Daniel vii, 14, and is meant by the New Jerusalem seen by John descending from God out of Heaven, is now being established on earth; for the Second Coming of the LORD, predicted in Matthew xxiv, 30, has been effected through the instrumentality of a man, Emanuel Swedenborg, "before whom He manifested Himself in Person, and whom He filled with His Spirit, to teach the Doctrines of the New Church through the Word, from Him" (T. C. R. 779). The letter of the Word is the "cloud," and the internal sense given in these new Doctrines; is the "Glory." Further, I believe `that the LORD'S salvation, by the ministry of His Word, is effected principally through the Priesthood, a Divine office, the highest of all uses among men, namely, the salvation of human souls. I believe that the New Church cannot be established and brought into order except in the degree in which a new Priesthood is raised up to lead the way. Through the Clergy, to whom is adjoined this most holy office, the LORD leads the Church when in order. In regard to the Priesthood, which is distinguished into three degrees, corresponding to the three heavens, the principle is the same; for each degree looks to the next above it, and all look to the Chief Priest of their Society or Church for the teaching and leading which the LORD will give.
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The priests, therefore of the first or lowest degree are, as it were, only in the courtyard of the Priesthood, whose use, represented by the Levites, is to serve mainly by teaching and preaching. Those of the second degree are brought nearer to their chief, or into the Sanctuary itself. Their use, represented by the sons of Aaron, is a more responsible one, partaking more of the function of governing, or taking the charge or direction of a particular Church or work within the general Church. The third or highest degree, which is as a head to all the rest, and which was represented by Aaron or the High-Priest,-is the highest and holiest of all, since it is the High-Priest alone who goes into the Holy of Holies in the eyes of all the people, to hear the mouth of the LORD concerning the Church. Such a Church stands as one man before Him. So much for the form of the Church-the true and only form given by the LORD Himself; and which alone can serve Him effectively and in freedom. But the essence of all this, upon which depends its life, is love or good-the Divine Love or Good of Salvation. This good is promoted by the Priesthood in two ways: first, by-introduction from the Word; and second, by Government, or leading by means of this instruction. In this work the Pastors are conjoined with the angels, and operate in the same way; for they lead men by means of their conscience, formed from and by the Truths of the Word. Government, therefore, which promotes the liberty and rationality of the individuals of the Church, while at the same time protecting from the assaults of the malicious, is wise and will be fruitful. But whatever tends to suppress or interfere with the spontaneous development of these two faculties is unwise, and will injure the growth of the Church. The former involves co-operating with the angels to have the LORD'S will done; while the latter involves the imposition of something of our own will, or of the will of the world, the flesh, or the devil, whence our own will is derived. This government is infernal, the other heavenly.
Continuing, the Candidate said: "To this declaration of faith I wish to add my belief that it is the LORD Who has called me to this holy office; He has prepared me and ordained me; and I believe that with His help I shall yet be of use in His work. In spite of individual evils and falsities, and the consequent vicissitudes, He can make use of me; since it is my sole end and purpose to serve Him and to obey His Will alone in all which I am permitted to do for the welfare of my fellow-men. This conviction and this purpose it is which leads me to desire to receive at His hands the ordination in to this holy office."
ORDINATION. The Ordinary: "Having thus made your declaration of Faith and purpose, will you now be ordained into the Pastoral Office of the Priesthood of the New Church, with the earnest determination by the Divine Mercy of the LORD, sincerely and faithfully to govern such part of the Church as may be placed under your charge, to observe all the obligations of your office, and to perform the functions and duties of the same in the light and according to the prescription of the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, at this day revealed out of Heaven from the LORD?" The Candidate: "I will." All kneeling, the Ordinary offered the following prayer; "O LORD, JESUS CHRIST, our Redeemer and Saviour, Who art the High-Priest of Heaven and the Church! to Thee is the Office of the Priesthood; from Thee alone is the call to this office; from Thee is the preparation for the rightful discharge of its functions; from Thee all its gifts and graces, from Thee-every virtue to uphold, every operation to extend its uses; from Thee alone is the authority to ordain and the willingness to accept ordination into this office; from Thee is every breath and power of life and activity to will and do. "Be Thou present in our midst at this time; and whilst in Thy Name we receive this Thy servant into the Pastoral Office of the Priesthood of the New Church, do Thou breathe upon him, that receiving Thy Holy Spirit he may be gifted with the graces and virtues needful to the performance of the functions of this sacred office." All together repeated the LORD'S Prayer. All then arose, except the Candidate, and the Ordinary said: "Then JESUS said to them again, Peace be unto you. As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you; and having said this He breathed upon and said to them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John xx, 21, 22). The Ordinary laid his hands upon the bead of the Candidate and said: "Homer Synnestvedt, in the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and by His authority, thou art ordained into the second degree of the Priesthood in the New Church, and in addition to the authority previously conferred thou art charged with the functions of administering the Holy Supper, of consecrating marriages, and of acting as Head-Master of Schools of the Academy, and thus of leading children and youth into the Church and adults to the good of heavenly life. "The LORD bless thee and keep thee; the LORD make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee; the LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." The Ordinary now raised the newly-installed Pastor by the hand, and, leading him into the chancel, said: "Receive now the ensign of the office which by this ordination is adjoined to you," herewith removing the white stole of the first degree and placing upon him the blue stole, the distinguishing badge of the Pastoral degree. He then further addressed him: "And now, my brother, that you have been inaugurated into the Pastoral Office of the Priesthood, I charge you, in the Holy Name of Him Whom to know and to follow is life eternal, that you be ever mindful of the duties which you have taken upon you, and ever faithful to the sacred trusts that have been placed in your hands. "To you it is given to administer the things of the Divine Law and Worship, and thereby to govern the Church over which you are set. Seek then, by prayer to the LORD, and by earnest study, to come into an evermore thorough knowledge and understanding of the laws of Divine Order according to which men are to be led and the Church is to be governed. "Bear faithfully in mind that the administration of those laws has for its end the reformation and regeneration of men; and that government of the Church involves the exercise of a judgment formed by the truths of Divine Revelation rationally seen and acknowledged to be the LORD'S Word to His Church; and that this exercise rests upon an interpretation of His Word, and consists in the application of such an interpretation to the ever-changing condition of human life. The interpretation of the law, required by the Office of the Priest, places upon him a responsibility evened only in weight by the responsibility of a just application of the same.
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The truth of the law must determine the Priest's official judgment, and the good of the law is to constitute the justice of the exercise of that judgment. The responsibilities of your office, my brother, are exceeding great, but let this not deter you from accepting them. The office is the LORD'S, and He places the responsibilities upon your shoulders not because He needs your judgment and wisdom, but because you need them, in order that you may grow wiser and better prepared for your heavenly use. The LORD wills that you take the responsibility of teaching the Truth as He gives you to see it, and that you hold yourself accountable to Him alone, and not one whit to any men, for your leading by the truth so seen and taught, to the good of life. It is a supreme grace of your office that you can be placed in a relation so close to the LORD as to dare to trust in Him alone, as to do, with free and full confidence, what you believe to be His teaching, and this although you may stand quite alone among men in your belief. "Have the courage, then, my brother, to put aside all merely human accountability in respect to the things of the Church, and grasping with a firm hand the staff of revealed truth and good, tread with a steady and manly step the way of duty to the LORD'S Kingdom in the Heavens and in the earth. The LORD Himself will uphold your heart and hands in the work of your office, so you be ever ready to stand or fall by His Word. "Have confidence, I am, fear not!" (Matt. xiv, 27). Psalm xix was then sung, which treats of the Divine Truth, proceeding and perfecting its recipients. The Offertory was received and dedicated, and the service closed with the Benediction and the usual forms.
Title Unspecified 1895
There is damnation when man refuses mercy and thus rejects from himself the Divine Good.-A. C. 6148.
MEETING, IN LONDON, OF PRIESTS OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE THIRD DAY.
THE third session of the Council of Academy Priests, in London, was held on Tuesday, August 14th, 1894=125, with the same attendance as before. The Chancellor conducted the opening worship, Pastor Fred E. Waelchli assisting, by reading numbers 130 to 135 of The Heavenly Doctrine. Psalm xi was sung. The day's discussion bore mainly on the recognition of the trine of celestial, spiritual, and natural, as embodied on earth in the existence of three kinds of churches. The doctrine read at the opening of the meeting was referred to as indicating this distinction. In a Celestial Church there is a higher degree of perception, and from that perception are its uses performed. A Celestial Church will be guided more by the Truth of Doctrine; a spiritual church more by the Doctrinal Statement. The former will have more regard for the Truth which the doctrinal teaching conveys, which is in the region of perception, and from that it will perform its uses; while a spiritual church will find its use more in teaching the Doctrine in its letter; it will thus combat falsities of doctrine or heresies which may come into existence within the general sphere of the New Church, and its instruction and worship will derive quality from that; thus preparing the way for the work of the celestial church, which has celestial uses in end, and is guided in its performance by perception of the Truth of Doctrine. The one state leads to the other; even as in the case of an individual man, whose first state is to abide in doctrinal statement. He-is afterward led to doctrine more interiorly-to look at the Truth of doctrine. So will the work of a spiritual church pave the way for the work of a celestial church. Churches must be regarded not from their external organizations, but from their uses. As, in Heaven, nothing can be done without distinctions, so any effort to mingle the uses and functions of any two churches would result in the destruction of either one or both. The work of appealing to the world, to teach, and to bring as many as will come into the New Church, must be done by a body which has for its special end the instruction of the world. Those who come into the Church from the world are not at first ready to comprehend all those interior truths which constitute the Church. They have really very little idea of what the New Church is; for when they are offered the clear-cut ideas of the New Church they often set to work fighting them, or, at least, are much surprised to hear them. Some may be brought out of that general state into one provided for by another Church, which is ready to give them more particular instruction, and thus to provide them a home of corresponding quality in this world. A great variety of spiritual uses is to be performed by distinct churches in the New Church, as was the case in the Ancient Church; and they may all be referred to three general divisions of celestial, spiritual, and natural. The celestial appears first, in the acknowledgment of the LORD as the All in all. The LORD is the All in all in His Second Coming; and that is a Celestial Truth; it reigns through all the Churches, in all the Heavens: but in the inmost Heaven, or in a Celestial Church on earth, immensely more is seen in it than elsewhere. In the New Church the LORD is seen in the Writings everywhere-in every page and in every line-as the First, the All in all. Second, the quality of the celestial appears in that of the celestial man-that when he sees a truth be immediately wills and does it. Contrast the state of a Church where they debate about truths, whether they are to be done or not, and delay long before the thing is done, with the state of a church where when a truth appears in the Doctrines, it is at once recognized as a truth to be done. As, for instance, when it is taught in the Doctrines that marriage is to be within the Church, that truth so soon as recognized, has to be done without hesitation or delay; and so with other things. The difference between a celestial church and a spiritual church may also be seen in the quality of the preaching-the exposition of the Word and Doctrine. The use of the one is to present the Doctrine as Doctrine in its more literal form. The use of the other is to proclaim more the spirit of the Doctrine, or what is called the "Truth of Doctrine." It is as with the spirit of civil law. Men ordinarily do not see the spirit of the law-the principle of equity or justice that is in the law; they merely see the literal form-the statement. But a wise judge, in his decisions, is not bound by the literal forms of the law; else he would often do injustice; and injustice is often done by adhering to a strict construction of the letter of the law. Of course the letter of the law is necessary-it must be there, and must be taught and carried out; but there is something within the letter, called the spirit of the law; and a wise judge sees that spirit, and he interprets it-especially in what is termed "Equity." It is the part of wisdom to look for the spirit of a thing, and judge everything accordingly. The use of the illustration of the Priesthood is that the Priest may be able to see the Truth that is contained in the literal form of the Doctrine, and interpret it to the Church.
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"The Testimony of JESUS is the spirit of Prophecy." The use of a celestial Church is to present the LORD as He is in the Doctrine, and so to excite affection-interior spiritual affection for the Doctrine of the Church; to present the truth so that the hearer sees the application to life. That use exists of course in all Churches, but in an inmost form in the Celestial Church. It is to present the LORD and His work- His work of coming into the world; Redemption; His combats with the hells and victory over them-those universals that we have at the head of the Summaries of the Internal Sense of the Prophets and Psalms. There we have the teaching concerning the LORD'S work, in the world and with every regenerating man. The work of a celestial church is, to observe what the LORD is doing and to interpret that to the Church. If this point be clearly understood-the difference between the worship and instruction in the two Churches the mists will clear away. There is a difference in the worship. In a celestial church the worship will be richer and fuller than it could be in a spiritual church. By it remains will be excited in children; the educational use itself of worship will lie in that. This use will receive a place in the work of Education. Many things enter the mind otherwise than by the eye and ear, namely by the sphere. So the use of a celestial church addresses itself rather to the affection of good in the Truth than to the Doctrine of truth. We shall be making distinctions in every state of life; we must begin to make them here. The use of the Priesthood is to teach the Doctrine of the Church from the Word. The Word is in three Degrees, because It is the LORD; it is Celestial, Spiritual, and Natural; and hence the Church has taken on those three degrees-it exists in those three planes. "The LORD giveth the Word, great is the host of them who hear the tidings." The Word is received in a great variety of ways and taught in a great variety of ways. These many ways of receiving and teaching the Word are all included in what is celestial, spiritual, and natural. The Word is natural la the Letter; what is called the Old Church has been teaching the Letter in its own fashion. That, in the LORD'S Providence, is a preparation for the New Church. The advancement of the means of communication between the nations of the earth is distinctly stated to be for the dissemination of the Word; evidently first in the Letter. The Word is external and internal. The Word in the Letter is also external and internal. The external is natural and the natural truth is contained within the Letter: The Word is addressed to the thought of man, and also to the affections-that is, it is addressed to the understanding and to the will. The general internal of the Word is revealed in the Doctrines of the New Church, There is an external of revealed Doctrine, and there is an internal of the same; there is a propositional or formal statement, and there is the truth of that statement. The use of the Priesthood is to teach the Doctrine of the Church from the Word. Now, who shall bear the tidings of the internal natural or literal Word? That Church which receives the Doctrine of the New Church in the literal statement of it; those, for instance, who believe that there is a spiritual sense in the Word, and, who, in general, receive the Doctrine as a new Doctrine. There are those who constitute the New Church in general. It is their mission to evangelize the Doctrines of the New Church as they receive and understand them; to teach general truths, which are also called genuine truths, and which are absolutely necessary to prepare men for the internal of the Word. There is thus a use which the natural Church can perform, namely, the teaching of genuine truths from the Word. The letter of the Doctrine may be left very properly to those who are in that state; one has to recognize those in the letter of the Word as composing the Church in that plane and degree. The Church is first Natural, then Spiritual, and then Celestial. Doctrine, like the Word is external and internal. It will not do to rest in the statement of Doctrine and be satisfied with that as the truth of it. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred a grand mistake is made in resting there. Doctrine is teaching. Teaching is not truth, but a presentation of truth in a form accommodated to the mind of the hearer. One can differentiate, then, between the truths of Doctrine and truths of faith. There are truths of good, and truths of truth; forms of truth and forms of good. The former apply themselves to the understanding, and are with those who are spiritual. The latter apply themselves to the affections; they are with the celestial. Whatever the LORD speaks is a Divine command, and obedience to that command is, to receive truth internally, into the life. A fundamental principle of a 2 celestial church is to go to the Doctrine of the Church as the LORD'S Word concerning whatever is to be done in the Church. In Chapter thirty-five of Jeremiah, in the internal sense, is the distinct teaching that those who obey are of the Celestial Church. The LORD has revealed the Doctrine of the Celestial Church, and nothing is revealed that is not for use. Against the claim of individuals as being celestial there is a just and legitimate prejudice, as being the supreme of human conceit. Nevertheless, one must be able to see that the LORD has revealed the Celestial Sense of the Word, and the Doctrine of His Glorification, which descends from the Celestial Heaven. That is revealed for the Church. If that universal is seen the rest can be seen. In the Church there must be that which ultimates and brings down something of the Celestial life from the LORD, without which the Church cannot be saved or established on earth in any of its degrees, because there must be a descent from the Internal to the External. There has been a faltering state from lack of this central quality in the teaching, and from lack of the acknowledgment of it, which is necessary to hold the Church together. The LORD looks at the intentions of the will; and if these be set steadily toward Him He regards them, and not diversities of understanding and thought. If a Church intends to do the uses of the LORD'S Celestial Kingdom He regards this intention; and the end, which is the existence of the Church, enters into all things that are subordinate to it, and gives quality to them. Hence, if love to the Lord be the supreme of the Church, love to the LORD will be in the ultimate of the Church and give its quality thereto.
Title Unspecified 1895
Every one carries his judgment with him, because [he carries] his life.-A. C. 4807.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE biography of Robert Hindmarsh, which appeared in this journal in 1894, has been published in book form by the Academy Book Room. Pictures of the Whittington Loving Cup are ready, also. See last page.
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RECEPTION TO MR. AND MRS. BENADE. 1895
THE general desire of the Academy Congregation in Philadelphia, to testify their gratification in the home-coming of Chancellor Benade, and to welcome his English wife, found expression on the evening of the 28th of December, in a General Social, given in the Assembly Hall. The friends arrived in good time, and were all assembled when the Chancellor and his wife appeared. They were greeted by Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton, the latter on behalf of the assemblage, presenting Mrs. Benade with a large bouquet of choice roses, and were escorted to the upper end of the hall. As soon as they appeared in the doorway, the assembly broke out in singing "Our Glorious Church." At the conclusion of the song the Chancellor and his wife, standing in front of some drapery, at the east end of the hall, received the company, who filed past and then arranged themselves in a circle around the room. When refreshments had been served, Bishop Pendleton proposed the sentiment, "The Church," the company responding with the song, "Our Glorious Church." He then proposed the health of the Chancellor and his wife, to whom he extended a cordial welcome, on behalf of the Congregation in Philadelphia, adding that the Chancellor had gone away one and had come back two. It was a problem in spiritual arithmetic. He referred to the unexpectedly long parting from the Chancellor, and the gladness and satisfaction caused his return. He had been doing important work abroad, but we are glad to have him back. He called attention to the fact that the feelings of the members and this, their welcome, were aroused not merely by their attachment to the Chancellor as a man, although that had its place and weight, but that they drew significance from the important office which he held, which they thus honor. Through that Office, he said, the Church had received its instructions, and he recounted, among the important teachings so received, these: first, that the Old Church was utterly consummated and dead. On this, he commented that in the Old Church there is a belief in the resurrection of the dead body, and this belief, entering into and affecting the New Church, has resulted in a belief in the resurrection of a dead Church. The two beliefs, he said, are essentially the same-sprung from the same falses. Through this office, we have been led to see these falses, and to acknowledge and see that the dead Church can never rise again. Through this Office the Church has been led to see, also, the true doctrine of Conjugial Love; that such love is between a man, who is wisdom, and a woman, who is the love of such wisdom; that wisdom is not science and knowledge in natural things, but science and knowledge and wisdom in spiritual things and that in order to have true marriage the wife must be the love of the spiritual wisdom of her husband, and thus that True Marriage- Conjugial Love-is possible only in the New Church and between those who are of that Church. Through this office we have received instruction concerning true government; that it is government not by ordering, but government which, though appearing at times severe and harsh, is ever mild and gentle-government by reason and affection. Through this office we have learned as to the office of the High-Priest in the Church. We have learned the truth concerning the Celestial, Spiritual, and Natural Churches; concerning the Priesthood and freedom in the priesthood, freedom for the priests to do their uses from conscience; and in such freedom has freedom been secured to the laymen. All these and many other truths have we been `led to see and acknowledge through this office. We are taught in the Writings that we must honor the office, and a man in his office and use. And it is the great honor of this office which we would give to our Chancellor on this occasion. May he grow in health to remain long with us in increased work and usefulness in his office. The Chancellor, by request, responded to the sentiment, "The Uses of the Academy." After thanking Mr. Pendleton for the welcome extended to him and his wife, Mr. Benade gave expression to his delight at returning "home," for he felt that he had come to what was emphatically "home." And it was more of a delight to him because he had brought with him a helpmate who felt that delight with him, and in this connection he amended Mr. Pendleton's statement by saying that he had gone away half a man and had come back a whole one. And he felt that he had come among friends long united with him in the uses of the Church. He then went on to show that as to essentials the uses of the Church on earth make one with those of the Church in Heaven. In a sum, those uses are to teach and to do the Divine Truth. The Academy teaches and prepares others to teach-i. e., to become teachers and priests. There is a difference between the uses of preacher and priest. The first idea had been to prepare preachers; first comes the desire to communicate. Then came the idea of preparing priests, the established and acknowledged doers of the things of the Church. The discrimination is as between the Spiritual and the Celestial, and discrimination has been one of the uses of the Academy. By the preparation of preachers is perpetuated the use of interior evangelization, of carrying to those already in the acknowledgment of the Second Coming, interior truths of the Church. The use of the Natural Church is the proclamation that the LORD has come, and has made this Coming in the form of Writings; it is to proclaim His Proclamation. It is the use of a Spiritual Church to teach that every doctrine in the Writings is the LORD present in the world. The Church must see this before it can carry out the Doctrines into life, which a Celestial Church does; for we must seek the LORD living, present on earth, not in the gravel "He is not there; He is risen." To make men realize this, not as a theory but as a fact, is a great use of the Academy; that they may he led onto higher perception, and thus to the doing from affection and love. The LORD says: "My words are spirit and are life." What is the same, we might say that His words are spiritual and living; nay, more, that since He alone is spirit and life His words are Himself. In connection with the struggle for the emancipation of the Priesthood, the Chancellor, referring to his visit to the "mother country," said that there had been much of a struggle there, but the Church there was now settled and performing her uses better and better. He instanced a friend who in a' public speech had said that having come out of the spirit of negation and doubt as to Church order he now for the first time felt free, free because he saw that the government of the Church was none of his business He felt happy in being free from the responsibility and free in the performance of his own use. This spirit and stale is a result of the movement in England, and is partly general there. One of the Academy uses is to establish freedom to act each according to his reason and not according to that of some one else.
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The impulse to criticize the priesthood is born of self-conceit of ability to direct affairs. The Academy is to proclaim the everlasting falsity of this idea. Each man in his own use will be guided, according to his love, to understand the duties of his use better than another. In the old country, where this movement has been made, the Democratic spirit is more ferocious than here. It is a use of the Academy to proclaim that not man but the LORD is the Governor in the Truths of the Church, addressing men through their reason, and leading them to good. True government is enlightenment of the reason. In freedom the LORD leads by affection, that the mind may be prepared to reason from affection-government in freedom and by freedom. We must establish the truths of the Celestial Kingdom, where there is no fear but love-fear to do wrong not because of punishment-of laws-but from fear of loss of the LORD'S presence. The present state of the Academy is toward the teaching of this principle and carrying it into act. Such is the government which is to enter into all its work. And in the work of education and instruction it must be kept in mind that the LORD does not need us as instruments, but that we need the work to lead us into heaven and into conjunction with Him. Mr. Schreck then followed, and remarked, that as the High-Priest of our Church had led us into true freedom-freedom for the Priest and for the Layman-it was for the subordinate clergy to take heed lest they interfere in the work of the high-priesthood. While the Chancellor had been active in England, those in America had kept even progress at the same time, and toward the same goal; for, though separated in space, we felt his guiding hand, but above all the government of our Divine High-Priest, our LORD JESUS CHRIST. He then stated that as spiritual freedom had come to be more fully recognized in the Church as existing in the two English-speaking empires, through the instrumentality of our Chancellor, our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Pitcairn, wished to signalize the event of his return home, and to recognize the union of the two countries in the New Church, as typified in the marriage of the Chancellor and his English wife, by presenting to the Academy the flags of the United States and England. Here the white drapery dropped from the wall behind the Chancellor, disclosing to the surprised and delighted audience the richly colored banners of the two countries, surmounted and united by the Academy colors. The company sang with great spirit and feeling, "The Star Spangled Banner," and then the British subects present-nearly twenty-gathered at the piano sang with equal zest, "God Save the Queen," the spirit of enthusiasm culminating in the united singing of the Academy "Color Song." Later in the evening the Rev. L. G. Jordan, with a short address on the subject of "snow," partly humorous and partly serious, and with the reading of extracts from "Snow Bound" and "The First Snow-fall," introduced a Snow Dance, in which twelve maidens, dressed as snow sprites, went through various evolutions to suggest the nature of snow and also a snow-storm, with its flutterings, flurries, and soft adorning of earth. Piano music, sleigh-hells, and an imitation of the wind, each played a part. Twigs of green, and again scarfs, were used to add variety to what was quite a charming feature of the entertainment, which was concluded with a waltz and a Good-night to the receiving couples.
Title Unspecified 1895
The faithful are judged from good, but the unfaithful from truth.-A. C. 2835.
Notes and Reviews. 1895
A LITTLE work, entitled, The Catechism; or, The Decologue Explained as to its External and Internal Sense, has recently been published by J. P. Morton & Co.,-at Louisville, Ky. It is an abbreviation of the chapter similarly entitled in The True Christian Religion, arranged in the form of questions and answers by Mrs. A. Kinmont. The price of this useful little manual is ten cents.
WITH the current number-a very interesting one- The New Church Review enters its second year. The opening essay "The Gospel and the World," the Rev. Julian Smyth takes for his theme the teaching, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." His view, somewhat vaguely expressed, seems to be that the Church is now prepared to go out into the world, to throw off its "reserve," to bring the light of the Gospel to bear not only upon spiritual but also upon natural conditions, and so to effect the reform of the world-spiritual moral civil, and physical. To this it maybe suggested that with the Church, as with the individual, self-reformation is all that is required. Therefore, in so far as the Church devotes her chief energies to meeting the needs of her own members, the "reserve"-which the article referred to seems to deprecate-is one to be cultivated,-not "thrown off," in favor of a wasteful and profitless expenditure of effort in a barren field. Not but what the missionary use has its place, and an important one. But it is only one of many, and not the most interior of them; and its development should follow the indications of Providence, interpreted wisely. For the field is so vast, so disproportionate in size to the reasonable prospect of results, that unless there be regard to definite indications of receptivity, as well as a judicious balancing of resources and uses, great waste must ensue, and the impairment of the interior life of the Church. Here lies the field of genuine reform-spiritual reform. As for natural reforms, these will follow, as spiritual principles are applied to life; but this will take place with those who acknowledge and receive. The descent of the New Jerusalem is to be down to "earth," indeed, but it must be by way of the "heaven"-of the spiritual mind. The Son of Man has come; how far does He find receptive faith on earth? Let those who read the signs of the times answer. Let the Church address herself to supplying the spiritual wants of her own flock and of those "other sheep not of this fold" (John x, 16); for there only will the truths of heaven be able to form to themselves a home, even in the things of earth. The next paper, "Public and Religious Schools," by the Rev. E. D. Daniels, is a remarkable argument-coming from a New Church Minister-in favor of totally excluding religious instruction, even the Bible and the LORD'S Prayer, from the Public Schools; the position taken being that religion has nothing to do with instruction in natural things, and if introduced in a general school, infringes the liberty of Catholic, infidel, or heterodox parents! The question arises, what audience is this paper addressed? "Why I believe in God," by the Rev. S. Seward, and "Service the Ultimate of Order," by Lydia F. Dickinson, indicate their character in their titles. "Sincerity," by Mr. Warren Goddard, is well named and calculated to nourish that essential quality in the reader. "The Phantom God," by the Rev. P. B. Cabell, is a highly interesting and very instructive exposition of the phantastic Trinitarian conception of the Holy Spirit, and of the fatal sin against It; and ably presents the New Church Doctrine on the subject. "Unfavorable Estimates of Swedenborg," a most interesting article by the Rev. T. T. Wright, reviews the latest attacks on Swedenborg's personality and mission, by leading lights of science and theology in the Old Church. The editorial department treats of "The Functional Power of the Gospel"; "Sociology"; "Mr. Gladstone on the Atonement"; "The Duke of Argyll and Christian Socialism"; "The Minister's Mental Life," and "Correspondence," the position taken in the latter being wholly untenable, viz., that on that subject modern thought is approaching the truth: in ultimate expression opposites present certain striking resemblances. "Biblical and Doctrinal Studies;" and "Current Literature," complete the number.
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LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
ON January 6th Candidate Doering, assisting Bishop Pendleton in the service, preached on "Redemption by the Truth" (Apoc. i, 5). On January 11th the Class in Choral Practice, suspended during the holidays was resumed. On January 13th Bishop Benade installed Minister Synnestvedt into the Pastoral Degree of the Priesthood. Bishop Pendleton assisted in the service, an account of which appears on another page. On January 20th the Rev. W. H. Acton of Chicago, preached on "The Divine Marriage of Good and Truth" (John xvii, 20-22). On January 27th Bishop Pendleton delivered a sermon on "Meditation" (Psalm i, 2) THE congregation in Philadelphia, during the period included between January 12th and 27th, had the pleasure of seeing among them visitors from the centres in Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, and Oak Glen, and from Berlin and Toronto, Canada. ON December 27th Bishop Benade performed the rite of Coming of Age for five young ladies, one a pupil connected with the school, one a former pupil, and three graduates of the school. Only parents, near connections, and a few guests were present. The Bishop gave most pregnant words of counsel to those newly entering upon the responsibilities of life in the world and in the Church. ON January 7th the schools reopened after the holiday season. On Tuesday, the 15th, the Rev. William H. Acton Head-master of the school at Oak Glen, addressed the schools here, expressing gratitude for their affection and collaboration manifested in preparing and sending the pictorial charts for use in the Infant class. The Dean of the Faculty made an appropriate reply. ON the same evening the Alumni Association of the Academy schools met in the Academy Hall of Assembly to consider the uses of the body, and also for social purposes. After a formal service in opening the Chancel was closed. Several visitors were present, among them Bishop and Mrs. Benade, and about forty-nine members. The Secretary, Mr. Harvey Farrington, read letters from absent members, very warm and earnest in interest and affection, and containing useful suggestions as to the development of the Association and its uses. THE three rites connected with the establishing of homes near the prospective site of the Academy Schools in Huntington Valley as noted last month, were features of a movement toward identifying and infilling the things of natural life, with the source and goal of that life, as it is in the New Church. On January 30th another dedication took place, as appears below. The first rite, which was the Breaking of Ground for the house of the Rev. J. F. Potts, the compiler of the Swedenborg Concordance, occurred on March 10th. Beside the large family, six visitors were present, members of the Philadelphia congregation. The ceremony consisted of the usual opening of the Word, and Prayer, the singing of Psalm i, the reading of Psalm cxxvii ("except the LORD build the house") by the head of the family acting as Priest, and of Apocalypse Revealed n. 820, which treats of the Second Coming of the LORD and of the spiritual understanding of the Word, by which He effects that Coming. A symbolic flag, displaying a white horse on a red ground, was hoisted, and the father of the family cut the first sod. Psalm xv was sung, followed by the Benediction. The second rite, which, occurred on April 12th, was the Laying of the Corner-stone of the residence of Robert M. Glenn, Esq., the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck officiating. The Priest opening the Word upon an extemporized altar, uttered the words, "Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it." Then all knelt and repeated the LORD'S Prayer. This was followed by singing, "I come into Thine house;" and then by the doctrine concerning the LORD as the Corner-stone (A. R. 915 and Matt. vii: 24-26. Then the priest made a short address, tracing the series of uses from lower to higher. The foundation stone is for the house, the house for a habitation, the habitation for the proper performance of uses; and through the performance of uses conjunction with the LORD is affected; and thus from the inanimate stone does the thought rise to the LORD, Who is represented by the Foundation Stone. The Priest referred to the teaching in Matthew vii: 24-26, and then asked the Head of the House to declare his acknowledgment of God. Here followed the unisonal reading, by the husband and wife, of the Faith of the New Heaven and of the New Church. Then the Father of the family, Mr. Glenn, himself placed the corner-stone-a shapely but unhewn stone-in the south-east corner of the excavation for the foundation; the Priest placed upon it the altar supporting the Word, and the head of the house solemnly declared this to be the Corner stone, or stone of Foundations; and that as it was to support the house which was to be built up from this beginning, so, he prayed, the LORD might help him that all his affections and thoughts, and those of his household and of his children, and of his children's children, might rest on the LORD as He has revealed Himself in the Truth of His Word. Then was sung in concert "Odhecha" (the Hebrew of Psalm cxviii, 21-24), and the Priest read concerning the house builded upon a rock, in Matthew, chapter vii, after which Psalm xv was sung and the Blessing was pronounced. The third ceremony, the Dedication of Dr. G. E. Starkey's house, took place September 16th, about five months after its first being occupied, the officiating Priest being Bishop Pendleton. The service took place in a little room on the second floor, devoted to family worship. The guests, quite a goodly company, include four married daughters of the head of the house, with, their husbands. After the entrance of the Priest the Word was opened. The Divine Presence and blessing were invoked, and supplication was made for instruction and power in this home to resist invading and destroying evils; for mutual conjunction of husband and wife in the bonds of conjugial love, and for their preparation for their home in heaven-Psalm i was sung, followed by the reading of Arcana Coelestia n. 6,933-38 and 10167-75; after which Psalm cxii was read, and then Psalm xxii was sung. The Priest made some remarks, in which he mentioned that this was the first dedication of a completed home, in connection with the projected colony; that there is power in ceremony,-in the assembling of a number for a common purpose,-which then especially affects the mind and manifests the presence of the spiritual world. For ceremonies are signs, and signs are the ultimation and confirmation of the intention of the will; and the presence of such an assembly is an invitation for the presence of the LORD and the angels, who thus become associated with the house and its occupants and take up their abode there, and thereafter bless it with their presence. The husband and wife then read together the Faith of the New Heaven and of the New Church. The Priest then said: "This house has been built by you, under the Divine auspices, to be your earthly home, that in it you may live in comfort, security, and pence, and in it prepare for the heavenly life which is to come. Do you, therefore, desire that this house should be dedicated to the service of the LORD, in order that you may more fully enter into the end and purpose of a true home in the LORD'S Church on earth?' The married pair replied: "We do." The Priest said: "'Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.' I do now dedicate and set apart this house to the service of the LORD in the home and family life," and he invoked a blessing upon the house, and upon what is in and around it, upon the chapel, the sacrarium the rooms devoted to rest of mind and body; also upon the performance of daily duties; upon the husband and wife, the children and servants, and the guests who are to be entertained. On January 30th Bishop Benade dedicated Mr. Glenn's house; in the presence of twenty-seven adults and six children. The ceremony, which took place in the library, where is the Sacrarium, on the first floor, was like similar ones already recorded. The address of the Priest presented the teaching that habitations in heaven, and thence those on earth, draw their origin from conjugial love, and that hence in heaven only true consorts can inhabit together (C. L. 50, A. C. 1619, 1620, 1628) and that hence also the LORD, who dwells with man in the marriage of good and truth, can do so in fulness only in such homes. Hence also, the thought of "home" profoundly stirs the human breast. Therefore to the service of conjugial love he dedicated this house, and thus to the worship of the LORD, in deed and in life; and to the ministeries of a conjugial union, in which is to be represented the infinite and eternal union of the Divine Love and Wisdom. The Priest here offered up a prayer formed in part according to that of Solomon when dedicating the temple (1 Kings, viii, 23-30, 36). After placing the sacred books in the Sacrarium he proceeded, with the immediate family, to the floor above where he dedicated each sleeping-room to its own use, placing there a copy of the Word and a volume of the Writings. On his return the service, which included also the singing of Psalms xv and xxiii, concluded with the Benediction. Berlin.-ON the evening of Sunday, December 23d, 1894=125, the Academy school in Berlin celebrated the Incarnation of the LORD, in the church of the Academy in Berlin. The decorations were in keeping with the occasion. The service was especially for the bringing of offerings. The lessons for the evening treated of the offerings of the Wise men. The Head-Master's address was also on the same subject. The Celebration by the congregation of the Church was held on Christmas Day. The service was divided into four parts, giving the General, Historical, Prophetical, and Spiritual doctrinals concerning the Advent of the LORD. The parts were separated by intervals of silence, the use of which had been set forth on he preceding Sunday in a Sermon by the pastor. ON Christmas evening a lady of the con-
32
Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITIAN. Mr. James Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W. PHILADELPHIA, FEBRUARY, 1895=125.
Title Unspecified 1895
CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL Notes 17 The Judgment (a Sermon) 18 The Second Temptation (Exodus xv, 20-27) 21 The Foundation- Stone 21 Ordination into the Second Degree of the Priesthood, of Minister Synnestvedt 24 Meeting, in London, of Priests of the Academy of the New Church 27 Reception to Mr. and Mrs. Benade 29 NEWS AND REVIEWS 30 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH 31 BIRTHS AND DEATH 32 ACADEMY BOOK ROOM 32 gregation gave a social at the school to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of one of her daughters. THE twentieth anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Roschman's marriage was celebrated on the 31st of December by a general supper. Mr. Jacob Stroh, as Toast-Master, proposed "The Church" as the first "Sentiment"-this word having been adopted here, he said, as being more expressive than "Toast." After the company had sung "How good are thy tents, O Jacob," the Rev. J. B. Rosenqvist said in response that the Church consists of Doctrine, and of life according to Doctrine, requesting his hearers to examine themselves for signs of a genuine, growth in that life. He spoke also of the bounty of the LORD, and of the need of reciprocation on their part. Pastor Waelchli said in response to "Conjugial Love," that its sphere of all the many spheres proceeding from the LORD, is the most universal-the sphere of the marriage of Good and Truth. He spoke of its reception by the husband and wife respectively, in wisdom and in the love of wisdom; and of the eternal life and growth of the angels, and the permanence of Heaven. He concluded with appropriate reference to the twenty years of married life of Mr. and Mrs. Roschman, and with the wish and hope for the increase of Conjugial Love and its blessings with them. The Toast-Master then proposed "Mr. and Mrs. Roschman," prefacing this with a sketch of Mr. Roschman's life in this country, his coming here, his marriage, his long standing position in the old Society, and his present occupancy of the Chair of the Lay Council, the highest layman's honor in this Church. Mr. Roschman responded appreciatively, and expressed thankfulness for the blessings of greater freedom in the Church and in its untrammeled government by the priest. Toronto.-On November 22d the home of. Mr. Charles Brown was dedicated by Pastor Hyatt.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
Massachusetts.- THE Third meeting of the season, of the Massachusetts New Church Women's Union, was held on December 31st. The Rev. John C. Kimball's lecture, "the Evolution of Zoology," furnished the topic. Mrs. Lee continued the review of "the Brain," by Swedenborg. The Pastor has lately begun a week-day class in The True Christian Religion, for ladies. New York.-FROM the Messenger of December 26th we learn that the Woman's Union is a fact accomplished, two meetings having been held in Brooklyn, on October 3d and November 2d. At the latter the subject of Remains and the Education of Children was under discussion, no report of which, however, is given. The invitation to the ladies to study the subject and bring passages from Swedenborg should result in information on this topic so vital to New Church mothers, but unless the study by a society of women be done under the leadership of a minister, it is to be feared that much of its usefulness will be impaired. IN Yorkville Mr. C. T. Athearn, on November 4th, delivered a lecture on "The Garden of Eden," to a full house. There seems to be some active interest here in learning about the Doctrines. Tennessee.- A HOUSE of worship is being built, about four miles west of Covington (Tipton Co.), by the few but earnest Newchurchmen in that region.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Kearsley.-ON December 12th fifty-nine members-thirty-five as junior members-were admitted to the Kearsley Society, the forms of service being those approved by the late Conference. Afterward the Holy Supper was administered to over ninety persons. The Rev. W. Westall was assisted in the service by the Rev. Messrs. J. T. Freeth and O. Meek. Salford.- THE Rev. Redman Goldsack has accepted a call to the pastorate of this Society, whither he goes from the Edinburgh Society, to which he temporarily ministered acceptably for two months. Bolton.- The dedication of the church of then Bolton Society, fifty years ago, was commemorated on Sunday, October 28th, 1894. The Rev. Peter Ramage, President of Conference, preached morning and evening. Glasgow.- THE Glasgow Society has invited the English Conference to meet in its church this year. Further announcements will be made. THE Anerley New Church Society of London proposes to entertain an International Meeting of the New Church some time next summer, and the pastor, the Rev. William Heald, has sent out a circular calling for co-operation. "The time and place are suggested by the South African Exhibition," which will be held at the Crystal Palace (near the Anerley Church) from May to October, 1895. The object proposed is "to discuss the many religious and social problems now pressing for solution.". The uniting of counsels is followed by increase of light only where there is a common thought and acknowledgment of the Source of Light. Illustration by the Divine Truth of the Writings, in the affairs of the Church, must be preceded by recognition of the Divinity of those Writings, and this is a form of charity that should begin at home. This position once taken by the several Churches, light would flow in upon the administration of all uses, individual and general; and the more universal uses of the Church might then come within the jurisdiction of a coming together of all bodies of the New Church.
FRANCE.
Paris.- AN attempt has been made in Paris to form a "New Church Academy" on a religio-scientific basis. The well-known Dr. Poirsson is identified with the movement. THE regular meetings of Newchurchmen in Paris (every first and third Monday of the month) have been resumed, in Rue Thouin.
GERMANY.
THE Rev. C. H. Mann, who sailed for Europe on October 30th, on a tour of rest and recuperation, reached Bremerhafen safely on November 12th, after a fortunate and beneficial passage. At the Christmas festival of his Sunday-school, in Orange, N. J., a Christmas letter from him to the school was read this being his first absence at the holidays in twenty-seven years. From other letters published he would seem to be recuperating satisfactorily. DURING the past fiscal year the German Swedenborg Society published a new edition of volume 3 of the Arcana Coelestia and one of the work on Heaven and Hell.
JUST PUBLISHED. 1895
ROBERT HINDMARSH.
A Biography by Carl Th. Odhner. With three appendices and a portrait of Robert Hindmarsh. Appendix I contains "Reasons for Separating from the Old Church, by the Members of the New Jerusalem Church Who Assembled in Great East- Cheap, London." these reasons were written by Hindmarsh in answer to a letter and originally published in London 1788. Appendix II contains "Principles of Ecclesiastical Government," by Hindmarsh, extracted from the minutes of the General Conference of the New Church held in London, 1792. Appendix III contains "The Priesthood of the New Church in Great Britain," a chronological list arranged by Carl Th. Odhner. 116 pages. Cloth, 50 cents; by mail, 60 cents. PICTURES OF THE LOVING- CUP, Presented to Mr. Whittington, showing two views of same. Price, 25 cents. A description and presentation of the cup appeared in New Church Life of September, 1894.
IN PRESS.
LESSONS IN ANATOMY FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW CHURCH. Part IV, "The Skin." Price, 25 cents. Already published and on sale of same series: Part I, "The Eye" II, "The Ear and Nose;" III, "The Tongue." Each part 25 cents. ACADEMY BOOK ROOM 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia.
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Title Unspecified 1895
Vol. XV, No. 3. PHILADELPHIA, MARCH 1895=125. Whole No. 173.
Title Unspecified 1895
Friendship is not charity, but it is a degree below charity.-A. C. 1158.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE question concerning social intercourse between members of the New Church and those of the Old Church constantly arises, as new converts enter the Church and as old members find themselves surrounded by changing and changed conditions. Is such intercourse simply undesirable, or is it, in fact, evil? If evil, wherein does the evil Consist?
Title Unspecified 1895
INTERCOURSE among men relates, in general, to two things, to their public uses of charity, commonly denominated "business," and to their private life. The two are commonly recognized to be distinct, and properly so. In the prosecution of one's business one comes in contact with all kinds of men, to whom charity is exercised by the sincere, honest, and faithful performance of one's business. But such intercourse does not trench upon private life on either aide. Social intercourse pertains to man's private life, and centers in the conjugial. From the mutual friendship of consorts springs friendship for those who are similar in disposition and habits, while, conversely, social life is the field in which conjugial inclinations find their objects of affection.
Title Unspecified 1895
SOCIAL intercourse leads to the formation of friendship and confirms it when formed. What, then, is the nature of true friendship-what are its objects? True friendship is the bond of affection that exists between those who have a common end. It is the conjunction of minds. And its objects are to communicate to one another, and to share, whatever goods and truths the LORD gives to either friend. Thus the very quality of friendship again points to the laws of conjugial life.
If we seek for the laws governing conjugial life we find these: 1. Both consorts must have the same religion. 2. Their religion must be the truly Christian. 3. Conjugial love must be duly respected, and kept separate from scortatory love. 4. There must be no emulation between the consorts. 5. The mind must be determined to some study or occupation. 6. The minds and manners should be the same.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE LORD calls His disciples His friends, and therefore those are truly friends of one another who, in the first instance, are His friends. And the condition of such friendship? "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Evidently, those cannot be His friends who are unwilling to understand His commandments, or careless about doing them. The laws of conjugial life, therefore, bear upon a friendship more extended than that which obtains between two who are united to each other in the bonds of conjugial love.
Title Unspecified 1895
WHILE an external friendship may be entertained for every one with whom one comes in contact, internal friendship can be only for the good of charity and the truth of faith, and hence for those in whom such good and truth are established, and hence, again, for those who have the true religion, and live according to it. A friendship with such as oppose, deny, or doubt one's dearest truths can have no real warmth; or, if it have, the gravest dangers threaten the soul. A friendship contracted with one who draws no distinction between conjugial love and scortatory love is equally dangerous. A friendship among men of whom one or each strives to domineer over the other contains the germs of its own dissolution. A friendship with one whose affections and thoughts are not determined to use lacks soul and soundness, misses reciprocation, and becomes indeterminate. A friendship in which the minds and manners differ becomes distasteful and grows cold.
Title Unspecified 1895
CAN that be called a friendship in which one dares not express himself freely concerning the truths that affect his spiritual life, and dares not speak out his opinions based on his religion-as every opinion on any subject must inevitably be? And if friendship be entered into for the purposes of mere enjoyment, such as is afforded by conversation, repasts, amusements, and the like, it will lack the proper savor, or else accustom the taste to a vapid sphere and cause spiritual things to become distasteful.
Title Unspecified 1895
SOCIAL intercourse, cultivated without any reference to things Divine and heavenly, is baneful in its effects, from the operation of spheres. If social intercourse be at all frank and honest, the affections necessarily dispose themselves affirmatively toward one's companions. This, and the delight inseparable from social life, cause the spirit to open itself and to receive their spheres; just as, on the lower plane of the body, the innumerable pores of the skin open themselves and drink in the substances and matters with which the circumambient atmosphere is filled. By such opening of the spirit the exhalations of minds are received, and are fortified by the comments on men and things which drop from the lips of one's friends. If, then, in recesses of the mind, that are purposely kept hidden, there be falses of religion, or evils of life, contagion is sure to ensue. To such causes is attributable the apathy with which many men and women regard the New Church, although they may have been born of New Church parents, and may have attended worship with them during childhood. Social intercourse with those outside of the Church gradually weans them away, as surely as a current bears off a craft not moored to a place of safety.
Title Unspecified 1895
MARRIAGE between two of diverse faiths is regarded in the heavens, as heinous, because there is no conjunction on the interior plane of life-the plane formed by religion-and hence there should be none on the civil and natural planes.
34
Man receives life through spirits and angels who are attendant upon him. In the spiritual world only those who are of similar dispositions are together. If therefore, the Newchurch man enters the society of people whose religious life is opposed to his own, he separates himself to that extent from the society of the angels of the New Heaven. Can he afford to do this?
Title Unspecified 1895
Conjugial friendship differs greatly from the friendship of any other love, for it is full.-C. L. 214.
MEDITATION. PENDLETON 1895
A SERMON
"But in the Law of the LORD is his delight, and in His Law doth he meditate day and night."-Psalm i, 2.
THE will and, the understanding are the man; the body is but the instrumentality by which the will and understanding operate to do uses in the world. The will and the understanding are the man as a spirit, by which he dwells in the spiritual world and consociates with those who are in that world; and the will and the understanding are the man in the natural world, which he associates with men in the natural world through the instrumentality of the natural or material body. Considered essentially the will is the man; but as the will is the receptacle of love, it should be said that the love is the man, and in particular, the love which is the ruling love is the man, and makes the whole life of the man-the life of his spirit and the life of his body;-his life in the spiritual world with spirits, and his life in the natural world with men. The first instrumentality of the will, or the love, by which it comes forth into act and use, is the understanding. By the interior thought of the understanding, the will, or the man, communicates with spirits, and thus does use-or is made the means of use-to those who are in the spiritual world, while he still lives in the natural world; and by the interior thought of the understanding, operating through the exterior thought of the understanding, man communicates with men in the natural world, and does uses in the natural world, by the still further instrumentality of the natural body. The one instrumentality then by which the man, or his will, communicates with both worlds, and does uses in them; is the interior thought of the understanding. In the interior thought of the understanding the will takes on a form for itself, which is its own form, a form in every way adapted to bring into effect the uses which the love wills to perform. The will takes on this form by means of the truth of Divine Revelation, and by the exercise of the thought in those truths, and according to them-impelled to such exercise of the thought by the delight of the affection of the will, or love; and this exercise of the thought of the will is what is called meditation. In the Law of the Lord is his delight, and in His Law doth he meditate day and night. It will thus be seen that the interior thought of the understanding differs from the exterior thought of the understanding. The interior thought is the thought of the love, the thought of the man himself; the exterior thought is thought accommodated to the conditions of the world, and may be wholly opposed to the interior thought; which is especially the case with hypocrites, and to some extent with all, before regeneration has brought the exterior thought, or thought of the body, into correspondence with the interior thought, or thought of the spirit. When this takes place, not only is the exterior thought in harmony and correspondence with the interior thought, but the speech and acts of the body are also in such harmony and correspondence, and man is then called an entire man, a whole man, for he is one and not two, and is a form of Heaven. On the other hand, when by degeneration, or by the rejection of all Divine truth, the exterior thought comes into agreement with the interior thought-which is the thought of the falsity of evil,-and the speech and actions into a like agreement,-man then also becomes one, but one in evil and the false of evil, and is a form of Hell. His delight is not in the Law of the LORD, but he loathes and despises that Law, and takes delight in all that opposes the Law. The interior thought of the understanding is the thought of the love; it is the love thinking, the love meditating on the means to its full fruition in ultimates, or ultimate uses. Since therefore love is the essential or ruling principle, the soul and life of the interior thought, affection is also the ruling principle; for man is affected by that which he loves, and affection is but the activity of the love in the thought and in the deed; and so love manifests itself in affection and by affection. Or, if we should say delight instead of affection, it would be the same thing, for affection is felt as delight. Man's love, his affection, his delight, is in the Law of the LORD, in the Divine Truth of the Word, which is from the LORD and is the LORD. His love, his affection, his delight, is in the LORD and he is thus in the LORD and the LORD in Him. He is conjoined with the LORD, and love and wisdom from the LORD are conjoined in Him. This conjunction in the interiors of man is the first conjunction of good and truth, and is the spiritual betrothal, which precedes the spiritual marriage, which is the conjunction of this internal with the external of man in the procedure of regeneration, in the exterior thought, and in every word and work. Every love meditates on the means of ultimating itself, on the means by which it may come into active operation, or active use; in other words, it meditates on the means of conjoining itself with that which is loved. For love does not live except by conjunction, hence love is conjunction; it must therefore continually seek the means by which it may become conjunction, and thus he love; and the means are the truths of the Divine Law, or the Word. These are the means that are sought when the loge which seeks is also from the LORD. Love which is not from the LORD does not seek truth, because it is not love, though it is so-called because it appears like it, or veils itself with love, in ultimates. The love only which is love-which is from the LORD-seeks truths; and meditation is this seeking for truths, which are the ways and means to conjunction. By these means, love descends, and it ascends; it descends into ultimate uses in the world, and conjoins man with the neighbor; it ascends at the same time into the spiritual world, and conjoins man with good spirits and angels; and it ascends through Heaven and conjoins man with the LORD; and conjunction with the LORD is conjunction itself, by which and from which man lives forever. The descent of love by thought forms the natural mind of man, and enables him to do uses to men; and the ascent of love by the same means forms the spiritual mind of man, and enables him to be of use even to the angels of Heaven; man becoming thus an instrumentality by which the LORD operates to bless those who live in both worlds.
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The love of self, not being in itself love, does not meditate conjunction, but it meditates disjunction, and seeks the means of disjunction which are falses; disjunction from the neighbor in the world, disjunction from the angels of Heaven, and disjunction from the LORD Himself. It wills disjunction from all, but it at the same time wills the subjection of all, and seeks continually the means of subjection. It would subject the world to itself, it would subject Heaven to itself, and it would, if possible, extend its dominion over the LORD Himself, such is the madness of its insane thought from its insane love, which is hatred. It seeks disjunction in rejecting the means to conjunction which are truths; it takes no delight in the Law of the LORD, nor meditates in that Law; for the love of self being from Hell can only seek the means which Hell furnishes for the ruin and destruction of men. The use of meditation, as the means of reformation and regeneration, is therefore one that should be clearly seen and acknowledged, in order that a proper habit of meditation may be cultivated and formed; or it is most certainly true that he who meditates in the truth with delight and affection, and continues to do so till the end of life-so that it becomes thus a confirmed habit of the mental life-will be saved, will continue to meditate in the truth in Heaven to eternity. In His Law doth he meditate day and night. Let us, therefore, consider some farther particulars on this subject, that it may come into still clearer light in our minds. It is important to understand that in meditation man not only thinks but wills; for man always wills that which gives him delight. Man therefore wills that `which he thinks interiorly in himself; for he has delight in what he then thinks, and he has delight then because he is in a full state of liberty. Liberty, delight, and will, therefore, go together as inseparable companions; and thought from that state is the thought of man's life, and the instrumentality by which he makes all spiritual progress. Such thought, being he thought of the spirit of man, is the thought of the man himself; and man then as to his spirit is speaking and doing; for thought is the speech of the spirit, the interior thought of meditation, and will is the act of the spirit. Man is doing then just what he will do when he becomes a spirit; and, if you wish to know what you would say and do if you were suddenly transferred to the spiritual world, observe what you think, and that in which you take delight when you are meditating with yourself alone; you will then perceive what you really are as a spirit of the spiritual world. If you observe that your habit of thought then is contrary to the laws of Divine order, the opportunity is given, and the power, to change such habit, while you live in the natural body, in the natural world. But when the body is laid aside the opportunity is gone forever, and the power to make such a change-if the change has not been made in this life-can no longer be given, for the simple reason that man will no longer desire it. It is also important to realize that when man meditates alone he is not really alone, even though he is not in company with men in the world; for he is then in the company of men in the spiritual world, who are called spirits. Man is never away or separated from the inhabitants of the spiritual world; he cannot live a moment without consociation with them: but in meditation he comes, as it were, nearer to them, and holds commune with them; for the interior thought of meditation is conversation with spirits, and spirits are associated with him according to the quality of the thought of meditation, or according to the quality of the delight is meditation, or according to the affection which governs at that time. For spirits are associated with man in his affections and delights more than in the thoughts; for which reason his thought is free, and he appears to himself to be altogether alone, and, thus free,-is not conscious of the fact that then he is holding converse with the inhabitants of the spiritual world. When man is thus in meditation, if his conversation is then with good spirits, who have been drawn to him because he is inclined to take delight in thinking the truth, they will from the sphere of their affection and delight, inspire him with greater delight, from which he will come into a greater illustration, a clearer perception, a freer thinking of the things of the Law. And thus the way is opened to a better living; a greater power is imparted to shun evils and do the uses of charity. The delight of meditation is therefore a means by which evil spirits are removed, and with them their falses and evils; it is thus a means of the cleansing and purification of the interiors of the natural man. Evil spirits dare not approach in a state of the delight of the affection of truth; they shun it as they would a deadly poison, for they regard it as such'; and if this state can be maintained, evil spirits will never again enter the interiors of man's life; and though they will for a long time infest the exteriors of his thought, and his exterior affections, which are near to the body and the world, still man dwells safely in the citadel of his life, the interior thought of his will and love, and from that strong-hold he can successfully resist all the assaults of the infernal hosts. The evils that are to be shunned, and the graces that are to be cultivated, by meditation, in order that the interiors may be purified, are many. The evils include all the lusts of self-love and the love of the world, and the falses of those lusts. There is one in particular that is all-embracing, the evil of anxiety and distrust of Providence in the affairs of life, and the falses which nourish and support such anxiety and distrust. Man perceives these invading him, when he meditates by himself, and this is the time they will invade and take possession of him if they are allowed to do so; and this is the reason that the family and home life, where interiors are to a great extent laid open; is so often saturated with anxieties, and where distrust of the ways of Providence invade and possess the thought and conversation. And this is the reason why natural men shun and dread the home life-that is to say, shun and dread the opening of their own interiors as they would a contagion. There is nothing for which they have so much aversion as thinking-that is, thinking at home; and hence they prefer to keep themselves in the external sphere of the world, and its sensual delights. In such a state reformation is impossible. Man must retire into his home, and so into himself, in order to know what he is, and where he is, or he will never know to all eternity. In his home he will find that he distrusts the ways of Providence, and from this the ways of the neighbor, and the ways of the consort; and he will thus see, in his home-meditation, on the one hand, the evils which are to be shunned in order that his interior thought may he purified, and thus his home life purified; and on the other the spiritual graces that are to be cultivated, in order that his interior thought may be a strong-hold of defense against falsities and evils, and his home-life be a life of peace and rest, and his home a place to seek with delight, and not shun and avoid.
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If man in his meditation at home shuns distrust, and cultivates trust in Providence he will be given power and strength to shun all other evils which invade to destroy-especially the evils which invade the conjugial: and he will have power and strength to cultivate all the graces of spiritual life,-especially the grace of conjugial love and friendship: and from the interiors of his thought the exteriors will be purified also, in the uses of life, and the man made whole. But if he does not resist the evils, the lusts, the anxieties, which then invade, his interiors will become infected with a spiritual poison, which will also invade the exteriors of thought and life, and destroy the whole man. This subject maybe illustrated by things which correspond in the human body: as the thought is the active life of the spirit of man so is the blood the active life of the body, and as the thought is twofold, so is the blood twofold; and, further, as the purification of the thought is twofold, so is the purification of the blood twofold; the one in every way corresponds with the other, for the body is created from the spirit, and hence must correspond in every particular. The purification of the interior thought by meditation, already spoken of, takes place only with the good; but the purification of the exterior thought takes place to some extent with every one, for the sake of the appearance in the world and uses in the world, and so for the sake of the order of civil society. With the evil, however, this is but an apparent reformation. They meditate in their exterior thought to appear as civil and moral men, but the interior thought is at the same time infected with the poison of deceit and cunning, and is saturated with fears and anxieties. The exterior thought is apparently healed but the interior thought is sick or dead. Now, as to the relation or correspondence of this with the blood. The exterior of the blood is the red blood, the interior of the blood is the animal spirit. In order that the body may be in a really healthy condition the animal spirit must be sound and healthy; but if the animal spirit be unsound, and continue so, it gradually infects the red blood, and through the red blood some organ of the body, and the whole body from this grows sick and perhaps dies. But the animal spirit may be infected with disease while the red blood and body are in a state of health, and this condition of apparent health may last for a length of time. We see, therefore, a complete correspondence between the twofold life of the thought and the twofold life of the blood, and why it is that the interiors of the body and blood, with so many in the world at this time, are in a state of disease, and the exteriors apparently well. For in this the state of the body corresponds with the state of the mind; the interiors of the mind and spirit are sick, but the exteriors in all appearance well and sound. And what is remarkable, whatever affects the interiors of the thought is at once ultimated, and affects the interiors of, blood-that is, the animal spirit. There can be no affection or delight of the spirit that does not thus affect the body, whether the delight be good or evil; showing that the real origin of health, and the real origin of disease, are, both in the spirit of man, or in the spiritual world, the one from Heaven; the other from Hell. And we find a remarkable illustration of what is here set forth in the fact that the root of the-word meditation is the same as the root of the word medicine. They are both derived originally from a Sanscrit word which signifies to be wise and also to heal. With the ancients who spoke that language, the spiritual idea that was in the word was wisdom, and the natural idea in it was healing; from the spiritual idea that was in it has come down to us the word meditation, and from the natural idea in it has come down to us the word medicine. For wisdom is both the source and the result of meditation, and wisdom or meditation heals the spirit of man as medicine heals his body; and all real health Is from the co-operation of the two. We have before us then the use of meditation, and the abuse of meditation. Man is in the use of meditation when he meditates in the truth; and to meditate in the truth is to meditate use; for all truth has use in it as an end; and hence to meditate in the truth is to intend use, and to place one's self in the stream of endeavor to use that ever flows forth from Heaven, in the truth and by the truth; and this leads man to plan use, and so the planning of uses is ever present in all meditation in the truth. But the first essential step is to plan the removal of those things which obstruct the way to uses, which are evils and falses, and then to do the uses which the truth points out to the rational mind. The abuse of meditation has already been spoken of, but it may be further illustrated by the doctrine and practice of the ascetics, which still retains its hold upon the Christian world, though not in so gross a form as in earlier times. The ascetics were in the persuasive faith, that in order to attain to the highest ideal of Christian perfection it was necessary to renounce the world, and give themselves up to a solitary life, separating themselves from their fellows, separating themselves from uses with men in the world, cherishing the fantasy that they would thus separate themselves from the evils of the world, notwithstanding the LORD'S words, "I pray Thee not that Thou shouldest take them out of the war but that Thou shouldest keep them from evil;" believing that thus living in the mountains, forests, and deserts, away from the abodes of men, and from companionship with men, they would thus be able to pass the time in pious meditations, and prepare themselves for Heaven. As to the lot of such in the other life, we are told that they are of a sad genius, which necessarily arises from the abuse of meditation, whether a man lives in a desert or in a city; for meditation is abused when man removes from it the end of use, and he who does this separates himself from others, internally if not externally, for he thus lives only in himself and for himself, and cultivates only the love of self, meditates on his own merit, and is angry if he does not obtain that which he persuades himself is his desert; and so he, like the hermits of old, is of a sad genius. The ascetics in the other world, and others who are interiorly like them, are therefore of a sad genius; they despise others in comparison with themselves, and they are indignant if a happier lot is not granted to them than to others, which they believe they have merited; they turn themselves away from the offices of charity, by which alone there is conjunction with Heaven; they lust for Heaven more than others, and when they are elevated into the company of the angels they induce anxieties, which disturbs the felicities of the angels; therefore they are dissociated, and, being dissociated, they betake themselves to the deserts, where they pass a life similar to that which they had lived in the world. For man is formed and prepared for Heaven by a life in the world among men, and in no other way; by living among men, and meditating uses among men, and becoming wise in the performance of uses, and without this the life of Heaven is suffocated. Meditation in the Law of the LORD, with use as the end, is ever to be cultivated in the Church, that man may be introduced thereby into the heavenly sphere of intelligence and wisdom; for meditation in the Law from the delight of good, with the end of use, is the very state of Heaven, and the angels of God meditate in that Law day and night-that is, continually and, forever.
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Title Unspecified 1895
With those who are in conjugial love, the conjunction of minds increases and with this, friendship.-C. L. 214.
THIRD TEMPTATION. 1895
EXODUS XVI, 1-12.
THE preceding chapter treated of the second temptation of those who were of the spiritual Church, which arose from this, that the Truth appeared undelightful to them. In this chapter, in the internal sense, the third temptation is treated of, which arises from the lack of good. By the lack of bread and flesh, concerning which the sons of Israel murmured, is signified the lack of good: consolation after temptation is signified and described by the manna which they received, and by the Selav; manna is spiritual good: that this was given to them by the LORD continually, and without any care and help of theirs; is signified by their receiving the manna daily, and if they gathered more, it bred worms.
(1.) SUCCEEDING the state of consolation after the first temptation, "and they departed from Elim"-arose another state of temptation, "and they came, all the assembly of the eons of Israel, unto the desert of Sin"-in continuation of the former, and intermediate between the truth and good of the consolation which they then received, and the good from which is truth; thus they came to that station where is the good which is from truth, such as man has before regeneration, when he does good from truth-that is, from obedience, because it has been commanded, "which is between Elim and between Sinai"-it was a new state in respect, "in the fifteenth day of the second month"-to the state in which they had been when they were first liberated from infestations, "to their going forth out of the land of Egypt." (2-3.) Those who were of the spiritual Church, on account of the grievousness of the temptation, felt pain and complained, "and they murmured, all the assembly of the sons of Israel"-about the Truth Divine, "against Moses and against Aharon"-in this their state of temptation, "in the desert"-and they thought from anxiety, "and the sons of Israel said unto them"-that it would have been better for them to have been left by the LORD when they were in the state of infestations, "Who will give we might have died by the hand of JEHOVAH in the land of Egypt"-when they lived as they pleased, and as they lusted, "when we sat by the pot of flesh"-and thus enjoyed the good of pleasures as much as they wished, when we ate bread to satisfying"-seeing that after; they were liberated from the state of infestations, "because ye have led us forth"-they were brought into a state of temptations, "unto this desert"-where, from lack of the delight, and of the good which they had enjoyed, they would expire, "to kill all this congregation with hunger," for when the delights of the old will are fought against, in obedience to the Divine command, it seems as though one were deprived of all good, and thus of life itself. (4-5.) But the LORD brought them the consolation, and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-that in place of the natural good to which they had been accustomed, celestial good should inflow, "Behold I am making to rain for you bread out of heaven"-from which they should have life, "and the people shall go out"-continually according to their necessity; "and they shall gather the word of a day in its day"-whence it would become a matter for explanation, "therefore that I may tempt it"-whether they could live the life of truth and good, "whether it walk in My Law if not." And at the end of each state, "and it shell be in the sixth day"-the goods that had been appropriated would be disposed in order, "and they shall prepare what they have brought"-so that they might be conjoined into a heavenly form, "and it shall be double upon what they gather day by day." (6-8) Those who were of the spiritual Church were informed, "and said Moses and Aharon unto all the sons of Israel"-that at the end of the former state it would be revealed that they have been liberated from in festers, "at even, and ye shall know that JEHOVAH led you forth out of the land of Egypt"-and that in the beginning of the new state the Advent of the LORD would take place, "and in the morning, and ye shall see the glory of JEHOVAH"-when their complaints would cease, "when He heareth your murmurings"-which were against the Divine, not against those who represented it, "against JEHOVAH, and we, what, that ye murmur against us?" And those who were of the spiritual Church were further informed by the Truth Divine, "and Moses said"-that at the end of the state, good, which at first comes by self-compulsion, would be appropriated through delight, "When JEHOVAH giveth to you in the evening flesh to eat"-and, at the beginning of the new state, good would be had in as great abundance as they could receive, "and bread in the morning to satisfying"-that thus the complainings would cease, "when JEHOVAH heareth your murmuring"-which were against the Divine, "with which ye are murmuring against Him"-and were not against those who represented the Divine, "and we, what? not against us are your murmurings"-against which complainings they should hereafter be on their guard, "because against JEHOVAH." (9-12.) The Truth Divine which proceeds immediately from the LORD, inflowed through the Truth Divine which proceeds mediately, and which comes to man in the form of the Sacred Scriptures and of Doctrine, "and Moses said unto Aharon"-and thus instructed those who were of the spiritual Church, "Say unto all the assembly of the sans of Israel"-that they should receive that Divine influx, and apply it to uses, "Approach ye before JEHOVAH"-that it might bring them help for the pain which they had experienced in the temptation, "because He hath heard your murmurings." As they were being instructed by the Divine through influx into the Truth which they had, and it was, "as Aharon spake unto all the assembly of the, sons of Israel"-they remembered the state of temptation in which they had been, "and they looked back unto the desert"-and beheld the Presence of the LORD in the Truth of the literal sense of the Word, where it was accommodated to their perception, "and behold the glory of JEHOVAH was seen in the cloud"-and in the Truth which proceeds from the Divine of the LORD, into which Truth there inflowed," and JEHOVAH spake unto Moses, saying"-that the complaints which were from temptation would cease, "I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel"- and by influx through this Truth those who were of the spiritual Church were informed, "Speak unto them, saying"-that in the end of the state good would be appropriated through delight, "between the evenings ye shalt eat flesh"-and that in the beginning of the new state good would be had in as great abundance as they could receive, "and in the morning ye shall be satisfied with bread"-so that they might know that the LORD alone is God, "and ye shall know that I am JEHOVAH your God."
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Title Unspecified 1895
As love truly conjugial conjoins the souls and hearts of two, it is united also with friendship.-C. L. 334.
NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE SPIRITUAL SUN. 1895
IT is common to speak of the LORD as being Divine Love and Wisdom or as Love Itself and Wisdom Itself; and thus in appearance as if these were two separate things united. If we look at this more interiorly it will be seen that they are not two, but Infinitely One. This division into Love and Wisdom as two separate and distinct things is an appearance provided for the sake of man's comprehension. They are separated in thought by man. The LORD Himself is the Divine, which, as to Esse and Existere, is called the Infinite and Eternal, or JEHOVAH and the FATHER. But as to the Divine Essence and Existence (terms less universal than Esse and Existere (T. C. R. 21) He is called Divine Love and Wisdom, which are presented in form before angels and men, as the LORD in His Divine Human, in Whom and by Whom the Divine, or the "FATHER," manifests Himself. The LORD, both as to the Divine Itself and as to the Divine Human, is nothing else than Divine Good. Divine Truth is not in the Divide Good, but from it (A. C. 5704, 7268, 8644; conf. C. L. 115). It is the appearing of Divine Good in the Heavens before the angels, and on earth before men. Because Divine Good appears as Divine Truth-thus as if they were two-for the sake of man's comprehension the Divine of the LORD is distinguished into Divine Good and Divine Truth (A. C. 3704, 10,261, 3404, 3712 [end], 4715). It is this Divine Good that appears before the angels as the Sun, and the Divine Truth as the light thence proceeding. It must not he supposed that the light in proceeding is separated from the fire of its origin. It is the Sun continued out of itself, so to speak. So with Divine Truth, which is to be conceived of as a sphere from the Sun, which, as it proceeds, decreases in ardor and splendor, and becomes at length so tempered as to be accommodated to the reception of the angels. Within this sphere, but far below the Sun, is the angelic heaven (A. C. 9498, 8760). The Divine Truth which proceeds is received as good and truth by the angels: as good, as it is received in the will, and as truth, as it is received in the understanding; but essentially, or as to essence, it is nothing but Divine Good in, form, for the Divine Good is the One Only Substance, and the Divine Truth is its form; and from this Essential Substance in its own form, proceed the angelic Sun and all created substances and forms. "In John i, 1, 3, 4, it is said: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and God was the Word. All things became through Him. In Him was life and the life was the light of men." And again in the Psalms "By the Word of JEHOVAH the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their Hosts. For He said and it was, He commanded and it stood". (Ps. xxx, 6, 9). In these and other passages "Word" does not mean the mere utterance of the voice, by which all things were created out of nothing; but by "Word" is signified the Divine Truth as the form of Divine Good, thus Divine Substance and form. Hence in the original, [Hebrew], literally "Word," also means "thing" in the widest sense. "To eternity, O JEHOVAH, Thy Word is established in the Heavens" (Ps. cxix, 89).
Title Unspecified 1895
As conjugial love is the love of loves, so also conjugial friendship is the friendship of friendships. C. L. 334.
RADIANT BELTS AROUND THE SUN. 1895
"TRUTH, which proceeds immediately from the LORD, because it is from the Infinite Divine Itself, can never be received by any living substance which is finite, thus no by any angel; on which account the LORD created successives by which, as media, the Divine Truth proceeding immediately can be communicated. But the first from these successives is too full of the Divine to be as yet, received by any living substance which is finite, thus by any angel; therefore the LORD created still another successive by which the Divine Truth immediately proceeding may be receptible as to some part. This successive is the Truth Divine which is in Heaven. The two first are above the heavens, and are, as it were, belts radiant from flame, which belts surround the Sun, which is the LORD. Such is successive order even to the heaven nearest the LORD, which is the Third Heaven, where are those who are Innocent and Wise. Thence they (i. e., those successives) are continued successively even to the ultimate heaven, and from the ultimate heaven even to the sensual and corporeal of man, which lastly receives influx" (A. C. 7270. See, also, 8443, where six degrees of Truth Divine are particularized. Compare, also, S. D. 5547-5552; L. J., part 311-3; A. E. 627, and A. C. 9498, 3362, 3364 [end], 9498). It is therefore by means of the Divine Truth, which, regarded in itself, is nothing but the Divine good in form, that the Infinite communicates with the finite. In its first and second degrees (called also the Supreme in Apocalypse Explained, n. 627) it forms the radiant belts which surround the Sun above the heavens and make it visible. In its successive accommodations and, as it were, darkenings, by means of spiritual atmospheres, it makes the LORD'S presence in the Heavens. It is this that gives rise to the appearance of distance. Yet the LORD is Omnipresent, and hence within in every angel, and it is this subjective appearance inwardly which gives rise to the objective appearance outwardly; for an angel sees represented around or outside of himself those things which exist in him. Therefore, when it is said that the LORD appears in Heaven, or rather above Heaven, as a Sun or a Moon or light, it will be understood that such is the internal appearing of the LORD accommodated to the reception of each angel. The LORD dwells in His own with every one and by no means in anything of the propriums of any man or angel. This "Own" of the LORD is that from which angels and men, yea, even devils, derive the life which appears as their own. It is this supreme or inmost degree into which the Divine first or proximately flows in with man, and which may therefore be called the entrance of the LORD into man and the very dwelling of the LORD Himself (H. H. 38; L. J. 25). This inmost, of man's mind receives immediate influx from the LORD, and thereby governs the interiors and exteriors. Thus it is the centre of the man or angel, even as the sun of Heaven is the centre of the spiritual- and natural universe. (See A. C. 9594, 9773, 7910, 5114, 3855, 6451, 8690, 10,151, 8269. Compare also S. D. 3474 and 2487, and particularly S. D. 5547-5553. From this we may conclude that the outward appearance of the LORD as the Spiritual Sun is from His presence in the inmosts of human and angelic minds and that these inmosts constitute the radiant belts surrounding the LORD which are the first form receptive of the from Him. These are the human internals which are the LORD'S dwelling-place in man and in Heaven (See S. D. 5548)
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The nature of the Human Internals is described in the following passage: "The Internal of man is that from which man is a man, and by which he is distinguished from brute animals. By this internal man lives after death and to eternity, and by it he can be elevated by the LORD among the angels. This is the very first form from which man becomes and is man. By this Internal the LORD is united to man. The Heaven itself nearest the LORD is from these human internals, but still above the inmost angelic Heaven; wherefore they are of the LORD Himself alone. Thus the whole human race is most present under the eyes of the LORD. Those internals of man do not have life in themselves, but they are recipient forms of the life of the LORD (A. C. 1999). As far as man receives life from the LORD so far is he nearer and more conjoined with Him, and so much the clearer and nearer does the LORD appear present. But "so far as man is in evil, both actually and hereditary, so far he is, as it were, separated from this Internal which is of the LORD and with the LORD, thus so far from the LORD. For although it is adjoined to man and inseparable from him, nevertheless man, as far as he recedes from the LORD so far does he separate himself from it" (ibid.) and thus the evil man "loses his soul." This teaching enables us not only to see why the LORD as the Sun of Heaven appears nearer or more remote to the angels; but also why it is that He is always before their eyes, either to the right or left; that is, north or south, according to the celestial or spiritual elevation or state of the angels themselves; and, further, why this appearance is constant, no matter in what direction the angels may turn themselves (H. H. 141). The radiant belts surrounding the Spiritual Sun are thus seen to consist of human internals which are the immediate receptacle of the two first degrees of Divine Truth proceeding immediately from the LORD. Here we find the first accommodation and tempering of Divine Love and Wisdom to angels and men; for, as was said above, "the sphere or heaven of human internals has not life in itself, but is recipient of life from the LORD and immediately under His aspect." (See also H. H. 120; A. C. 6849; H. H. 123-4). Thus the LORD is not only a Sun but a Shield. Regarding the LORD'S presence in the inmost, or the human internal of man and angel-what is properly the LORD'S dwelling-place-as the Sun shining within the angel, we may see from what is taught concerning the creation of the universe, how man's mind is created, formed, and preserved, in order by the presence of the LORD within. The three heavens find their counterpart in the three degrees or planes of the mind, and the two Kingdoms in the voluntary and intellectual carts; and as man lives from the one or the other part, in the degree of his mind opened by life in the world, so, after death will he enter either the spiritual or celestial Kingdom and one of the heavens there, and according to the degree then opened in him, will he perceive the LORD either as Sun or as Moon or as light.
Title Unspecified 1895
The chaste love of the sex, regarded in itself, is interior, spiritual friendship.-C. L. 55.
FROG 1895
A STUDY IN CORRESPONDENCES.
THE creeping things of the earth represent, in general, the affections and thoughts of the sensual man, which in themselves are mere cupidities and persuasions. As there are degrees of evil, so there are various classes of reptiles, some more, some less, harmful and disgusting. Of these, serpents constitute the higher, and frogs including lizards and crocodiles-the lower class. All reptiles are cold-blooded; and most of them are amphibious, able to live both in the water and in the air. As such they correspond to the sensual man, who has no spiritually warm and living affections; who dwells by preference among sensual appetites and external scientifics, yet is able in a cold, intellectual manner to lift his understanding into the higher sir of spiritual truth. The very devils in hell have this ability, but use it only in order to pervert the truth by their evil lusts and thus give the appearance of life to their false reasonings, which they then confirm in innumerable ways by their sensual scientifics. The supreme love of their intellectual life consists in this love of excusing and confirming evil by falsified truth. Reason they have none, but mere cunning which simulates reason. Hence by way of distinction, they are called reasoners. As there are two general classes of reptiles,-serpents and frogs-so there are two general classes of sensual reasoners The superior, the more dangerous kind, corresponding to serpents, are those more cunning ones who in their reasonings employ genuine appearances of truth, such as are of the Word and of religion. These, serpent-like, have the power of fascinating and seducing by the brilliancy of their intellect, and by the winning plausibility of their poisonous arguments in favor of false and deadly theories and dogmas. The other kind of reasoners, corresponding to the tribe of frogs, more devastated, dull, and hence less deadly, are those who in their reasonings employ mere falses, arguments which they, indeed, strive to give an appearance of reasonableness, yet such as are no longer of the Word and of religion. These are like impotent frogs. They have not the serpent's power to hurt, for their reasoning are more shameless and gross, more easily recognized, and externally more repulsive, than the subtle insinuations of those who, while still wearing the garb of religion- and decency, infest the innocent. Some examples will illustrate the difference between these two kind of reasoners: Those are serpents who reason, from the Letter of the Word, that, since no one can do good from himself, therefore good contributes nothing to salvation, but faith alone; but those are frogs who reason that there is no essential difference between good and evil, and who do not believe in the necessity of any salvation, since they deny a life after death. Those are serpents who reason, from the Letter of the Word, that only those are saved who are born within the Church; but those are frogs who ridicule the very idea of faith and the Church. Those are serpents who reason against an internal sense of the Word; but those are frogs who have entirely rejected and blasphemed the Word. Those, finally, are serpents, who reason in favor of a trinity of persons in God; but those are frogs who are rank atheists, and deny the existence of a God. The latter class is the legitimate outcome of the former, and all spiritual serpents, in the other world, in due time have their poisonous fangs extracted, and are shortened and flattened out into disgusting and powerless frogs. This correspondence of the frog seems to have been known to the ancients. Ovid, who formulated the legends from the Ancient Word into fables and metamorphoses, tells a suggestive story of the goddess Latona-who seems to represent Faith, and who, from Jove, gave birth to Apollo and Diana, or Wisdom with its chaste Affection.
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Traveling with her new-born babes, and becoming parched with thirst, she came to a lake of liquid water. Stooping to drink, she was prevented by a crowd of rustics, who, with abusive language jumped about in the water to muddy it. The goddess, indignant, cursed them with the words, "Forever may you live in that pool." Whereupon they were immediately changed into bloated, croaking frogs. How suggestive is this legend of the internal character of profane reasoners; who would prevent inquiring Faith from drinking out of the living spring of heavenly truth. The frog, in its appearance, is the ape among reptiles, ridiculous caricature of the human form. The ancient Egyptians, who included the serpent, the crocodile, and the beetle among the objects of their worship, still regarded the frog with horror, considering it as an imperfect man, a human being horribly stunted in its development. Hence we may understand how loathsome to the Egyptians was the plague of the frogs. Even so is the naturalistic reasoner a sad travesty upon the mental form of the truly rational man. He still retains human features, but distorted and out of proportions, the upper extremities stunted and powerless for any good uses, but the lower ones enormously developed by the irrational habit of jumping at illegitimate conclusions. As if by a mutual prearrangement the development of the frog most wonderfully confirms the modern theory of the "evolution" of man from an animal. Is not the tad-pole at first like a fish? Does it not afterwards drop its tail, put forth feet, and become a perfect frog? Does not this most convincingly illustrate the evolution of the man from the ape? May not the reasoner here rest self-satisfied, and puff at any "missing links" in the chain of his ratiocinations? Alas! it illustrates only too well his own evolution from the innocent love of gaining knowledge, into the noxious love of using these knowledges only to confirm absurd persuasions and filthy cupidities. Is not the would-be-wise physiognomy of the batrachian a faithful portrait of the self-satisfied conceit of the infidel naturalist, who, by his own acumen, has penetrated the inmost secrets of creation, and has found at the bottom nothing but slime and protoplasm. All eyes and mouth, and with hardly any brain, is not the voracious frog an ultimate reproduction of the merely sensual man, who, with great powers of observation, and an enormous appetite for the facts of science; yet places all intelligence in the memory alone, and thinks only in his mouth? (T. C. R. 565.) Almost entirely void of the senses of smell and taste, and having a tongue fastened in a way just opposite to that of all other animals,-using it for prehenrion only,-the frog most fitly represents the reasoner from mere falses, who lacks all spiritual perception of truth, and judgment between right and wrong; and is bent only upon the acquisition of scientifics that may confirm his "theories." With his watery, cold, and clammy skin, often brilliantly colored, and able, in very many species, to change the "color to suit his surroundings," the frog again illustrates the character of the reasoner, who is a deceitful, unprincipled hypocrite, changing his convictions to suit his various selfish purposes, and ready to confirm any notion that may bring him honor and gain. As the frog further, is able to inflate his flabby skin, and puff himself up to a remarkable size, so the proud scientific reasoner is wont to swell up most wonderfully with the imaginary importance of himself and his conclusions. Lazily hiding by day in the filthy heat of muddy caverns or stagnant pools, the frog is essentially a nocturnal creature, hating the light, and coming forth only at the setting of the sun, to make night hideous with its dismal, quaking, croaking noise, which it repeats for hours without change or pause. Again we recognize the ratiocinator, the reasoner from mere sensual falsities, who loves to wallow in the stench and filth of his own self-derived intelligence, and hates the light of Divine Revelation. But when the day is done,-when men have rejected this light of life,-then the spiritual reptile creeps forth to fill the air of "modern thought" with the hideous, endless clamor of agnosticism, naturalism, and atheism. The uses of the frog are evil uses. Being himself evil, he acts as an absorber of the malignities of the insect world, and is hence permitted to exist. Even so is the ratiocinator permitted to exist, for the sole purpose of absorbing into his sphere such- false and perverted minds, as would infest and profane religion if they were permitted to continue in external profession of it. The actual hurtfulness of the frog may not be discerned as easily as its evil uses, for to all appearance it is a harmless and much abused creature, even as the ratiocinator seems a harmless martyr for science and human reason. But as there are three degrees of uses performed to man by all good things of nature, namely, to the body, to the mind, and to the soul, so there are three corresponding degrees of injury caused to man by all evil things of nature. The frog is not, indeed, able to inflict bodily injury on man, but is injurious to man's animus, or natural mind, by the loathing and aversion which it excites therein. And like all other evil and unclean things from hell, its sound and aspect afford planes in the mind of man for the influx of the evil spirits who correspond to it, and thus the frog is injurious also to the human soul; even as the atheistic, naturalistic reasoner, though clearly separated from the Church and unable to infest it directly, yet remains a constant source of loathsomeness and annoyance to the simple believer in the LORD and His Word. Frogs are not only thoughts and reasonings of unbelief, but are also, and essentially, the gross and filthy affections which give rise to such reasonings. They correspond to such unclean spirits of the vilest sort as rule the lowest parts of man, and excite the cupidities which are properly of the body and the blood, and are called the pleasures of the senses; such as the various luxuries of the body from the sense of taste (Adv. 1956). They correspond-especially to the cupidities of lasciviousness, and are called lasciviousnesses (D. P. 40; A. R. 702). The science of Homeopathy affords a remarkable confirmation of this correspondence. A drug has been prepared from the toad, which excites symptoms of a form of lasciviousness as common and as disgusting as is the toad; and which, like the toad, loves to dwell in nocturnal solitude, being one of the vilest forms of love of self; which love, in all its forms, tends to this, its grossest, most filthy ultimate; for it is, essentially, anti-conjugial, disjunctive of good and truth, lusting for self-gratification, and thus lascivious. Many are the hidden frogs, which, by some introspection, may be found thriving in the proprium, collective as well as individual. Unrestrained sensual appetites and indulgences, puffed-up conceits of one's own value and super- eminence, jealousies, envies, contempts, enmities, all such affections are loathsome frogs, that disturb our peace with their incessant croaking. Such must be driven back into the hell where they belong, lest the stench of their carcasses penetrate our entire minds.
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Title Unspecified 1895
Friendship is mutual love, when it regards a man from good, or for the sake of good.-A. C. 3875.
NATIONS BORDERING ON CANAAN. 1895
Amalek, [Hebrew]=one who licks up or takes away. Edom, [Hebrew]=red; ruddy. Midian, [Hebrew]=strife; contention.
BEFORE the Sons of Israel could take possession of the land of Canaan, there were seven nations to be overcome. These nations represented so many kinds of evils of falses, as well as so many classes of evil genii or spirits who occupied all that region of heaven to which afterward the spiritual were elevated. But before the man of the Spiritual Church is prepared to enter upon his inheritance, he has to undergo temptations,-temptations, at first, of a comparatively mild form; and when these are - successfully overcome, he becomes prepared to meet temptations more interior. That he is not uniformly successful in meeting them, the history of the Sons of Israel shows. Sometimes he conquers; at other times he yields, and suffers for his lapses. And as the man of the Church has to pass through a process of preparation, before he can be said to have spiritually entered the Church, so the Sons of Israel had to undergo a process of vastation before they were permitted to enter the Promised Land, a process which lasted forty years. They had to wander in the wilderness, subjected to every hardship, to various-to them, almost unendurable-trials. And yet these trials, as to their spiritual signification, were mild in comparison with those they were to meet on their nearer approach to and entrance into the land of Canaan; for the enemies who assaulted them during their wanderings in the wilderness represented only external falses and evils; as will appear from the following description of them: I. Amalek.- The first enemy with whom the Sons of Israel came in contact, after their departure from the land of Egypt, were the Amalekites. Nothing further is known of them than that they were nomads, who roamed about in the wilderness of Paran, thus in the neighborhood of the eastern border of Egypt. As the land of Canaan is situated northeast of the land of Goshen, the only way to it by land was through the wilderness of Paran. A "wilderness" signifies the natural man destitute of truths. It also signifies temptation, in which state man seems to himself to be without truths, for he is in obscurity in regard to spiritual things; this is caused by the temporary activity of the proprium, which clouds the mind, and disturbs man's spiritual vision while the state lasts. The Sons of Israel, while in the wilderness, represented the man of the Church in that state; and the "Amalekites," falses which assault truths-here falses of the understanding in contradistinction to those of the will. Such are the falses and heretical doctrines which man imbibes in infancy; and since they are falses, they cannot but lead to evil (A. C. 1679). The Sons of Israel at that period represented the man of the Church in the first stages of reformation. They had just left Egypt, the land of Science. Their sojourn in the land of Egypt was representative of man's instruction in the knowledges of good and truth. But as knowledges alone do not constitute either intelligence or wisdom, in other words, spiritual sight, man is then in obscurity, and errs in many things. He wanders in the wilderness spiritually. The falses of religion imbibed in infancy are the first which have to be removed in the process of reformation. They are, especially, wrong ideas concerning the LORD, and since the idea concerning God is the central idea of every religion, it is evident that reformation cannot be said to have begun until this idea is corrected. Now, since the Amalekites represented falses of religion received in infancy, therefore they were the first enemy whom the Sons of Israel encountered upon their departure from Egypt, and the first enemy overcome by them. The Amalekites were, most probably, not very numerous, and their attacks irregular, as those of wandering tribes usually are. They could, therefore, be overcome by a people who had neither been disciplined for war nor had had any experience in it. For although the victory over them was due to the LORD'S presence, it must not be forgotten that not even the LORD operates without proper means. The Sons of Israel were not yet prepared to encounter a well-disciplined army. They did not yet represent the man' of the Church in that state in which he can meet more interior falses and evils. These latter are generally well fortified by a host of fallacies and specious reasons calculated to deceive the simple-minded and the unwary. It requires a long and painful process of spiritual training before man is able to detect their true nature, and is prepared to meet them successfully. These were the reasons why the Sons of Israel were not permitted "to go by the way of the land of the Philistines," for the latter were within the limits of the land of Canaan, thus of the Church. The Philistines were a well-organized and war-like nation, representing those who are in faith alone-the most formidable enemy of the Church. This enemy would have easily overcome the Sons of Israel. On their first approach the latter would have been overwhelmed and driven back to Egypt. In like manner the man of the Church in that early state, unable to cope with such an enemy, were he subjected to their assaults, would lose all heart at the first onset, and would relapse into his former state, which is that of knowledge alone. Hence we read: "And it was when Pharaoh sent away the people, God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistine, because it was near, because God said, perhaps the people will repent when they see war, and will return to Egypt" (Ex. xiii). There was no such danger in meeting the Amalekites, on either the natural or the spiritual plane. II. Edom.- The land of Edom is a rough and mountainous country, said to be about one hundred miles in length, and, on an average, twenty in breadth. It stretches from the southern border of Moab to the eastern branch of the Red Sea. It was given to Esau for an inheritance. The term "Edom " means "red." This name was also applied to Esau, because of his birth, "he came out wholly red, like a hairy tunic" (Gen. xxv, 25). From the latter peculiarity he was called "Esau." Both names signify good from the natural, such good as is of the External Church. Hence, the land of Edom was without the borders of the land of Canaan, and as all countries, rivers, etc., had their signification according to their situation and distance from the land of Canaan, the land of Edom lied a comparatively external signification. Like Esau, to whom it was ceded, it was called by two names, its other name-being "Seir," and "Seir" means the same as "Esau." Names in the Word signify quality; accordingly, since the terms "Esau," "Edom," and "Seir" signify' good from the natural; the "land of Edom" or of "Seir" signifies the state of good from the natural. This will enable us to see the reason why the Sons of Israel received the following command "Thou shalt not abominate an Edomite,-for he is thy brother" (Deut. xxiii), "Good" being the "brother."
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But when the Sons of Israel, on their way to the land of Canaan, came to the land of Edom, the Edomites showed themselves hostile, and would not permit them to pass through their land. Here the Edomites have an opposite signification. As the Sons of Israel stand for those who are of the Church, the Edomites, who treated them as enemies, represented "those who turn away from good by utterly despising truths, and who do not want the truths of faith to be adjoined, which-is chiefly due to the love of self. This was represented by the 'King of Edom going forth with much people, and with a strong hand, and refusing to permit Israel to pass through his border'". (A. C. 8822). The Sons of Israel ware thus compelled to turn once more toward the- wilderness, and to pass around the land of Edom, thus illustrating the fact that as long as man is in. obscurity-in the wilderness-he is-not in a state to repel the assaults of those who despise the truths of faith. Many states he has to go through before he is prepared to combat such an enemy. It was not until the time of the Kings, and after Israel had long been established in the land of Canaan, that Edom was subdued. III. Midian.- The land of Midian seems to have comprised a narrow strip of land on either side of the eastern branch of the Red Sea, bordering in the north on Edom. It is a rather hilly country, better adapted apparently for pasturage than for cultivation. "Hills" signify the things of mutual love, and as the land of Midian was outside of the land of Canaan, the "hills of Midian" signify external mutual love, such as it with those who are in the lower spheres of the LORD'S Celestial Kingdom. The "Midianites" themselves who occupied these hills represented those who are in the truths of simple good. It was to Midian, in the neighborhood of Mount Sinai, that Moses went, when he fled from Egypt, and there he remained until the LORD appeared to him in Horeb, and commanded him to lead the Sons of Israel out of Egypt. With that branch of the Midianitish nation the Sons of Israel were apparently on friendly terms. But there was another branch which seems to have settled in the land of Moab. That branch was ruled by five kings, who were "Dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the land;" in other words, they were subject to that powerful King of the Amorites. This branch of Midian had an opposite signification, for they conspired with Balak, King of Moab, against the Sons of Israel. Not daring to engage them in battle, they sought to accomplish their, end by stratagem. Balak had sent for Balaam the soothsayer, to curse Israel, but Balaam not being permitted to do so, they sought to bring about Israel's destruction by leading them away from the worship of JEHOVAH; evidently thinking that the "anger of JEHOVAH" would do what Balaam was prevented from doing. With this object in view, they invited the Sons of Israel to the sacrifice of their god, and Israel fell into the snare thus cunningly prepared for them. Grievous was the punishment that followed. Twenty-four thousand men perished for this transgression. Nor did the Midianites escape punishment for their part in the treachery. The Sons of Israel were commanded to arm themselves for war, and to go against Midian. All the males were slain, Balaamn and the five kings of Midian perishing with them; and all the women and children, according to the custom of those times, were carried into captivity. This occurred toward the end of the forty years' wandering of the Sons of Israel; thus, at the time when they represented the man of the Church who had already passed through a period of vastation, and should therefore be prepared to meet, comparatively speaking, more interior temptations. True, the assaults which the Sons of Israel suffered on their nearer approach to the land of Canaan came from enemies more cunning than they had heretofore encountered. But they were not ignorant of what the consequences would be if they yielded. They could scarcely have forgotten how many perished at Horeb for a like transgression. Their yielding so readily was due to their innate proneness to idolatry, which manifests itself throughout their history. It has been stated that the Midianites, in a good sense, represent those who are in the truths of simple good. In the opposite sense they represent those who falsify truths: and as such perversion of truths originates not so much in a perverted understanding as in an evil will, the assault upon the Sons of Israel from that nation signify temptations more interior than any they had yet sustained. And yet properly speaking even these latter signify comparatively external temptations; for all the enemies whom the Sons of Israel had to meet before they reached the land of Canaan represented falses and evils of the external man, which have to be overcome before man can spiritually enter the Church.
Title Unspecified 1895
Great injury is done to the spiritual life of man by friendship, if the person, and not good, be regarded.-A. C. 4804.
Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
A Handbook of the Science of Correspondences has been published by the Rev. Adolph Roeder. It is a small book with a very big price.
Title Unspecified 1895
OWING to a renumbering of Bloomsbury Street, in London, the headquarters of the Swedenborg Society, and the publication office of Mr. James Speirs, will henceforth be known as "No. 7," instead of the time-honored "No. 36."
Title Unspecified 1895
THE thirteenth number of Professor Scocia's serial publication, Biblioteca delia Nuova Epoca, has been received. The present issue is entitled Il nostro Programma e Introduzion-all' Opera. It is published at Florence and is of an evangelistic character.
Title Unspecified 1895
A COALITION has apparently been effected between Pastor Boyesen and Pastor Manby, of Sweden, the former, editor of Harolden and the latter, editor of Nya Kyrlans Tidning. Harolden closed its career with the January issue, and the subscribers will receive the rival paper in its place as compensation for their loss.
Title Unspecified 1895
BOUND volumes of New Church Life for the year 1895 can now be had, at the Academy Book Room and its branches. $1.25 to subscribers; $1.50 to non-subscribers; 75 cents, when complete, well-preserved sets are received in exchange. Postage, 20 cents extra. Bound volumes of previous years, with the exception of Vol. I, on same conditions.
Title Unspecified 1895
A FOURTH German edition of Heaven and Hell was published last November by the "Swedenborg Verein," in Stuttgart. The text is that of Dr. Immanuel Tafel's old translation of 1854, with a few corrections and the introduction of a new system of orthoraphy. A list of the corrections are published by the reviser, Mr. Edward Zahn, in the January issue of Monatblatter.
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Title Unspecified 1895
The Greatness of the Brother-Nations is at Hand. The Future of the Scandinavian Countries from a Swedenborgian Point of View. This is a translation of the title of a late Swedish publication, announced in Nya Kyrlans Tidreing, as published by Mr. P. A. Peterson, who has resided in America for nineteen years. Of the contents and merit of the publication we have had no opportunity to form a judgment.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN the absence of the Rev. C. H. Mann in Europe, the Editorial Department of the New Church Messenger is in the charge of the Rev. Jabez Fox. It is of interest to note that Mr. Fox, in the years 1850 and 1851, edited and published, in Detroit, a journal called The Medium, which a few years later developed into the New Jerusalem Messenger. Thus, after more than forty years of wanderings, Mr. Fox has returned, "a ses premiers amours."
Title Unspecified 1895
THERE are at present various signs, in the New Church at large, of a beginning reaction from a long-continued state of doctrinal delirium in regard to the state of the Christian world and its imagined progress toward genuine good and truth. Such hopeful signs are the Rev. S. S. Seward's late essay on "The Church and Reforms," a number of sober editorials in recent numbers of the New Church Messenger, and now, in the columns of the Morning Light, a carefully prepared paper on "Charity and Its Benefactions in the New Church" by Mr. Andrew Eadie, of Glasgow. Words such as these will, we may hope, assist in bringing back the Church to a true realization of her spiritual duties, and check the tendency to assimilate with the Old Church.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE latest work of Mr. James Spilling is entitled God With Us, and brings forth "a cloud of witnesses to the supreme and sole Divinity of the LORD JESUS CHRIST." These witnesses are numerous corroborative statements from the New and Old Testaments, which prove with irresistible force the Divine truth of the doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the LORD. Evangelistic works of this character have proved most effective in the past, for their simple methods reach most directly the remnant in the Old Church from which the New is to be formed. The appearances of truth in the Letter of the Word will ever remain the clouds of Heaven "in which the Son of Man has come in Power and Glory in His Second Advent."
Title Unspecified 1895
IN the handsome pamphlet which the Argyle Square Society, in London, has published in connection with its late jubilee celebration, held on December 6th, 9th, and 13th, 1894, the claim is made that "the Argyle Square Church was built by the Society of the New Church, founded at Great East-cheap, in 1787, which had worshiped since August 7th, 1803, in Friars Street." This is hardly accurate, historically, inasmuch as the Society in Friars Street was formed by a secession of a majority of members from the parent Church. From the remnant, which continued at Great-Eastcheap, may be traced the origin of the Society now worshiping at Camden Road. The honors of descent are thus divided, but, in any case, are of small account. The only real glory of a New Church Society is the descent of the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem into its faith and life.
Title Unspecified 1895
MRS. William Graham, of Bolton, England, has issued An Earnest and Affectionate Address to the Members of the New Church of Great Britain on the Necessity of Conference Reform. The address opens with the statement that "our annual Conference is totally inadequate to the spiritual requirements of the LORD'S New Church," chiefly, it seems, because each member cannot have a voice in the immediate government of the institution. Deplorable as is the condition of the Conference, it will not be helped out of the mire into which the congregational system of government has brought it by the still more disorderly system of socialism proposed in Mr. Graham's "referendum scheme." Diametrically opposed, as it is, to the plain teaching of the Writings, this plan has now been adopted by the "Welsh New Christian Association," which thus will afford an object lesson in the study of the most radical form of democratic rule in the spiritual things of the Church. As such it may have its negative uses.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE New Church Magazine, of London, appears this year in a new cover, which is hardly an improvement upon its former tasteful dress, with the representative emblems of the olive, the vine, and the fig. Among the varied contents of the January number may be noted biographical accounts of Sir "Eizak" Pitman and Pastor Oberlin, some original poetry, an interesting account of the "Home Reading Union" of the General Conference, and some communications recommending an enlarged spirit of charity toward the Old Church. An English translation of an early Latin poem by Swedenborg is published as an original production, literature of at various other times in the journalistic the Church. It was originally published in The Aurora. The February number of the Magazine also presents a variety of subjects, treated briefly but interestingly. The change in the Magazine is a practical recognition of the prevalent tendency to pursue many and varied lines of thought with an impatience of more continuous and profound investigation and reflection. That a periodical which so long has occupied the dignified position of which the magazine-form is the representative, should yield to the clamor for variety and brevity, is the strongest evidence of the prevalence and persistence of this superficial and nervous state of mind. Perhaps the ratification of the present literary taste may lead to a surfeit and to a desire for more thoroughness.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Silver Trumpet is the name of a miniature paper, 6 1/2 inches x 4 3/4 inches, published monthly at Littleton, Colorado, by the Rev. Joseph Edward Collom, Pastor of the Congregational Church, who announces the object of this publication to be "to unfold and impart spiritual truth; Silver, in symbolism, representing such truth, and Trumpet, the manifestation of the same." The New Church reader at once recognizes a familiar sound in these words, and he is confirmed in his conclusion that Mr. Collom is a student of Swedenborg's Writings by the tenor of the articles, one of which, entitled "The New Christian Church," manifests quite clearly where the Editor stands. After giving a brief resume of the history of the First Christian Church, he speaks of the New Christian Church which is to succeed it, and says: "The heralds of this New Christianity are, Emanuel Swedenborg, as an exponent of rational, spiritual, and Scriptural doctrine; John Wesley, as an exponent of evangelical life and zeal; the Scientists, as exponents and interpreters of the Divine Gospel of Nature; the Inventors, as exponents and teachers of the doctrine that all the truths and principles of the Gospel of Nature should be applied to practical uses for the good of mankind-all these and multitudes of others," etc. A curious medley, forsooth, but one which leads to the suspicion that Mr. Collom has had access to the lucubrations of those New Church writers who have persistently confounded spiritual with natural things, and have assiduously closed their eyes to the spiritual quality which ought to characterize every judgment. External progress may, and for the most part does, exist independently of spiritual progress in one and the same individual or nation. It is encouraging to meet men who receive the Doctrines of the New Church even though it be at first obscurely, and it is to be devoutly hoped that the silver of this little trumpet will gradually lose the base metal which is at present interfering with the sweetness of tone we look for in an instrument used with such earnest intentions.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. E. R. Knowles, LL. D., has published a little book entitled The Supremacy of the Spiritual. It consists of an essay on this subject and of a number of poems, nearly al of which are of a religious character. Whether these are intended to be included under the topic of "Supremacy of the Spiritual," is not quite clear. They are not otherwise referred to in the title-page, although they constitute one half of the little volume of sixty-one pages, but on the other hand they bear no internal evidence of being illustrations or the theory propounded in the leading essay. The author practically identifies the all-pervasive ether of the scientists with the soul, and says, "The idea that the will of man can direct the operation of this medium is perfectly consistent with the nature of the will."
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He sums up his theory in these words: "Spirit is the universal, omnipresent, substantial medium of all the phenomena of the universe and the underling substance of all matter, constantly sustained in its accidents, for the contemplation of created spirits, by the Divine Will, in accordance with fixed and permanent laws. All created things that exist are the ideas of God." The failure to discriminate between two distinct worlds, the spiritual and the natural, each dependent upon its own sun, has led to a naturalistic conception of spirit. If anything in previous writings by this author have led to the hope that he is being seriously influenced by the Doctrines of the New Church, that hope is dispelled by the theory he here sets forth, and by the character of the poems. While he appears to believe that the Trinity is to be found in the Sole Divine Person of JESUS CHRIST, his belief lacks definiteness and clearness. Nor can this be otherwise when he ascribes to Mary every perfection save Divinity, calls her the Queen of Heaven, and beseeches her to intercede with her Divine Son for the praying sinner. As a specimen of the thoughts and aspirations of a representative of the "Old Catholic Church for, if we mistake not, Dr. Knowles is a Bishop of that body-the book is interesting and will repay perusal. It is published by the Arena Publishing Company, of Boston, at 75 cents.
Title Unspecified 1895
SOMEWHAT similar to Dr. Knowles's theory, although disclaiming that spirit has any connection with it is the theory propounded by Professor Coues, of the Smithsonian Institute, in the first number of The Metaphysical Magazine. Dr. Knowles believes that the will of man can direct the operation of ether in telepathy and mental suggestions to other minds. Professor Coves intimates that the luminiferous ether or a similar medium conveys the energy which causes the moving of tables and other objects under given conditions, and that the motions which are set up in this ether are in some way connected with mental activities, thus enabling the mind to control the movement of tables through the hands and the spheres flowing forth through them, and to secure answers to questions. There is, n doubt, considerable truth in his deductions: That motions can be caused in inanimate objects, like a table, seems to be well attested, and that this is due to the will of the operators is also true. There must be some natural medium through which the spiritual will is conveyed from the natural person in this world to the material object. Professor Coues calls his theory of table-tipping "the telekinetic theory of levitation," contrasting it with the accepted theory and laws of gravitation. Both essays referred to are of especial interest in the light of the following words in The Angelic Wisdom Concerning the Divine Love and Wisdom: "In the learned world many have perspired over the inquiry concerning the soul; but because they knew nothing about the spiritual world, and about the state of man after death, they could not do otherwise than establish hypotheses, not about what the soul is, but about its operation into the body; they could have no other idea about what the soul is than as of something most pure in the ether, and about its continent, than as about the ether, but they dared publish nothing about this but a few things, nor did they ascribe anything natural to the soul, knowing that the soul is spiritual" (D. L. W. 394). In the same Magazine, Dr. Alexander Wilder writes about "The Antecedent Life." He has obviously and avowedly drawn upon Swedenborg, but his belief in the life of the spirit antedating its embodiment in the world, and his expression of doubt of the historic verity concerning the Incarnation of God in the Person of JESUS CHRIST, forestall any conclusion that he accepts the Doctrines of the New Church in their purity. For the rest, the Magazine is largely pervaded by the sphere of thought that characterizes mental healing and occultism, and may be looked upon as the standard representative of this peculiar phase of metaphysics, and which is a sort of secularized spiritism and universalism.
Title Unspecified 1895
Every one may be friendly to others, but he must be most friendly to good.-S. D. 4804.
BIOGRAPHY OF ROBERT HINDMARSH 1895
ROBERT HINDMARSH. A Biography by Carl Th. Odhner. With three Appendixes. Academy Book Room, 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, 125=1895. Price, 50 cents.
IT is with considerable satisfaction that we see Professor Odhner's biography of Robert Hindmarsh, which appeared in serial form in these columns during the past year, published in book form, and in such becoming dress. It is not to the credit of the New Church that more than half a century should have elapsed before a connected sketch of the life and work of the founder of the external New Church should have appeared. Now that we have this sketch, we hope that it will stimulate the author, or some one else, to write a full biography of the man who did so much for the, New Church and who was so little understood in his day and by the generations following. Probably the most important among the new things that are presented in this admirable biography is the information conveyed in Chapter V, which reveals a keen scent on the part of the historian. Here we have unravelled, by documents from various sources, not the least important of which is the untranslated treatise of one of the Nordeskolds, a notable mystery in the life of the New Church, the covert allusions to which during a century past seemed to reflect upon Hindmarsh, but are now shown to place the rest of the Church in an unpleasant light. From the documents marshalled by the historian's skillful hand it appears that the persecution of which the present generation has been witness, when men had to suffer obloquy and malicious slander on account of their acceptance of the teachings concerning pellicacy and concubinage, was not the first of its kind, but that Hindmarsh and five others suffered a century earlier for the very same cause. It does, indeed, seem appropriate that the Academy should vindicate Robert Hindmarsh, and pay the tribute to his memory of publishing the first account of his life and work. This account is rendered the more attractive, in its new dress, by the fine photo-engraving which faces the title-page, and which is a copy of a large steel engraving, loaned by the Rev. J. F. Potts for the purpose. The First Appendix is a reprint of "Reasons for Separating from the Old Church, by the members of the New Jerusalem Church, who assemble in Great East Cheap, London. In answer to a letter received from certain persons in Manchester, who profess to believe in the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church, as contained in the Theological Writings of the late Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg, and yet remain in the external forms of doctrine and worship now in use in the Old Church, notwithstanding their direct opposition to the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church. To which are added sundry passages from E. Swedenborg, on which the expediency, and even necessity, of a complete separation from the former Church is founded." This, as is well known, was practically Hindmarsh's Reply to Clowes, and is of more than merely historical interest. It is of great value at any time, as containing the gist of the teachings concerning the necessity of a distinct establishment of the New Church, and a complete refutation of the fallacies of those who, now as then, favor the surreptitious establishment of the New Church faith within the Old Church, and, consequently, encourage new readers and students of the Doctrines to retain their connection with the Old Church. The Second Appendix is a reprint of the dissertation of the Principles of Ecclesiastical Government which was embodied in the Minutes of the General Conference of 1792.
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The Third Appendix is something new in our literature. It is a Chronological List of the first 100 ministers of the New Church in Great Britain, and is the result of much painstaking research by the author, the Rev. Carl Th. Odhner, who presents the salient data in the official career of each minister. As we peruse this list, containing so many familiar names, and many that are not familiar, the wish arises that a brief reference to the literary activity of such as have been authors might have been embodied. The new matter which Professor Odhner has added in the form of Appendixes to the original biography of Hindmarsh is itself worth the price of the book. The historical importance of this book calls for an index, which for some reason has been omitted. The index would impart a value to the volume which a history-hunter-such as the author-would, presumably, be the first to appreciate. If a second edition is called for, we hope that this omission will be supplied, and that sundry typographical errors will be eliminated. The book is neatly bound in "stole-blue", the color adopted by the Priesthood of the Academy, as most nearly answering the description of "cerulean blue" given in the Writings. A high-priest's mitre and a sword, stamped in gilt on the front cover of the book, symbolize the life-work chronicled in its pages.
Title Unspecified 1895
Friendship belongs to civil life, but never the love of friendship,-S. D. 4524.
WAS MARY OF THE TRIBE OF LEVI OR OF JUDAH? 1895
THE question whether Mary was of the tribe of Levi or of Judah, was broached in the July issue of The New Church Review, by the Rev. L. G. Hoeck, who admitted that he had failed to find sufficient proof, director indirect-, in the letter of the Word, or in the Writings, to settle the question of Mary's descent, and, therefore, had "no lesson to draw from this study" which proved so barren. In the February issue of The New Church Magazine, the Rev. Lewis A. Slight goes over the evidence presented by Mr. Hoeck, and adduces some in addition, and likewise comes to the conclusion that the "silence regarding Mary's parentage rakes it impossible to assert, as a fact, that the infirm manhood which our LORD took in the world derived anything from Judah or from David." But he has entered upon the discussion "for the sake of combatting a false assumption which is taught widely without any basis in fact, namely, that Mary was of the tribe of Judah; the effect of which is to divert the minds of all those who receive it, from the Lord in His Glorious Manhood as the perfect and only true fulfillment of prophecy, to that infirm manhood that served a purpose and was then put off forever"-for Mr. Slight contends that the references, in the Old and the New Testament, to the LORD as the Son of David, are to be understood according to the spiritual sense only, and not at all literally. The writer's zeal for faith in the Divinity of the LORD'S Human must receive the support of all true Christians. But that zeal has allied itself with a grave misconception of the influence of the rational teachings of the New Church, when it is asserted that the minds of all would be diverted from such faith, by accepting the literal fulfillment of the prophecy. Every one who reads the Gospels has impressed upon him the fact that the circumstances attendant upon the birth and subsequent life of the LORD are recorded as literal fulfillments of "what was spoken of the LORD by the prophet." See, in illustration of this, the record of His birth from a virgin (Matthew i, 1), Bethlehem as the place of His birth (Id. ii, 5), His sojourn in Egypt Id. ii, 15) Herod's slaughter of the children (Id. ii, 17), His dwelling in Nazareth (Id. ii, 23), etc. The LORD made His coming at the close of the Representative Church, before it was fully ended and judged, and when He came, He came as the God of that Church, to visit it and to judge it and to establish a New Church to continue the bond between heaven and earth. He gathered into Himself all the representatives of the Israelitish and Jewish Church, and fulfilled the Law of Representation, so that the representatives and significatives forever extant in the letter of Sacred Scripture, be not the external symbols of an utterly external Church, which had no internal, but representatives made glorious by actual fulfillment in His Own Person. The LORD'S First Coming was a Descent into the very ultimates of the world and of the Word. He fulfilled all things of the Law, spiritually and naturally, as He says: "All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, concerning Me" (Luke xxiv, 44). And so, in the matter of the genealogical descent of the virgin, from whom He assumed a human body, He fulfilled the prophecy literally, because of the representation that was involved. And hence it is written in the Scriptures which are the Second Coming of the LORD: "In order that David might represent the LORD as to the Divine Truth, therefore the LORD willed to be born of the house of David and also to be called the Son of David, his Stock and Offspring, also the Root of Jesse; but when the LORD put off the human from the mother, and put on the Human from the Father, which is the Divine Human, then He was no longer her son. This is understood by these words of the LORD to the Pharisees, 'JESUS said to the Pharisees, What seemeth it to you about Christ? whose Son is He? They said to Him, David's. He said to them, How then doth David by the Spirit call him LORD, saying, Said the LORD to my LORD, Sit at My right hand until I have placed thine enemies as a stool of thy feet: 'If therefore David calleth Him LORD, how is He his Sop?' (Matth. xxii, 42-45; Luke xx, 41-44.). . . The LORD glorified His Human-that is, He put off the human from the mother and put on the Human from the Father, which is the Divine Human. Hence it is that He was no longer the Son of David, as neither the Son of Mary" (A. E. 205 end). We have here the plain declaration that the LORD "willed to be born of the house of David," but that after glorification He was no longer his son. Mr. Hoeck, indeed, quoted a similar passage:-"the reason why Judah also signified the Word is because the LORD is the Word, and assumed the Human in that tribe, that He might be the Word as to the human also" (A. E. 433 [a]), but he interposes the doubt that "in that tribe" may refer only to the locality of the birth, Bethlehem belonging to Judah. Such a suggestion is wholly gratuitous, and lacks reasonableness, for to carry out the reason adduced in the Doctrines, in order to continue the representation implied in Mr. Hoeck's suggestion, the LORD should have continued to reside in Judea, whereas His early childhood was spent in Egypt, and most of His subsequent life in Galilee.
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Aside from the law of representation involved in the LORD'S birth, the knowledge of the genealogical descent of His human enables us to find confirmations in the letter of the Word concerning the hereditary evils with which His human was fraught. For, according to the well known teaching, evils are inherited from parents and grandparents and forefathers in a long series, each generation adding to the common stock, unless there be a break by regeneration. The enormous evils of which Judah and David were guilty and which are recorded in the letter of the Word, and elaborated in the Writings, give an insight into the maternal inheritance which the LORD assumed by birth from that tribe, in order that He might fulfill His Divine Purpose, and meet and overcome all the hells even the lowest and most horrible of all, and by a succession of grievous combats and continual victories, begun in infancy and ended on the cross, redeem mankind and glorify His Human. Thus the acceptance of Mary's descent from Judah and David, far from fixing the "minds of all" on the mere human, will lead the instructed mind to enter' more intelligently in to the descriptions concerning the glorification of the Human, with which the internal sense of the Word is replete, and thus centre the mind with humility, gratitude, and adoration upon the Human made Divine, upon Emanuel, God-with-us.
Title Unspecified 1895
The friendship of love entered into with any person, irrespective of what he is as to the spirit, is detrimental after death.-T. C. R. 446.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED. 1895
The "Memorabile," related in Conjugial Love, nos. 521, 522,-where Swedenborg describes a wonderful scene, representing, it would seem, the destruction of the old Christian Church and the first beginning of the New Church-we read, at the end, the following words: "And I then heard a voice from Heaven, Enter into thy chamber, and close the door, and press on with the work commenced on the Apocalypse, and within two years pursue this to the end." This is the work known as The Apocalypse Explained, as may be seen from the following statement in the work On the Last Judgment (written in the year 1757). "Lest the things written in the Apocalypse should be hidden from men, and should be given up by posterity through not being understood, the things contained therein have been unfolded to me, which, being many, cannot he described in this little work; wherefore I will explain the whole of that Book from beginning to end, and discover the arcana contained therein; which explanation shall be published within two years" (n. 42). According to this Divine commission, Swedenborg began the explanation of the Apocalypse, in the year 1757, and ended his labor on this work two years later, in 1759, as may appear from the title page of one of the manuscripts of The Apocalypse Explained, which bears the inscription, "London, 1759." It is thus evident that he faithfully carried out his commission, and also intended to publish his work at London in the above year. For some reason, known to the LORD alone, he was not permitted to ultimate this intention. It was not published during the lifetime of Swedenborg. Whether it was even completed we know not. The two manuscripts which have been preserved, end with the explanation of the nineteenth chapter of the Apocalypse. There is a remarkable statement in this same work (n. 670), suggestive of the reason why its publication was delayed until the New Church had begun to be established on the earth. Speaking of the Book of Enoch, which was hidden away for a long period, lest the fury of the antediluvians should destroy it, Swedenborg adds: "The like has taken place at this day. This Church, which is called the Christian, has at this day come to its end; wherefore now arcana of Heaven and the Church have been revealed by the LORD, to serve for the New Church, which is understood by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse, for the doctrine of life and faith. Also this doctrine has been taken up into Heaven, lest before the establishment of the New Church it should be hurt by the evil."' Of the two existing manuscripts of this work, one, containing the first draft, was deposited, by Swedenborg's heirs in the Academy of Sciences in Stockholm and has since remained there undisturbed. The second, which was written out for publication, but which is shorter by a few paragraphs than the former one, has had a somewhat remarkable history. It was borrowed from the Academy of Sciences by Augustus Nordenskjold, who, it seems, sold it to his brother, Charles Frederick Nordenskjold. The latter brought it to England in the year 1783, and deposited it, for publication, with Mr. William Peckitt, a wealthy surgeon in London, who was one of the earliest receivers of the Doctrines in that city.
THE FIRST LATIN EDITION.- After the establishment of the "Theosophical Society," in 1784, it was determined to publish this second manuscript, and five gentlemen were appointed as editors, Messrs. Peckitt, Hindmarsh, Spence, Adams, and Chastanier, Mr. Peckitt defraying the expenses of the costly publication. The first volume appeared, in quarto, in the year 1785, the second in 1787, the third in 1788, and the fourth in 1789. After one or two volumes had been published a fire broke out in Mr. Peckitt's house. His whole library was consumed, but the precious manuscript, which was in Mr. Peckitt's keeping, was almost miraculously preserved from the flames. Some years later the manuscript was presented to the Rev. Manoah Sibly by Mr. Peckitt. After his death it was returned to his widow, who, in the year 1828, deposited it with the Swedenborg Society. This institution, in the year 1849, returned it to the Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, where it rightfully belonged. Here it remained until the year 1860, when it was lent to Professor Immanuel Tafel, who, from it, began to prepare and publish THE SECOND LATIN EDITION.- The first volume of this edition was published at Tübingen in the year 1861. A second volume appeared in 1862, and a third-bringing the work up to the number 532-was issued in 1864, after the death of the editor. The publication was then discontinued, and the manuscript was returned to Stockholm. Here it was photolithographed, under the supervision of Dr. R. L. Tafel, in the year 1870. It constitutes volumes IX and X. of the Photolithograph Edition. From this edition, which contains three additional numbers, taken from the first manuscript THE THIRD LATIN EDITION was prepared by Dr. Samuel H. Worcester, and published in six volumes at New York, in the year 1885, by the American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society. The sixth volume consisted entirely of an elaborate Index, prepared by Dr. Worcester. This Index was translated into English and enlarged by the Latin editor, and published in two volumes at New York in the year 1889. (To be concluded.)
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LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.- THE weekly Doctrinal Class conducted by Bishop Pendleton, and which since March 4th of last year has been held on Sunday evenings, has been transferred again to Friday evenings, the reading of The Divine Providence being continued. The resumption took place Friday evening, February 8th, at 8 o'clock, the severe storm causing a slim attendance. After a little over half an hour's lesson, and an intermission, Choral practice followed, led by Mr. Schreck, who at the conclusion dismissed the class with the Blessing. Since the beginning of the year no offerings have been made, but hereafter a box will be provided, the contributions deposited therein to go toward meeting the expenses of a monthly supper. A CLASS for instruction in the Home Education of Children was begun Saturday evening, February 9th, and is to meet weekly. All not connected with the school, young and old, are invited to attend. The instruction is by Bishop Pendleton, who began by considering the two universal spheres of Conjugial Love and the Love of infants, or storge. The latter love he showed was the means of conjoining consorts by the uses pertaining to that love; and he dwelt also upon the importance of conjoining the love of infants with charity; for thereby that love is elevated from self and made spiritual, by looking to these-thus to the neighbor. ON February 3d, Pastor Price preached on "Responsibility" (Ps. ii); on February 10th, Bishop Pendleton, on "Perception (Ps. i, 3), on February 17th, Minister Acton, on "The Second Temptation of the Spiritual Church" (Exod. xv, 22-26); on February 24th, Pastor Schreck preached on The Third Temptation- Defect of Good" (Exodus xvi, 2, 3) ON Thursday evening, February 21st, at a meeting of the members of the Academy of the New Church, called by the Chancellor, a local Church of the Academy was organized, there having been heretofore no local organization of the Academy for the purposes of worship. A House-Warming, given February 23d, in the new residence of Mr. Glenn, at Huntingdon Valley, was attended by the larger part of the Congregation, in Philadelphia. One hundred persons were present. A CONGREGATIONAL Social, at which Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Walker assisted Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton in receiving, took place on February 15th, and was marked by a pleasing representation of a kind which may be expected to develop more and more in the future. Bishop Pendleton, who has pastoral charge of the congregation that worships in the Hall of the Academy Schools in Philadelphia, was seated at one end of the room, with Mr. and Mrs. Walker to his right. When all were silent, the announcement was made to Bishop Pendleton that seven of the spiritual graces of the Church were approaching. Here the door opened and in walked a train of seven maidens, who marched up to the Pastor, their march being accompanied by suitable music They were all dressed in white, and bore representative symbols, each indicative of the special virtue which the bearer represented. They walked in couplets, Verity and Meditation, Conscience and Perception, Faith and Charity, and, lastly, Innocence. Verity carried a lighted lamp, after the pattern of ancient lamps, except that the bowl was of cut-glass. Meditation bore a scroll Inscribed with Hebrew characters, representing the Law of the LORD. Conscience wore bands in her hair, beset with golden stars. Perception carried a small tree. Faith had a beautiful bouquet of leaves and flowers, and Charity a dish of fruit. Innocence brought a living dove. On arriving in front of the Pastor, these graces were introduced somewhat in the following terms: "Verity, bearing the light of Divine Truth, enkindled at the lamp of doctrine, fed by the oil of the good of love: Her companion-sister, Meditation, who, by the true light of doctrine, meditates in the Law of the LORD day and night: Conscience, who willingly and freely bears the bonds forged of the starry knowledges of good-and truth Perception, her sister, who grows as a tree on streams of water of life: Faith, offering the leaves of her growth in intelligence, and the blossoms of her growth in wisdom: Her sister, Charity, offering the rich fruits of regeneration: And, lastly, Innocence, bearing the dove of heavenly, conjugial and peaceful life. These spiritual graces, these virgin affections, represent the Church to us; those goods and truths which we recognize as coming from the LORD; coming to us, indeed, through the faithful and worthy administration of the functions of the priesthood, on the part of you, our Pastor. So far as these graces may have been implanted in the heart of this congregation, they desire to make due acknowledgment; and so, Innocence, the Inmost of human virtues, the inmost of all good conjunction in heaven and on earth, asks you to accept the offerings of our love and confidence, of Charity and Faith." Here Innocence took the offerings of Charity and Faith, and presented them to the Pastor. The whole congregation joined in singing "Our Glorious Church." The basis of the representation was the list of spiritual virtues given in Conjugial Love, n. 164. Meditation and Perception were introduced, in appreciation of a series of sermons recently delivered by Bishop Pendleton on these and other subjects treated of in Psalm i. The Pastor spoke a few appreciative words expressing his pleasure at this unexpected representation and acknowledgment of the uses which he is performing, and the hope that the graces so beautifully represented may become firmly established and developed; and then the maidens retired, music again accompanying their procession. Music, dancing, and a recitation filled out the evening's entertainment. ON the evening of December 16th the Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Huntingdon Valley, to meet the numerous inquiries of his parishioners-called forth by the movement to locate the Academy Schools in that place-lectured on Swedenborg and his doctrine. While referring to "the great Seer," his genius, and attainments, in terms most eulogistic, the minister gave an exposition of New Church doctrine bewildering to his hearers and surprising to the two or three Newchurchmen present, who did not recognize their own faith in the grotesque ideas which they then heard attributed-with rather singular inconsistency-to one of the "intellectual giants" of earth. A training in Old Church theology is not apt to prepare vessels in the mind for the ready reception of New Church ideas.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
Maine.- A MISSIONARY circuit has been established by the Maine Association, and recently the President, the Rev. George H. Dole, delivered a course of lectures in Fairfield, East Vassalboro, Augusta, Bangor, Waterville, and Lewiston. Mr. Dole reports the work as promising, but that the newness of the field will necessitate a larger support from New Church people than has so far been received. The missionary,, the Rev. J. W. Schafer, has now been at work over a year. New Hampshire.- THE Manchester (German) Society has bought a church lot, free from debt. Massachusetts.- A course of Sunday evening lectures, by ministers and laymen, on current topics of the day, considered from a New Church standpoint, is proposed In the Boston Society. Also the establishment of an agency in the Parlor for the gratuitous distribution of the Writings and New Church books. An account of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Church in Boston is about ready for distribution. Pennsylvania.- THE Rev. J. E. Bowers recently visited Bear Lake, Warren County, in the extreme northwestern part of the State. In the evening (Saturday) he lectured on astronomy, and on the following morning and evening preached in the United Brethren Church. New Jersey.- THE Rev. B. D. Palmer, pastor of the Paterson Society is preaching a series of sermons on the Spiritual World. Cognitions concerning the other world are so necessary, it is so essential that our future and eternal home should seem to us a real place, in order for the genuine desire for preparation for it to become the core and life of all our earthly existence-that every sincere effort to enlarge our knowledge and elevate our conceptions on this vast and vital theme must help to develop the true quality of the New Church in its members. Washington, D. C.- DURING the winter the Washington Society has worshiped in a temporary chapel in a third-story hall. Under the leadership of Dr. Choate, the Young People's Class has been following the Leagues scheme of studies in Correspondences. Much interest is evinced in the newly-formed New Church Evidence Society. About twenty members meet monthly to exchange experiences, the results of which are gathered in the "Outlook" and reported in the "Outsend" (presumably manuscript journals or periodicals). Conversations with strangers and inquirers are narrated, and comments and criticisms offered, on the literature of the day viewed in the light of the New Church. THE Society for Philosophical Inquiry, which meets weekly in the Columbian University, having invited the Rev. Frank Sewall to read a paper on Swedenborg, on January 8th, listened to one on "Swedenborg and Aristotle Compared, with Especial Reference to the Doctrine of Discrete Degrees." This is Mr. Sewall's third paper read before that Society, "which includes among its members some of the leading scholars and writers of the country." THE Reading Circle is reading the Arcana Coelestia, meeting fort-nightly in alternation with the Society's social meetings. There is an adult Doctrinal class in the Sunday-school. Many of the members are engaged in the citizens' canvass for the relief of the poor. (The foregoing, information, is from the New Church Messenger.)
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Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITIAN. Mr. James Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W. PHILADELPHIA, MARCH, 1895=125.
Title Unspecified 1895
CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL Notes 33 Meditation (a Sermon) 34 The Third Temptation (Exodus xvi, 1-12) 37 Nature and Quality of the Spiritual Sun 38 The Radiant Belts Around the Sun 38 The Frog, a Study in Correspondences 39 Nations Bordering on Canaan 41 NOTES AND REVIEWS 42 Biography of Robert Hindmarsh 44 Was Mary of the Tribe of Levi or of Judah? 45 A Bibliography of The Apocalypse Explained 46 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH The Academy of the New Church 47 The Church at Large 47 DEATHS 48 WANTED 48 Georgia and Florida.- DURING the winter the Rev. J. E. Smith has devoted his time to the Societies in Savannah (Ga.) and Jacksonville (Fla.), the first and third Sundays in the month being given to the latter place-the second and fourth to Savannah. Fifth Sundays when occurring-have been occupied with missionary visits. In Jacksonville services have been attended by more strangers this year than heretofore, but the attendance of New Church people has been below the average, owing partly to removals to the suburbs. The Pastor is Superintendent of the Sunday-school and has a Sunday morning class in The Divine Providence; also a class of six in The True Christian Religion. He contemplates giving a course of popular lectures. Among the strangers attending worship, some show increasing interest. The President of the Edward Waters College (colored) attends when able, and through him New Church influence is thought to be extending to his people. Mr. Smith writes to the Messenger that in the South Atlantic States the influx of restless multitudes is opening up a suggestively wide and interesting field for the New Church, and he speaks of many isolated Newchurchmen being scattered throughout the two States of Georgia and Florida, and of the duty of the Church to care for their spiritual wants. Ohio.-IN the course of lectures, being given in Cincinnati, at College Hall, by prominent representatives of different faiths, the Rev. John Goddard delivered the on January 9th, with the title, "Grounds for belief in the Church of the New Jerusalem." According to the account given in the New Church Messenger, emphasis was given to the teaching concerning the LORD-the centre and corner-stone of New Church theology and concerning the nearness of the spiritual world-the reality of which must become a matter of belief before any spiritual ideas can find effective lodgment in the mind and life. The next day The Commercial Gazette, a prominent journal, gave a long abstract of the lecture. Mr. Goddard has begun a series of simple and practical sermons to the young people, alternated with a series on economical and other questions of the day. The Ladies' Class meets regularly and carries out a printed program. SINCE the departure of the Rev. L. H. Tafel from Urbana three gentlemen of the Society take turns in reading the Sunday service, drawing from the files of the Messenger instruction from such sermonizers as the Rev. Messrs. John Worcester, John Goddard, J. C. Ager, L. P. Mercer, J. P. Stuart, W. B. Hayden, Dr. Bayley, Chauncay Giles, and others. Michigan.- THE Rev. J. E. Bowers has been doing evangelistic work in the State during the month of February. Circumstances have not been favorable for giving public lectures, but in about a dozen places there have been visitations among isolated New Church people, and there has been much useful conversation on the Heavenly Doctrines. The people enjoy this kind of missionary work, and the tendency is, or should be, to lead to an ever more earnest study of the grand Revelations of Divine Truth, contained in the Writings. At Ann Arbor Mr. Bowers spent four hours in animated conversation with Dr. Charles S. Mack, Professor of Materia Medica, etc., in the Homeopathic Department of the University of Michigan. The Doctor is an able exponent of his School of Medicine, and also a devoted Newchurchman. Instead of wasting his time in attending Old Church preaching, he regularly conducts reading meetings on Sundays at his house, for a small circle of believers in the Heavenly Doctrines. The Michigan Association is at this time inactive, and no missionary is employed in the State. THE Young People's Society of the Detroit New Church was reorganized last October as a musical and literary society for the promotion of the social interests of the Church. A class formed takes up the Reading Circle Lessons, meeting after the regular service every Sunday morning. The Society is reported as being in a flourishing condition. Kansas.- THE Pawnee Rock Society-the Rev. B. P. Unruh, minister-on the occasion of its sixth anniversary, joined the German Missionary Union. The Society numbers thirty-two adults and forty-four children. Washington State.- THE General Society of the New Church in the States of Washington, Idaho, and East Oregon organized by the Rev. Jacob Kimm, on his missionary trip to Washington State, consists of eleven persons residing in that State.
CANADA.
Berlin.- THE Rev. F. W. Tuerk, General Pastor of the Canada Association, and Pastor of the Berlin Society, installed the Rev. L. H. Tafel as Assistant Pastor of the Berlin Society, on January 6th, granting him authority to preside over the church meetings, to receive new members, to watch over them, to instruct them in the Doctrines of the Church, to administer the sacraments and, other ordinances, and to lead men in The way of life. Mr. Tafel conducts the English services. Mr. Tuerk looks to him as his eventual successor in the pastorate, in which he has ministered now for forty years, during which time he has baptized into the New church about one thousand persons. Toronto.- THE relations of the Rev. G. L. Allbutt to the Toronto Society were terminated by a vote of the latter, taken November 27th. Mr. Allbutt, who considers himself not well treated in this dismissal, conducts Sunday morning services, which are attended by his sympathizers who have withdrawn from the society; and he also holds Sunday evening evangelistic meetings, a hall being used in both cases. On the last Sunday evening of each month he preaches for the society in Hamilton. THE Rev. A. John Cleare, formerly of Illinois, has accepted a two-years' engagement as Pastor of the Toronto Society.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Melbourne (Derbyshire).- THE meetings of the Mutual improvement Society, in connection with the Church here, take the form of a Bible Class, which on alternate Thursdays reads in the work, The Divine Love and Wisdom. Explanatory remarks are made by the minister, questions are asked and answered, and conversation follows, not being confined to the topic of the evening, but including subjects dealt with in the Sunday evening lectures, six of which have been on Use, Atonement, and three on the LORD'S Prayer. Bristol.-ON December 2d, at Baptist Mills, the Rev. J. J. Thornton, in the absence of the lecturer advertised to address the Independent Wesleyan Young Men's Guild on the subject, "What was Jesus Christ," volunteered to deliver an extempore discourse on that subject. He cited the Letter of the Word to show that JESUS CHRIST was JEHOVAH Incarnate, that all Divine attributes were in Him, and that He was the only God worshiped in Heaven. Mr. Thornton's address was well received, as of one who was "Providentially sent by the LORD." In the ensuing discussion by the Guild one speaker acknowledged that the Divinity of the LORD had been demonstrated, and said that "the Trinity was done away with," adding, "I am not sorry." Another insisted that the "Logos," in John, meant the Infinite wisdom, and that the LORD was the "all-sustaining Power." Mr. Thornton answered queries and explained texts, making a find reply which was as well received as the address. In the tone of both he avoided combat or controversy. At the close he left his name with the Chairman.
AFRICA.
THE school in Durban Natal, conducted by Miss Florence Warland, is not conducted on "undenominational" lines. That lady writes that the instruction given is confined to the children of a few earnest New Church families, and is based upon the principles of New Church education, in harmony with the teachings of the Academy of the New Church.
WANTED 1895
A STRONG, cheerful New Church girl, who is fond of children, and able to assist in the house. For particulars address Mrs. Oscar T. Lindrooth, Oak Glen, Ill.
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Title Unspecified 1895
New Church Life Vol. XV. No. 4. PHILADELPHIA, APRIL, 1895=125. Whole No. 174.
Title Unspecified 1895
The will, with man, is formed by the Lord from infancy unto childhood . . . by insinuated innocence and charity toward parents, nurses, infants of a like age, and by many things which man does not know, which are celestial.-A. C. 1555.
Title Unspecified 1895
"THE essence of all education is the formation of character." This was the theme proposed for ventilation at the meeting of the priests of the Academy of the New Church, reported elsewhere in these columns. The theme is not new, but it is of such intensely vital importance that constant recurrence to it is imperative. And in the New Church, where, alone, information can be had concerning the true elements that must enter into character, and concerning the eternal consequences of its right or wrong formation, this topic needs to be considered with zeal and affection.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE character of a person is nothing else than the form of his will. When this is made up of evil affections, then the character is bad; when it is formed of good affections, then the character is good. The fullness of affections, their depth and variety, cause the unlimited variety of evil and good characters. That the formation of character depends largely upon the training received during childhood and youth, at the hands of parents and others, is generally recognized. Among the infinite diversity of uses which men perform, none is loftier than those which concern themselves with the most noble of the LORD'S creations-Man. It is true that all uses, all occupations, have regard for wan and his well-being; but for the most part, in this natural world, they relate to his natural body, its maintenance in health, vigor, and comfort. Yet, according to the well-known maxim-mens sana in corpore sano-this preservation of the soundness of man's body should be solely for the purpose that a sound mind way dwell in it and use it for the mind's peculiar ends. To study man's soul, the nature of its organization, the laws of its growth, the objects of its affections, the end toward which its Creator intended that its life should be directed-and not only to study these things, but to further them as far as lies in man's power-no nobler occupation can be imagined.
Title Unspecified 1895
As the will is the man himself-as man's character is such as is his will-as man's happiness and the happiness of others depend upon his will-as his eternal lot is determined by his will-therefore, in the never-ending career of man, the will is the first thing that is formed. "The will with man is formed from infancy to childhood, and this is done by insinuated innocence and charity toward parents, nurses, infants of a like age, and by many things which man does not know, which are celestial; unless those celestials were first insinuated into man while be is an infant and a child, he could never become man" (A. C. 1555). Of course the formation of the will does not cease here; it continues through the subsequent period, which is dedicated more especially to the formation of the understanding. Innocence, charity, mutual love are insinuated also during childhood and youth, although with comparatively few, in the present state of the Christian world. The insinuation depends upon the surroundings. How important, then, that during the period of infancy land childhood, when the primary determinant formation of the will takes place, the training should be of such a nature that the will may become a very full receptacle of innocence, love, and charity from the LORD!
Title Unspecified 1895
NO man is there in whom no remains of innocence and charity are stored up. The LORD provides for this. But their fullness depends upon man's surroundings. Where the surroundings are loveless, where mother and nurse devote no more care to them than the child's barest bodily necessities demand, where the sphere of the home lacks the conjugial, or spiritual storge, or mutual love, the remains are necessarily scant. Here the legitimate field of orderly co-operation with the LORD opens up most invitingly to parents and others.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN a very thoughtful essay on "The Storing up of Remains" (New Church Magazine for March), the Rev. T. K. Payton, of England, brings home the truth that the LORD alone stores them up, and that men cannot do this. Very true as this is, and most reverently to be borne in mind, yet it is equally true, as he also shows, that people can so surround and supply children with good influences, that the LORD can store up a greater fullness of remains, and thus form a more complete and perfect will. And when men co-operate with Him, by learning from Him the laws concerning the formation of the will, and then, from an affection enkindled by Him thereby, purpose to have their children surrounded during infancy and childhood with things innocent and lovely, then it still is the LORD, Who, through men as instruments of His choice, stores up remains in abundance, and forms the will.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE general law of charity, that evils must be shunned in order that good may inflow, governs this sublime use of charity. The parents and nurses must remove from the infant and child their own evils, their tempers and impatience and arbitrariness, and the many cognate evils, the sphere of which would injuriously affect the child. Thus they surround it with a sphere of innocence, for they remove what injures, and innocence means "not injuring." And as they remove these evils which are in themselves, they will remove also other evils, whether they exist in the spheres emanating from undesirable associations, or in concrete objects, snob as pictures of violent scenes, of evil animals and the like; and, on the other hand, they will surround them with such spheres and objects as manifest the Love and Mercy of the Father Who is in the Heavens.
Title Unspecified 1895
EMINENT among such surroundings are Virgins,-maidens whose fresh and affectionate sphere, whose modesty, sweetness, and gentleness typify the affection which reigns in Heaven and the Church.
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In heaven, maidens ("virgin-educatresses," A. C. 2296; H. H. 837), are largely employed in the education of infants, and it will easily be perceived, that as the subject of the formation of the will by the implantation of celestial remains in early life becomes more fully understood, its importance realized, and the methods to be employed more clearly comprehended,-the most delightful study and occupation will be discovered by young girls who are maturing into womanhood, to be pursued by them until, and after, they are married, and become mothers themselves.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE livelier attention and devotion to this eminently human use, by young girls and unmarried women, will soon make up for that great lack in current education which is deplored by some of the foremost thinkers of the age. "Though some care is taken, to fit youth of both sexes for society and citizenship," says Herbert Spencer, "no care whatever is taken to fit them for the still more important position they will ultimately have to fill-the position of parents. While it is seen that for the purpose of gaining a livelihood an elaborate preparation is needed, it appears to be thought that for the bringing up of children no preparation whatever is needed." If this condition is seen to exist, and is deplored, by men who do not believe in the life that is higher and more enduring than that of earth, and whose aim is to educate children for this world only, what ought to be the attitude of those who acknowledge and believe that education is for the purpose of forming a character, the durance of whose life in this world is infinitesimal compared to that life for which it is the preparation?
Title Unspecified 1895
THOSE who have been led to the "Fountain of living waters," to the LORD in His Word Revealed and Explained, are under especial obligation to study this subject, since the science of education in the Christian world partakes of the trend of all modern science, engulfed as it is in the general desolation of the Old Church. The belief in God and heaven is lost in the adoration and cult of an atheism and materialism which puts fetichism to shame, for, as so forcibly shown in The New Church Standard for February, it makes matter the centre and soul-the prime cause and origin of all things. Before the total consummation of the Old Church, in spite of the perversion of the truths of faith, there still remained an acknowledgment of man's celestial destiny, obscure and dim through the vision of that destiny was. Compare the works of Comenius, whose "whole purpose," in the language of his latest biographer, "was to lead youth to God through things-to God as the source of all, and as the, crown of knowledge and the end of life" (see S. S. Laurie's Life of Comenius, p. 69, and elsewhere), with Herbert Spencer's book on Education, which contains no reference to God, is based on the accepted theories of evolution, and consequently consider education only in its "Intellectual, Moral, and Physical" aspects. Pestalozzi, indeed, "makes all education culminate in character, and by this standard he measures all educational processes" (see Krusi's Pestalozzi) but Pestalozzi was one of the humble and simple and was preserved from the desolating influences of learning.
Title Unspecified 1895
UPON the ground-work of implantation of celestial remains, education proceeds during childhood and youth, when the understanding is being formed by instruction in various kinds of sciences and cognitions, and by reflections upon them. Although at this time, the formation of the understanding takes the lead, and is predominant, yet where the education is a true one, the surroundings of the child and youth must be such as to afford every opportunity for the continued insinuation of celestial remains. During this period, the current works on education and instruction are of use, for they treat of those things which appertain to the understanding. Yet it will be observed, that they help forward only the external part of the work of education.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE formation of character continues even in the formation of the understanding. Although the will is the man himself, the will is nothing without the understanding; and as true manhood, true character, consists in the harmonious heavenly marriage of the will and the understanding, it is necessary that the understanding be formed of elements which are heavenly in their origin. The understanding needs to be instructed in such a way that every scientific and cognition which enters it, shall look inmostly to the LORD-it must be formed in such a manner that affections for true scientifics, and for truths themselves are awakened, for through such affections in the understanding the conjunction of the will with it takes place, when the time for the marriage has come.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE formation of the will way be compared to the development of a beautiful maiden, and the formation of the understanding, to the growth of an intelligent youth. The time of preparation is a long one, but it is prolonged, in order that at the maturity of both they may enter into perfect marriage. So the formation of the will and the understanding requires along time, but when man has grown to adult age, and becomes his own master, then, if he submit to the supreme mastery of the LORD, the cognition which he had acquired during childhood and youth are implanted by the LORD in the celestial remains of his infancy and early childhood, and this union makes of him a full man. It establishes his character, when the light of youthful intelligence makes, room for the light of manly wisdom streaming forth from the flame of love to the neighbor and the LORD.
Title Unspecified 1895
Man's life after death is according to his voluntary part, not according to the intellectual.-A. C. 1555.
SPIRIT AND THE LETTER. PENDLETON 1895
A SERMON
"And afterwards came Moses and Aaron, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, the GOD of Israel. Send away My people, and a feast shall they make to Me in the desert."-Exodus, v. 1.
THE fact that man in his regeneration, and the Church in the process of its establishment, must endure Infestation, and this for a long time, illustrates in a striking manner the teaching that evil is permitted that good may come, and a good that cannot come in any other way; for without the permission of Infestation, and its accompanying ills, there could be no salvation. It is for this reason that the subject of Infestation is one of the leading subjects in the spiritual sense of the Book of Exodus, where the sojourn of the sons of Israel in the land of Egypt is described.
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They were in the midst of the Egyptians, were hated and detested by them, were held in subjection, were made to do service as slaves; they longed for deliverance that they might return to the land of their fathers; they sighed and groaned under their bondage, and with every effort at deliverance, the bonds of servitude were drawn more tightly, until They were driven to despair, and were only rescued by the Divine Power, and led forth from the land of Egypt, through the ministry of Moses and Aaron. The word "infestation," in its literal and root meaning, signifies what is undefended and insecure, arising from: the presence of that which opposes and would bring injury, causing a sense of danger and fear, exciting anxiety and distress, and even going so far as to, interfere with or take away liberty of action; as, when it is said to one who proposes to travel by sea, that "the sea is infested by pirates;" or to one that proposes to travel by land that "the country is infested by robbers, or by wild beasts." When he receives this information he feels insecure and anxious, and he either desists from the journey, or, if he pursue it, he is conscious that he will have to fight for his liberty and life, or travel under the protection of the strong arm of the law. We have only to transfer this to the spiritual plane, to be able to see what is meant by the word "infestation," when used in the Doctrine of the Church. It is a sense of spiritual insecurity and danger that arises from the presence of men in the world, and of spirits in the spiritual world, who are in falses of doctrine and religion, and who are eager by those falses to attack and destroy the truth and life of the Church. The falsity with such is the falsity of evil, for the falsity not of evil does not wish to hurt or injure. Though it be the same falsity in form, there is charity present. But the falsity of evil is from an evil will, which is hatred of the neighbor, and this is the falsity that infests the truth of the Church, and those who love the truth of the Church. If one who loves the truth of the Church is in the midst of those who are in the falsity of evil, and who therefore hate the truth of the Church, he is infested, and so suffers pain, anxiety, distress, caused by the doubts which are injected, and accompanied by concern and fear lest the truth which he Loves be overturned and destroyed, which is at the same time a fear of the loss of spiritual life. To repeat, therefore: the state of infestation is caused by a sense of insecurity and danger to the spiritual life of man, which he feels when he is in the midst, or is conscious of the sphere and presence of those who are in hostility and hatred to all spiritual things, and especially when they assault and malign the truths of the Church. This is called infestation; but when there is active combat and resistance, it is called temptation. Those who are openly in evil, and who are in but little, if any, knowledge of the spiritual things of the Church, disturb the Church but little,-either in this world or in the spiritual world; they do not form any Church in the world, nor any imaginary. Heaven in the spiritual world; they do not use the truths of doctrine, nor the goods of religion, as a cloak to conceal their evils there is with them no sphere of malignant deceit, or hypocrisy, or profanation of things holy and Divine, by which to deceive the simple in heart and faith; but since they are openly in evil, and openly profess all unbelief, they are very soon cast into Hell; after their entrance into the spiritual world, and so are a position to do but comparatively little harm to the good, and cannot seduce them from the way of truth and the path of right and justice. All power is in the truth and by the truth, and hence there is no power outside of the truth. The power, or the appearance of power, which the evil possess, is by the knowledge of the truth of the Church which is with them. The truth which they have is like weapons in the bands of criminals or robbers, who use them to injure and destroy. Disarm the criminal, and he is shorn of power for harm. And so with the evil who take the truths of the Church: by those truths they are able to infest and disturb the Church; but when the truths are taken away from these, as is done in the spiritual world in the judgment, and the law is fulfilled, that from him that hath not there shall be taken away even, that which he seemeth to have, then they no longer have any power against the good; and they are cast into Hell. The infestation, therefore, which disturbs the Church and threatens spiritual life is from those who are, or have been, of the Church, and who, therefore, know its truths and goods, and who are thereby able to take upon themselves the form of angels of light, and so deceive and lead astray, or bring great anxiety and distress. It was such as these that formed to themselves imaginary or seeming Heavens previous to, the Last Judgment, and were thereby able to infest, not only the good in the world, and the good coming out of the world into the world of spirits, but the angels themselves. And if the LORD had not come and destroyed these imaginary heavens, by taking away from them the truth which they possessed, which was done in the Judgment, the Church would have been destroyed, the human race would have perished, and the Heavens of this earth transferred elsewhere. The truths which the evil have are not in themselves truths, but truths falsified; truths made false by applications to evil loves; truths taken from the Word, and not made the master under which man is to live, and which he is to obey, but which are made to serve evil loves; and while they are made to appear as true to others, are inwardly false, and lead to evil and to Hell. And so in the Writings they are called falses, and are the falses or falsified truths that infest the man of the Church. As has been indicated, the subject treated in this part of Exodus, and, indeed, throughout the whole Book, is the infestation of the man of the Spiritual Church, which is permitted by the LORD to take place when He is ready to come and effect his deliverance by His Divine Truth, and by the Divine Power which is by the Divine Truth. The Divine Truth is represented by Moses and Aaron, who were the instruments by whom the deliverance of the sons of Israel from the Egyptians was effected. "And afterwards came Moses and Aaron, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Send away My people, and a feast shall they make unto Me in the desert." "Moses" is the Divine Law, and "Aaron" the Doctrine thence. It is important as we proceed in the consideration of the Book of Exodus, to have a clear idea of what is signified by Moses and Aaron, for they are the leading actors in the scene that is presented, or the leading representatives of the LORD, in the Divine Work of Redemption and Salvation that is described. That which redeems and saves man and the Church, and forms Heaven is the Divine Law, and the Doctrine thence, which is the Divine Word, or Divine Truth, presented in a twofold aspect. This may be illustrated by the law of the civil state, which is the Divine Truth on the civil plane. The civil law has a twofold aspect-namely, the spirit and the letter of the law.
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The two are one, for the spirit of the law, without its form of literal statement, is ineffective and inoperative, is a soul without a body; and the letter of the law without its spirit, or when divorced from its spirit, is dead-that is, void of its own essential life-and is made the instrument by which designing and cunning men do evil to the State and to society; which they do by keeping the letter of the law, but violating its spirit, and thus while doing evil evade punishment. Examples of this may be seen on every hand. The law is not the law unless its spirit be observed as well as the letter; which is a truth that is well known. The spirit of the law is the law itself; the letter is but the statement of it put in general form to accommodate itself to use. The spirit of the law is the truth of the law; the letter is the formulated teaching or doctrine of that truth. How plain that the two must be together, that the law may be the law, which is justice, even as Moses and Aaron must go together and speak unto Pharaoh. The law is not justice, nor is justice done by the law, unless these two go together and act as one. The spirit of the law or the truth of the law, is as it were invisible; it is not stated in form, and it is not seen by the natural, evil-disposed man, because he does not love it. No man sees what he does not love, for, even though he knows that it is, he does not know what it is, and hence does not internally see that it is. The evil man rejects the spirit, of the law, which is the spirit of justice; and he who is more malignant and cunning than others uses or abuses the letter to make the violence which he does to the spirit more complete and more ultimate, and at the same time to shield himself from its just punishment. But the man who is well disposed to his country and to society, while he may not know the spirit of the law, as a formulated statement in his thought, and may not be able to define it in words, and to this extent it is invisible to him-invisible to his external thought-yet he has a perception of the spirit of the law, and he acts according to that spirit in his keeping of the letter; for he not only loves judgment, but he loves justice. The same is illustrated more fully by the WORD, for the WORD is the Divine Law, which is especially represented by Moses and Aaron. What is true of the writings of men, that they have their spirit and their letter and happy that man the spirit of whose writing is the spirit of truth and justice-what is true of human writing is infinitely true of the Divine Writing. The spirit of the WORD is the Spirit of GOD, which is GOD Himself, the Divine Wisdom of the Divine Love. The spirit of the WORD is the WORD itself, which is with GOD, and which is GOD, as is declared in John i, 1. Or again, the spirit of the Word is the Divine Law itself, or the Divine Truth itself and the letter of the WORD is the spirit formulated in literal statement, and adapted to the comprehension and use of man in the natural world, even to the simple and to children. The spirit of the WORD, which is called its spiritual sense, is represented by Moses; and the letter of the WORD, which is from the spirit, or spiritual sense, is Divine Doctrine; or Divine Teaching, in its ultimate, or lowest, or most external form, and is represented by Aaron. "The word which I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Without its spirit, the letter of the WORD is inanimate and void of life. It is not the Divine WORD, as the dead body is not the man; for the spirit, of the Word is the WORD itself, as the spirit of the man is the man himself. The letter of the Word without its spirit is ineffective, inoperative, powerless to save; just as the letter of the civil law, without its spirit, which is the truth of justice, cannot conserve the State. When there is no longer any perception of the spirit of the WORD, not only is the letter a dead letter, but the Church is a dead Church; for the Church is from the WORD, and is a Church according to its perception of the spirit of the WORD. As the Apostle says, "God hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life!" There have not been wanting men, from the beginning of the Christian Church, who have had some perception of the spirit of the Word, and who have observed that spirit in their keeping of the letter. But the decline of this perception was the decline of the Church itself; for as men lose this perception they falsify and pervert the letter, and thus destroy its spirit more and more. They use or abuse the letter of the Word to minister to evil loves, especially the love of dominion, the love of fame, of honor, and gain; and those who do this, in order that they way make the truths of the Word more subservient to their evil loves, study and act the part of saints and angels, and so deceive the simple and well-disposed, and, build up for themselves dominion and glory upon the wreck and ruin of the Church. And these are they that formed the imaginary heavens in the spiritual world, previous to the Last Judgment, and who interposed themselves like a dark cloud between the Angelic Heaven and man, shutting out the light of Heaven, subjecting the simple to themselves, and becoming the active source of infestation to all who had any remains of spiritual life, and were disposed to throw off the yoke of their dominion. The decline and loss of the knowledge and perception of the spirit of the Divine WORD, made it necessary that the LORD should make a revelation of that spirit, and present it in a rational form to men, in order that men might enter by the understanding into that spirit, or that it might enter by an external way into the thought in the form of Doctrine, or statements of Doctrine, so that the lamentable defect brought about by the loss of perception, and the lamentable conditions it established, might be met and healed, and all might be saved who had left in them any spark of spiritual life. This explains the necessity, and the presence, and the use of the Divine Revelation of the Spiritual Sense of the WORD, which is now in our midst. "Except those days be shortened, no flesh could be saved." Now if it be true that the civil law has its spirit and its letter, and its spirit is justice, which is the truth that is within the law; and if the writings of men have their spirit and their letter, and their spirit is the spirit of truth, or the spirit of the false-the spirit of truth looking to good, and the spirit of the false looking to evil; and in the Divine WORD of the Sacred Scripture, being a Divine Writing, have in it a Divine Spirit, which is the Divine Truth, which is the WORD, and which is GOD from eternity to eternity; and if it be true that the letter killeth, and the spirit giveth life, finitely true of human writing, infinitely true of Divine Writing-if these things be true, what shall we say of that Divine Writing which the LORD has given to the Church now in the day of His Second Coming? Is that Writing an exception to the universal rule? Does a rule that is universal admit of any exception? Does not this Writing, which is the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, have its spirit and its letter? Is not Moses and Aaron to be found there? These questions in the light of what has been said, contain their own answer, if Moses and Aaron be not in the Writing now given us, that Writing is not a Divine Writing if it have not its spirit and its letter-that is, a spirit and letter of truth-neither is it a human writing that is a true writing, but a false writing, a writing that has the spirit of man in it, which is the spirit of the false, and to enter into such a spirit is to enter upon the way that leads to death and damnation.
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But such a conclusion, to any one who has any perception of the spirit that is in the Writings of the New Church, is a conclusion that is monstrous and horrible. The Writings then have their two-fold element, represented by Moses and Aaron: the Divine Law, and the Doctrine thence. The Doctrine is their form of literal statement; the spirit of the Doctrine is the truth of Doctrine, or the truth that is in the Doctrine; or what is the same, the spirit of Doctrine is the affection of truth that is in the Doctrine-an affection that kindles a light in the mind, and inspires man, and enables him to see or perceive the truth of Doctrine, and apply that truth to the uses of his life. The spirit of truth, which is affection that is in the Doctrine, is the spirit of Heaven, is Heaven itself in the Doctrine; and when man is inspired by that spirit, affected by that affection, and perceives from that perception, he is in Heaven, and Heaven is in him; he is among the angels, and consociated with them, as a brother with brethren. The Spirit of the Doctrine is the LORD Himself, who is in the Doctrine, the Moses who is invisible, and yet who is visible to him who has eye to see, and ear to hear. The Spirit of the Doctrine is the LORD Himself in the Doctrine, speaking to man, when he reads and hears the Doctrine, inspiring him with affection, imparting to him perception, granting unto him illustration, thereby guiding him and leading him to Heaven and to Himself. He who has no perception of the heavenly, the Divine Spirit that is in the Doctrine of the New Church, has not yet entered into the Church, and he will never enter into it, if he cannot see that spirit. For it is not the Doctrine itself that affects man, but the spirit that is in it; and by that affection, which the spirit excites, the LORD teaches and leads man and man is then enabled to see truths that are not given in form of literal statement, and cannot be given, for the books to contain them would fill the world. The same is true in the teaching of Doctrine by the priesthood. There is in that teaching the letter and the spirit; if the teaching be true teaching, or true in its doctrinal statement, true in its letter; and its spirit be a true spirit, or the spirit of truth; then Moses and Aaron are together, and the LORD is present in the teaching, Himself the Teacher, Himself gifting the hearer with perception and illustration, inspiring him with affection, enabling him to see truths contained in the teaching given, that the human instrument of the teaching has perhaps not himself seen or thought of. The teaching in its literal form of statement, made by the preacher, affords a plan by which the LORD Himself enters the hearer and does His own Divine Work of teaching, accommodated to the state and capacity of each and every one. These two elements go together in all the ministrations of the priesthood, and all the work and worship of the Church. In every, external form of the work there must be the spirit of the work. Moses must be there, and Aaron must be there; and then the LORD is there doing His own Divine Work of saving souls by leading them to Heaven and to Himself. When these two are together there is a Divine Power present in the work of building up a Church, against which the gates of Hell hath not prevail. Moses and Aaron go together unto Pharaoh, and demand of him that he release the sons of Israel, that they may make a feast unto the LORD in the desert. The Divine WORD in its spirit and in its letter, the Divine Doctrine in its spirit and in its letter, the teaching of the priesthood in its spirit and in its letter, all the ministrations of the priesthood in the Church in their spirit and in their letter,-by all these the LORD makes Himself present, even with the evil who infest the Church. And by that presence the evil also are inspired, but not with the inspiration of the WORD, the spirit of truth, the affection of good in which the angels are; but they are inspired with the inspiration of Hell, the inspiration of anger and fear-anger that causes them to resist, and fear that causes them to desist; and the sons of Israel, the Church, is set free; and though they be still in the desert of the Christian world, they are free to worship the LORD, according to conscience, in a spirit of liberty and gladness.- AMEN.
Title Unspecified 1895
The state of the life of man is his quality as to the understanding and the will.-C. L. 184.
CONSOLATION. 1895
EXODUS xvi, 13-86.
AFTER the Third Temptation which those who were of the Spiritual Church underwent, as described in the early part of this chapter, followed consolation, which is signified and described by the Manna which they received, and by the Selav. That the Manna, which is spiritual good, was given to them by the LORD continually, and without any care or aid on their part, is signified by their receiving it daily, and that if they gathered more it bred worms.
(13-15.) AT the end of their state of temptation-" and came to pass in the evening "-they were let into the state of the natural affections and their delights in which they had been in the world, in order that they might thus come into good and be perfected, "and the selav came up"-which natural delights infilled the natural, "and covered the camp"-and in the beginning of the new state, "and in the early morning"-the truth of peace adjoined itself, "was the position of the dew round about the camp." This truth of peace in the Very Divine Truth in Heaven from the LORD, and affects universally all who are there, and causes heaven to be heaven; for peace has inwardly in itself confidence in the LORD, confidence that He rules all things, and provides all things, and leads to a good end. This truth of peace, which is the Divine Truth from the LORD, proceeding in heaven, insinuates itself into the truth which is below, and which had been learned by way of doctrine, and vivifies it, making of it the truth of faith "and the position of the dew scent up"-and thus leading to the establishment of a new voluntary, "and behold upon the faces of the desert"-in which is the good of truth in its first formation, "a small round thing"-truth in the form of good, consistent and fluent, "small as the hoar-frost upon the earth." Apperceiving this, "and saw the sons of Israel"-those who were of the Spiritual Church were in amazement, "and they said a man unto his brother"-from not knowing the good of charity which is thus acquired through the truth of faith, "Manna is this, for they knew not what this was." But they were informed by the Truth from the Divine, "and said Moses unto them"-that this is good, which is to be appropriated, and which is to make their life, indeed that this is in the highest sense, the LORD in them, "This is the bread which JEHOVAH hath given you to eat."
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(16-18) They were commanded concerning it from the Divine, "This is the word which JEHOVAH hath commanded"-that they were to receive and appropriate that good of truth according to the faculty of every one to so receive and appropriate, "Gather of it, every one unto the mouth of his eating"-thus, as much as would be sufficient for every one, "an omer for a head"-and as much as would be sufficient for all in a society, "the number of your souls"-and every one in a society was to communicate his good to all who were in that society; and all there should communicate to each-"very one to him who is in his tent take ye." And so it was effected, "and the sons of Israel did so"-and they received, according to the power of every one of a society, "and they gathered, rendering to the numerous and to the few"-and according to the power of the reception of good, "and they measured with an omer"-the ratio was just to each in particular and in general, "and it did not make superfluous to the numerous and to the few it was not lacking"-they received according to the faculty of each one, "every one unto the mouth of his eating they gathered." (19, 20) And they were exhorted, "and Moses said unto them"-that they should not be solicitous about acquiring the good of truth for themselves. "Every one let him not make a residue of it even unto the morning"-but they did not believe, and hence did not obey, "and they heard not unto Moses"-but abused the good Divine by wanting to acquire it to themselves, of themselves, "and men made residue thereof even unto the morning"-thus encouraging good that is from the proprium, which is evil; in consequence, the false of this evil produced what was filthy, "and it wormed worms"-and the good became infernal, "and it rotted." Thus they averted the Truth Divine from themselves, "and Moses was incensed against them." (21 24.) But they continued receiving good from the LORD, "and they gathered it in the morning, in the morning"-every one according to his power of appropriating it, "every one according to the mouth of his eating"-but as this good extinguished every delight of the love of self and of the world, which had constituted their life before, therefore it could not long remain the pure good of truth, but was tempered by the LORD by delights of the loves which they had had in their previous life; for had it not been tempered in this manner it would have become undelightful to them, and thus they would have loathed it; so, to the extent in which the delights of the loves of self and the world were suffered by the LORD to arise in these states in a comparatively harmless form, to that extent the good of heavenly love vanished, "and the sun grew hot, and it melted." At the end of every state, "and it was in the sixth day," conjunction took place from the good which they received, "they gathered bread double"-as much as they were then able, "two omers for one"-and they reflected from the primary truths, "and all the princes of the assembly came and told Moses"-and were instructed, "and he said unto them"-by the influx from the LORD, "This is what JEHOVAH hath spoken"-that there would be the state of peace when there would be no temptation, "rest"-and good and truth would be conjoined to eternity, "the holy Sabbath to JEHOVAH is to-morrow"-for which conjunction of good they were to be prepared, "what ye will cook, cook, and what ye will boil, boil"-and then they would enjoy every good and truth as from their own, "and everything superfluous lay ye this up for yourselves to keep until the morning." And they were going to enjoy it, "and they laid it up until the morning"-according to the instruction from Truth Divine, "as Moses had commanded "-and because it was appropriated to them so by the LORD, there was nothing foul in it, "and it rotted not, and a worm there was not therein." (25-27.) They were informed about this-"and Moses said"-that they were to appropriate it to eternity. "Eat ye it to-day." Because good is conjoined to truth by the LORD, "because the Sabbath is to-day to JEHOVAH"-good is no longer to be acquired through truth, "this day ye shall not find it in the field"-but truth is to be received before it is conjoined to good, "six days ye shall gather it"-and afterward the conjunction takes place, "and in the seventh day is the Sabbath"-when good is no longer to come through truth, "it shall not be therein." In the state of conjoined good and truth, "and it was not in the seventh day"-they wanted to acquire it, but it was not given, "went forth of the people to gather it, and they found not." (28 31) the appearance of the Divine was obscured, " and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-because they did not act according to the Divine order-"How long will ye refuse to keep My precepts and My laws?"-they should therefore pay attention and reflect, "see ye"-that good and truth are conjoined by the LORD, "because JEHOVAH hath given you the Sabbath"-therefore even to the end of the former state He will give so much good through truth, that conjunction may then take place, "therefore He giveth to you in the sixth day the bread of two days"-they were to be in the state of peace, "rest ye every one under himself"-and then they were to remain in the state, "let not any one go forth out of his place in the seventh day"-as then there would be the representative of the conjunction of good and truth in the state peace, "and the people rested on the seventh day." The quality of the good of truth was not known to them, "and the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna"-and the truth in it was pure, "and I was as the seed of coriander, white"-while as to its good it was delightful, as that which from truth has been made good, "and its taste as of a cake in honey." (32-34.) It was commanded, "and Moses said, This is the Word which JEHOVAH hath commanded"-that they were to have the good of truth in the highest degree of their power. "Fill the omer of it"-which was to be for a memorial for those who were of the spiritual Church, "to keep for your generations"-that they received from the LORD the good of truth, when they had been in the state of temptations," "therefore that they may see the bread with which I have fed you in the desert"-after they had been liberated from the state of infestations," when I led you forth out of the land of Egypt." And the Divine inflowed through the truth immediately proceeding from the LORD, into the truth which proceeds mediately, and thus instructed, "and Moses said unto to Aharon"-that in the Truth, "Take one urn"-should inflow as much good as it would contain, "and give in it the fulness of the omer of manna"-and that it should be in the Divine presence, "and lay it up before JEHOVAH"-that it might be a measure for those who were of the spiritual Church,-"to keep to your generations." According to the mandate, "as JEHOVAH commanded unto Moses"-so it was in the presence of the Divine, for a memorial and Aharon laid it up before the Testimony to keep. (35, 36.) The good of truth in the state of all temptations was appropriated "and the sons of Israel Manna-forty years" before they came unto heaven, where there was good everywhere, "even until they unto a land inhabited"-they appropriated the good of truth until they came unto the region of heaven, "the Manna ate they even until they came unto the border of the land of Canaan"-and they had as much good then as was sufficient, "and the omer, the tenth part of the ephah, is it."
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Title Unspecified 1895
The quality of man, from which he is regarded in heaven, is charity and faith.-A. C. 1258.
MEETING, IN LONDON, OF PRIESTS OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE FOURTH DAY.
THE fourth session of the Council of Academy Priests, held in London last August, took place oh the 17th. In the absence of the Chancellor, Vice- Chancellor Pendleton opened the meeting with worship, assisted by the Rev. T. F. Robinson, who read the Apocalypse Explained, n. 828. The theme chosen by the Chancellor for the day a deliberations was "The Essence of All Education is the Formation of Character," and in its consideration the following, ideas were presented, the substance being given, but not in all cases the exact words of the speakers. Pastor Pendleton, speaking to the point that education includes both instruction and the formation of character, the latter being primary, said that all genuine instruction leads to the formation of character. Character is not to be formed by such education as the world understands by that term. A man receives a true education by the performance of his use in life. To such formation of character all education at school should lead; otherwise it is useless and valueless. But education, in the sense of the formation of character, continues in adult age, when man enters upon the uses of his occupation, and such education is continued to eternity. Pastor Waelchli said that, in the chapter in Heaven and Hell concerning infants and little children, it is taught that all children are received by the LORD and educated under His auspices. They are instructed according to Divine Order and imbued with the affections of good, and by them with the knowledges of truth; and afterward, as they are perfected in intelligence and wisdom, they are introduced into Heaven and become angels. From this teaching it is evident that heavenly education is the formation of character. Imbuing with affections of good is primary in heavenly education. The primary affection to be implanted in children, by a right education, is love to the LORD as their Heavenly Father, for that should enter into all other things, and thus should be the first object sought in the development of character. Then should follow affection for the things which are from the LORD in the Church. This should be carefully seen to that proper affections for what is of the Church, be developed in children. Only in that way can they be preserved for the Church and grow up to love it, and so be prepared by the Church for Heaven. Among such affections may be included those of love to parents, to teachers, and many others. Through these affections children are imbued with knowledges of truth. It has caused surprise that many efforts to educate children within the Church have failed-that children so carefully instructed in the Doctrines have nevertheless been lost to the Church. The cause for the failure is largely found in the confining of the efforts to the imparting of mere knowledge of truth, without the implantation of good affections. Affections must first be awakened in the children, after which the truths can be implanted. Thus the way is opened, and what is received with affection remains; otherwise not. Thus the work of education is a celestial work-that of developing affections. This is the work with children in their first age; "afterward, as they are perfected in intelligence and wisdom, they are introduced into Heaven and become angels." This is the end in the work of the schools. The children having entered that period of instruction have come into something of intelligence, and something of wisdom is now with them; not the wisdom of old age, but still the wisdom of a desire to carry out into life what they know. It is the foundation of wisdom, so that when they grow older they may become truly wise. Introduction into Heaven is effected by introduction into fuse, and this, therefore, must be the end in education, and training children to use is possible only by means of their affections. Instruction, unless affection for use be awakened, is valueless. But that being aroused, they can be imbued with the knowledges of truth concerning use. So in the work of the Church of the Academy-which is really a continuation of the work of education-the same principle applies, imbuing with affections of good, and through these with the knowledges of good. In this way, character is to be formed. Pastor Hyatt enjoined keeping in sight the truth that both the formation of character and instruction are processes which go on, from first infancy, throughout life, and to all eternity. We must take into consideration all, states and ages through which man has to pass. Experience had continually confirmed him that the formation of character must be the central aim in education, and that all instruction must be secondary to that, for when character is formed, the work of instruction becomes easy; whereas, by reversing the process, failure results. The prevailing idea is that the world could be reformed by educating the children-according to the common idea of education. But knowledges may he instrumental for evil as well as for good. Formation of character is involved in the leading of men into the right attitude toward the LORD; that is the essence of the formation of character. It develops in them the neighbor that we are to love; and, of course, in one respect, instruction leads to that end, especially in little children; but it is not so much a matter of instruction as of methods of treatment. So we come back to the subject of government. In Pastoral work and in the instruction of parents, the same thing ought to be before us-to lead the people to take the right attitude toward the WORD; because there is eternity before us in which to continue the work of instruction. If we come into the right attitude toward the WORD, all the rest will easily follow. Pastor Tilson fully assented to the proposition as being the end which should be admitted by every one, not only in the school, but in the work of the Church. The formation of character,-in other words, regeneration, should be assisted by the Church work as far as this can possibly be done; He referred to the danger of becoming so absorbed in the contributory means of education as to forget that the end in it all is regeneration. The children are given to us by the LORD, not as ours, but as a trust. And the people also are placed in their relation toward the Priests that they may help them attain that end of life-regeneration. Pastor Bostock also assented to the proposition, saying that he had always entertained the belief that education consists in the formation of character.
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He confirmed Mr. Hyatt's utterance, as being the key-note-that the essential thing is the attitude toward the LORD is innocence, the formation of which constitutes the formation of character-innocence which is confidence or trust in the LORD and willingness to be led by Him, and in no case by self. If that be made the central point of education by those who have that work in charge, and in fact by all the members of the Church, all other things will flow from it. In each and every age the teaching is, that innocence is the fundamental or basis, without which there can be no Church; and the teaching is, too, that innocence flows in from the LORD into the loves of children, and use into parents and teachers and others who are concerned with their education; and that with parents, it is from this influx of innocence from the LORD, that they, even if evil, love their children. That influx, however, with the evil is twined round the loves of self; but with parents and teachers who receive innocence, the love of children is tender and full, and becomes spiritual; for they then Jove the children from that internal reception of innocence from the LORD, as well as from the innocence which inflows from the children and affects. Thus the love becomes more tender and deep. And so in all the work of education, the more we are able to advance in the reception of innocence, or trust in the LORD, the better will we be able to do the work to see how to promote innocence. If we will enter into and cultivate that quality-or permit the LORD to cultivate it in us-if we learn to trust the LORD not only as a Person, but in His Word-in the teachings He has given us, and follow them, putting aside the loves of self and the world-we shall do more thoroughly the work the LORD has committed to us. That the use of educating children is a celestial use, cannot be denied. It seemed to the speaker palpable, that all who really suffer the LORD to introduce them into innocence and into the love of infants, and of cultivating genuine innocence in them, and who from that love perform the use of education, will be introduced into the Celestial Church, because this is a Celestial use. The formation of innocence is the primary of the work. Pastor Schreck illustrated the teaching as to the essential nature of formation of character in education by the consideration that the will is the essential of man-not the understanding; that in all human action-all human volition, thought, and speech-freedom, not reason is the essential. The formation of character has to do with the formation of the will or of the affections, which goes on from infancy to old age, and to eternity. It has to do with the nurture and growth of man's freedom. The speaker addressed himself especially to considering the cultivation of freedom as essential in education in the formation of character. In ordinary speech a man is said to have character, meaning that he has courage to carry out his convictions. That courage is an affection of the will. He has the most perfect character who is most courageous, because he is most confident of the LORD'S help, and because he has innocence; he is most courageous to carry out the LORD'S will-to see that that be done upon the earth of his mind, and also upon the earth where the Church is established, as it is done in Heaven. The formation of the will begins early. It is true that man has not freedom and reason until he arrives at adult age-that is, a truly human freedom, when man, as of his own independent doing, subjects himself entirely to the LORD. But in the preparatory period of childhood and youth there is an analogue of freedom and reason, and this is frequently lost sight of by educators. Even the merest child there is will, and there is a freedom which, unless rightly trained, manifests itself in wilfulness. It is a matter for serious study, how to train children from infancy to adult age so that their forming will shall not be strained-that the influx from the LORD in their apparent freedom be respected. Of course, in general, this is done by the educator keeping himself simply in the line of the teachings which the LORD has laid down for him. But these teachings need to be understood more perfectly and interiorly, because then we enter into the very essence of the teaching; then we approach the Divine Good which is in the Divine Truth; then we enter into the sphere of the heavenly freedom; and then we can enter into the states of infants and children; and the LORD will enable us to enter into them from the heavenly state, and thence guide and control the children that they may develop freely from infancy on. The educator is to keep the children entirely out of the sphere of his self-will. He is apt, when perceiving a certain thing to be right and orderly, to mingle with the truth concerning it his own self-will and impatience to have the thing established at once his well known that educators must have patience; but it needs to be known what patience really is. Then will be possible a much better co-operation with the LORD in the formation of the will of the child. The external idea of patience must be exchanged for one more in accord with the celestial influences surrounding the child, with which the educator must co-operate. There is too much of an external idea of what constitutes order, perfection, life in agreement with the LORD'S Word. As a rule, we know something of the external forms of the laws of order; what we have to do is to get more into the sphere of the internal. Disorders in the merely external must sometimes be permitted in order to preserve the real internal. That is foreshadowed in the laws of the Divine Providence concerning the LORD'S will, good-pleasure, leave, and permission. The LORD suffers many things to be done externally which are contrary to order, because He is constantly endeavoring to draw man, in freedom according to reason, into the stream of His Divine Will. Pastor Bostock suggested the additional thought, in regard to innocence, that the more a parent comes into the spiritual love of children, the more he removes from him the idea of children being his own, and regards them as the LORD'S, and only entrusted to himself to be prepared for Heaven. This is shown by what is said of the love of a spiritual parent toward his children when they become evil. Pastor Pendleton spoke of the failure of so-called education when the instruction has not been accompanied by a love of the Truth. The formation of character is nothing more than the conjunction of good and truth in man. His character is formed as this takes place. There is a semblance of it in the life of each child-a certain conjunction between truth and love. The character comes into complete formation when that love becomes actually good, and conjunction takes place. Pastor Bostock added that the love of infants, with the celestial angels, is the beginning, in the LORD'S hands from which proceeds all the rest. They see the whole future and look forward to that in what they do, and not so much to what is going to take place at the present moment.
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Minister Stephenson noted, in connection with Mr. Schreck's remark concerning the necessity of preserving the semblance of freedom in the child, that in the formation of character it is needful to preserve those things which are semblances of the real thing. Pastor Waelchli remarked upon the constantly present temptation-from the sphere of the world-to put instruction in the place of education; to neglect important things in education for a certain zeal for imparting a multitude of knowledges; to be influenced by the worldly standard, measured according to which the children seemed to be behind, and to strive to bring them along and up to that standard, which is injurious to true education. Pastor Pendleton added that there is often a sphere from the parents tending in that direction, which has to be resisted. He was convinced of the profoundness of the truth that a true will is not formed except in freedom; and thought that Priests, in their relations to the people and to each other, needed to bear in mind the truth that force brought to bear upon a man's mind will not conduce to thinking in freedom. Some men have powerful spheres, who draw others, often taking away their freedom almost entirely-amounting in them to a persuasive sphere. It is necessary not only for those who follow to carefully strive to do so in freedom, but also for those whose tendency is to lead in that way, to leave others to think for themselves of Pastor Schreck commented further that the formation character, or the will-that is to say, the formation of states of innocence, peace and tranquillity which reside interiorly in trust in the LORD-is the essential of education. It is the office of the Priesthood to save souls, and to save souls is to lead them into the sphere of innocence and peace, which is the sphere nearest to the LORD. Vice- Chancellor Pendleton continued the subject, saying that it may be approached in various ways, because there are many elements connected with it, and because there are various definitions which may be given to the term "character," and yet all of them true. The word character signifies "a mark." Character is a mark made upon the life of man; and the question is, how should that be done?-since it is clear that the first thing in education, as well as in all Church work, is to make an impression upon the life. That mark upon the life, which manifests itself, is really what is called wisdom, in the Doctrines-wisdom seen in the life. The appearance of love, in the life of man, is wisdom, which is properly what is understood by character. And so the whole tendency of our education is toward the formation of character, toward leading man by knowledge to intelligence, and thus into wisdom. But knowledge is nothing without affection, nor intelligence without wisdom. Wisdom is nothing but love appearing or becoming active in man's life. That activity of love is character, or what is called in the Doctrines wisdom. An important point, in this connection, suggests itself. When it is said that a woman loves the wisdom of the man, it is his character that is meant; and therefore education for character is the essential thing in the teaching of young people. In the teaching of girls it should be impressed upon them that they are to look to the character of the man, and not to the brilliancy of his intellect, or any other more external thing. Especially they are not to look to his mere reputation. A true wife does not join herself to the reputation of her husband, but to his character, as she sees it interiorly. So that has to be impressed upon the girl as being that with which she is to conjoin herself, and it is to be impressed upon boys and young men that character is the thing for which a true woman looks in a man, to which, as being his real internal appearing, she is to conjoin herself. It is most important to keep this before young people who are looking toward marriage, and in the whole work of education, for education prepares for the marriage state. As has been said, instruction comes second, though in order of time it comes first. The teacher goes into a class with knowledges by which he instructs; but the end is, to excite affection, to form character. If he does not succeed in exciting affection for the thing taught, this interior mark is not made upon the will upon the life. There needs to be improvement and growth in this field. We must admit that we have not paid as much attention to it as we should, nor, perhaps, as much as we will in the future. The doctrine of the Celestial Church points to this question and shows more clearly the importance of cultivating affection in the pupils and of thus forming character. Affection is another definition for character; but affection is only another name for wisdom, because it is an activity; it reigns throughout what is called wisdom. Whatever is taught, the first thing to lock to is to cultivate affection for that thing. The ordinary expression used is "interest"-"make the subject interesting." That means simply, to excite affection; and we know how delightful it is to the teacher to have the pupil interested. The teacher's mind is then affected in turn, by the reaction from the pupil's; and use is then done to both pupil and teacher. This truth is seen in the world, and yet it is not seen. One of the leading educators in the United States made the statement that not instruction but discipline, is the first thing. That is true, but how much more he saw than that, is hard to say. It certainly is not a practical working truth in the education of the world. The cultivation of spiritual affection-affection for the things of the Church and of Heaven-is especially absent and will continue to be absent. More and more do they come to consider education the one panacea for all the ills that flesh is heir to. In the genuine sense of the word, that is true of education. The LORD leads men by His Truth; by His Word. That is the education in which we are to co-operate with Him in all our work. It does take form in discipline, for discipline is order and obedience, and that is essential as being the continent of the whole life of Heaven. There must be discipline in the school-obedience; and there must be order; and where that is as a plane, there may be affection and delight; for there is always delight where there is order. That is known in the world. So we are to lay the foundation of discipline, that upon it, as a basis, character may be formed, and when we do that we are doing the use of the Celestial Church; for the Celestial angels flow into this use of the education of infants. Although this is known in the world, still it is where the old education has failed and is failing more and more. There is less and less of genuine discipline, order, and obedience, in families, and also in schools; so that children grow up with the state of the "wild ass" in them being confirmed more and more-instead of that of the spiritual "horse." We are to look to it, with our boys, that they shall become spiritual horses, as it were. We are to pay more attention to this. It involves what is meant by the cultivation of freedom; because there is no real character without freedom, and there is no freedom formed without delight. When man feels free he feels happy and feels delight.
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The book of his inmost memory is there being written upon; and there is where his character is, and that is the character which the angels will read when he goes into the other world. So that we must look to the establishment of true freedom with the young, upon the basis of discipline, obedience, and order, and then we shall be able to do the work that has been given us to do. Pastor Pendleton was convinced that, after all, the most interior work in education is done by the father and mother in every-day life, in leading the children, and upon them rests the highest responsibility. Pastor Hyatt added that therefore the highest responsibility rests with the Priesthood to lead the parents themselves aright. Allusion was made to the great rarity of households in which is obedience. Since the parents' work is the first, it is necessarily the most important. In the home the states of the children show themselves more freely when unrestrained by the more formal discipline of the school. Where the home work is done well it makes the school work much easier, as is well known. This points to the kind of pastoral work that needs to be done with parents.
Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
MR. Leo. H. Grindon has written a new book, entitled The Science and Poetry of the Old Testament.
Title Unspecified 1895
Health and Beauty, a monthly magazine published in New York, contains, in its March issue, an appreciative notice of the little treatise on The Intercourse of the Soul and the Body, but its appreciation appears of a doubtful character when, immediately after, it quotes approvingly Dr. Evans's statement that "the body is formed by the image-making faculty of the soul, or what we call in mental philosophy the imagination."
Title Unspecified 1895
THE following note is culled from Morning Light: "A Dr. Cooper, who seems to be deeply interested in the philosophical and scientific works of Swedenborg, arranged to give a dinner at Frascati's, Oxford Street, London, to a number of invited guests, on Thursday; February 14th. The principle upon which the guests were invited was their known or supposed acquaintance with Swedenborg on the philosophic side. Dr. Wilkinson, one of the invited, was unable to accept, but wrote a letter which will shortly appear as a pamphlet of 40 to 50 pp. under the title of 'Swedenborg among the Doctors.' At this Conference Swedenborg's theology was to be severely let alone; but one of the points which Dr. Wilkinson handles, and he handles well, is the impossibility of doing this, for the simple reason that Swedenborg himself in his philosophical writings does not leave it alone. The pamphlet will be found to be of striking interest." The pamphlet has since been published.
Title Unspecified 1895
EXTERNAL loves are frequently, almost unceasingly, used by the Divine Providence, in order to preserve and further things of higher import, things spiritual, heavenly, and Divine. The history of the Word in its external form, at' every step confirms this. A recent illustration of the principle came to the observation of the Custodian of the Academy Library, who found, at an antiquarian's, in the City of Philadelphia, a copy of the first compendium of the Doctrines ever printed in this country. The antiquarian had acquired it, and preserved it, not on account of its contents, nor on account of the connection of the name of Swedenborg with it, but simply and solely because it was an early American publication, and as such had more value among lovers of books than for its contents. It sets forth the Doctrines of the New Church, and is entitled: "A Summary View of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Church, which was foretold by Daniel Chap. vii, 13, 14; and in the Apocalypse, Chap. xxi, 1, 2." It is a reprint of a London publication, and was printed in Philadelphia, "by Francis Bailey, at Yorick's Head, in Market Street-1787." The treatise is based on The True Christian Religion, and is divided into as many chapters as that Work, devoted to the same subjects, excepting that the last and very important topic, on "The Consummation of the Age, the Coming of the LORD and the New Church," has been omitted. Each chapter is introduced by some appropriate verse or verses from the Sacred Scriptures, and the propositions on the subject from The True Christian Religion are quoted in the course of the Chapter, with due references to the Work whence they are taken.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Sons of Ham, by Louis Pendleton, author of The Wedding Garment, is called a Tale of the New South. It seeks to show the relations existing between the white and the black race in the South, setting forth in the form of a novel the peculiar conditions under which the former race labors in being obliged to live side by aide with an alien people of a different genius and temperament. A vivid picture of characteristic life in the South is unfolded to view as the story proceeds, a picture that will be appreciated by the Northern reader, who, as a rule, hardly realizes the difference between his life and that of his Southern brother. As a remedy for the evils which result from the intermingling of the races, and which are shown forth in the various incidents of the story, the author, through one of his most worthy characters, suggests a "colonization scheme" by which the negro is to emigrate to some part of Africa-Liberia or the Congo Free State-where he can live in freedom and develop more of an individual character. He cites Hayti as an example of what the negro can do when left to himself. The author's faith in this as the only remedy of the existing evil conditions is evidenced by his dedication of his book "To the African Colonization Societies of the Future." Whether it is owing to the condition of affairs arising from the mixture of races, or whether from some other cause, is difficult to determine, but there is more gloom than cheer in the book. Some of the incidents are described with an unnecessary devotion to details which are at times revolting. This is notably the case in the circumstances attending the lynching and death of certain of the negroes. Although the New Church reader will be disappointed if he expected a work of the character of The Wedding Garment, he will nevertheless be pleased at times with certain expressions of thought and sentiment which he will recognize as being from the Doctrines of the Church. In connection with such evidence of the author's Newchurchmanship the title of the book strikes the initiated unpleasantly, for he knows that as Ham never lived, the negro race could not be his descendants, nor is it likely that they are descendants of the Church signified by Ham. If euphemism was the motive that determined the selection of the title, the use of the letter of the Word for such a purpose seems-to say the least-inappropriate. The book is published by Roberts Brothers, and has been sent us through the J. B. Lippincott Co. Price, $1.50.
Title Unspecified 1895
WE offer hearty congratulations to the Rev. John Faulkner Potts, and also to the subscribers of the Swedenborg concordance, that the publication of this great work has progressed to the conclusion of Volume IV, finishing the letter "N." To judge from the contents of these four volumes, what still remains of the Concordance will fill two in addition. If this estimate be correct, and if Mr. Potts should be able to resume the monthly issuance of the Parts, three or four years more would witness the conclusion of this magnificent work. But at the rate of a Part every two months, we shall probably have to wait six or seven years. When, in addition to the magnitude of the Work is considered how many figures it contains and how much more difficult it is to have these correct- than words the great accuracy of the work will be looked upon as a monument to the scrupulous care of the Compiler and Editor. The current part has a distinctively New Church character, as it contains the words "New," "New Church," "New Heaven," "New Jerusalem;" and the brightness of these topics is brought out more strongly by contrast with "New Hell" and "Night."
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Under the heading "Number," the Compiler has departed somewhat from his plan, of making only a word-concordance, as he introduces many references to particular numerals, although the word "number" may not occur. But this departure is anything but a fault. It makes the article specially valuable. The single entry under "Newspaper" may lead some friends to champion the evening paper as against the morning issue, unless, of course, it be read for its bearing on one's business. It will surprise many that more references to "New Testament" do not occur. Of course it is always included in the constantly recurring references to the "Word" and the "Sacred Scripture." Still it is worthy of note that according to the Concordance, the New Testament is not referred to separately more than five times in all of the Writings. The conclusion of the Fourth Volume is a fit occasion to again remind all who are not subscribers to this invaluable work, that it is published in Parts, sometimes monthly, sometimes bimonthly, at 15 cents a Part. Bound volumes at $4.50. Subscriptions and orders are received by the Academy Book Room, 1821 Wallace Street. The Book Room also attends to the binding of the loose Parts in possession of subscribers. In morocco, $1.25.
Title Unspecified 1895
SOME interesting particulars concerning Swedenborg's Poem, "Delia in Nive Ambulans," are brought to light in the March issue of The New Church Magazine, in an article on the subject by the Editor. Shortly after the January number of this Magazine appeared; in which was inserted Swedenborg's Poem in the original, taken from Dr. Emanuel Tafel's edition of the Ludus Heleconius, and a translation from The New Magazine of Knowledge (a New Church Periodical published by Robert Hindmarsh in 1790), where it was entitled "A Beautiful Sonnet," a correspondent communicated the fact that it had appeared in the last Christmas number of The English Illustrated Magazine with a few insignificant variations, under the title "On Chloris Walking in the Snow," and was attributed to "William Strode." Later the Editor received the prospectus of a work to be published by the Rev. Dr. A. B. Grosart, which would contain fifty-nine poems by William Strode, among them one entitled "Upon his Mistress walking in a gentle Snow." Further research in Wood's Atlienae Oxonienses revealed that William Strode was a grandson of Sir Richard Strode, and that he became Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1638, and died in 1644, forty-four years before Swedenborg was born. Correspondence with Dr. Grosart resulted in the English poem being traced as far back as the year 1639, when it appeared in a volume entitled Witt's Recreation; selected from the finest Fancies of Modern Muses, published in London in 1640, though bearing at the end the imprint "Octob. 8, 1639." No names, however, appeared under the contributions. It appeared under the title "On Chloris Walking in the Snow," and was numbered 130. Except for the modern spelling it does not differ from that inserted in the English Illustrated Magazine. It was set to Music, and was published in John Playford's Musical Companion (1673). It was again set to Music and published in The Theater of Music of Henry Playford (1686). At was repeatedly inserted in the Drollieries and other collections frequent during the period of Charles I and the Restoration. Dr. Grosart states that a copy preserved in the Sloane MSS. reads "Delia" instead of "Chloris." The Editor of The New Church Magazine concludes a most interesting article as follows: "To Swedenborg is indeed due the credit of the scholarly and stately Latin; but our thanks for the pretty conceit which the Latin expresses are owing solely to the author of the graceful English original, the Rev. William Strode, D. D." That Swedenborg wrote Latin verses whilst in London, and was acquainted with the English Poets, is clearly shown in the article.
Title Unspecified 1895
In the spiritual world, when angels see others and meet them, the inquiry is never made who they are, and whence they come, but of what quality they are.-A. E. 472.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED. 1895
(Concluded)
THE FIRST ENGLISH EDITION.- The Apocalypse Explained was first translated into English by the Rev. Wm. Hill, who began this work in England, and finished it in Philadelphia in the year 1799. Before his death, which occurred in the year 1804, the manuscript translation was transcribed by Mr. Daniel Thuun, of Philadelphia, who transmitted it to London for publication. It was issued there in six volumes in the years 1811 to 1815. Mr. E. Hodson published the first two volumes at his own expense. The Swedenborg Society (instituted in the year 1810) published the four remaining volumes. The sixth volume contained an Index prepared by John Augustus Tulk, Esq.
THE SECOND ENGLISH EDITION was begun by the Swedenborg Society, at London, in the year 1834, the first volume being then issued. In this edition the references to the Arcana Coelestia were separated from the text and relegated to the bottom of the pages. Swedenborg's translation of the quotations from the Word were altered so as to conform with the incorrect version of "King James"-this in order that the quotations might not be suspected by prejudiced and ignorant Old Church readers (l) "of being varied from the common reading in order to serve some sinister purpose." This unfortunate plan was continued throughout the edition, of which the second volume appeared in 1836, die third in 1838 (revised by Mr. James Mitchell, of Leicester), and the fourth, fifth and sixth in 1840 (revised by the Rev. Francis Soyers).
THE THIRD ENGLISH EDITION was published by the Swedenborg Society in the years 1854-1871. Volume I was published in 1854, volume 11 in 1857, volume III in 1859. The Rev. Francis Soyers revised these three volumes. The remaining volumes were published in the year 1871, volume IV being revised by Mr. Bull, volume V by Mr. German, and volume VI by Mr. Keene. In this edition the Scripture quotations have been translated in accordance with Swedenborg's Latin rendering.
THE FOURTH ENGLISH EDITION is still in course of publication. Volume I appeared at London in 1884, and volume II in 1889. They seem to unrevised reprints. Volume III is at present in the hands of the Rev. Isaiah Tansley for revision.
THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION of The Apocalypse Explained was published at New York, by Mr. John Allen, in the years 1846 and 1847. It was a republication of the Second English Edition, and is in five volumes.
THE SECOND AMERICAN EDITION is the one now being published at New York by the American Swedenborg Society, the translator being the Rev. J. C. Ager.
A FRENCH EDITION, translated by M. Le Boys des Guays, was published in six volumes at St. Amand, in the year 1855.
A GERMAN EDITION, in four volumes, was published by J. G. Mittnacht, at Frankfurt am Main, in the year 1882. The work of translation was begun by Pastor Wurster, of Hohenmemmingen, and continued by Professor William Pfirsh.
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In this account should be included THE LATIN-ENGLISH EDITON, of which the first and second volumes were published at New York, by the American Swedenborg Society, in 1889, and six more in the year 1890, making eight in all, with more to follow. In this edition the plates of the Latin text, as edited by Dr. S. H. Worcester, and of the English translation of the Rev. J. C. Ager, are used, the pages of the two editions facing each other.
A REVIEW OF THE SECOND AMERICAN EDITION.
OF the English translation of The Apocalypse Explained, now in course of publication by the American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society, of New York, four volumes have appeared. The work is bound uniformly with the other publications of the Writings- issued by the Society-in black cloth with gilt lettering-but the new type contrasts agreeably with the more or less imperfect imprints of the older publications. The untinted paper of the first volume rather dazzles the eyes, but in the later three the tone is creamy and pleasanter. As in the Latin Reprints published by the Society, the device of different styles of typo is used to distinguish the chapters of the literal sense-and also the particular verses-from the exposition of the internal sense; while the numerous illustrative and corroboratory passages of the Letter quoted throughout the exposition, beside being distinguished by a special, small type, are indented, the whole arrangement being very economical of time and labor of reference: though a question is raised as to the propriety of presenting the extracts from the Word in rather insignificant form. For further convenience of reference the sub-divisions of the numbers, as made by Mr. Potts in the Swedenborg Concordance, are employed, being indicated by figures in heavy-faced type. As appears in prefatory notes in the first two volumes, the translator, the Rev. J. C. Ager, received valuable aid in the translation of the first, from the "scholarship and careful criticism" of the late Mr. E. A. Gibbens, formerly. Chairman of the Committee on Translation; but since his death the work has devolved upon Mr. Ager alone. The especial merit of this translation, as compared with its predecessors, is the generally faithful rendering of Swedenborg's translation of the original Hebrew and Greek of the letter of the Word: this marks a great advance. Thus treated, the literal sense, though transferred to another and modern tongue, yet remains the adequate and correspondential receptacle of the internal sense. For instance, in Chapter II, verse 3, where the Authorized Version reads, "and hast not fainted," the word "failed" is substituted-a much better translation of "defecisti"; the subject treated of being those who study the cognitions of truth and good, and from these proceed to the good of life, so far as they are able, and to that extent do "not fail." In verse 23, where, as so often occurs in the Authorized Version, the word for "sons" is there translated "children," in the new translation the true signification is brought out by the correct word, "sons," whom, it is said, the LORD will "kill with death," referring to the falsified truths of the Church, which will be separated and thus extinguished through temptations. Similarly; too, the internal sense finds a more fitting resting-place in the present translation of the Letter, by the omission of many words found interpolated in the Authorized Version to the obscuration of the spiritual meaning. It is not so certain that the translation "lampstand" for "candelabrum" is accurate; for the candle-candela-rather than the lamp, seems to have been the form of artificial light most in use at the time of the LORD'S Coming. The idea of oil, which is necessary for the sake of the internal sense, although not so manifestly suggested in the word "candle" as in "lamp," is not absent; for candles were made of animal fat. It is interesting to note in this connection that candle-light is used as the unit of measurement for artificial illumination; and also that no other light has the softness and brilliancy combined which makes the candle even at the present day the illuminant in rituals and on distinguished occasions. A further improvement upon the Authorized Version is a closer following of the sequence of the words of the original Greek, and of the agreeing Latin,- although in this the translation is not uniformly consistent. Thus in Chapter V, the last part of verse 13 reads: "Unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the strength unto the ages of ages,"-which is decidedly better than: "Blessing . . . be unto Him that sitteth . . . and unto the Lamb, forever and ever": but in verse v of the same, the translation-probably for the sake of smoothness of style-avoids the order of the Greek, which, translated literally, reads: "And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not, behold conquered hath the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David," etc., whereas the translation introduces the verb (which it translates "hath overcome"), after the words "Root of David." Considering the teaching of the Writings upon the significance and connection of the series of the literal sense, it is certainly our duty to sacrifice elegance when necessary to preserve-so far as compatible with intelligibility-the sequence of the original text. It is especially in the translation of the doctrinal ex-position that considerations of style seem to have prevailed, the result being a treatment of the Doctrine less reverential than that of the Letter; and in some cases the changes are unaccountable. That in most cases the departure from literalness was of deliberate thought, is conclusive from the abundant evidence of scholarly, careful, and painstaking research which the work as a whole offers. Yet examination shows that, in the departures from exactness of rendering, the necessity in some cases may be questioned and in others openly challenged. It ought to be self-evident that in translating Divine Revelation the Divine form and order of language should be sacred from all human modifications other than those of absolute necessity. There is room, therefore, for legitimate criticism, first, when words in the Latin are omitted in the translation when they could be given an English equivalent without injury to the sense; second, when words not in the Latin and not required, for the sense, by the average intellect, are interpolated for rhetorical or other non-essential considerations; third, when the English word used does not correctly or adequately render the meaning of the original; and, fourth, when the order or construction of the original is tin necessarily changed. Instances of all these four classes are not rare in the work under review. In examining Volume I, we find in verse 5 of the translation of the opening chapter, in the literal sense, the word "Ipse" ("Himself") occurring three times in the Latin; but it is omitted in the translation.
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Literally translated, the verse reads, "And from JESUS CHRIST, Himself the faithful Witness, Himself the First-born from the dead, and Himself the Prince of the kings of the earth." Although the repeated word "Himself" (or "He," as it might be rendered) does not receive specific explanation in the text, it will not do to assume that it is superfluous, since in Swedenborg's expositions words of unquestioned internal significance not unfrequently are left without explanation. It therefore should have been translated. In the same chapter, in verse 9, Swedenborg's spelling "Parmos"-which is the only form sanctioned in the Writings-is made to give way to the generally accepted "Patmos." It is not supposable that the frequent occurrence of the former spelling in the Writings is an accident, nor that Swedenborg was ignorant of the common geographical name. In verse 18 the word "talaris" is translated by the phrase "a garment down to the foot," which is a definition rather than a translation. Where a word in the Latin has no single equivalent in English it is not inadmissible to transfer it without translation, even though this would necessitate the further expansion of our growing New Church vocabulary. In verse 18, Et Qui vivens et factum sum mortuus ("and Who am living, and I became dead") is translated "And the Living One; and I became dead." Vivens here has the force of a verb, and to make it an adjective, qualifying a word ("One") not in the original, is to take a liberty with the text, the justification of which is not obvious. In the "Explanation," following the chapter, the word status is translated "affairs." It is hard to see why the exact meaning should not have been secured by using the obvious and only English equivalent, "states," for the "successive states of the Church are treated of." A little further on is the sentence, "The expositions of the Apocalypse now extant are of this character, because, as has been said, their authors had no knowledge of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word." Again we fail to see the advantage in this multiplication of words, and the interpolation of one-as indicated by the italics-over the simple literal rendering, "The cause that the explanations, which are extant, are such, is that, as has been said, they knew nothing of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word" ("Causa quod explicationes quae ex slant tales sint, est, quia nihil de sensu interno seu spirituali Verbi, ut dictum est, noverunt.") Few persons intelligent enough to find anything of interest in the Writings would be at a loss as to the subject of noverunt ("knew"). We note many such efforts to secure strict grammatical and rhetorical accuracy where a literal translation would have served every purpose. Such liberties with the original, though inculcating no heresy, are an necessary, and the practice is rather reprehensible, as appears in some of the alterations which materially affect the sense. Thus in number 8, the sentence, "Those who know [sciunt] the internal sense," is translated, "Those who are acquainted with the internal sense." Not only is the italicized phrase weaker and more wordy than the simple word "know," but it fails to express the idea- "acquaintanceship" being a relatively superficial term. Further along in the same number occurs a sentence which reads, translated literally: "For an angel, when he speaks with man such things as are of Heaven and of the Church," etc. The translation renders it thus: "For when an angel communicates to man such things as relate to Heaven and the Church," etc. Here again the meaning is altered. "Communication" may be effected by other means then "speaking," and hence is not the equivalent of "loquitur." And, when things are said to be of Heaven and the Church, they belong to them-not merely "relate to" them. Turning to the second volume-which begins with chapter V of the Apocalypse-in number 297 is the sentence, "At usque sciendum est quod Ipse DOMINUS nec judicat aliquem ex Divino Vero quod procedit ab ipso." As a literal rendering of this we would suggest, "But still it is to be known that the LORD Himself does not judge any one from the Divine Truth which proceeds from Him." The alterations of this may be noted in the italicized portions of the translation, as follows: "Let it be remembered that neither does the LORD Himself judge any one by the Divine Truth which goes forth from Him." The annunciation of a thing as needful to be known, is different from an injunction to remember it. "Ex" contains the idea of origin, which the word "by" does not convey. "Goes forth" expresses the meaning of "procedit," but why not retain the English derivative, "procceds"? In proportion as Swedenborg's own choice of words can be retained the more accurate will be the expression of the ideas in which the LORD has clothed His revealed Divine Truth; and in presence of such considerations all prepossessions in favor of special classes of words (such as the Anglo- Saxon, etc.), of elegancies and literary finish, should be wholly subservient. In the beginning of the next paragraph of the same number, speaking of the LORD'S Presence and will to save all, by turning and leading them to Himself, the text says that those who are in good, and thence in truths, "follow, for they apply themselves," the general teaching being that the appropriation of good and truth with man is according as he turns or applies himself. The translation, for "follow" gives "yield," and for "apply themselves," "join themselves to Him" conjunction is not the subject of the doctrine here presented, it being a consequence of the application by man, belonging to a later stage of his progress: "to Him" is a gratuitous interpolation. A little further on, where the man who "is a good, and, truth thence," is said to suffer himself to be led by the LORD, the translation expresses it, "suffers himself to be drawn [adduci] by the LORD." The idea is similar to that of being "led," but not identical. Again, in the same number, the translation of "et" as "but" (instead of "and") sacrifices a distinction of meaning. The original Latin states that the Divine Truth judges to Hell "those who have not received the Divine Truth in the heart, and who have denied it." The state of denial is a worse state than that of mere non-reception, and therefore its inclusion in the proposition is introduced by the copulative "and"; while the use of "but" suggests merely an alternative putting of the idea-i. e., of non-reception. The objectionable translation of "scientificum," as "knowledge," occurs in the work under consideration. The only practicable word by which to render "scientificum," is its English form, "scientific." It is not "knowledge," but, as its etymology indicates, it makes knowledge-constitutes the constructive material by which knowledge is reared or produced. "Expansum," which may be so easily and naturally transferred into English as "expanse is rendered by "firmament," as in the Authorized Version. "Ex" is commonly-but for the most part not judiciously rendered "by," although it is susceptible of that meaning in certain places.
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"Conatus" means "endeavor" or "effort," rather than the ultimate expression of endeavor, "energy," by which "conatus" has been rendered. To illustrate more fully the general character of the constantly occurring alterations of Swedenborg's language which mar this translation, the following instances are cited, the original Latin in each case being followed by an attempt to give a close translation (in parentheses) from which the reader not familiar with Latin may form some judgment concerning the points of criticism in the extracts from the translation under review-the said points being designated by italics. "Quod sit DOMINUS" ("That it is the LORD"), "as denoting the LORD." "Vult enim ad suum amorem" ("for he wills according to his love"), "for his will is in accord with his love." "Ad visum" ("to the sight"), "before their very eyes." "Dictum etiam est illis" ("It was also said to them"), "Again, those I talked with were told." "'In consilio ducere' est per Divine Vero" ("'to lead in counsel' is by Divine Truth"), "'To lead in counsel' meaning to lead by Divine Truth." "Cum autem de homine" ("but when concerning man"), "but in reference to man." "Per illa describitur" ("by them is described"), "they are a description." On every page of the Swedenborg Society's translation occur these attempts to improve on Swedenborg's style-to impart variety and perspicuity to the language of Divine Revelation; and this, while innocent of any conscious intent to affect the teaching of the Writings, is an annoyance and an offence to the seeker for the LORDS own words. So that, while recognizing and appreciating the decided merits of this important work, we must look upon it as preparatory to something still better which the future has yet to prepare.
VADE-MECUM ON THE HOLY SUPPER. 1895
The Holy Supper and Its Administering Mediums. By a Deacon. James Speirs, 1894.
IN The Holy Supper and its Administering Mediums, by "A Deacon," we have a rarity-a book that is doctrinally sound throughout. It is a most admirable compendium of the doctrines concerning external worship-with particular reference to the Most Holy Sacrament-and concerning correspondences, and especially the correspondence and character of the bread and wine to be used at the Holy Supper. In the whole and in every part it is evidently carefully studied, well-digested, and extremely well-arranged, even to the external form of type and paragraphs. It will prove an indispensable Vade-Mecum for every Minister of the New Church who wants to know the doctrine, or where to turn for any particular question involved, and we hope that it will have a large sale among the clergy, and also among the laity, whom a study of the book will lead to a more profound reverence for the Holy Supper, and a juster appreciation of the inestimable benefits conferred by it, especially when administered in elements which are prepared in accordance with the laws of correspondence and representation. Directions for making the bread of the Holy Supper, and suggestions of the kinds of wine to be used, are added to the doctrinals The question what to do with the remnants of bread after the Supper is answered by reference to the injunction in the Israelitish Church, to burn what is left, with fire. But the possible remnant of wine is left undisposed of. A custom which has much to commend it is in use in a number of societies where the minister carefully gathers up the remnants of bread and wine and takes them to the sick, either for the purpose of administering the Holy Supper to them, or to give them, with the understanding that the elements be appropriated reverently. Where there is no likelihood of the remnants being disposed of in some such becoming manner, the suggestion to burn them is very good. The author recommends a rather sweet but unfortified wine. To this might also be added that the wine should have a red color. We have a strong inclination to quote liberally from this treatise, but must content ourselves with some of the summaries which the author has himself incorporated in the pamphlet. He says:
"In paper two things stand out prominently for acceptance, viz.:
"The WRITINGS and CORRESPONDENCES.
"If we believe in them, as all loyal Newchurchmen will, the conclusion is inevitable and the Newchurchman's duty is clear. May I not ask, therefore: "Does any Newchurchman doubt that the Writings fulfill the Second Advent Prophecies by
"Revealing the Science of Correspondences, thereby "Opening the Word, and "Clearing away the mists of false Doctrine? "This was done by Swedenborg's eyes being opened so that he might be consciously in the Spiritual and Natural Worlds for a period of over thirty years. He was thus able to study the state of man after death, to witness the Last Judgment, and frame for us the Science of Correspondences-a stupendous miracle, and therefore executed under special and Immediate Divine Auspices; for while it is stated in Rev. v. 5, 'That the lion or the tribe or Judah hath prevailed to open the Book, and to loose the seven seals thereof,' this miracle was actually accomplished by the LORD through His servant Emanuel Swedenborg."
And at the end of the brochure, "The Truth is briefly summed up" by the author in these words: "The Holy Supper Instructions are Doctrinal in Nature (A. C. 10,519-22). "The LORD alone instructed Emanuel Swedenborg in matters of Doctrine (T. C. R. 779). Swedenborg teaches that Bread and Wine are commanded in the Holy Supper (A. C. 5117). "The Bread must be unleavened, because the Christian Passover (T. C. R. 704) is the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Luke xxii, 1). "The Wine must be the product of fermentation, because with Swedenborg the Juice of the Grape is not Wine until after fermentation (Documents, n. 245, Vol. II, p. 316). "The instructions are not vaguely given, leaving the choice of the external mediums to Church option; for it has been seen that Bread unleavened and Wine purified by fermentation were commanded in the Holy Supper. Notwithstanding this, the elements too frequently used in our Churches, viz., Leavened Bread and New Wine (Mustam), are those which were commanded in the comparatively external act of worship, the Jewish Harvest Thanksgiving-never in the Holy Supper (page 18, above). "As Newchurchmen we cannot set aside the Lord's commands through his servant Emanuel Swedenborg concerning the Bread and Wine; and it is evident that Swedenborg's definition of Wine is inseparable from the command concerning the Wine, which he received 'from the LORD alone,' to 'publish by the press' (T. C. R. 779) 'for the New Church' (H. D. 7)."
Let not the reader imagine, on reading this summing up of the treatise before us, that he has here all of its teachings. He has only the generals. The treatise is full of particulars that are genuine, substantial food for all who have a taste for the Bread of Life that cometh down from Heaven, and we would again commend every one to put himself in possession of this little treasure. The Academy Book Room makes a specialty of keeping this brochure on hand. The price is 15 cents.
63
LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.-IN the schools, on March 4th, Prof. Schreck concluded his series of lectures on Diseases. Since March 18th the hour for the Monday morning lecture on theology has been changed from 9 o'clock to 11.50, the new order being inaugurated by Bishop Pendleton, who lectured on "Fire" as treated in ancient mythology, beginning with the Promethean fable of the lire stolen from heaven. ON March 3d Bishop Pendleton preached on "Use" (Psalm i, continuation of verse 3). On March 10th Candidate Keep preached on the subject "The LORD is the only God" (Exod. xx, 2). On March 17th Pastor Odhner preached on "The New Name" (Isaiah lxii, 1-4). On March 24th Bishop Pendleton preached on "The LORD'S Government from First by Ultimates" (Psalm i, 3). ON March 22d the congregation partook of a "feast of charity" at 182,5 North Street, Mr. and Mrs. Hicks acting as host and hostess. The tables were arranged around the large room on the first floor, cleared for the occasion, and they were taxed to accommodate the priests. Following the first toast, "The Church," Chancellor Benade announced that in response to the known and expressed wishes of the members of the recently-formed Particular Church in Philadelphia, he had nominated Bishop Pendleton as Pastor of that Church, and that Bishop Pendleton had consented to assume the functions of the office. After the hearty applause with which this announcement was received, and the singing of "Our Glorious Church," had subsided, Bishop Pendleton made a short speech, in which he stated his appreciation of the responsibility, and of the need for the use, both of the congregation and for himself; and that he hoped and prayed that the LORD would give him strength and guidance to perform it. From his knowledge of the members of this Church he recognized that the warmth of their greeting betokened more than a mere personal regard-that it looked to the use, which, being from the LORD and of the LORD'S operation in His Church, is the real thing to be regarded; and that therefore to Him all love and gratitude for its performance are to be directed. Yet it is also right and orderly to feel affection and gratitude to human instruments, and he therefore accepted and valued their expression toward himself, and hoped to retain the regard and confidence so expressed. He said that the relation was not wholly new-that pastoral work had been done ever since the institution of worship by the Academy in Philadelphia; but that heretofore there had been no organized Church, but only a congregation of persons attending the worship instituted by the Academy. This step, however, is one in the direction of development of distinction of uses, and hence of order. Every Church needs to be independent, in order to carry out and perfect its life. There would be continued progress and development of the Church order and uses now begun; and he prayed that the LORD would further the growth which he profoundly believed had been made. The second sentiment was introduced by the host with the remark that as this occasion of the Church was its evening "at home" he had therefore to propose, "The Home." The second stanza of "Our Glorious Church"-concerning Conjugial Love-was sung. Bishop Pendleton responding, said that the centre and soul of the home is Conjugial Love; for the life of the home, as of the Church flows from the marriage of good and truth in the individual, and in the union of two minds and souls in conjugial love. The uses of this love are internal, and regard the propagation and increase of good and truth, and hence of heaven as the external use of that love regards the propagation of human souls, and thus the increase of the Church and of Heaven. Secondarily and derivatively, in the home is the love of the offspring, the uses of which figure forth visibly the internal uses of conjugial love. In the uses of the love of offspring the consorts, whose particular uses are distinct, are here conjoined in the training and educating of children; and the exercise of these uses in common are the means of their mutual and joint progress in regeneration; for regeneration is effected in mind by uses. Remarks on the subject being invited. Pastor Schreck spoke on the particular phase involved in education of the children at home-the co-operation with the LORD in the formation of the will, which predominates in infancy and childhood. Some of the Editorial Notes in this issue of the Life present more fully the trend of his remarks. Pastor Price advocated latitude to children in non-essentials, only seeing to it that things deserving attention be met conscientiously with a firm and unswerving hand-but with the governing hand gloved, as it were. Pastor Synnestvedt concluded from his experiences that it was a mistake to leave children alone-to give them too much latitude. By request, Bishop Pendleton gave a resume of his last two lectures in the Saturday evening class on Education, the subject of which was "Innocence." Innocence, he said, means "not hurting," and, since all harmful doing is from self, innocence consists in being led, not by self, but by the LORD. It is therefore fundamental in that work which is of the LORD alone-the regeneration of man. Until man ceases to lead himself-until he has innocence-he cannot be regenerated. Mr. Pitcairn proposed the health of Bishop Pendleton as fully established pastor of the Philadelphia Church of the Academy, and made some appropriate and appreciative remarks, which were cordially applauded by the company. The "host and hostess" were-also toasted. After the dinner, which was a very happy and successful affair, the company went to the hall, where the remainder of the evening was spent in pleasant social intercourse. Huntingdon Valley.-ON October 9th a small private school was opened in the parlor of Mr. Chas. S. Smith, Huntingdon Valley, for the accommodation of the children whose parents had moved to the country, in anticipation of the removal of the Philadelphia Schools of the Academy. On Feb. 1st a large, commodious, and pleasant room was fitted up in Mr. Glenn's new house for the use of the school, about a mile from its former quarters, enabling the children to enjoy much more the sphere of a school. There are three children in the primary department, and three others about the age of ten years; and by communication with the school in Philadelphia there is an endeavor to keep the children up to their classes as far as possible. Berlin.- AT the Vesper service of Sunday, January 13th, the Rev. J. B. Bowers preached. IN the evening of January 14th he delivered a lecture on "The History of Astronomy" AFTER the lecture there was a social in celebration of "Founders' Day." Sentiments were proposed. The first was to "The Academy of the New Church," in response to which the pastor read Vice Chancellor Pendleton's response to the same sentiment a year ago, when this day was celebrated for the first time in Philadelphia. Mr. Bowers drew especial attention to that part of the Vice- Chancellor's speech which emphasized the importance of education. A truer view of things comes through knowledges, the importance education. Mr. J. Stroh gave a brief history of the education of mime Church in Berlin. We should thank those four men who, as founders, planted the seed which has since grown and become a tree bearing fruit which we can taste. The next sentiment was to "The Chancellor and Mrs. Benade." It was introduced by referring to its appropriateness, as the Chancellor was the most prominent instrument in the LORD'S hands for the establishment of the Academy. The Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist responded. He referred to the foundation of the Academy as being upon the Rock of Truth. The Academy had grown to a wonderful extent, and one of its branches is here where we have our nest. Several more impromptu toasts were drunk, and after a few dances the social was ended. SWEDENBORG'S Birthday, January 29th, was celebrated by both the school and the congregation. The school festival took place in the morning, and the chief feature was the unveiling of a huge portrait of Swedenborg. The Head-Master addressed the children, and at the proper time drew aside the cover and revealed time portrait, around which, in large letters, was inscribed "Em. Swedenborg Domini Servus," and around this, in turn, was a wreath in evergreen. Afterward there were games and other amusements, and the day's pleasures closed with a school dinner, which was much enjoyed by all. The congregation's festival took place in the evening. Several sentiments suggested by the occasion, were proposed. The event of the occasion was an account, given by Mr. Rudolph Roschman, of his visit to Philadelphia. The evening was spent in dancing. AT one of the educational classes lately the time was occupied by the Head-Master in showing the difference between the old text-books and the illustrated charts of lessons for primary classes in New Church schools. These charts were presented to the School by the Philadelphia Schools. London.- The celebration of the 207th anniversary of Swedenborg's birth took place, for the first time in the history of the Church in England, on January 29th. The School was granted a holiday on the occasion. The day previous, Head-Master Bostock gave an address to the scholars on the life and work of Swedenborg. The Church celebration took the form of a Feast of Charity. The Rev. E. C. Bostock read from The True Christian Religion. n. 433. The pastor had prepared an address on "the Home Life and Youth of Emanuel Swedenborg," but, owing to indisposition, it was read by Pastor Ottley. Mr. C. J. Whittington followed, speaking on "Swedenborg the Lover of Music" Pastor Ottley, who teaches in the school twice a week, gave an address on "Swedenborg the Scientist and Philosopher." After the singing of Psalm 5, the Rev. E. C. Bostock spoke on "Swedenborg the Theologian." The meeting was brought to a close by the singing of an "Ode to Swedenborg,"
64
Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITIAN. Mr. James Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W. PHILADELPHIA, APRIL 1895=125.
Title Unspecified 1895
CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL Note 49 The Spirit and the Letter (a Sermon) 50 Consolation (Exodus xvi, 13-36) 53 Meeting, in London of Priests of the Academy Of the New Church-Fourth Day 55 NOTES AND REVIEWS 58 A Bibliography of The Apocalypse Explained (Concluded) 59 A Review of the Second American Edition 60 A Vade-Mecum on the Holy Supper 62 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH: The Academy of the New Church 63 The Church at Large 64 BIRTHS 64 DEATH 64 published in the Life in 1802, and set to music for the occasion by Mr. Whittington. The speeches are given in extenso in The New Church Standard for March, and the reader is especially referred to them, as they are most instructive.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES
New Jersey.- THE Rev. C. H. Mann, Pastor of the Orange Society, is now in Egypt and starts for Palestine on the 23d instant. Massachusetts.- The Massachusetts New Church Women's Union met in Boston on March 11th. The subject of "Form and Color in Nature" was discussed. Miss Silver presented a review of the Rev. N. C. Burnham's book on Discrete Degrees. THE Boston Society has established an agency for the collection and free distribution of New Church literature. THE Hon. Albert Mason delivered, on February 24th, the fourth of a series of lectures now being given in the Church of the Boston Society. His subject was, "True Charity on the Divine Law of Use and its Application to Industrial Problems." THE Rev. T. F. Wright reports in the Messenger that at the request of four Unitarian Churches in localities quite separated, he gave them each a statement of the faith of the New Church. He looks upon this as one of the sequelae of the World's "Congress of Religions." THE Massachusetts Sunday-school Conference held its twenty-eighth annual meeting on February 22d, in the Church of the Brockton Society. The Rev. H. E. Goddard presided. The Rev. Mr. Smyth, advocated the teaching of the doctrine of Discrete Degrees to the scholars, with the aid of charts and diagrams.- The subject of a new singing book was discussed, and several papers were read, one by a lady-Reports were read from twelve schools. "The report of the Roxbury School showed unusual interest, reuniting from the Pastor's visit to the School has purchased the large "relief map" of Palestine, published by the Palestine Exploration Fond. An orchestra of ten members of the school accompanies the singing once a month.- The report of the Committee on Books and Materials was supplemented by the exhibition of a number of relics collected in Palestine by the Palestine Exploration Fund, of which Dr. T. F. Wright is Secretary.- The Committee on Normal Class reported the continued success of Dr. Wright in charge of the class, held weekly.- A paper by Mr. F. A. Dewson was read on the subject of securing the co-operation of parents. In the discussion which followed, Mr. Reed said that if the Sunday-school took the place of religious instruction in the home, it was wrong.- The Secretary of the conference stated that the net decrease of scholars for five years is fifty-five.- Addresses were given after recess.-Mr. Reed spoke of the duty of the teachers to teach from the Word according to the Doctrines of the New Church. THE Rev. Clarence Lathbury is leaving the Society at Fall River, of which he has been the Pastor for four years, to accept a call to the Elmwood Society and succeed the Rev. Thomas Otis Paine, LL. D. Maryland.- THE Ministers' Conference of the Maryland Association was held on February 21st, in the Church of the Wilmington Society. Papers were read, among them one by the Rev Frank Sewell on "The New Church and the Kindergarten." The paper 'showed that the present Kindergarten System is one of the results of the second Coming" Quotations from Swedenborg and Froebel, the founders of the Kindergarten System, "showed that even if Froebel did not take his ideas from Swedenborg. Swedenborg anyhow anticipated him in all his teachings that are of importance." THE annual meeting of the Maryland New Church Sunday-school Union was held at Wilmington on February 21st. Reports were received from seven schools. The Doctrinal Classes of the Baltimore German School are reading, among other works, The Wedding Garment.- The Baltimore Mission reported the average attendance of teachers and scholars as 76, within an average collection of 41 cents.- The Preston School has an average attendance of 17. The Christmas entertainment filled the church to overflowing.- An incident of the entertainment was a Christmas tree, from which every child, whether a member of the school or not, received a present of candy and fruits. This benevolent generosity suggests the question whether the children are taught to show their gratitude to the LORD for His gifts to them, and, if so, how they express it.- The Washington Colored- School reported an average attendance of 66. At the Christmas service each child received a present either from the teacher or from a fund contributed by white friends. A fund was also given for the purpose of buying shoes for the needy scholars. Ohio.- THE Rev. J. E. Bowers is at present making a three months' evangelistic tour in this State and Indiana, where work of the kind he is doing is greatly needed. There are many places where there are New Church people in these two States, but, unless evangelistic work is done by some one, the Church will gradually die out. The older members are passing away into the spiritual world, and the young people, their children and grandchildren, are being drawn into the sphere of the Old Church, or become indifferent to the things of religion altogether. A sad state of confusion, disorganization, and inactivity at present exists in two or three places where formerly ministers were regularly employed. On Tuesday evening, Match 12th, Mr. Bowers delivered a lecture to an attentive audience of fifty, on "The Second Coming of the LORD," at Chandlersville, Muskingum County, O. Illinois.- THE subject of "Revivals" was introduced by the Rev. L. G. Landenberger at the meeting of the Illinois ministers in January. He had just come from a series of services in Pittsfield, and the experiment was sufficiently satisfactory to confirm him in the conviction that special services would prove useful in many places in "strengthening the things that remain," and in reviving those that "are ready to perish." The opinion was expressed that sermons not lectures, the preaching of the Word and Doctrine rather than the argument of a thesis was to be encouraged. Nebraska.- THE Rev. O. L. Barler writes that there are very few New Church people in this state-not enough to pay railroad expenses of a missionary-and he has received no support for nine years past for his church work. He has done what he could gratuitously, as opportunity offered, but, of course, has not been able to give his time to the work. He has been through more than a dozen States the past year and has done little church work. Not long ago he held a service and baptized five children in Omaha. The company consisted of about 12 or 15 persons, all Danes from Denmark. The singing was in the Danish language, but all could speak and understand English save the grandmothers.
ENGLAND.
London.-OWING to sickness, the Rev. Thomas Child has been obliged to seek rest at Ventnor. Bolton.-ON February 21st a Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor was commenced in connection within the Society here. It seeks to give every young person in School or Church something to do in order to keep them in the Church. Southport.- THE Rev. J. F. Buss, it is understood, offers to educate a limited number of boys on New Church lines under daily New Church influences.
Title Unspecified 1895
Vol. XV, No. 5. PHILADELPHIA, MAY, 1895=125. Whole No. 175.
Title Unspecified 1895
There are three degrees of Innocence, which are distinguished in the Word by sucklings, infants, and little children.-A. C. 430.
Title Unspecified 1895
WOMAN is celestial and man spiritual, for in her everything proceeds from the will, which disposes and rules her whole mind, even all her thought; while with the man, the understanding predominates, it disposes his mind, even his affections, so that his will is intellectual; therefore in the true conjugial relation the wife becomes the will of the united and perfected man, while the husband becomes the understanding. Her will is in the husband's understanding, and his understanding forms her will. The one is the other's and in the other, mutually and reciprocally.
Title Unspecified 1895
IT is from this circumstance, that, during the period that the will is being formed by the implantation of celestial remains, the wife and mother has almost exclusive charge of the child, and that, when the time comes for the understanding to be formed by the implantation of spiritual remains, the father has charge of the child, if a boy.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE period for the implantation of celestial remains lasts from birth to the tenth year, and the period for the implantation of spiritual remains, from the tenth to the twentieth year. "Goods of three kinds are signified by remains, namely, goods of infancy, goods of ignorance, and goods of intelligence. Goods of infancy are those which are insinuated into man from his first nativity up to the age in which he begins to be instructed and to know something; goods of ignorance are when he is being instructed, and begins to know something; goods of intelligence are when he can reflect what is good, and what is true. The good of infancy is from the infancy of man up to the tenth year of his age; the good of ignorance from this age up to his twentieth year; from this year he begins to become a rational man, and to have the faculty of reflecting upon good and truth, and of acquiring the good of intelligence" (A. C. 2280).
Title Unspecified 1895
SINCE woman's affectional sphere is the one in which celestial remains are implanted most fully, the first six or seven years of a child's life are, properly spent at home, where love reigns, where the atmosphere is one of peace and domestic tranquillity-at home, in immediate contact with the mother. When in the seventh year, the child is placed in school, the womanly sphere should still surround it, until the tenth year. In other words, classes composed of children from seven to ten years of age should be taught by women, and the instruction which they impart should be dominated by the idea that, their charges are still in the celestial epoch of life. As the eleventh year approaches, the state of the boy commonly manifests to the observant parent the need of supervision by a man. In the eleventh year, the child, if a boy, ought to be transferred to the care of male teachers, for now the formation of the understanding becomes predominant. The boy "is being instructed, and, he begins to know something."
Title Unspecified 1895
IN our April issue, we referred to Bishop Comenius, one of the earliest and most eminent of rational educators, and we refer to him again as a guide in the present consideration of the subject. His plan recognizes three grades of schools: the Mother- School, the Common School, the College, and the University. By the "mother-school," he meant the education and training of infants where they are with the mother. In order to aid mothers and nurses in this most important work, he wrote Informatorium, a valuable little manual, in which he instructs them how to treat infants and what to teach them. Although much of the teaching in the Informatorium is tinged by the Doctrine of the Moravian Church, of which he was a Bishop, and although it contains other matter which is not quite in accord with the spirit of New Church education, its contents for the most part express true principles.
Title Unspecified 1895
"THE body, being taken from the earth, remains earth upon the earth, and again returns to earth: but the soul, as it has been given by God, and is from God, has its life in God, and is again to incline to God." "He who would be of use to God and man, must be practiced in the fear of God, morals, and good free arts." In accordance with principles like these, Comenius addresses the "Christian reader," and seeks to impress upon her the preciousness of children who are entrusted to parents by God as a great and noble gem, and leads them to reflect on the reason why such a trust is committed to them, and what it is to lead to. Proceeding next to show that children can be nothing, and cannot develop, without practice, he devotes the bulk of his Informatorium to expound wherein children are to be gradually practiced from infancy, and how this is to be done so that they may attain the desired proficiency as they reach the sixth year: how their health is to be preserved, and how they are to be practiced in health: how they must be practiced in their understanding: how they must be practiced in deed and work: how they must be practiced in expressing themselves well: how they must be practiced in virtues and good manners: how they must be led to the fear of God. He closes the treatise with the consideration how long children ought to remain in the "mother-school," and how they are to be prepared for entering the common school. It will be seen here that all the planes of life, the existence of which is taught in the Doctrines of the New Church, are here provided for the material, the natural, the scientific, the civil, the moral and the spiritual.
Title Unspecified 1895
TO understand how, in all these "practices," remains A may be implanted, it will be desirable to refer again to the teaching concerning remains.
66
Remains are the goods and truths which man has learned from infancy from the Word, and which have been thus impressed upon the memory; they are also all states arising therefrom, as states of innocence, states of love toward parents, brothers, instructors, friends, states of charity toward the neighbor, also states of mercy toward the poor and needy.
Title Unspecified 1895
REMAINS are stored up in all of the "practices" enumerated in the above summary of Comenius's Informatorium. As the mother feeds and washes and clothes her infant with her own hands, and, indeed, feeds it at first from her own body-in all these activities the sphere of her motherly love going forth from her, the affection which is displayed in the gentleness of her touch and of her speech, will affect the sensory of the infant, and thus enable the celestial angels, in whose midst it is, to insinuate of their own celestial goods, which will thus be stored up by the LORD as Remains for future use. And as the infant learns gradually to take a share in the care of its body, the mother's love will call forth a responsive love from the infant, whose every state Is carefully treasured up for future use in the interiors of the child's mind.
Title Unspecified 1895
SO with the instruction concerning the sensual rudiments of the science of its surroundings, concerning its own doings and infantile work: if an infantile charity breathes through it all the occasions for remains are manifold. In the instruction and practice of virtues, and in the leading to the fear of God, every step is directed toward the implantation of remains by impressing upon the memory cognitions of good and truth from the Word of the LORD.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN this connection we are forcibly reminded of Pestalozzi's well-known and charming book, Leonard and Gertrude, where, in the busy home-life of the poor mason's family, the chapter of the Word which had been read during the morning's devotions furnishes the texts which are committed to memory while the children are spinning and, attending to their domestic occupations. Such a spirit of piety and of active love for the Word might be copied with profit by New Church mothers. A mother can talk freely to her children about the Word and repeat texts from it, even while she is busy with her work, and often the Word taught in this manner takes a livelier hold the children's minds, since it proceeds from a warm affection and comes to them as part of the domestic life.
Title Unspecified 1895
By sucklings, infants, and little children are also-signified three degrees of love, which are, tender love, as of a suckling toward the mother or the nurse; love, as of an infant toward parents and charity, as of a little child toward the instructor-A. C. 430.
STREAM OF PROVIDENCE. PENDLETON 1895
A SERMON
"And all that he doeth shall prosper.-PSALM x, 3.
MAN does not live from himself, but from God; man neither thinks, wills, nor acts from himself, but from that which is prior to himself, which is the Divine in the Heavens and above the Heavens. The confirmed belief that man, lives from himself is spiritual death; for it, separates man from God, who is Life Itself, and thus the Source of all life. The perception of this living, eternal truth, that man lives from God, and lives only when he is conjoined with God by love, is the human itself with man; and having this, he has every spiritual quality and virtue, that is possible to men or angels; he is wise, he is happy, he is free, he is a man in the image of God; of such a man it is said, "All that he doeth shall prosper." Prosperity is the wisdom man acquires in doing uses, the uses which are done by perception from the LORD. Perception from love is the life of all use; without perception from love, `which is love to the LORD, no use is ever performed, which, is use in itself, though it may appear like use to those who look merely at the external form, and do not see the internal essence. When use is done from perception, intelligence grows, the mind expands, wisdom is formed, and man becomes a garden, a heavenly paradise, the trees of which bear all manner of fruit; and the leaves of the trees never fall or wither away, and the signs and tokens of prosperity are on every hand. The man's doing is then the LORD'S doing by him, and this is the reason it is said, "All that he doeth shall prosper;" for that which the LORD doeth ever prospers, there is no mistake or error in that which is done from Infinite Love by Infinite Wisdom, whether it be done immediately from the Divine, or mediately by man; but the things that are done by man from himself never prosper, for the LORD is not in them, however much they may take on the appearance of prosperity; `in such a doing are the seeds of misery and death, the fruit turns to ashes upon the lips, the leaves wither away and perish, and the garden becomes a desert in very barrenness. The man who lives from the LORD, and loves to be led by the LORD, and not by himself, lives in the stream of Providence, and so living is led ever onward in the paths of prosperity and peace. What is the stream of Providence? It is important to see and know this stream, that man may enter into it, and be led by its mighty current to the haven of rest, the heaven of peace and safety. The expression occurs in the Writings of the Church, and the word translated stream may also be translated river-the river of Providence; the comparison is with a mighty river, flowing peacefully and silently onward, silent but irresistible; woe to him who tries to stem its tide. A stream spiritually considered, is influx, and in the doctrine of influx we are given light upon the subject of the stream of Providence. The influx of the LORD is from first things into ultimates, and by ultimates into the things which are intermediate; a proper understanding of this law of influx will lead us to see what is meant by the stream of Providence, a stream which flows out from the LORD, or which flows down from Him, into ultimates, and which reacts in ultimates, and thus returns again to Him, and in its return bears man in its bosom, bears him upward into heaven into conjunction with the LORD-the man who brings himself into order, and thus places himself in that stream. Man is regenerated, and Heaven is formed, according to this law of influx, namely, by the operation of the LORD from things first into things ultimate, and by things ultimate into that which is intermediate. The supreme necessity of order in ultimates will thus be seen, that a genuine plane of reception and reaction may be formed-order in nature, order in the civil state, order in the Church, order in the ultimates of the life of man; when there is such order, influx, is adequately received, and ultimates respond and react with that which descends by influx from the LORD, intermediates are formed, and man is regenerated and saved, is led upward from earth to Heaven; but when there is disorder in ultimates, influx from the LORD is not adequately received, ultimates do not respond and react with, but react against, that which inflows from the LORD, intermediates are not formed, but remain a barren waste, or are closed and sealed, and man is not regenerated, but in acting against the stream of Providence, is eternally lost or damned in Hell forever.
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The language of the Doctrine on this subject is, "The LORD when He operates, does not operate from firsts by mediates into ultimates, but from firsts by ultimates and thus into mediates; hence it is that the LORD in the Word is called the First and the Ultimate" (A. E. 1086). Before the LORD came into the world, ultimates with man in both worlds were in disorder, and thus the foundations, or planes of influx, were well-nigh overturned, or destroyed. The LORD therefore came into the world, by assuming the Human, that he might restore order in ultimates, which He did by making Himself the Ultimate, as He was the First-that is, He glorified His Human even to the very flesh and bones-and thus took unto Himself the power of operating from firsts by His own ultimates with man, and not by the ultimates which were man's own, and not His; and thus was established the uninterrupted stream of Providence, by which and on which man could be borne upward to the LORD, and be made happy in Heaven forever. By this restoration of all things, this bringing of all things into order in ultimates with spirits in the spiritual world, and with men in the natural world, Re established the eternal condition with the human race in which, "All that he doeth shall prosper." The influx and operation of the LORD is, therefore, both active and reactive; it is active from firsts immediately or directly into ultimates or lowest effects, and in ultimates or effects it is reactive, and thus returns again to its source, and in the return creates and forms all those things which are intermediate; and even the ultimates themselves, by this reactive, receive their form and order. This Divine Law of Influx is illustrated in the operations of nature, for the law is universal, thus all formation is according to it, whether spiritual or natural. The influx and operation of the sun is both active and reactive; it is active from, the sun itself and its fire, immediately or directly into the ultimate or lowest effect, which is the mineral kingdom; by its first reactive the minerals themselves are brought into order, and receive their form and color; the reactive continues, or ascends and returns, bringing into existence the vegetable forms in all their vigor of growth, and beauty of color; and afterward the animal forms in like manner, in a regular ascending series, or in a series of planes in the ascending order. The earth's atmospheres are formed according to the same law-that is, by the reactive force of the sun's operation on the earth. It is to be noted, however, that the reactive does not operate alone or by itself, but the active flows even into the reactive, and conjoins itself with it, and thus the active and the reactive are always together and act as one on every plane; in the vegetable kingdom, for example, the active of the sun operates upon the reactive ascending from the mineral kingdom, giving a more living form and beauty of color. This conjunction of the active and reactive on every plane-spiritual and natural-is fundamental or universal, and saves the mind from falling into the heresy of evolution; for the sensual mind of the evolutionist sees only the reactive, and thus rests In mere appearances; for while he may observe the active of the sun, he sees nothing and knows nothing of the active of the spiritual world, without which the reactive of nature is dead. Before leaving the subject of the active and reactive of the sun, let us observe that the active of the sun is not perceived, but its influx is felt in its reactive as heat, and is seen in its reactive as light, according to the universal law that all sensation is in ultimates, or that all sensation is in the plane of the reactive, resulting from the invisible active which inflows from above or from the source of action; and together with this law is the other co-ordinate law, that all motion appears to proceed from ultimates-that is to say, what is called motion is the plane of the reactive, resulting from the invisible active force which inflows from above or from the source of action. This law of sensation and motion, that they are in ultimates and appear to proceed from ultimates, is universal, whether on the plane of nature, or on the plane of the body, or on the planes of the human mind itself. And it is from this law that life appears in ultimates, and man knows of no other life so far as his self consciousness is concerned; and indeed, the reactive is what is called life. The appearance that sensation and motion proceed from ultimates, and that life is in ultimates and rises from ultimates, causes man to believe, when not instructed by Divine Revelation, and to confirm himself in the belief, that he lives from himself, or that he lives from nature; he calls by the name of action, and nature is his god-the theory of evolution has no other origin. The same law of influx, or of creative operation of the reactive from an active, may be illustrated by the brain in its action upon the ultimates of the body, and by its reaction from these ultimates forming all the intermediates, which are the muscular, vascular, and glandular systems; but we merely suggest it here without entering into a particular exposition of the subject, merely calling attention to the act that it is the same law, to which there is no exception whatever, either in the spiritual world or in the natural world. Now what is the bearing of all this upon the subject of Providence and the stream of Providence? The law of influx is also the law of, Providence; for by influx the LORD governs all things in the created universe, and this government is Providence; and, as has been already said, the stream of Providence is the influx of the LORD from Himself into ultimates, and the return by ultimates of that stream to Himself, forming in the return the things which are intermediate; but in respect to man, the stream of Providence is properly the return of the influx, for of this he is in a degree conscious, and he co-operates with it, when he lives according to order, and resists it when he lives contrary to order. The important point to which we have been coming, and which is vital to this whole subject, which is essential to the understanding of the subject of the Divine Government of the, LORD, which is the Divine Providence, is that the influx of the LORD, or the Divine Operation, appears to man in its reaction, or in its return; not in its active but in its reactive, not in its involution but in its evolution, not in its descent into ultimates but in its ascent from ultimates; it appears to him, or reveals itself to him, in the endeavor of life in created things to return to the Creator; man is therefore conscious of the influx from without or below, but is not conscious of the influx from within or above, giving the appearance that he lives from himself or from nature, and in this appearance the LORD provides for the liberty of man; for no liberty is possible to man unless he appeared to live from himself; but woe unto him who does not accept the teaching of Divine Revelation, that it is only an appearance that man lives from himself, that this appearance is but the reactive operation of the LORD, and that it is by the active in the reactive that man lives, and that both the active and the reactive are from the LORD, not one particle of either from man himself, but that he co-operates as of himself, and he thus lives as a man in the full exercise of human liberty, and human rationality, the merciful gifts of the LORD in the operation of His Providence.
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It is of supreme importance therefore that man see and acknowledge this law, namely, that the Divine Providence reveals itself to him in ultimates, especially in the ultimates which are outside of himself, which do note proceed from his own will, and over which he exercises no control. This is the law, and the man who can properly, grasp it, and live according to it, puts himself in the stream of Providence, of whom it is then said, "All that he doeth shall prosper." Let us state the law a little more fully: the Divine Providence reveals itself to man, or what is the same, the LORD makes His Presence known, and indicates His Will, in ultimate things, the things which are lowest and last in the Divine Order, in the things which appear and impress themselves upon the sensitive and conscious faculties of the body and of the mind, but not so much in the things which, man doth himself, the products of his own will and his own intelligence, as in the things which are not done by him, the things over which he has no control, which come to him independently of his own will and volition, and which he does not foresee or provide, still coming to him in such a manner that his liberty is preserved, and he is left free to reject that which is of the Divine Providence, free even to confirm himself in the belief or persuasion that there is no Providence, but that all is from chance or from blind fate. The things which come to man outside of himself, or outside of his own volition, are such as appear in the operations and conditions of nature, in the actions of other men, in the teachings of written Revelation, in the perceptions and thoughts which are given to him without any effort of his own; and the Divine Providence appears to man even in his own actions, but not so much before them as after them, especially in the series of operative effects and results which follow his actions. The Divine Providence of the LORD reveals itself, or the Divine operation makes itself appear, in the ultimates that are around him or within him, or in what is called his environment, external and internal, or in what are called the circumstances of his life, because sensation is there, visible motion is there, and conscious life is there, and the LORD always comes to man by that which be sees and knows, and of which he is conscious. This is the seed of truth, separated from the chaff, in the dogma of modern philosophy that a man's character is according to his environment; or in saying that circumstances make men. These things are true when it is seen and acknowledged that the Divine Providence forms the environment of man, and directs the circumstances by which he is surrounded, and governs them. The environment of man is nothing else than the ultimate sphere with which the LORD surrounds and encompasses him, and the circumstances are the doings of the LORD in his environment; happy is he who is able to read the LORD'S Will in them, for he will then flow with the stream of Providence and be made happy and prosperous forever. To be able to read and interpret aright the LORD'S Will in the ultimates of His Providence is of vital importance to the man of the Church, and his progress and prosperity, his growth in intelligence and wisdom, his future happiness and delight of life, depend upon it. The men of the Most Ancient Church were able to see the Providence of the LORD in all things which were around them, and they needed not a written Revelation to tell them of His Presence in His Mercy in the conditions and circumstances which surround them. But men in the course of time lost this preception of the LORD'S Presence, and it became necessary to reveal it to them, in a form most manifest and authoritative, namely, by a written Word, the letters and signs of which might strike upon their very senses-that is, the LORD appeared to them in ultimates prepared and provided by Himself, that there might not be lost, but might remain in the human race, an ultimate knowledge of Him. And in the fullness of time, the LORD Himself came into the world, revealed Himself as the Divine Ultimate; to the bodily sight and senses of men, fulfilling in Himself all the ultimates of His Word, making Himself, as He was the First, so also the Ultimate or Last. And He has in our day come again, revealing Himself anew as the Divine Ultimate, but now to the rational sight of man. And in so revealing Himself, in His several comings, in the ultimates of His Divine Sensual, Divine Natural, and Divine Rational, He forever provides that the ultimate knowledge of Him, and of His Presence with men, may not perish from the earth, and that men by the ultimates of His Revelation, may learn to know ever more and more, and learn to perceive ever more and more, not only the presence of the LORD in the ultimates of His written Word, but also His Presence and directing Providence, in all the ultimates of creation, and of human life. In order, therefore, that man may learn to see the Divine Providence in his surrounding conditions or environment, he must first learn to see the LORD in His written Word. He will then learn to read the LORD'S Will, both in His Word and in His works, and place himself under obedience to that Will. To see the Will of the LORD in the ultimate conditions of life in the world, after the seeing of that Will in His written Word, and in seeing, to set according to it, is, as has been said, of supreme importance to man, for all prosperity will attend him, just in the degree that he is capable of thus seeing the LORD and His doings in the conditions of nature and the affairs of men. Even natural men, who succeed in the things of the world, act unconsciously according to this law in a certain external manner. They do not call it Providence, nor do they believe in Providence, but with natural shrewdness they preceive a drift, or tide, or stream in the affairs of the world, and with the wisdom of the serpent they shape their course accordingly, and are thus led on to fortune and to fame; but when they succeed, they attribute it to themselves and their own prudence, or to luck, or chance, not knowing or believing that the Divine Providence is the all in all of it. With the shrewdness of cunning, or natural preception, they are able to place themselves in the external of the stream of Providence, and thus attain worldly success and prosperity; but they never enter into the internal of the stream of Providence which bears man upward and onward to Heaven, and to eternal prosperity in Heaven; and not being in that internal and eternal stream, they leave prosperity behind them when they leave the natural world, and in the other life they live in abject poverty.
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But let the man of the Church do internally what the man of the world does externally, or what he himself as a man in the world does externally-see the stream of Providence, or see Providence in the stream of human life, acknowledge it and love it, love to be led by it and not by his own will, love to follow all its indications, which reveal the Divine will to him, then all prosperity-natural and spiritual-will be his; and what is called prosperity, yet he will have in himself all the elements of prosperity, and thus be really prosperous, for he will be content with his lot, whatever it may be. It is an eternal truth, that he only is truly prosperous who is content with his lot; content with the dispositions of Providence for him; content with the environment and circumstances of his life; and then calm, peaceful, and undisturbed he is ever flowing onward and upward in the mighty and eternal stream of the Divine Providence.
Title Unspecified 1895
When man is an infant, and when he is in the childish age, he receives from the Lord something of innocence, charity, and mercy . . . which are conserved and called Remains in the Word, . . . which cause that when he becomes adult, he may be truly man.-A. C. 1050.
FOURTH TEMPTATION. 1895
EXODUS XVII.
IN the preceding chapter, in the internal sense, the third temptation was treated of, when good was lacking. Since good was then given them, there fore, in this chapter in the internal sense, the fourth temptation is treated of, when truth was lacking; for when man is gifted with good by the LORD, then he comes into the desire for truth and this desire is enkindled according to the lack of truth. This temptation is signified by the murmuring of the Sons of Israel because they had no water; therefore the truth of faith was given them by the LORD, which is signified by the water from the rock of Horeb. Then the combat of the false from evil against the truth and good of faith is treated of. That those who are in the truth and good of faith conquer when they look upward to the LORD, and they succumb when they look downward; this is represented by that the Sons of Israel conquered so long as Moses held his hands lifted up, and that they succumbed when he let them down.
THE LACK OF TRUTH.
(1-3.) THE life of heaven is to be led by the LORD through good. In order that man may come to this, good is implanted in him by means of truth, or, in other words, charity is implanted through faith. So long as this takes place, man is on the way to Heaven, but is not yet in Heaven. And in order that the Truths which are of faith may at that time be confirmed, and also be conjoined to good, mania let into temptations, for these are the means by which good and truth are conjoined. When, therefore, man is in good-that is, in the affection of doing good for the sake of good, thus for the sake of the neighbor-then he is elevated into Heaven, for he is in the Order of Heaven, and is led through good by the LORD. So, those who were of the spiritual Church progressed in spiritual life, "and journeyed all the assembly of the sons of Israel"-from the state of temptations as to good, "from the desert of Sin"-in agreement with the order of life according to which the life of Heaven is received; "according to their journeyings"-they being thus led of the Providence of The LORD, "at the mouth of JEHOVAH." And their interiors were set in order to undergo temptation as to truth, "and they encamped in Rephidim"-which truth, and recreation from it (effected by instruction in the truths of faith, and their reception) was lacking-"and there was no water for the people to drink." Hence those who were of the spiritual Church complained grievously against the Truth Divine, "and the people chode with Moses"-from their ardent desire for truth, "and they said, Give ye us water, and we may drink"-and the Divine Truth, inflowing into their thought, made answer, "and Moses said to them"-that they should be more moderate in their complaint, "Why chide ye with Me?"-since it was against the Divine, concerning Whose help they were in despair, "Why tempt ye JEHOVAH?" Their desire for truth grew, "and the people thirsted there for waters"-and they came into a greater degree of pain, "and the people murmured against Moses"-and asked, Why they were delivered from infestations, "and said, Wherefore is this thou madest us to go up out of Egypt"-so that from lack of truth everything of spiritual life expired? "to make to die me, and my sons, and my cattle, with thirst?"
TRUTH OF FAITH IS GIVEN BY THE LORD.
(4-6) The Divine Truth lamented interiorly, and interceded, "and Moses cried unto JEHOVAH saying"-for those who were in so grievous a complaint because they received no truth, "What shall I do to this people?"-for they were not far from doing violence to the Truth which is from the Divine, "yet a little and they will stone me." Help was to be brought, "and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-by their being led and taught, "Pass over before the people"-from the primaries of wisdom and intelligence, "and take with thee of the elders of Israel"-and by their being furnished with the Divine Power by which the falses had been dissipated, "and thy rod with which thou smotest the river"-and which was to perfect the mandate, "take in thy hand and go"-leading to the truths of faith which are in and from the LORD, "behold I am standing before thee there upon the rock in Choreb." They were to persist in asking Him, but from a humble heart, "and thou shalt smite the rock"-and from Him they would have the truths of faith, "and there shall go forth from it waters"-which would recreate them, and give them spiritual life, "and the people shall drink." And so it was effected by the primary truths, "and Moses did so unto the eyes of the elders of Israel." (7.) The quality of the state of this temptation, "and he called the name of the place Massah"-and the quality of the complaint, "and Meribah"-are evident from the complaint's being from grievousness of temptation which was so great that they nearly succumbed, "because of the chiding of the sons of Israel"-and from its being contrary to the Divine, concerning whose help they were in despair, "and because of their tempting JEHOVAH"- so that they were near believing that the LORD does not bring help to His own, "saying, Is JEHOVAH in the midst of us, or not?"
PREPARATION TO MEET THE ATTACK OF THE FALSE FROM INTERIOR EVIL.
(8-9.) The infernal genii who are described in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 8593 and 8622, who inflow, not into the truths, but, worse, into the goods of faith; never attack man openly, nor when he is vigorously resisting evil; but when it appears that man is about to succumb, then suddenly they are at hand, and impel him to fall entirely.
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So at this stage of the temptation of those who were of the spiritual Church, the false from such interior evil as these genii are possessed of, that is, false from the evil of the depraved will, not merely from the evil of the understanding, "and Amalek came"-attacked them while they were sustaining, this grievous temptation, "and fought with Israel in Rephidim." The Divine inflowed into Truth combating, "and Moses said unto Joshua"-that it should instruct truths for the combat, "Choose for us men"-against the falses from interior evil, "and go forth, fight against Amalek"-for the Truth Divine would be conjoined with the good of charity, and from this conjunction would inflow into the Truth combating, "to-morrow I, I stand upon the head of the hill"-from which conjunction and influx, truth combating would have power, "and the rod of God in my hand." (Concerning this see the explanation in A. C., 8595, 8598, 8599.)
THE COMBAT OF THE FALSE FROM EVIL AGAINST THE
TRUTH AND GOOD OF FAITH.
(10-13.) It was done accordingly as Truth combating was instructed by the Divine Truth, "and Joshua did as Moses said to him"-against the falses from interior evil, "fighting against Amalek"-and Divine truths in successive order, namely the Divine Truth immediately proceeding from the LORD, "and Moses"-the Divine Truth mediately proceeding from Him, "Aharon"-and, the Divine Truth again proceeding mediately through it, "and Chur"-were present in the good of charity, "went up to the head of the hill." During this conflict whenever the faith with those who were of the spiritual Church looked upward or toward the LORD, "and it was when Moses raised his hand"-then Truth combating conquered, "and Israel prevailed"-but when faith with them looked downward or from the LORD to self and the world, "and when he let down his hand"-then the false conquered, "and Amalek prevailed." The power of looking upward unto the LORD became deficient, "and the hands of Moses were heavy"-until Truth Divine in the ultimate of order, "and they took a stone"-was brought into correspondence with the Truth which is first or highest in order, "and put under him and he sat upon it"-and until the truths next in order, "and Aharon and Chur"-sustained the power of truth combating, "sustained his hands"-on all sides, "on one side one, and on the other side one." Then power had strength, "and it was, his hands were firm"-when that state came to an end," even until the setting of the sun"-and when the power of those who were in falses from interior evil was diminished, "and Joshua weakened Amalek and his people"-through Truth combating, "at the mouth of the sword."
IT IS TO BE PERPETUALLY REMEMBERED THAT THE FALSE FROM INTERIOR EVIL IS PERMANENTLY REMOVED.
(14-16.) The instruction was -given, "and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-that it is for a perpetual remembrance, "Write this a memorial in the book"-for Truth combating against that falsity to obey, "and put in the ears of Joshua"-that that false is to be utterly removed so that it shill no longer fight, "that destroying I shall destroy the memory of Amalek from under the heavens"-for, since it comes from evil genii who inflow into the hereditary evils of the old will, were their influx permitted into the men of the spiritual Church, the latter could by no means be saved, since they would prevert and utterly deprave the affections of good and truth. It is a matter for the holy of worship and of memory, "and Moses built an altar"-that the LORD will continually war and protect against those who are in the false of interior evil, "and called the name thereof JEHOVAH Nissi"-and because they will to do violence to the spiritual Kingdom of the LORD, "and he said, Because hand against throne of JAH"-therefore at the LORD'S Coming into the world, He from His Divine Power reduced them under the yoke, and cast them into hell, whence they can never arise, "war of JEHVOAH against Amalek from generation to generation."
Title Unspecified 1895
Although infants do not know what charity is, and still less what faith is, still the Lord is much more present with them than with adults, especially when the infants live among themselves in charity.-A. C. 1100.
MEETING, IN LONDON, OF PRIESTS OF the ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE FIFTH DAY.
THE deliberations of the Priests of the Academy at the fifth and final session of the London meeting, August 20th, were concerned with a practical question, the more clear differentiation of the offices of Pastor, and Head-Master of Schools, in the Church of the Academy, and with `establishing their precise relations to each other. If repetitions occur in the following abstract of the report of the meeting the reader will bear in mind I that it presents the thoughts of different speakers. The basis of the discrimination between the two offices is in their respective uses and functions. The Pastor is to teach doctrine from the Word and lead to the good of life. The Head-Master teaches the "scientifics of the Word and of the world, as a preparation of children and youth for the adult regenerate life. The Pastor is a teacher of adults. His use concerns the teaching of doctrine from the Word and leading to good, thus involving the regenerative life of adults. The Head-Master teaches children and youth, and his use concerns the teaching of scientifics, thus involving the preparation of the rational. The one deals with internal truths, the other with external truths. The Head-Master has to do with storing up remains following the storing of the remains of innocence in infancy; he considers truths which constitute remains preparatory to the period of regeneration. The Pastor has to consider the regenerate life. Both are governors, for both are of the Priesthood, the chief function of which is government. The Pastor is the governor of a particular Church; the Head-Master is governor of those who are to be of the Church, and his government concerns the formation of the rational and the development of the character. These general principles are the foundations of the discriminations that are to be made. It is well, perhaps, not to enter into the question of priority of use-as to which is most internal. "It has been held by some that the educational use is prior and most internal; but though the training of children is most important and most internal, it is not necessarily the most internal. With parents the most internal use is the development of the conjugial, for this makes one with their regeneration, which is of prime importance as concerns their own activity and use. In the conjugial relation it is not proper to consider whether the man or the woman be most internal.
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The pastoral office regards not only the uses of piety but also the more internal uses of instruction and education of adults. Worship itself includes instruction. Internal worship is life, and life is the performance of the uses of charity. Man is regenerated and saved by internal worship, and not by external worship, except as a means. External worship is a means to internal worship as an end, and, so instruction and education are means to an end. The pastoral use is to teach truth from the Word, and by truth to lead to the good of life, which is the highest end. The instruction which children receive is a means to prepare them to be led to the good of life. So in speaking of one thing or of another as being most important in the organization of the Church, it must not be carried further than the province to which it is related in the consideration. A use may be made as much of as is desired, but it should not be exalted in comparison with another and at its expense. The Divine end in all is the salvation of human souls. This is the work which the LORD Himself came on earth to accomplish, and this is the work which is represented continuously in the Church by the Priesthood, which was instituted for that end. That is the more interior end to be regarded. The Pastor is engaged in the duty of leading men to the LORD as the highest end of their life. This is also the indirect end in the work of the Head-Master, but his direct end is the preparation and storing up of means for that end. The relation of the two functions is that of end and means. The Academy has developed. It was formerly more particularly an educational society, but it has changed to a Church in a larger form. In one state of the Church a certain idea is dominant, and this is according to the need of the time. At a certain period of life the cultivation of a particular quality is insisted upon above all others as most important. But it does not retain this relative importance in successive development and advance. Early in the life of the natural body certain organs are developed which afterward almost disappear, their use having been performed. In education, at one time a certain branch of study is made prominent-essential; at another time another branch. It is important to recognize that as life, with the individual, under the government of the LORD, is a growth and development, so it must be with the life of the larger body of the Church. At one time it is necessary for us to see and to follow a certain doctrine as the most important. The LORD permits this, and He so presents it to us by influx into our minds. If we magnify it unduly it is because of something in us which makes that necessary. In the beginning we do not get a clear view of the balance of different things in the movement of the whole. Equilibrium comes only in time. Wisdom consists in the proportion which man "perceives in the inter-relation of things. The more of these relations a man perceives the wiser will he become. It is a matter of growth and elevation in wisdom. It is cause for congratulation that the administration of the affairs of this Church has been so free, that, in its growth whatever changes were necessary have been readily made. There is a tendency with human minds to run in grooves, but here there has been freedom to change with and according to growth. Where there is genuine zeal from an end of good, mistakes or partial and incomplete views will be comparatively innocent, and easily corrected or perfected. Man performs his use apparently of himself, and while he is in this appearance his use may seem to him of paramount importance-somewhat out of proportion; but if he is in the acknowledgment that he acts only as of himself, but really from the LORD, he will be humble and ready to acknowledge other uses which are superior, and which will have their time. This, taken as a doctrine of life, provides a balance for the correction of our natural imperfection in not being able to see more than one thing at a time. In its early states a church is necessarily occupied quite largely in seeing distinctions, and this must continue even afterward, for according to insight into distinctions is the growth of wisdom. It is said of the celestial angels that they are wiser because they see more distinctions than others. The more distinctness, the clearer the thought and perception. The Academy has to go on and see the distinctions involved in externals; not merely in natural externals, but also in spiritual externals. The LORD cometh with clouds to angels as well as to men. The preceding states are clouds; with the advance in wisdom the clouds part and the light shines through. These clouds are not such as to entirely obstruct the light, only to modify and moderate the light that is coming from the LORD all the time, in accommodation to our states of perception and reception. As the Church advances there will be more of this development and enlightenment in making distinctions, and we must be ready for it and not insist u on going back to what we have thought in the past. By recognizing distinctions' and by trying to carry them out, the relations of the offices of Head-Master and Pastor will become clearer and easier to manage; their functions will be less likely to interlace and so disturb. It is good and orderly for the two who fill those offices to work together, and they will grow in charity if they strictly regard each other's uses and avoid interfering with each other, for the sake of the LORD'S Kingdom. The relation of the Pastor to the people is direct, being a leading in the way to Heaven, and instruction in the interior things of regeneration. The Head-Master's duty is to prepare the children and youth for that Pastoral teaching; to prepare them to be led to the good of life. The idea of the Academy as an educational body has expanded so as to involve the education of adults also. Education is the use of the Celestial Heaven; it is love to the LORD and love to the neighbor, appearing in the ultimate. That is a general proposition which includes this particular; that instruction changes according to ages and states of reception. With children it includes those things of natural and spiritual knowledge which are to be of use to them in the progress of their life. When they reach a certain age the instruction is changed, the end to be accomplished remaining the same. At-a further age they are to be taught to apply the truths of their own lives. In first years they are governed by being held to strict obedience. Later on the same end is attained through their rational. The Doctrine of Series is applicable here. The series will be according to what is taken as the starting point, other things following in order. In the matter of education, in one series the education of adults is to be regarded as interior; the teaching of Doctrine is interior to that of scientifics. But there are other series. The teaching of the young will qualify all the teaching. It involves the bringing up of the whole family. The Academy will enter more and more upon the exposition of the Celestial Sense of the Word, and that is full of teaching concerning education.
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The subject appears everywhere in the Glorification of the LORD and the assumption of the Human-the gradual putting off of merely human states and the putting on of Divine states, from earliest infancy and onward. These are treated of in the Celestial Sense, and they everywhere present applications to the preparation, development, and regeneration of man. This central teaching will enter into and qualify all the teachings of the Pastor, and also of the Head-Master. Each must teach in freedom, following the Truth as the LORD gives him to see it. With both, the end in view is the salvation of souls. The Pastoral use is relatively the more direct carrying out of that end; the Head-Master's use is preparatory for it. Pastoral government is according to rational freedom-teaching the truth from the LORD, but leaving the people free to do as they please. Children cannot be so dealt with; they must be required to do certain things, by direction or command. Theirs is the government of the external man. The government of Heaven is that of the internal or rational man. The former is exemplified in the law given to the Israelites. The government of the teachers themselves is more interior and pertains to the head of the Church. He may have to exercise the function of government also in relation to parents as regards their children, in case of their getting out of harmony with the teachers and the very important, in order that in which their children are in school. Instruction in such cases is very important, in order that parents may come into a common understanding with the Head-Master in respect to matters of instruction and education, and so into co-operation with him. In such cases the Pastor and Head-Master might talk matters over and cooperate therein. In the case of each and of all, the faithful performance of use will bring illustration to see the use and progress in it. In the Academy, the Pastor, when he comes to deal with parents who have been trained in Academy Schools, will have to give more interior instruction to meet their needs, determining his instruction by what he can see and know of their states. Thus the work of the two offices is one; there is no real separation.
In conclusion the Priests present expressed their gratification with these meetings and a sense of the very great use they had performed, and a desire for more frequent occurrence of such opportunities. Permission was asked and granted for the publication, in New Church Life, of excerpts from the reports of these meetings. The Chancellor thanked the Priests for their attendance, and said they might rely on his doing all in his power to further the wish for more frequent meetings. It was on this occasion that Pastor Tilson presented to the Chancellor the Address from the Pastor, Council, and members of the Particular Church of the Academy of the New Church, in London, a report of which proceeding appeared in New Church Life for October, page 157. Psalm xxxii was sung, and with the Benediction the Priests' Meetings of 1895, in London, came to an end.
Title Unspecified 1895
When man is being regenerated, then truths and, goods are implanted by the Lord through cognitions in the celestials with which he had been gifted from infancy by the Lord.-A. C. 1555.
SELAV =QUAIL. 1895
APROPOS of the new translation of The Apocalypse Explained, a review of which appeared in the April issue of the Life, we are reminded of a communication that appeared in August, 1884, concerning "Selav," the name of the bird which was given to the Israelites for food at even-time in the desert. It was stated in that communication, "as a fact, that Swedenborg, in The Apocalypse Explained refers to them as quails," and then the following words were quoted (though without reference to the number): "From the signification of the term 'morning' in these passages, the reader will readily perceive what is meant where it is said respecting the quails and the manna, 'at even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread.'-Ex. xvi, 12, 13, 21." Unfortunately, the writer extracted his quotation from the English translation, if such it may be called. If this note should come to his eyes, he will probably be much surprised to learn that the word "quails" does not at all occur in this passage? The following is a literal translation of the words as they stand in the Latin: "From the signification of morning, it may appear what is understood by that in the morning it rained manna." Simply this, and nothing more. And this simple sentence the translator has padded and altered until its identity is well-nigh unrecognizable. The writer of the communication in the year 1884, continues, "there is also another place where they are spoken of as quail, but I am unable to find it at present." The "other place" does truly furnish "quail" as translation of "selav" It is to be found in n. 750 [e] where, after the explanation that by manna is signified spiritual nutrition, it, is said that "because they loathed this, there was given them flesh of quails [coturnicum] or selav, by which flesh natural nutrition is signified." This explanation will be of especial interest at this time to those who are reading the lessons in the Arcana as planned in the Calendar, where, in a lesson recently read, Selav is described as a bird of the sea.
Title Unspecified 1895
Infants . . . become rational in course of time by means of external and internal sensuals, as they are imbued with sciences and cognitions.-A. C. 1893.
MASSACHUSETTS MINISTERS AND THE OLD CHURCH. 1895
THE ruinous tendency of the lust of affiliating with the Old Church, and her institution's, begetting the phantasy that the New Church needs "to stand on an equality with other Evangelical Churches" (see communication to the New Church Messenger, page 294), is illustrated by a recent occurrence as deplorable as it is foolish. The question whether Newchurchmen were eligible for full membership in the Young Men's Christian Association was broached by a Newchurchman, and in reply the doctrinal tenets of that body, as set forth in the "Portland Resolution," were presented to him. This he laid before the Massachusetts ministers of the New Church, "and with the approval of the minister's reply was made that we could subscribe thereto reserving however the right of interpreting a certain part of the Resolution in our own way." Now mark what the Portland Resolution contains:
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"We hold those churches to be evangelical which maintaining the Holy Scriptures to be the only infallible rule of faith and practice, do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (the only begotten of the Father, King of kings, and Lord of lords, in whom dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and who was made sin for us, though knowing no sin, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree,) as the only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved from everlasting punishment, and to life eternal"
Here the destructive falsity of the Old Church concerning the Atonement, or the imputation of the Merit of Christ, is plainly stated. The only begotten Son of God took upon Himself the sins of mankind, and by suffering in His own person the penalty due to men for them, made satisfaction to the Father, and saves us from our well-merited punishment. This falsity-which involves the doctrine of a tri-personal God, denies to man free agency in spiritual things, destroys all truth concerning reformation and regeneration, and, in short, is the quintessence of Old Church theology-is approved by a body of New Church ministers! This is a startling, an astounding fact. It is pleaded, in extenuation, that the ministers reserved to themselves "the right of interpreting a certain part of the Resolution in their own way," and that this is the part referred to? If anything, such a reply places the Massachusetts ministers in a light still worse. Interpretation is the discovery and explanation of intended meaning. Interpretations of a writing may vary, if the meaning be not plain, and the author remain silent as to the precise meaning which he has intended. But the above quotation from the "Portland Resolution" gives in unmistakable words the false teaching of a false, Church, nor is there, even in the minds of the Massachusetts ministers, any question as o the meaning intended. Can an honest man interpret a known falsity, in such a way as to make a truth of it? Must one not resort to spiritual jugglery to do this? And what a sin is this! "Of the vine of Sodom is their vine, and of the fields of Gomorrha; their grapes are grapes of gall, clusters, of bitterness are theirs." No interpretation can make this fruit different, for it is of a corrupt stock. For Newchurchmen to accept or approve of the vicarious atonement, with the proviso that they may "interpret it in their own way," is to enter the house of Satan with the reservation that they may clothe him with a robe of white. It is to approve of a virulent poison with the right of sugar coating it and calling it by some innocuous name. Can we not see in such an action as that of the Massachusetts ministers, the Dragon's pursuit of the woman who brought forth the man child? Suppose the idea carried out. Suppose men of the Old Church and men of the New Church consociated under an agreement, that, while on the one hand it may be believed that Christ bore our, sins and took them and their penalty away by His suffering on the cross; on the other hand, this may be "interpreted" to mean the opposite. What internal cohesion can exist under the circumstances? Will not the external uses that induce the apparent union be but as a bond that enwraps two opposing forces? And what is the inevitable result? "The faith and imputation of the New Church cannot possibly be together with the faith and imputation of the former or still subsisting Church. And because there is such a discord and disagreement between the faith and the imputation of the two churches, there is a complete heterogeneity, wherefore if they were together in the mind of man, such a collision and conflict would ensue that everything of the Church would perish, and man in spiritual things would fall either into a delirium or a swoon, whence he would not know what the Church is and whether there be any Church, etc."-(T. C. R. 648). The quality of the Church is according to the acknowledgement of the LORD in the truths of faith which are from Him. But where the virulent and destructive falsity of the Old Church-to combat and overcome which, the LORD Himself came into the world-is "approved" by the ministry of a church, with the reservation that they may "interpret it in their way," what is the quality of such a Church? Must not the satans of hell laugh for very glee at their ability so to seduce the ministers of the New Church, and must not sorrow and sadness overtake the angels of heaven?
Title Unspecified 1895
With boys the Rational appears, but it is not the rational, only some initiament of it, which is known from this, that Reason is with adults and the old.-A. C. 1893.
STEPHEN PENNY. 1895
THE FIRST READER OF THE WRITINGS OF THE NEW CHURCH.
THE FIRST name, in the history of the New Church, of a receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines that were revealed through the servant of the LORD, Emanuel Swedenborg, is that of an Englishman, named Stephen Penny. The first volume of the Arcana Coelestia was published by Swedenborg, at London, in the year 1749, which date thus marks the ultimate beginning of the Revelation of the LORD in His Second Coming. The same year marks also the beginning reception of this Revelation among men on earth, as may be seen from the following letter addressed to John Lewis, Swedenborg's printer in London, and inserted by him in the advertisement of the English translation of the second volume of the Arcana Coelestia:
"DARTMOUTH, October 15th, 1749. "MR. JOHN LEWIS, "Sir:- Accidentally reading the advertisement of the Arcana Coelestia, excited by the oddness of the title, I presently ordered my friend in London to send me one. The extraordinary degree of pleasure the reading of it has given me, and the yet more expected from what more is to be published, induces me to request advice, as often as any new publication happens, which apprehend to be designed annually. My reason for troubling you is, because I very rarely see any of the public papers, and, consequently, future advertisements, which, I hope, wilt excuse me. "I have long ardently wished to see the historical part of the Old Testament, which seems only to regard the Jewish dispensation (and upon that account is too lightly regarded by the major part of the present Christian world), proved to be as delightful, instructive, and as necessary for the knowledge of Christians as the new. But the illuminated author, who-ever he is (is it Mr. Law?) must expect a considerable army of gown men to draw their pens against him; it is a blessing their power is prescribed within impassable bounds. "The favor of a line in answer to know what dependence I may make upon you, will very much oblige, Sir, "Your most humble servant, STEPHEN PENNY "P. S. Perhaps the author was concerned in the publication of Mr. Hutchinson's works? His he published any other works, and at what price?"
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It is to be noted that Swedenborg published the Arcana Coelestia, and many other subsequent works, anonymously. William Law and John Hutchinson were contemporary English writers of Theological works of a mystical tendency. The short letter of Stephen Penny is the first cuckoo note of that eternal spring which the reception of the Heavenly Doctrines has begun to establish in human minds. It is significant that this first voice of acceptance of the newly revealed truth came from one of the English nation, which, as we know, holds the central position among the Christians in the spiritual world. It is interesting, also, to note the tone of in dependent thought in spiritual things, and the marked affection for the Word of God, which characterize the writer. These rare the best traits of the English mind, and these made the establishment of the New Church in England a century before its establishment in any other European nation. We possess but little further information respecting Mr. Penny, and his subsequent life. It has been surmised that he was the first means of introducing the knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines to his friend, Mr. William Cookworthy. In the year 1769 he published at Bristol, where he held the office of "accomptant," a little work entitled Letters on the Fall and Restoration of Mankind;" addressed to all the serious part of every "denomination." This volume has been spoken of as the first collateral work on New Church Doctrine. In the same year he published a poem under the title An Incentive to the Love of God, from a view of His Goodness in the creation and redemption of Man, to which he added an essay On the Happiness of Love. It is probable that Stephen Penny introduced the Doctrines of the New Church to other persons in Bristol, which city was among the earliest places, where the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem obtained any disciples. The year of Stephen Penny's removal from this life is not known, but he probably passed away before the more general establishment of the New Church began to be effected in the year 1783. Through the Last Judgment in the spiritual world in the year 1757 there was established a New Heaven out of all such Christians as in the other life had embraced the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. Within this universal New Heaven, and as the heart and lungs of it, a distinct Heaven has undoubtedly been formed out of those who in this life have accepted these same Doctrines, and have ultimated their faith in a life of love and use. May we not dare to hope, one blessed day to be permitted to join the great and glorious gathering of true-hearted men and women of the New Jerusalem, who, during the course of the past hundred years or more have assembled there, and among them, as one of their earliest members, the first known reader of the Writings of the New Church, our friend, Stephen Penny!
Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE greater part of the March issue of The Star in the East is devoted by the Editor and late Pastor of the Elm Street Society to the presentation of his grievances against that society.
Title Unspecified 1895
THOSE of our readers who are especially interested in the science and understanding of education will find an exceedingly valuable contribution to the literature on this subject in an essay on "The Storing up of Remains," in the March number of the English New- Church Magazine. Copies of this number can be ordered through the Academy Book Room at fifteen cents apiece.
Title Unspecified 1895
BY the energy of its author, Dr. Ellis's work, Skepticism and Divine Revelation, continues its pioneer work among the nations. The Norwegian translation, by Pastor Boyesen, of Stockholm, is now completed, and will be presented to all clergymen in Norway at the expense of the author. Pastor Boyesen, who has completed also the translation of The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrines, has begun a translation of The Doctrine of the LORD into the same tongue.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. F. W. Dahlmann, of whose conversion to the New Church mention has been made in these columns, is an author of tales, and turns his reputation in this direction to some account by publishing Das Echo, a German magazine of continued stories, in which he introduces New Church doctrine. The current romance, "The Molly Maguire," is entertaining, but its incidents are not the most lofty. Still it may appeal to a certain class of readers who may be led by the author's frank references to the Doctrines of the New Church, to embrace them, and the venture is worthy of encouragement.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE New Church Messenger of April 3d gives a brief account of the "Woman's Bible," upon which a committee of women have been already engaged six years. The title-page of the work is said to be "The Woman's Bible. All that relates to woman in the Old and New Testaments, with commentaries; by a committee of English and American women." The leader of the movement, Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, says that the five books of Moses are ready for publication. "The plan is now that the revision shall assume a public form, and later be shaped by Hebrew and Greek scholars. No man will have a hand in it." The idea originated with Mrs. Stanton, who found "that the worst foe we had was the mistranslation of the Bible, which took away the self-respect of woman and made her a slave to man"
Title Unspecified 1895
A CORRESPONDENT in the March issue of The New Christianity writes on the subject of "An Everlasting Hell." He says: "Take any single individual who is supposed to make the goal of his life such a hell-what possible motive of benevolence . . . could ever have prompted a good and almighty God to create him? The idea is inconceivable to a spiritual rational [?] mind." The correspondent overlooks entirely the truth that man has freedom, and without it he could not live and be a man. It is acting from this freedom that man chooses Hell for his abode, for the LORD predestines all to Heaven. Because the letter of the WORD is full of appearances which are opposite to the truth, the correspondent believes that this is in a great measure true of the Revelation through Swedenborg. This is convenient because it will admit of the plain in o the doctrines on the eternity of the hells being disposed of as an appearance. While the writer believes that what Swedenborg says is true-namely, that he received the Doctrines from the LORD alone-yet the object, as he says, of the revelation being to introduce rationality into religion, therefore man must use his rationality in deciding what is true and what is only the appearance of truth in that revelation. There is the greatest difference in acquiring rationality from revelation and in bringing a rationality to decide what to receive and what to reject. The latter rationality is, in reality, self-derived intelligence, which counterfeits true rationality.
Title Unspecified 1895
New Church Messenger soberly proposes celibacy to the consideration of young candidates for the ministry. It raises the question whether, "in view of the circumstances and the urgency of the case, it would not be permissible" for a young minister to "sacrifice" himself as regards marriage, "not, of course, as a final good, or as a method to be followed in a state of order, but only with the view to the necessities of the cause of the Church." The question, it maintains, "is worth considering." Strange, that any Newchurchman, and above all, any New Church teacher, should fail to see that the first necessity of the cause of the New Church is the full establishment of conjugial love.
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Strange, that marriage, in his conception, should rest upon self-interest. Renunciation of marriage does not mean a self-sacrifice on the part of the young man-it means the sacrifice of the happiness of man and woman; it means depriving the angels of so much happiness, for heaven rests upon happy marriages, and heaven is made more heavenly, full, and complete by them. The strange state of mind is further revealed in the following words: "Perhaps there are some who have beloved companions and excellent families, but who, in view of what they have all passed through in the ministerial work, nevertheless feel to say, 'Had I my life to live over again, I would not marry, but leave myself free to do the work which the Church so much needs.'" The writer adds, "This may be a temptation"-rather, an infestation, yet he entertains the thought to the extent of publishing it! Since marriage is a human relation, about which, above all else, the Divine Providence is most solicitous, the advocacy of intentional celibacy as a condition to further the cause of the Church is a virtual denial of the Divine Providence, and a substitution therefor of one's self-derived prudence, based upon fallacious appearances. Wesley is referred to as an illustrious example of a celibate who established a Church (though even he married in his forty-ninth year, a widow with four children); yet Luther likewise established a Church, and this though he was a married man, having entered into marriage in order thus to substantiate his rejection of celibacy in principle and in practice. The Messenger might with greater show of force refer to the whole Roman Catholic clergy, in illustration of its half-hearted proposition, without making it any more reasonable. When it is remembered that the sphere of celibacy infests heaven, while marriage attracts it; when it is remembered that the LORD is the High-Priest of His New Church, and that His Providence is most particularly active in all things that regard marriage, it will be seen, without further argument, that in the New Church the question of intentional celibacy for ministers, because of the imagined "necessities of the cause of the Church," is an infestation from hell, and that when it arises it should be entertained not one moment, but should be dismissed at once with a decided NOT "worth considering."
Title Unspecified 1895
The Natural from first infancy and childhood takes its quality from the things which inflow from the world by means of the external sensuals.-A. C. 4612.
CONJUGIAL LOVE IN SWEDISH. 1895
"Vishetens Fornojelser angoende Aktenskapliga Karleken, hvarefter folja Galenskapens Valuster angoende Horiska Karleken. Af Emanuel Swedenborg, Svensk." Translated from the original Latin of 1768, by the Rev. C. J. N. Manby, Stockholm. The New Church Publication Company, 1895, pp. 609; bound in cloth and gold.
THE complete publication of this inspired work will be most welcome news to all Swedish Newchurchman, who have waited for it since the year 1883, when the first part (about two hundred pages) was issued. The importance of the present edition may be realized from the fact, that it is really the first appearance of an adequate translation of Conjugial Love in Swedenborg's mother-tongue, the former edition, of 1852, being so disfigured by mis-translations, poor language, editorial mistakes, and printers' errors as to be almost unreadable. Regarded in any way, the new edition excites nothing but affections of gratitude, in the first place, to the LORD, Who has now completed this Revelation concerning Conjugial Love to the people of the North, where the night has been so long; secondarily, to His human instruments, the translator and the publishers. The binding is substantial, and its color suggestive of the contents. The paper and the printing are excellent, and the price very low, considering the limited range of the probable circulation. The translation itself is what might have be expected from Mr. Manby's previous work. It has never been surpassed by any translator within the New Church, in Sweden or abroad. It portrays the utmost fidelity and exactness, and yet is easy and readable. But exactness is carried to an extreme when so many words are inclosed in brackets because they do not occur in the original when yet the sense renders them necessary in the translation. This is an old habit of this translator, but an error of judgment which may readily be forgiven. The task of the English translator is easy, compared with that of the Scandinavian, who has at his service but a small vocabulary, and this poor in abstract expressions. Thus there is, in Swedish, no word for "Charity" except "Love to the neighbor," or for "affection" except "love," "feeling," or "inclination." Nor does the nature of the language easily permit the coining of new and readily understandable words. This poverty is instanced in the rendering of the word "Conjugial," which is translated "Aktenskoplig," which latter includes the ideas of "genuineness," rather than that of "conjunction." It is to be hoped that as charity and conjugial love increase in the North, linguistic freedom will follow. Some of these difficulties the translator has surmounted by the introduction of foreign words, as in the case of "Konkubinat" for "Concubinage;" others by reviving obsolete words, such as "Mokrankning" for "Defloration," and "Lonska-lage" for "Fornication." The Latin word "Fornicatio" is derived from "fornex," a vault, or underground brothel, and the old Swedish expression "lonska-lage," or "lying-secret" is thus a good equivalent. Mr. Manby has furnished the present edition with numerous foot-notes, containing explanations or criticisms of the Latin text. All of these are offered in a reverential spirit, and would be of great value to future translators into other tongues, were the Swedish language better known. In many cases, also, he follows the original, where dome of the English translators have deviated or "improved" (?) on the text. One instance of this occurs in no. 108, where it is said that Conjugial love after the nuptials "faces suas mutat," which both Mr. Clowes and Mr. Searle translate "changes its aspect," reading facies instead of faces, while Mr. Manby renders it "changes its torches," and this correctly, as may be seen from the context. It is so translated in that most creditable English translation, the so-called "Boston Edition" of Conjugial Love. A puzzling question arises in translating no. 263, where a devil is described as "having his face full of pustules as of a burning fever, his eyes cruel, and his breast swelling in rhombum." The English translators beg the question by rendering, this "swelling immensely," while the Swedish solves it by translating it with "swelled into [the form of] a flounder," at the same time stating, in a foot-note that "the word rhombus evidently has this meaning with Swedenborg, as may be seen from The True Christian Religion, xi. 381, where 'catching flounders and shell-fish' [rhombos et conches] is spoken of." The Lexicon gives, as the only alternative, "a parallelogram having equal sides, but not having right angles." Here again the superiority of the Boston Edition is shown, which has "swelling into a rhomb."
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The New Church in Sweden is to be congratulated upon the possession of so faithful, scholarly and skilled a translator as Mr. Manby, and it is to be hoped that he may long be kept busy in this all-important work. The addition of a detailed index, such as that which is found in the latest English edition, would have been of great value in this publication, especially as there is not any sort of index or concordance to the Writings in the Swedish tongue.
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
RELATION OF THE ARGYLE SQUARE SOCIETY TO THE GREAT EAST CHEAP SOCIETY. JOHN PRESLAND 1895
TO THE EDITOR 0F NEW CHURCH LIFE.
Sir:- A paragraph on page 43 of New Church Life for March, criticises, as "hardly accurate, historically," a statement of the pamphlet published in connection with the recent jubilee of Argyle Square Church, London, that the church "was built by the Society of the New Church, founded at Great East Cheap in 1787, which had worshiped since August 7th, 1803, in Friar's Street;" the ground of objection being that "the Society in Friar's Street was formed by a secession of a majority of members from the parent Church" As, however, the members who thus separated in 1792 numbered more than a hundred, while only six remained at Great East Cheap, the change was less the secession of a section than the removal of the society, effected for reasons which they then deemed imperative, which no impartial judgment of the circumstances as recorded can now condemn as trivial. This estimate of the situation is confirmed, moreover, by the fact that the majority retained the custody of the sacramental vessels-including the cup employed at the first celebration of the Holy Supper in the New Church, on the 31st of July, 1787; which is still employed at every communion service at Argyle Square Church-and of the Minute Book, while the Register of Baptism was afterwards voluntarily delivered to them. But the main support of the claim to primogeniture of the Argyle Square Society is the undoubted fact that it alone preserves an unbroken record of continuous existence as an organized Society of the New Church, from its original establishment in Great East Cheap. Thus the Rev. Robert Hindmarsh, in his invaluable Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church, while claiming for the remnant left at Great East Cheap only that they "kept themselves together"-after the abandonment of the chapel-"by meeting at each other's houses, till the year 1796, when ground was purchased for the erection of a new place of worship in Cross Street, Hatton Garden," testifies of the Society "which had branched off from the original stock" that "they were for some time the only Society in London that exercised public worship according to the principles of the New Church" (p. 166). The Rev. Manoah Sibly, also, in the well-known and vigorous "Address" dated February 6th, 1839, emphatically declares: "From that period"-the date of the final relinquishment of the Great East Cheap Chapel-"to the opening of the New Jerusalem Temple in Cross Street, Hatton Garden, on July 31, 1797, being more than four years, not a vestige of a Society of the New Church, of any kind existed in London, except that which had formerly removed from Great East Cheap, and was under my Pastoral care" (p. 6). Finally, in a sample "Schedule" attached to an important series of paragraphs headed "Proposed Legalization of New Church Registers of Births and Baptisms," The Intellectual Repository, for 1838-9, or when it was under the joint editorship of the Revs. Samuel Noble and J. H. Smithson-exhibits the Society at Cross Street as founded in 1797, while it assigns to Friar's Street the earlier date of 1788. Cordially agreeing with the statement of your paragraph that "the only real glory of a New Church Society is the descent of the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem into its faith and life," I venture to hope that the members of the Argyle Square Society may yet profitably remember their New Church Lineage as a reason for undeviating loyalty to the Divinely revealed truths so long and so worthily valued by their predecessors. While yielding to none, moreover, in love for our brethren and neighbors at Camden Road, and in grateful appreciation of the useful services of the distinguished ministers who there and at Cross Street have occupied their pulpits, I still maintain, for the reasons just mentioned, that" Argyle Square Church was built by the Society of the New Church, founded at Great East Cheap in 1787, which had worshiped since August 7th, 1803, in Friar's Street" Faithfully yours, JOHN PRESLAND. LONDON, 4 April, 1895.
REPLY.
THE question of principle which underlies the subject referred to in Mr. Presland's interesting communication is: What constitutes a Society of the New Church? If locality alone be considered, the remnant in Great East Cheap must have been the original Society, and the primogeniture be conceded to their successors in Camden Road. If other externals, such as the possession of movable church properties, are to determine the question, the Church in Argyle Square carries off the "honors." If the membership is to be regarded, the honors are still divided, for the original "blood" of Great East Cheap flows in the veins of Camden Road, as well as in its sister Society in Argyle Square, the difference being one of quantity rather than quality. From these external considerations alone, the question cannot be determined. It is indeed a tangled one, from a legal point of view, since it is not known which side carried with them the name and Constitution of the old Society. But a Society of the New Church is not merely a civil body. It is a Church, and the Continuity of its existence, as such, depends upon spiritual and essential things, and on these alone. A Church is a Church not from the number of its members, be they many or few, but from the reception of the Divine of the LORD which alone makes Heaven and the Church. Regarding the question from this point of view, New Church Life still maintains that "the Society in Friar's Street (from which the Society in Argyle Square is descended) was formed by a secession of a majority of members from the parent church." For the separation was a doctrinal separation, rather than a local one. Those who removed with Mr. Sibly, "who inclined to the Presbyterian form of Government" were opposed to and separated from the revealed Doctrine of the New Church concerning ecclesiastical government, and in so far seceded from the genuine Church of the LORD.
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Those who remained, and who upheld the Doctrine of the Church in its integrity, were thus far the true church. At the present time, though Argyle Square and Camden Road are equally descendants of the original Church in Great East Cheap, they have both departed widely from the staunch and loyal attitude of that Church, in which the LORD'S Presence in the Doctrines was affirmatively acknowledged, and the affairs of the Church administered according to their teaching.
Title Unspecified 1895
When infants at the beginning from fear dare not commit evil, love with good is successively insinuated.-A. C. 6071.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SOCIETIES ORIGINATING IN THE ORIGINAL CHURCH IN GREAT EAST CHEAP, LONDON. 1895
IN connection with the communication from the Rev. John Presland, the following brief historical review of the earlier societies of the New Church in London, may be of interest: I. "THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY," instituted in 1783, for the purpose of translating and publishing the Writings of the New Church. It ceased to exist about the year 1790. II. "THE NEW CHURCH SIGNIFIED BY THE NEW JERUSALEM," instituted in 1787, by members separating from the "Theosophical Society," for the purpose of establishing the public worship of the New Church separate from the old. A chapel was opened in Great East Cheap in 1738. A majority of the members, with the Rev. Manoah Sibly, separated in 1792. The remaining members maintained public worship in Great East Cheap until the end of 1793, after which they kept themselves together by private meeting until 1796, when a temple was built in Cross St., Hatton Garden, and a new society instituted, with the Rev. Joseph Proud as Pastor. III. MR. SIBLY'S SOCIETY, after removing from Great East Cheap in 1792, opened public worship in Store Street, in the same year; removed to Red Cross Street, Cripplegate, in 1793; to the Temple in Cross Street, Hatton Garden, in 1800; to Cateaton Street, Cheapside, in 1801, and to their new temple in Friar's Street, Doctor's Common, in 1803. Here they remained until the year 1841, when a union was effected with the society in Button Street. In 1844 the amalgamated society removed to the new church in Argyle Square. IV. THE SOCIETY IN CROSS STREET, under Mr. Proud, in 1799 removed with their pastor to York Street, St. James' Square, and to Lisle Street, near Leicester Square, in 1813. In 1814 Mr. Proud resigned the pastorate, and was succeeded by the Rev. T. F. Churchill. The latter resigned in 1819, and was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Noble. In 1823 the society removed to Hanover Street; Long Acre, and, in 1827, to its original quarters in Cross street, Hatton Garden. The Rev. Samuel Noble continued as the Pastor until His death, in 1853, when he was succeeded by the Rev. William Bruce, who resigned in 1861. Mr. Samuel M. Warren then officiated until 1862, when the Rev. O. P. Hiller was chosen Pastor. The latter died in 1869, and was succeeded, in the following year, by the Rev. Rudolph L. Tafel. In 1872 the society removed to the new temple in Camden Road. After the death of Dr. Tafel, in 1893, the Rev. S. C. Eby was chosen Pastor, in 1894. V. THE SOCIETY AT DUDLEY COURT was formed in 1805 by some members who separated from Mr. Proud's Society, then in York Street. They chose as Pastor the Rev. James Hodson, who, upon his death in 1812, was succeeded by the Rev. T. F. Churchill. This Society, in 1814, re-united with the parent church, then in Lisle Street, and Mr. Churchill became the Pastor of the reunited Society. VI. THE SOCIETY AT THE "OBELISK" was instituted in 1814 by forty members, seceding from the Lisle Street Society, when Mr. Proud resigned. They now opened a place of worship at the Obelisk, near St George's Field, with the Rev. Thomas Vaughan as minister. The latter was succeeded in the following year by the Rev. Thomas Goyder. The Society removed to Waterloo Road in 1819, and continued there under the pastorate of Mr. Goyder, until his resignation in 1833. After this time the Society dwindled, and ceased to exist about 1835. VII. THE SOCIETY IN BURTON STREET was formed in 1838 by members seceding from the Cross Street Society, owing to differences with the Pastor, Mr. Noble. A new chapel was opened in Burton Street, with the Rev. T. C. Shaw as Pastor. In 1841, after the death of the Rev. Manoah Sibly, the Burton Street Society united with the Society in Friar's Street, and Mr. Shaw continued as Pastor of the amalgamated Societies, until 1844, when they removed to VIII. ARGYLE SQUARE, where Mr. Shaw remained in the pastoral office, until his death in 1855. He was then succeeded by the Rev. Jonathan Bayley, who resigned in 1879, to take charge of a new Society at Palace Gardens, Kensington. The Rev. John Presland was then chosen Pastor by the Church in Argyle Square, and still continues in that office. Beside those above enumerated, there have been and still are a number of other Societies of the New Church in London, but these have not, as far as we are aware, any direct connection with the original Church in great East Cheap.
Title Unspecified 1895
Regeneration, or the implantation of the life of Heaven with man, begins from his infancy, and lasts to eternity.
GLORY OF GOD IN THE VISIBLE HEAVENS. J.E.B 1895
ONE night in September last I awoke, and presently consciousness fully returned, and the stream of my thoughts began to flow, and quietly, peacefully onward it flowed for nearly two hours. It was in the country, where there are no electric lamps, and yet the room was not dark, because of the effect of the light from without. A slight feeling of weariness and restlessness coming over me, I arose, went to the window toward the east, which was raised, threw open the blinds, and looked out into the heavens, of which there was an unobstructed view. Then a transcendently glorious spectacle was at once presented to my sight. There, at an altitude of forty-five degrees, was the most magnificent constellation, Orion; and, as viewed from our earth, the brightest flied star in the heavens, Sirius, lower down toward the east. Higher up near the zenith, was that wonderful cluster of stars, Pleiades, in which only six are plainly visible to the naked eye, but when viewed through the telescope more than two hundred appear. At the zenith was another brilliant constellation, Casseopeia.
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And over the horizon in the north was the Great Bear, which is always seen on a clear night. Within the range of vision there were also other constellations, and a countless host of points of light, sparkling and brilliant. Besides these, two of our family of worlds were also in view. Jupiter, the giant of the planets of this solar system, which is of such stupendous magnitude that he exceeds 1,800 times the volume of the earth. And Mars, shining with a steady, fiery, glowing light. Lastly, the waning moon in the east, a beautiful crescent, completed the sublime celestial picture. It was an awe-inspiring picture, such as to arouse the profound thoughts and feelings within the rational mind! For in beholding it the comprehensive idea was presented that, according to natural science and Divine Revelation, every one of those myriads of fixed stars are suns, so many centres of systems of worlds; that all those worlds are inhabited with human beings similar to ourselves, endowed with immortality and an eternal destiny; and that the Lord Omnipotent, the Creator of the Universe, momentarily provides for all the temporal and spiritual needs of all souls, from the very beginning of their existence, in time and even throughout all eternity. Then recurred forcibly the significance of several passages of the Word: "The heavens recount the glory of God, and the expanse showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge" (Psalm xix, 1,2). "Great and marvelous are Thy works, LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT; just and true Thy ways, Thou King of the holy" (Apoc. xv, 3). "O LORD, our Lord, how magnificent is Thy Name in the whole earth; who hath set Thy Glory above the heavens" (Psalm viii, 1). These ascriptions brought to remembrance the idea, which in the Writings of the Church is stated in such comprehensive terms, respecting the object for which the innumerable suns and their systems of worlds, of which the great Universe consists, are perpetually created and conserved: "The very end of the creation of the universe was no other, than that an angelic heaven might be formed from men, in which all who believe in God are to live in eternal blessedness; for the Divine Love, which is in God, and essentially is God, cannot intend anything else, and the Divine Wisdom, which is also in God and is God, cannot produce anything else" (T. C. R. 773). It is, therefore, a grand truth that the visible heaven of stars which are suns, as well as the angelic heavens with their innumerable societies of blessed inhabitants, "recount the Glory of God," the beneficent Creator, the bountiful Bestower of human and angelic life, with all its ineffable joys. Lastly, the reflection came respecting the lamentable perversion of the order of the human mind, when men fell into such a state of naturalism and materialism, that they neither know of, nor are disposed to acknowledge, the existence of the Divine; a state wherein men deny all Revelation from the Divine, and become spiritually insane to such a degree from the love of their own intelligence, that they imagine that Nature created and formed itself by what they call evolution, independently of the Infinite and Supreme Being, who is the First Cause of all existence in the finite universe. And why have men fallen into such a state of naturalism and materialism? The answer is: According to the Writings of the Church, the immediate cause of this state on the part of some of the modern scientists, is the falsifications of the truths of the Word of God, in the old or former Church, which "was Christian only in name, but not in essence and reality" (T. C. R. 668; see also n. 4.) An example of an atheistical scientist evidently was Laland, who declared: "I have examined the whole expanse of the heavens, and I can find, no trace of God." Another such an example is Haeckel, who says: "The form of creation happened, not through the capricious interference of a personal Creator, but through the original power of matter fashioning itself." Such hallucinations men inevitably fall into when they reject Divine Revelation; for with them the facts of science are the means of becoming spiritually insane. But how different was the spirit of Swedenborg as a scientist. He says: "Without the utmost devotion to the Supreme Being, no man can become a complete and truly learned philosopher" (Principia, Vol. I, p. 35). And in another philosophical work, Swedenborg exclaims: "O, how does the mind degrade itself, when dimly illumined with a few scanty rays of light, it thinks from blind nature, and contemplates the order of nature as not order! If the intelligent mind governs nature suitably to its ends, how much more suitably to the ultimate end, or to the end of ends, must the infinitely wise God govern the universe and all the things in the universe" (E. A. K., vol. H, n 337). J.E.B.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Lord alone knows of what quality and how many the remains are, man can never know this.-A. C. 2284.
VORTICAL FORMS OF STAR CLUSTERS. 1895
A FRIEND in England, who spends much of his leisure time in the pursuit of astronomy and the study of the Principia, has sent us a tracing of a photograph of the star cluster in Hercules, indicating the grouping by dotted lines. He writes: "The stars seem to conform to curves very similar to the magnetic curves given in the Principia. The lines dotted on it could only be an approximation to the curves which the stars actually follow, as the cluster is of course spherical and not a plane. I think it is quite possible that this cluster may be a system of suns, similar to the one of which our sun is a part, and of which the milky-way is the centre. "More than 40,000 stars can be counted on the plate from which I made the tracing, and they are so thick in the middle as to be indistinguishable. I have noticed similar curves of stars round other clusters and nebulae." The similarity between the curves that be has traced in the cluster, and those produced by the magnetic aura, is quite striking, and a valuable illustration and confirmation of Swedenborg's doctrine concerning the vortical flux of the aura, which is the atmosphere of "gravitation," or of centripency, and by which the movements of the celestial bodies, including stellar systems, are governed.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE graduating exercises of the Philadelphia Post-graduate School of Homoeopathics were held on April 29th. Several Newchurchmen members of the Philadelphia Church of the Academy are on the Board of Directors, Mr. John Pitcairn being the President, and Dr. J. T. Kent Dean of the Faculty.
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LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.- THE Schools closed on April 12th for the Easter vacation, and reopened on April 22d. The Vice- Chancellor is spending a short vacation in the South. ON March 31st Pastor Price preached on "Breaking the bonds of the Spiritual man" (Psalm ii, 3-5). On April 7th, Bishop Pendleton conducted a service preparatory to the Festival of the Glorification. ON April 14th the Holy Supper was administered by Bishop Pendleton, assisted by the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck and the Rev. C. Th. Odhner. The chancel on this occasion was most beautifully decorated with choice flowers by members of the congregation. On April 21st, Pastor Odhner preached on "the Passion of the Cross and the Resurrection" Bishop Pendleton, on April 1st, concluded a course of lectures to the School on the Scientifics of Mythology. The last lecture dealt with the worship of the sun and moon by the Ancients. CANDIDATE Joseph E. Boyesen, of Middleport, was ordained into the priesthood of the New Church on Sunday, April 28th, by Bishop Benade. ON April 22d, the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck commenced, in the schools, a review of his series of lectures on Charity, begun in February, 1894. ON April 8th, an Alumni meeting was held in honor of visitors from Pittsburgh and Chicago. The Treasurer made a report in regard to the use of establishing a Scholarship, and invited every member to determine upon a regular monthly contribution to be handed to the Treasurer (Mr. Charles E. Doering) on the first Monday in every month. A CHURCH Social was held on April 12th. The Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Price assisted in receiving.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
ON April 23d word passed through the schools that, as this was the anniversary of the nuptials of Chancellor Benade and wife, teachers and pupils would pay their respects to the happy couple in the evening, as a surprise to them. It was proposed that every one bring a flower in token of the one year of married life. In the evening all met at the Library of the Academy, and then proceeded to the residence of the Chancellor, a square away. He was completely surprised at the appearance of the many visitors. After each one had presented his congratulations and his flower to the host and hostess, all together exclaimed, "May the Divine Blessing of the LORD be upon you!" A very powerfully affecting sphere prevailed for the moment, and Mr. Benade said a few words in appreciation of the good wishes, to which Mr. Schreck responded, also very briefly. The mass of flowers with which the hands of both husband and wife were loaded were taken from them and tastily arranged in vases. After some informal conversation, a march was announced, and, in lieu of an instrument, "The Academy Colors" was sung, affording a capital march-tune. The march was so conducted that, at its conclusion, a spiral was formed, with the youngest children in the inner helix, followed by the larger ones, and so on to the oldest. Father and Mrs. Benade were invited into the centre of this spiral, then the lemonade and punch and cakes were served, and a toast was drunk to the Church as the union of good and truth received in human minds, in this case as received in the minds and hearts of the two who were in the midst, and whom all loved so well. The Chancellor, in reply, spoke of his having that day resumed his classes in school after suffering from a cold which he had contracted a short time ago. He looked forward to continuing, without interruption, the work thus resumed on this anniversary of his wedding. The little children went home soon after this, with many a regret at having to leave the happy sphere, and the young people departed somewhat later. Huntingdon Valley.-ON Sunday, April 21st, the corner-stone of the house of Mr. John A. Wells was laid in the presence of over fifty persons, young and old, a number of whom had been spending the Easter holidays in this beautiful locality. The services were conducted by the Rev. Eugene J. E. Schreck, who officiated in his robes of office. The day was perfect, and as the hill upon which the new colony is growing up is quite secluded from the village and farm-houses, one felt as if the service were indeed taking place in God's own temple. The services were in the main similar to those at the laying of the corner-stone of Mr. Glenn's house, although the doctrine on which the ceremony is based was presented more fully, and the priest addressed a charge to the Father of the House. The importance and solemnity of the occasion made a profound impression upon all. ON Sunday, April 28th, Mr. Carl Hj. Asplundh laid the corner-stone of his house Mr. Schreck conducting the services. Oak Glen.- THE Academy School continues its invaluable work with the children, and being in the country this year, it is enabled to do its work more successfully than ever before. Berlin, Canada.-ON the 20th of March the house of Mrs. W. Schnarr was dedicated by the pastor in the presence of the family and the members of the congregation. The service was similar to those recently reported in the Life from Philadelphia and Chicago. A new feature was that before the benediction alt the assembled guests arose and said in unison, "Peace be upon this house." ON the 25th of March a meeting of the members of the Alumni Association of the Academy resident in Berlin was held. On the 7th of April the Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist preached on the LORD'S State of Humiliation. On the following Sunday (Easter) the Festival of the Glorification of the Human of the LORD was celebrated by a choral service similar to that of last year. The service was most delightful, and the sphere strong and full; indeed, it was the grandest service held here since the dedication of the building. The orchestra, consisting of nine members, took part for the first time, and by their able assistance contributed largely to the fulness of expression of the affections contained in the beautiful music of the Church. On the 21st of April the Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist preached on the LORD'S State of Glorification. On the 28th of April the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered. THE Monday after Easter being a holiday for many, nearly all the men and boys of the congregation gathered at the school and devoted the day to work in beautifying the school grounds. In the afternoon the ladies of the congregation came by surprise and prepared supper in the school building; the evening was then spent socially. Pittsburgh.- SERVICES for the School were held on Easter morning, the Head- -master, the Rev. A. Czerny officiating. The services consisted in Hebrew and Greek singing by the children, and reading from the Word, followed by an instructive address by the Head-master. The address treated of the LORD'S Glorification. A MEETING of the local branch of the Alumni Association was held on April 11th. London.-MR. AND MRS. STEBBING desire to announce to the members of the Academy and of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD, the approaching nuptials of their daughter, Florence Louise, and Mr. Roderick Whittington Anderson, which will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 5th, at the Hall of Worship, Burton Road, Brixton.
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD.
Oak Glen.- A NEW village is springing up some miles west of Chicago which, for want of a distinctive name, goes by the name of "Oak Glen," the nearest post-office. This village is the outcome of a long-felt desire of the Immanuel Church, of Chicago, to live apart from the associations of a large city, contaminated as are its natural and mental atmospheres. A few years ago a tract of forty acres was bought, and since then the firm of Swain Nelson & Sons, landscape gardeners, the members of which are members of the Immanuel Church, has laid out the grounds to suit the purposes of the settlers. A privated avenue runs in graceful sweeps around a central plot, which is reserved for the common Church uses, while the residences which surround the common property front on this avenue. Twelve buildings have been completed or are in course of erection: the dedication of some of them has been chronicled. (See under "Chicago.") Some of the houses have been built under the superintendence of Mr. Henry Stroh, late of Berlin, Canada, who built the Berlin and Parkdale school-houses of the Academy of the New Church, and who now resides at Oak Glen. Until funds are available for an appropriate church and school building, the church uses will be carried on in the "clubhouse," which is one of the twelve buildings erected on the grounds. Chicago and Oak Glen.- SERVICES were held uninterruptedly all winter, both in Chicago and at Oak Glen, the Pastor and Mr. Acton conducting them on alternate Sundays in each place. The Wednesday class in the city and the Friday class in the country have been very well attended, attendance at the former averaging 24 and at the latter about 80. In response to a general request, Mr. Pendleton is now rereading at these classes the lectures on Conjugial Love which he gave last winter. Two new houses in Oak Glen, the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Synnestvedt, and Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Gyllenhaal have been dedicated to the uses of conjugial love and of hospitality. Two sons have been born to the Church here this year. They enrich the homes of Dr. and Mrs. King, and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Blackman. A DEARLY-LOVED member of the Church, Mrs. M. M. Matthias, has left us and this world for her eternal home, where her husband, Capt. Alfred Matthias, preceded her some ten years ago. Memorial services were held both in the city and at Oak Glen.
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Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITIAN. Mr. James Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W.
PHILADELPHIA, MAY, 1895=125.
CONTENTS. PAGE
EDITORIAL Notes The Stream of Providence (a Sermon) 65 The Fourth Temptation (Exodus xvii) 66 Meeting, in London of Priests of the Academy of the New Church- The Fifth Day 70 Selav - Quail 72 The Massachusetts Ministers and the Old Church 72 Stephen Penny 73 NOTES AND REVIEWS 74 Conjugial Love in Swedish 75 COMMUNICATED Relation of the Argyle Square Society to the Great East Cheap Society 76 Historical Sketch of Societies Originating in The Original Church In Great East Cheap, London 77 The Glory of God In the Visible Heavens 77 Vortical Forms of Star Clusters 78 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH: The Academy of the New Church 79 The Church at Large 79 General Church of the Advent of the Lord 79 BIRTHS AND MARRIAGES 80 ANNOUNCEMENTS 81 MANY social events have enlivened the season. Those on New Year's eve, Swedenborg's Birthday, and Washington's Birthday were notable occasions. We have not yet reached the perfection which enables us, to do "the Snow Dance" or the "Dance of the Seasons," but on two occasions the stately "Minuet" has been given and was admired. Rumor has it that Mr. Blackman is getting up a musical soiree. Perhaps it is one of the surprises for the near future. Pittsburgh.- THE Rev. John Stephenson who has preached to the Society for several months, has been called as minister of the Society, and was recently joined by his wife and children. IN the afternoon of Easter Sunday, services for the Society were held, conducted by the Rev Homer Synnestvedt, assisted by the Rev John Stephenson. Then the Holy Supper was administered by the Rev. Synnestvedt of Philadelphia. Forty-five partook of the Communion. A SOCIAL was held on Monday evening in honor of Mr. Synnestvedt. Toasts were proposed, first to the Church, then to the School, to which Mr. Synnestvedt responded making a very instructive address, a dwelling on the fact that the work of the school here is the same as in Philadelphia, and that the home training of the children should co-operate with the school work. The next toast was to Mr. Synnestvedt, and Mr. Macbeth drew attention to the fact that the first time Mr. Synnestvedt administered the Communion was to this Society, of which he formerly had charge. Pomeroy.- THE Pomeroy and Middleport Society has enjoyed the ministrations of Candidate Joseph E. Boyesen since the first Sunday of July, 1894. The engagement of Mr. Boyesen to this Society was understood to be for one year, but preparations are now being made toward retaining his services for another year, and it is the wish of the Society, if possible, to have him as their Pastor. Mr. Boyesen's work, besides the regular services on Sunday, includes a Doctrinal Class for adults, a Religious Instruction Class for children, and a Class on Education once a week. The Society has made good progress in the understanding and appreciation of the Doctrines of the New Church. The teaching so largely rejected in the professed New Church-that the Writings are the Word, and are the LORD Himself in His Second Advent-has been received with delight; and it is to be hoped that the reception of this fundamental teaching, so essential to the spiritual prosperity of the Church, will lead to an increasingly interior and genuine understanding of the LORD'S Revealed Law, and thus to the reception of other Doctrines essential to the true establishment of the LORD'S New Church. New Jersey.- THE Pennsylvania Association held its seventh annual Conference on April 12th in Vineland. The Rev. John Whitehead's Society in Pittsburgh was taken into the Association. It reports a membership of forty-eight. The missionary of the Association, the Rev. Mr. Dolly reported that the monthly services in Bethleham had been dropped, and that in Allentown the halt had been given up and services continued at private houses. Maryland.- THE Rev. Hiram Vrooman, who was called as the Pastor of the Baltimore Society a year ago, has resigned his office in order to devote himself exclusively to the social reform movement. Delaware.- THE Maryland Association held its thirty-fourth annual meeting on February 22d, in the house of worship of the Wilmington Society. There were present five Ministers and fifteen lay members, besides visitors.- The Association numbers three hundred and fifty-three members, including the African Society in Washington.- The Baltimore German Society has sufficient funds to rebuild its house of worship. It intends doing so at an early date.- An attempt to revive missionary work at Williamsburgh, near Preston, was abandoned, upon learning that "another denomination" had in the meantime built a church and was holding regular service.- The Wilmington Society has made an addition to its church building 40x22 feet. It consists of a single story and basement.-the African New Church Society in Washington reports a prosperous year, with eleven new members. A new building is much needed, toward which $819.65 have already been subscribed.-It was voted to change the date of the annual meeting to the third Friday in October. The amendment put forward for this purpose "brought-out an interesting discussion of principle." For nineteen years the Association has met on the anniversary of Washington's birthday-a national holiday. The principle, apparently, was whether a national holiday should be utilized in this way, causing a conflict between the respective uses of Church and the Country.- The vote for the election of delegates to the General Convention, after a discussion in regard to representation by women, resulted in the appointment of seven men and one woman.- The Association will meet with the Baltimore German Society on the 18th of October next. New York.- THE young people of the Brooklyn Society tendered a reception to the Rev. and Mrs. J. C. Ager on March the 22d, the occasion being the sixtieth anniversary of his birthday and the thirtieth year of his pastoral work in that city. Many prominent Brooklyn clergymen of various denominations attended to offer congratulations. Rhode Island.- THE Providence Society at its annual meeting on April 2d was presented with the mortgage note and deed of $4,100 by Mr. Samuel Darling. This removes the debt of $15,000 incurred when the church was built twenty-four years ago. Texas.- THE Rev. A. B. Francisco, a recent convert to the New Church, has been engaged by the Galveston Society until May, 1896. California.- THE O'Farrell Street Society have elected the Rev. F. L. Higgins to be their Pastor for three years. Indiana.- THE Rev. J. E. Bowers has recently made his semi-annual visits to several places in this State.
ENGLAND.
Bath.- THE Rev. John Martin has resigned his pastorate of this Society. Blackpool.-REV. Arthur E. Beilby has accepted an invitation to become the Pastor of the Adelaide Society, South Australia, for a year. South Manchester.- THE Rev. W. A. Presland, of Camberwell, has accepted a call to the Pastorate of the South Manchester Society.
JUST PUBLISHED. 1895
PART IV or LESSONS OF ANATOMY FOR CHILDREN OF THE NEW CHURCH:
THE SKIN.
This Part follows the general plan of its predecessors, but differs in this, that much of the anatomical description is extracted from the writings of anatomists who are quoted in Swedenborg's Animal Kingdom, thus preparing the way for the study of that noble work. Price, 25 cents; postage, 3 cents. The Lessons previously published treat respectively of the Eye, the Ear and the Nose, the Tongue. Each Part 25 cents; postage, 3 cents. ACADEMY BOOK ROOM, 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Branches in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and London.
Such things as are in the internal sense . . . are still to be stated, however remote they will appear from the sensuous.-A. C. 5168.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE reader who has pursued the studies of the internal sense of Exodus, as presented monthly in these columns, will find in the current study perhaps more that seems obscure than heretofore, since the arcana that are now unfolded are of a profounder nature. Indeed, we are assured in the explanation of this chapter that hardly any one can understand it, but he who is in illustration from the LORD, and by means of such illustration has perception. While the arcane operations and effects which are set forth in the internal sense of this chapter may be described fully, yet the thought of the reader will not rightly, admit such descriptions, unless he have perception from Heaven. If, then, there be a real thirst for these Divine truths that are contained in the Word of the LORD, the reader will naturally be anxious to ascertain how be may acquire the needed illustration and enter into the perception of them? And to this wish the following reply is vouchsafed out of Heaven from the LORD.
Title Unspecified 1895
"Perception from Heaven is not given, except with him who is in the love of truth from good; and not even so, unless he be in the love of truth from genuine good."-A. C. 8685.
Title Unspecified 1895
Let, then, the anxiously inquiring soul learn as many genuine truths as he is prepared to understand, and by their light let him reject fallacies, and shun evils as sins against the LORD, and the illustration and perception will come as surely as the morning follows the night. Reject selfishness and worldliness as ends of life, and you will see and perceive.
Title Unspecified 1895
When a man is in the truth-that is, in the internal sense-he can then make one as to thought with those who are in Heaven, although the man is relatively in a very general and obscure idea.-A. C. 2094.
Title Unspecified 1895
SWEDENBORG relates that he was prepared for the office of Theologian from his early youth [a prima juventute] by his investigating and teaching natural truths rationally (I. 20; T. C. R. 350). The writing of scientific works which have been preserved to us, prepared his mind in such a manner that it could easily receive the spiritual truths which were revealed to him later in life. His science is a system of natural truths, not errors, and different in this from current science, as taught in the schools. Indeed, whoever studies Swedenborg's scientific books, and takes the trouble to compare them with his theological writings, will be surprised to find the perfect agreement there is between the two. Spiritual truths rest on natural truths, as Heaven rests on the earth; and, wherever, in the Theological Works, any reference occurs to facts in the natural world, as, for example, in the treatises on the Gorand Man, the description of the natural is the same as that which may be found in the Animal Kingdom, and other of his scientific and philosophic works.
Title Unspecified 1895
SWEDENBORG was open to illumination in regard to nature, her laws, and her operations, owing to his acknowledgment of the LORD as the One God, and owing to his acknowledgment that nature has no inherent life, but receives life from the LORD.
Title Unspecified 1895
AS Swedenborg was prepared by the truths which came to him in the prosecution of his study of natural things, to receive becomingly the truths concerning things spiritual, so, in the properly conducted education of the youth of the New Church, the study of his science is a necessary preparation for the proper understanding and reception of the theology revealed through him. Men are natural, and from natural become spiritual. Natural objects are first presented to their minds, and the ideas thus conceived contribute largely to the shaping of their ideas concerning things spiritual. What conception of the doctrine that truth is a form of good can man have, unless his natural mind have formed some concept of natural forms as receptive and promotive of activity and motion? What but a vague and shadowy knowledge of discrete degrees in the spiritual world can he acquire, unless his natural mind profer the analogy of natural compositions and confasciculations, which distinguish the discrete degrees of the natural world?
Title Unspecified 1895
IT is true that the illustrations from the realm of nature adduced in the Theological Works are sufficiently full to enlighten and to prepare the mind of the average reader; but a systematic course of instruction, in which the Rational Wisdom of man is to be formed as indicated in Conjugial Love, n. 163, and, in which many particulars of natural truth is to be implanted, needs to follow the lines of Swedenborg's systematic preparation,-it must be based upon his series of scientific works.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE multiplying of distinctively New Church schools, under the auspices of the Academy of the New Church, in which all instruction is imparted with the end in view of leading to the formation of an understanding in the order and form of Heaven, is an earnest that before very long the scientifics, which are now taught from the instructor's individual store of truths garnered from his study of Swedenborg's Works, will be presented in the form of text-books adapted to children, in anticipation of the study of Swedenborg's scientific works in the college. A beginning has been made, in the publication of the little treatises on the senses.
Angelic Wisdom is founded upon natural truths.- Conc. Leibnitz and Wolf, in S. D. App.
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MAN DOES GOOD OR EVIL NOT FROM HIMSELF, BUT AS FROM HIMSELF. PENDLETON 1895
A SERMON
"If man believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth are from the LORD, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself and make it meritorious, nor would he appropriate evil to himself, and make himself guilty of it."-D. P. 320.
MAN is born as an empty vessel, but a vessel made to receive and to contain the rich gifts of eternal life, and be made thereby happy forever. These man acquires and appropriates to himself, as it were, by his own prudence, but still with the knowledge and belief that all good is from the LORD, and all that is not good, all evil, is from hell. This belief is fundamental to spiritual life, and no good is received from Heaven and appropriated, and no evil rejected and cast into hell, without it. If a man believes that good is his own, derives it from himself, and appropriates it, to himself, he defiles it with the idea of merit, and interiorly it is not good, but evil; if he believes that good is his own, and self-derived, he will believe the same in regard to evil, that it is his own and from himself, and so appropriate it as his own; for he does not believe in the spiritual world, the world of causes, in which originate all the effects that are with him in his mind and life, from which come all his thoughts and the affections that are in his thoughts; or if he professes a belief in a spiritual world, it is as something far away, separated from him by millions of miles of space, and not as an ever-present reality, and nearer to him than any of the things of the outward natural world-nearer to him because within him-nearer to him because he is actually within that world, and only as to appearance in the natural world, the world, of mere effects, the world of dead matter, in which nothing lives of itself, the sun of which even is nothing but dead fire. The acknowledgment, therefore, of the absolute existence and the intimate presence of the spiritual world, as a momentous spiritual fact, which the rational mind sees, as the eye sees the world of nature, is essential to the regeneration of man, and his preparation for Heaven; and if he cannot be led to see this great, this stupendous spiritual reality, in the rational light of Revelation, so mercifully afforded to every man that cometh into the world, his preparation for Heaven; or his regeneration, is at a standstill, and he must wait for the actual sight of that world, by actual entrance into it, by the actual awakening into its realities, which takes place when the natural body is rejected by death, and the veil has been taken off that has hidden that world from his view and has caused him to see only the things of nature. If then his character and life in the world have been such that a modicum of good could be preserved in him, he will in the spiritual world, receive the preparation that fits him for Heaven, according to the degree of the good which remains that the LORD has been enabled to store ftp in him. A work will then be done that should have been done in the natural world, and which the LORD provides should be done in the giving of His Word, and Doctrine from it; but which man, in the dulness and obtuseness of his mental faculties, and in the wilfulness of his natural man, would not permit to be done. So important, so necessary to man's salvation, is this knowledge of the existence and presence of the spiritual world, that it is given in the letter of the Word, and is taught by precept in every Gentile religion, which also is from the Word carried out to them through various instrumentalities in the merciful Providence of the LORD. There is not a man living on the face of the earth, with sound mind and reason, who does not know of the existence, and not only of the existence, but also of the presence of the spiritual world; if men do not believe, it is not because they do not know if they deny, their very denial is a proof that this knowledge is pressing itself upon them, which Love itself gives from its Infinite Bounty that men may be saved and made happy forever. There is provided for every man an eternal home, where he may dwell with the LORD, and be among the angels forever, and to every man is given, even from his cradle, a knowledge of that home, that he may be inspired with a love and longing for it, and may follow on to know more and more, as his faculties open, as his mind expands, throughout the course of his life. Man himself is at fault if the knowledge of this most precious and living fact gradually recedes from him, as the light of day recedes, and the shades of evening fall upon him, in which shade, dwelling with the devils in hell, he will ever deny, as they deny, that there is such a thing as a spiritual world where man lives a life of immortality, and where reigns the one only Divine Man, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. The knowledge and actual belief of the presence of the spiritual world is necessary to regeneration, in order that man may acknowledge and believe that what h& has, what is in him, his every affection and thought, is not self-derived, does not originate within him, but flows in from that world ever present, either from Heaven or from hell; from Heaven if good, from hell if evil. Then would come in the thought of his understanding, as well as in the experience of his life, the faith in that law of the Divine Providence, "That if man believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth is from the LORD, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself, and make it meritorious, nor would he appropriate evil to himself, and make himself guilty of it." The appearance indeed exists, and man is in the appearance, that good is from himself; or that he wills and does good from himself, and thinks and speaks truth from himself, and man would never know otherwise except from Revelation; and even when he learns from Revelation that all good-is from the LORD, and none whatever from himself, the appearance is still to continue as before, but he is at the same time to acknowledge from a principle of faith in the teaching of Divine Revelation, that he thinks and acts merely as of himself, but that in reality it is from the LORD, when he does good and speaks the truth. The very human itself consists in this, that man acts as of himself, but believing at the same time that it is from the LORD. The angels are in this human, and so also are men who are regenerating. But he who confirms himself in the appearance, that all he thinks and acts is from himself, removes the human from himself, or takes himself out of the human, and becomes like the carved image of a man, or like a beast; for then the spiritual mind is closed, or heaven is closed, and he thinks only from the natural, which he has in common with beasts, and not from the spiritual-rational mind, which is the mind that is truly human and makes him a man; for this truly rational human mind acknowledges-that God alone thinks from Himself, and hence that other thinking beings, who are men, think from Him. Man is to think and act from God, and to acknowledge that he so does, and he is to think and act as of himself; and also to acknowledge that he so does. It is essential to see and acknowledge both of these truth; in order that man may be a man, in order that he may enter into a truly human life.
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If the second is acknowledged without the first, man becomes a merely natural man, or an animal wan, and a worshiper of nature; if the first is acknowledged without the second, if it is believed that all good is from God, and the conclusion be drawn from this that man cannot do any good even as from himself, but that all that he does or can do is evil, then is present the fundamental falsity of the Church of the I Reformed, that man is saved by faith alone, without the works of the law, or without keeping the commandments of the Decalogue. Only God is good, and He only can do good; man, therefore, cannot do good, and he is saved by faith only. After he has faith and is saved, then he can do good, but he does good then as a passive, not as an active agent. He waits for influx, that is, he waits until he feels an impulse, or an inclination to do good-then he does it without effort, or as it were, spontaneously. It is a very comfortable and easy doctrine, but a doctrine that damns the soul of man and leads him to hell. He is not to do good, not do his duty, except when he feels like it; he is not to compel himself to do his duty, but is to postpone it until he feels the inclination to it, and it becomes pleasant to him to do it. He waits for influx, waits until the good and truth, which is all from God, flows in and moves him to do good, and instructs him what to do. Little does he think that the good which he then does and the truth which he then thinks, are from nature and not from Revelation; from man and not from God, from hell, or infernal spirits, and not from Heaven; from a natural, hereditary, domestic origin, full of the love of self, and is nothing but what is evil and false; for man never comes into any spiritual good except through the pathway of self-compulsion, acting from God, but as of himself, or into any spiritual truth except by the way of the Word and Revelation. Concerning those who wait for influx, wait for the impulse to do good, wait for instruction to flow in by an internal way from Heaven, we are instructed (D. P. 321) that they never receive any influx-that is, from Heaven -except a few who desire it from the heart; these sometimes receive a kind of response by a living perception in the thought, or by tacit speech in the thought, and rarely by manifest speech. And what is it that they then receive, what is it that then flows into them from Heaven? It is this: "Think and act as you will and as you are able, and if you act wisely you will be wise, and if you act foolishly you will be foolish." This is all, nothing more; they are simply reminded of a most general truth' which they knew before, and the silent voice that speaks to them refuses to instruct them as to what they are to think or what they are to do, and for the most important of reasons, which is, that the human rational and human liberty would perish if man were instructed and moved by influx from Heaven as to what he should think and do, for this human consists in man's acting from liberty, according to reason-a reason formed and instructed by the truth of the Word, with every appearance that it is from himself or acquired by his own effort. And we are told in addition, that they who are instructed and moved by influx as to what they are to believe and do, that it is not from the LORD, nor from any angel of Heaven, but from some enthusiastic, Quaker, or Moravian spirit, who seduces and leads them away from the truth of the Word and from the path of duty. For all influx from the LORD is into the understanding, illustrated by the truths of the Word, and into the affection of truth, which is then enkindled into activity, from which man thinks and acts, in full liberty and in every appearance as of himself. Man, as we have said, is to think and act from God, and to acknowledge that he so does; and he is to think and act as of himself, and also to acknowledge that he so does, in order that he may reach the measure of a man, which is the measure of an angel, the fulness of a truly human life, the image of the Divine in the human race; he then does not assume merit for his good, or ascribe evil to himself; but acknowledges that the one is from God, and the other from hell, done, when done, by him only as of himself, according to the proposition, "That if a man believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth are from the LORD, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself and make it meritorious, nor would he appropriate evil to himself and make himself guilty of it." To think and believe that all good and truth are from the LORD, and all evil and falsity from hell, appears as if it were impossible to the natural man, because, as we have shown, be does not believe in the existence and presence of the spiritual world; he does not believe that there is a heaven, from which good is, nor that there is a hell, from which evil is, or that angels from heaven I are present with him, or evil spirits from hell. Two other reasons are involved, and manifestly appear, why it is impossible for the natural man so to think, which are, that he does not acknowledge the Divine of the LORD, nor does be acknowledge that evils are sins. It is clear that when a man does not acknowledge the LORD, and the Divine that is in Him and from Him; that He is the one only God of Heaven and earth; that He is Omnipotent and Omnipresent, he cannot acknowledge that all good and truth are from Him, but attributes them to himself; for the acknowledgment of the Divinity of the LORD contains in itself the acknowledgment that all good is from Him and nothing from man. It is also clear that if man does not acknowledge that evils are sins, he cannot acknowledge that evils and falsity are from hell; for if he does not acknowledge that evils are sins, he loves them and makes them his own, ascribes them to himself. The acknowledgment that evils are sins contains in itself the acknowledgment that they are from hell, and man will not then ascribe them to himself; and, on the other hand, the acknowledgment that they are from hell involves the acknowledgment that they are sins; the two go together and are inseparable. These three things, therefore, are absolutely essential to the regeneration of man: the acknowledgment of the LORD, the belief in the existence and the presence of the spiritual world, and the confession from the heart that evils are sins. With these three impressed upon the mind, with these three as the fundamentals of his faith, man can go forward in the combat and warfare of the regenerate life, nourishing the hope of a successful resistance to the powers of hell, looking forward with joy to the reward of eternal life-"for he will then believe, as is the truth, that all good and truth are from the LORD, and all evil and falsity from hell; and then will not appropriate good to himself and make it meritorious, nor will he appropriate evil to himself and make himself guilty of it." The natural man will say, if evil is from hell, then man is not in fault and not responsible for the evil that he does. But let it he remembered that man does evil, as he does good, as of himself; he does good from the LORD, but as of himself; and then the good is imputed to him as his own, and is in all appearance his, and so remains; and he does evil from hell, but still as of himself and believing that he does it from himself, it is imputed to him as his own, and becomes his own, and so remains.
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All evil, indeed, flows in from hell; but man is not in fault for this, for he is born with a hereditary inclination to evil, and is encompassed from his birth with spheres of evil; and so it will enter into him, first into his thought and then into his will. It is not his own, he is not in fault, and it is not imputed to him as his as long as it is in the thought, for evil spirits who are present from hell continually infuse evil; but this is not hurtful, if it goes no farther than the thought; but when it enters into the will, then it is hurtful. Evil enters into the will by being retained in the thought, hence it cannot and must not remain in the thought; it must be spit out, as man spits out something that is unpleasant and bitter to the taste; but if it is held in the thought-and the more it is held in the thought the more it is deliberated upon-so much the more does man incline favorably to it, and finally yields consent to it; and then it enters the will, for everything enters the will and becomes man's own to which there is internal consent; and then it goes forth into act by delight and becomes confirmed. Man, therefore, is not in fault because evil from hell is present with him, but he is in fault when he gives his consent to it. He is free to withhold consent or to give consent, and consent from deliberation leads to hell and damns. So long as evil is in the thought alone, it is not in the man; and then if he believes that it is from hell, or-what is the same-believes that it is sin, it does not enter into him-he does not give his consent, he separates himself from it, and it is cast out. Suppose, however, consent has been given, evil has entered the will, and has gone forth into act, and this has been repeated from time to time. What then is the state of the case? The evil has become his own, he believes that he does it from himself; and he is now in fault, for he acts from hell in acting from himself; and he has done it deliberately and in full liberty. How is he to pass out of it? How is the evil to be removed? The same law applies; he is to believe that the evil is from hell and not his own; that he has done it from hell and not from himself; but he is at the same time to confess before the LORD that he has co-operated with evil spirits in giving his consent to the evil, and in acting from that consent that he has made it as his own by so doing. He is thus to repent, desist, and resist; he is to withhold his consent in the future, and so relegate the evil back to the thought again, and continue always to think that it is from hell and not his own; and it will thus gradually depart from him and return again no more. "If man believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth are from the LORD, and the evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself and make it meritorious; nor would he appropriate evil to himself and make himself guilty of it." The essential thing is, that evil should be in the thought, in order to make this acknowledgment and belief effective. When it first enters the thought from without, or from below, to believe that it is from hell, and not from self; or if it has gone into the will, and thence into the act, send it back again into the thought, by desisting from it, and withholding consent to it; and also think that it is from hell, and not from self. Always think this, and judgment and separation is effected. We see now the things that are necessary in order that man may come to believe that all good is from the LORD; and all evil from hell, namely, the acknowledgement of the presence of the spiritual World, the acknowledgment of the presence of the LORD, and the acknowledgment that evils are sins. And we see also the thing that is necessary in order that this acknowledgment may be made effective, namely, to withhold consent to evil. Only this-nothing more, nothing less. When evil is present, withhold the consent, continue the attitude of resistance, think that it is sin, believe that it is from hell, make no excuse for it, call it by its right name, admit no doubt, make no delay, and then we shall come to realize the fulness of the Divine Wisdom in the proposition that is before us, "That if man believed, as is the truth, that all good and truth are from the LORD, and all evil and falsity from hell, he would not appropriate good to himself and make it meritorious; nor would he appropriate evil to himself, and make himself guilty of it."
Title Unspecified 1895
Such things [as are contained in the internal sense of the Word] are to be built up upon ideas of natural truths, by which they are to be comprehended, which also are lacking at the present day.-A. C. 8596.
TRUTHS IN SUCCESSIVE ORDER, AND THEIR ORDINATION BY GOOD DIVINE. 1895
EXODUS XVIII.
THE internal sense, in this chapter, treats of Truths in successive order, from the First to the last, and that they are ordained by Good Divine. Truth in the first degree is represented by Moses; truths therefrom, in successive order, are represented by the princes of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; and Good Divine, from which is the ordination, is represented by Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses.
THE four chapters which precede the present one, treated of the temptations which those undergo who are of the spiritual Church. Temptations belong to the state of man's regeneration, when he acts from truth, for they have the effect of confirming truths, and establishing goods. But after he has undergone temptations, then he begins to act no longer from truth, but from the good which has been established in him by temptations. The introduction into this new state, requires that the truths which have been confirmed by the temptation-combats, shall be reduced into order by the LORD, and when they have been reduced to order, then man enters upon the second state, which is, that he wills and does the truths; so they become of his life and are called goods. This reduction to order, or ordination, of truths is effected by the Divine Good, through Divine Truth; Divine Good which is in the LORD being to Divine Truth which is from the LORD, as the fire of the sun to the light which proceeds from it; and as the fire of the sun acts through its proceeding sunshine with its heat and light, so the Divine Good acts through its proceeding Divine Truth.
PREPARATION FOR THE ORDERING OF TRUTHS.
(1-5.) Divine Good, "and Jethro priest of Midian"-from which is Good conjoined to Truth Divine, "the father-in-law of Moses"-perceived those things which were done to those who were of the spiritual kingdom of the LORD, "heard everything that God did to Moses and to Israel His people"-namely, that they were liberated by the LORD from infestations, "that JEHOVAH had led Israel forth out of Egypt"-and Divine Good applied the good which was from the Divine and was conjoined to Truth Divine,
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"and Jethro the father-in-law of Moses took Zipporah the wife of Moses"-which had hitherto been separated from the Truth Divine as received by those who were of the spiritual Church, "after her dismissals"-and Divine Good also applied the good of truth, "and her two sons"-such as it was with those who were out of the Church but who were instructed in the things of the Church, "of whom the name of the one was Gershom, because he said, A sojourner was I in a strange land"-and such as was the good of truth with those who were within the Church, "and the name of the one, Eliezer"-and which was from the Mercy and Presence of the LORD in the Church, "because the God of my father was for my help"-by which they were liberated from the false of those who had infested them, "and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." So the Divine Good, "and Jethro the father-in-law of Moses earns"-with the goods of truth just spoken of, "and his sons"-and the good conjoined to Truth Divine, "and his wife"-was conjoined with the Divine Truth in the state before regeneration, when there were temptations, "unto Moses unto the desert"-by which temptations they came close to the state when they acted from good-that is, from charity and its affections-or near to the state of the good of truth, "where he was encamped at the mountain of God."
THE UNION OF THE DIVINE GOOD WITH THE DIVINE TRUTH.
(6, 7.) The Divine Good inflowed into the Divine Truth, and the latter perceived, "and he said unto Moses"-the goods Divine in order, "I thy father-in-law, Jethro, come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her"-and Truth Divine applied itself to the Divine Good, "and Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law"-and immitted itself, "and bowed himself down"-and conjoined itself, "and kissed him"-and they entered into a mutual Divine celestial state, "and they asked a man his companion to peace"-and into a union from holy love, "and they came into the tent." (8-11.) Then Truth Divine perceived concerning the power of the Divine Human of the LORD against those who had been in falses and had infested, "and Moses narrated to his father-in-law all that JEHOVAH had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians"-and for those who were of the spiritual Church, "on account of the causes of Israel"-and it perceived the labor which they had had in their temptations, "all the trouble which found them in the way"-and how they were liberated by the Divine help of the LORD, "and JEHOVAH snatched them away." At the success of all things, the Divine Good had Infinite Joy, "and Jethro rejoiced over all the good that JEHOVAH did to Israel"-because of the liberation of the spiritual from the assault of the infesters, "Who snatched him away out of the hand of the Egyptians." And, from the Divine Good with which it was now united, the Divine Truth acknowledged that from the LORD is every good, "and Jethro said, Blessed be JEHOVAH"-that it was He Who delivered from the assault of the infesters, "Who snatched you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh"-and that it was He Who showed Mercy toward those who were in the good of truth and the truth of good, "Who snatched His people away from under the hand of the Egyptians"-and that beside the LORD there is no God, "now know that great is JEHOVAH above all the gods"-as might be evident from the vain effort and vim of the infesters to have dominion over those who were of the Church, "because for this, that they were proud over them." (12.) And this acknowledgment led to the worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, "and Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses took burnt- offering and sacrifices for God"-which the primaries of the Church, "and Aharon came and all the elders of Israel"-appropriated from Divine Good, "to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God."
Having followed thus far the preparation which the interiors must undergo before the ordination of truths I can take place, let us once more throw a glance upon the difference between the two states which this ordination involves. The man who is being regenerated, or who is becoming a Church, has two general states. In the first state he acts from truth, in the second from good. In either state he is led by the LORD, but in the first state by immediate influx; in the second, however, by immediate and by mediate influx. This change is now about to be treated of in this chapter. The immediate influx is represented by Moses's judging the people alone, but the immediate and the mediate influx is represented by the choosing of the princes of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, who were to judge the small matters, and refer the great matters to Moses.
THE FIRST STATE OF THOSE WHO ARE OF THE SPIRITUAL CHURCH.
(18-16.) It is of eternal order, "and it was on the morrow "-that with those who are of the spiritual Church, in the state before they act from good, the Truth Divine proceeding immediately from the LORD disposes them to receive it, "and Moses sat to judge the people"-and then they consult the Truth Divine-that is, the Word-await replies from it, and do according to it-that is, they obey it, or they obey from Truth Divine, "and the people stood over Moses"-in every state interiorly and exteriorly, "from the morning until the evening." From Omniscience the Divine Good sees, "and the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing to the people"-that without the influx from good elsewhere (that is to say, without mediate influx), "and he said, What is this word, that thou, thou doest to the people, wherefore thou, sittest thou alone?"-everything of the will which they have who are of the spiritual Church in every state, comes simply from obedience and not from affection, "and all the people is standing over thee from morning even until evening." When man is in this state, he acts from compulsion to the truth and not from freedom; the LORD then inflows and induces immediately, but His immediate influx does not come to the perception, because it is in the inmosts of man; but the immediate and at the same time mediate influx of the LORD comes to the perception and gives affection, for it is not only in the inmosts of man, but also in his mediates and extremes. To the provident action of the Divine Good as manifested in this exercise of its Omniscience, the Divine Truth which was conjoined and united to it, reacted for answer, "and Moses said to his father-in-law"-that their wish and action depends upon the teaching of the Word. They wish and act from nothing else than from this, that the Word has said thus and so, "Because the people cometh to me to inquire of God"-in everything that happens, "when they have a word"-then they are disposed from the Truth revealed, "it cometh to me, and I judge between man and between his companion"-and from this they are taught what is true and what is good, "and I make known the judgments of God and His laws."
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THE CHANGE FROM TRUTH TO GOOD, WHEN TRUTHS OF SUCCESSIVE DEGREES ARE ORDAINED BY DIVINE GOOD.
(17-23.) The Divine Good foresaw, "and the father-in-law of Moses said unto him"-that a change would take place, "Not good is the word which thou, thou doest"-for, were the existing state to continue, the Truth which had been inseminated would perish, "Withering thou wilt wither, also thou, also this people which is with thee"-for it is not possible that it should remain, because it is not of order, "because too heavy for thee is the word"-without influx of truth from good from somewhere else, good cannot be perceived nor can it be done from affection, "thou art not able to do it alone"- from the union with Divine Good, the Divine Truth would consent, "now hear my voice"-to the decision from the Divine, "I shall counsel thee, and God shall be with thee"-that the truth proceeding immediately from the Divine, "Be thou to the people with God"-should meditate and intercede, "and bring thou, thou, the words to God"-so that from the truth proceeding immediately from the LORD there should be the internal and external goods and truths of the Church, "and thou shalt teach them the statutes and the laws"-whence the men of the Church would have the light of intelligence and, from this, life, "and thou shalt make known to them the way in which they shall walk"-so that their faith would be in act, "and the work which they shall do." The truth immediately proceeding should choose inservient truths, "and thou shalt see from all the people"-to which good from the Divine can be conjoined, "men of energy, fearing God"-because truths are pure when they are without a worldly end, "men of truth, hating lucre." Of these truths there are to be primary ones in the first degree under the Truth which is immediately from the Divine, "and thou shalt place from them princes of thousands"-and primary ones in the second degree, "princes of hundreds"-and intermediate primaries, "princes of fifties "-and primaries in the third place, "and princes of tens"-and they are to be thus disposed perpetually, "and they shall judge the people in all time." And it will be that everything will be from the Truth which is immediately from the Divine, "and it shall be, every great word they shall bring unto thee"-and it is an appearance that some of the particulars and singulars are from elsewhere, "and every small word they shall judge, they"-thus the functions and offices will be for the heavens and the angels of heaven through whom the truth is mediated, "and roll off from upon thyself, and they shall bear with thee"-and thus it will be from the Divine, "if this word thou wilt do, and God hath commanded thee"-and thus the Divine will abide with those who are of the spiritual Church, "and thou shalt be able to stand"-and those who are of the spiritual Church will be in good and thus be led from good, "and also all this people, upon their place shall they come in peace." (24-27.) As was foreseen of the Divine Good, so it was effected, according to the ordination of the Divine Good, "and Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he said"-the truths to which good could be conjoined with those who were of the spiritual Church, were chosen, "and Moses chose men of energy from all Israel"-and into these truths the Divine Truth proceeding immediately from the Divine inflowed, "and he gave them heads over the people"-even into the primary truths which were subordinated in successive order to the truth proceeding immediately from the LORD, "princes of thousands, princes of hundreds, princes of fifties, and princes of tens"-and they will depend perpetually on that truth, "and they shall judge the people in all time"-which mediates and intercedes, "the difficult word they shall bring unto Moses"-while it is an appearance that some of the particulars and singulars are from elsewhere, "and every small word they shall judge, they." Thus all things were reduced into order, so that the LORD led them no longer by truth, but by good, and as the Divine Truth was thus accommodated, "and Moses sent away his father-in-law"-the Divine Good returned to the Divine Itself, "and he went to himself unto his land."
Title Unspecified 1895
That order may be perfect, celestial and spiritual truths must be inrooted in natural truths.-S. D. 1531.
WILLIAM COOKWORTHY. 1895
THE FIRST translation of any of the Writings of the New Church from the original Latin into any living tongue was made in the year 1750, when the second volume of the Arcana Coelestia was rendered into English, at Swedenborg's own orders and expense, by Mr. John Marchant, a literary gentleman in London, the same, it is said, who, in the year 1769, also at Swedenborg's expense, translated the first English edition of the Brief Exposition. Mr. Marchant, however, does not appear to have been a receiver of the Doctrines, and his rendering of the latter work is of indifferent value. The first English translator of the Writings, who at the same time was an intelligent and believing student of them, was, strange to say, a member, and a preacher, to boot, of the "Society of Friends," or the Quaker sect, Mr. William Cookworthy, who, next to Swedenborg, occupies the honorable place as the first active promoter of the Doctrines of the New Church in England, or anywhere else in the world. William Cookworthy was born at Kingsbridge, Devonshire, in April, 1705. At an early age he lost his parents, who were members of the Quaker connection, and was shortly afterwards bound as apprentice to a chemist and druggist in London. Having finished his apprenticeship, he established himself in a similar business in the city of Plymouth, and in time acquired great reputation in his calling, being considered, at his death, one of the greatest chemists England had ever produced. He was, in fact, the first discoverer of the "Cornish China clay" (in 1755), and the original founder of the British porcelain manufactures (about 1760), which subsequently became an industry of the very greatest importance. But he was famed not for his scientific greatness alone, but also for his unaffected piety, his upright life, his refined manners, his literary taste and talents, his hospitality, wit, and relish for the society of intelligent men. Among his intimate friends were some of the foremost men of that age, such as Thomas Pitt, Sir Joseph Banks, Captain Cook, the famous navigator, who is said to have admired the Doctrines of the New Church, and the gallant Admiral Jervis, afterward Earl St. Vincent. It was observed by his friends, that whoever was in the company of Mr. Cookworthy never came out of it without being the wiser or the better in having been in it. It is told of Admiral Jervis that, returning late to his ship after one of his visits to Cookworthy, he called up his friend, the chaplain of his ship, stating to him, "I have had such a day with Mr. Cookworthy as you must hear of before I can sleep."
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When the chaplain, who related the incident, attempted to seize his opportunity to enlarge upon the pleasures of a life dedicated to religion and virtue, the Admiral, in his rough sailor's way, interrupted with "Hold your tongue. If I delight in Mr. Cookworthy's instruction, I did not come to hear a sermon from you. I came to make you partake of my pleasure." Soon after his thirtieth year Cookworthy married an estimable lady, whose value as a wife he is said to have greatly appreciated. One of her married sisters at one time told him, with more frankness than modesty, that she, herself, had the best husband of all her sisters. To which his undisturbed and smiling answer was, "But I know which of the husbands has the best wife." After a happy marriage of ten years, death suddenly removed this beloved wife from his side, at which his suffering was so great that he withdrew from Plymouth, remaining a whole year in strict seclusion. When returning to active life, he had changed in manners and appearance to those of a "plain" Quaker. Yet he soon began to meet his old friends, as usual, and, while retaining his peculiar garb, did never manifest any narrow or intolerant spirit. About this time he became a preacher in the quiet meetings of the "Friends," and is said to have been a powerful expounder of the Gospel, and an encouraging and affectionate exhorter to the humble and broken-hearted. Yet it was especially as a teacher in private conversation that his wonderful and charming powers of instruction were fully displayed. The theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg were first introduced to his notice about the year 1760, as it is said, through his friend, Stephen Penny. On his first opening one of Swedenborg's Writings, his prejudices were strongly aroused, and he soon throw down the book in disgust. From some cause or other he was, however, induced to make another examination, and from that time forward he gradually became more and more convinced of the heavenly origin and Divine truth of the Revelation given through Swedenborg. His family circle, it is said, soon perceived the salutary effects produced upon his mind through the reading of these Writings. As a consistent Quaker he had formerly been severe in the luxuries of life and of personal adornments, occasionally giving vent to his temper in assaults upon the too-gayly decked caps of his young daughters. But after he had begun to study Swedenborg's works, the poor little caps were left in peace, and his temper and intolerance gave way to a wider and more internal spirit of forbearance and charity. Cookworthy found a most congenial friend in a venerable clergyman of the established Church, the Rev. Thomas Hartley, who had become a disciple of the Heavenly Doctrines, possibly through the agency of Mr. Cookworthy himself. These two corresponded for some time before they became personally acquainted, but when they finally met, the repeated interchange of sentiments had produced such a union of souls that at first sight they ran into each other's arms, as if they had been old acquaintances. Learning that Emanuel Swedenborg, in the year 1769, was sojourning in London, these two friends took occasion to visit the author of the wonderful Writings which they so greatly admired. Of this interesting interview, which lasted for two hours, but little has been recorded, beyond the impressions which the visitors received of the remarkable innocence and simplicity of Swedenborg's character. The friends are said to have invited him to take dinner with them, but Swedenborg politely excused himself, adding that he had already prepared his dinner, which was found to consist in a simple meal of bread and milk. It is not known that Cookworthy saw Swedenborg again, in this life, but there is no doubt but that his interest in the Doctrines was increased by his visit. In the year following (1770), it is said that he assisted Mr. Hartley in the publication of the first English edition of the treatise on The Intercourse between the Soul and the Body. Cookworthy himself undertook the translation of The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem, and published this work at his own expense, at Plymouth. In the Preface to this Translation he uses these commendatory words:
"It is very likely that many may treat the author's account of his spiritual intercourse and communication either as imagination or madness; his Works, however, evince him to have been a man of most solid and accurate thought, and of great erudition. His style is remarkably simple, and hath not the least tincture either of the flighty or the enthusiastic; so that there appears no solid reason for treating those communications as the productions of a diseased imagination, by the supposed impossibility of a sensible intercourse between the world of matter and spirit; but then, this way of reasoning would lead mankind to burn their Bibles, for this best of books abounds with instances of vision and spiritual intercourse from the beginning to the end of it, and the last book consists entirely of them. If it is said that those things have now ceased, and, though possible ages ago, are not so now, a man who has any pretence of thought, should be ashamed to assert such a thing unless he could prove it, which can not be done without showing that there has such a change been made in the human and angelical natures, that I what was heretofore possible, is now no longer so; but how can any man do this without the intercourse which is denied by him to be possible? "The translator is not ashamed to acknowledge an intellectual friendship for the worthy author; which was greatly increased by a personal conversation with him last year in London; and having observed that his works have the character of a good friend, that is, to be liked and joined better the more we are acquainted with them, so he advises the serious reader not to pass hasty judgment, but as it is a small piece, to give it several readings, before he determines on its merit, and particularly to consider how his Doctrines and sentiments stand in regard to life and conduct" (New Church Magazine, 1885, p. 375).
In the year 1778, Cookworthy likewise published at his own expense, amounting to more than a hundred pounds, the work on Heaven and Hell, which had been translated by himself and Mr. Hartley, conjointly. William Cookworthy did not live to see the external establishment of the New Church separate from the Old, but continued through life in connection with the religious body of his-birth. That he did not know and follow the evil tenets and practices of the Quakers-as these have been described in the Writings-we can have no doubt, and he finally departed so far from the customs of this sect as to partake of the LORD'S Supper, which, as is known, is rejected by the orthodox Quakers. While on his death-bed he invited his family to take bread and wine with him, saying, "It has long stuck with me. 'Twas not my inclination, but made a duty. My friends may be righter than I, but I pay great reverence to Scripture." His release from the body occurred on the 17th of October, 1780. As an epitaph we may quote the following summary description of his personality, written by one who knew him well: "He was comely in person; kind and charitable in his disposition; courteous and truly polite in his carriage, beyond all forms of breeding, uniting the ease and affability of the gentleman with the sobriety and dignity of the Christian" (Intellectual Repository, 1825,p. 447).
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Title Unspecified 1895
Truths that are natural, or taken out of things corporeal, worldly and natural, are earthen vessels of spiritual truths.-S. D. 1967.
WORKS REFERRED TO BY SWEDENBORG. 1895
THE course of instruction in Swedenborg's science, pursued in the Collegiate Department of the Philadelphia Schools of the Academy, early led the authorities to acquire the works of such authors as were quoted or referred to by Swedenborg. His many references, I especially to the plates contained in the works of his day, rendered this imperative if the students were to follow their author in every detail. The works which are now in the Library, having either been bought on various occasions, or presented by friends, are these:
BARTHOLIN, THOMAS. Anatomia Renovata. Leyden, 1686. COWPER. Myotomia Reformata. London, 1694. EUSTACHIUS. Tabulae Anatomicae. Cologne, 1717. Leyden, 1744. HEISTER. Compendium Anatomicum. Altorf and Nuremherg, 1727. LANCISI. De Mote Cordis et Aneurysmatibus. Rome, 1743. Contains also, De Vena sine Pari, and De Gangliis Nervorum. LEEUWENHOEK. Arcana Naturae Detecta. Delft, 1695. Contains also, Continuatio, Delft, 1697. Epistolae Physiologicae. Delft, 1719. MALPIGHI. Opera Posthuma. Contains also De Structura Glandularum Conglobatarum. 1 copy published at London, 1697. 1 copy published at Venice, 1698. MANGETUS. Bibliotheca Anatomica. Geneva, 1699. MORGAGNI. Adversaria Anatomica Omnia. Leyden, 1723. Epistolae Hague, 1724. NUCK. Opera Omnia. Leyden, 1722, 1723, 1714. REVERHORST. De Motu Bilis Circulari. (In Nuck's Works.) SWAMMERDAM. Biblia Naturae. Leyden, 1737. German translation, Leipzig, 1752. Historia Insectorum Generalis. VESALIUS. Opera Omnia. Leyden, 1725. WILLIS. Opera Omnia. Amsterdam, 1682. Cerebri Anatome. London, 1664. WINSLOW. Exposition Anatomique de la Structure du Corps Humain. English translation. London, 1756. WOLF, CHRISTIAN. Cosmologia. Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1731. Ontologia. Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1736.
Swammerdam's Biblia Naturae is also referred to in The True Christian Religion. The Library likewise owns the works of Des Cartes, Leibnitz, and Macchiavelli, who are mentioned in the Writings. Although the works listed above have been of great service in the study of Swedenborg, the professor still feels handicapped, as some of the works, the plates of which are most frequently referred to, are not yet in the Library, such as Ruysch's Thesaurum Anatomicum and Mangetus's Theatrum Anatomicum, both of which are valuable mainly on account of their plates. Among the numerous friends of the Academy there may be some who may learn of an opportunity by which the Library can acquire the books still needed. In order to guide them, and also in order to assist Librarians of other New Church institutions, and private collectors, who would like to complete their libraries by buying these works, he has compiled a full list of the' works referred to by Swedenborg, omitting, however, those authors of which there is merely a passing notice. This omission will account for the brevity of this catalogue, as compared with the lists appended to the English translation of the scientific Works of Swedenborg. Where special editions are mentioned without being inclosed in parenthesis, they are such as are noted by Swedenborg. Other editions are described in the lists appended to the Scientific Works. Where the editors of Swedenborg's posthumous works have supplied quotations or references from other editions, the fact is recorded. Some of the volumes which are in the Library of the Academy are of another edition than that used by Swedenborg. In such case copies of the edition used by Swedenborg are desired, as the different editions sometimes present variations. We say copies, since the extension of the Academy's schools renders the possession of duplicates desirable. But the search need not exclude other editions. A memorandum of any edition that is obtainable will be welcome. The following notes will explain the signs used in the catalogue: * indicates that the Library of the Academy contains a copy of the edition referred to. + indicates that the Library contains a copy of the work, but of another edition. t indicates that the work is one of those most frequently referred to by Swedenborg. tt Most Important of all. () Editions inclosed in parentheses are not given in Swedenborg's works, but are supplied from other authorities to assist the book-buyer. ++ Most of the authors are anatomists. Those that are referred to in Swedenborg's work on chemistry and kindred subjects are marked ++. Where no work is given after an author's name, none is referred to in Swedenborg's works. Aristotle is an exception: a number of his works are mentioned. His complete works are desired.
ACTA LIPSIENSIA. ACTA LITERARTA Suxcis. 1721* 1725. ACTA ERUDITORUM. 1682, 1683. t ARISTOTLE. t BAGLIVI. Dissertatio de Experimentis per Infusoriam in Vivis Animalibus. (Complete Works published in 1704 and later years.) BARTHOLIN, CASPAR. t BARTHOLIN, THOMAS. + Anatomia Reformata. Leyden, 1651. (Dr. Tafel, in The Brain, used Leyden, 1673.) Acta Medica et Philosophica Hafniensia, 1673. BAUHIN. t BELLINI. Opuscula Aliquot: De Motu Cordis. Leyden, 1696. BIANCHI. (Quoted in Manget.) t BIDLOO. Anatomia Corporis Humani. Amsterdam, 1685. tt BOERHAAVE. Institutitones Medicae in usus annuae exercitationes domesticos digestae. (Best editions in 1727 and later years. Dr. Tm. Tafel used Leyden, 1730.) Aphorismi de Cognoscendis et Curandis Morbis, in usum Doctrine Domesticae. Institutiones et Experimentiae Chemhise.++ BOYLE. Ronxnv. ++ Natural Philosophy. (Best ed. London, 1772.) BRESMAL, JEAN FRANOIS.++ BROMELL, MAGNUS VON. ++ t BRUNN (or BRUNNER). (Glandulae Duodeni, etc., 1715.) t CANT. Impet. primi anat. CASSERIUS. De Vocis Auditusque Organis Historia. Tabulae Anatomicae. t CHESELDEN. Anatomy. London, 1713. COSCHWITZ. Disaertatio de Valvulis in Ureteribus. t COWPER. Myotomia Reformata. *8vo. London, 1694 Folio, London, 1724. Anatomy. Folio. Leyden, 1737. DOMINICUS, GULIELMINUS. De Sanguinis Natura et Constitutione. DOUGLAS. Myography.
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DRAKE, Anthropologia Nova. DRELINCOURT. De Lienosis. tt EUSTACHIUS. + Tabulae Anatomicae. Cologne, 1716. Liber de Vena sine Pari. Venice, 1564. Opuscula Anatomica. Venice, 1564. De Renibus. FABRICIUS AB AQUAPENDENTE. t FANTONI. Anatomia Corporis Humani. Turin, 1711. Epistola ad Pacchionum. (In Pacchioni's Works.) GALEN. GLISSON. Tractatus de Ventriculo et Intestinis. Leyden, 1676. Omenti Historia. Amsterdam, 1677. GRAAF. De Succo Pancrcatico. Opera. Leyden, 1677. t GROTIUS (or DE GROOT). De Veritate Religionis Christianae. (Best edition 1640 and later years.) t HARVEY. Exorcitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis. HAUKSBEE, FRANCIS. ++ tt HEISTER. t Compendium Anatomicum. (Dr. Imm. Tafel used Nuremberg, 1741. Dr. R. L. Tafel in The Brain, used Amsterdam, 1748.) Ephemerides Naturae Curiosae. t l'Anatomie d'Heister, avec des Essais de physique sur l'usage des Parties du Corps Humain, par M. Jean Senac. Paris, 1724, ed. 2, 1735. HELVETIUS, JOHN. ++ HELWIG, GEORGE ANDREAS. ++ HESSEL, JOHN. ++ HIGHMORE. Disquisitio Anatomica Corporis Humani. (Hague, 1651. Quoted by Dr. Im. Tafel in De Generatione.) HIPPOCRATES. HISTOIRE DE L'ACADEMIE ROYALE DES SCIENCES, DE PARIS, 1699-1701. 1707.\ Paris, 1719, contains on p. 51 an article by Littre. See Animal Kingdom, Vol. I, p. 263. For the year 1715, pp. 234, 235, contains an article by Winslow. 1717. Paris, 1730. See Animal Kingdom, Vol. I, p. 425. Also Vol. II, p. 40. (Some of these may be found quoted in Manget.) HJSERNE, URBAN. HOFFMANN. Dissortationes to Horne's Microcosmus. Idea Mach. Hum. HORNE. See Hoffmann. KIRCHER, ATHANASIUS. ++ t LANCISI. Epistola de Bilis Secretione ad Joh. Bapt. Bianchi. t De Motu Cordis et Aneurysmatibus. t De Vena sine Pari. t LEEUWENHORK. t Arcana Naturae Detecta. Leyden, 1722. Epistola de Structura Corebri. * Epistotae Physiologicae. Delft, 1719. Lectiones Cutlerianae. (See Philosophical Transactions.) LEMMERIUS, NICHOLAS.t LOCKE, JOHN. On the Human Understanding. t LOWER. Tractatus de Corde. London 1669, (1699?). tt MALPIGHI. De Pulmonibus Epistola. Exercitatio Epistolica de Lingua. Folio. London, 1685. Dissertatio Epistolica de Cerebo. De Omento. De Cerebri Cortice. De Renibus. De Liene. De Polypo Cordis Dissertatio. De Formatione Pulli in Ovo. Appendix repetitas auctasque de Ovo Incubato Observationes Continens. Dissertatio epistolica do Bombyce. London, 1686, 1687. (The above works were afterward published together under the title "Opera Omnia." Best ed. 4to, Leyden and Amsterdam, 1687.) Epistolae Posthumae. * De Structura Glandularum Conglobatarum (in Opera Posthuma). * Opera Posthuma. Amsterdam, 1698. (Malpighi's complete works were published after his death by Gavinelli. Folio. Venice, 1743.) Anatome Plantarum. London, 1687.
tt MANGETUS. Theatrum Anatomicum cum Eustachii Tabulis Anatomicis. Folio. Cologne and Geneva, 1716. Rome, 1728. * Bibliotheca Anatomica. Geneva, 1699. A MELLE, JACOB. tt MORGAGNI. *Advereria Anatomica Omnnia. (His complete works published at Padua, 1719; Leyden, 1723, 1740.) MUNNICKS. De Re Anatomica Liber. Utrecht, 1697. MUSGRAVE. (See "Philosophical Transactions.") t NEEDHAM. Disquisitio Anatomica de Formatu Foetu. 12mo, London, 1567. t NEWTON, SIR ISAAC. ++ tt NUCK. Adenographia Curiosa de Glandulis Conglobatis. Leyden, 1692. t Epistola ad Amicum de Inventis Novis, in Adenographia, 1692. * Scialographia et Adenographia Curiosa. Leyden, 1722, 1723. tt PACCEIONI. Opera. Rome, 1741. PALFIN. Anatomia. Paris, 1726. Nouvelle Osteologie. Paris, 1726. Description Anatomique des Parties des Femmes. (Leyden, 1703, quoted by Dr. Im. Tafel in De Generatione.) PASCAL, BLASE. ++ PEYER. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 1703, p. 1481-3, article by Ridley, n. 287. (Also those volumes wanted that contain contributions by Musgrave, Ray, and Leeuwenhoek) POLHEIM, CHRISTOPHER. ++ RAY. (See Philosophical Transactions.) REVENHORST. t Dissertationes de Motu Bilis Circulari. RICCIOLI, GIOVANNI BATTISTAE tt RIDLEY. Anatomy of the Brain. London, 1695. RIOLAN. Anthropologia. ROBERG, LAWRENCE. RUDBECK, OLAUS. t RUYSCH. Thesaurum Anatomicum. Amsterdam, 1741, 1744. Adversaria Anatomica. Amsterdam, 1737. Epistolae Anatomicae. Observ. Anat. Chir. Amsterdam, 1721. (N. B.- All of his works have been published uniformly, the Index constituting a separate publication.) t SANTORINUS. Observationes Anatomicae. SCHRLHAMMER. Anal. An. Praef. SCHENCK. Exercitationes Anatomicae. Jena, 1662. tt SCHURIG. Chylologia Historico-Medica, 4to. Dresden 1725. Spermatologia. (1720, quoted by Dr. Im. Tafel in De Generatione.) Embryologia. (Dresden and Leipzig, 1732, quoted by Dr. Im. Tafel.) Muliebria Historico-Medica. (1729, quoted by Dr. Im. Tafel.) t SENAC. See Heister. * SENECA. STENO. (Quoted in Manget.) * SWAMMERDAM. Biblia Naturae. VALLISNIERI. Cousiderazioni et Esperienze intorno al creduto cervello, etc. Padua, 1710. t VALSALVA. De Aure Humana. tt VERHEYEN, Corporis Humani Anatomia. (Best editions 1710 and later years) Corporis Humani Anatomia sive Supplementum Anatomicum. Brussels, 1710. t * VESALIUS. De Humani Corporis Fabrica. VESLINGIUS. - tt VIEUSSENS. Neurographia Universalis. Lyons (Leyden?), 1685. WEDELIUS. t WEPFER. Observationes Anatomicae ex Cadaveribus, 8vo, etc. Amsterdam, 1681. t WHARTON. Adenographia. tt * WILLIS. Cerebri Anatome. tt + WINSLOW. Exposition Anatomique de la Structure du Corps Humain. (Dr. Im. Tafel used Paris, 1766.) WOLF, CHRIsTIAN. *Cosmologia. * Ontologia. (See list on pages 427, 428 and 188, Vol. II of the Animal Kingdom.)
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Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE New Church Book Association of Philadelphia has published a very neat catalogue of its free circulating Library.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE union of Harolden and Nya Kyrans Tidning has not been effected, and they continue their separate existence. IN the May instalment of the Concordance, the subjects range from "O" to "Opening." This is the first number of the fifth volume, and the 80th Part of the whole work.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Journal of the Twenty-eighth Annual-Meeting of the Massachusetts Sabbath-school Conference, held in Brockton on February 22d, is published. It shows 19 schools in the Conference, with 153 teachers and 1,273 scholars in 16 of them, and 8,366 books in the libraries.
Title Unspecified 1895
The New Church Standard for April contains the first of a series of articles on the "Hebrew of the Divine Word." These articles are from notes of lectures given by the Pastor to the Academy Church in London. There is also a sermon by the Rev. E. C. Bostock on "Is the Rational to be consulted?"
Title Unspecified 1895
WITH the April-May number of The Star in the East, the first volume comes to a close. Title-page and index, which show that the paper began in January, 1891, accompany this number. From force of circumstances the Editor, the Rev. G. L. Allbutt, intends to resign at the forthcoming meeting of the Canada Association, of which the Star has been the organ.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Illinois Association has published the first number of a monthly manual entitled The New Church. "Its object is to give instruction in spiritual truth and to afford a means of communication between members of the Church." The first number is sound and interesting. A feature is the interspersing of quotations from the Writings in heavy-faced type as in the Life, the Standard, and the Tidings.
Title Unspecified 1895
CHICAGO, that loves to indulge in contemplations of the greatness of its products, can now boast of the greatness of number of periodicals that promulgate ideas derived, to greater or less extent, and with more or less confident avowal, from the Doctrines of the New Church. There are five of them now. Three have sprung up during the present year-perhaps one of many indications of the revival in business.
Title Unspecified 1895
The New Church Monthly, which title has in turn served several periodicals of the New Church, now reappears as the title of a sixteen-page octavo, edited and published by the Rev. A. J. Bartels, of Chicago, Minister and Faith Healer. The first number contains a prologue, a sermon, and the first instalment of two articles, "The New Church-What does it mean?" and "Divine Healing." The latter essay promises to present the true and rational explanation of "Christian Science," "Faith Cure," etc., but thus far does little more than affirm the power of spirit over matter.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE New Church Messenger, of May 1st says, "Mr. Newman, of the Sydney (Australia) Society, has recently returned from a visit to England, and in The New Age is this quite remarkable criticism of a service in one of the London New Church places of worship, which he attended: "Notwithstanding the able addresses of the Pastor, the attendance as not large, and Mr. Newman thought it due to the profound air of solemnity which prevailed throughout, and which he thought was too depressing for the young of the congregation. Young people, as a rule, delight in variety and brightness, and require a certain amount of cheerfulness even in a Church." Such remarks give rise to the question "How are services conducted in Australia!"
Title Unspecified 1895
The Trinity is the title of a pamphlet of thirty pages, apparently the first number of a weekly publication by R. M. Walker, "teaching the science of correspondence, or the trinity of one." Some idea of the style and teaching of the paper may be gathered from the following note to the first number: "In every one thing, in both material and spiritual worlds, there are three parts. The three are one, as the mineral, vegetable, and animal worlds are one world. Sickness, health, and the use thereof, are one truth, or vessel. . . When you understand these things then dominion is given you over sickness, poverty, etc. To know, understand, and believe are one. You now have knowledge only; get understanding, then comes life abundantly." The editor has read Swedenborg, but gives his teachings a very peculiar cast. He narrates a number of experiences in which he was a witness to occurrences in the spiritual world. The power which he claims for his spirit over matter also betokens the mind-healer.
COMPTON'S LIFE OF COOKWORTHY. 1895
WHILE the sketch of William Cookworthy's life, which appears elsewhere in these columns, was reposing in the Editorial Drawer, awaiting, with other biographical narrations of the series, its turn to come forth into the light of day, Mr. Theodore Compton, well-known in the New Church for his charming essays, especially concerning the life of prominent men in and out of the Church, published in England an elegant and distinctively literary volume of about 140 pages, commemorating the life and achievements of the same man, entering into many details of his life, giving copious extracts from his letters, and embellishing the volume with a portrait of Cookworthy, with a picture of his house, and with illustrations of Plymouth china, with which his name is intimately connected, as that of the discoverer of the English china-clay in Cornwall, and the first manufacturer of true porcelain. After devoting several chapters to Cookworthy's life for half a century, and to his manufacture of china, and the prosecution of experiments for the amelioration of mankind, Mr. Compton tells of his acquaintance with the Writings of Swedenborg, and makes good use of the opportunity to give an outline of the Doctrines of the New Church, appending to the chapter, with his recommendation, a list of collateral works, "and the publications of the Swedenborg Society." This chapter is not surpassed in interest, to the New Churchman, by the rest of the volume. And for this reason the following passage deserves especial notice. Commenting on the fact that Cookworthy's attachment to the Society of Friends was not loosened by his reading of Swedenborg's works, the author says:
"Swedenborg's 'views' . . . enlarged, explained, and corrected, rather than contradicted those of the early Friends, and by always setting the love of God and man above other points of doctrine, they enabled the disciple to embrace as a fellow- Christian every one who proved his love and faith in his Lord and Saviour, by keeping His commandments," etc.
That there were men among the early Friends who were of this description, and held to principles such as these, may not be doubted, but to confound this with the Society of Friends itself and their views and ways, even in early times, betokens a serious lack of judgment. The aversion for Doctrine, which is a prominent feature of the Quakers, is in itself an aversion for the LORD, Who is Doctrine itself. The rejection of doctrine and doctrinal instruction from the Word, as compared with the supposed influence of the Holy Ghost, led the early Quakers astray from the LORD. This attitude of theirs attracted swarms of enthusiastic spirits who focussed their influences upon them, and possessed and obsessed them, inspiring the hallucination that they were the Holy Ghost.
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These are the spirits by whom the Quakers, then as now, were moved to preach in their assemblies, unless they were especially protected, as Cookworthy was, by a devout reading of the Scriptures, and by their deriving doctrine therefrom in spite of their professed principles. To this exceptional condition Cookworthy himself bore witness on his death-bed, when, breaking through another of the rules of his sect, he partook of the Holy Supper, and, inviting his daughters to share it with him, said, "It has long stuck with me. It was not my inclination, but made a duty. My friends may be righter than I; but I pay great reverence to Scripture." The confounding of Quakerism and the New Church, and considering the latter as a mere "enlargement, explanation, and Correction, rather than a contradiction," of the former, induced, no doubt, by a well-meaning, but, nevertheless, utterly mistaken affection for the sect of which Cookworthy was a member, and to which, in all probability, a number of his descendants still belong, is quite in keeping with a spirit at large in the New Church; but in this case it is shown by the Doctrines themselves to be so contradictory to them, that it is appropriate to quote here, in full, the declaration concerning the Quakers made in the Continuation Concerning the Spiritual World, and to refer the interested reader to the abundant testimony concerning that peculiar sect in the pages of the Spiritual Diary:
"CONCERNING THE QUAKERS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
"There are enthusiastic spirits, separated from all others, so dull of perception that they believe that they are the Holy Spirit. When Quakerism began, these were, as it were, drawn forth from the forests round about, where they were wandering, and obsessed many and infused the persuasion that they were acted upon by the Holy Spirit; and because they sensibly perceived the influx, that Religious occupied them so entirely, that they believed that they were illustrated and holy more than others; wherefore they could not be led away from their Religious. Those who have confirmed themselves in this, come into a like enthusiasm after death, and are separated from the rest, and are sent off into the forests to their like, where, from afar they appear like wild boars. But those who have not confirmed themselves are separated from the rest, and are remanded to a similar place in the desert, which is in the ultimates of the southern quarter, where eaves are their temples. "After the former enthusiastic spirits were removed from them, the trembling from them which invaded their bodies, ceased, and now they feel a motion toward the left. It has been shown that from the earliest time they went to worse, and finally, from the command of their holy spirit, departed into heinous things, which they divulge to no one. I have spoken with the Instaurator of their religion, and with Penn, who said that they have no part in such things. But those who have perpetrated such things are sent down into a dark place, and sit in e corners, appearing like dregs. "Since they have rejected the two Sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper, and yet read the Word, and preach the LORD, and speak, while obsessed by such enthusiastic spirits, and thus commingle the holy things of the Word with profaned truths, therefore no society is formed of them in the spiritual world; but after they have been dissociated they wander hither and thither, disappear, and are gathered together in the above-mentioned desert" (C. L. J. 83-85).
This, it should be noted, was published by Swedenborg in the year 1763. Cookworthy himself early saw the incongruity of his position, although he does not seem to have been prepared to break with the "Society of Friends," for we have this entertaining anecdote connected with the visit which he made to London in order to have the translation of Heaven and Hell published, which he and Hartley had prepared: His grandson says, in his Memoir: "As he walked with my father through Cornhill, on his way to the bookseller's, he could not forbear being diverted with the translation of such a work having been made and published by a public Friend. He joked about his being taken to task for it, and being asked what he really was. He chuckled at the notion of answering for himself in the words of the showman of a nondescript odd fish they had been to see the day before- 'Some say he's a grampus, and some a porpoise, but for my part I don't know what he is.'"
As if to bear out the description of his "nondescript oddness," he on the occasion of this very journey, on the way either to or from London, stopped over at Bristol, and preached and prayed the Friar's Meeting-house. It so happened that this particular sermon and prayer were reported by a short-hand reporter-a rare occurrence among the Quakers. And those who would fain read the sermon of a Quaker minister who had by that time been reading the Doctrines of the New Church for several years will find it published entire in Mr. Compton's book. It is equal to most sermons that are now preached by the ministers of Conference and Convention, and-so far as the Doctrines are concerned-equally colorless. It is a devout sermon, such as a good man who refuses to embrace the Tritheism, and who goes to the Word, but knows nothing of the Internal Sense, might preach. Similar in character are Cookworthy's letters. They are devout, affectionate, and tender, written in a quaint but good and very attractive style. They breathe a spirit which communicates a sphere of calm enjoyment to the reader. They date from the time when letter-writing was an art, and was cultivated as such. They have given us so much satisfaction that we should like to quote with some fullness. But the inexorable limits of space will permit only the following extracts, which we select, not exactly because they are of the best, but because they contain the only references to Swedenborg or his Doctrines, and this, in so early a reader, one naturally seeks-for first. To his eldest daughter he wrote on one of his journeys in the year 1777:
".... After dinner, I went up to Cousin Edward's, who had expressed an impatience to see me. I want words to express the pleasure this worthy's man's behaviour gave me. He looked cheerful and well; I expressed my pleasure at it, but at once his loving good heart was broke into such a sweet child-like tenderness that melted mine along with it. I will not describe the scene-it was such as thou wouldst naturally imagine it to be. I have the satisfaction of observing that his disorder has not in the least impaired his understanding; it is as good as ever-nothing is hurt but his memory, so that at times he cannot hit on the name of things. I write by his bedside. It would have done thy heart good, to have heard the worthy husband speak of his wife; it was in the most simple language of love, from a heart that overflowed with it. Their's, I am fully satisfied, is the very conjugal union that Swedenborg speaks so much of; they are united in the eternal principle of pure love, and are partners forever. But how doth the great Father of all the families of the earth own them as His children, in blessing them with a virtuous and worthy offspring. The son of peace is here, and notwithstanding the afflictions they have passed through, yet I doubt not but the promise, 'Peace shall be in their dwellings,' is fulfilled to them."
In another letter to the same daughter, he writes:
"I am quite pleased with thy sending the Translation (of Heaven and Hell) to Cousin Marshman's. I am afraid Cos. Berry hath drunk so long of the old wine, that he will disrelish the new. Possibly this may not be the case with James, as I think he hath more liberality of sentiment."
The book is enlivened by a number of entertaining anecdotes, mostly based on Cookworthy's absence of mind, or, as his biographer explains, on "his faculty of confining it to one subject at a time, to the exclusion of what was passing around him." This faculty enabled him to
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"Carry on a lively conversation on his way to Meeting, up to the very door, and resume it on his way home; yet not allow a thought of it to pass through his mind while in Meeting. His whole soul would be devoted to the inward and spiritual worship of Him who is a Spirit. He would sometimes allude to this favored state in his ministry, and would encourage those who were troubled with disturbing thoughts, by telling them that he had at one time suffered in like manner, 'but now,' said he, 'I can thankfully say, that the world and all its cares are left at the meeting-house door.'"
Truly; a state of mind that not a few of the New-church men of the present day wish ardently they could attain!
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
CONTRIBUTION TO CONTEMPORANEOUS CHURCH HISTORY. 1895
WITHIN the last twelve months, in a city where the Academy has no members, several members of one of the largest societies of the General Convention, after a long period of silent suffering for want of proper spiritual sustenance in the Society, ceased attending worship, and met together by themselves, to read the Doctrines. The Pastor of the Society subsequently called upon one of the number, a lady, and, in the course of a long conversation, induced her to promise to attend his services the next Sunday, as he wished her to see the change in his sermons, the result of a change in his conviction concerning the method of pastoral work. After the Pastor's visit, when in a freer state, the lady reconsidered her promise, and the following correspondence ensued between her and the Pastor, which will give some clue to the subjects of their conversation. In the history of the external Church this occurrence may perhaps be regarded by many as of little consequence, but the grave issue involved marks its importance to the internal history of the Church in that locality. For this reason-and also because the correspondence vividly reflects the opposing states predominating in the New Church as it exists in this day and generation-it finds a place in these columns. For, unfortunately for the cause of the Truth, the denial of the Doctrine which lies at the foundation of the New Jerusalem is seldom expressed publicly. Like many other destructive falses it shuns the light of day. In order that the reader may the better judge of the truth and the error abstracted from persons, all personal allusions have been eliminated from the correspondence.- THE EDITOR.
FIRST LETTER TO THE PASTOR.
, Dec; 15th, 1894. MY DEAR. MR. .
I have thought much about my promise to attend Church next Sunday, and the only conclusion I can arrive at is that, under the circumstances, it cannot prove to be a useful thing to do. I have remained away from the services because they ceased to be of use to me (or at least I felt so), and not at all for any personal feeling toward any one in the Society. There seem to be in the New Church two decidedly different kinds of preaching, one which is intended to attract those who know little or nothing of the Doctrines, and which attempts to prove that the Old Church is fast coming into the New; and the other founded on the belief that the Writings are the LORD in His Second Coming, and that the Truths of the Word are for the members of the Church to regulate their internal and external lives by. The fact that some persons may study Truth for the sake of appearing to know more than others, or for any other selfish reason (how careful we should be about judging any one's motive), ought not in my opinion to prevent us from studying it continually for the sake of use. The infidelity which we know exists at the present time throughout the civilized world, can only be battled with successfully, it seems to me, on the ground that now is the time of the LORD'S Advent, and that the Christian Church, as a Church, has ceased to exist. People are startled to hear that, but does not a great truth, boldly uttered, always startle, and is there any better way to make people think? As long as the New Church cherishes the idea of affiliating in any way with a dead one, or fails to announce with no uncertain sound what her Faith is, just so long is she, in my opinion, not in a state of growth, but lacks only a little of being as lifeless as the so-called Christian Church. The Academy may be wrong in some things. I do not know enough of the why and wherefore of their interpretations of certain Doctrines to criticise them; but am with them, heart and soul, in their stand as to the Second Coming, as to distinctive preaching, and as to social relations in the Church. Feeling as I do, then, it has become impossible for me to continue to attend the Worship here. I am sure that it is hardly necessary for me to tell you that I believe you are, in your views and methods, conscientious, and that you work in the way that to you seems best for the growth of the Church. As to separations, I believe they are orderly, though I formerly thought differently. I believe that the life and growth of the Church depend upon them. Does not separation go on continually in the World of Spirits? In this world, in our own bodies, is there not a constant effort toward a division of the pure from the impure? Does not a Coming of the LORD inevitably lead to separation? How then can the New Church grow and become a powerful agent for the regeneration of the world without it? And the more complete it is, the more perfectly can the Church act and thus be in real charity. Very Sincerely Yours,
.
FIRST LETTER FROM THE PASTOR.
, Dec. 20th, 1894.
Miss . DEAR FRIEND:-Yours of the 15th was only received yesterday. I much regret your absence from Church last Sunday, for I wanted you to see the result of the changes which have been going on in my own mind in regard to methods of preaching, which I tried to explain to you when I called. You either forgot, or passed over without consideration, what I told you on this subject. Of course, under these circumstances, the question arises whether your mind is not closed to conviction of the possibility of error, since you had promised to be at Church. But if you mean, really, to take the ground which you mention that "the Writings are the LORD in His Second Coming," I cannot go with you, since this is not the position of the Writings themselves, as I have read them for forty years. . . .
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That the Writings are wholly true, is one thing, or that they contain the essential principles of the truth from out of the internal sense of Scripture; but that they are the LORD is a violation of the Arcana Coelestia statement that the openings of the Word which are given in that work contain but a few of the Divine Truths which are there concealed. See Arcana Coelestia, n. 64. This ground seems to me to ignore the Word, and the personal Saviour, so thoroughly taught in the Writings, and tends strongly to idolatry of a dangerous kind, out of which must grow serious evils. I thoroughly indorse the Writings, as they explain themselves, but do not according to this human and forced interpretation, nor can I believe that you can do so if you look at the subject with a free and open mind. You think the growth in the Academy is due to its truth. I will not wholly take issue with this when I say that it is not difficult to account for a certain growth in the same way as the Roman Catholic growth is so counted for-namely, in the sense of rest which one has when he has wholly surrendered his own freedom of thought to authority. I myself would greatly enjoy the freedom of such a rest. I would enjoy escaping from all perplexities and questionings and possibilities of doubt. I would like to get away from contact with the unbelieving spheres of the world and its evil states; but I am told in these Writings that I must not do so, but try to meet all these things; and that thus only can a genuine spiritual life be built up. Refraining from further statement of reasons for the growth of Academy congregations, which occur to me for fear of prejudgment, I will close with the hope that you will seriously weigh these ideas, and with the hope that you can see your way at last to unite with those who are sincerely anxious to be true to the LORD in His Second Coming. Yours in the Faith of the New Church, .
SECOND LETTER TO THE PASTOR. Jan. 12th, 1695. MY DEAR MR. . The morning following the receipt of your letter, I left the city for a stay of several days, and since my return have not, until now, been able to reply. That I changed my mind after giving you my promise to attend Church the Sunday after your call, does not, I hope, prove that it is, as you suggest, "closed to the conviction of a possibility of error." For years, the questions which have been prominently before the Church have interested, and very often troubled me deeply. I have wished earnestly to know the truth. I have read, studied, and when it was possible, asked questions, all the time striving to get rid of preconceived ideas, trying to keep my mind open to the reception of the LORD'S truth, and through all have believed that unless I desired it for the sake of life, it could not find a real abiding-place in my heart and mind. I did not give up attending Church, after having gone there regularly for so many years, until I became thoroughly convinced that I could not find there what I needed so much, though I think I never failed to believe in your sincere desire to satisfy all in your congregation. The services were not only not beneficial to me, but the state of mind induced by them became at last that of the most decided opposition. What could I do better under such circumstances than to separate myself from them entirely? Could disorder otherwise be prevented? Do not the Writings tell us what should be done in such cases? When I promised you to go to Church that Sunday, I did it on impulse, and because I wished to please you. Afterward, when there was time for reflection, I felt that I had acted too hastily. Although when you were here, you mentioned a change going on in your mind as to methods of preaching, I hope you will pardon me when I say that it seemed impossible to me for you to make a radical change in the worship of this Society under the circumstances which exist at present, and especially as your talk, when you called here, seemed to indicate that you were still in that line of thought which showed a belief in your mind that distinctive New Church worship is not useful. My impression of your remarks is that you deprecated the strong preaching of the truth that the Academy priests advocate and practice, as having a dangerous tendency to a love of truth for merely intellectual, or other selfish pleasure. I remember to have heard you express such sentiments many times before, and could not reconcile it with my idea of how a priest should regard the duties belonging to his office. Why would he be afraid to preach the truth in the strongest way, because some persons might make a bad use of it? If that principle were acted upon by all our teachers, how could the Church grow? Did the LORD make these revelations before the world was ready for them? Another thing that indicated a lack of a very great change in your mind as to methods of preaching your request that I influence a member of our Doctrinal class to come to Church. Would not the change itself bring back any who may have remained away from dissatisfaction with former methods without any personal intervention whatever? Should people be persuaded to attend Divine worship? Ought not the affection of truth draw them there? As to the question of whether the Writings are the LORD in His Second Coming, the subject has been written and talked about so much by the ablest men in the Church that it is a familiar one to all interested in the Doctrines. But while familiar to us all, it is nevertheless one that seems difficult of comprehension to the natural mind, and it is only after a very long time of doubt, of struggling for light, of, at times, the deepest despair, that the truth now seems as clear to my mind as the simplest problem in mathematics-the Writings must be the LORD. While, however, I feel this so strongly to be true, I do not consider myself authorized to defend my belief to you. I will only say this with regard to the statement you mention in Arcana Coelestia, n. 64. Why should the fact that "only a few truths are here revealed" make them less the LORD? Can one consider one of the Commandments less the LORD than the ten? Is one revelation of Himself less the LORD than another? Believing, as you say you do, that to consider the Writings the LORD, has a "dangerous tendency toward idolatry, and the ignoring of a personal Saviour," you cannot, of course, do otherwise than combat that idea with all your might, but to me, the opposite seems true. Rather does the danger of idolatry appear to be in the disposition to deny the Divinity of all the LORD'S Revelations. What or Whom do those worship who refuse to see the LORD in every Revelation He has made? You speak of the possibility of the growth of the Academy being due to the stand taken by its members as to "Authority."
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I am convinced that its growth is largely the result of that stand, and that it has-been, and will continue to be, a great factor in making that body a mighty power, a very "Stronghold Sure" that will eventually save the Church from the rationalism that is fast taking possession of the so-called Christian denominations. (Is it going too far to say it has already reached the New Church?) Where is the LORD and his Word so reverenced as in the Academy? Where else in the Church is Conjugial Love taught? Where are children instructed to reverence the personal Saviour and the Word as they are there? Because the Catholic Church gained so great power through its teaching of the authority of a man, need the New Church fear to submit to the Authority of the Divine truths now revealed to her? You say you "would greatly enjoy the freedom of rest" that the surrender of your freedom of thought to authority would bring. I do not think I can quite understand your position on this subject. Your words, "I quite endorse the Writings," do not mean, then, that you "rest in" the teaching you find there. If their explanation of themselves means that we cannot take them as our infallible guide in matters temporal as well as spiritual, then are we not like a ship without a rudder? I cannot help rejoicing that I do "rest in" them; that my faith in them grows stronger as the years go on, and that I can see no explanation of themselves in them that makes them otherwise than the LORD in His Second Coming. Very sincerely yours, .
SECOND LETTER FROM THE PASTOR.
, Jan. 15th, 1895. DEAR MISS . Your last is at hand. I find myself unable, Partly from your misunderstanding of me, and partly from my own imperfect expression of my ideas in former letters, to be silent quite yet. You utterly misunderstood my meaning in asking you to speak to Mr. . I had no thought or desire to "influence" him in the manner you have interpreted it. I only wanted you to tell him of my own change of feeling and method as a matter of convenience. I shall tell him when I get the chance. The real matter under consideration is an exceedingly subtle one for the understanding. I have never found any one who could explain it satisfactorily. One thing is very clear-that the New Church faith, if genuine, is one which leaves the mind in perfect freedom, both of thought and expression, even at the risk of doubt. You have arrived, you say, after a long weighing of the matter, and I judge, considerable suffering, at the conclusion that, the Writings of Swedenborg are the LORD'S Second Advent. Even if this be the uninfluenced and unbiased result of your own mind, you cannot justly ask others to accept this conclusion who have not passed through the same or some the experiences, to enable them to reach the same conclusion. In other words, it is foreign to the genius of the true New Church to start out with this conclusion as the basis of faith, except as a theoretic basis. I mean that it is foreign to make this a vital matter for those who are just beginning. It cannot be justly set forth as a basis for Church membership, or for the organization at large. On the contrary, the vital things are set forth in The True Christian Religion, n. 3, and the necessity of absolute freedom in Faith, n. 132. . . . What, then, you ask, shall be the basis of the Church? I reply, the basis the Writings themselves lay down in n. 3 of The True Christian Religion. Beyond that, all must be left to individual opinion and experience. You may have reached the conclusion that Swedenborg's Writings are all equally from the LORD, and so may I, although this does not seem his teaching; but we have no right to destroy the freedom of those who are not yet ready for this. Nor, I contend, have we a right to make this a vital, much less the vital platform of the Church, which all must subscribe to, for this is purely a human construction. I think the effect upon the young is necessarily to distort, to produce bigotry, to build up an imaginary heaven. Far better, it seems to me, to work together, to speak kindly our convictions to each other. The truth, lovingly spoken, will always have power. I think we owe this to others as a duty. I think separation, except in vital things, is harmful both to those who go and those who stay. As to the point of Swedenborg's Writings being but a very partial revelation of the contents of the internal sense of the Word. You think that the fact that only a very little is revealed does not show that that little is not the LORD. If this unfolding of the Scriptures and other internal things in E. S.'s writings were the LORD Himself, then it would seem that whereas His first Advent involved a complete personal fufilment of every jot and tittle of the Word, so ought the Second Coming to involve an explanation of every jot and tittle. You ask, then, what is the Second Coming, if not these Writings? My reading of the Writings for many years has led me to the conclusion that the Second Coming was that power which brought about the last judgment in 1757, which broke up the imaginary heavens in the World of Spirits, and which is active and operative to-day. Swedenborg witnessed that approach of the LORD in love and truth and power, but did not produce it. He tells us that the LORD came first to the heavens, and then made known that coming to the earth through a prepared messenger, giving us such openings of the Word as are needed to-day. I am also further taught by E. S. himself, as I think I have already said, to distinguish in his Writings between what he teaches respecting the "doctrines of that Church" and what came to him from other sources, thus preventing us from making a fetich or idol of his work (T. C. R. 779). I believe it is right to teach the convictions which we have arrived at from our study, as, for example, that the writings of E. S. are the very truth of God. But this is very different from making this a cardinal element of faith, depriving the young of their freedom and reason, and compelling them to a blind faith, and to the expression of a belief which can only come through experience. My own experiences are leading me to a much fuller appreciation of the Writings than I formerly possessed, and it may lead me still further; but while I shall freely speak my own convictions, I shall not be at liberty to destroy the freedom of others by violating the foundation principles of the Writings themselves. You are at liberty to, and I shall be glad to have you show this letter to Mr. or others. I shall be glad to learn from any one who has light. Sincerely yours, .
P. S.-Sacred Scripture, n. 4 (heading), in connection with n. 56 and n. 57, indicate to me that the LORD is present in the letter of the Word with all right minded people, Please ponder them with this thought in mind.
95
LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH.
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.-ON May 5th the Rev. Alfred Acton preached on "The New Church, the Crown of all Churches" (Psalm iv, 1). On May 12th Doctrinal instruction (in place of a sermon) was given by Bishop Pendleton in the form of reading from A. E. 1150, giving the fourth and fifth of the laws of the Divine Providence. On May 19th Candidate Doering preached on "Liberation from Infestation in Freedom" (Exodus ix, 2). On May 26th the Rev. Alfred Acton preached on the 2d verse of Psalm xv. DURING the services on Sunday, May 26th, the coming of age of Mr. Herbert Jordan, a son of the Rev. Leonard G. Jordan, was appropriately recognized. The service, which was conducted by Bishop Pendleton, was impressive, as usual, and a happy sphere prevailed, as the sincere good wishes of all went forth to the young man whose first step, on entering fully upon his independent life, was to present himself before the LORD, and to invoke the good offices of the Church. The father, informally surrendering, on behalf of the parents, the natural responsibility and control of their son, did so in well-chosen words, the conclusion of which referred to the teaching concerning the men of the Most Ancient Church, that they live together in heaven according to their families as they did on earth, without a single member missing, and expressed the hope that so it might be in this case, by their moving together within the sphere of the Church and cultivating a spiritual affinity in the common love of the Will of the LORD. THE Friday evening Doctrinal Class conducted by Bishop Pendleton has been suspended for the summer. The study of the work on the Divine Providence, which was begun in November, 1891 (at the time of the inauguration of Academy Worship), was concluded on Friday, the 24th of May. ON May 17th the congregation assembled to a feast of charity, Mr. Schill and his daughters acting as hosts. The speeches of the evening were on the subject of the Church Universal as the communion of the saints, on the Church and the world, and on the gradual removing of families to the country. IN the Schools, Prof. Schreck has continued his theological lectures on Mondays, on the restored doctrine of Charity; and on Wednesdays is giving lectures on the "Eye," based on Swedenborg's posthumous treatise. THE Rev. C. T. Odhner left for Europe on May 4th, to visit New Church libraries in England and Sweden and to prosecute his studies in connection with his work as Professor of History in the Academy Schools. He will return for the opening of the Schools in the fall. THE Philadelphia schools will close on Friday, June 14th. A social in the evening will take the place of the customary Closing School Dinner. AT the Commencement Exercises of the Hahnemann Medical College, Messrs. S. B. Hanlin and George M. Cooper, of Middleport Ohio, both Newchurchmen, and the latter erstwhile a student at the Philadelphia Schools of the Academy, received their diploma of Doctor of Medicine. They at once were appointed resident physicians at the Dispensary of the Post-graduate School of Homoeopathics, on Spring Garden Street, near Sixth. Huntingdon Valley.- THE corner-stone of the house of the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt was laid on the 14th of May. Exceptionally fine weather helped to draw out a large number of visitors from the, city, among whom was a bicycle party of seven. About sixty people, including the children, assembled to take part in the ceremonies, which were conducted by Bishop Pendleton. The dedication of the whole plot of ground was involved in the service. The singing was accompanied by a violin. The state of peace induced by the impressiveness of the service was greatly enhanced by the quiet loveliness of nature expressed in the luxuriance of apple blossoms and the verdure of the fields. After the services the visitors retired to the house of Mr. Glenn, and luncheon was eaten on the porch. Dancing and a general social evening followed. ON Wednesday, May 22d, "Cairnwood," the house and grounds of Mr. and Mrs. John Pitcairn, were solemnly dedicated by Bishop Pendleton, in the presence of the family and household, immediate relations, and moat intimate friends. The guests gathered in the spacious apartments of the first story, and then proceeded to the chapel of the house, occupying the third floor of an octagonal turret that projects from the southeast corner of the main wing of the house. From the hallway one passes between two columns of wood, through a vestibule, to the chapel. The columns support an architrave, the frieze of which hears the inscription, in Latin, "Now it is lawful to enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith" (T. C. R. 508). The walls of the chapel are lined with California redwood, the ceiling being finished in blue, with ribs of gold. Over the sacrarium the wood is carved into an Alpha and Omega, surrounded by olive, vine, and fig branches. A panel between this carving and the sacrarium bears in gilt letters the Hebrew "Hear, O Israel," etc. Panels in the other sides of the octagon have been left for other appropriate inscriptions. As the chapel could accommodate only about twenty-five persons, a number of the guests were seated in the adjoining vestibule and corridor. The services consisted in prayer, singing, and reading of the Word. The lesson from the Gospels treated of the mansions which the LORD prepares for His disciples, and of Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life (John xiv, 1-14). The lesson from the Arcana Coelestia treated of conjugial love (Nos. 10,167-10,175). The priest then addressed the united head of the house, and asked them to declare their faith, which they did by reading together the Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church. When they had affirmed this to be their faith, the Priest pronounced the words of the LORD, "He that believeth in Me hath everlasting life." Then he placed the Books of Divine Revelation-the Word of the Old and the New Testament and the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem-in the sacrarium, declaring that the perpetual Presence of the LORD with men is by His Word. And in order further to represent His Presence in the house, and that the token of His Presence may be continually before the eyes of the inmates thereof, he invited the family and-the household to follow him, and to reposit the Books of Divine Revelation in the receptacles prepared for them in the private rooms provided for meditation and natural rest, and in the library reserved for the recreation and rest of the natural mind. Accordingly, the husband and wife, with their three children, and seven New Church servants, followed him to the rooms so designated, while the rest of the company remained above in silent and devout contemplation. After the return from the chambers and the library, the Husband and Wife made their confession to the LORD, acknowledging that all their endowments and possessions were purely His merciful gifts to them. Then, receiving from them the assurance that they wished to have the house dedicated to the service of the LORD in order that they might enter more fully into the end and purpose of the building thereof, the Priest pronounced the words, "Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it," and then, in the Name of the LORD, he solemnly dedicated and set apart the house to the service of the LORD in the uses of family life in His Church upon earth, and, in impressive words, that referred particularly to the various apartments of the house, and to all the inmates, he pronounced a blessing upon the house and all that is within it. Psalm xv was then sung, which is so appropriate to all occasions relating to private life, and so suggestive of the conjugial. The family went to their apartments to close the sacred volumes that had been deposited there, and on their return, at the request of the priest, the Head of the Family closed the sacrarium. Then, advancing to the door of the chapel, the Priest; said, "Let there be a blessing upon this house," to which the guests responded with a fervent and unanimous voice, We bless you in the Name of the Lord." So closed a most impressive ceremony. After the service the guests offered their congratulations, and spent some time in inspecting the house, which has been nearly three years in building. After the guests were invited by their hospitable entertainers into the commodious dining-room, to partake of supper. The serving of punch led to the proposing of sentiments in honor of the occasion, and many a serious and many a gay word was uttered in a sphere of mutual good-will and kindliness. London.- THE Rev. C. Th. Odhner preached to the Church of the Academy in Brixton, on May the 12th, having arrived in London on the previous day. Berlin.- THE advent of May was celebrated here by a May-day festival on the evening of the 1st of May. The young ladies introduced a novel and pleasant feature in the form of a May-pole dance. The Pastor, as an introduction to this dance, traced the custom of celebrating May-day to the Ancients, who undoubtedly had an idea of the true signification of spring. But now, like many other good things, its celebration has been entirely discontinued in some countries, and in others it has been so perverted that it is especially the day for anarchistic demonstrations. Let us revive the good old custom of celebrating May-day. ON Monday evening, May 6th, the Local Alumni met at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Roschman. After the routine business the editorials in the last number of New Church Life were read and discussed. The meeting then turned its attentions to refreshments and the pleasantries of social life.
THE GENERAL CHURCH.
Chicago- At the graduation exercises of the Hering Homoeopathic College, Dr.
96
Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITIAN. Mr. James Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W.
PHILADELPHIA, JUNE. 1895=125-126.
CONTENTS PAGE
EDITORIAL: Notes 81 Man Does Good or Evil not from Himself, but as from Himself (a Sermon) 82 Truths in Successive Order, and their Ordination by Good Divine (Exodus xviii) 84 William Cookworthy 88 Works Referred to by Swedenborg 88 NOTES AND REVIEWS 90 Compton's Life of Cookworthy 90 COMMUNICATED: A Contribution to Contemporaneus Church History 92 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH The Academy of the New Church 95 The General Church 95 The Church at Large 96 BIRTH AND DEATHS 96 King and the Rev. N. Dandridge Pendleton, both of the Immanuel Church, delivered addresses.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
THE titles "The Church at Large.- The United States" appeared in the wrong place last mouth. Instead of page 79, 1st column, they should have been inserted on page 80, column 2, over "New Jersey." Illinois.- AT the Easter Service at the Lincoln-Park Chapel, Chicago, there was an audience of ninety-two; two children were baptized and the Holy Supper administered to forty-one. THE Easter Services at the New Church halt Chicago, were attended by 250 people. After the opening sentence by the Pastor, the children of the Sunday-school marched into the auditorium singing "Morn of Joy," after which the service proceeded. The Holy Super was administered to 161 persons. THE Chicago Society opened Sunday Service on the 15th of May in Steinway Hall. THE new paper, The New Church, says: "With the inauguration of a north-side parish, and the Englewood parish in full operation, it only remains for the Chicago Society to locate and build a south-side church,-and the experiment of building up local parishes can be fairly tested. Till this is accomplished the central service must be maintained." A FEW Swedish Newchurchmen in Rockford have leased a Baptist Church on South Fifth Street, and have inaugurated regular Sunday Services, with Mr. C. V. Urbom as Leader. A Sunday-school has also been organized. It is believed that with the organization of a Society the first Swedish New Church in America will come into existence. Missouri.- THE St. Louis Society being without a Pastor, arrangements have been made by the Illinois Association to provide the Society with ministerial services. The Rev. E. D. Daniels of La Forte was officially requested to take charge of the Society but declined, as he considers that he should remain in La Porte where the Church is showing progress. THE Rev. L. G. Landenberger has removed from Joliet to St. Louis. Texas.- THE Rev. John Goddard, of Cincinnati, ordained the Rev. A. B. Francisco, of the Galveston Society, into the Priesthood of the New Church. California.- THE Rev. F. L. Higgins has been re-elected pastor of the O'Farrell Street Society for another term of three years. Ohio.- THE Rev. J. H. Bowers, who in February, 1894, was led to labor in the LORD'S vineyard in this State, has recently done three months' evangelistic work in parts of Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia. Thirty-five discourses have been delivered in seventeen places. One marriage was solemnized, and eight persons were introduced into membership in the LORD'S New Church through the sacrament of baptism. Many interesting incidents have occurred in connection with the work, which form a part of the unwritten history of the establishment of the Church at this day of the LORD'S Advent.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Lancashire.-IT is proposed to form a New Church Lay Preachers' Association. A meeting of Lay Preachers was held at Bolton on April 27th to consider the proposal. It is thought that it "would be of great use in giving the Lay Preachers the opportunity of ventilating the various missionary features which from time to time arise." Newcastle-on- Tyne.- THE new place of worship of the Society in Newcastle was dedicated on April 7th. Wigan.- THE Rev. J. G. Dufty will continue for a further period of twelve months as pastor of the Wigan Society. A correspondent in Morning Light for May 4th says: "Considering the amount of money the Society will have to raise to liquidate the debt on the new place of worship, this step of inviting Mr. Dufty to accept a further call is a very responsible one." When will the New Church see that the regular services of a pastor are more essential than an imposing building which taxes the members to the utmost? Nottingham.- THE Society in Nottingham has recently placed in front of its church a large mahogany board. It is divided into three tablets. The central tablet contains information as to services, etc. The left and right tablets contain the following notices, respectively: "WE BELIEVE, That GOD is the infinitely loving wise, and mighty Father of all souls, in all Worlds, natural and spiritual. "That God, in His fatherly love, has given us, in the Sacred Scriptures, a revelation of his heart and mind perfectly adapted to the needs both of the simplest of His children on earth and of the wisest of His children in heaven. "That GOD, in this revelation, has shown Himself as having come into our world (veiled in our frail humanity) as the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and for the one purpose of winning our love and trust, and making us strong and glad forever." "WE BELIEVE, That WE are Spirits, clothed in material bodies which we shall put off at death, and which we shall never again put on. "That WE, as Spirits, are gifted with rationality and liberty, and that by the right use of these Divine gifts we can know and love our perfect Father, and do His perfect will. "That WE, by thus doing our Father's will, shall, when we leave this world, find in our Father's House our perfect Home, wherein we shall (in the fullest and freest exercise of all our faculties) grow in our Father's likeness to eternity." Brightlingsea.- THE Holy Supper was administered in the midst of the ordinary service for the first time on April 7th. The custom hitherto has been to celebrate this Sacrament at the close of Worship. The pastor read as an introduction to the administration the section on the Holy Supper in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem (nos. 210 to 214), and at the conclusion preached a special sermon explanatory of the nature and use of the Sacrament. It is proposed to hold the service in this way twice in the year. West of Scotland.- THE Societies in Cathedral Street, Queen's Park, and Paisley have held during the winter a series of "coffee" meetings. At these meetings a paper of a theological or philosophical nature is first read and discussed, and this is followed by refreshments and conversation. A new feature in connection with the arrangements is the holding of a similar series of meetings for the young people, at which a paper by one of themselves is read and discussed.
Title Unspecified 1895
New Church Life Vol. XV, No. 7. PHILADELPHIA, JULY, 1895=126. Whole No. 177.
Title Unspecified 1895
Jehovah or the Lord is Life. His Human Essence also became Life . . . but man is not life, but a recipient of life.-A. C. 2021
Title Unspecified 1895
THE LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST alone lives and acts of and from Himself. Men and angels live and act as of themselves, not of or from themselves. They neither love, will, think, understand, do or speak of themselves. They are mere recipients of life, and yet so wonderful in their faculty of reception, such a miraculous power is in the life received, that they appear to themselves to will and love and think and understand and speak and do of themselves. Herein consists the likeness to God into which man has been created: he has a power that appears like that which belongs to the LORD alone. The more perfect the angel, the nearer that he is to the LORD-the more does he act as of himself, yet acknowledging, when he reflects, that he does not act of himself, but from the LORD. His freedom consists in this "as of himself." Did he not have this appearance that he lived from himself, he would not carry out the objects for which he was created with the faculties which make him human. Were he to think constantly that he is not an active but a merely passive agent, he would be like an automaton.
Title Unspecified 1895
SINCE human freedom consists in the ability to live as of one's self, and freedom is the veriest treasure of human life, it follows that the principle of "as of one's self," ought to be observed in all human activities and relationships. Especially ought it to be observed in government, be this the government of a Church, of a Nation, of a State, of a City, of a School, or of a Family. The term "self-reliance," which is so often used at the present day, expresses, as a rule, the perversion of the "as-of-one's-self" principle, since there is little or no serious belief in the Christian world that all the power and intelligence that men have are from the LORD. The term, therefore, is not a desirable one for the New Church vocabulary; and yet, in lieu of a better word, it may be used as expressive of the reliance which men may place in those faculties which they have from the LORD, and which are to be used by them as of themselves.
Title Unspecified 1895
A PEOPLE that depend upon their civil government for stimulus and assistance in the prosecution of their various, employments, to the exclusion of reliance upon the talents and virtues which they themselves possess as a gift direct from the LORD, are naturally and deservedly relegated to a low scale in the estimation of thinking men. Church members who depend upon their priests to do their thinking for them, and do not use the priest's instructions as a means for drawing still nearer to the LORD'S Word, and learning for themselves the lessons of life that are revealed there for them, will make no progress. The father of a family, who acts the despot, imagining that his will and his thoughts must unquestionably become the will and thoughts of the family, and who does not observe the law that they must think and will as of themselves-does not consult the welfare of his family nor the enduring peace of his household. A school to which the parents commit the whole burden of instruction and education without themselves co-operating affirmatively and rationally, cannot succeed.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN childhood's age, the acquisition of knowledge is the predominant affection, and hence the "as of itself" here applies to the acquiring of knowledges, and of thought and affection in knowledges, It is true that the child' is initiated into it, by being taught many knowledges directly, but it ought to be left free to develop the allied affection of independent investigation, by inquiry or by experiment-free also, to develop thought in knowledges of its own acquisition. Needed corrections serve sufficiently to remind the child that it does not and cannot learn of itself, but only from others-still as of itself. As the child grows to youth, the rational begins to increase and the "as of itself" then applies to the reason, in addition to the knowledge. As the child's actions depend on knowledge, it is to be held to implicit obedience to the parents' command, without question of the reason for it; but as the youth approaches manhood, the prompt and cheerful compliance with the parents' wishes, which continues to be an important feature of his forming character, is based upon a comprehension of reasons. A careful distinction must be made between these freedoms of childhood and youth and the freedom of adult life, for although the will and the reason are forming, it is `not formed for independent use until man's estate.
Title Unspecified 1895
INDEED it may be said with propriety, that the growth of man is the growth and development of the "as of himself." When adult, the man, in private life, is no longer under the control of others, but is subject to the laws of the country and of the Church. In his special use he may be subordinate to others, in whose employ he is, and from whom he receives the general directions for his use. But here again, whether the man be regarded as subject to employer, or to officers of the government, the human requires that he shall be left free to do as of himself. The most successful business is that in which, while the policy is shaped by one mastermind, the details are left to the quasi-independent intelligence and discretion of competent subordinates. Human government is human only to the extent in which it is a type of the Divine Government, and as, in this, the freedom and apparent independence of men is the object of the Divine Providence, so in government by men the goal must be the same.
Title Unspecified 1895
They do not tolerate in the city [of London n the spiritual world] any ruler who imposes, or commands them what to do, they want to be in full liberty.-J. (Posth.) 269.
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DIVINE LIGHT Rev. JOHN STEPHENSON 1895
A SERMON
"I am come a Light into the world that whosoever believeth in Me may not abide in darkness."-John xii, 46.
THE words of the text in their internal sense teach that the LORD is the Divine Truth or the Light that has come into the world, and that this Light will enlighten the minds of all who believe in Him by living a life according to the precepts of the Word from love to the LORD. The LORD in His Second Corning has come as a Light, into the world or as the Divine Truth from the Divine Good, dispelling the darkness from the minds of all who are in the good of life, or, what is the same thing, in the will and effort of shunning evils as sins, because they are against God. The LORD from Eternity or JEHOVAH dwelleth in Light inaccessible either to angels or men, but `in `order that angels and men might have the Light and live in the Light, the LORD took upon Himself; or clothed Himself with each degree of the Heavens and descending upon earth clothed Himself with a natural body, which He glorified. And now in the Glorified Human which is the Divine Human, the LORD has come a Light into the world enlightening the minds of all who believe in Him and showing them that they will live to Eternity enkindled by the Divine Love and enlightened by the Divine Wisdom. The LORD appears to the angels of Heaven as a sun giving forth heat and light. Especial care must be taken not to form the idea that the LORD Himself is the sun of the Spiritual world. He Himself is not the sun of the spiritual world, but the sun of the spiritual world is the First Proceeding of His Divine Love and Wisdom. "The LORD appears as a sun in the spiritual world giving light and heat to its inhabitants, and the light of the spiritual sun is the Divine Truth which enlightens the angels, and the heat which the light bears in its bosom is the Divine Good giving life to every angel according to his reception. The sun of the natural world, which is pure fire, exists from the spiritual sun, and is the means by which the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom inflow into the natural world and cause all created things to live and multiply. The sun of the spiritual world is the First Proceeding of the Divine Love and Wisdom, and from that sun flows forth the Light which enlightens and the Heat which gives life to every angel of Heaven. There is an opinion extant in the world that heat can be separated from light, but such an opinion is fallacious, because heat and light have the same origin, viz.: fire. The truth is that there are two qualities proper to fire, the burning and the shining; the emanation of the burning is felt as heat, and the emanation of the shining is seen as light. Fire has these two qualities, because from the Divine Love or the Divine Fire, there comes forth Divine Good and Divine Truth, and the Divine Good is the heat or life of all things, and the Divine Truth is their Light. The unequal proportions of light and heat in the natural world do not arise from the natural sun giving forth more or less heat and light, but from the dispositions of the atmospheres and from the position of the earth in relation to the sun. Those who inquire into the subject will see that just as the Divine Love is always the same, so is the fire of the natural sun; and, just as the reception of good and truth varies according to the dispositions of angels and men, so does the reception of the heat and light of the natural sun varies according to the disposition of the subjects into which it flows. Because the LORD as a sun enlightens the understandings of angels and men, He calls Himself in His Coming a Light come into the world to enlighten the darkness of every one believing in Him. Without the Light of the spiritual sun or the Divine Truth, the mind of man cannot be enlightened, for the mind of man is in the lumen of this world, and the lumen of this world, when compared with the Light of Divine Truth, is as thick darkness. The darkness of the world is dispelled, and man himself enlightened by the Divine Truth, by a life according to the precepts of the Word, for to believe in the LORD is to live according to His Word. Throughout his whole life, from infancy even to old age, the LORD prepares man to receive Divine Truth or the Light of Heaven; for without preparation enlightenment cannot be given. Man is prepared by the LORD for the reception of Divine Truth, and consequently prepared for enlightenment, by being instructed in the scientifics of good and truth in childhood and youth; for the scientifics of good and truth acquired in childhood and youth are the general receptacles of the heat and light of Heaven. Man is prepared for enlightenment only by means of the Word; for the scientifics of the Word are in every degree and kind the orderly receptacles of its inmost goods and truths, and unless these receptacles be acquired, enlightenment cannot be given. Also let it be remembered that all enlightenment is from good by truth, although it appears to be from truth alone; wherefore the one end of all instruction and education must be the implanting and leading out of the affections for good and truth by means of the Word; for by the Word the human race is conjoined with Heaven. Unless life be the end of instruction and education no instructing and educating can be done; for scientifics which are only the means of enlightenment will certainly be accounted as enlightenment itself. When man is prepared the LORD enlightens him from the Divine Good by the Divine Truth, but if man does not receive the Divine Truth from affection no enlightenment can be given, although he may he well prepared with scientifics and knowledges, and without enlightenment there is no reformation and regeneration. It is a common opinion that only those who are able to reason acutely concerning what is good and true and evil and false are in enlightenment, but such is not the case; for although they have the perceptive and imaginative quality and consequently the ability of knowing, they have not necessarily the ability to do, and it is the ability to do which disposes man for the orderly reception of the Light of Heaven. To every man the LORD gives the ability to do truths of the Word and also the power to develop that ability, as of himself, to all eternity, and it is only according to its development that he receives enlightenment. Unless the LORD had come a Light into the world man could not know whether his faith be of truth and his love of good, nor could he know the difference between good and evil; indeed, without enlightenment man is wilder than a beast. Seeing that man cannot really know anything, unless he is enlightened by the LORD, it is important to understand how he can be enlightened. Before man can be enlightened he must be prepared, and man is prepared for enlightenment when in childhood he learns, as scientifics, that the LORD is God of heaven and earth, that the Word is Holy, that there is a Heaven and a Hell and also a life after death; for these things are taught in the Letter of the Word.
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Man is further prepared for enlightenment when in youth he learns from the Word or teachings that all those works mentioned in the Decalogue are sins, and also that lascivious and obscene thoughts when cherished are adulteries; that every kind of fraud and unjust gain is a theft; that hatred and revenge are murder, and that lies and blasphemies are witnesses of what is false. When man has learnt these and many other scientifics from the Word which prepare him for enlightenment, when he begins to think for himself, the first end with him should be to shun evils as sins against God, and as he advances in years to enter with the shunning of evils even in thought and intention; for in so far as man detests evils because they are against God, Heaven with its heat and light flows in, enkindling his will and enlightening his understanding. But if man desists from evils from any other reason than that they are against God, enlightenment cannot be given; for the LORD can only enlighten those who believe in Him and not in themselves. Just in so far as man shuns evils as sins against God, good affections from the LORD flow in, and man is led by those affections to the right understanding of the goods and truths of the Church, and into the will of doing them. In this order man is prepared for enlightenment, and also enlightened by the light of Heaven, which is also the light of the Church. It is the natural mind of man which is to be enlightened by the Light of Divine Truth; for it is the natural mind which is in' darkness from the lumen of the world. The natural mind is in darkness, because the evil will flowing into the scientifics causes them to be in disorder, but so soon as the way is opened for the influx of the light of Heaven into the natural, the scientifics of the natural are arranged into order, and out of them from the spiritual the rational is formed. Through the rational so formed in man, good and truth, or spiritual heat and light, flow by an interior way into the natural and there make themselves felt and seen. Few persons know that man is enlightened from Heaven by an interior way, and this because the preparation for enlightenment, which consists in the acquisition of scientifics from the Word, is mistaken for enlightenment itself. But those who are in enlightenment both know and perceive that all Light inflows from Heaven by an interior way and is received and ultimated in the natural, which is the general receptacle of the spiritual. The LORD prepares man for enlightenment by an exterior way, but the Light itself is given by an interior way. Thus the LORD applies Himself td man both from within and from without, eternally regarding in the Divine application the One Divine End of enlightening the darkness of the natural mind, so that man may, as of himself, see the things of the world in the Light of Heaven. To accomplish the Divine End of Salvation the LORD has come a second time a "Light into the world, and all those who believe in Him, whether they know many scientifics of the Word or few, will be delivered from the darkness of the world. "JESUS said: I am come a Light into the world, that whosoever believeth in Me may not abide in darkness." The darkness of man, which is caused by the falsities of evil present in the natural mind, cannot be enlightened unless man detests the darkness, and desires that it be removed. The LORD cannot enlighten the natural mind without man's co-operation, for man is conscious of his natural mind and all the things which belong to it and if the LORD, removed those things without man a co-operation, his free determination would be destroyed and with it everything human; But when man wills that the darkness of falsities should be removed and he wills it by living against the dictates of falsities, the LORD removes the falsities, and man gradually passes out of the darkness of falsity into the Light of Divine Truth. There are two kinds of darkness which fill the natural mind darkness arising from the conceit of self-intelligence; and darkness arising from ignorance-that is, there are those who are in falsities from the evils of the will, and those who are in falsities from ignorance. To be in falsities from ignorance, as is the case with the Gentiles, is to be in a salvable state, but to be in falsities from the conceit of self-intelligence is to be in an unsalvable state. The conceit of self-intelligence or a puffed-up mind arises from the love of self; and that love flowing into the understanding takes possession' of it and causes the darkness of falsities, which the LORD cannot dispel until man acknowledges that the LORD is the only source of Light. To remove the darkness of falsity from the minds of all those who believe in Him, and cause them to see the goods and truths of Heaven, is the Divine End of the LORD'S coming as the Light into the world, or as the Light to all those who believe in Him. The LORD has come again as the Light, out of pure Love and Mercy for the human race, and now, at this time, he is abiding with all those that love Him, enkindling their hearts with the Divine Heat and enlightening their understandings with Divine Light, and so giving to them the life and light of Heaven. "Jesus said: I am the Light of the world, he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life."-John viii, 12.
Title Unspecified 1895
Preparation to receive God is effected by cognitions.
PREPARATION TO RECEIVE DIVINE REVELATION. 1895
EXODUS XIX.
AS THE following chapters of Exodus treat, in the Internal Sense, of the Revelation of Truth Divine from the LORD out of Heaven, this chapter treats first of the preparation to receive it.
(1, 2.) In the last monthly study of Exodus, the two states were described which those undergo who are of the spiritual Church; that is to say, in the first they are led by truth to good, and in the second they are in good, and in truth from good. When the first state had become full, "in the third month"-after those who were of the spiritual Church had been liberated from infestations by the LORD at His Coming, "to the going forth of the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt"-then, "in this day"-they entered upon a state of good in which the truths of faith were to be implanted, "came they to the desert of Sinai"-and so their life was continued from the former state in which they had suffered temptations, "and they journeyed from Rephidim"-unto the state of good in which good truths were to be implanted and came to the desert of Sinai"-and in which the truths and goods of life were to be ordained and disposed," and encamped in the desert"-this disposition being effected by the Divine Celestial Good, and Israel encamped beside the mountain."
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(3-8) The Truth from the Divine which is below Heaven was conjoined with the Divine Truth which is in Heaven "and Moses went up unto God"-and the Divine Good in heaven was united with the Divine Truth which is there, "and JEHOVAH called unto him out of the mountain"-from which union those who were of the external and the internal spiritual Church; were saved, "saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob and shall announce to the sons of Israel"-and this act of salvation they should bear in mind; they should remember all that happened to the evil who infested," Ye, ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians"-and that they themselves were thus elevated unto heavenly light, "and I lifted you upon the wings of eagles"-and thus unto the good of love which is in Heaven, "and brought you unto Me"-and now if they receive the truth, "and now if hearing ye will hear My voice"-and live in good, and' hence are conjoined to the LORD, "and will keep My covenant"-then the Divine Truth will be with them more than with others, "and ye shall be to me a peculium from all the peoples"-for the LORD has all authority in Heaven and in the earth, "because Mine is all the earth"-and then the good of truth will be theirs, "and ye, ye shall be to Me a kingdom of priests"-and thus they will constitute the spiritual kingdom, "and a holy nation"-as the result of influx from the Divine to receive truths in good, "these are the words which thou shalt speak unto the sons of Israel." Those of them who were primarily in the intelligence of the truth were chosen, "and Moses came and called the elders of the people"-and to them came the proposition with the influx, "and placed before them all those words"-from the Divine, "which JEHOVAH commanded them"-and they received, "and answered all the people together"-according to the influx from the Divine, "and said, All that JEHOVAH hath spoken we will do"-so that they came into correspondence with the Divine and were conjoined with it, "and Moses brought back the words of the people unto JEHOVAH." (9.) The Divine inflowing through the Truth from the Divine concerning Revelation, "and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-taught that revelation takes place in an appearance very natural, "Behold I am coming unto thee in the density of the cloud"-so that they who are of the spiritual Church may comprehend the Divine things, "therefore that the people may hear when I speak with thee"-in order that the faith of truth may remain, "and may also believe in thee to eternity"-and the truths and goods of those who were of the spiritual Church came into correspondence and were conjoined with the Divine, "and Moses announced the words of the people unto JEHOVAH." (10-13.) The Divine revealed concerning the preparation for receiving the Truth from the Divine, "and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-that the Truth from the Divine which is below Heaven should be the medium of the conjunction of the Divine with those who are of the spiritual Church, "Go unto the people"-but for this purpose their interiors must be veiled over so that they might now and afterward appear in the holy of faith, "and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow" and therefore also the truths must be purified, "and let them wash their garments"-and they must be fully prepared, "and they shall be prepared unto the third, day"-since in the end when they have been prepared to receive, "because in the third day"-the LORD will make His Advent, bringing illustration with Him, "come down will JEHOVAH unto the eyes of all the people"-into the good in which truth is to be implanted, "upon Mount Sinai"-but their extension into Heaven will be no further than to the spiritual spheres of good, "and thou shalt set bounds to the people round about"-but by no means to the celestial societies which are in the love of good," saying, Beware that ye go not up into the mount"- and not even to the intermediates, "and touch the extremity thereof"-so that he of the celestial Church who infuses himself even to the celestials, will perish, "every one touching the mountain, dying shall die"-and if there be any who through some self-confidence infuses himself, "there shalt not touch it a hand"-then the truths of faith which he has will perish, "because stoning he shall be stoned"-and even his spiritual good will perish, "or darting he shall be shot with darts and his good and truth will lose spiritual life, "if beast, if man, he shall not live"-while those who have a general perception of celestial good, "in drawing the jobel"-will have an extension even to the celestial angels, "they, they shall ascend into the mount." (14, 15.) By the Truth from the Divine application and preparation were made to receive truths in good, "and Moses went down from the mount unto the people"-their interiors were veiled over so that they appeared in the holy of faith, "and sanctified the people"-their truths of faith were purified, "and they washed their garments"-they were fully prepared, "and he said unto the people, Be ye prepared unto three days"-and the good of faith was purified, "come ye not nigh unto woman." (18-19.) At the end of the purification," and it was in the third day"-when they were in a state when they were in good, "when the morning came"-the Divine state supervened in which the Revelation took place, "and it was, voices and lightnings"-a Divine state in respect to those who would receive, "and a heavy cloud upon the mount"-while round about was the celestial state," and the voice of a trumpet exceeding kind"-while those who were to receive were seized with a holy tremor, "and trembled all the people who were in the camp"-the Truth from the Divine being powerful to prep are them that they might receive the Divine, "and Moses made the people to go forth and meet God out of the camp"-far, however, from the good of celestial love, which was too high for them, "and they stood in the nether parts of the mount"-and which therefore appeared in the greatest obscurity, "and Mount Sinai smoked, the whole of it"- because the Divine there was in celestial love, "therefore that JEHOVAH descended upon it in the fire"-the obscurity being as the obscurity of cupidities, "and went up the smoke thereof as the smoke of a furnace"-and heaven was commoved, "and trembled the whole mount greatly"-the general of revelation coming through the angelic heaven, "and the voice of the trumpet was going and strengthening itself greatly"-the Truth from the Divine in which was the Divine Itself inflowing, "Moses spake, and God answered him in a voice." (20-25) And the LORD became present in heaven, "and JEHOVAH came down upon Mount Sinai"-in the inmost of heaven, "unto the head of the mount"-and the Truth from the Divine was conjoined there, "and JEHOVAH called Moses unto the head of the mount, and Moses went up"-and the Divine exhorted, "and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-lest those who were of the spiritual Church should lust to enter heaven where the Celestial is, "Go down, contest unto the people lest they break through unto JEHOVAH to see"-for thus they would perish, "and there fall of them, many"-those who were in spiritual good, in which was the Divine, were to be covered up, "and also the priests that are going up unto JEHOVAH shall sanctify themselves"-separated from good, "lest JEHOVAH make a breach in them." The Truth from the Divine thought, "and Moses said unto JEHOVAH"-that they cannot elevate themselves unto the celestial kingdom, "the people cannot go up unto Mount Sinai"-because the Divine has cautioned, "because Thou, Thou hast testified against us"-by which the spiritual sphere of good ends below, "saying, Set thou bounds to the Mount"-and they are thus protected by the LORD, "and sanctify it."
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Still they were admonished, "and JEHOVAH said unto him"-that the Divine would inflow through the Truth from the Divine," Go, and go down"-for the Divine would be conjoined with Truth from the Divine internal and external, "and go up, thou and Aharon with thee"-lest those who were in spiritual good and truth should lust to enter into the celestial heaven, "and the priests and the people shall not break through to go up unto JEHOVAH"-and thus separate themselves from truth and good, "lest He make a breach in them." The Divine inflowed through Truth from the Divine, "and Moses went down unto the people"-and so they were admonished, "and said unto them."
Title Unspecified 1895
The Lord is present only in good, which is of charity alone.-A. C. 2063.
WHAT IS THE "LEGAL TENDER" IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD? 1895
THE letter published below was addressed to a minister, whose request that the Life furnish a reply is the more cheerfully complied with, as the question raised is by no means "unimportant," as the writer modestly claims. It has puzzled many a believer of the Doctrines of the New Church, and the explanatory passage which the answer embodies is therefore given in full, with details which at first sight may not seem quite relevant, but which, as a closer study will prove, are necessary to lead man into the full sphere of thought concerning the subject.
". . . I make bold to intrude upon you with a question that may seem trifling to you and others who may try to answer it; but, in fact, it is of some weight to my mind in its present state. "It is this: How do the inhabitants of the Spiritual World deal with each other in their commercial intercourse, for instance? I mean, what kind of a legal tender have they? In the Writings I find nothing in reply to this. Swedenborg says, and I believe, that people there carry on the business of civilized life as they have done here. They have trades, professions, and affairs like a well-regulated society on earth. Consequently, they have interchangeable articles of every kind which they dispose of according to mutual needs and desires. This I understand. But-and here comes the (to me) puzzling matter-the Writings say that the garments of the angels, for instance, are given them directly from and by the LORD-ready made, so to say. This sounds strange. I thought that the substance of things was from the LORD there, as it is here in the material world, but that we there, as here, shaped the substance into forms and figures according to our own ideas as derived from the LORD through the Spiritual evolution. There are commercial houses in the Spiritual World. Very well! Entering a dry-goods store there, I expect to find articles in that line of different description. They are for sale, spiritually speaking-that is, to be exchanged. Who furnished the stock? God, you say. But who made and accumulated the articles into a stock? Not the LORD, but the men and women dealing therein, of course. So I judge. But were they not made in factories through processes corresponding to ours on earth? And, in buying them, must not the buyers use some kind of legal tender? So, too, with the residences of the angels. Swedenborg says they are given by the LORD, but he says also that we ourselves build our eternal mansions. "In my contemplation of things spiritual and the life beyond, I love to see a busy world, with everything corresponding to things here, and that the Writings teach plainly enough. But what becomes of the industrial and commercial phase of life there if God Himself makes everything and furnishes them direct to us? "This question may, as I remarked, seem very unimportant, but not to me. Will you kindly-some time when you feel like it-look into the apparent contradictions and explain?" In order to bring the specific question more concretely before us, we may lengthen the list of apparent contradictions in the Writings concerning this subject by referring to the statements that there is business in heaven (D. P. 217, T. C. R. 694) and to that other statement that there is no business there (A. C. 4453); to the statement that there are wealth (D. P. 217) and gold and silver (S. D. 5666, T. C. R. 277, C. L. 268) and subsidiary coin (C. L. 268) in the other life, and to the other statement that there is no. money (S. D. 4385, A. C. 3957), and no gold and silver (A. C 4453) there. The passages in which these statements occur contain the explanation of the apparent contradictions, which is, in general, that everything in the spiritual world is spiritual, while in the natural world everything is material, and that the two are so different that they can hardly be compared. But the particular explanation is to be found in the treatise on the Divine Wisdom which is generally published at the end of The Apocalypse Explained. Here, after explaining that the spiritual is not something more pure natural, but so utterly different from the natural that it cannot be known excepting by some one who is in both worlds at the same time, and can compare the two and reflect upon the one from the point of view afforded by the other, Swedenborg explains that "the natural man in everything of his thought and speech, and in everything of his will and action has for his subject, matter, space, time, and quantity; these are, with him, fixed and stated, and without them he is in no idea of thought and thence of speech, nor in any affection of the will and from this in action. The spiritual man, or a spirit, has not these things as his subjects, but only as his objects; the cause of this is that in the spiritual world there are altogether similar objects as in the natural world; there are lands, there are meadows, there are fields, there are gardens and forests, there are houses, and chambers therein, and in them all things which are of use; moreover there are garments, women have theirs and men theirs, such as in the world; there are tables there, food, drink, such as in the world; there are also animals, gentle and harmful; there are thence spaces and times, also numbers and measures. All these are in such likeness to those things which are in the world, that the eyes cannot tell the difference; but nevertheless all these things are appearances of wisdom and understanding, and perception of loves which are of the will of the angels; for they are created in a moment by the LORD, and also are dissipated in a moment; they are permanent and are non-permanent, according to the constancy or inconstancy of spirits and angels in those things of which they are appearances; this is the cause that those things are only objects of their thoughts and affections, and that the subjects are those things from which they appear, which as has been said, are such things as are of wisdom and love; thus spiritual; as, for example, when they see spaces, they do not think concerning them from space, when they see gardens and therein trees, fruits, shrubs, flowers and seeds, they do not think concerning them from appearance, but from the things from which they appear; it is similar with the rest.
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Hence it is that the thoughts of the spiritual are quite different from the thoughts of the natural, likewise the affections; and so different that they transcend and do not fall into natural ideas, except a little into the interior rational sight and this not otherwise than by abstractions or removals of quantities from qualities. Hence it appears that the angels have wisdom which is incomprehensible to the natural man, and also ineffable. Because their thoughts are such, therefore they have also such speech, which differs to such an extent from the speech of men that they do not agree in one word. Likewise their writing, although this is similar to the writing of men of the world as to the letters, yet it cannot be understood by any man of the world. Every consonant is there one sense, and every vowel there is an affection, and the vowels are not written, but pointed. Manual works which are innumerable, and the functions of their offices likewise differ from, the works and functions of natural men in the world, which, therefore, cannot be described by words of human speech" (D. W. in A. E. vii, 5). The reference, in this explanation, to the existence of space and time in the other world, of which it is distinctly revealed that they do not exist there, but only the appearance of them, makes the matter still clearer. We who are living in the natural world cannot form an adequate idea of the employments of the angels, because we think from material things, they are the subjects of our thoughts, and we can only with the greatest difficulty get away from them. The spiritual world is the real world and matter, which, to our senses, is the real thing is but a shadow of spiritual substance. Material things do not exist in the other world, and the appearances there presented to the view of angels and spirits are but the objects of their thought and speech-a mere resting-point of infinite spiritual subjects. So they conduct no business in material things. Wool and cotton and iron and flour are not bought and sold there, for these things are material. Gold and silver do not exist there. But, as the angels are engaged in the prosecution of their ineffable uses, of which we can form a conception only by intense abstraction from the things that strike our senses every moment of our waking life, there form under their very hands, as it were, objects which correspond to their affections and thoughts. A house is not constructed there by masons and carpenters, and yet to those who are in the lower heavens a house may appear to be building while those who are in the higher heaven are active about the spiritual things to which the building of a house corresponds. A virgin does not engage in the occupation of embroidering some beautiful article by buying the cambric, the silk, and the needle; but the work form's under her hands as she is active, spiritually, in some heavenly occupation which beautifies the mind with celestial graces. Even the avaricious Jews who trade in precious stones, and probably imagine that they are material stones like those which they bought and sold in the natural world, do not deal in such, but in the truths of the letter of the Word, which, through their reverence of the Hebrew of the Word, they procure to themselves from Heaven. They are not fixed stones, as in the natural world, and hence they disappear as soon as the state which favors their existence changes. To the mind which is immersed in the contemplation of merely natural things, and can form no ideas excepting such as relate subjectively to the matter of this world, the teaching is that there is no trading, there is no wealth, no houses, no garments, no gold, no silver in the other world. But to the mind which can grasp to some extent-even though it be a shadowy conception-that the spiritual substantiality of the other world has nothing in common with the material fixity of this sublunary globe, but that its spiritual subjects are embodied in correspondential objective appearances, the teaching is that there is trading, in the form of communication of good and truth; that the coin of the realm is the good of love to the LORD and of charity to the neighbor; that the mind of man is the house he inhabits, furnished magnificently or meanly, according to its enrichment with knowledges of goods and truths; and that he is clothed in the garments of heavenly truths from the Word. Where the spiritual activities are represented in the appearance of trading, the medium of exchange would be in the form of gold and silver and, probably, copper coin. See the reference to the gold and silver coins given to virgins as rewards of diligence and virtue (S. D. 5666), the bags of silver (T. C. R. 277), the grains of gold magnified, by common phantasy of certain concupiscent spirits, into heaps of gold coin; the "oboli" given to them later when they labor in prison (C. L. 268), etc.
Title Unspecified 1895
The harmonies of sounds pertain to spiritual harmony, and the gladness which thence results, is spiritual gladness, therefore the music of the old church, therefore song in the heavens, is so delicious.-S. D. 904.
FIRST NEW CHURCH COMPOSER. 1895
THE new Psalmody, which is being published in instalments by the Academy of the New Church, and to which reference has frequently been made in these columns, is not the first attempt made in the New Church in the direction of having all the Psalms set to music by a composer who is in the acknowledgment of the LORD JESUS CHRIST in His Second Advent. Over a hundred years ago; several psalms and other pieces of music were published in The New Jerusalem Magazine, of London, the prospectus of which contained the following announcement: "We have the pleasure to said that Mr. Barthelemon, whose great abilities in sacred composition are well known, has engaged to set to music, on purpose for this work, the Psalms of David in regular order from the Bible version; so that the lovers of sacred melody will most probably be amply gratified in receiving such a selection of the Songs of Zion as have never hitherto appeared in any similar publication. In the first number will be given the Glorification of the Angels on the LORD'S first Advent; and, in the second number of this work, the song of Moses and of the Lamb; as described in the fifteenth chapter of the Revelations, 'Great and marvelous are thy works, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,' etc., which song we have reason to believe, will be sung with affection by every true member of the New Church." (The New Jerusalem Magazine, London, 1790, p. 74.) "The glorification, of the angels on the LORD'S First Advent" here referred to, is the song, "Glory to God in the highest," etc., recorded in the Gospels. This and the "Song of Moses and the Lamb" are given in the form of anthems.
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Only the first four Psalms were published in the Magazine (which lived only a year), the endeavor apparently being to publish a piece of music as a supplement with each monthly issue of the journal. One of these supplements was not a song, but a little composition for an orchestra, illustrative, as its title declares, of the Union of "Love and Truth." It is in three parts. The first is intended to express Love, and is scored for flutes, piano, violins, and viola; the second part is intended to express Truth, and is scored for violins, violoncellos, and double bass, and the third ingeniously combines both of these parts, without the omission of a note, to exemplify the "union of love and truth;" in this part there enter trombones, comets, and kettle-drums. It would seem from this that Mr. Barthelemon had not read the teachings about the respective correspondence of wind and stringed instruments, which teaching has especial force in a composition with a subject such as this. We learn from Mr. Whittington that Barthelemon also set to music the angels' glorification of the LORD on His Second Advent (see C. L. 81, and T. C. R. 625), and our informant adds the interesting information, that he saw this manuscript many years ago among the possessions of an old Newchurch lady, at whose house he was lodging; and that it was stated that the music had been performed at "Friar's Street Chapel." His recollection of the music is that it was good, but rather old-fashioned-a description which fits the music published in the Magazine-and that it consisted of solos, quartets, and choruses. The manuscript has probably ere this been consigned to the flames. The lady to whom it belonged has been dead for twenty years. Barthelemon was well-known in England, and one of his hymn-tunes was, and probably is still, in use in every Church in the kingdom, the words for which it was composed being, "Awake my soul, and with the sun," etc. The only account of this early New Church composer that we have been able to find thus far is in John W. Moore's Complete Encyclopaedia of Music, which we transcribe entire: "F. HIPPOLITE BARTHELEMON, a celebrated violinist and composer, was born at Bordeaux, in France, in 1741, and lived some time in Paris, in which capital he composed, among other music, an opera called Le Fleuve Scamandre for the Italian Theatre. In the year 1765 he went to England, and in the following season produced a serious opera for the king's theatre, entitled Pelopida, which was received with so much applause that Garrick was induced to pay the author a visit for the purpose of asking him if he thought he could set English words to music. On Barthelemon's replying affirmatively, Garrick asked for pen, ink, and paper; and wrote the words of a song to be introduced in the play of The Country Girl. Whilst thus engaged, Barthelemon, looking over Garrick's shoulder, actually wrote down music; in parts, to the song as fast as the other penned the words. Garrick then turning around, and handing Barthelemon the words, said, 'There, sir, is my song,' to which the other answered, 'And there, sir, is my music for it.' Astonished and delighted at this unexpected exertion of talent, Garrick invited the composer to dine that day with him, in company with Dr. Johnson. The song proved so successful that it was encored every time it was sung; and Garrick, in the fullness of his heart, promised to make Barthelemon's fortune. As a beginning of encouragement, he employed him to set to music the operatic farce of A Peep Behind the Curtain. The little burletta of Orpheus, in the second act, was so much admired that this farce was performed a hundred and eight nights in one year. Garrick thus cleared by it several thousand pounds, and rewarded Barthelemon with the sum of forty guineas, instead of fifty, which he had originally promised him, alleging, as an excuse, that the dancing cows had cost him so much money that he really could not afford to pay him any more. Barthelemon has composed the music to several other petit pieces for the theatres, particularly to General Burgoyne's dramatic entertainment, The Maid of the Oaks, which was first acted at Drury Lane about the year 1774. At length, however, disgusted with the conduct of managers, he declined writing anything more for the stage; and, about the year 1794, was engaged with his family at the Rotunda in Dublin. Mrs. Barthelemon and her daughter were both musical, and had also a taste for composition. The former published a set of hymns and anthems for the Asylum and Magdalen Chapels. We should have observed, that whilst in England Barthelemon led for several seasons the opera band. As a violinist, his adagios were much admired; he also particularly excelled as a sole performer of Corelli's music. He died in London, at an advanced age, in the year 1808."
Title Unspecified 1895
States of joy and gladness in the spiritual world exist from the affections . . . of good and truth.-A. C. 8387.
LETTER FROM SWEDENBORG TO OETINGER. 1895
AMONG the prominent men who read the Doctrines of the New Church during the lifetime of Swedenborg, and who entered into correspondence with him, was Prelate OEtinger, of Wurtemberg, who was the first translator of Swedenborg's Writings. The letters that passed between him and Swedenborg have been published in the Documents Concerning Swedenborg, collected and edited by Dr. Rudolph L. Tafel. In a note to the "Third Letter of Emanuel Swedenborg to F. C. OEtinger," Dr. Tafel states that "the Latin original of this Document was in the possession of Prof. Veesenmeyer, in Ulm, but after his death it could not be found among his papers." The original Latin letter which thus disappeared has been discovered in the possession of Mr. C. F. Guenther, the well-known confectioner of Chicago, who is a collector of rare books and manuscripts and curiosities. Our Newchurch friend, Mr. John Forest, received permission to photograph the letter, which reads as follows:
Maxime Venerende et Excellentissime Domine Consiliarie!
Cum gaudio recepi literas tuas scriptas Murhard d. 28 Oct: aegre mihi est, quod adhuc non receperis 3 Exemplaria Opusculi mei novi de Amore conjugiali et scortatorio; intuli illa hic Amstelodami in domum, unde talia in varia loca Germaniae transferuntur, primum, ut reor, ad Arnhem, et inde per currus aut plaustra ad designata; inscripsi Wurtembergam, si illuc pervenerint, forte ibi invenientur in hospitio seu diversorio, ubi viatores illi alluunt et commorantur; si datur copia seu occasso, transmittentur 9 alia exemplaria, una cum opusculo de Planetis Interrogavi famulorn portatorem Epistolae tuae num herus ejus noverit aliquam occasionem, sed nondum rediit et renuntiavit, si invenero, non deerit.
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Adfers dubium, maxime Reverende Domine! qnod tradita sit Christo potestas super omnem carnem, et tamen angeli ac caelites non habent carnea sed lucida corpora ad haec digueris benigne recipere hoc responsum, quod ibi per omnem carnem intelligatur omnis homo, quare in Verbo aliquoties dicitur omnis caro, quod est, omnis est homo; quod angelorum corpora substantialia, et non materialia, ac substantialia coram illis non translucent; omne materiale originitum est ex substantiali, in hoc venit omnis homo, dum exuvias materiales per mortem deponit, quae causa est, quod homo post obitum sit homo, sed purior, respective sicut substantiale est ad materiale: Quod Domino sit potestas non modo super omnes homines, sed etiam super omnes angelos, constat ex Ipsius Verba apud Matthnum, Data est mihi omnis potestas in Caelo et in Terra, Cap: XXVIII: 18. Quoniam in literis tuis memoras sensum naturalem et spiritualem Verbi, ne credatur quod aliquid cantrarium de illis scripserim, adjungo chartulam, in qua bini illi sensus Verbi describuntur, Ero Maxime Venerande et excellentissime Domine Amstelodami die 8 Nov: 1768. tuus addictissimus servus Eman: Swedenborg.
For the benefit of those of our readers who are not conversant with Latin, and who are not in possession of Tafel's Documents, it may be stated that the first part of the letter refers to three copies of the Work on Conjugial Love, which Swedenborg had sent to OEtinger, but which had, apparently, miscarried. He proposes to send nine more, together with the little work on the Planets, which OEtinger subsequently published in German. The second part of the letter corrects a misapprehension of OEtinger's, who concluded that the LORD'S having power "over all flesh" could not include the angels, since they had "not fleshy but shining bodies." Swedenborg explains that their bodies appear as if of flesh because they are substantial, though not material. Finally Swedenborg refers to an inclosed essay on the Natural and the Spiritual Sense of the Word, "lest it, should be believed that I have written anything contrary to" those senses. This essay was especially called for by the attitude of OEtinger, who seems to have had an insurmountable faith in the literal truth of the literal sense of the Word-even looking upon the New Jerusalem as a material city. We are ignorant of the present whereabouts of the original manuscript of this essay, but a translation of it is published in the Documents. In the "Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History," which Swedenborg left among his posthumous manuscripts, OEtinger is especially referred to.
Title Unspecified 1895
The good of the priesthood is to provide for the salvation of souls, to teach the sway to heaven, and to lead those whom he teaches. As he is in this good, so from love and its desire he acquires to himself the truths which he teaches, and by which he teaches.-Life, 39.
INSTALLATION OF THE REV. MESSRS. ROSENQVIST AND STEPHENSON. 1895
ON Sunday, June 23d, the Rev. Joseph E. Rosenqvist, of Berlin, Canada, and the Rev. John Stephenson, of Pittsburgh, were installed into the second or pastoral degree of the Priesthood of the New Church by Bishop Benade, in the hall of the Academy of the New Church, on North Street, near Nineteenth Street, Philadelphia. The ceremony was similar to the one used on like occasions during the past two years, and as it has been given in full in The New Church Standard, it needs no further description. As usual, the candidates for office read, each, a statement prepared by himself, setting forth his faith and his purpose. That of Mr. Rosenqvist aroused particular interest, and is presented herewith: "Before the LORD, the One and Only GOD, REDEEMER and SAVIOUR of the world, and before this assembly of His Church, I do solemnly declare that the Faith of the New Heaven and of the New Church is my Faith. "It is my Faith, because I firmly believe and feel convinced that the LORD JESUS CHRIST Himself is the Author of that Faith, and that therefore it is the only Faith through which angels and men can be saved. "I believe in the Word, in the Letter, and in the Spirit, and by the Word in the Spirit I mean all the Writings of the New Church; I firmly believe all that is contained in them, because I feel convinced that they are all written by the LORD JESUS CHRIST Himself through His servant Emanuel Swedenborg. "I believe that these Writings, together with the Letter of the Word, are the LORD Himself in His Glorified Human; that they are the Second Advent of the LORD, and that they are solely for those who will be of the LORD'S New Church. "I believe that the Divine Revelation, known as the Writings of the New Church, has its Letter and Spirit, the former being the external form of doctrine in which it makes itself knowable to the external senses of man; the latter being the truth of Doctrine, which can be known only to those who are in illustration from the LORD, and thence in perception. "I believe that the Priesthood is the representative of the LORD as the Saviour, and therefore that the office of the Priesthood is the LORD'S own office for the salvation of souls; that in the Priesthood there must be a trine; that those who fill the third or highest degree of the Priesthood are responsible both individually and officially neither to angels nor to men, but solely to the LORD alone; that those who are in the second or pastoral degree of the Priesthood are likewise responsible to no man but to the LORD alone individually, and officially only to those in the highest degree, under whom they thus are in free and confiding subordination; that those who are in the first or lowest degree of the Priesthood are equally under responsibility to none but the LORD, individually, and officially only to those in the higher and highest degrees of the Priesthood, to whom they also are in free and confiding subordination. "It is my conviction that if those in the lower and lowest degree of the Priesthood be not in free and confiding subordination to those in the higher and highest degree, there is no true subordination, but only a representative of the same; for all true and heavenly subordination presupposes freedom and confidence. From such freedom those of the highest degree look to the LORD alone, confiding in Him alone; from that freedom those of the middle degree look to the LORD alone immediately, and mediately to those in the highest degree in whom they confide, and from that same freedom those in the lowest degree, look to the LORD alone immediately, and mediately through the officials of the higher and highest degree, in whom they also have trust and confidence. This subordination is true and heavenly because it is according to Divine Order. I believe that the Priesthood, in such order established is able to see and perceive not only the doctrine of the Church as it appears in its external form, but also the truth of doctrine, by means of which angels and men are to be led to the good of life.
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"To this my solemn confession of faith I feel called upon to add this declaration of purpose: it is my sincere desire to accept the office of Pastor for no other end than use; that I may thereby be enabled to minister to such as may come under my care in all offices belonging to the function of Pastor; the introduction into the pastoral degree, which is now about to take place by the orderly way of ordination, is to me a sign of the Divine Mercy of the LORD in His work in my own reformation and regeneration, as these can be accomplished only by means of the faithful performance of the duties of this holy office, to which I firmly believe the LORD alone has called and prepared me. I also openly disavow the idea that the LORD is in want of me; I need to perform the duties of this office primarily for the sake of my own salvation; but still I am confident that the LORD, from His Divine Mercy, will make use of my services as a priest and pastor in His Church, so that, through them, such will be led by truth to good, of whom the LORD speaks in John: 'And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, one shepherd.' "That I may be enabled so to perform the important duties of the pastoral office that the LORD'S work of saving souls thereby may be furthered-this is my fervent prayer, my one and only end."
JAMES GLEN. 1895
THE APOSTLE OF THE NEW CHURCH TO AMERICA.
"And I saw an angel flying in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth" (Rev. xiv, 6). This signifies the Annunciation and Evangelization concerning the Second Advent of the LORD, and concerning the New Church, the New Jerusalem, descending from Him out of Heaven (A. R. 626). After The True Christian Religion had been finished, and the Revelation of the Divine Human thus completed, "the LORD called together His twelve apostles, that had followed Him in the world; and the next day He sent them all forth into the Universal Spiritual World to preach the Gospel that the LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST reigneth, Whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages. This took place on the nineteenth day of June, in the year 1770" (T. C. R. 791). This most important date marks the beginning of the Evangelization of the Eternal Gospel of the Second Advent in the Spiritual World. Throughout the endless universe of spiritual humanity were heard and seen those new and Divine Truths which caused the Sun of the Spiritual World to appear in increased splendor before the very angels. In Heaven there reigned new life and light, increased joy and jubilant glorification. On earth was thick darkness and the silence of night. For fourteen years longer this midnight lasted, and then was heard the first cock-crowing that announced the last time of the Old Christian Church and the first dawn of the glorious, eternal day of the New Church. How wonderful that the first effort of New Church Evangelization, the first public announcement of the Heavenly Doctrines by the living voice of man on this earth, was made in this new country of the United States, and in this city of Philadelphia, which in the Providence of the LORD had been named after brotherly love! Sweden, the home of the revelator, had rejected the new Word of God. England, the centre of the Christian world, had witnessed the first publications of the Doctrines in a living tongue and the first gatherings of the few who had received the new Light, but the incipient New Church was yet in the bondage of a national establishment of the Old. But America, rejoicing in its new privileges of civil and religious liberty, was the land where the Gospel of the New Kingdom was first preached by man. This first evangelist of the New Jerusalem, who may well be named the Apostle of the New Church in America, was James Glen, a native of Scotland, a country where, as we are instructed, the laity, or some of them, argue more from the Word and from reason, and hold more to the doctrine of charity, than the people of England, and especially its clergy (T. C. R. 812). James Glen was evidently one of these Scottish laymen who think freely and love justice. He seems to have been a gentleman of culture and learning, of a strong mind and of deep convictions. In his manners he is said to have been very eccentric, but nevertheless inspired great respect wherever he went, and seems to have retained through life the affections of all who knew him. At one time he possessed much worldly wealth, but is said to have lost most of it, partly through his extreme generosity and partly through unexpected circumstances. About the year 1780 he traveled to Demerara, now Georgetown, in British Guiana, with the intention of purchasing a plantation, and ultimately settling in that colony. Having concluded his purchase, he took passage on a ship bound for England. During the long journey he had frequent conversations with the captain of the vessel, who conceived a great affection for him and presented him with a rare work, written in Latin by a very extraordinary man. The book proved to be De Coelo et Inferno, and the author, Emanuel Swedenborg. Mr. Glen read this work with the utmost astonishment, which soon changed into deep gratitude at the Goodness of the Divine Providence, "which had so unexpectedly brought him into such a peculiar situation, that while sailing on the surface of the great deep beneath him, his eyes were opened to behold the unfathomable depths of Divine Truth above him. That day Mr. Glen declared to be the happiest day of his life, which thus brought to his view the glories, of the heavenly State and the stupendous realities of the eternal world" (Hindmarsh, Rise and Progress, p. 17). In a letter to a friend, in the year 1808, he himself thus describes his reception of the Doctrines: "The Revelations of Swedenborg I have now received, in a low degree, for twenty-six years, since August, 1781, and I humbly testify that I hold them, every day, more and more in love, as essential Divine Truths for the regeneration, salvation, hope, peace, light and life, of poor, poor mankind" (Monthly Observer). While in London, in the year 1783, he was led by Divine Providence to notice the advertisement, which Robert Hindmarsh had caused to be inserted in some of the newspapers, inviting all readers and lovers of Swedenborg's Writings to meet together on December 12th of the same year. This invitation he promptly accepted, and was thus introduced to the five Newchurchmen, who had held their first meeting a week before-Robert Hindmarsh, John Augustus Tulk, Peter Provo William Bonington, and William Spence. By these he was now hailed with joy as a most valuable acquisition to their small circle, and he heartily united with them in their efforts to procure and publish new translations of the Writings of the New Church. Such was the ardency of his apostolic zeal for the dissemination of the Heavenly Truth which possessed his mind that, in the spring of the following year when about to return to Demerara, instead of going directly to South America, he concluded to visit first the new nation which had sprung up in the northern part of the Continent, and to announce there the glorious Message concerning the Second Advent of the LORD in the Internal sense of the Word. (To be continued.)
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Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
WITH the issue of June 26th The New- Church Messenger completes its sixty-eighth volume.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. C. Giles's tract on "The Church of the New Jerusalem: What it is, and What it is not," has been translated into German.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Sower completes its third volume with the issue of June 30th. The editor promises improvements with the volume commencing in October.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN Swedenborg Among the Doctors: A Letter to Robert T. Cooper, M. D., Dr. J. J. Garth Wilkinson presents his medical confreres with a summary of Swedenborg's Works, and also an epitome of his own well-known view of modern science, molded as these have been by his study of Swedenborg's Works. He distinguishes Swedenborg's teachings from those of modern Science by the characteristic doctrine of Use, without which Science, in the eyes of Swedenborg, was no object. "Modern Thought," declares Dr. Wilkinson "loses sight of use, professing godless force and Power in protoplasm as the origin not of ends of use, but of self-helping and struggling existence in the shifting ground of opportunity." And so in the domain of Medicine, "its materialism has industriously invented and brought forth an anatomy and physiology which have no soul." In Hahnemann, however, he beholds a thinker related to Swedenborg, for in the rationale of his treatment he discovers him as "the Providential Author of a system of Correspondences." It is unnecessary to follow the Doctor in his analysis of Swedenborg's works; but attention is arrested by the expansion of his notice of Swedenborg's doctrine about the lungs, into a treatise which claims a generous share of the Letter. Of these noble organs he says, that they are "a favorite subject of mine, which I have been writing about for nearly half a century, but so far as I know without readers." His essay imparts to the Letter a special value that will be appreciated by thoughtful New Church people. He closes with the admonition to "read Swedenborg's theological works before his anatomical ones. You may then have gained an affirmative principle which will rule your thought as to the real human value of the body, and appeal against any hasty decision in regard to works which, wonderful as they are, yet belong inevitably to the limits of a hundred and fifty years ago. For manifest theology bears the brunt of time where science does not, except to the willing."
Title Unspecified 1895
Morning Light for June 15th gives an account of the annual meeting of the New Church College, London. The Rev. J. R. Rendell said "That there could be no doubt that the progress of the Church depended very much upon an earnest, cultivated ministry." Referring to the lack of candidates for the ministry, he pointed out that "had they even six candidates coming forward, they could not assure them a position that would clothe and feed them at the end of their college course. In the immediate future he thought they would have to depend very much on the laymen." It is this dependence on the laity, who have had no proper preparation for the use they endeavor to perform which is one of the secrets of the slow growth of the Church. Let the Priesthood come into order and the Church will grow better. The same journal in its issue of June 8th reports a meeting which was held to consider the present condition and future prospects of the societies, and particularly the smaller societies in and around London. The chairman, Mr. L. P. Ford, said that they felt that unless something were done these smaller societies would die. He said: "I do not think there is a single society in London in a prosperous condition." Mr. J. Foster Howe spoke of these small societies as the "little children of the Church, and in course of time, if sufficiently cared for, they should grow into the older children of the Church." Following the thought out, it is not difficult to ascertain the cause of their early death. They do not receive nourishing food. They are starved to death. Mr. Richard Gunton, referring to some remarks of Mr. Howe, said: "He speaks of the world as if thirsting for these glorious truths. That is a mistake." And he is right. He then reviewed the special efforts which the several societies in London had made to increase their membership, and showed that these efforts had signally failed; but, he said, not for want of able men. He further said that members were attracted, but they did not stay. And why not? Because they said: "I am taught these same things in my own Church; what need is there for separation?" The lack of distinctive teaching is the secret of the failure of these efforts. Then, again, it is a mistake to look for increase from without. The Church is to grow from within. The members should be the first objects of care. The Rev. A. Potter said: "The fact is the New Church is dying of dry rot, and in ten years' time, unless something is done, we shall probably cease to have any organization in London at all." In suggesting that several societies join together and have one minister, he said: "But the most important matter is that the societies should have a definite control (!) over the preachers." One's sympathies go out to a minister in such a predicament. This hampering of the freedom of the Priesthood is another cause of true lamentable state of the Church.
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
RELATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE IN THE UNITED MAN. A. W. MANNING 1895
EDITOR OF THE NEW CHURCH LIFE: Would you please let me know in what part of the Writings can be found that "Woman is celestial and man spiritual," which is found on page 176, May number. I have been a close student of the Writings, and have read them nearly every day for over thirty years, and have never seen anything [teaching this] in the Writings. Woman was taken out of man, and at a time when man was celestial, but at any rate to be conjugially related they must be in the same plane and degree or otherwise, they could not be in the same heaven. I notice also what you say in the same paragraph, where you say, "Her will is in his understanding, and his understanding forms her will." Now I understand from the Writings, and particularly from the Divine Love and Wisdom, that the understanding and will are two receptacles of the spirit of man and are as to his spiritual the same as the cerebrum and cerebellum are to the body of man in which the two former receptacles reside as long as the soul and body are united. It would sound very strange to say that the cerebellum is in his cerebrum, but I apprehend that what you really meant was that the qualities as to things of his understanding, such as science, intelligence or wisdom (according to the discrete degree into which his life has opened), is in her will as a receptacle; conjugial love with her being an endeavor to join the things of her husband's understanding to her will.
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If instead of using the name of the receptacle you would use the name of the quality of truth which the receptacle contained, then I can conceive that it would make it clear. Then if you note page 37, p. 32, in Conjugial Love, you will find these words: "The essential distinction between the two is this: In the masculine principle Love [will] is inmost, and its covering in wisdom [understanding]; or what is the same thing, the masculine principle is love covered [or veiled] by wisdom; whereas in the feminine principle, the wisdom of the mate is inmost, and its covering love." And you say "that his will is intellectual." Now, I do not see it so, for his intellectual things cover his love, and are in his receptacle the understanding, while what is in his will is love, which love is the love of becoming wise, but his will only holds his love-heat-while the light is in his understanding. But what is inmost in the feminine is her love conjoined with his light or wisdom (Conjugial Love, page 64). He is truth grounded in good, she is good grounded in truth. I remain yours, A. W. MANNING.
ANSWER
THE terms celestial and spiritual are universal terms, and are applied to good and truth, and thus to the will and the understanding respectively, and the application to husband and wife will be evident from this doctrine, which meet our correspondent's request: "Mind consists of two parts, of which the one is called the understanding and the other the will. When these two parts act one, then they are called one mind; the husband there acts that part which is called the understanding, and the wife that part which is called the will. . . . Conjugal love has its origin from the conjunction of the two into one mind; this is called, in Heaven, cohabitation, and is called being not two, but one; wherefore two consorts in Heaven are called not two but one angel. That there is also such a conjunction of husband and wife in the inmosts, which are of the minds, comes from creation itself; for the man is born that he be intellectual, thus that he think from the understanding; but the woman that she be voluntary, thus that she think from the will" (H. H. 367, 368). If man, as distinguished from woman, is intellectual, then his will is intellectual, for the will is the man himself: that is to say, man acts and speaks from his understanding, such is the disposition of every fibre of his being; such the quality of his every thought; while woman acts from the will: such is the form of every least part of her spiritual structure, such the quality of all her thought. And that the wife's will enters into the husband's understanding is declared in these words: "The will of the wife is the husband's also, and the understanding of the husband is the wife's also, since one loves to will and think as the other, thus mutually and reciprocally: hence their conjunction into one. That conjunction is also an actual conjunction, for the will of the wife enters into the understanding of the husband, and the understanding of the husband into the will of the wife," etc. (H. H. 369). This is not at variance with the doctrine that in the masculine love is the inmost, and its covering is wisdom and that this wisdom of the husband is' the inmost of the wife, where it is veiled with love. On the contrary, the two express the same truth variously, the truth namely that in a truly conjugial pair the husband is the understanding and the wife is the will. The two ideas are brought together in the following from Conjugial Love, n. 195: "With man there is rational wisdom and there is moral wisdom, and the wife conjoins herself with those things which are of the moral wisdom with the man. Those things which are of the rational wisdom make the understanding of the man, and those things which are of moral wisdom make his will; with those things which make the will of the man the wife conjoins herself. It is the same thing whether it be said that the wife conjoins herself, or it be said that she conjoins her will with the will of the man, because the wife has been born voluntary, and hence does from the will what she does. That it is said with the internal will of the man, is because the will of the man has its seat in his understanding, and the intellectual of the man is the inmost of the female."
Title Unspecified 1895
Inmost unition is like that of the soul and the heart: the soul of the wife is man, and the heart of the man is the wife.-A. E. 1004.
AT A MEETING OF THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY. 1895
THE eighty-fifth annual meeting of the Swedenborg Society was held in London on June 11th. The assembly was not especially large, and consisted mostly of old men and ladies. No ministers were present, except the Rev. John Presland and three ministers of the Academy-Messrs. Tilson, Ottley, and Odhner. Colonel Bevington presided, and his opening address adverted to the progress which, in common with many members of Conference and Convention, he believes the Old Church is making toward the New. He also devoted some space of his address to prove the truth of Swedenborg's doctrines of the resurrection of the spirit of man. Mr. James Speirs read his report as Secretary of the Society. Mr. Clowes Bailey in a lengthy speech moved that the report be adopted, and Mr. F. A. Gardiner seconded the motion, likewise with a speech, in which he took the opposite ground from the Chairman, pointing out that the doctrines concerning the LORD and concerning the Word are denied by the Old Church as much as formerly. The Rev. C. Th. Odhner, who was present by invitation, was then asked to support the resolution, and spoke as follows: "MR. CHIAIRMAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: "Standing in the presence of an Institution such as the Swedenborg Society, I feel somewhat like Napoleon at the Pyramids, but without any of the bellicose intentions of that conqueror. "A century looks down upon me, a century of uninterrupted activity in the blessed and glorious work of preserving, translating, publishing, and spreading to all ends of the earth the Evangel of the Second Advent of the LORD, the Books in which he has revealed His glorified Human, the Word of Heaven, the inspired Writings of the New Jerusalem.' "There can be no use so fundamental, so important, so sacred and so blessed as that of guarding this Divine Revelation, since upon them, and upon them alone, depends the future and the salvation of the entire human race. This use may be said to be the sine qua non with out which the New Church, and therefore universal mankind, would perish in utter darkness and spiritual death.
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"To this use, and to that time-honored institution which performs it, the New Church, in all its varied forms, and in all parts of the world, should look, and I may say, does look, as to the one common platform upon which all-whether of the Academy or of the Conference and Convention, or of the Non- Separatist School of thought-ought to feel free to meet, and to be joined as brothers by our common, though varied, love for the Writings of the New Church. For, however varied maybe our reception and understanding of the Doctrines, yet there are three grand essentials which these Writings teach, and which must be common to us all: The Faith in the LORD JESUS CHRIST as the only God of Heaven and earth, the acknowledgment of the Word in its. Internal Sense, and the necessity of a life of charity in conformity with the precepts of the LORD in His Word. "Allow me to express, on this occasion, the great interest and affection which my brethren of the Academy of the New Church have ever felt for the use of the, Swedenborg Society. Each new edition, and each new language in which you have brought forth the Writings of the New Church, is hailed by us with the liveliest rejoicing, for what can be more delightful to a New Church heart than the signs of the victorious coming of the Son of Man in the glory of Heavenly clouds? "We congratulate you upon the past and the present results of your work, we buy and we read your editions every day of our lives, and from the bottom of our hearts we bid you God-speed in the glorious work before you, ever praying that the LORD in His mercy may lead, you to perform your uses with increasing zeal and faithfulness and wisdom. "At the present time you have entered upon a new use that of recording the various editions of the Writings which have been published at different times and in different languages. In this important work, also the sympathies of the Academy are with you, for we regard this Bibliography not only as the record of so many manifestations of the LORD to man, but also as a self-evident witness that the Divine Providence has never ceased to guard over the infant New Church. "Persecutions have raged without, and controversies within, the pale of the New Church. Newchurchmen have lived and worked and departed from this world. Societies have been born and have been extinguished. Divisions have taken place in the external organizations of the Church, but the use of publishing the Writings has gone on without interruption, until from actual knowledge, I may say, that not one year has rolled by in the past century which has not been signalized by, the publication of one or more of the Writings of the New Church in some part of the earth. The publication of this Bibliography will, therefore, be of a great use in the spiritual education of the men of the New Church. "It will also be of great practical value to future translators of the Writings, by enabling them to compare their own work with that of those who, before them have labored in the same vineyard. For no man is so wise, or so learned that he may not learn from others by adopting suggestions of value, and by avoiding former errors, and thus produce the most perfect translations. "As a contribution, to the material of this Bibliography, the Academy hopes, before long, to present a photographic edition of the manuscript of the little work of Summaries of the Internal Sense of the Prophets and the Psalms, for the execution of which I shall, tomorrow start upon a journey to Stockholm. Without the slightest idea of interference with whatever your own Society or any other body of The Church may intend to do in the great work of reproducing Swedenborg's manuscripts, the Academy now intends to publish this one work for its own immediate use in the new translation of the Word, and for the uses of worship in our churches and our families. We are told, in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, that Swedenborg compared these Summaries of the Internal Sense with the Word in the Heavens, and found that they agreed with it in every respect. It will, therefore, be of great use as well as interest to preserve to all future ages, in our Sacred Repositories, the exact simile of the Word in the Heavens in the first form' in which this Word was ultimated through the pen of Swedenborg. "I trust that the Academy may count upon the sympathy of the Swedenborg Society in this work. "I thank you for your permission to express myself on this occasion in the presence of the successors of men such as Hindmarsh, J. A. Tulk, Sibly, Noble, Smithson, Butler, Bateman, Spurgin, Clissold, and other noble spirits, who, without doubt, are even now active in furthering the uses of that ancient and cherished institution, the Swedenborg Society." Mr. Alfred Backhouse, of Leeds, arose to move a resolution congratulating the Society upon the translation into Arabic of Heaven and Hell. He delivered a long address on The British and Foreign Bible Society, and an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, and closed with a glowing tribute to the "Newchurchwomen's League," in which he took the opportunity to say that "Christianity had done ever so much more for woman than for man." The resolution was seconded by the Rev. Majola Agbebi, of Lagos, West Africa, who stated that although not a convert to the Doctrines of the New Church, he had read some of them, and was interested in what Swedenborg said about the Africans, and expressed the hope that the New Church would again assist in the "industrial evangelization" which some of Swedenborg's early disciples had begun (referring to Nordenskjold and Wadstrom). He declared that the Africans did not desire the unpractical teachings of the Christian sects, and looked for a new Church which would teach people how to live right. The Africans could not receive mere human philosophical speculations, but wanted something authoritative from God, such as the Revelation through Swedenborg purported to be. Mr. Agbebi wore a peculiar robe, and spoke with a strange accent, but his remarks, despite physical indisposition, were quite interesting. Speeches by Messrs. Spaulding, Presland, and Higham followed, and a vote of thanks was accorded the chairman, who announced a gift of L100 by him to the Society.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Africans spurn those who arrive from Europe who believe man to be saved by faith alone.-T. C. R. 840.
MEETING OF THE ALUMNI. HARVEY FARRINGTON 1895
A MEETING of the Alumni Association was held on June 13th in Philadelphia, in the Hall of the Academy. There were present thirty-four members, among whom were two representatives from Pittsburgh, and one each from Berlin, Parkdale, Middleport, Oak Glen, and Scranton. Several small tables, whose white covers were tastefully adorned with green vines, formed a hollow polygon in the centre of the ball, and around these the company arranged themselves in a circle.
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The Rev. Mr. Schreck welcomed heartily the guests from distant centres, and said that we had come together in order to exchange hearty good-will with one another, and hear from the visitors what news they had brought. Messages had come to us in writing; but during the course of the meeting we might also receive some by word of mouth. The Secretary then read two communications received since the last meeting-one from Mr. Nahrgang, local Secretary in Berlin; the other from Mr. Rott, in Pittsburgh. The Treasurer reported in regard to the scholarship which had been adopted as one of the general uses of the Association, that yearly subscriptions raised in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia alone would amount to about $120, which is more than half the sum estimated for the annual support of a scholarship. He also rendered an account of the fund for expenses incurred by the local meetings in Philadelphia. Mr. Schreck remarked that it was gratifying, indeed, to see what cordial support the central use of the Association had met. It showed that we are working on the right lines, and that the LORD is blessing our efforts. The Rev. Homer Synnestvedt was much pleased with the results shown by the Treasurer's report. We who are near the schools do not always appreciate what we have, and what it means to have the bond of union with them thus sustained. A use is already being performed in this direction. If those who go away did not possess this bond, there would be nothing to bring them so great a distance, nor would we be so glad to see them. He congratulated Mr. Schreck on his efforts and the meed of success they had attained. At this juncture the loving cup was brought in, and the President, in a few well-chosen words, reminded the assemblage that drinking from the same cup signified that all were united in receiving the one good from the LORD. As the first toast he proposed the "New Church," saying that we are organized as a subsidiary body of the Church to perform uses. Charity and love to the LORD must reign in our work, else nothing lasting will be in it. As we come closer together, more and more the danger will arise of our falling into the evil, from heredity and actual life, of magnifying the evils of others. We ought to strive to minify the evils of others and to magnify their goods. When Noah lay uncovered in his tent, Shem and Japheth entered backward, that they might not see the nakedness of their father, and covered him, the significance of which has this application, that the errors of the men of the Church should not be magnified and made subject of gossip. One recently come among us from the Old Church has contrasted the meeting of Alumni there with the sphere prevailing in our meetings. The conversation in their meetings was frivolous, and anything but charitable. If, there is something of the Church established among us that thus becomes evident to others, let us hold on to that and cultivate it, for it is from the presence of the LORD among us. It rests with us whether we make this presence permanent. Business now being concluded, the conversation became general while wine and cakes were placed upon the tables. These, however, were soon moved to out-of-the-way corners to make room for dancing. The remainder of the programme was filled by dances, music, and a few informal toasts. During the course of the evening the Secretary announced that the roll-book showed a list of ninety-seven members. To this must be added four new members, who were present for the first time at this most enjoyable meeting. HARVEY FARRINGTON, Secretary.
Title Unspecified 1895
There was a preacher at the Hague . . . he appeared . . . as a dragon . . . and to stand before a woman as bearing, with the lust of devouring the child, when it should come forth. The Lord's church which is the New Jerusalem was set forth representatively by the woman, and its doctrine by the child.-S. D. 6070.
SWEDENBORG'S VISIT AT THE HAGUE. 1895
MR. G. Barger, of the Hague, Holland, writes an interesting letter, in which, referring to Mr. Schreck's visit to Holland in search of the missing manuscripts, in which Mr. Barger gave valuable assistance (see New Church Life, December, 1890), he tells of another result "which, though not important, is interesting enough." On page 218 of the issue referred to, a note will be found in which Swedenborg is said to have dined at the Hague on the 29th day of August, 1771, at the house of Mr. Arnout Vosmaer, and that he entered his name in Mr. Vosmaer's album. The Vosmaers are a Hague family, and, meeting one of the young men' in business, Mr. Barger told him of the note, and learned that the album was in possession, of an older brother at Utrecht, to whose house Mr. Barger was invited. The visit of the Rev. John Presland, of London, to baptize an infant of Mr. Barger's, was made the occasion, by the latter, of calling on Mr. Vosmaer at Utrecht, in company with Mr. Presland. They found this Mr. Vosmaer to be a Doctor of Zoology at the University of Utrecht, and a direct descendant of the brother of Arnout Vosmaer. Among the family papers are several autograph albums which contain the autographs of famous men of Vosmaer's time, illustrated with portraits and drawings, and his own remarks. The book containing Swedenborg's autograph bears the title on the back "Album Amicorum. Arnout Vosmaer. 1748. l' Deel." The autograph in question is written in a rather trembling hand (Swedenborg was then eighty-two years old) and is as follows:
Vera Christiana Religio En,. Swedenborg Domini Jesu Christi Servus 'S Hage 29 Aug. 1771.
The date is in Vosmaer's handwriting, neither would Swedenborg have written "'S Hage." Vosmaer also added in Dutch, "ob. 29 Maart 1772. Zie over dit zonderling mensch. The Monthly Review vol. 59 von't jaer 1778 pag. 365, etc." On the opposite (left-hand) page is pasted a portrait of Swedenborg at the age of 80, engraved by Battersby, with name and dates of birth and death. The volume is of public interest and will remain in the Vosmaer family or be turned over to some public library. Mr. Barger has also bought a copy of The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, 2d edition, printed, by Hindmarsh in 1785, which bears the name of Gomm, showing that it had probably belonged to W. Gomm who wrote to Hindmarsh about the false reports he had heard from Vosmaer. (See N. C. L., Dec. 1890, p. 217) This contains the same engraving as Vosmaer's autograph album.
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LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.-ON June 2d, the Rite of Coming of Age was performed for Mr. William A Farrington, by Bishop Pendleton, who had baptized him in infancy. This was followed by a discourse by the Rev. George G Starkey, on "Omnipresent Divine Good" (Exodus, xvi, 13-15.) On June 9th, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt preached on "Persuasive Faith" (Luke xiii, 26, 27). On June 16th, the Institution of the Church was celebrated by the special service printed and in use by the Academy of the New Church. On June 23d Ministers Joseph E. Rosenqvist, of Berlin, Canada, and John Stephenson, of Pittsburgh, were ordained into the second or Pastoral degree of the Priesthood by Bishop Benade, assisted by Bishop Pendleton and the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck. THE schools were practically closed on June 3d and 4th, as the students had received permission to attend the sessions of the General Convention then being held in Philadelphia, and the boys were off on a picnic. SEVERAL of the ministers of the General Convention, while in Philadelphia in attendance of the sessions of their general body, took the opportunity to visit the buildings of the Academy where they were made welcome. A PRACTICE-concert was given by the New Church music pupils of Mrs. A. T. and Mr. Carl Abbott, on June 5th, at the hall of the Academy and the substantial improvement in the playing and singing of the pupils reflected credit on the teachers. THE closing exercises of the Theological School, College, and Boys' School were held on June 13th. Candidate Doering, A. B., delivered a discourse on the Priesthood, after which the Chancellor conferred the degree of Bachelor of Theology upon him and upon Candidate R. H. Keep, A. B. Several of the Undergraduates read essays on various subjects, and the Chancellor published the names of several of the students for the roll of honor. The Head-Master of the Boys' School, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt announced who of the Boys' School had been adjudged worthy of honorable mention. The, exercises were attended by friends of the schools, including several Alumni from other cities. The close of school generally draws the Alumni to Philadelphia. After the graduates had received congratulations, and the time was spent in friendship's sphere, the Boys' School were assembled in one of their class-rooms, and in the presence of the Faculty and some of the friends the highest class read some very creditable compositions. Two of them were illustrated: ON the following day the Girls' School assembled for their closing exercises, which included the presentation by the Chancellor to three young ladies the tokens of their successful and appreciated accomplishment of their studies. ON the last day of school, June 14th, Chancellor Benade and wife gave a farewell party to teachers and pupils, on the school premises. One of the features of this charming occasion was the presentation, by the Girl's School, of an American flag, to the Boys' School. Head Master Synnestvedt has been devoting much attention to drilling the boys, and has of late been making strenuous efforts to have them dressed in uniforms and suitably equipped, and has made much progress in accomplishing this on the evening of the reception, the boys performed, under his charge, a series of evolutions. The boys expressed their appreciation of their Head-Master's efforts in their behalf, and their affection for him, by presenting him with a sword at the beginning of the exercises. Another surprise, however, was in store for them. After they had shown their proficiency in marching and in the handling of their guns, one of the lady teachers advanced into the presence of the youthful military, bearing a beautiful. American flag, which had been bought by the Girls' School, and was presented by her in their name to the Boys' School. The presentation speech was made by a member of the Faculty, and bore on the significance of the flag, and of its presentation by the gentle sex; and as the day happened to be the anniversary of the day on which the flag was adopted by Congress, he gave a brief history of the designing of this glorious banner. The Head-Master, or, rather, Captain, at once appointed a color-sergeant, to whom he granted the great honor of carrying the ensign, for meritorious conduct in the ranks. The company then marched to the school-yard and fired salutes to the flag. After the military feature was over, a number of the soldiers turned into peaceful musicians, exchanging the "alarum of war" for the harmonies of music, and furnished orchestral music for most of the dances. Conversation, readings, music, and eating ice-cream and cake filled out the evening to the satisfaction of all. ON June 16th, Candidate Keep and Dr. C. L. Olds, both students at the Academy schools sailed on the "Lucania" for England, with the object of making a bicycle tour through Europe during the summer. THE Rev. Joseph E. Rosenqvist, of Berlin, Canada, who has been visiting in Philadelphia and Huntingdon Valley for a few days, left on the 24th en route for Rockford, Ill., where he has been invited by resident Swedish Newchurchmen to labor during the summer. BISHOP PENDLETON, as the Philadelphia Pastor, has made arrangements whereby services will be held in Philadelphia during the summer, under the charge of the Rev. George G. Starkey. THE Philadelphia Schools of the Academy of the New Church will re-open on Tuesday, October 1st. Huntingdon Valley-MR. and Mrs. Pitcairn extended a general invitation to the Philadelphia worshipers to visit them on June 8th, and make the occasion their "house-warming," and nearly everybody availed himself of the invitation. Special cars were provided on the railroad, and a procession of wagons and carriages awaited the party at the station. A delightful afternoon and evening were spent at "Cairnwood," the house and grounds being beautifully illuminated after dusk. But one thing marred the pleasure of the guests, and that was the illness of the hostess, which kept her to her room, and prevented her seeing any one. London.- THE Rev. R. J. Tilson conducts a weekly class in Hebrew attended by about fifteen persons. The interest is great. Mr. Tilson has a very happy method of combining doctrinal with linguistic instruction. SINGING practice is conducted every alternate week by Mr. Whittington. PROFESSOR Odhner has been feted and feasted and generally lionized by the London friends, whose enthusiasm has made his stay a most delightful and never to be forgotten event. He has been in attendance on the meetings of some of the general societies of the "Church at large," and has visited the Libraries of the British Museum, of the Rev. Robert J. Tilson, and of the New Church College in Islington, in pursuit of his New Church historical studies. He has learned that the valuable collection made by the Rev. Mr. Boyle, which was offered for sale some time ago, is no longer entire, for part has been sold and the rest pawned. Mr. Odhner's appearance before the Swedenborg Society is described on page 107. He started for Sweden on June 12th in company with Mr. Louis Pendleton. Pittsburgh.- The closing exercises of the Pittsburgh School were held on Monday evening, June 17th. After the usual opening exercises, the Head-Master, the Rev. Andrew Czerny, delivered an instructive address on the proper development of the Natural Mind, so as to form a true basis for the Spiritual Mind. At its conclusion a prize was given for the best averages in lessons and another for the beat record in conduct. Other scholars received honorable mention, respectively, for industry, for second highest averages, and for greatest improvement. ON Tuesday, at five o'clock, a supper was given to the scholars and Alumni; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Synnestvedt, of Chicago, were also present. The tables were beautifully decorated with flowers and ferns. The first toast was to the Church, the next to the school, to which the Head-Master responded, pointing out that the great difference between New Church and Old Church schools was that the former teach about the LORD, while the latter do not. Mr. Stephenson then spoke in response to the first, showing how the school is the means of preparing children of the Church, and thus for Heaven, as the Church is the LORD'S Heaven on earth. Dr. Cowley next responded to the toast to Father Benade, showing how he was the first leader to see the necessity of New Church education, which resulted in starting a school. Other toasts were proposed to the Alumni, responded to by Mr. Louis Schoenberger, and to the Chicago school, to which Mr. Paul Synnestvedt responded. The last one was to the Head-Master of the Chicago school, by Rev. Wm. H. Acton. The rest of the evening was occupied in dancing. A most enjoyable time was spent by every one present. THE Conjugial Love class, conducted by the Rev. Andrew Czerny, was given a "boom" on Thursday evening, the 20th, by Mr. Louis Scbcenberger. There, were thirteen present, and a thoroughly enjoyable time was spent. Oak Glen.-ON the 19th of June the members of the Academy celebrated in the evening, having as guests all the adult members of the Immanuel Church. On the following day, the 20th, the Immanuel Church celebrated by a feast of charity, to which, all the children and friends of the Church were invited. The Pastor urged the members of the Church to decorate their homes with flags, etc., and to distinguish the day, not by work nor by idleness, but by a joyful celebration of the wonderful event which the day commemorates. In consequence, the houses were all draped with red and while bunting. The Head-Master of the School raised a red-and-white flag, 9x6 feet, on a 23-foot pole in front of his house. He had the additional joy of having a son born, to him at sunrise of this auspicious 19th day of June. ON May 12th the members of the Alumni Association met at the home of the local President, the Rev. W. H. Acton, and informally discussed the uses of the Association, and the part that they could take in them.
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Berlin, Ontario.- THE Academy School in Berlin closed on the 14th of June, to reopen on the 2d of September. THE closing exercises of the Berlin. Schools of the Academy took place on the 13th of June. In the morning the private closing of the Girls' School was held, at which rewards were given those who during the year had excelled in conduct and in their lessons. In the evening, in the presence, of parents and friends, the general closing of the entire school was held. The Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist preached a sermon adapted to the comprehension of the children. Rewards were given to the deserving ones of the boys. After the services a social was held, during which the children sang a number of their school songs. ON Sunday, the 18th of June, the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered. THE 19th of June was celebrated in a similar manner as last year. In the morning there was-worship in the chapel, the printed form prepared by the Academy being used. The orchestra assisted in the musical parts. In the afternoon a picnic was held on the school grounds. After supper the children left for their homes, and the evening was spent in social pleasures in the school hall. IN the evening of the 24th of June a meeting of the Alumni Association was held at the house of Mrs. Theodore Bellinger. Several Philadelphia members were present. The theme for the evening, suggested by the June Life, was the importance of Swedenborg's Scientific Works in New Church education. This local treasurer gave an account of the meeting recently held in Philadelphia, at which he was present. The report of the progress of the uses of the Association gave much pleasure. A pleasant social evening was spent.
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD.
Oak Glen, Ill.-ON the evening of May 28th Mr. and Mrs. O. Blackman threw open their hospitable doors to the Society, and inaugurated in their new home what they hoped would be only the first of a series of musicales. As our Society fairly teems with amateur musicians of more or less talent, those not asked to perform that evening were consoled when Mr. Blackman announced that he was saving many of the good things for the next concert. Since this concert almost every Sunday evening finds, on Mr. Blackman's veranda, a party of his friends enjoying the cool of the evening, with delightful music, furnished by volunteers. Every one has been invited to attend and to bring his score with him. MR. and Mrs. Hugh L. Burnham invited the Society to a lawn-party, May 29th, in honor of Miss Augusta Pendleton, of Philadelphia, who has been making her home with them this year, while engaged in teaching in the Academy School here. The garden was beautifully illuminated by Japanese lanterns, and, with the full moon overhead, presented a charming picture. Notwithstanding its beauty, however, after a march and a few dances in the open air, the dancers were lured to the waxed floors in the house, where dancing continued until midnight, interspersed now and then by musical selections and refreshments. But the illumination outlasted the desire for dancing; so quite a large party of the younger folks remained in the garden through the wee small hours of the night, singing all the familiar songs they could remember. ON the afternoon of the following day (Sunday) the country young folks took their city cousins to the woods on their third expedition this spring to gather and study wild flowers. MR. and Mrs. John B. Synnestvedt gave a card party Saturday evening, June 15th. THE Holy Supper will be administered on Sunday, June 23d. THE Friday and Wednesday classes have been discontinued for the summer, as have also the Sunday services in the city. ON Sunday, June 16th, The Second Advent of the LORD was celebrated, the service published last year by the Academy being followed with slight variation. Pittsburgh.-ON Saturday afternoon, the 22d, thirty-five of the Society look a boat ride twenty-five miles up the Monongahela River, and had a very pleasant time. Allentown.- THE "19th of June" celebration was commemorated in Allentown by a supper at the house of Mr. Waelchli on the day, and by a picnic on Laurel Hill on the 23d of the month. Middleport.- THE Rev. Joseph E. Boyesen has been called as the minister of the Society for another year. On June 19th he left to proceed to Sweden, on a visit to his parental home; en route he visited Philadelphia and Huntingdon Valley for a week. During his absence, which will last about three months, Candidate Charles E. Doering, A. B., Th. B., will act as his substitute in Middleport. Georgia.- A SPECIAL request of the earnest New Church people of Atlanta, Ga., has induced the Rev. E. I. Kirk, with the consent of the Bishop, to locate in that Southern city. Services are held regularly at Atlanta and Cascade, Ga., and with a nucleus of men holding positive New Church principles, it is believed the Church has now a name and place established in this part of the South. THE Rev. E. I. Kirk desires communication, by letter correspondence at least, with other New Church people in Georgia and adjoining States. Renovo, Pa.- THE Rev. E. I. Kirk having guns to Atlanta, Ga., leaves the Renovo Circle without the regular ministrations of a Priest. A Priest of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD can at any thus make a useful visit and be welcomed by the Circle.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
Pennsylvania.- THE Rev. J. E. Bowers visited Leechburg in the State, and on Sunday,. May 19th, preached in a hall to an audience of fifty. There are some half a dozen persons in the town interested in the Doctrines of the New Church. Two of the ministers from their pulpits denounced Swedenborg, and warned the people against being misled by his doctrines. An "evangelist," speaking in the place, advised the people not to employ a professional man, who several years ago, became a believer in the doctrines, and who has since been quite active in circulating New Church books in the community. One of those interested publishes a newspaper, the Leechbsurg Record. In a recent issue he publishes the New Church Creed, a copy of which was furnished him by the writer, of this, and in emphatic terms expressed his sympathy with the Doctrines. He also challenged the ministers to a public discussion of "Swedenborgianism," and offered to devote a column of his paper to this purpose. But so far they have not accepted the offer. THE American Sabbath-school Association held a meeting in Philadelphia on May 31st. The name was changed from "Sabbath" School to "Sunday" School. The Sower was reported practically self-supporting. THE seventy-fifth annual meeting of the General Convention was held from the 1st to the 4th day of June. Forty-three ministers and forty-eight delegates were in attendance. The Rev. John Worcester was present and presided part of the thus although still in feeble health. He resigned the presidency of the Cambridge Theological School and the Rev. James Reed was appointed to the vacancy. The funds that are applied to the school amount to $190,000. Four students have been regularly connected with the school, two have attended part of the instruction, and ten have been instructed by correspondence. The Committee on the Publication of Swedenborg's Manuscripts reported that the English Committee had left the work wholly in their charge, and that the work of photo-lithographing would soon be begun. The name of the Rev. Charles Hardon, who left the New Church ministry to enter the Old Church about thirteen years ago, was, at his request restored to the roll of Convention ministers. The Rev. Willard H. Hinkley, hitherto Secretary of the Board of Missions, was appointed Superintendent of Missions. During the past year the Convention received several legacies, one of which, under the will of E. W. Brown, amounts to $1,000, which sum is to be invested and the income added, and the whole "applied in aid of a faithful translation from the original language in the light of the New (Jerusalem) Church of the revealed 'Word of God,' and in publishing the same, when translators possessing the requisite ability to do the work are assured, and a fund from this and other sources shall be adequate for its accomplishment." A long discussion on the subject of the New- Church Messenger ended in a resolution being passed authorizing the General Council to appropriate such an amount as the Board of Publication may call for, not exceeding $2,000. In the discussion on the subject of the National Church in Washington, the Rev. A. F. Frost took opportunity to refer to the fact that for $2,000 a church could be built for the colored people of Washington (whose building has been condemned), comparing it with the National House of Worship costing $100,000. The Rev. Adolph Reader proposed that the Convention set aside one hour on each of the two last days of its sessions for the consideration of some spiritual topic or topics. His proposal was referred to the General Council for a report next year. The Rev. A. John Cleare gave notice that, as there were several women attending Convention as delegates from their Societies, and as the Constitution does not provide for the admission of women in that capacity, "he would lay before the Council of Ministers a proposal to amend the Constitution unless the Convention declare the admission of women as delegates to be not contrary to its Constitution." Those who are interested in the thought and life of the Convention will find a full report in New Church Messenger of June 12th, 19th and 26th.
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Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
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PHILADELPHIA, JULY, 1895=126.
CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL: Notes 97 A The Divine Light (a Sermon) 98 Preparation to Receive Divine Revelation (Exodus xix) 99 What is the "Legal Tender" in the Spiritual World? 101 The First New Church Composer 102 Letter from Swedenborg to Oetinger 103 Installation of the Rev. Messrs. Rosenqvist and Stephenson 104 James Glen 105 NOTES AND REVIEWS 106 COMMUNICATED: The Relation of Husband and Wife in the United Man 106 At a Meeting of the Swedenborg Society 107 Meeting of the Alumni 108 Swedenborg's Visit at the Hague 109 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH The Academy of the New Church 110 The General Church 111 The Church at Large 111 BIRTHS AND MARRIAGE 112 ADVERTISEMENT 112 Convention with meet next year in the National Temple in Washington. Delaware.- THE Council of Ministers met an Wilmington on May 28th, previous to the meeting of the General Convention in Philadelphia. It was reported that the English Committee on the translation of the Word was proceeding with the book of Genesis. The Rev. Louis Rich presented, on behalf of the Detroit Society, a request for an expression of the judgment of the Council as to the use of individual cups at the celebration of the Holy Supper. A committee was appointed to formulate a reply. The Council of Ministers expressed its hearty concurrence in the proposed steps for the ordination of Signor Loreto Scotia into the ministry. By "ballot" the Rev. Edwin Gould was chosen to deliver the annual address next year. Ohio.- THREE Mennonites who have avowed their belief in the Doctrines of the New Church have been excluded from the Mennonite denomination. Iowa.-ON May 17th the Rev. John Goddard, assisted by the Rev. Stephen Wood and the Rev Jacob Kimm, ordained the Rev. Wm. H. Adkins in the New Church house of worship south of Norway. Illinois.- The New Church reports that the Englewood parish, under the pastoral care of the Rev Thomas A. King, is in a vigorous state of activity. The congregations have steadily grown and interest is being awakened in the community. Also that the North side parish is exceeding all expectations. The congregations are steadily increasing and the outlook for the building op of a strong church is encouraging. If the teaching of the Truth in its purity is effecting this, it is indeed matter for rejoicing, for only in this way can a church be firmly established. THE First Society of the New Jerusalem Church of the City of Peoria, was organized in 1846 with a membership of 14. It grew, and for years held the first place in prosperity and numbers among the New Church societies of the West. It now, after nearly half a century, numbers only 26. Its temple is occupied by another congregation differing widely in belief. What a lesson this should be to the Church. Is not the Priesthood in part to blame for this? California.- THE Alameda Society is without Sunday services, as its leader is not able to officiate.
CANADA.
Berlin.- THE Canada Association held its thirty-second annual meeting from May 22d to May 26th in Berlin. The Association renewed this licence of Mr. T. M. Martin, their missionary, for another year. The Rev. G. L. Allbutt resigned the editorship of the Star in the East and the Rev. A. John Cleare was appointed editor for the next year. A committee of four was appointed to consider the advisability of increasing the size and usefulness of the paper. The Association will meet in Toronto in September 1896.
GREAT BRITAIN.
London.-ON May 15th the Seventy-fourth Annual Meeting of the Missionary and Tract Society was held at the Argyle Square Church. The chairman gave an address, in which he stated his belief that a great advance had taken place outside the New Church. He said that "it is often observed that many ministers of other denominations frequently preach excellent New Church [?] sermons." Mr. Richard Gunton condemned the tendency of modern theology, and said that Swedenborg, unlike the modern teachers, "spoke as one having authority." Mr. J. Foster Howe held that the "internal" revelation, which was reforming the Old Church by immediate "influx," was far superior to the Writings. The Rev. John Presland showed that there is no influx of truth, and that the New Church can be built up only by the reception of the Doctrines; but he lapsed into the error that the LORD was now inflowing with a new power, by means of which He disposes the hearts of men to receive the truth, while the truth is that man is in greater freedom now to receive the LORD'S influx, if he wills to receive it, the determination of his will being left to the man himself. THE little Centre at Bermondsey has been, for the present, disbanded. THE Society in Islington at its annual meeting reported a very considerable increase in the attendance under the ministry of Mr. Baynham. AT the last quarterly meeting of the Society, the loving cup, formerly the property of the Rev. Samuel Noble, was handed over to the Camden Road Society by Mr. R. S. Dean, into whose possession it had come by inheritance. The inscription on the cup is as follows: "To the Rev. Samuel Noble, Minister of the New Jerusalem Church, Cross Street, Hatton Garden, and author of 'The Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures Asserted,' "An Appeal in Behalf of the New Church,' etc. Presented by his congregation in testimony of their esteem, affection, and gratitude, founded on a deep sense of his distinguished learning and humble piety, his powerful talents as an author, and his eminent services as a disinterested, upright and successful defender of the Truth. London, March 4th, 1829." A full account of the presentation of the cup to Mr. Noble appears in Hindmarsh's History of The Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church (pp. 483-6). There were 300 subscribers to the cup, none of whom were allowed to give more than ten shillings.
WEST INDIES.
Trinidad.- A SHORT time ago a box of New Church works was sent to Trinidad. Its reception was acknowledged by the San Fernando Gazette and the Trinidad News under the heading "A Valuable Chance." In part the notices said: "Good news to the people of these islands, for our friends of Great Britain have sent us a good supply of books of the New Jerusalem Church. Those who are too poor to buy, we will give them reading free." Jamaica.-MR. Dennis M. James, the Superintendent of Parochial Roads and Works in this island, takes advantage of the incessant traveling necessitated by his duties, to disseminate New Church doctrines by tracts.
AUSTRIA- HUNGARY.
Buda-Pesth.- THE New Church Society in Buda-Pesth celebrated, on May 2d, the anniversary of their first public worship (May 3d, 1891), and also the beginning of the Church in that city in the formation of a reading-circle twenty-six years ago. Part of the exercises consisted in declaiming poems that referred to the New Church, and a dialogue on the subject, "What does the New Church teach?"
ROBERT HINDMARSH. 1895
A Biography by the Rev. Carl Th. Odhner. With three appendixes and a portrait of Robert Hindmarsh. Appendix I. Reasons for separating from the Old Church. By Hindmarsh. Appendix II. Principles of Ecclesiastical Government. By Hindmarsh. Appendix III. A Chronological and biographical list of the Ministers of the New Church in Great Britain (1788-1888). By Prof. C. Th. Odhner. So long as the New Church exists, which will be as long as the earth endures, the great promotor of the establishment of the New Church distinct from the Old, will be spoken of with honor, and the name of a Peter and a Paul will not be remembered longer than that of Robert Hindmarsh."-Rev. Samuel Noble in the Intellectual Repository. 116 pages (5 1/2 x 7 1/2). Handsomely bound in blue cloth. Price, 50 cents; postage, 7 cents. ACADEMY BOOK ROOM, 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia.
This explication of that chapter [Zechariah iv] has been given to me through Heaven by the Lord.-A. R. 43.
Title Unspecified 1895
IT is with much pleasure that we publish the announcement by the Academy Book Room that it has actually undertaken to continue the work of reproducing Swedenborg's manuscripts, which has been kept in abeyance for so many years. The plan of the Book Room is simple, and commends itself as very practicable. A manuscript is published, and the proceeds are used to publish another. This guards against the delay involved in waiting until the cost of reproducing all the manuscripts has been subscribed. The manuscript with which the Book Room begins the new series is most important. The statements in the Writings concerning such portions of its contents as have been adduced in the Works published by Swedenborg himself ought to rivet the attention of every one. The Summaries of the Prophets and Psalms actually bring before our eyes the Word as it is in Heaven! A wonderful, an awe-inspiring fact. How we should treasure the manuscript! The proposition that it be placed in every church and family repository as a representative of all the Writings in which the LORD has made His Second Corning and revealed the Internal Sense of the Sacred Scripture-the angelic Word, indeed-must commend itself to the judgment and to the heart of every New churchman. The low price at which the manuscript is published, and the size in which it may be secured, are all elements in favor of the practicability of the plan. The announcement, which ought to be carefully read, will be found on page 124.
Title Unspecified 1895
These summaries [of Ezekiel i] have been collated with the Word in Heaven, and are in conformity with it.-S. S. 97.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Internal Sense of the Ten Commandments, as revealed in The True Christian Religion, is probably familiar to every Newchurchman. It ought to be as familiar to the adult as the literal sense of the Decalogue is to the child. The Internal Sense, as presented in the Arcana Coelestia, may not be so familiar. It gives certain particular teachings and explanations, which the more general form of the Catechism in The True Christian Religion does not contain. The attention of the reader is, therefore, particularly directed to this month's study of Exodus, where he will find the explications of the Arcana in continuity. The literal sense, as will be observed, is printed in italics, and the reader will thus be enabled, after conning the study as it stands, to review it, and omit the literal sense, thus elevating his mind above the mere letter, and entering more fully into the sphere, the continuity, the affection, and the meaning of the Internal Sense.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE teaching of the Word, in the Internal Sense of the Decalogue, comes to us at this time plainly in the course of the Divine Providence of the LORD. Were it pondered as seriously as the literal sense, the New Church would be saved from many an infestation and interior evil. Take the first commandment: "Thou shalt not have other gods before My Faces." This signifies, according to the Internal Sense, "that truths from anywhere else than from the LORD must not he thought of." And what kind of truths are those which are from elsewhere than from the LORD? "They are those, in general, in which the LORD is not; then the LORD is not in truths with man when he denies Him and His Divine, and also when be acknowledges Him, and yet believes that good and truth are not from Him, but from one's self; and who hence vindicates justice to himself."
Title Unspecified 1895
THE application of this commandment to the New Church may be made clearer by comparing the circumstances under which the literal sense of the Decalogue was revealed to the Israelites, with the circumstances under which its internal sense has been uncovered to the New Church. The children of Israel had been led forth from the land of Egypt, where they had been in utter ignorance of the God of their fathers, and where they worshiped the idols of that country. Through Moses, the knowledge of JEHOVAH their God was restored to them, and they were warned not to worship other gods but Him alone. The men of the New Church are led forth out of the Old Church, in which they have been in utter ignorance of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, as the One Personal God of Heaven and earth. By means of the immediate Revelation which He has made through Emanuel Swedenborg, the knowledge of Him is restored to them, and they are warned "not to think of truths that are from elsewhere than from the LORD"-that is to say, to beware of welcoming such things as true, which, however true they may appear in their outward form, however they may even be clothed in the words of Holy Writ, do not carry within them the acknowledgment of the LORD, but, on the other band, the denial of His sole and exclusive Divinity. For, one of the most striking characteristics of the immediate Revelation made through Swedenborg is the uncompromising conflict with and rout of the falsity that lies at the root of the faith of the Old Christian Church: that there is a Divine Trinity consisting of three Persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
Title Unspecified 1895
TO establish the worship of JEHOVAH, and to break up their idolatry, the Israelites were led forth out of Egypt, so that their connection with that idolatrous country, its cult and manners and customs, might be obliterated, as otherwise they would be continually led back to this former life. But this separation was effected not so much for the sake of the Israelites themselves, with whom, after all, no Church could be established, but in order to represent the separation in thought and life which must exist between the New Church and the Old.
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Pharaoh was unwilling to let the Israelites go, maintaining that they could worship JEHOVAH in the land of Egypt. The reply of Moses, and consequent history is well known. The effort to maintain the belief that the LORD can be worshiped in the Old Church has been made from the beginning, in greatest variety of form and manner. The Pharaoh of the Old Church opposes the distinctive external organization of the New Church, claiming that the New Church is a new worship of the LORD within the forms and doctrine of the Old Church. And when the New Church is organized and its distinctive worship adopted, Pharaoh still maintains that this is only one form of the New Church and that the New Church is growing throughout the domains of the modern Church, in an acknowledgment of the LORD, and the Word. With an insistance which reminds one of this dominant characteristic of the Jews, the majority of New Church teachers bend their energies to destroy the distinction between the New Church and the Old, between the truths which have the LORD JESUS CHRIST alone in them as their origin and soul, and truths which are being evolved by Old Church learning and piety.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE latest example is to be found in the last issue of the magazine which represents the most cultured and scholarly element of the General Convention of the New Jerusalem: The New Church Review. The first of its editorials, with the introductory remark that "nothing can be of more serious interest to Newchurchmen than the way in which the Word is judged and treated by the Christian world," attempts, by quoting Beecher, Briggs, and other representatives of the modern Church, to prove that they recognize a "spiritual power" and a unity of purpose in the Word-clear evidence of an advance higher, more spiritual, ground than occupied in the past. Now, what do we find, when examining these modern Christians? Is the LORD acknowledged or denied? Is the Word reverenced as Divine? The Review was forced, in spite of itself, to prune the quotation from Beecher of expressions which manifest his irreverence for the Word. The Rev. Joseph H. Twitchell, the next author quoted, refers to the LORD in language that would do credit to a Unitarian. The Outlook, in the very book notice which is quoted with great satisfaction, likewise expresses Unitarian sentiments. Dr. Briggs, whose books on the Messiah are "hailed with delight" by the Review, distinctly acknowledges the Old Tritheism. The Messiah, the thread of whose prophecy he traces through the Bible, is, according to his own statement, none other than God the Son, born from eternity. Indeed the differences between The Outlook and Dr. Briggs are due to the Tritheistic conception of the one, which the other, in its Unitarian spirit, rejects. Of the acknowledgment of the LORD JESUS CHRIST as the One Eternal God there is not a syllable anywhere. Yet what says the commandment? Truths from anywhere else than from the LORD, truths, therefore, in which there is a denial of the LORD, are not to be thought of. Nevertheless the declarations of men who deny the LORD and betoken their irreverence for the Word, are quoted approvingly by The New Church Review, as a demonstration of the progress of the Christian Church!
Title Unspecified 1895
THE evidences which men seek to establish for the Bible, when the acknowledgment of the LORD is lacking, are similar to, though by no means of as much worth, as the evidences which Mohammedans, Buddhists, and other Gentiles find for their religious books. They all acknowledge a unity of design, and a higher power for them. But such evidence is of no value whatever as proving the presence, in the Scriptures, of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, whose presence and conjunction alone make them the WORD OF GOD.
Title Unspecified 1895
All the words-that is, all the truths which are from the LORD-are not only for men, but also at the same time for angels.-A. C. 8862.
Title Unspecified 1895
IT has been asserted that the claim for the Writings of the New Church, that they are the Divine Human of the LORD, is an innovation. The sketch of the life of James Glen gives another proof that this conviction came to the New Church long ago. In a letter written in the year 1808, he avers that the Revelations of Swedenborg are "Divine Truth," and in order to emphasize what he means by this, he adds that they are "not from Heaven, but the Divine Human Itself."
Title Unspecified 1895
Truths which are from the Lord are truths in the internal form even from the Lord-A. C. 8868.
WORSHIP TO BE OFFERED TO THE LORD. Rev. J. E. ROSENQVIST 1895
A SERMON
"What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of Salvations and call upon the Name of the LORD; I will pay my vows unto the LORD in the presence of all His people."-Ps. cxvi, 12-14.
THE Psalm from which the words of the text are taken treats in the spiritual sense first concerning the temptations of the LORD, even to desperation, and then concerning celebration and worship of the LORD. To the merely natural and sensual man it may seem strange that these two should be contained in one Psalm, as the former, or temptations even to despair, to him must needs appear as something very undesirable, and for which he in nowise would feel disposed to celebrate and worship the LORD. But to the spiritual man, who from the Doctrine of the Church knows, or, better still, who in life has experienced what a blessing temptations as to their consequences are to him, it is only natural, as it were, that temptations must be followed by celebrations, combats even to despair by worship of the I LORD; for he knows that temptations, endured even to despair, are the very means by which his evils are removed, the evils which alone separate him from his God-yea, which alone separate him from all heavenly good, both in this world and in the life to come; he knows that after such temptations, even to despair, celestial good flows in from the LORD; that a new will is born in the natural, since through temptations the old is removed by the LORD to give place to that, to all that, which is contained in the LORD'S promise to His New Church-"Behold, I make all things New!" The man of the Church who in all his life has been only a single time in a temptation-combat, even to despair, and suffered himself so to be led by the LORD in that combat that he conquered in it, has without fail experienced the blissful consequences of such a victory; his horror for that evil, which he from Divine Mercy was enabled to overcome has been doubled manifold; his admiration of the corresponding good has increased in a still greater proportion; before the temptation-combat it was a wrong, a sin against God; after the temptation it is a heinous, horrible, and devilish outrage, a sin against the LORD tenfold greater than ever.
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When such is the case, is there then any wonder that temptations, even to desperation, should inevitably be followed by celebration and worship of the LORD? In the Psalms of David, where the LORD alone is understood by David, the temptations of the LORD in His state of exinanition are described, and what immediately follows is a description of the state of celebration and worship of the Divine for the assistance received in the former state; thus in this Psalm, of which the text is a part, the first thing treated of in the Internal Sense is the temptations of the LORD even to desperation, and then it describes in that sense the blessed and peaceful state of celebration and worship of the LORD which followed. Such celebration and worship of the LORD is particularly contained in and described by the words of the text: "What shall I render to the Law, for all His benefits toward me! I will take the cup of Salvations and call upon the Name of the LORD; I will pay my vows unto the LORD in the presence of all His people." These words in a summary mean, "That thus the Divine is worshiped in the LORD" (P. P.). As these Divine words also apply to the regenerating man, we are allowed to contemplate their internal sense, and from it draw that water of life which will strengthen and vivify the man who comes into temptations even to despair, and which will enable him more interiorly to celebrate and worship the LORD for His infinite Mercy and Love. "What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me?" Can man then give anything to the LORD? Has man anything whatever to give to the LORD? Does the LORD expect any gift of man? Does the LORD need any presents? O no! Man cannot and the LORD expects not; man has nothing and the LORD needs nothing; and yet man can give something to the LORD, not of his own indeed, but of what is the LORD'S; man has something, not from himself indeed, but again from the LORD; the LORD expects a gift, as it were, from man, not on His own, but wholly on man's account; and the LORD needs the co-operation of man in order to save him; from all of which it is evident how independent the LORD is, and, on the other hand, how dependent man is; in a word, that the LORD IS ALL,-man, nothing. The text does not say, "What shall I give to the LORD?" but, "What shall I render to the LORD?" The Hebrew word here translated "render" means to return, which is also the first meaning of this word when translated into English. It is useful to think of the word "render" as meaning return, and with that idea in mind the text would read, "What shall I return to the LORD?" This also comes nearer to the original. The meaning of this question also becomes much clearer, for it now expresses an acknowledgment that man has nothing from himself to give, but that it is possible to return to the LORD something which he already has received from the LORD; the idea of "giving" is abandoned, and with it the idea of any self-importance and proper ability. Thus while man, strictly speaking, has nothing whatever to give, he has plenty of that from which he may make a "return" to the LORD. It is important that this should be borne in mind, for it is difficult for man to rid himself of the idea that he has something, and that what he does for the LORD'S Kingdom on earth, the Church, is a giving to the LORD, while at its best it is only a returning of an infinitely small fraction or part of what the LORD has already given him. What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? The last words express the object for I which something should be rendered or returned to the LORD: "for all His benefits toward me." It is for benefits received from the LORD, that something should be returned to him. But the LORD, in His Love and Wisdom, confers His benefits, His deeds of kindness and mercy, upon man in such a way that they appear as, and in a certain sense are, rewards for that which man, from humility of heart, has rendered or returned to the LORD. On this account the word in the original, which in our text is translated "benefits," I properly means "retributions" or "returns," accommodated to the action for which they are returned. This is also actually the fact, that the. LORD can bestow benefits upon man only in proportion to man's reception, and his ability to receive depends again upon his desire to render to the LORD. The LORD does all this giving, and desires this returning of His gifts from man, in order that man may become conjoined to Him, and all conjunction requires reciprocation. Such reciprocation could not exist, and thus no conjunction between the LORD and man could be effected, if the LORD did not allow man to make returns to the LORD, and if the LORD did not, on the other hand, make His free gifts or benefits to man to appear as retributions or rewards or returns for what man, as if from himself, renders to the LORD. But in this way the freedom of man is preserved and reciprocation established, and through this, again, conjunction with the LORD is effected. What, then, shall man render to the LORD for all His benefits toward him? And knowing what to render, how must he return it to the LORD? "I will take the cup of Salvations, and call upon the Name of the LORD; I will pay my vows unto the LORD in the presence of all Has people." A cup signifies in the genuine sense spiritual truth-that is, the truth of faith which is from the good of charity, thus the same as the wine which is contained in the cup; for, in general, all kinds of vessels signify the same as that which is contained in them. The words of the text, "I will take the cup of Salvations," signify the appropriation of the goods of faith; and man appropriates the goods of faith to himself-that is, he makes them his own, when he lives according to the truths of faith, for "so long as doctrinal things [or truths of faith] are only in the memory, they are only scientific truths, nor, as yet, are they appropriated to man as his; but they are then for the first time appropriated to him when he begins to love them for the sake of life, and still more, when he applies them to life thus are truths appropriated to him, and become of the will" (A. C. 3911). Let it be remembered that what is here treated of is celebration and worship of the LORD, and that the LORD is celebrated and worshiped when man acknowledges that all good and truth are from the LORD, and that it is necessary that man should co-operate with the LORD; all of which, and infinitely more, is contained in the words, "What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me?" But the acknowledgment of those things is only the beginning of true celebration and worship of the LORD; it is carried on into real effect by taking the "cup of salvations," by appropriating the goods of faiths, and thus making them of one's life; for "to take the cup of salvations" here signifies to appropriate the goods of faith.
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Bear in mind that such celebration and worship of the LORD follow-yea, are the outcome of temptation-combats; and the spiritual sense of the words "I will take the cup of salvations" will become still clearer; for a "cup" also signifies temptation on account of the evil signification of wine, which is falsity from evil, and of cup as (in the evil signification) being the same, for it is the evil and false in man which are the cause of temptation. In this sense "cup" is mentioned in the New Testament, where the LORD prayed, saying, "If Thou art willing, let this cup pass from Me," and in another place, where the LORD says, "The cup which my FATHER hath given Me, shalt I not drink it?" Man, like the LORD in His Human, must take the cup and drink it; he must undergo those temptation-combats which, during the time of the combat, are indeed a cup of bitterness, but after the victory is won this is changed to a "cup of salvations," and by this cup of salvations is signified the goods of faith. "I will take the cup of Salvations and call upon the Name of the LORD; I will pay my vows unto the LORD in the presence of all His people." "To call upon the Name of the LORD" signifies to worship Him; to "call upon the Name of the LORD" signifies to hold in veneration all that is divine in the Church, all the good of love and all the truth of faith that is from the LORD. Man calls upon the Name of the LORD when he, in humility of heart, acknowledges that he of himself is helpless and eternally lost, and then supplicates to the LORD for the salvation of his soul. He "takes the cup of salvations and calls upon the Name of the LORD" when, by shunning evils as sins against God, he makes goods and truths of his life, and then ascribes to the LORD everything of his life. He calls upon the Name of the LORD when, from a desire to learn truths from the LORD, he reads or listens to the Word in its letter and spirit; he calls upon the Name of the LORD if, in all that he thinks, says, or does, his end is good; he calls upon the LORD'S Name in proportion as he looks to the LORD for His Divine assistance to perform uses in this world which, as to their results, will remain and increase in the other life. In a word, he calls upon the Name of the LORD if he, in thought, word, and deed, acknowledges the Divine Human of the LORD, for this is in the highest sense the "Name of the LORD." "I will pay my vows unto the LORD in the presence of all His people." To make a vow or a solemn promise to the LORD signifies in the internal sense to desire that the LORD may provide, thus a state of Providence. When man in his states of peace examines himself, and in himself finds a multitude of evils which ought to be shunned as sins against the LORD, and then makes up his mind to resist one of these many evils in particular; when, he determines to overcome that very evil which his natural and sensual man regards as the highest good, and in the act or state of doing this looks to the LORD for help, looks to the Doctrine of the Church for the truths which will enable him to fight the evil and the false from hell; and then, when in the temptation-combat, he conquers that evil and acknowledges that the LORD in him has won the victory, then he pays his vows in the presence of the people of the LORD, for he then acknowledges that the LORD, as the Doctrine of the evils, and then inflowed with His Divine Church, gave him the truths of faith wherewith to fight the falses and evils, and then inflowed with His Divine Good into those truths as cups or receptacles. Thus are understood the words of the text: "I wilt pay my vows unto the LORD in presence of all His people;" for by "His people" all the truths of Doctrine from Him are signified. The state of Providence is also signified, for when a man vows a vow he looks forward to the fulfillment of that vow in the Providence of the LORD, knowing that whatever the LORD may provide will be for his eternal welfare, and he thus wishes that he might be led by the Divine Providence. The offerings which the man of the Church from time to time brings to the LORD in the form of earthly substance are acceptable and well-pleasing to the LORD in proportion as such offerings are the external representatives, or the corresponding external signs of his internal state. As man cannot be conjoined with the LORD except by co-operation, except by acts which already have something from the LORD in them; so can there be no spiritual use in offerings on the natural plane, if these offerings do not partake of something from the LORD, viz., the important truth that they are only significative of that which man owes to the LORD, and which he is desirous to return. This truth is contained in the words of the text: "What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me?" The second important teaching is this, that man should appropriate to himself the goods of faith-that is, he should make them of his life, thereby spiritually acknowledging that the Human of the LORD is Divine; this is taught in the words of the text: "I will take the cup of Salvations and call upon the Name of the LORD." Lastly, he should, in the endeavor to shun evils as sins against the LORD, continually look to the LORD for help, learn from the Doctrine of the Church how best to fight and overcome his evils, and then implicitly trust in the Divine Providence of the LORD; this teaching is contained in the last words of the text: "I will pay my vows unto the LORD in the presence of all His people."- AMEN.
Title Unspecified 1895
Truths which are not from the Lord appear truths only in the external form, but not in the internal form, for interiorly they are either vain, or false, or evil.-A. C. 8868.
TRUTHS DIVINE IN THE DECALOGUE. 1895
EXODUS XX, 1-14.
IN this chapter, in the internal sense, Truths Divine are treated of, which are to be implanted in good with those who are of the Spiritual Church of the LORD; the ten precepts of the Decalogue are those truths.
(1.) These are the Truths Divine for all the angels and good spirits, the inhabitants of heaven, and for all men who dwell on the earths, "and God spake all these words, saying." (See concerning the application of the ten commandments to the angels, A. C. 8862, 8899.) (2-7.) The LORD as to His Divine Human reigns universally in all and single things of good and truth, "I am JEHOVAH thy God"-even He Who liberated from hell," Who led thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servants." Truths from any other origin than the LORD are not to be thought of, such truths, namely, as may be truths indeed in themselves, but in which the LORD is not, wherein is contained a denial of the LORD and of His Divinity, or such as are held for the sake of self exaltation and self-aggrandizement (see A. C. 8868), "thou shalt not have other gods before My faces"-nothing is to be hatched out of one's own intelligence, "thou shalt not make to thee a sculpture"-nor is any likeness of those things which are from the Divine to be assumed, as is done by hypocrites, simulators, and the deceitful, "or any likeness"-thus such things as are in spiritual light, and relate to good and truth which are of faith, to charity toward the neighbor, and love to God; and such things as are in natural light, and relate to civil and moral good and truth, must not be feigned and simulated, "of the things which are in the heavens from above, and which are in the earth from beneath"-and such things as are in the sensual corporeal, and relate to scientifics which proximately exist from the experience of the external senses and their delights, "and which are in the waters from under the earth."
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To such things there must be no submission and humiliation, thus no Divine worship must be paid them, "thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, and thou shalt not serve them"-for the Divine from the LORD must be in all and every single thing, "for I, JEHOVAH, thy God"-for from the worship of the products of self-intelligence and self-love are the false and evil, "am a zealous God"-and the evils are prolific of falses, "visiting the iniquity of fathers upon sons"-that are continued in a long series and are conjoined with one another, "upon thirds and upon fourths"-in the case of those who utterly reject the Divine of the LORD, "to My haters"-while those have good and truth perpetually, "and doing mercy unto thousands"-who receive the good of love which is from the LORD, "to those loving Me"-and who receive the truths of faith, "and keeping My precepts." The truth and good of faith must not be profaned and blasphemed, as, for instance, is done by believing the truth but living in evil, or else by living, to appearance, in a holy manner, and yet not believing, "thou shalt not bring the Name of JEHOVAH thy God into what is vain"-for this cannot be forgiven, "for JEHOVAH will not render innocent him who taketh His Name into what is vain." (8-11.) Perpetually in remembrance, "remember"-to the Divine and the Divine Human of the LORD, and the conjunction of the Divine Human in the heavens, thus heaven and the marriage of good and truth, "the day of the sabbath"-and these are not to be violated in any manner, "to hallow it." This heavenly marriage is preceded by combat, which also prepares for it, "six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work"-and by the combat good is formed by truths and implanted, and then is the heavenly marriage, "and the seventh day is the sabbath to JEHOVAH thy God"-and then are heaven and beatitude in all and single the things which are in the internal and the external of man-that is to say, in the intellectual and the voluntary of the internal man, in the truth and the good of the external man, and in the affection in general and in the scientific in general, "thou shalt not do any work, thou, and thy son and thy daughter, thy servant and thy maid, and thy beast, and thy sojourner who is in thy gates"-for in the LORD'S labor with man He regenerates and vivifies those things which are in the internal and in the external man, "for in six days JEHOVAH made the heaven and the earth, the sea"-and all things that are there, "and all that is in them"-and then man has peace and the good of love, "and rested on the seventh day"-and then the heavenly marriage is in him from the LORD," wherefore JEHOVAH blessed the day of the sabbath"-which can never be violated, "and hallowed it." (12.) Love must be cherished for good and truth, for the LORD and His Kingdom, "honor thy father and thy mother"-so that there may thence result the state of life in heaven, "in order that thy days may be prolonged upon the land-where the Divine is and influx from it, "which JEHOVAH thy God giveth thee." (13.) Spiritual life must not be taken away from any one, hence faith and charity must not be extinguished, and the neighbor must not be hated, "thou shalt not kill." Those things which are of the doctrine of faith and charity must not be perverted thus the Word must not be applied to confirm evils and falses; and the laws of order must not be inverted, "thou shalt not commit adultery." Spiritual goods must not be taken away from another, and one must not attribute to himself those things I which are the LORD'S, "thou shalt not steal." Good must not be called evil nor the truth false, and, vice versa, evil must not be called good and the false true thou shalt not answer against thy neighbor as a witness of a lie." (14.) Care must be taken lest the love of self and the world, and thus lest the evils which are contained in the preceding precepts, become of the will, and thus go forth "thou shalt not lust after the house of thy neighbor thou shalt not lust after the wife of thy neighbor, and his servant and his maid, and his ox and his ass, and all that is thy neighbor's."
Title Unspecified 1895
In order that a truth may be a truth, life ought to be in it, for truth without life is not the truth of faith with man, and life is from nowhere else than from good-that is, through good from the Lord.-A. C. 8868.
HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT. 1895
THE influence which heredity and environment exercise upon the determination of man's character has great fascination for the serious mind, and yet we do not recall any treatise in our New Church literature that has entered fully into the subject. What is probably the most noteworthy treatment in recent years is but incidental to the consideration of the related question, "Might Hell have been Averted?" which was the topic of the leading paper in The New Church Magazine for November, 1893. The question is answered in the negative, and with this negative every Newchurchman will agree. If Hell might have been averted, then He that is Omnipotent would have averted it. But this could not have been done without depriving man of his liberty, and as liberty is the indispensable condition of humanity, the reason for the permission of Hell is evident. The essay in the Magazine affirms that the existence of every human being has regard, first, to his own capacities, and the effect of their exercise in the molding of his own character; and, secondly, to the world of which he is a component part. It points out the fallacy that character is determined primarily by the surrounding circumstances of life. But, in the effort to expose this fallacy, the writer has lost sight of every effect of circumstances on character, and actually controverts the very proposition with which he sets out, namely, that every human being has relation to the world of which he is a component part. It is this phase of the subject which we wish to consider more fully. The very relation which men bear to another constitutes his "circumstances," or, to use the term which the modern school of scientists has made popular, his "environment."
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We all influence one another's eternal destiny. We do not determine it in the first instance, but we do influence it so largely that in the work of salvation, carried on by the LORD by media that exist in the world, the surroundings must be taken into consideration as essential elements. To speak of the determination of character as "not a question of environment at all," is an error. It is unquestionably true that "every human being, whether he dies in childhood or lives to a ripe old age, has the best environment possible from the point of view of his eternal future, consistent with the preservation of his freedom of will, and that of others." But the same may be said, with equal force, of hereditary inclinations. And as his yieldance of his freedom of will is influenced to a great extent by his inherited inclinations, so is it also influenced greatly by his surroundings. This is placed beyond cavil by the teaching concerning the offspring of the worst form of seduction, that infants are rarely born under such circumstances, and that those who are born do not remain long in life (see A. C. 828; S. D. 2710); for the reason of this is given in these weighty words, "They are worse than other infants, because they derive such a hereditary from the father." Obviously, such infants are not born, because with such a hereditary they would become worse than the worst of devils; and when some are born, these few are not permitted to live. And why? What other reason can there be that those who are born with such a deeply infernal hereditary may not remain in this world, than this, that were they to remain in the surroundings which the world affords, their equilibrium between the forces of Heaven and those of Hell could not he maintained, and they would inevitably become devils. They are removed by the LORD to the more favorable conditions which prevail in the Spiritual World, where their freedom is assured. And even there, although, as pointed out in the essay, they are placed in equilibrium between Heaven and Hell (see A. C. 2294-5; H. H. 342), do they follow the bent of their infernal inheritance? No! "Every infant, wherever born, be it within the Church or without it, be it of pious parents or of such as are impious, when he dies, is received by the LORD and educated in Heaven, and according to divine order is taught and imbued with affections of good, and, through them, with cognitions of truth; and then, as he is perfected in intelligence and wisdom, he is introduced into Heaven, and becomes an angel. Every one who thinks from reason may know that no one is born for Hell, but all for Heaven, and that man himself is in guilt, that he comes into Hell, but that infants cannot as yet be in any guilt" (H. H. 329). Compare this with the teaching that "man is indeed born a hell from adulterous parents, yet he is not born for hell but for heaven" (A. E. 989). In the case of one who was born of adulterous parents, but has died in infancy, do not his surroundings in the other world, do not the ministrations of his angel-nurses and his angel-masters have any effect upon his lot? May we not believe that it was for the purpose of preserving his freedom that he was removed from earth to heaven? And is it not erroneous to conclude, that "if a child is translated hence it is because our heavenly Father foreknows that in the exercise of its liberty in heaven, which He never interferes with, it shall choose to adapt itself to the delightful uses of angelic life," and that "thus a child is taken into heaven, not to protect it from evil proclivities to which it might yield if on earth, since it would freely adopt the right whether on earth or in heaven; but because its infantile nature can expand and thrive more freely under the gentle infinence of celestial guardianship and association than here"? If the determination of a person's character is "not a question of environment at all," and if "circumstances tend not to alter our mental nature, but to fix and confirm it in conformity with our dominant affection," then men have no influence upon one another for good or evil; then education is not the grand work of training for good, but only of training the good; then the work of salvation is not the work of deliverance from hell; then the LORD did not redeem and does not save; then man is fated to follow in the footsteps of his evil progenitors. The truth is that men can and do influence one another for good and for evil; that they do contribute much, very much, to the formation of the character of their fellow-men: and this, their work, constitutes the environment of others. And yet man's freedom is not curtailed. We may not be able to reconcile the two conditions, but that they exist is clear enough. That a man may lead another into evil, and persuade him to embrace falses, daily experience demonstrates, and that man is free not to follow the lead of another, and not to listen to his persuasions, is equally demonstrable. The LORD says, "Thou shalt not kill." What meaning would this Divine command have if men could not kill-kill even the souls of others? "In the spiritual sense, murder means all modes of killing and destroying the souls of men, which are various and manifold; as, turning them away from God, religion, and Divine worship by throwing out scandals against them, and by persuading to such things as cause aversion and also abhorrence" (T. C. R. 310). A man's character is, indeed, determined in the first instance by his own will, but both heredity and environment are potent factors in shaping it. This is evident from what is said of the Jews, that they "are still images of their father Judah, who begat three branches of them, having taken a Canaanitish woman to wife and committing adultery with Tamar, his daughter-in-law. Wherefore this hereditary disposition, in process of time, has increased in them, even so that they are not able to embrace the Christian religion from faith at heart. It is said that they are not able, because the interior will of their mind is adverse thereto, and this will causes the inability"' (T. C. R. 521). "They had a heredity which could not be eradicated by regeneration, because they would not admit it." This is signified by the words that the angel "touched in the hollow of Jacob a thigh the sinew of what was moved out" (A. C. 4317). And as this is the teaching concerning the inheritance of evil, so it is said of the inheritance of good, that the good works of chastity which concern the offspring and posterity are that so many and such great evils are not made connate in families for the reigning love of the parents is brought down into the offspring, and sometimes into distant posterity, and becomes the hereditary nature with them; this is broken and becomes mild with parents who shun adulteries as infernal and love marriages as heavenly" (A. E. 1002. See also C. L. 142; 202-205). But although there is this heredity, good or evil, the good inheritance may become perverted into evil; and the, evil inheritance may be overcome and good established in its place by those who choose to shun adulteries as infernal and sins against the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Regeneration will break the worst inheritance.
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And "regeneration is effected, comparatively, as man is conceived, carried in the womb, born, and educated" (T. C. R. 583). But, have we not just had the teaching that the Jews do not choose to shun evils as sins, that they will not admit regeneration? This is the teaching: but concerning those who grow up in the natural world. Even of the Jewish offspring it is said, "that every infant when he dies . . . becomes an angel." Is it not evident that the change in surroundings causes the difference in the "reigning love"? Jewish children on earth are brought up in the sphere of their family and nation, and hence the environment favors the inheritance, and the two make common cause, overruling all the efforts that are made on the part of heaven in the storing up of remains in infancy. But if the conditions surrounding a child of evil inheritance were such from birth as to prepare continually for its regeneration, then, by means of parents or guardians, and teachers, the seed of Divine Truth would be insinuated, and be conceived in an affection which the LORD prepares for this Divine seed, out of the rich store of remains of infancy-remains which would be provided under the direction of the Divine Teachings, by those who have the child in charge, by insinuating things that are delightful to the angels who are associated with the child. If the LORD'S Will were thus done "as in Heaven, so upon the earth," during minority, and the public opinion and common thought and common life that surrounded the adult were also true and good, would the child, grown to manhood, not be more favorably inclined to choose the good? We believe he would-else the angelic lot of a heaven-born infant of evil inheritance would be the result of a lack of freedom to choose the evil to which his inheritance inclines. These conclusions forbid our giving assent to the proposition that "circumstances tend not to alter our mental nature, but to fix and confirm it in conformity with our dominant affections;" for, whence is the dominant affection derived? The dominant affection of a Jewish infant is such as is described in the quotations adduced above. But the circumstances of heaven alter it and do not fix and confirm it. But the error of the position is sufficiently evident from the very illustration which is adduced in support of it. The phenomena of physical growth are referred to, where needful substances are extracted and useless ones rejected, and "only such portions of food are accepted as re-supply chemical elements of the precise nature and quality as those which the exhausted tissues have previously lost." The illustration is incomplete; it deals only with proper food and a healthy organism. Does a sick body act in the prescribed manner? And when poison is introduced into the body, does its complex digestive and assimilative organism discard the poison as useless? We trow not. Environment largely determines the body's weal or woe. Else would men as leave breathe the air of a moldy dungeon or a malarial swamp, as that of the ocean or of fragrant pine-woods. The essay ignores the very important influence of remains stored up in infancy and childhood, and the manner of their implantation, also the laws of mediate influx and the law of grafting. We particularize the latter, as it is of especial application in view of the illustration, in the essay, from the domain of nature-and the application is made by the Writings in these words: "Man is indeed an evil tree from the seed, but still there may be an ingrafting or inoculation with shoots from the Tree of Life, whereby sap drawn from the old root is turned into sap which makes good fruit" (D. P. 332). In fact, the history of modern agriculture shows that not only are ignoble trees changed in such a manner into noble fruit-producers (and "a tree is known by its fruit"), but by chosen environment and proper training even poisonous vegetables have been gradually changed so as to yield wholesome fruit. If the remains stored up by the cultivation of infantile love to parents, nurses, and playmates, and by instruction in the Word of the LORD, had no effect upon man: if there were no influx into the child's mind through the spheres of good people who surround it, spheres such as that of love of offspring, of the love of protecting from evil, of the love of charity, etc., in short, if the sphere of the operation of the LORD through those into whose hands the care and education of the child are committed, had no effect upon the determination of the will of the child, what would be the significance of such statements as the one in Heaven and Hell, n. 391, that some of the angelic societies are employed in instructing and educating boys and girls "who are of a good disposition from education in the world, and come thence into heaven"? In several memorable passages Swedenborg contrasts the education of children in heaven with their education on earth in a manner which parents may well regard as a personal appeal to themselves to consider the influence which the training of children has upon their eternal destiny. After describing his experience in a large city, where he saw some little boys fighting in the presence of a great crowd, who viewed the spectacle with delight, and after learning that the parents themselves often incite their children to such fights, and describing the horror this aroused in the breasts of good spirits and angels who saw this through his eyes, he reports them as saying that the parents thus "in the first age extinguish all mutual love, and all innocence which infants have from the LORD, and initiate them into hatred and revenge, consequently they studiously exclude their children from heaven, where there is nothing but mutual love: Let therefore parents, who wish their infants well, beware of such things" (A. C. 2309). We agree with the essay that, so long as the LORD keeps us here, "no change of venue is needed to perfect our spiritual character. Whether we live on earth or in heaven, we are ourselves, and carry our true nature with us. That nature will be exactly what we freely choose to make it." But here enters the important qualification: Our choice is cognizant of its surroundings. And hence, and for the reasons assigned in the course of this article, we cannot agree with the implication in the assertion, "Since our free will is independent of circumstances end in our sole keeping, no substitution of heavenly for earthly surrounding could overrule our ruling love without coercion, which is impossible." Not by overrule by coercion, but in heavenly freedom will the love change. The will of man, though predisposed from inheritance, is not formed at birth, but is gradually being formed up to maturity, as is the case with the understanding. And the control of this formation lies largely in the hands of parents and surrounding society. When man arrives at maturity, he is free to choose to go on in the way in which his face has been set, or to stray aside. Properly trained, and in an orderly state of society, he will be disposed to the first alternative. Why, then, are not all the evil who would otherwise not be surrounded by good influences, removed from this world in infancy? Because man lives not for himself alone, but also for others. Because the life and death of men depend upon the following causes:
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"That they die boys, youths, adults, old men, is for three reasons: "1. For the sake of use in the world with men. "2. For the sake of use, when in the world, with spirits and angels; for man as to his interiors is with spirits, and there he is so long as he is in the world, in which all things there close. "3. For the sake of his own use in the world, either that he be regenerated, or that he be let into his evils, lest they lie slumbering. "4. Thus also for the sake of use in the other life, then, after death to eternity, for every one has his own place in the Gorand Man, which will be either in heaven, or in the hells from the opposite, where forces are lacking, that they may be in equilibrium: thither are they led of the Providence of the LORD; thus the Kingdom of the LORD is consulted, the safety of which is the universal Providence" (S. D. 5008). The last analysis of the question of the choice of good or evil would lead us to the determination of the origin of evil. To understand this in itself, and to grasp the actual point of determination in a man's soul which decides him for good or for evil would be to understand that freedom is in itself, what life is in itself, and this would be to be like God. The LORD reserves this knowledge to Himself, for otherwise would result the destruction of the free determination of man in its very incipiency.
Title Unspecified 1895
If the Lord is not in a truth, the truth is without life. Thus it is not true, but if the false be in it, or if evil be in it, the truth itself with man is false or evil.-A. C. 8868.
JAMES GLEN. 1895
(Concluded)
UNDER the guidance of Providence he landed in Philadelphia at the end of May, 1784, and immediately caused the following advertisement to be inserted in The Pennsylvania Gazette for June 2d, and The Independent Gazette, or the Chronicle of Freedom, for June 5th:
"FOR THE SENTIMENTALISTS.
"A DISCOURSE on the extraordinary SCIENCE of Celestial and Terrestrial connections, and correspondences, recently revived, by the late honorable and learned Emanuel Swedenborg will be delivered by Mr. James Glen, an humble Pupil and follower of the said Swedenborg, at eight o'clock on the evening of SATURDAY, the fifth day of June, 1784, at BELL'S BOOK STORE, near St. Paul's Church, in Third street, Philadelphia, where tickets for admittance may now be had. Price, One Quarter of a Dollar. The sublime Science teaches us from every object in the World of Nature to learn things Spiritual and Heavenly; it is the most ancient and excellent of all Sciences, being that whereby the Holy Scriptures were written; according to which the highest angels form their ideas, and through the medium of which the earliest of the Human Race held Converse and Communion with these blessed beings.- The knowledge of this useful Science has for many years been lost to the world,-the Egyptian Hieroglyphics, the Greek and Roman Mythology, and the modern Free-Masonry being the last remains of it-the Honorable Emanuel Swedenborg, the wonderful Restorer of this long lost Secret, thro' the Divine Mercy, for the last twenty-nine years of his Life, had the most free and open Intercourse with Spirits and Angels, and was thus taught this Science of Heaven. From his invaluable Writings and Conversations with Gentlemen who have studied them, the Discourser hopes to convey some Idea and Taste of this Science of Sciences, to the wise and to the good of every denomination. "According to the following Divisions. "Definition of the Science of Correspondencies, Scriptures, Human Body, Diseases, Remedies, Marriage, Natural Philosophy, Sun and Moon, Air, Earth, Metals, Vegetables, Animals, Jewish Manners and Customs, Hieroglyphics, Mythology, Free-Masonry, Languages, Character of Nations, Character of individuals, Future &ate, The Application of the Science of Correspondencies. "N. B.- A few copies of Swedenborg's Theosophic Treatise on the Nature of Influx, as it respects the Communication and operation of Soul and Body-may now be had at said BELL'S BOOK STORE, in Third street. Price, Two- Thirds of a Dollar."
The effect on the public of this extraordinary kind of an advertisement may well be imagined, and the curiosity awakened was increased by the well-known character of Mr. Robert Bell, in whose book-store the lecture was to be delivered. Mr. Bell was an auctioneer, bookseller, and publisher, whose wit and humor made his auction-room a popular resort of many gentlemen of Philadelphia, who came to enjoy his lively sallies during evening book sales. On one of these evenings he announced that Mr. James Glen, recently arrived from England, would deliver a lecture in that place on the following evening, June 5th. The announcement was made in such a manner as to create an expectation of some "fun." Many came thus out of curiosity and for idle entertainment. Some few, attracted by the peculiar advertisement, came to learn whatever might be learned. There was, therefore, quite a large gathering assembled on this memorable occasion, on the fifth day of June in the year 1784, when the truths of the New Church were publicly preached, for the first time in this world, by the intrepid Scottish Evangelist. Truly, it was the time of a new Pentecost, when the double tongue of fire-the Holy Spirit of Divine Truth from the Divine Good-descended upon the Apostle of the New Christianity, who here spoke in a "strange and unknown tongue." All were amazed. Many thought that the man was drunken with the new wine of mad and visionary theories, and left the room when he began to speak of Swedenborg's intercourse with the Spiritual World. Others remained, and, though there was no miraculous conversion of three thousand souls, as at the first Pentecost, yet three persons are known to have turned, to the Light, and to have been baptized in the Living Water of Heavenly Truth-Francis Bailey, John Young, and Mr. Myers Fisher. These gentlemen entered into conversation with Mr. Glen after the lecture, bought and borrowed New Church works from him, and attended the two subsequent lectures which were held by him in the same place on the 11th and 12th of June. Thus was sown the Heavenly Seed of Truth among this nation. We shall, before long, describe its first germination and growth. Mr. Glen remained but a short time in Philadelphia. After leaving this city he is said to have traveled and lectured upon the Doctrines of the New Church in Virginia, Kentucky,. Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts (N. J. M. 1837, p. 119). However this may be, it is certain that he visited the city of Boston; where the Truths of the New Church were first announced by him in a tavern called by the peculiarly significant name of "The Green Dragon" (N. J. M. XI, 119; XXX, 391). It is probable that his evangelistic efforts were crowned with but small success in this capital of Puritanism and Faith Alone, yet it is known that he introduced the Doctrines to a Mr. Joseph Roby, a bookseller, who received them with great joy, and who became the first nucleus of the New Church in Boston. Another of Mr. Glen's converts while on his visit to New England was Mr. Joseph Leigh, of Dover, New Hampshire, who was very active in calling attention to the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem by means of the periodical literature of the world.
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From the United States Mr. Glen returned to his plantation in Demerara, where he seems to have remained only a year or two. Impelled by his ardent desire to be of use to the infant New Church, and to gather a further store of the Writings for his own use in the isolated corner of the world where he dwelled, he made a second journey to Europe in the year 1787. The Library of the Academy of the New Church contains a copy of the original edition of The True Christian Religion, on the fly-leaf of which we find the following inscription:
"This glorious work bought in Amsterdam, 2 June, 1787' when the city is in an unquiet state, from the late, dangerous mob, and five men hanged this afternoon, for being active in that uproar. It (the book) is intended by me, as a token of friendship for J. A. Tulk, Esq., if it pleases him to accept the same from James Glen."
On Sunday, July 29th, we find him present in London, at a most important meeting of the members of the New Church, when he presented to the assembly the following paper, which was unanimously approved by his brethren, and which we will quote here, as showing the nature of Mr. Glen's mind and the quality of his reception of the Doctrines:
"FOUR PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE OF INFLUX.
"1. There are two distinct worlds, the Spiritual and the Natural. "2. The Spiritual World produces the Natural World by Influx. "3. In consequence of this Influx, every object in Nature corresponds with its spiritual cause. "4. This correspondence, by means of Influx, is essential to the existence of both worlds.
"FOUR THEOLOGICAL PARALLELS.
"1. God Omnipotent in His Divine Humanity, in the year 1757, began and accomplished a last Judgment in the Spiritual World, and thereby formed New Heavens. "2. From these New Heavens a New Church will descend, must descend, on this earth, according to the eternal and immutable Laws of Influx. "3. This New Church will be an exact corresponding Representation of the New Heavens. "4. This correspondence by Influx, between the New Heavens and the New Church, is essential to the existence of both.
"OBSERVATIONS ADDED.
"1. The Truths of the New Church are alone contained in the Word, and the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. "2. The Doctrine of Correspondence, being the Knowledge of the Order of Influx, as proceeding from the Divine Humanity, is essential to the understanding of the Word. "3. The earnest and hearty Rejection of the Doctrines and Forms of the Old Church must precede the full Reception of the Influx of Wisdom and Love from the Divine Humanity, through the New Heavens, into the New Church. "4. The full Reception of the glorious truths of the New Church, as revealed by Swedenborg, is essential to constitute a member of the New Church on earth, and thereby to admit him into an immediate conjunction with the LORD, and consociation with the Angels of the New Heavens. "5. Introduction into the New Church is solely through the Spiritual Correspondent, Baptism, performed in that Church. "6. Conjunction with the LORD, and consociation with the angels of the New Heavens, are effected by the Holy Supper, taken in the New Church, according to its Heavenly and Divine Correspondences. "This Society admits the propriety of Baptizing into the New Church, and also of receiving the Holy Supper." Particulars respecting the mode of administering the Sacraments are then proposed (Rise and Progress, etc., p. 57).
The unanimous approval of the principles laid down in this important document led to the institution and first administration of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, which at Mr. Glen's "particular request," took place on the 31st of July, 1787. Mr. Glen instituted a small society of the New Church in Demerara, on August 3d, 1788, when he baptized three persons, and administered the Sacrament to them. (Magazine of Knowledge, Vol. II, p. 156.) In the year 1805 he baptized an infant in Demerara, who afterward became a pillar of the New Church in Liverpool. (New Church Magazine, 1890, p. 240.) After his return to Demerara, James Glen never again visited Europe, possibly on account of financial reverses. But his interest in the progress of the New Church continued to burn as ardently as ever. He kept up an uninterrupted correspondence with the most prominent members of the Church in America and England. Many of his letters to men such as Francis Bailey, Joseph Leigh, and John Young in America, and John Clowes, Alexander Leslie, John Augustus Tulk, Henry Servante, and others in England, have been preserved for the history of the Church, and are teeming with evidences of his intelligent perception of the Doctrines, and his unabating interest in their promulgation. The earliest journals of the Church in England, such as The New Jerusalem Magazine, The Magazine of Knowledge, The Aurora, and the first volume of The Intellectual Repository contain many valuable articles from his pen. We may be excused for quoting here the following delightful letter by Mr. Glen, written at Demerara June 1st, 1788, and published in The Magazine of Knowledge April, 1791:
"TO THE NEW CHURCH IN LONDON.
"I have lately applied to Swedenborg's Apocalypsis Explicata, and do find it a most valuable and truly Divine work; but I cannot help being very sorry to find that the English Bible agrees so indifferently with most of the quotations from the Old Testament in that work.* This can only be remedied by a new translation, which the LORD in His good Providence will, I am persuaded, before long bring to pass; in which case, many Hebrew words should be preserved, as there are no English words to answer them; for instance, for a man, in Hebrew, there are four words (as in the margin) which express four distinct states wherever they occur; but in the English (and I believe in most modern languages) they are confused into one word. * [In the left hand margin are 4 Hebrew words.] The Apocalpsis Explicata confirms more and more whatever I said to the Society concerning the necessity of Divine Truth, end also the necessity of embracing Divine Truth unadulterated-that is, altogether distinct, separated, and removed from the Old Church. I well know that truth without good is not truth, but I also well know that good without truth is not good.
"Good is the esse- Truth is the existere; Good is the essence- Truth is the form; Good is the heat- Truth is the light; Good is the end- Truth is the Cause (and Use the effect).
"The conjugial union of these in Heaven is the soul; this we all know. What the LORD Omnipotent, through His New Heavens, may do in our time upon earth, I pretend not to say; but I humbly apprehend, the more we apply to the spiritual and celestial senses of the Word, the more progress we will make in the New Church, and the more we will separate and remove from the old. To open the spiritual sense of the Word was Swedenborg's office and function, especially by the knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Revelation of John, which may truly be said to be a book altogether written for the use of the New Church of the Divine Human; but far be it for me not to put equal value upon all the books which are the Word. "I shall only add that the more I experience of life, the more I am convinced of the necessity of the New Church, in which love and wisdom in vernal light may forever dwell on this earth: for alas! Alas! at this day nothing but the loves of self and the world and their falses have brought a cold and barren winter among men. I heartily wish the Society may increase and multiply, and that speedily; every member will please" accept my kindest affections, and I remain its willing servant and its meanest member, "JAMES GLEN."
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It is doubtful whether the New Church of that period possessed any member-unless, perhaps we except Robert Hindmarsh-that had gained a greater knowledge and a more interior perception of the truth than those exhibited in this and other letters of James Glen. Nor was his a mere cold and intellectual reception of the Heavenly Doctrine, but there is a peculiarly intense glow of affection vibrating through all his published articles and letters, a zeal which, with a less balanced and instructed mind than his, might easily have turned into enthusiasm. It is true, we may here and there in his writings find peculiar and somewhat eccentric expressions, but who can help loving the spirit whose love for the Church was as intense as his? Years of utter isolation could not quench the fire of this love, as may be seen from the following letter, written in 1808, twenty years after his last visit to the New Church in England:
"I am bold to say, if the Revelations of Swedenborg are not Divine Truth-not from Heaven, but the Divine Human Himself-then was Swedenborg the most dangerous, the most cruel and the most criminal man that ever lived. . . . For my part, M. D. H. (Misericordia Divini Eumeni-by the Mercy of the Divine Human), everything I read, everything I see, everything I think, everything I suffer, confirms and advances me more in the reception of the glorious revelations of Swedenborg. But the more man is recipient, the more' profoundly humble and nothing he finds himself as a mere recipient, hell, hell in himself; and all influx of love and wisdom and use from the infinite and eternal Sun of Life, the proximate proceeding sphere of the Divine Human of God the Saviour. You and Mr. Nichol [a convert of Mr. Glen's in Demerara] are, I think, very chosen recipients, just at the very time of life. For, also, I have no hopes of a man above thirty; the recipient forms in the brain, Swedenborg says, become totally shut up, petrified-like, in consequence of the loves of self and the world and their falses; all desire of Spiritual truth is extinguished, and there is no regeneration without Divine Truths. . . . I'm an old recipient, past thro' many states of cold, of dark and of desolate and dismal wilderness; you must therefore accept my advice, and be not discouraged, if for weeks together you should not be able even to read Divine Truths. These states are wonders of the spiritual world, of the laws of influx and reception; they are in time dreadful, but in eternity they will be seen to have been from infinite wisdom and infinite Love. "Your co-recipient, "JAMES GLEN."
"Please do not destroy this scrip, but show it to Mr. Robert Nichol when you see him, for as I am old, sickly, and weak, it may be the last, and I would fain speak even after death. I hope you and he will live to old age, and be among the first of the men of real uses in this dead, buried, and putrid age."- Monthly Observer, 1861, p. 172.
In another letter, written the same year, he gives this testimony:
"I can only say, that if I die in half an hour I can and will testify that the Revelations of Swedenborg are infinitely more valuable than all the riches and honor of this short life, the value of which I certainly must know from knowing the want of them."-Monthly Observer, 1861, p. 139.
This last sentence indicates the reverses in worldly circumstances which had befallen him. This may have been his reason for retiring from Demerara to an interior district of British Guiana, known as Miribi, where he spent the latter years of his life in a rude hut in the midst of the tropical forest, completely isolated, and as destitute and regardless of the accommodations of civilized society as any of the desert hermits of ancient Christianity. Here he devoted himself to the undisturbed enjoyment of his only comfort, the reading of the Divine Writings of the New Church and to his favorite study of the Science of Correspondences in the midst of nature in her most luxurious development. From here, in the year 1812, he wrote a communication to the Intellectual Repository on the character of the negroes and Indians of South America, showing the evil results of Christian missionary propaganda among these people, and the futility of the hope, which he himself had at one time entertained, of bringing to them a knowledge of the spiritual truths of the New Jerusalem. While he describes with evident disgust the complete immersion of these half-savage people in gross and filthy lusts of the body, yet he discovers in them the perception of certain universal truths and a substratum of obedience, rendering their elevation possible, not by external evangelization by white missionaries, but rather by an internal development proceeding from the LORD (Intellectual Repository, 1812, p. 339). His experience in this respect was similar to that of other early pioneers of the New Church, who, from a misunderstanding of the revelations in the Writings concerning the internal of the negro character, sought to discover and develop the growth of the New Church which the LORD was establishing among them. Such was the experience of Robert Jackson, one of the earliest of the ordained ministers of the New Church, who, in the year 1790, went to Jamaica in order to evangelize the negroes in that island. After a year of such work he gave up the attempt in disgust, confessing that he could make no intellectual impression upon the Africans in their present grossly sensual state, yet acknowledging the ability of the Divine Power to operate upon them from within. Even worse was the experience of Augustus Nordenskold, the Swedish Newchurchmen, who, about the same time, headed an expedition to Africa, but who, in his attempts to penetrate into the interior of the continent was so ill-treated by the natives, that be expired in the wilderness. From the solitude which he had chosen, James Glen was removed into the Spiritual world on September 9th, 1814, at the age of about sixty-five years. Mrs. Scott, of Demerara, a zealous receiver of the Doctrines, which had been introduced to her by Mr. Glen, sent the news of his death to the Church in England. In her letter she quotes a communication from a friend of Mr. Glen residing at Miribi, wherein he states:
"For the last six months of Mr. Glen's life he had two of my most careful negroes constantly attending him, and for the few days previous to his death two more of my most trusty men attended him. Mr. T. and myself saw him every few hours of the day all that time. He appeared to die without pain, and never uttered one word which could lead any person to suppose that he had altered his opinion with respect to the persuasion he had professed so many years. We must, therefore, suppose that he is now reaping the fruits of his good works."-Int. Rep., 1814, p. 443.
Such was the life and character of this first apostle of the LORD'S New Church, who, in the Divine Providence, was called to plant in the American nation the first seed of the Divine Truth, which has grown up and flourished here as it has not done anywhere else in the Christian world.
Notes and Reviews. 1895
MR. George Trowbridge is writing a new book to be ready next spring. The title will be The New Light of Asia.
Title Unspecified 1895
DR. Garth Wilkinson is adding another work to the already long list of his writings. His subject is The Combats and Victories of Jesus Christ.
Title Unspecified 1895
Five Essays for Students of the Divine Philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg is the, title of a work written by Mr. Henry S. Sutton, which will shortly issue from the press.
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Title Unspecified 1895
A COMMITTEE of the General Convention is at work collecting and compiling all the quotations from the Sacred Scripture that occur in the Writings, preliminary to the translation of the Word into English which the Convention has decided to execute.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. A. Roeder has given up the editorship of Bote der Neuen Kirche on account of other pressing duties. The Rev. C A. Nussbaum and Dr. F. W. Dahlmann will in future be the editors and publishers. This paper, which was originally established by the Rev. A. O. Brickmann, becomes, in this manner, the official organ of the German Synod.
Title Unspecified 1895
A NEW edition of the Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church has been issued by the Swedenborg Society of London, England. It is a revision of the previous edition, the Rev. R. J. Tilson acting as reviser and editor. Stricter adherence to the original text has led to substantial improvements. The sub-divisions used in the Swedenborg Society have been introduced, to facilitate reference.
Title Unspecified 1895
MR. David Chivers, who was treasurer of the Bath Society, of England, for thirty years, wrote a history of that Society from its commencement to the year 1876, which was printed with the Bath Society's Reports for the years 1888, 1889, and 1894. These instalments have been gathered into a little volume, and entitled The New Church an Bath. Much that would otherwise probably be lost to posterity is chronicled in these 55 finely-printed pages. The names of a number of Newchurchmen of more than local fame appear in this account.
Title Unspecified 1895
ANOTHER little work of historical value gives a very full report of the proceedings of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Institution of the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem. The anniversary exercises were held in the year 1893, but, for several reasons, the publication of the report was delayed until this year. Many instructive and sometimes affecting personal reminiscences crowd this volume, which is rendered still more valuable by being embellished with pictures of the Boston church's interior and of several of the most prominent officers of the Society. The historical address was delivered by the Rev. S. M. Warren, and it is interesting to note, in passing, the influence on the Church in Boston, which is assigned by him to Mr. James Glen, a sketch of whose life appears in the July and the present issue of the Life.
Title Unspecified 1895
NUMBERS 1 and 2 of the Mirror of Truth have come to hand. It is a bi-monthly journal, published in the interest of local missionary work under the auspices of the Board of Home Missions of the New Jerusalem Church. It is illustrated and well printed. The editor and publisher is the Rev. J. W. Schafer, State Missionary, Waterville, Me. The motto of the journal is, "All religion has relation to life, and the life of religion is to do good." The editor says: "It has no sectarian object, but seeks to promote an intelligent faith in the Divine WORD and to advance true Christian culture."
Title Unspecified 1895
PART 51 of the Concordance to the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg was issued in July, and comprises the words from "Open" to "Own Intelligence." The longest articles are "Open" (which contains teaching on a variety of subjects, such as the opening of the Word, the opening of Heaven, the opening of degrees, the openings of hell, etc.), "Operation" (as the Divine operation, the operation of soul upon body, and the like), "Opposite," "Order" and "Ordination," "Organ" and "Organization," "Other" and "Other Life," "Owl" and "Own Intelligence." The important subjects of "Order" and "Ordination" together fill more than a quarter of this Part of the Concordance.
Title Unspecified 1895
The New Church Messenger of July 10th says: "The Outlook speaks of the account in the third chapter of Genesis as a myth and allegory, but does not intimate what Spiritual lesson is contained in the allegory." Is this a matter for surprise? The article continues: "But it is interesting to find so influential a paper as The Outlook accepting the allegorical character of the first chapters of Genesis. The theological world does more." Undoubtedly, but in what direction? In what sense can this belief on the part of The Outlook be said to be "interesting"? Surely not as indicating a belief in the Revelation which the LORD has made at His Second Advent. If, as is undoubtedly the case, this belief is derived from The Outlook's inner consciousness it goes for nothing, and the only sense in which it can be said to be "interesting" is as a further confirmation of the vastation of the Old Church and of its gradual rejection of the Divine Word. By the way, The Outlook has before this called Swedenborg a false prophet.
Title Unspecified 1895
The New- Church Magazine for July contains an article by Mr. Charles Higham, of London, entitled "The Ethics of Quotation." It gives the results of his endeavors to verify a quotation said to be derived from Bishop Hurd's Lectures on the Prophecies. This quotation appears in the annotated catalogue of the publications of the Swedenborg Society (London), page 7, together with a selection from the published opinions of more or less well-known literary men respecting the Writings of Swedenborg. Dr. R. L. Tafel in his Emanuel Swedenborg as a Philosopher and Man of Science, also quotes it. The results of Mr. Higham's investigations which are given at length in his interesting article, fail to identify Bishop Hurd with the quotation, and Mr. Higham closes with these words: "Two practical suggestions may fittingly close the foregoing series of conjectures: (1) Let every one refrain henceforward from quoting the passage herein under review as the opinion of an 'outsider,' unless some light should be discovered as to the circumstances attending its compilation! (2) Let none henceforward quote it as the opinion of 'Bishop Hurd, author of Lectures on the Prophecies'!"
Title Unspecified 1895
THOSE who believe in the "permeation" theory would do well to read the article by the Rev. J. F. Buss on the "Essentials of the New Church" in the June issue of The New- Church Magazine. He sets forth from the Doctrines what those essentials are, namely, the acknowledgment of the Divine of the LORD, the acknowledgment of the holiness of the WORD, and the life which is called Charity (D. P. 259). He then clearly shows that these three essentials cannot be found in the Old Church. On the state of the Christian Church he says: "Turn whithersoever we will outside the New Church, it is impossible to believe that - the Old Church is gradually coming to accept the truths of the New." And again, in the Old Church: "Those things which the LORD declares to be the three essentials of His Church are neither believed nor preached, and every step that is being taken in the rapid movement now going on in the churches of popular Christianity does but carry those churches farther away from them. Instead of the sects of the Old Church, as such, approaching nearer to the New Church, they are simply hurrying, before our eyes, to that outward and visible consummation and judgment which, on its inward and visible side was meted out to it in the Spiritual World a hundred and thirty-eight years ago." He concludes: "The darkness and sadness engendered of the state itself of the religious world is as nothing to the grievousness of hearing Newchurchmen call upon their fellows to rejoice at this very state-to the real character of which they are either ignorantly or wantonly blind." Compare this with the utterances of The New- Church Review, referred to on the editorial page of our present issue.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Massachusetts New- Church Union has published a second edition of an Essay entitled The Sexuality of Nature, by Leopold H. Grindon, in which, as the title-page avers it is proposed to show, "that sex and the marriage union are universal principles, fundamental alike in physics, physiology, and psychology." The essay is written in easy and beautiful language, and gives evidences of extensive reading and study. It is somewhat curious to note, when scanning its pages that, although the author's researches carried him back to the ages of classical antiquity, and have led him through various epochs since then, into the literature of modern times, there is no mention of the most wonderful Writings which the world has ever seen: those of Swedenborg.
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This is all the more remarkable, since so many of the evidences of the universality of marriage or its analogues, which he has culled from authors modern and ancient (book and page being given), but especially those which he adduces himself as a student of Nature and of the Word, are strikingly like those which are woven into the Theological system of the New Church. This may enhance the value of the essay by showing that independent thinkers arrive at conclusions identical with the truths which have been given by Revelation. Yet here we see the difference: they are truths in a natural and a rational form, but they are not truths in the sense of being as yet vehicles of spiritual truths, because the acknowledgment of the LORD is lacking. There is an acknowledgment of God throughout the book, but that that God is the LORD JESUS CHRIST does not appear clearly from its pages. The writer espouses the side of those scientists who declare in favor of hi-sexuality of plants. Herein, of course, he differs from the Writings of the New Church, where plants are said to be male, while the earth is the common mother. In fact, the unlearned rustic, who speaks of the product of the so-called male stamens and female pistils as "seeds," and drops them in the womb of mother earth, is, in his simplicity, nearer the truth than the cultured scientist. Though why the latter still adheres to the old-fashioned method of misnaming those wonderful reproductive germs is as yet an unsolved mystery. But, seriously, if the author would apply his own teaching in regard to the duality of the human soul, in affection and intellect, to his accumulated store of knowledges concerning the plant, he might discover that the claim for the uni-sexuality of the latter has more show of reason than can be dismissed with a smile of tolerant good-humor. If the primitive essences of intellect and will co-exist in the soul of man, this dualism is represented in his body likewise, and it is the analogous representation of this dualism in the vegetable kingdom that makes plant-study so interesting. The book ought to be in the an a of every discriminating student, for it contains a mine of valuable illustrations of a fundamental New Church Doctrine, and its references open up a number of shafts and galleries in the thought- strata of many epochs of nature-study.
Title Unspecified 1895
What is within makes the essence, and also in the other life shines through the external.-A. C. 8868.
NEW CHURCH NOVEL. 1895
THE BIRTH or A SOUL. A Psychological Study. By Mrs. A. Phillips. London: W. H. Allen & Co. 1894. THIS book comes as a surprise to the Newchurchman, for Mrs. Phillips is not generally known as a New-churchwoman, nor are Allen & Co. publishers of New Church books; but the story is distinctly the product of a mind thoroughly imbued with the Doctrines. A Jewish girl, who has been carefully reared by a father of aesthetic tastes, is heir to a large fortune amassed by a sordid grandfather, by whose will she is to forfeit it, if she marries out of her religion. Among her admirers are a very worldly though accomplished peer-a refined brute-possessing immense wealth, and a Newchurchman, an author, in moderate circumstances, but of ideal character. The "psychological study" consists in tracing the effect of these two men upon her mind. The attentions of the one provoke her Jewish heredity with its lust for money and for the power which money brings, while contact with the other awakens something in the recesses of her soul which had been stored away there-perhaps by means of her exceptional education and surroundings-and leads to a severe mental struggle. The attempt to portray spiritual infestations and temptations in the living form of a novel must appeal strongly to every Newchurchman, and we bespeak for this book-the forerunner, no doubt, of many a story with the same general theme-a hearty reception on the part of all to whom the Doctrines of the New Church have revealed the particulars of that constant warfare that exists between the spiritual and the natural. Perhaps the most charming, because most possible of the New Church characters in the story is a poor but gifted composer, who has his trials, too, but who would never prostitute his gifts for worldly considerations, however urgent. Here is the key to his character and his use:
"Whatever was best in his work and appealed with truth to the heart of truth, he knew had been given him, and his humility, disclaiming the immortal part of his work, cried out, 'Not unto us!' It was this simplicity and absence of egotism that constituted his genius."
And his infestations are outlined in his own words:
". . . Ah me! I know what you feel. If I could only write 'pot-boilers,' as they call them, for the publishers, I should grow rich; but I should be winking at the devil to fill my pocket. He tempts me. He says, 'Montara, write for the feeble and for fools; write what will sell; grow rich, grow fat, cheat art, and gain a big puff as a popular man.' Sometimes he gets very near. I think my Madalene [his wife) would like this or that, and then I open my ear very wide, and I sit down sometimes and say, 'Eh bien, what shall it be, Monsieur le Diable?' and then somehow, when I get the pen in my hand, I think of the discords of hell, and no music will come, and I say, 'Adieu, Monsieur, pas aujourd' hui!'"
Many bits of New Church Doctrine, presented naturally and unobtrusively, and many insights into spiritual virtues characterize the book. Yet there is much that would not stand the Judgment of Divine Truth, and much that is a questionable portraiture of life. One of the blemishes of the book arises from the author's falling into the custom prevailing in the literary world, of using Scripture phrases and the style of' the Sacred Scripture in light speech and "to adorn a tale." Need it be pointed out that this is nearly related to the evil habit of joking from the Word, which is condemned as a kind of profanation? (See D. P. 231.) But we do not intend to enter upon a criticism of the book; the domain of fiction in the New Church is so barren of readable love stories that a valuable effort like the present should have our support. We can promise our readers an interesting story and a delightful and profitable study in this book, which has already made friends among the young and the more mature of our people. We have not seen it advertised in this country, but the Academy Book Room is preparing to fill all orders.
Title Unspecified 1895
Truths are not only covered over by falses, but obliterated and rejected.-T. C. R. 246.
PUBLICATION OF SWEDENBORG'S MANUSCRIPTS. 1895
TO THE EDITOR OF NEW CHURCH LIFE. It will no doubt be of interest to you and your readers to learn that the Academy Book Room has begun the work of reproducing the Manuscripts of Swedenborg in fac simile. The manuscript containing THE SUMMARIES OF THE INTERNAL SENSE OF THE PROPHETS AND PSALMS is actually being reproduced in Stockholm under the superintendence of Prof. Carl Th. Odhner.
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Instead of employing the art Photolithography, as was done when the ten volumes of Swedenborg's Manuscripts were published in the years 1869-1870, this manuscript will be phototyped, a more expensive process, but having the advantage that the handwriting will be reproduced exactly as it exists in the original, without any retouching, thus insuring the most faithful copy, and guarding against the least error. The Manuscript of The Summaries of the Internal Sense has been chosen as the first one of the new series, on account of its great value and importance. It contains brief summaries of the Internal Sense of the Prophetical Books of the Old Testament and of the Psalms of David, and of a few chapters of Genesis; and wherever any of these summaries are introduced in others of the Theological Works of Swedenborg, they are prefaced or followed by statements such as these: "These summaries have also been collated with the Word in Heaven, and are in conformity with it" (S. S. 97). "This explication . . . has been given to me through Heaven by the LORD" (A. R. 43). The Work will be published in two editions: One, a long Folio Edition of 25 pages, about 17 1/2 by 7 inches, exactly reproducing the original manuscript page for page. The other, a Quarto Edition of 50 pages, about 9 by 7 inches, every two pages of which will represent one page of manuscript. This size will be suitable for the Repository of the Church or of the family. Every one who has been convinced of the Divine Nature of the Revelation of the Spiritual Sense made through Emanuel Swedenborg, will at once perceive the appropriateness of having in his sacred Repository or Library a fee simile of one of the precious manuscripts in which was ultimated on earth the Spiritual Sense of the WORD is it exists in Heaven. The Book Room hopes to continue the work of reproducing the manuscripts, which has been suspended for a quarter of a century, and in order to do so, asks for the co-operation of Societies and individuals throughout the Church, from all of whom it will be pleased to hear in how far they can support this most important work. The price of either edition of the work now in preparation, appropriately bound, will be $2.50, to those who send their subscriptions or remittances before October 1st, to us or to any of our agents. Very respectfully, ACADEMY BOOK ROOM, per CARL HJ. ASPLUNDH. PHILADELPHIA, July 23d, 1895.
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
LORD'S RESURRECTION BODY-IS IT MATERIAL? ERNEST J. STEBBING 1895
THE nature of the LORD'S Resurrection Body is a subject which has engaged the earnest attention of New-churchmen since the time of Robert Hindmarsh, between whom and the Rev. Mr. Clowes it became a matter of controversy. The former held that the LORD was never seen by the natural eyes of any one after His resurrection, consequently that the resurrection body was not material. On the other hand, Mr. Clowes held that the material body was not dissipated but glorified. He says in so many words that the LORD "rose from the grave with the same identical body of flesh and bones which had been laid in the grave, and which might still be handled and seen." if he is right, then the LORD was seen with the natural eyes of men after His resurrection. But it is the purpose of this paper to endeavor to show that the LORD'S resurrection body was not material and that the LORD was never seen by the natural eyes of any one after His resurrection. The simple in the Old Church believe that the LORD arose from the grave with the same material body which He had in the world. This they confirm by some passages from the literal sense of the WORD. Such a belief was permitted by the LORD in order that they might believe in the existence of a life after death. For the same reason also, they were permitted to believe that man rises with his material body at the last day. This doctrine was inserted in their Creeds and it has ever since been the prevailing doctrine in the Christian Church. No light can therefore be expected from Old Church writers on the subject of the LORD'S resurrection body. The WORD in the letter and the Revelation which the LORD has made to the New Church are the only authorities which a Newchurchman can consult on this subject. But with these authorities there are yet found in the New Church those who hold that the LORD made Divine His material body, and the reason is because, although in other things they accept the doctrine of the internal sense, in this they persist in holding to the literal interpretation of the WORD to the exclusion of its internal sense. It is true that the letter of the LORD and also isolated passages in the Writings, appear to support this view, but taken in their entirety, both will confirm the opposite. The chief passage in the letter of the WORD, relied upon as showing that the LORD arose with His materiel body, is found in Luke xxiv, where it is related that the LORD appeared to the disciples who were gathered together in a room in Jerusalem, whilst the door was shut. "And as they spake, JESUS HIMSELF stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, 'Peace he unto you!' But they were affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, 'Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I myself; handle Me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have.' "He then asked His disciples for meat, "And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and of an honeycomb. And He did eat before them." The first difficulty confronting him who believes that the LORD'S resurrection body is material is the fact that He appeared whilst the door was shut. And who can continue to hold such a belief in the face of the statement of the Doctrines that, "Since His Body was now not material but Divine Substantial therefore He came to His disciples the door being closed" (D. L. 35)? This statement is conclusive. There are many objections to this belief, but that which renders impossible a literal interpretation of the passage quoted above is this: The LORD has expressly revealed that He did not appear to the natural eyes of His disciples after His resurrection. It is written in The Apocalypse Explained, n. 53: "Man whilst he is in the body does not see such things as are in Heaven except the sight of his spirit be opened and when this is opened then he sees. Thus John saw things which are described in the Apocalypse . . . and thus also the LORD was seen by the disciples after His resurrection. . . . When they saw Him the eyes of their spirits were opened, but when He became invisible then their eyes were closed."
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And in The True Christian Religion, n. 777, we read: "When He manifested Himself to the disciples, first, He opened their eyes, for we read, 'And their eyes were opened and they knew Him, but He was made invisible from them' (Luke xxiv). The like was done with the women at the Sepulchre, after the resurrection, wherefore also they then saw Angels sitting in the sepulchre, and talking with them, whom no man can see with material eyes." With this teaching in mind all the difficulties of the passage above quoted vanish, for it records a transaction in the Spiritual World. Confirmations are not wanting in the letter of the WORD to show that the LORD'S resurrection body is not material. No intimation whatever is given in the Gospels that the appearance of those whom the LORD raised from the dead was other than that which their friends and relatives were accustomed to see. But how different was it in the case of the LORD. It is said in Mark xvi, 12, that after He had appeared to Mary Magdalene, He appeared in another form to the two who walked to Emmaus and that although He spoke a long time with them, still they did not know Him until He had given them the bread which He had blessed. Again in John xxi, 1, 4, 14, we are told that the LORD presented. Himself before His disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius; and such was the appearance of the form then assumed by Him that notwithstanding it was the "third time of showing Himself to them since His resurrection," yet they "knew not that it was JESUS." And again, when the LORD appeared to Mary Magdalene, she supposed Him to be the gardener. Surely this should be sufficient confirmation that the LORD'S resurrection body was not material. But it may be asked, " Why then did the LORD say, 'A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have.' Does He not here plainly teach that He has flesh and bones? Yes; but it is evident that material flesh and bones cannot be meant, for, as already stated, this incident took place in the Spiritual World. Everything in the LORD is Uncreate, Infinite; these qualities cannot be predicated of the material. What then is meant by flesh and bones here? In the LORD, as in man, there are three degrees, called Celestial, Spiritual, and Natural, but these degrees in the LORD are Uncreate and Infinite, thus Divine. These three-degrees in man are finite, and they exist in fullness in him only whilst he is an inhabitant of the world, for with a spirit or angel the ultimate of the natural degree is wanting; in this respect, therefore, the state of an angel is exactly the same, correspondently, with that of the LORD prior to the Incarnation; for in the Two Superior degrees existed actually from eternity; but the third only in potency, and this was made actual by the incarnation. Now, the state of the Divine existence is exactly similar and analogous to, or in strict correspondence with that of man in the world. The LORD has the ultimate which angels are without; but this ultimate is Uncreate, Infinite; Divine. The ultimate of the natural is what is meant by flesh and bones, in other words, the sensual and corporeal. This is what is meant by body in this passage: "The LORD made His very Corporeal in Himself Divine; its sensuals as well as their recipients, wherefore He arose from the grave with the whole body" (A. C. 5078). That the material body is not meant is clear from this statement (De Domino et de Ath. Sym., N. Y, p. 35, London, p. 42): "The LORD in the sepulchre, thus by death, rejected all the human from the mother, and dissipated it." There are many more passages which prove that the LORD'S resurrection body is not material, but the following will suffice: "The human in respect to the is as dust and ashes. By the human here is not meant the Divine Human, but the human which He derived from the mother and which He entirely put off, and instead thereof put on the Divine Human" (A. C. 2265). Again, "The LORD by degrees cast off the human which He had from the mother, till at length He was no longer her son" (A. C. 2574). It might be thought from these few conclusive passages that no one can now believe that the LORD'S resurrection body is material, but the following quotation from a recent article in a New Church Journal, by a Minister of the New Church, will show how this subject is understood, or rather misunderstood. The article says:
"He did not put off the natural plane of life at death, but glorified it, made it Divine, even to the flesh and bones. To accept rationally this great and fundamental truth it appears to us there is no need of supposing that the material parts of the LORD'S body were dissipated in the Sepulchre, for this would be contradicting the statement that He left nothing there. But those parts, even to the ultimates, were made Divine. And why should this be thought unreasonable or impossible."
Comment on this is unnecessary, except, perhaps, to point out that several of the quotations from the Writings already given distinctly state that the material body was dissipated in the Sepulchre, and surely this does not contradict, but rather confirms the statement that the LORD left nothing there. The article does not attempt to explain how what is material can be made Divine, and for a good reason; the material never can be made Divine. This paper has attempted to show what the LORD'S resurrection body is not; what it is cannot be treated or here for want of time and ability. This statement in the Doctrine of the LORD (n. 35) must therefore suffice: "THE LORD put off the human from the mother, which, in itself, was like the human of another man, and. thus material, and put on a human from the Father, which, in itself was like His Divine, and thus Substantial." The LORD'S resurrection body was therefore Divine Substantial.
ERNEST J. STEBBING.
PHILADELPHIA, June 5th, 1895=125.
Title Unspecified 1895
When the Lord was in the world, He glorified, that is, made Divine His Whole Human even to its ultimate; as may appear from this that He left nothing in the sepulchre, and that He said unto the disciples that He had bones and flesh, which a spirit has not; The ultimate sensual which the Lord also glorified or made Divine, is signified by the brazen serpent placed upon a sign.-A. E. 581.
LIBERTY. 1895
Liberty is sweet, for liberty is life, And all delight within it lies. Nation wars with nation And the true-souled patriot Cries "Liberty or death!" Heaven wars with hell, And they in whom the conflict ultimates Re-voice the cry, and, dying, Gain their liberty, and liberty's delight.
127
LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.-ON Sunday, June 30th, Bishop Pendleton administered the Holy Supper to sixty-one communicants. ON July 7th the Rev. G. G. Starkey conducted service at 1821 Wallace Street. He delivered a discourse on "Prayer" (Matt. vi, 9). On July 14th and 21st, his subject was "The Father in the Heavens" (Matt. vi, 9-13). The attendance at these services fully justifies their continuance, from twenty- five to fifty persons being present. Huntingdon Valley.- A BARN, situated on the hill on which a number of the Philadelphia friends are settling, and known as "Mr. Pendleton's barn," as it adjoins his present residence, has been fitted up as a temporary place of worship to take the place of the evergreens in front of Mr. Schreck's residence, where summer services have been held for two years past. On Sunday, July 7th, the Holy Supper was administered by Bishop Pendleton to forty-four communicants. A change has been made in the manner of administering this most holy sacrament. Instead of the minister going among the worshipers and administering the bread and wine, they came up in companies of about twelve each, and knelt around the table. On the following Sunday Bishop Pendleton delivered a discourse on the "Necessity of Divine Revelation," and on July 21st on the "Conjunction of Heaven with the Human Race." On July 28th the Rev. Mr. Schreck conducted services and preached concerning the LORD as the First and the Last (Apocalypse i, 17, 18) The attendance ranges from forty-six to sixty-four persons including children. Some of the friends drive from their farm about seven miles away, and others come from die city. Glenview.- THE closing exercises of the Academy School at Oak Glen were held June 11th. This event was made the occasion for a school celebration of the "calling together of the Apostles," and the school-room was tastefully decorated with red and white. Honorable mention was made of those who had shown greatest obedience and diligence during the past year. After the service was concluded the work done by the children of the primary department was exhibited for the inspection of the parents and visitors present. ON July 16th a short summer session for the boys was begun. School is held from 8.45 to 10.45, four days a week. London.- THE Rev. R. J. Tilson has joined Prof. C. T. Odhner in Stockholm for a week or two.
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT LORD.
Brooklyn.- DURING the past year, the Circle in this city was visited once a month by the Rev. L. G. Jordan, services having been held in the Knapp mansion. The Brooklyn Daily Times printed extracts from one of Mr. Jordan's sermons in one of its issues. The highest attendance has been fourteen, the lowest seven. Services will be resumed in the fall. Allentown.- SERVICES are conducted once a month by the Rev. L. G. Jordan, of Philadelphia. On Tuesday evenings the members of the Church meet at the house of Mr. Jacob Ebert, and read the explanation of the Decalogue as given in The True Christian Religion. Glenview.- THE house of Mr. Seymour G. Nelson was dedicated on July 21st. THE name of the locality where our Chicago friends have settled has been changed from Oak Glen to Glenview. Liverpool.-PASTOR Robinson, of Colchester, ministered to the small circle here on May 26th. The hope was expressed that he might renew his visit. CANDIDATE R. H. Keep has also preached to the Society. Pittsburgh.-FIVE boys of the Society here, together with two from Parkdale, and two from Chicago, intend camping during the first part of August on Lake Muskoka, about 150 miles north of Toronto.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
Delaware.- AT the Council of Ministers held at Wilmington in May last, the Detroit Society through its Pastor requested the advice of the Council, in regard to using individual cups at the Sacrament. Its reply through its Secretary, Dr. T. F. Wright, is given in The New Church Messenger of July 23d. It says in part: "We feel also that the use of a cup in common embodies that sense of brotherhood which is essential to a true communion, and we find an important statement in The True Christian Religion, 433, as to the Pasehal feast and its significance: 'Union itself was represented then by the breaking and distribution of bread and by drinking from the same cup and handing it to another.'" The reply further quotes the LORD'S words from Matthew xx, 23, Mark x, 38, and Luke xxii, and concludes, "For these and other reasons, which at a busy season cannot be fully stated, the Council would affectionately advise that you will do well and wisely in not adopting this innovation."
CANADA.
Ontario.- THE Canada Association held its thirty-second annual meeting in Berlin, on May 23d. There were four ministers and nine delegates, besides officers in attendance. On motion of the Rev. L. H. Tafel the license of Mr. T. M. Martin was renewed for another year. The time of the annual meeting was changed to September. The Rev. A. John Cleare was appointed Editor of The Star in the East, until the next annual meeting. A committee was appointed to take into consideration the enlargement of that paper. The Association will meet in Toronto on September 24th, 1896.
GREAT BRITAIN.
London.- THE Literary and Musical Society, belonging to the Camden Road Church, picknicked in Epping Forest on June 29th. "Ladies'" races formed part of the amusement. "The two best ladies were then allowed a short start by the two first men, but one of the ladies passed the tape first." THE Rev. Wm. Heald, pastor of the Anerley Society, has sent in his resignation to take effect in the fall. He has ministered to the Society for six years. Longton.- THE little Society in Longton has erected an iron building, which cost about L300. The Society has been without a permanent place for meeting for eighteen months Glasgow.- THE General Conference of the New Church held its eighty-eighth session on June 17th in the New Jerusalem Church, Queen's Drive, Glasgow. It was attended be ninety-six members, including trustees and representatives. The retiring President, Rev. P. Ramage, in his report, said that he had been requested, in visiting different Societies, to pay special attention to the question of grouping Societies. He had done so, and had found that in nearly all the larger Societies the Ministers are absent from four to thirteen Sundays preaching elsewhere. "Under these circumstances the congregations feel that they have sufficient variety in the pulpit without the machinery of 'grouping.'" One of the questions in the President's annual circular to Ministers and Leaders was, "Can you offer any practical suggestion for improving the organization of the Church?" The Rev. W. H. Claxton, in reply to this, among other things, said: "Start a Sustentation Fund, and thus rescue the Ministers from being regarded as the paid servants of Committees or Societies." There are probably few Ministers who are not made to feel this relationship to their Societies. But would Mr. Claxton's suggestion remedy the evil? No. It might modify it. The only way to overcome the evil is by instructing the Church from the Doctrines on the subject of the Priesthood. The Rev. J. F. Buss offers a sure solution. He says: "Bring the order, government and organization of the Church into harmony with the Doctrines on the subject given in the Writings." The Rev. W. T. Lardge earnestly desired that the Church should be saved "from being governed on democratic lines, and that Church Committees and Secretaries for the government of the Church be abolished, and the sole control of affairs placed in the hands of the Minister and two deacons." Why the two deacons? The Rev. R. R. Rodgers said: "Pay the Ministers better and build churches in better situations," and the Rev. William O'Mant thought organization on Methodist lines desirable. The Report stated that attendance at the Holy Supper was increasing in 17 Societies, stationary in 15, and decreasing in 4. A decrease in membership was reported by 33 Societies and an increase by 24. The Editor reported an increase in the circulation of The New Church Magazine. The Rev. R. R. Rodgers, in his speech on the "Weekly Halfpenny Scheme," which is intended to increase the Building and Augmentation Funds, said: "Without good Church accommodation, and a Ministry as well off as in other communities, the Societies may exist for generations to come, but as an external organization the New Church will fail." The Committee on the Translation of the Word have adopted the following principles to guide them: "(a) To translate the Hebrew Textus receptus, giving due weight to Swedenborg's translation. (b) To keep as close to the style of the Authorized Version as possible, and to adopt the Revisers' renderings whenever possible. (c) To depart from the Versions only in cases where shades of meaning unexpressed in the versions, or absolute changes, are demanded by conclusive evidence furnished by the Spiritual Sense." Among the other resolutions passed by the Committee on Missionary Operations was the following: "Resolved, That each Society receiving a grant from the Augmentation Fund be required to place the services of its Minister at the disposal of the local Missionary Society one Sunday for each L5 granted." This is certainly unique. Min-
128
Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
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PHILADELPHIA, AUGUST, 1895=126.
CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL: Note 113 The Worship to be Offered to the LORD (a Sermon) 114 Truths Divine in the Decalogue (Exodus, xx, 1-14) 116 Heredity and Environment 117 James Glen (Concluded) 120 NOTES AND REVIEWS 122 A New Church Novel 124 Publication of Swedenborg's Manuscripts 124 COMMUNICATED: The LORD'S Resurrection Body-Is It Material? 125 Liberty 126 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH: The Academy of the New Church 127 General Church of the Advent of the Lord 127 The Church at Large 127 BIRTHS, MARRIAGE, AND DEATHS 128 ACADEMY BOOK ROOM 128 isters are now apportioned into L5 shares and dealt with accordingly. The number of Isolated Receivers this year is 928 in 421 places, as compared with 945 in 431 places last year. The Home Reading Union has 202 members, as against 218 last year. Conference authorized the ordination of four Candidates for the Ministry. A new student was adopted. A Resolution was passed, at the instance of the Rev J. R. Rendell, that questions on the history of the Manuscripts and Versions of the Word be put to the Candidates for ordination He said that "in view of the higher criticism there were many things a Candidate for ordination should know." Manchester.- THE South Manchester Society held a meeting on July 9th to welcome the Rev. W. A. Presland (late of Camberwell) as its Pastor. Eight of the Lancashire Ministers attended, and extended a hearty welcome to Mr. Presland.
AUSTRALIA.
Brisbane.- THE Church Committee of the Brisbane Society is composed of an equal number of men and women. The Society rejoices in "the success which has attended this innovation."
Title Unspecified 1895
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The third degree, which is called celestial, is opened by the celestial love of use, Which love is love to the Lord, and love to the Lord is nothing else than committing to life the precepts of the Word, the sum of which is to shun evils because they are infernal and diabolical, and to do goods because they are heavenly and Divine.-D. L. W. 237.
Title Unspecified 1895
FROM the report in the Life of last year (page 109), it appeared that the ministers of the General Convention were filled with a presentiment of a new state that was about to come upon the Church. To some the prospective and imminent change was vague in character, while others had a better defined conviction that it meant a change from a doctrinal state to one in which the life was to be more prominent. This state if mind appears to have continued, so that at this year's Convention the President considered it of sufficient importance to make it the subject of his address. He says:
From all quarters comes the expression of desire for a change of state, and of a sense that such a change is impending. And the universal impression seems to be that the change desired is a change from the state of acquisition of doctrinal truth to a state of enjoyment of the heavenly loves, and especially of the love for the LORD and for His presence in the Church, which the Doctrines of the Church lead as to expect."
Can the universal impression here referred to be accepted as a correct analysis of the prevalent feeling? Has not the acquisition of doctrinal truth been decried and condemned persistently by ministers and laymen of the Convention for a score or more of years past? And has not the "collateral literature" contained such a scant measure of doctrinal truth, especially such as bears upon the topics which form most of the burden of the Internal Sense of the Prophets and Psalms, that it has often been the subject of comment? It needs no demonstration, that a change from the state in which truth takes the lead, to one in which good is predominant, cannot take place before the truth has actually been acknowledged.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE doctrinal truth which, above all, a Church of the New Jerusalem needs to acknowledge, before it can enter upon a state" of love for the LORD and for His Presence in the Church," is the one that He, in His Divine Human is present in the Doctrines of the New Church, as intimately as in the Word of the two Testaments, and that love for Him is conjunction with and in the Divine Proceeding, in the form of the truths of these Doctrines. But this has been repudiated in the past, nor has anything appeared, thus far, to show a change in this respect. Is it not rather to be feared, that, in the case of many, the feeling which dominates the Convention at present, is nothing more than the old impatience with doctrine, and the old misapprehension of the quality of celestial loves, in a new guise? Let the student of existing states attentively consider the editorials in the July number of The New Church Standard, where experience, reason, and doctrine all unite in making it painfully evident that in the New Church of the present day there is little acquisition of the truths of doctrine, and much Jove for the "good of the natural."
Title Unspecified 1895
THE President's address, proceeding on the assumed interpretation of the feeling in convention, guards against any enthusiastic vagary concerning it, by showing, that, although such a desire is shared by many, a sudden change is not to be looked for, and after giving a resume of the Writings of the Church, he closes with these remarks:
"If, then, the general impression of the present condition of the Church is true, what we are to look for is not a sudden outpouring of heavenly blessings, but a long season of prayerful labor, with much hardship, leading to the gradual opening of humbler states of charity and of nearness to the LORD. First there most be a separation from societies of spirits that streak all the good we do, and speckle all the truth we think with reflection upon self, and spot the pure truth with our own fancies. Through fear and shrinking, the life that has so much of self in it must be absolutely put off that the life which is of the LORD alone may be put on. Through earnest wrestlings with God, His protection and blessing must be sought. And then, at last, we may hope for a child-like innocent life from the Spirit of the LORD, blessed and guided by continual communion with Him in His Word."
These, truly, are reverent words, and where such a spirit animates a whole Church, progress may be hoped for with serene confidence, for the rejection of the old life can be effected by no other means than by the purifying truth of doctrine; and the wrestling with God-that is to say, the warfare with one's evils and falses-can be carried on by the aid of no other weapons than the combating truths of doctrine. Thus the course here commended will lead to a more earnest searching of the Scriptures, to a more affirmative attitude toward the Doctrines. Love from the LORD will not lead away from the acquisition of truth, but will intensify and satisfy the desire to see and be conjoined with the Divine Love in the glories of the Divine Truth.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE love for the acquisition of the truth of doctrine is not one to be discarded. It is far too rate, too valuable, and too heavenly. The battle rages about the end and purpose back of it. If these be spiritually ignoble, they must be changed. If they bear the stamp of faith alone, repentance will secure an inversion Although man may have a strong desire to enter into the celestial state, to bring about this change is beyond the limits of his own efforts. Though he sees his faith-alone state and strives for a state in which his faith shall turn to love, the change is wrought by the LORD from within. Man cannot convert himself. A Church as a whole cannot change her state, but as evils are being shunned and the Truths of doctrine are loved for their own sake, the LORD, operating from within through aversion for things evil and false, and though the affection for the Truth, brings about the change.
130
"Thus He giveth His beloved in sleep." "So is the kingdom of God as a man when he soweth seed into the earth, and he sleepeth and ariseth day and night, and the seed sprouteth and riseth up, how, he knoweth not."
Title Unspecified 1895
Governors over those things with men which are of Heaven, or over ecclesiastical things, are called priests, and their office the priesthood.-A. C. 10,793.
Title Unspecified 1895
THERE are indications that the subject of Church government is again interesting our New Church friends in England. At the meeting of Conference, the President's Report contained short extracts from the letters of ministers in answer to the question, "Can you offer any practical suggestion for improving the organization of the Church?" Since then, the Rev. James J. Woodford has published in Morning Light a letter on "Conference and the Ministers," condemning the prevailing arrangements by which "either the minister is at the mercy of the congregation, or the congregation is at the mercy of the minister," and offers, as a remedy, that Conference control the movements of the ministers, to which end the funds of all the societies should be vested in that body. Mr. Woodford's arraignment of the existing state of the Church in England is worth reading, the more so, as it is itself imbued with the general principle that underlies the government,, or lack of government, there prevailing. The manifest evils cause him logically to reach out for some sort of subordination. He avows his weariness at the cry of "independence," and confesses that he is hungering for the word "self-sacrifice." But the whole theory on which Conference is constructed, is that of democracy, of independence-independence, above all, from government by representatives of the LORD. Conference is so fearful of committing itself to any government and control but that of a majority of a mixed assembly of ministers and laymen that it cannot even abide the thought of any incumbent of the President's chair succeeding himself for a single year. Mr. Woodford truly indicates that independence is not recommended in Divine Revelation as a virtue, but charity, the love of use, putting self second and service first. It is this sacrifice of the selfhood and the exercise of charity toward the order that proceeds from the Divine which is called for in the New Church, even in the acceptance of the priesthood as governors over Church affairs. If, as is evident from public utterances, there is friction wherever the New Church is established, it ought to be equally evident that it arises from the unregenerate state of men, and that the form of government cannot be charged with its removal. But that government will provide the best remedy, and with or without friction will best consult the internal progress of the Church, which is prescribed by the LORD, and which, being thus established and administered according to the doctrine of subordination and order, calls for self-sacrifice, truth, and charity.
Title Unspecified 1895
As far as man is in the love of use so far he is in the Lord, so far he loves Him, and loves the neighbor, and is a man.- D. L. in A. E. XIII.
USE Rev. W. B. ACTON 1895
A SERMON
"A certain nobleman, journeying into a far country to take to himself a kingdom and return, having called his ten servants, gave to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Employ until I come.'"-Luke xix, 12, 13 (conf. Matt. xxv, 14-30). Read Divine Love (appended to The Apocalypse Explained) xiii.
THE doctrine of Use is peculiarly and prominently the doctrine of the New Church. It may be said to be the embodiment of all the Heavenly Doctrines or Divine Teachings. It descends from the LORD Himself-the Origin and Fount of all use; for it is the doctrine of Love and Wisdom conjoined; not of love and wisdom in the abstract, philosophical sense, nor yet in the sentimental and so-called philanthropic sense, so widespread in the world. It is the Doctrine of Love made visible by wisdom in concrete and ultimate forms-of love in its activity, its actuality. This is the doctrine of Use in the New Church. It descends, as was said, from the LORD, who is Infinite and Essential Love, which is Substance Itself. And this love, so far as it is received by men, animates, forms, and establishes the Church of the LORD as the means of performing the highest use to mankind, viz.: the salvation of the human race. This doctrine is a doctrine peculiar to the New Church; for there alone is it known what use is, which is neither known nor acknowledged, still less believed, in the consummated Church, where charity has been separated from faith and the latter alone regarded as saving. The doctrine of Use, in its application to life and ultimation of good in the world, is also the Doctrine of Charity conjoined with Faith. Where these are separated, both are destroyed and all true idea of use perishes at the same time. The doctrine of Use is plainly taught in the parable of the ten minas, or "pounds." In the internal historical sense, or that sense which applies wore nearly to the actual history of the Church, this parable, like many others, points out, the different degrees of reception and employment of the truths of the Word in the various Churches. For by money in the Word are to be understood the cognitions or knowledge of truths and goods from the LORD. The Nobleman here is the LORD Himself, and the servants are the men of the Church. In the Most Ancient Church these cognitions, or with the men of that Church, celestial perceptions (for they were implanted in the will, not in the memory with them) were productive of the highest uses; uses of interior celestial love. In like manner, but to a less extent, these cognitions, with the men of the Ancient Church, were brought forth and made the means of producing and cultivating the uses of charity from spiritual affection. But in the Jewish Church the cognitions of Divine good and truth were made of no use except in the lowest use of civil and moral life, and even these perished with them. Thus the truths and goods of the Word with them lay hidden away and useless, like the mina which the unprofitable servant took and laid up in a napkin, till his master's return thus representing their rejection of the LORD Himself when He came as the Divine Truth. The succession of these three Churches is the representative of the history of all the Churches In the beginning the truths of faith and charity are gladly received and made to bring forth fruits of use.
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But at length these become fewer, and finally none. Charity perishes and good works or uses of charity cease. Such was the case with each Church before the LORD came, and in like manner with the Church called Christian at the present day. And though the New Church, the Crown of all the Churches, will never perish, we know that it does come to an end with General Bodies, societies, and Individuals when the Divine Truths now revealed are separated from the good of use when they are not applied to the life of the Church, society, or individual. The LORD has not made man a stock or a stone as to spiritual things. He has given him abilities-faculties of understanding and willing, together with the power to use them-to do what he understands and wills, and this as of himself. And having so endowed him with this image and likeness of Himself the LORD leaves man in most perfect freedom to act as he pleases, giving him, at the same time, all cognitions necessary for his eternal salvation and happiness. The nobleman gives to his servants ten minas and departs leaving them to employ till he returns. In a similar parable related in the Gospel of Matthew it is said that a man leaving home delivered to his servants his goods giving to one five talents, to another two, to another one, and, it is added, to each according to his ability. The teaching in the two parables is similar. For the LORD gives the same life, the same cognitions, the same ability to make use of them to all alike, but all do not receive alike nor use alike. Each receives according to his power or ability-i. e., his faculty of reception or his affection. Let us here notice that the word faculty, as its derivation implies, means ability to do. Hence, when we speak of man's faculties we mean his power of making- using-doing in the widest sense of the term. Notice, also, that this word faculty is closely connected with another word from the same derivation-faculty-which is acquired by continued doing or use of the faculties. These faculties of willing, thinking, and doing, and the cognitions of good and truth which are acquired from the Word are not man's, but the LORD'S with him. They make one with his life. The LORD indeed gives them to man to use as if they were his own, and to all appearance withdraws Himself so entirely that were it not from Revelation man would know nothing at all of the LORD, still less of His continual presence and providence. But although the LORD appears absent from man, He instructs His servants in the right use of His gifts, telling them to employ them till He comes again. For after death an account will have to be rendered of everything done, and it will then become manifest how each one has employed his Master's gifts. This is the judgment. Although ten servants are mentioned, specific reference is made only to three, and this for the reason that ten signifies all in the Church at large. These may all be arranged in three classes represented by the three servants spoken of in the parable. This arrangement is according to the affection for the use and means of use given to every one by the LORD. For there are those who are in the love of performing the more general and interior uses of love and charity and who regard the community or society as a whole, or men in the plural, as the neighbor. There are those who are in the love of particular and more external uses of love and charity, thus who, regard men in particular as the neighbor. There are also those who have no affection for any use which does not reflect upon themselves, thus who regard themselves alone as the neighbor whom they love. In other words there are those who are in the affection of performing interior spiritual uses; there are those who are in the affection of performing exterior spiritual uses and there are those who love to perform no use. Heaven consists of the two first classes and Hell of the third The importance, nay, necessity, of using the gifts given by the LORD to every man for the performance of uses from Him, and how man's future state and happiness depend upon his affection for so doing, is plainly taught in the parable before us. Let us, therefore, consider more fully what is understood by use, that we may be led to cultivate an affection for it, and become faithful servants of our Divine Master. Uses are the means by which the LORD gives to man the support of his life, both natural, and spiritual, and this according to the degree of his affection for use; for so far as he loves uses because they are of the LORD, so far the LORD is in him and he in the LORD. Uses themselves are from the LORD, and are His Divine operation among men, for he does good to men by means of men, as may appear not only from the various functions and employments by which good is done by man to man, but also from the use of human instrumentalities for bringing human beings into the world; from the use of men as the means of revealing, teaching, and preserving among men things Divine, whereby men are saved and born into Heaven, which is the Divine end of all uses in both the spiritual and natural worlds. The use of human instrumentalities as the means of giving and preserving good amongst men appears most manifestly when we consider that for the sake of the salvation of the human race-the highest good that the LORD can give to man- He not only employed human means to reveal Himself, but in the fullness of time He assumed a Human in the world, glorified it and made it Divine, so that in that Divine Human He might be more immediately present with man, and by means of that Human perform the highest and most perfect use of all uses: the salvation of the human race. This use involves and includes all others. Every use is in form a man, and avers man is a form of use. Such as the use is such is the man. This essential human quality derives its origin from the LORD, who is the Divine Man. Hence man is a man only in the degree in which he is a form of use. The same is true of angels, who are men in an eminent degree, for they perform eminent uses. Angelic uses however, are spiritual and interior, but they have their ultimate effects in the natural world upon the men there, principally in the affections of those with whom they are present. The uses performed by man in the world are both natural and spiritual, for he lives in both worlds. The natural uses are the various administrations, offices, businesses, and employments in the world. Some are more universal, others more particular; some of higher dignity others of less; some noble and exalted uses, others vile and even evil uses, but all tend to the same end the salvation of mankind-of the good for heaven of the evil for a milder hell than that to which Incline. In whatsoever use a man engages in this world, from any affection of use, be it high or low, he is at the same time performing or learning to perform spiritual or even celestial uses for heaven. The quality of themselves is not determined by his natural use, but by the spiritual or celestial quality of the affection from which he performs that use.
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What will be the ultimate form of the use he will perform in the other life cannot be known with certainty, know but little of the particular uses of the Angels, for spiritual uses hardly fall within the comprehension of the natural thought of man in the world and indeed, they are indefinitely more numerous and varied than natural uses. Man is, however, in them as to his spirit, or preparing for there, in the degree and to the extent that he is in the affection of use for its own sake, either from celestial love to the LORD or spiritual love for the neighbor. Angelic use is contained within natural use as a gem in its matrix, as a kernel in its shell, as the soul in its body, and as the spiritual sense of the Word in its letter. 1t is into this internal use that man' comes after death. All natural uses are thus but the ultimates or continents of spiritual uses and the means by which the latte may subsist. It matters comparatively little, therefore, to the regenerating man what natural use he performs, so far as he is in the genuine affection of use, for the sake of use. Whilst he may not derive much merely natural delight from the work he may by circumstances be led to do, there will be an interior delight and peace so far as he does not think of himself in his work but of the use. It is here that the infernals stir up man's conceit and selfishness by persuading him that he could do something else better and with more satisfaction to himself than the work before him. As he cultivates this notion he regards himself in his use and not the good of the use, and thus removes from himself the peace and delight which is inmostly in every genuine use. Man is given his function, office, or employment by the LORD, though the appearance is that be makes the choice himself or is led to choose it by circumstances; only another term for chance or fate. The use to which he is called is nevertheless from the LORD, and he is led to it for the eternal ends of the Divine Providence which regard his own salvation and that or others. In whatever use or occupation he may be, he should recognize this important truth, and hence labor to perform it diligently, faithfully, to the best of his abilities. The LORD does not need man's service but man needs the LORD'S work, and every use is the LORD'S work. He can serve Him equally well in a humble use as in an exalted one. But as he faithfully performs the work which he sees before him or at his hand and to which he has been led, he is at the same time cultivating those Divine-given faculties which will fit him to perform angelic uses in the other life, the lowest of which far excels the most exalted earthly use. The LORD gives to every man his use, and together with it all the cognitions and faculties necessary to its accomplishment. This is signified by the mina given to each of the nobleman's servants. For money, whether as "talents" or "minas," signify cognitions of good and truth from the Word and the faculty of perceiving and using them. To trade or gain profit signifies by means of those cognitions to acquire to one's self intelligence and wisdom by their use. Now, it is well known that as a man concentrates his mind and energy upon his work, he receives increased illustration, perception, ability in matters relating to it. This we see plainly in works of hand. "Practice," we say, "makes perfect." Diligence and application give facility-increased faculty. If this be true naturally, how much more must it be true spiritually, or as regards spiritual use; for natural illustration, perception, facility and skill flow from the closer and more intimate consociation with spirits and angels who are in the internal use corresponding to the natural use in which the man is-that is to say, from the LORD through them. For there is no use in the natural world that does not draw its origin from some use of good from the LORD, in the spiritual world. Man in the work of regeneration has to use the cognitions of truth and good from the Word, in his daily life, and this according to his perception and faculty. This he does in the spiritual work of shunning his evils as sins against God. It will often he difficult to see how the spiritual truths of the Word can be directly applied to man's natural work and occupation. But such application is of less importance than it may appear at first sight. Spiritual truth and good are within natural truth and good, and they operate interiorly within the mind and thus imperceptibly to the man himself. It is necessary for him to know the natural truths relating to his work, and then, from spiritual affection apply them earnestly, faithfully, and to the best of his ability, for the sake of the use itself and of those who will be benefited by his labor. The spiritual knowledges of truth and good, all which relate to the spiritual affection of use, will then be changed by the LORD into the form of heaven and form an internal plane into which spiritual heat and spiritual light can inflow, and thence vivify and illuminate the natural mind, giving increased affection for uses and, with that increased perception and ability. It is with man's perceptions and faculties, spiritual as well as natural, as it was with the loaves which the LORD blessed when He fed the multitudes-they ever increase with the necessity, and the necessity increases with the affection. This increase is not the same with all, for some have a more interior affection of use than others. These are in the affection and perception of the interior things of Doctrine. The others love the more external things of the Church. The former are in the good of truth, the latter in the good of obedience. These are all truthful servants who trade with their Master's money according to their various abilities, and who will be rewarded with heavenly happiness in the other life and with peace and content in this. But there are also others who have no spiritual affection for the goods and truths of the Word. They know them but do not care for them, nor do they employ them except for their own ends. If they perform uses it is only with a view to their own advantage and gain. Hence with them there is no increase of spiritual affection and perception. They are idle drones who receive no reward, for they have gained none. Such is the natural man, or he who regards only earthly ends, making life to consist in mere enjoyment and selfishness. After death when the natural body is put off he has nothing worthy the name of life. The spiritual degrees of his mind, which are opened only by a life of use in the world, remain closed with him. The spiritual knowledges hidden in his natural memory are therefore taken from him and given to those who most love them. They had contributed nothing to the formation of intelligence and wisdom with him, and therefore are removed lest by means of them he might seduce simple spirits and infest the good; after he is thus vastated he is cast into some infernal workhouse where he is compelled to labor at the vilest uses for his food and clothing. As servants of the Divine Master it becomes of the utmost importance that we examine the ends for which we are striving day by day in our various uses and callings. All indeed must work in some use for existence, whether willingly or unwillingly.
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But, whether we are actuated by the love of use from the LORD, or by the love of self, is best indicated by considering whether we are content with our present lot and are satisfied to do day by day the work to which we have been led by the LORD; and also by considering whether we would perform that or any use if we were not compelled by necessities beyond our control, although we ought to know that every state, even to the minutest detail, is under the omniscient presence of the Divine Providence. Let us not deceive ourselves by vainly desiring a lot of greater dignity, power, and wealth, persuading ourselves that we would then be able to do so much greater uses to the Church, to society, to those around us. Of this we may be sure, that if it were necessary, and if, indeed, it were for our eternal welfare and, the good of others, such things would be given to us. We are not necessary to the welfare of the Church nor the happiness of society save only as instruments in the LORD'S Providence of doing the work which has been given us to do. That alone is what is needed and what will help the growth of the Church, and will benefit our neighbor, for then what we do is the LORD'S doing by means of us. As we desire to become true and faithful servants, we must banish all such thoughts as' the suggestions of infernal spirits, who desire to destroy our present usefulness, and infuse their own discontent and unhappiness into others. Let us know that when we can be trusted with higher uses, the LORD will lead us to see and do them. But we must first learn to be faithful over a few things before we can be entrusted with many. The true end of this life is not wealth, power, dignity, but the performance of uses whereby good is received from the LORD and made active amongst men. To this end we must cultivate the affection for use for the sake of use, that we may become better fitted for the reception and communication of good from the LORD, a good not to be estimated by our feeble, imperfect, and often apparently vain efforts. The work is the LORD'S, and we are but the instruments, and we can contribute nothing of our own to it. The genuine affection for use is itself from the LORD, and this affection, as it is permitted to operate, rather than what we do, serves as a plane for the communication of celestial, spiritual and even natural goods from the LORD in a manner inconceivable to the merely natural man, and initiates the spirit into the faculty for higher and interior uses after death. In the spiritual affection of use the LORD can dwell. Heaven and the Church are also there. By that affection good spirits and angels ultimate their angelic activities. Not only is the cultivation of this affection essential to man's regeneration, but it is the only way in which he can manifest genuine gratitude to the LORD for His Mercy and Goodness. Let us, therefore, in humble acknowledgment of our own unworthiness, evermore pray that we may grow in genuine spiritual affection for the uses given to us by the LORD, and for the reception of wisdom from Him, to use the faculties which He has given us in His service for His work and to His honor and glory. Then, when our work here has been finished, we shall be initiated into angelic uses in the world to come, and shall hear our Divine Master say unto each, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy LORD."- AMEN.
Title Unspecified 1895
The worship of God, . . consists essentially in a life of uses. . . the worship of the mouth is also worship, but is of no account whatever, unless there be a worship of life, for this worship is of the heart; that the former may be worship it must proceed from the latter.-A. C. 7884.
EXTERNAL TRUTHS OF WORSHIP. 1895
EXODUS XX, 15-23.
As noted last month in this chapter, in the internal sense, Truths Divine are treated of, which are to be implanted in good with those who are of the Spiritual Church of the LORD; the precepts concerning sacrifices and the altar, which are given in this portion of the chapter, are external truths which are of worship.
(15-17.) Those who were of the spiritual Church perceived the truths Divine that were from good, "and all the people were seeing the voices and the torches"-and that they came through the angelic heaven, "and the voice of the trumpet"-and that the good itself of truth was not perceptible excepting in the external form, "and the mountain smoking"-and when they received the Divine Truths they trembled, "and the people saw and were commoved"-and were removed from internals, "and stood from afar"-and they complained, "and they said unto Moses"-that they wished to receive truth in an accommodated form, "Speak thou with and we will hear"-and that they could not receive Truth in a form that was not accommodated, "and let not God speak with us"-for in this case the life of heaven with them would perish, "lest we die." But they were informed, "and Moses said unto to the people"-that they should not fear that the life of heaven would perish, for the temptation takes place in order that they may know that there is a life of heaven, and of what quality it is, "Fear not, because for this that He might tempt you, hath God come"-and in order that they might have a holy fear for the Divine, "and therefore that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not." (18-20.) They who ere of the spiritual Church were removed from internal truths, "and the people stood from afar"-still the truth of spiritual good was conjoined with Truth Divine, "and Moses drew nigh unto the thick darkness where God was"-and the Word instructed further, "and JEHOVAH said unto Moses"-those who were of the spiritual Church, "Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel"-that all things of the Word are through influx from the Divine through heaven, "Ye have seen that I have spoken with you out of heaven"-they should therefore abstain entirely from such things as, in the external form, appear as true and good, "Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver and gods of gold"-and of this they should sedulously beware, "ye shall not make to you." (21-23.) There are two kinds of worship of the LORD, worship from good and worship from truth. As to the worship in general from good, "an altar of earth thou shalt make to Me"-this worship, specifically, is according to the state of the spiritual life of every one, "and thou shalt sacrifice upon it thy holocausts and thy eucharists"-according to his internal and external goods and truths, "thy flocks and thy herds"-and in every state of faith with every one, "in every place in which I shall put the memory of My Name"-the Divine will then be present and inflow, "I will come unto thee and will bless thee." As to the worship in general from truths, "and if thou makest an altar of stones to Me"-it is not to be from one's own intelligence, "thou shalt not build them hewn"-for if the truths of worship are from one's own, "for if thou movest thy chisel upon it"-then there is no worship, "and thou wilt profane it."
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And those who are of the spiritual Church are not to raise themselves to the interiors which are celestial, "and thou shalt not go up in steps upon Mine altar"-for then it would be manifested that the ideas of their thoughts is full of falses, "that thy nakedness be not revealed upon it." For when one is elevated into a higher degree of heaven than the degree of good in which one is, then the evils of his love and the falses of his faith are made manifest; for the more interior one is, the purer and holier is he in heaven; those who are in an impure state, or relatively impure, as are the spiritual compared with the celestial, are therefore kept in a lower sphere, where the impurities are not perceived, and do not appear, for they are in a grosser good, and in a more obscure truth, and in this lower sphere they experience their tranquillity, rest, and peace.
Title Unspecified 1895
A one is never constituted, with many, from the same units, or of such as are exactly alike, but of various things harmoniously conjoined.-A. C. 3986.
HARMONY OF ANGELIC SPEECH. ENOCH S. PRICE 1895
THE last article on Language, which appeared in New Church Life for January of this year, was on the subject of the vowels in the heavens, and was, further, an attempt at classifying the vowels of earthly languages by means of the knowledges derived from Revelation. We have now come to the part of our text-the number in Heaven and Hell that treats of the language of the Angels-in which the Harmony of Angelic Speech is treated of. In beginning this subject, in order that we may have an ultimate basis for our thoughts, it will be well to define the terms we shall be obliged to use. The word harmony comes to us through the French language, in the form of harmonie, which the French derived from the Latin harmonia, which the Latins again derived from the Greek [Greek], from [Greek]. The latter Greek word means the shoulder joint, and is akin to the words article and art; art originally meant skill in joining or fitting; article means a little joint, or a distinct portion going to make up some whole. The Greek [Greek], the shoulder-joint, is near of kin to the English word arm, the thing that is joined at the shoulder. This word in Gothic is arms, in German, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish, arm, and in Icelandic, armr. In Latin armus means the shoulder, and in Zend, an ancient language of Persia, arema meant the arm; each of these is "something joined on." In these examples it is seen that the root of this list of words, that is, the part found the same in each one of them is the syllable AR which without doubt finds expression in the Greek verb [Greek] I join together. The first or general definition of the word harmony given in the last edition of Webster's Dictionary is this:
"The just adaptation of parts to each other, in any system or combination of things, or in things intended to form a connected whole, such an agreement between the different parts of a design or composition as to produce unity of effect; as, the harmony of the universe."
The particular definition with which we have most to do is this:
"(a) A succession of chords according to the rules of progression and modulation. (b) The science which treats of their construction and progression."
The latter definition is not a good one, since it refers to the word chord without explaining it; and when we turn to the word chord we find it defined, under the subhead music, as being
"A combination of tones simultaneously performed, producing more or less perfect harmony; as, the common chord."
In other words, a chord is a harmony, and a harmony is a chord. I venture to say that to any unfortunate who knows nothing of technical music, the two definitions just given are not very clear. While I must crave pardon for daring to have an opinion about anything that has reference to music, let me at the same time beg leave to offer a definition of my own make. A harmony or a chord in music is the result of making two or more tones of different degrees or pitches, so modulated that they do not disturb or confuse each other; but that they as it were fit into and help each other; and while each remains itself and distinct, they so blend as to produce something new, or a new sound composed of its own orderly parts. This new tone, or combination of tones, is sure to affect pleasantly the ear of any one who has a love for musical sounds-because it is composed of orderly parts. The product of two or more properly pitched tones is beautifully described in the Latin word most frequently used in the Writings in place of harmonia, namely concentus, which means "a singing together." The English form of this word is concent, but it is not in common use, the word in common use is concert, a misspelling for consert, joined together. Concentus is given in the Latin dictionaries as the pure Latin equivalent for the Greek [Greek], when the latter is used in reference to music. So whether we use the word harmony, which means that sounds are fitted or joined together to make one, or concentus, which means that they sing together, it will be the same. The word chord, to which reference was made above, means, first the string of a musical instrument, and derivatively, a harmony of musical tones. So much for definition. Let us now approach the subject proper, the harmony of angelic speech. In the very sentence wherein we are told "that there is a harmony in angelic speech," we are told that "It cannot be described;" but perhaps by collecting what is said of concentus, concert, and harmony, we can come at some notion of the quality of that harmony. It is said that "That harmony (concentus), is from this, that the thoughts and affections from which is speech pour themselves out and around according to the form of heaven, and the form of heaven is that according to which all are consociated, and according to which is all communication." There is, in every human language, something of melody-that is, of regular cadence, such as is plainly discernible in verse or formal poetry. This, however, is not harmony by itself, but may properly accompany it, and would be accompanied by it if man were in the order and form of heaven; for then his speech would be in the proper pitch and modulation to agree harmonically with that of his neighbor; for both would then be in the end of charity, and their tones expressing their affections, while not the same, nor of the same pitch, would still be each in the right pitch to assist and fill out the tones of the other. For we are taught that "Speech similar to that in the spiritual world is inseated in every man, but in his interior intellectual part; but because with man this speech does not fall into words analogous to affections, as with the angels man does not know that he is in that speech. Hence it is that when man comes into the other life, he is in the same speech as the spirits and angels there, and thus he knows how to speak, having been taught by no one."
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It must be understood by the above expression-that is, that there is in the speech of angels a certain harmony-that it is when they are acting and speaking in choirs; and then when it is considered that the whole heaven is one grand choir, and that no one is ever doing anything all by himself, or for his own ends, we may begin to see why there is harmony in all their speech. If it were possible that one angel could speak and act by himself, for himself; there would be no harmony in his speech, "for one tone does not produce a melody, still less a harmony." In the Arcana Coelestia the continuousness of angelic speech is spoken of, and it is said: "The speech of the angels is continuous with terminations indeed, but there [at the terminations], things antecedent are wonderfully connected with the following; for the ideas of the angels are most full of things, and of innumerable things which are ineffable, and to man, while in the world, incomprehensible, whence the ends of preceding periods can be fully connected with the beginnings of the following periods, and thus from many series one can be formed. What is stupendous and incredible in the angelic speech is that there is represented a form of heaven; whence in all angelic speech there is a harmony such as is of songs, which in every termination closes in a monosyllable, thus into a one; and it has been told me that this takes place because all and single' things in heaven refer themselves to one God, as to their own end. From these things also it may appear that the all of thought, and thence of speech, inflows by heaven from the LORD, and that thence there is such a harmony in speech falling into one." "All beauty, amenity, and delight, which affect both senses and minds, do not exist and flow forth from any other source than from the concert and harmony of many concordant and agreeing things, whether these co-exist in order, or whether they follow in order, and not from one without many; whence it is said that variety gives delight, and it is known that the delectation is according to the quality of the variety;" that is, if the variety be an agreeing one, each different thin gin the variety being a complement of the rest, then the resulting form will be more and more perfect, as the number of things entering into the variety is greater and greater, and as the form is the more perfect, the beauty, amenity, and delight will affect the more. It has been said that the harmony of angelic speech cannot be described; it is therefore useless to attempt it; but from what has been said, we may possibly begin to see why there is this harmony in the angelic speech. Their tones help each other-that is, harmonize because the angels themselves help each other-that is, harmonize. Refer again to the root-meaning of the word; they fit together, they are conjoined. Another statement like one given above is found in The Divine Love and Wisdom, as follows: "Since the universal heaven,-and all things of heaven, refer themselves to one God, therefore the speech of the angels is such that by a certain harmony [concentus] flowing from the harmony of heaven, it falls into a one, an indication that it is impossible for them to think of more than one God; for speech is from thought." Everywhere in the Writings of the Church it is shown that perfection is according to the number of harmonious things making the whole; how beautiful then the angels be, must not the speech and conversation of where innumerable and ineffable things all flow into it and make one. If this be said of their speech, what shall we not say of their singing, where, in addition to the spontaneous flowing together of harmonious ideas, there is a conscious effort and intention toward harmony? Every musician knows how the power of an orchestra increases according to the number and variety of the pieces; how, even when that part of the harmony arising from differently pitched tones flowing into an agreeing combination, is not considered, each different instrument, even when all are giving forth tones of the same pitch, lends its own color and effect to the harmonious whole. It is said in The True Christian Religion: "That the exaltation of faith by an abundance of truths may be illustrated by comparison with the exaltation of the sound, and at the same time with the melody from many musical instruments in concert." Let us draw this practical conclusion: Thai if a New-churchman wishes to come among those in the other world whose speech is so harmonious and beautiful that it cannot be described in our stammering languages, and if he does not wish to come among those whose speech sounds like gnashing of teeth, let him not go off by himself and fiddle on one string, but let him get into the choir, and play his instrument and sing his song, for the sake of the common end of charity. ENOCH S. PRICE.
Title Unspecified 1895
As one tone does not produce any tune, still less any harmony, so neither does one truth.-A. C. 4197.
THOMAS HARTLEY. 1895
WHEN JESUS was born in Bethlehem there came wise men from the East to worship the new-born King of the Jews. So, at the Second Advent of the LORD, the new Star of Truth was seen in the Heavens by pertain wise men in the old Christian Church, men from the East, in whom there yet remained a love of the LORD, and certain, unperverted knowledges of good and truth. Such a wise man, it would seem, was the Rev. Thomas Hartley, Rector of Winwick, in Northamptonshire, England, who, as one of Swedenborg's most intimate friends, and as, perhaps, the first receiver in England of the Heavenly Doctrines in their fullness, forms a most important link connecting the history of the Revelation to the New Church with the first establishment of that Church itself. But little is known of the early life of Thomas Hartley. He was born in the year 1707. After the usual course of preparatory studies, he received the University degree of Magister Artium, and became, subsequently, a clergyman of the Established Church of England. In the year 1734, when Rector of Winwick, he published a volume of Sermons on Various Subjects, with a prefatory discourse on "Mistakes of religion, Enthusiasm, Experiences," and other subjects. In this pious and truly excellent work the author exposes, with unflinching severity, the universal degradation of the Christian Church, which had at that time sunk into a darkness more black than heathenism, and he pleads most earnestly for the pursuit of the spirit and life of Religion in place of mere theological faith and science. The work is a powerful and remarkable protest against the prevailing Solafidianism of a corrupt Christianity, and exhibits very clearly the simple heart and the truth-seeking mind of the author, who was even then being prepared for the reception of genuine Truth from the LORD out of Heaven.
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In that age of theological hatred and blindness, it is truly refreshing to meet with the sweet spirit of charity and wisdom which breathes in these words of Mr. Hartley:
"It is from a Revival of the Spirit of true Christianity in the hearts of men alone that we can hope to see Peace restored on earth among the divided Churches of Christendom. Whilst Religion resides only in the reasoning part of man, it is tinctured "with all the prejudices and passions of his nature, and his reason will be ready to plead for or against the Truth as interest or education sways the man, it being little better than that hired kind of Logic that wrangles at the Bar, whether it rails in the pulpit, harangues in the Synod, or wields the club of controversy. Much of political and polemical Divinity is of this sort. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, full of mercy, and without partiality; for the same good Spirit that enlightens the understanding cleanses the heart from all bitterness, malice, and hypocrisy, and therefore operates by pureness, by knowledge, and by love unfeigned. A Party spirit, whether it be in Religion or Politics, proceeds from littleness of mind and narrowness of heart, and it puts out both the eye of the Judgment and the eye of charity, and so hinders us from seeing the brightest excellence in our neighbor that is not just as high or low as ourselves. But the Christian knows no such straightness, for his bowels are enlarged toward all that will come within the embrace of his charity, which is as wide as the East is from the West. He cannot wrangle and hate about differences of opinion, for he is got above them. His call, his universal call is to Love, and he has adopted for his motto that saying of Luther-'In quo aliquid Christi video, illium diligo'-'In whomsoever I see anything of CHRIST, him I love.' In this man, wheresoever he lives, the kingdom of CHRIST is come; and of such heavenly men and women it will consist in that enlarged glorious state of it which we are given to look for. And what if it be already, begun on earth?" (Preface, p. cvi).
This, it should be noted, was written many years before the author had even heard of the existence of Swedenborg's works. Yet, the Kingdom of God, which he predicted, had even then begun on earth, for the Revelation of the Arcana Coelestia was then nearly completed. Mr. Hartley's Sermons deal with such subjects as "the inward glory of the true Believer," "Christ our only Safety in Spiritual conflicts," "Spiritual Worship, the Religion of the Law and the Gospel," etc. While, of course, the author is still burdened with many of the prevailing false conceptions of the old theology, yet there is in these sermons such a devout conceptions, such a reaching out for a spiritual and practical sense of the Word of God, such a simple and loyal faith in the LORD and His Word, together with a constant application to the true reformation of the daily life, as render these eloquent sermons delightful reading even to men of the New Church. Ten years later, in 1764, Thomas Hartley appears again as a theological writer in a work entitled Paradise Restored, being "A Testimony to the Doctrine of the Blessed Millennium, with some Considerations on its Approaching Advent from the Signs of the Times; to which is added a Short Defence of the Mystical Writers." This work is of less intrinsic value than the previous collection of Sermons, the former clear perceptions of the author being here obscured by the admixture of the speculations of a number of "mystical" writers, such as Madame Guion, Jacob Behmen, John Law, and others, with the study of whom Thomas Hartley at this time appears to have been much engaged, and fascinated. None the less, there is recognizable also in this work the same earnest and truth-seeking spirit as characterized his former production, the same conviction of the existence of a mystical or interior sense in the Holy Word, and the same perception of the end of the old Christian Church, and of the imminent descent of the New Jerusalem, as a new age of rational faith and living charity. Mr. Hartley speaks in this volume of the time which, he felt assured, was near at hand,
"when the knowledge of the Scriptures, both as to the mysteries of our holy faith and the interpretation of prophecy, will be given a greater clearness and a fuller measure than has been hitherto, and that not in the way of human learning or criticism" (p. 174).
Little did he then anticipate how soon and in what manner he would see his expectations fulfilled. A short time after the publication of this work, it seems that his inquiring mind became greatly attracted to the apparent, though delusive, simplicity and earnestness of faith and life of the Quakers, and thus it came to pass, about the year 1766, that he formed an epistolary acquaintance with Mr. William Cookworthy, through whose influence he was induced to examine the Writings of the hitherto anonymous Emanuel Swedenborg. His reception of the Doctrines of the New Church appears to have been as thorough as it was rapid. Gladly he now sold all his previous spiritual possessions, in order to buy the field that contained this precious pearl of Truth Divine. Away, now, with the murky dogmas of the old and dead Theology, and with the vague and fruitless speculations of mysticism! Here, in the Internal glories of the Divine Word, he found the true "Paradise restored," the dawn of that "Blessed Millennium" which he had anticipated. When Swedenborg, in the year 1768, for the first time announced himself as the human author of the Writings of the New Church, it seems that Mr. Hartley became aware of this fact. In the following year Swedenborg arrived in London, and Thomas Hartley promptly seized the opportunity to visit him in company with his friends, Mr. Cookworthy, and Dr. Messiter, another receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines. The particulars of this visit have been related in the biographical sketch of William Cookworthy. (See New Church Life for June, p. 87.) On his return to his residence at East Malling, near Maidstone. Kent-at that time a day's journey from London-Mr. Hartley wrote the following letter to Swedenborg:
"MOST RESPECTED AND BELOVED SIR: "I consider myself most highly favoured, and I rejoice from my inmost heart in having had the honour, which you lately granted me, of conversing with you; and also in your having been so kind and friendly towards me, who am quite unworthy of such a favour. But your charity towards the neighbour, the heavenly benignity shining from your countenance, and your child-like simplicity, devoid of all vain show and egotism, are so great, and the treasure of wisdom possessed by you is so sweetly tempered with gentleness, that it did not inspire in me a feeling of awe, but one of love, which refreshes me in my innermost heart. Believe me, O best of men, that by my intercourse with you I consider myself crowned with more than royal favours; for who among kings, if he be of a sane mind, would not gladly converse with an inhabitant of heaven, while here on earth? But the things which are hidden from the great men upon earth are revealed to the humble. "In speaking with you every suspicion of flattery must be hushed. For what ground for flattery can there be, when I attribute everything in you, however great and extraordinary it may be, to the LORD, and not to yourself, and when I look upon you only as an instrument of His Mercy and great kindness! But may I be permitted to offer honour and glory to the instrument-for this is well-pleasing to the LORD; and may I be permitted to tell you from a heart full of gratitude, that I consider myself thrice blessed, that your writings, by the Divine Providence, have fallen into my hands; for from them, as from a living fountain, I have drawn to many things, as well for instruction and edification as for my great delight, and I have been freed by them from so many fears, and from so many errors, doubts, and opinions, which held my mind in perplexity and bondage, that I seem to myself sometimes, as if transferred among the angels."
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The writer then addresses to Swedenborg some extremely interesting theological questions, and continues:
"Pardon my troubling you so much, but allow me still to add the two following points: "First, If, perchance, after your departure from England, either Dr. Messiier or I, or both of us, should be called upon publicly to defend your writings, and if, likewise an occasion should arise of defending you, their author, against some malignant slanderer, who would wish to injure your reputation by a web of falsehoods, as those are in the habit of doing who hate the truth, would it not be well for you, in order to repel such slanders, and make them recoil upon their originator, to leave with us some particulars respecting yourself, your degrees in the University, the public offices which you administered, your friends and relations, the honours which, I am told, have been conferred upon you, and about anything else that might be useful in establishing your good character, so that pernicious prejudices may be removed? for it is our duty to use all lawful means lest the cause of truth should suffer injury. "Secondly, If, perchance, after your return to Sweden, some persecution should be excited against you by the clergy on account of your religion, which may God prevent, return then, I beseech you, to England, where you may well in safety. Dr. Messiter and myself will prepare for you a convenient place and house, either in town or in the country, and we shall provide for everything that may conduce to your well-being. This will be no trouble to us, but will give us the greatest possible pleasure. "I commend myself to your favour and affection and I am and shall always be, my teacher and most distinguished friend, with all due reverence, "Your most obliged servant, "THOMAS HARTLEY.
"EAST MALLING, NEAR MATHSTONE, KENT August 2, 1769."
It was this letter that called forth from Swedenborg the well-known Answer to a Letter written to me by a Friend, in which is contained so much important information respecting his own life, and the nature of his Divine Mission. Hartley published this letter in the same year, under the title, Responsum ad Epistolam ab Amico ad me Scriptam (London, 4to, 3 pp.). It was published in English in the following year. In a private note to Swedenborg, which has been preserved, he acknowledges the receipt of the Answer to his first letter, as follows:
"MOST RESPECTED AND BELOVED SIR: "Your late kindness towards me, as well as your letter, which I received reverently, as if it had come down to me from heaven, I acknowledge with heartfelt joy and thankfulness. Your exhortation to perseverance I shalt treasure up and cherish in the depth of my heart. May I never, after having once been made the participant of the gifts of Heaven; suffer myself to be drawn away from the truth; for of what profit is it to gain the whole world and lose one's own soul? "You, who are gifted with illumination, halve, in your friendly reply, most abundantly satisfied me on the questions I had proposed to you. This is, and will he, of the greatest use to me. Should I be called upon to defend the Truth in public the enemy will not find me altogether unprepared, and I am confident the LORD wilt provide me with the necessary strength. I neither seek nor avoid such contests. The LORD'S will be done in everything.
* * * * *
"About myself and my affairs I willingly keep silence, for I regard myself as of no consequence, and as a mere nothing; yet I am prepared to answer truly and fully all your questions; and if, after your return to Sweden, you should at any time do one the honour to address a letter to me: and to make use of my services in any way whatsoever, you will find me a willing and delighted servant. Instruct me, exhort me, dispose of me in any way whatever; for if I know myself sufficiently it will be the greatest pleasure to me to obey your admonitions and commands, and you will find me faithful to alt my promises. But if you will not do me this honour it will be enough for me to remember you always above all others, to love you always, and to have had you for a teacher in Divine things," (August 14th, 1769.)
Before Swedenborg returned to Sweden in October, 1769, Hartley seems to have had some further correspondence with him, and of a more strictly theological nature. As a result of this correspondence there has been preserved a highly interesting little treatise by Swedenborg, which is known as the Nine Questions concerning the Trinity. The manuscript-or a copy of it was, in the year 1784, presented by Hartley to Robert Hindmarsh, who in the following year published it in the original Latin under the title Quaestionces Novem de Trinitate, etc., ad Emanuelem Swedenborg propositae a Thoma Hartley; tum illius Responsa (London, 4to, 8 pp.). An English translation was published by Hindmarsh, in the year 1786, and is reprinted with the New York edition of the Doctrine concerning the LORD.
(To be continued.)
Notes and Reviews. 1895
Neukirchenblatt, the organ of the German Missionary Union, originally edited by the Rev. F. W. Tuerk, then by the Rev. P. J. Faber, is now edited by the Rev. L. H. Tafel.
Title Unspecified 1895
OWING to the absence of the Editor of The New Church Standard in France, on work connected with the "General Church of the Advent of the LORD" the next issue of this journal will appear in October.
Title Unspecified 1895
Bote der Neuen Kirche, founded by the Rev. A. O. Brickmann, and published since his death by the Rev. A. Roeder, has now passed into the hands of the German Synod, with the Rev. Dr. F. W. Dahlmann as Publisher and the Rev. Charles A. Nussbaum as Editor. The paper has been enlarged and contains a "Feuilleton" for ficton. It is published in Toledo, Ohio.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Chicago Record of August 7th published a letter from Mr. William E. Curtiss, who is now in Japan, reporting an interview with a Buddhist priest which will interest New Church people, as it gives a very intelligent Gentile opinion of the Christian religion as based on the Apostles' Creed, and of the morality in Christian countries, comparing them with the Buddhist religion and morals in Gentile countries. He is conservative in his judgment. Space forbids making extracts, but those interested in the subject can easily procure a copy of the paper in which the letter was originally published. The New Church Messenger of August 21st, we find, has copious extracts.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE August issue of the New Church Magazine contains another paper on the subject of "The nature or the LORD'S Body at His Resurrection." These papers have endeavored to prove that the LORD arose with His "physical material body." Much obscurity exists in these papers from the use of the word "human." Sometimes it does duty for something other than the "physical material body," then again it stands for this. The writer asks "If the LORD'S physical material body was dispersed in the sepulchre, what became of it?" Is not the answer contained in the question? He says, further, "We think it will be evident that when Swedenborg speaks of putting off the material human, he does not mean putting off any part of the material body, for that was Divine." This is indeed a strange statement. Where do the Writings of the Church sanction the belief that what is material can ever be Divine? Matter is created, dead. The Divine is uncreate, Life Itself.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. J. M. Shepherd is the author of a little book of over a hundred pages, entitled, Light on the Problem of Life and Death, in which he sets forth in a very fair and lucid manner a number of the Doctrines of the New Church. Traces of Dr. Holcombe's heresies are to be found, as for instance the "unitization of sex," in language like this:
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"When man was created in the image and after the likeness of God, he contained the male and female elements (or the soul-principles of the two sexes) within himself." But such passages are rare. The motto of the book is, "When the regenerating power of Divine Truth loses a hold on the minds of men and nations, no human ideals however beautiful, will be able to prevent degeneration and decay." And the effort of the book, well sustained, is to lead man to the Divine Truth, that it may regain its hold upon them, and thus better the world.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. Charles H. Mann's Five Sermons on Marriage, are evidently meeting the success they deserve, since they are now published in a third edition, revised by the author. Mr. Mann gives "some of the practical bearings of the teachings of Swedenborg's Work on Conjugial Love" that might be read with profit by all, whether they be of those who are contemplating marriage, or of those who have entered upon it. The five sermons treat respectively of "popular misconceptions concerning the nature of marriage," "the true marriage," "what can be done to realize true marriages on earth," "unhappy marriages," and "marriages in heaven." This new edition is neatly printed on fine paper, and may be had in ordinary cloth binding for 40 cents, and in extra white and gold binding, for 75 cents. It is published by the New Church Board of Publication, 20 Cooper Union, New York.
Title Unspecified 1895
MR. W. J. Spencer, of Sydney, in New South Wales, who has done much in the past years, to advertise the New Church, and who is at present the Editor of The New Age, has begun the publication of a weekly Paper, entitled, Spencer's Weekly, its aim being, "to promote in all public questions, especially in legislation, the establishment of that 'Justice and Fairness,' which, as all Newchurchmen maintain, is the true ultimation on the natural plane of genuine spiritual life." Mr. Spencer here solves the question which has been troubling many of the young Convention ministers, of the attitude of the Church to "Reform," by championing, in a secular paper which he himself controls, the cause of many of the real or so-called reforms of the day. He advocates the application or the "Golden Rule" and of the Ten Commandments to public life, and also favors Anti-Vivisection, Bi-metallism, and the Single Tax. He freely advertises the publications of the London Swedenborg Society, New Church collateral works, and also several of the periodicals of the New Church. He bespeaks the sympathy and support of Newchurchmen the world over. The subscription price amounts to about One Dollar a quarter. Address Mr. W. J. Spencer, Julia Street, Ashfield, Sydney, New South Wales. Stamps of others may be forwarded, but eight cents in every dollar should be added for loss in realization.
"BRIEF EXPOSITION." 1895
WHEN Swedenborg published his work on Conjugial Love, in the year 1768, he inserted at the end of the volume an advertisement of the Theological Works which he had published up to that time, and added the promise, "Within two years you shall see the Doctrine of the New Church predicted by the LORD in the Apocalypse, chapters xxi, xxii, in fullness." He referred to "The True Christian Religion containing the Universal Theology of the New Church." In the beginning of the year following the advertisement he published a treatise of sixty-seven quarto pages, the introduction of which declares the same purpose, and explains that he sends this little work in advance, as a sketch of the larger work, and this for the reason "that a general idea of that [New] Church and its Doctrine may first be conceived; since, when the generals precede, afterward all and single things extant in their breadth, appear in light, for these enter into the generals as things homogeneous into their receptacles." This little work he called the "Summary Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse." As to the contents, he himself gives them in these few words, in a letter to a gentleman in Leyden: "It contains an abridgment of all the doctrinals treated of in all my other Writings," and in a Letter to his friend, Dr. Beyer, "In this work are fully shown the errors of the hitherto received Doctrine of justification by faith alone, and the imputation of the merit of Christ." We have spoken of it as the "Summery Exposition," since Swedenborg uses exactly these words. All the translations give the title, "Brief Exposition," and we shall therefore make use of that title, merely observing that the word "brief" does not fully express the idea conveyed by the word "summary." This is illustrated in the book itself where Swedenborg follows up the summaries of New Church doctrine by "Brief Analyses." The analyses give particulars of the summaries, and they are presented "briefly." The great importance which Swedenborg attached to this work as setting forth the principal doctrines of the New Church, whose general statements must necessarily precede the particular teachings found elsewhere, is further attested in the same letter to Dr. Beyer, where he refers to inquiries that were frequently made to him in Amsterdam, "when the New Church would come?" and states that his answer is-
"By degrees, in proportion as the doctrine of justification and imputation is extirpated; which perhaps will be bought about by this Work. It is known that the Christian Church did not take its rise immediately after the ascension of Christ, but increased gradually, which is also understood by these words in the Apocalypse, 'And the woman flew into the desert into her place, where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent' (xii, 14). The serpent or dragon is that doctrine. In about a month I shall leave here for Paris, and that for a purpose which must not be divulged beforehand."
In a letter to Count Hopken, another devoted friend, he writes of the same treatise: "The reason why a preference is accorded to Catholics is stated in No. 105, and the following numbers; but there is another reason besides, because the purpose is to establish a universal Church in all Christendom." These are most noteworthy and remarkable statements, and indicate the surpassing value and use of the Book in the extension and establishment of the New Church. But what shall we say, when, in addition to these pregnant words of the Apostle of the New Church, he tells of the effect which the publication of the Work had in the Heavens? Following hard upon the statement that the purpose of the Book is "to establish a Universal Church in all Christendom," is the declaration:
"When this preliminary treatise was finished, the whole heaven from east to west, and from south to north, appeared to me covered with beautiful roses of a deep scarlet color, so that all who were present with me in the world of spirits were astonished at it; this was a sign of the assent and joy of the New Heaven."
In the Sketch of art Ecclesiastical History, Swedenborg describes the same phenomenon, and adds:
"This was before me and before the Danish kings and others. At another time it appeared as it were flamy, beautifully."
No other work is spoken of by him as having been followed by such a wonderful manifestation, although as this is a summary of them all, the joy of the angels related to them likewise.
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Nor does this complete the account we have of the Brief Exposition in the Heavens. The full significance of the assent and joy of the angels becomes manifest when the following record of Swedenborg's is read:
"On the books was written: The Advent of the LORD; on all in the spiritual world."
So that this wonderful appearance of the heavens upon the publication of the Brief Exposition presented to the eye what was presented more fully to the ear and eye and understanding on a former occasion, when all the Heavens likewise from east to north and from south to west glorified the LORD on account of His Coming. (See C. L. 81; T. C. R. 625.) And was there on earth a corresponding attestation of the Divinity of this Work? Aye, there was. For note the words that follow the account of the inscription on all the books in the spiritual world:
"By command," says Swedenborg, "I wrote the same on two copies in Holland."
An additional evidence still, if such be needed, of the far-reaching importance and consequence of this Work is to be found in the fact that this is the only one of all his Theological Books, with the exception of volume II of the Arcana Coelestia, which was at once translated, under Swedenborg's direction, into English. The Latin Work had been published in Amsterdam, and, according to Cuno, before the close of January, 1769-certainly before the middle of March. In his letter of April 23d to Beyer, he wrote that the Work "is being translated into English, in London." By the 23d of October the English translation was being sent to the learned of Great Britain. In the first letter which Swedenborg wrote to Dr. Beyer on the subject of this work (Amsterdam, March 15th), Swedenborg expressed his intention of sending him twelve copies, which were to be disposed of in the following manner: one copy to Bishop Lamherg, one to Dean Ekehom, and the rest, with the exception of one for Dr. Beyer himself, to the "lectors of theology and the clergy of the town [i.e., Gottenburg in Sweden,] since no one can better judge of the work than he who has thoroughly mastered the arcana of justification. After this little Work has been read, will you kindly request the Dean to express his opinion concerning it in the Consistory; when all those that can, and are willing, to see the truth, will accede." He apparently changed his mind about distributing the books to the Swedish clergy, for a month later he wrote to Dr. Beyer:
"I sent you only one copy, which you will please keep for yourself alone, and not communicate to any one else; for it will cause a change in the whole of that theology which has, up to the present time, prevailed in Christendom, and partly sets forth also that theology which will be for the New Church. What is written therein will be understood by scarcely any one in Gottenburg except yourself. This little work has been sent to all professors and clergymen in Holland, and has already reached the principal universities of Germany it is being translated into English in London, and will also be published in Paris. We must, therefore, first wait for the judgment which is passed upon it abroad, before it is generally made known in Sweden. You will therefore keep it for the present for yourself alone. On April 26th, I shall leave for Paris."
In a similar strain he wrote from Stockholm, on October 30th, after he had been to Paris and London, and had returned home:
"The small treatise, entitled A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church, I have sent only to Bishop Benzelstjerna, with strict injunctions not to lend it to any one: for there are few in Sweden who penetrate with their understandings into any matters belonging to theology, and unless they do so, they cannot receive any enlightenment from God's Word."
And so he wrote also, on November 17th, to Count Hopken, in the same letter in which he described the appearance of the angelic Heaven:
"It is certain that the Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church meets with adverse criticisms, as was foreseen by your Excellency; yet only in the beginning, as long as men are in darkness on account of preconceived and raise principles. Since however, that which is rational has light within itself; even in theological matters, therefore, the truth will gradually be seen and acknowledged, as has been the case in many places abroad. But as I am doubtful whether this change has already taken place in Stockholm, I have delivered only one copy to Bishop Benzelstjerna, with strict injunctions that it is by no means to be communicated to any one else for Benzelstjerna, in my estimation, is a rational man even in theology and does not accept irrational things from obedience of faith."
While he provided for the learned in Holland and Germany,-in England, according to Liden, Swedenborg presented a number of copies to the Royal Society, to Sion College, the bishops, and the universities. "He has also promised to send me some copies for the libraries in Upsal and Stockholm." He was assisted in the distribution of the books in Great Britain by Dr. Messiter, whose correspondence with the professors of Divinity in the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen has been preserved. Now, while the publication of the Brief Exposition was hailed with joy in Heaven, and such extensive preparations were made to introduce it in the more enlightened part of the Christian Church on earth, what reception did the Church accord it? Was there here also a universal expression of gladness from east to west and from south to north? In his letter to Count Hopken, Swedenborg speaks of the criticisms which it met with in Sweden, and the letters of the Scottish professors to Dr. Messiter were politely non-committal; while in Holland, the irrepressible Cuno, who was an acquaintance of Swedenborg, was mortified that no notice was taken of it by the numerous priests and clergy of Amsterdam, his city, where it had been distributed freely. So the words which Swedenborg penned, in the year 1759, when sketching out his Work on The Athanasian Creed, apply to the reception of the Brief Exposition: "That this is the Advent of the LORD; and that hence it is that by the LORD have been opened arcana . . . which were sent to all the archbishops and bishops of this kingdom [Great Britain] and to the primates [probably meaning the Lords, see A. R. 716], and still no voice has been heard, a sign that those things which are of Heaven and the Church do not affect interiorly, and that the very end of the Church is at hand, and even that there is no Church." In addition to this sad evidence of the death of the Christian Church and of the almost hopelessness for the New Church, we are enabled to see in the form of Revelation from the spiritual world, how this treatise was received on earth for the minds of men are consociated with spirits in the other world, who speak and act in such entire harmony with the thoughts and affections of the consociated men that they make one mind, so that one thinks and speaks from the other. Indeed sometimes Swedenborg spoke, for days at a time, with the spirits of men still living, and wondered that the men themselves knew nothing at all about it And so he reports the comments that were expressed in the spiritual world on the Brief Exposition apparently by men who were still living in the world.
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As if to contrast the joy of Heaven with the unfavorable attitude of these men, he prefaces his account with a description of a beautiful sunrise, of which he was a spectator on the day when the following occurred:
"When my mind was delighted with this, I became in the spirit, and heard some talking among themselves, saying, 'Oh! that we might be allowed to speak with the innovator, who has thrown the apple of contention amongst the rulers of the Church, which many of the laity have run after; and, having picked up, they have presented to our eyes.' By that apple they meant a little codex entitled A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church. And they said, 'It is indeed a schismatical thing, which no one ever before conceived.' And I heard then one of them exclaiming [evidently Dean Ekebom, or his consociate spirit compare Documents II, p. 289], 'What! schismatical? it is heretical.' But some at his side replied, 'Hush, hold your tongue; it is not heretical, he quotes a great many passages of the Word, to which our strangers, by whom we mean the laity, attend and assent.' When I heard these things, because I was in the spirit, I went to them, and said, 'Here I am; what is the subject?' And presently one of them, who, as I afterward heard, was a German, a native of Saxony [Ernesti, compare T. C. R. 137; N. C. L., X, p. 214] speaking in a tone of authority, said, 'Whence had you the audacity to change the worship of the Christian world,':" etc. Then follows the discussion, which is too long to be quoted here: it turned about the worship of the LORD JESUS CHRIST as the one and only personal God. At the conclusion of the account Swedenborg describes the effect which his argument had upon them. "Some favoring and looking at me, and others not favoring and turning themselves away from me" (T. C. R. 112). The Brief Exposition had the effect, and has it still, of causing a judgment in the spiritual world, and in the natural world, which is involved in the LORD'S Advent. Swedenborg refers in one of his letters to the proposed publication of the Work in Paris, whither he probably proceeded from Amsterdam on the date announced to Dr. Beyer, but we have no evidence of his carrying out his intention of publishing a French translation, although, doubtless, this was the object of his visit, to which he referred in the mysterious words: "In about a month I shall leave here for Paris and that for a purpose which must not be divulged beforehand." No other translation but the English one appeared in any country during his lifetime. But before the century closed, a German translation made its appearance at Breslau in the year 1786 under the title, Emanuel von Swedenborg's, etc. Revision der biskerigen Theologie, sowohl der Protestanten als der Romisch-Katholischen. The English translation, published by Swedenborg himself, was made by Mr. Merchant, who was presumably not a receiver of the Doctrines. It was wretched translation. It bore the amplified title, "A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church, Understood in the Apocalypse by the New Jerusalem. Wherein is also demonstrated that throughout all the Christian world the worshiping of Three Gods is received from the Creed of St. Athananius. By Emanuel Swedenborg, a native of Sweden. London: Printed by M. Lewis (No. 1), Pater-Noster Row. MDCCLXIX." Dr. Messiter referred to the poor quality of the translation in his letter to Professor Traill of Glasgow:
"I must yet take the liberty to remark wrote he that the translation of the above-mentioned Treatise designed as a present for any English reader you might think proper to present it to, but as it is very indifferently executed. I am confident it will do the author no honor, and, therefore, wish he had omitted it."
This criticism was not undeserved, as witness the following sentence, taken at random from this translation: "The ministers insist that the understanding under the obedience of faith, may be deceived, that the faith of ignorance, which is blind and dark as the night, is properly faith." Compare this with the Latin or with the current English translation in No. 54. Robert Hindmarsh prepared a new and much better translation, which he furnished with a lengthy preface, and published at his own expense in the year 1789. This translation, revised in the year 1818 and altered slightly from time to time, has been used for all subsequent editions in England and America, including the latest one, published in the spring of the present year, which is the most comprehensive revision yet attempted. In this account of the Brief Exposition, one important event has been reserved. We have seen that the seal of its Divinity was affixed to two copies in Holland. About the year 1870, among a lot of books that were brought into the house of the Swedenborg Society in London, Mr. James Speirs discovered a copy of the Brief Exposition, on which was inscribed in Swedenborg's handwriting: "Hic Liber est Adventus Domini. Scriptum ex mandato" ("This Book is the Advent of the LORD. Written by command.") At last accounts the owner of the volume, Mr. Speirs, still preserved it in the house of the Swedenborg Society. The many proofs of the far-reaching consequences of the Divine Work, and the fact of its comparatively limited circulation, and of the limited knowledge concerning it and its contents, which exists within the pale of the professed New Church, suggest the thought that these weighty words, written by the LORD a command on two representative copies in Holland should be inscribed on every copy, in every country. This would be but an extension of the LORD'S command to Swedenborg, and is involved in it. Such a procedure might be regarded as an innovation in the publication of the Doctrines. Be it so. Would not the fearless, uncompromising, and withal loving and loyal acceptance and avowal on the part of the New Church, that the Doctrines revealed through Swedenborg are indeed the LORD'S Advent, are the LORD speaking to mankind in His glorified Human, inaugurate a new and better state in the Church at large, and extend its growth? Can we doubt that such a state would cause the Heavens to rejoice anew with a joy similar to that which they experienced when Swedenborg completed and published the first edition of this wonderful Divine Book, the Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church?
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
Title Unspecified 1895
A CORRESPONDENT from England commenting on the statement concerning the number of ministers present at the Swedenborg Society Meeting, writes that the Rev. Mr. Claxton of Brightlingsea was in attendance, having journeyed to London for the purpose.
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MACHIAVELLI. DAVID H. KLEIN 1895
"I SAID, 'What are the things forbidden in the Decalogue? Are they not these: Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt, not steal; thou shalt not testify falsely? Are these the Works of the Law which you separate from Faith, saying that "Faith alone without the Works of the Law justifies and saves," and are these what Christ made satisfaction for?' And they replied, 'They are.' And then there was heard a voice from Heaven, saying, 'Who can be so insane?' and instantly their faces were turned toward diabolical spirits, among whom was Machiavel and many of the Jesuit order, who permitted all these things provided they obtained security from worldly laws" (A. R. 578). The celebrated Italian mentioned in the above quotation is several times spoken of in the Writings. The consideration of his life and work, therefore, serves a confirmatory use in our study of the Doctrines of the Church. Machiavelli lived in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries of our era, at a time which may justly be said to mark the culmination of that period of art, science, and literature known in history as the Italian Renaissance. The period is an important one, because it, together with the gradual growth of learning which followed in ether countries, and the consequent arrangement of society into more of external order, as but a necessary step in the preparation for the coming of the New Church, which was about to be established on the earth. In this period Dante, Petrarch, and Ariosto crystallized the vulgar patois of the Italian people into a beautiful and sonorous tongue, Michael Angelo conceived his Titanic shapes and perpetuated them in marble and on canvas, and Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Titian gave new life to their art by their beautiful cloister frescoes and paintings. Columbus also made known America. Copernicus taught that the sun is the centre of the Solar System. Galileo discovered the secret of the pendulum. These men, however, graced an external civilization which was internally evil and corrupt. The vastation of the decaying Christian Church, which was to culminate in the Last Judgment in the Spiritual World in 1757, was still in progress, and the scenes which took place in the world of spirits and the lower earth, so graphically depicted in the Spiritual Diary and elsewhere in the Writings, give us something of an idea of the spiritual state of the time. History tells us of the state of external order in Italy at the time of the birth of Machiavelli. The country was divided into a number of principalities, each under its own autocrat or oligarchy. The moral tone of the community was utterly corrupt. Religion was a scorn and a mockery. Honor there was none. Rulers governed until the knife of the hired assassin or the poison of the household spy sent them from the earth. The civilization of old Rome, gross and sensual as it was in its moral depravity, had never attained to the awful hypocrisy, the treachery, the cool, calculating villainy of this age. In such an age lived Machiavelli who incarnated its highest cunning with its deepest vices. No figure in history stands out so unique as an open apostle of villainy and crime. He was born in Florence in 1469, and belonged to an old but decayed noble family of Italy. He first held public office at the time the Medici family were compelled to leave Florence, when, in the year 1494, he was given a position as clerk in the service of the Republic. Through his marked ability he soon rose to the post of Chancellor and Secretary to the Dieci di liberta e pace. Although holding the title of Secretary, he in reality performed the duties of an ambassador or Minister of Foreign Affairs. In this capacity he served the Florentine Republic for fifteen years, visiting on diplomatic missions the court of France, Julius II, the Emperor Maximilian, and the camp of Cesare Borgia. In the discharge of the duties of this office he became most skillful and successful. Astute and cunning by nature, he readily imbibed the principles of hypocritic statecraft and court intrigue. A close observer of men, he soon descried the weak points in their moral equipment. To meet this in his consideration of state expediency, he himself brought to bear conscience so utterly without scruple that he was fully a match for the most cunning spirits of the age. It was in this school of experience that he gathered the knowledge which he afterward formulated into the creed that made his name infamous. No soldier himself, he studied the details of the art of war with an active intelligence, and, gave the original bent of his genius to the renovation of its theoretical laws. He devised an admirable plan for the reorganization of the Florentine army, by which mercenary troops were to be replaced by citizens of the Republic. Before it could be fairly tried the Medici family returned to power in Florence, and Machiavelli was swept from office in the general ruin that followed. This practically closed his life as a public servant. He retired to his farm and devoted himself to literary labor. It is as a writer that we are most concerned with him. The work which embodies his peculiar form of villainy in the most succinct manner in the celebrated treatise of The Prince. It purports to teach a prince how to govern, and is dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici, then ruler of Florence. Machiavelli wrote it with the servile purpose of being taken to favor by the new government, which only a year before had subjected the officers of the Republic to every indignity. To get at the spirit of this work we cannot do better than quote from The Divine Love and Wisdom, where we are told that "It is possible to confirm, and by the evil it is confirmed within themselves that there is no God, and that nature is everything and creates herself; that religion is only a means by which the minds of the simple are held in bonds; that human prudence does everything and Divine Providence nothing; . . . also that murders, adulteries, thefts, frauds, and revenge are allowable, as held by Machiavelli and his followers" (D. L. W. 267). One need not read far in the writings of Machiavelli to find confirmations of this, for in the pages of The Prince we are taught principles of action that violate every precept of the Decalogue. Set forth as a guide to teach a prince the laws of government it in reality instills the despotism of an absolute tyrant. In it all laws of justice and truth are disregarded, and nothing but success is held up as the true test of conduct. One is amazed at this, because in the world men are cautious, and open advocacy of crime is rare. Here we are strongly reminded of the devils sometimes shown to us in the Memorabilia, who, stripped of all attempt at concealment, make the word the expression of the thought, and the thought the embodiment of the ruling affection or lust. This particular devil, however, is precise in his tastes. He would be a gentleman, and therefore he discourses in the language of elegance and refinement. His style is most forceful and clear, marked with the easy grace of a man who never lets his passions descend to the boisterous level of the vulgar.
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He is never violent and never coarse. He never passes outside the bounds of good manners and polite address. His bloody work is done not with the axe of the butcher, but with the keen edge of a surgeon's knife, He cuts to the bone, but his stroke is so clean-cut and incisive that at first there is no pain. At the very outset of the work, for example, the ruler told that to make sure of the possession of a conquered province "there needs no more than to extirpate the family of the prince which governed before." The cold brutality and utter lack of moral sensibility is veiled by such an easy indifference and apparent unconsciousness of wrong that for a moment we scarcely realize the awful import of the sentence; that it involves the murder, with all its attendant horrors, of any number of relatives and descendants down to the most helpless babes. A brief consideration of some of the radical doctrines of The Prince will give the keynote to the general trend of Machiavelli's writings. The fundamental axiom of his advice in regard to the moral deportment of a prince may be embraced in his statement that
"For a prince who is willing to subsist it is necessary to harden himself and learn to be good or otherwise, according to the exigencies of his affairs." There is no doubt that it is a very admirable thing for a prince to be indued with virtuous qualities, but "Because it is impossible to have much less to exercise, them all, by reason of the frailty and crossness of our nature, it is convenient that he be well instructed as to know how to avoid the scandal of those vices which may deprive him of his state."
Having thus disposed of the necessity of a conscience, his exposition of a system of political science assumes the simplicity of a problem in mathematics:
"Still he is not to concern himself if run under the infamy of those vices without which his dominion was not to be preserved; for if we consider things impartially, we shall find some things in appearance are virtuous, and yet if pursued, would bring certain destruction; and others, on the contrary, that are seemingly bad, which, if followed by a prince, procure his peace and security."
A trite aphorism that "whoever is the occasion of another's advancement is the cause of his own diminution," and the epigrammatic observance that "men are either to be flattered and indulged or utterly destroyed," are amplifications of this general doctrine. The interesting question as to whether it is better for a prince to be loved or feared presents itself to him, and he answers that by all means it is better to be feared if you must choose, for-
"Love is fastened only by a ligament of obligation which the ill-nature of mankind breaks upon every occasion that is presented to his profit; but fear depends upon an apprehension of punishment which is never to be dispelled."
What Machiavelli has to say in connection with liberty is interesting, since some writers contend that although he taught diabolical doctrines he was at heart a patriot and had for an end the liberty and freedom of a united Italy. What manner of patriotism it was may be manifested from the following:
"When conquered provinces or cities have been accustomed to their liberty the best way to keep them is to ruin them utterly. Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself, because "whenever the citizens are disposed to revolt, they betake themselves of course to that blessed name of liberty and the laws of their ancestors which no length of time nor kind usage whatever, will be able to irradicate. Therefore the most secure way is either to ruin them quite or make your residence among them."
The chapter on "How far a prince is obliged by his promise," presents the very pith and marrow of Machiavellism.
"How honorable it is for a prince to keep his word and act rather with integrity than collusion, I suppose everybody understands: nevertheless experience has shown in our times that those princes who have not pinned themselves up to that punctuality and preciseness have done great things and by their cunning and subtlety not only circumvented and darted the brains of those with whom they had to deal, but have overcome and been too hard for those who have been so superstitiously exact. . . A prince, therefore, who is wise and prudent cannot or ought not to keep his parole when the keeping of it is to his prejudice, and the causes for which he promised removed. Were men all good, this doctrine was not to be taught, but because they are wicked and not likely to be punctual with you, you are not obliged to any such strictness with them; nor was there ever any prince that wanted lawful pretense to justify his breach of promise. Nevertheless it is of great consequence to disguise your inclination, and to play the hypocrite well; and men are so simple in their temper and so submissive in their present necessities, that he that is neat and cleanly in his collusions shall never want people to practice them upon. "A prince, therefore, is not obliged to have all the forementioned good qualities in reality, but it is necessary he have them in appearance; nay, I will be bold to affirm that having them actually and employing them upon all occasions they are extremely prejudicial, whereas, having the only in appearance they turn to better account; it is honorable to seem mild and merciful and courteous and religious and sincere, and indeed to be so provided your mind be so rectified and prepared that you can act quite contrary upon occasion. . . A prince, then, is to have particular care that nothing falls from his mouth but what is full of the fine qualities aforesaid, and that to see and to hear him he appears all goodness integrity, humanity, and religion, which last he ought to pretend to more than ordinarily, because more men do judge by the eyes than by the touch; for everybody sees, but few understand; everybody sees how you appear, but few know what in reality you are, and those few dare not oppose the opinion of the multitude, who have the majesty of their prince to defend them; and in the actions of all men, especially princes, where no man has power to judge, every one looks to the end."
From the few illustrations given above it is possible to infer the character of Machiavelli and his works. Although nowhere so outspoken as in the Prince, his writings are all imbued with the same cold insensibility to any law of truth or affection of love. There is always a substratum of thought which refuses to recognize that there can be in the world anything but vice and insincerity. He accepts this, and accepts it without a murmur. He invents a working hypothesis of crime with it as a basis. Many writers excuse Machiavelli on the ground that he but embodied the policy of the leading spirits of his age. Some indeed acknowledge a radical taint in the soul of the man who could cull such poisonous herbs of policy, distill their juices to a quintessence, and pass his poisoned chalice to the lips of a prince to whom he was confiding the destiny of Italy. Macaulay finds in him a psychological enigma. To the Neuchurchman, however, he presents no anomaly. We may readily accept the theory that he reflected the age and body of his time, and it is in this that his usefulness consists. He furnishes a picture of a phase in the vastatation of the Old Church which will be of much use to the ecclesiastical historian of the Church. We have in the written pages of history the story or the deeds of men of his age. Here we have an open exposition of the form of falsity which clothed the evil affection giving rise to such deeds. Machiavelli has had few avowed followers on the earth, but in the spiritual world there are many. We read in the Writings of whole societies of Machiavellists, and their place is in the lowest hells. DAVID H. KLEIN.
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LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
THE ACADEMY 0F THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.-On August 4th, the Rev. G. G. Starkey continued his series of discourses on the LORD'S prayer. He preached on "Hallowed be Thy Name" (Matt. vi, 9). On the 11th and 18th his subject was "Thy Kingdom Come" (Matt. vi, 10). Mr. Hugh L. Burnham, of Chicago visited Philadelphia on the 16th of August, en route for England. He makes the sixth visitor to England whose society the friends in London have enjoyed this summer. The others are the Rev. C. T. Odhner, Mr. Louis B. Pendleton, Dr. Olds, Candidate Robert Keep, all of Philadelphia, and Mr. George A. Macbeth, of Pittsburgh. The visits are useful alike to the visited and the visitor. Huntingdon Valley.-Pastor Pendleton broke ground for his new home on Sunday, August 4th, in the presence of a number of residents and visitors. THE house of the Rev. J. F. Potts was dedicated on August 18th. Bishop Pendleton officiated. THE subject of Bishop Pendleton's discourses for the last few Sundays has been "The Connection of Heaven with the Human Race." London.- THE institution of the New Church in the Spiritual World by the LORD, was celebrated in the Particular Church of the Academy, in London, on Sunday, June 18th, by a service in which the special theme was "The Consummation of the Age" and "The Coming of the LORD." On Wednesday, June 19th, the subject of the establishment of the New Church was especially dealt with at a special service; and on Thursday, June 20th, about seventy friends enjoyed a well ordered picnic in the woods of Oxshott, in Surrey. At both services Pastors Tilson and Ottley officiated, and the music was rendered by the full orchestra, under the direction of Mr. C. J. Whittington. At the special service held on the Wednesday evening, the pastor gave an address, the text of which appears in full in the August issue of The New Church Standard. THE closing exercises of the Academy School in Brixton took place on June 20th. The Head-Master, the Rev. E. C. Bostock, conducted the exercises. Several essays were read by the boys of the School. Those written by the girls were read by the Head-Master, who explained that the essays had not been especially prepared for the occasion. The French class, which, during the past few mouths has made great progress under the able teaching of the Rev. G. C. Ottley, recited a fable in the French language. The Head-Master then addressed the School. Among other things, he said he hoped they had all enjoyed their visit to Egypt for that was what the visit to the School on that occasion meant. The School was to provide instruction in natural knowledges which are signified by Egypt. When natural scientifics were viewed from Divine Revelation, then we had Egypt in a good sense. Egypt in a bad sense could be seen everywhere around as to-day, in the teaching given in the School, where the LORD is not acknowledged. In the Schools of the Academy a beginning had been made in the restoration of Egypt as it should be. It was of the Divine Mercy that, they possessed a School of this character in Brixton, and he wished to congratulate both parents and children upon the conclusion of another year's work. Whatever they had accomplished was not because of any good in them, but of the mercy of the LORD.".
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD. 1895
Chicago.- Services commence again on Sunday, September 1st, at 2.15 P. M. Glenview.- DURING the summer Dr. J. B. S. King has been delivering a course of lectures on Anatomy. By his thorough knowledge of the subject and his ready wit, the doctor has made these lectures most instructive and interesting, often showing the use of certain organs in more striking light by describing the effect on the body when such organs, by reason of disease, fail to perform their appointed uses. With their uses thus clearly shown it is easy to understand the correspondence of the different organs and why the spirits and societies of a certain quality in the Gorand Man correspond to such organs. The lectures are given every Saturday evening and are followed by practice in singing. WITHIN the last month the society has enjoyed visits from the Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist, of Berlin, Can., and the Rev. J. E. Bowers, of Toronto. The latter preached in Glenview, August 11th and delivered a lecture on Astronomy the following Tuesday evening. We have also had the pleasure of entertaining two young ladies from Pittsburgh. IT is unfortunate that your correspondent failed to send an account of the celebration of the 19th and 26th of June, in Glenview, for it was one of the most memorable occasions in the history of the Immanuel Church. It is too late now to describe it in detail but one incident of the celebration cannot be left unmentioned. It was on the 20th at the close of the Pastor's address, referring to his remarks of the previous evening, that the Church is not composed of men, but descends from the LORD through the Heavens, and it is that with men which constitutes the Church here. Nevertheless the Pastor continued, it is given to men to co-operate with the LORD and perform uses to the Church, and it is fitting and proper for the Church to acknowledge such uses and honor the men who have performed them. He therefore wished on that day to honor certain gentlemen who had performed signal uses to the Immanuel Church. These gentlemen were the Rev. W. H. Acton, who has performed a great use to the Society in conducting worship and preaching, Mr. Pendleton said that it would have been impossible for him to have carried on the work of the Society in Chicago and Glenview alone. He also felt personally grateful for the counsel and sympathy which Mr. Acton had always given him in his use; Mr. Hugh L. Burnham, who has ably managed the finances of the Church, especially with reference to the move into the country; Mr. T. L. Forrest who so staunchly supported the Church in its struggling infancy; Mr. Swain Nelson the designer of the Church grounds in Glenview, and who has assisted materially in making the movement a success Mr. H. S. Maynard, President of the Immanuel Church Club, and contributing much to the usefulness of that body, and Mr. O. Blackman, our beloved teacher of music. To each of these gentlemen the Pastor presented a red and a white rose as a token of the esteem and honor in which the Church held them. Colchester.-New Church Day was celebrated here by a special service, on the Sunday preceding, and by a picnic on June 20th. ON the 14th day of June several of The members met at Mr. McQueen's house to take part in a short service, in connection with the dedication of a Repository containing the Word and the Writings. ON Friday evening, July 26th, almost all the members of the Church here met at the house of Mr. Bedwell, Priory Street, to welcome among them, Mr. Keep and Dr. Olds both of Philadelphia. These gentlemen are touring in Europe and were expected to reach Colchester on that evening. They arrived somewhat late, but upon entering the room were greeted by the singing of "Vivat Nova Ecclesia," and at once made to feel at home. Pastor Robinson who introduced the visitors to the company, after making a few remarks, deemed it best to adjourn the social until the Sunday evening following. On Sunday morning Candidate Keep conducted worship and preached on the subject of "The LORD as Doctrine, and the necessity of Doctrine as a means of understanding the Word in any of its forms." In the evening the adjourned meeting above mentioned was continued, Mr. Keep presiding. It proved a most delightful occasion. After singing from the Church Music, wine was passed around in a glass loving cup and the toast to the Church drunk. Mr. Keep then gave a full and most interesting address upon the present work of the Church and the changes in its methods consequent upon a fuller acknowledgment of the Priesthood. Dr. Olds was then called upon to give a brief address on the principles of Homeopathy, a subject upon which the people of England are especially ignorant. We cannot attempt here to give any detailed account of the many interesting points which came up for consideration as the result of the speeches, but must be content with stating the subjects of the toasts: "The Church," "The church in the home," "The Church in its relation to the world," "Conjugial Love," "Mutual Love," "Our Guests" and "The Church in Colchester." Altogether it was an occasion long to be remembered. Illinois.- THE Rev. Joseph E. Rosenqvist, of Berlin, Canada, has ended his visit to Rockport. He found six Swedish receivers, but only two of these (one with a family) desired to be instructed themselves by a minister of the New Church, the rest wanted missionary efforts. Mr. Rosenqvist taught the children, and feels encouraged that the seed sown during his brief sojourn has fallen upon some good ground. Sweden.- THE Rev. C. Th. Odhner has been very busy since his arrival in Stockholm, with his editorial labors on the manuscript of the "Summaries of the Internal Sense of the Prophets and Psalms," with his historical researches, with the labor attendant upon gratifying the wishes of the New Church people to listen to his teaching and preaching, and with due attention to their social life. His visit appears to have infused new life into the New Church and this city, his efforts being fully supported by the Rev. Joseph E. Boyesen, of Middleport, Ohio. During their sojourn, the Rev. R. J. Tilson, of London, also visited Stockholm and when the Rev. C. J. N. Manby of Gottenburg, likewise happened to be in town, a meeting of all the ministers then in Sweden was arranged for, their number, including the two resident Pastors, the Rev. A. Th Boyesen, and the Rev. Albert Bjorck, amounting to six, the largest number of New Church mini-
144
Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
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THE EDITOR'S address is "The Maples," Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery Co., Pa. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITAIN. Mr. Wiebe Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W. PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER, 1895=126.
Title Unspecified 1895
CONTENTS PAGE EDITORIAL: Notes 129 Use (a Sermon) 130 Eternal Truths of Worship (Exodus xx, 15 22) 133 Harmony of Angelic Speech 134 Thomas Hartley 135 NOTES AND REVIEWS 137 The Brief Exposition 138 COMMUNICATED: The Swedenborg Society Meeting 140 Machiavelli 141 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH: The Academy of the New Church 143 General Church of the Advent of the Lord 143 The Church at Large 144 BAPTISM, AND MARRIAGE 144 ACADEMY BOOK ROOM 144 ters ever present in Swedenborg's native land. From all accounts, the meeting was a profitable one, and will doubtless have results of lasting consequence to the Church in the North of Europe.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
DR. Geo. Fredk. Root, the well known composer, and long-time member of the New Church in Chicago, died suddenly on August 6th, aged seventy-five years. The Chicago Tribune says: "Dr. Root was preeminently the musician of the people. He wrote for them, for their homes, their festivals, their churches, and their schools both secular and Sabbath. When the civil war broke out, he utilized his talent in the service of the government, and its influence in inspiring the troops, in kindling enthusiasm, and in maintaining the war spirit can not be over-estimated." He is the author of such well-known songs as "The Battle Cry of Freedom," "Just Before the Battle Mother," and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching." Pennsylvania.- The twenty-third annual meeting of the. German Missionary Union was held in Philadelphia on June 4th and 5th. Dr. Felix A. Boericke and Mr. Adolph L. Tafel were elected as members. The latter was elected to take the place of his father, the late Mr. A. J. Tafel, on the Council. Iowa.- AT the meeting of the German Synod, held at Burlington on June 7th, Dr. F. W. Dahlmann, of Toledo, Ohio was ordained. The officers of the Synod are: President, the Rev. A. J. Bartels; Vice-President, the Rev. C. A. Nusabaum; Secretary, the Rev. F. W. Dahlman; Corresponding Secretary, the Rev. A. Roeder. Ohio.- THE Rev. P. B. Cabell preached at Urbana on June 16th to large audiences, consisting mainly of people of other denominations. A correspondent to New Church Messenger says: "Such discourses, when given as both the morning and evening sermons were, in gentle and charitable allusion to existing dogmas, yet not concealing or abating the real truth, do much toward strengthening the feeble in our own fold and interesting those that are yet to learn what the New Church has to offer." The closing exercises took place on Wednesday, June 19th, the forty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the college. The annual address was delivered by the Rev. P. B. Cabell, formerly Professor of Latin and Greek in the college. At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Urbana University a resolution was adopted suspending for a time the college courses leading to the degrees of A. B. and B. Sc. These will be resumed as soon as a sufficient corps of instructors can be secured. The Rev. John Whitehead, of Pittsburgh, Pa., has since accepted the Presidency of the University, together with the Professorship of Ancient Languages. He will also be the Pastor of the Society.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Bradford.-MR. G. W. Wall was ordained into the Priesthood on July 21st by the Rev. William Westall, President of Conference. Crosshills.- THIS little Society celebrated its first anniversary on Sunday, July 21st. The Rev. John Presland preached at the Society on the occasion. The morning and evening services were attended by about 300 and 600 persons respectively. Keighley.- THE Rev. William Westall ordained Mr. S. J. C. Goldsack into the Priesthood on July 23d. Bristol.- THE Rev. J. J. Thornton has accepted a call to become the Pastor of the Liverpool Society. Salford.- THE Rev. R. Goldsack, in connection with the Salford Branch of the New Church Evidence Society, has received permission to visit the ships leaving the Manchester Ship Canal. He has done so and has left New Church literature wherever he has visited. From the mention made of this in Morning Light of August 10th it would appear, however, as if only collateral literature had been distributed. Birmingham.- THE Committee of the Missionary Society has succeeded, after an interview, in inducing the Free Libraries Committee to accept ten sets of the collateral literature of the Church, for distribution to the local libraries. The same mistake has been made here at Satford. Dalton, Huddersfleld.-MR. E. S Newall, the leader of the Dalton Society, was ordained into the Priesthood on July 28th, by the President of Conference. Bath.- THE Rev. J. Martin will relinquish the pastorate of the Society in September. Kearaley.- THE Kearsley Society reopened its Church, which has been closed for repairs, on August. Special services were conducted by the Rev. W. A Presland. At the morning service 600 persons were present, and in the evening 800 or more. Plaistow.-MR. T. Plummer and the Rev. W. O'Mant have been delivering theological lectures in the public thoroughfares.
ITALY.
Florence.-PROFESSOR Scocia has succeeded in interesting two Salvation Army officers in the Doctrines of the New Church. They appear to be suffering persecution at the hands of their superior officer; so much so that one of them writes to the Professor: "Spadoni has already informed you that the Major has forbidden us to read such books, but I have gone too far in the matter to draw back, and so I decided, and have in fact sent in my resignation. I cannot say whether he will accept it, but I believe freedom of conscience to be the privilege of every Christian, and thus I could not agree to submit my freedom and rationality to the will of another."
AUSTRALIA.
Adelaide.- THE Rev. A. E. Beilby of Blackpool, England, has accepted a call to Adelaide, in New South Wales.
Title Unspecified 1895
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145
Title Unspecified 1895
New Church Life Vol. XV, No. 10. PHILADELPHIA, OCTOBER, 1895=126. Whole No. 180.
Title Unspecified 1895
All the laws of truth and right flow from celestial beginnings, or from the order of life of the celestial man, for the whole Heaven is a celestial man, from this that the Lord alone is the celestial man.-A. C. 162.
Title Unspecified 1895
MUCH has been written and said in the New Church about the celestial. Some have publicly claimed attainment to the celestial (although not always with that modesty which one expects to find identified with this exalted state), some yearn for it, while others see it only in the far-distant future, doubting or denying that it has been or may be reached at the present time. The celestial has existed from the beginning of the New Church, and exists now. Without the celestial the New Church is not, for a Church is a Church by virtue of its conjunction with the LORD, and there can be no such conjunction, excepting through the celestial, for this is love to the LORD from the LORD, and this love is conjunction.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE teaching that there must always be a Church, no matter how small, a Church that treasures the Word, and through it knows the LORD, whereby the human race has its heart-beat and the breath of its life, must be understood to mean not a dead memory-thought existence of the Word, nor a merely historical knowledge of the LORD, for neither of these admits life in the first instance from the Divine Source of Life-they are but a heart of clay, and uninspired lungs-but it means an intelligent reception of the Word in an affection for the Truth for its own sake, and the knowledge of the LORD in the daily circumstances of life. The celestial is simply love, and all that relates to love-thinking and doing according to the affection of heavenly good-having as an end in all the experiences derived from the senses, in all the conclusions of reason, and in the interior thought of the intellect-the love of the LORD, and the happiness of the neighbor. Man's life opens with the celestial, with its innocence and peace, because it is to accompany him throughout life. The celestial is the first thing in time which greets him and surrounds him and inflows into him, because it is and must be the first in the order of his life: the inmost-the soul-of his affections and thoughts, resolutions, intentions, words, and deeds, in time and to eternity. Although external at first, and not properly his own, its states are miraculously withdrawn into his interiors by the LORD, to be His abiding-place with man, the source, the hidden spring of all his vitality, spiritual and natural. In later years he makes the celestial his own, by suffering the knowledges of religion to be filled with love to the LORD and for the neighbor, by which means those knowledges, like seeds, are implanted in the rich, deep soil of his celestial remains. Thus he becomes truly a man.
Title Unspecified 1895
AND so the New Church, being a man in larger form, has her celestial, from the moment of her appearance on earth, in the night and death of the former Church, until she grows to the age of womanhood, in which as an angel of God, she remains forever in the full vigor of celestial life with its attendant wisdom and intelligence With her, the first in order enters into all subsequent states and determines them. Of the tribes enumerated in the Apocalypse, as being sealed with the seal of the living God, the tribe of Judah is therefore mentioned first, signifying that all who will be in the New Heaven and the New Church will have celestial love. The Newchurchman, therefore, who, true to his name, looks forward to Heaven as his goal, thereby looks forward to celestial love.
Title Unspecified 1895
AND what are the way and means for arriving at this state? His progression can take place only by way of science to reason, through reason to intellect, and through the intellect to the celestial. To omit any of these steps is to break in upon order, and thus to do violence to the celestial. Angels of the third heaven, who are in the greatest wisdom and happiness were asked how they became such angels. Their answer given in full in The Apocalypse Explained, comes briefly to this, that they shunned as sins the evils enumerated in the Decalogue. To the New Church it is given to understand the interior evils which are signified by those evils; and the study of them, with the end of shunning them when discovered in one's self, leads to that peculiar celestial which is distinctively of the New Church-a celestial in which the LORD, Heaven, and the Church meet where the visible God-the truth inflowing from without through the senses from the written and printed Revelation-is worshiped, united to the Invisible God-the truth that inflows from within through the soul's affection.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE spiritual truths of the Word as revealed in the Doctrines are nothing but clothing of the celestial of Heaven, the celestial which proceeds from the Divine Human. These truths, while learned, are nothing but fit vessels into which the celestial, of which they are embodiment, can insinuate itself, which it does, when the purpose to abide by the truth's teaching is formed and carried into effect. "Truth has no life in itself; but it has life from the celestial, which flows in. The celestial is love and charity, and all truths thence derived." The Church is nothing if it have not actually some measure of spiritual life. As, in the human body, the spirit can inflow into its various members only when these are connected with the vital organs, and in the last instance with the heart and lungs, so in the Church itself where the Word is and the LORD is known thereby, its conservation as a Church depends upon an implanted celestial by which there is immediate relation with the Divine Human of the LORD.
Title Unspecified 1895
All things which are of love to the Lord and toward the neighbor are called celestial.-A. C. 61.
146
USE, THE RECEPTACLE OP GOOD. Rev. W. H. ACTON 1895
A SERMON
This is the Word which the LORD commanded: Gather ye of it [the manna] every one according to the mouth of his eating, an omer for a head, to the number of your souls; every one for him who is in his tent shall ye take. And the sons of Israel did so, and they gathered with reference to the numerous and to the few. And they measured with an omer, and it did not make what was superfluous to the numerous, and to the few it was not looking. They gathered, each one, according to the mouth of his eating.-Ex. xvi, 16, 17, 18.
EVERY one born into this world receives from the LORD the faculties of will and understanding. In other words, he is endowed by the LORD with the ability of willing good and of understanding truth. These faculties, and this ability to use them, in accomplishing the Divine ends of Creation constitute in him the essential human and angelic which make him to be a man in the world and an angel in heaven. If we consider what this involves we can easily see that it is the ability to perform uses as a principal end; for use regarded in itself is nothing else than good and truth ultimated in act by thought from affection. A man's use is thus seen to be the embodiment of the thought and affection which make his real life. Use, here, however, is not necessarily to be understood to mean simply the work or employment of a man's calling, in this natural life, but rather, and especially that use which he is actually doing as it spiritual being and as an inhabitant of the spiritual world by means of his life in this natural world. For it must never be forgotten that man is an inhabitant of both worlds, and nothing is done in the natural world which has not its origin in the spiritual world and indeed which has not also its own ultimate in that world as it has in this. This spiritual use does not indeed manifestly appear in this world except in the desire or affection for certain ends of good or evil, principally in the earnest desire to serve the LORD and the neighbor or self and the world. The LORD does good to men by means of men, and this not only to those who are the recipients of the good done, but especially does He give interior good to those who from the affection of good have been led to do good to others, that is to say, to those who are actuated by the spiritual affection of use. Use is good in form. This use or good in form is given to every one by the LORD As was said before, it makes one with the form of his mind. It is that by which he receives spiritual life even as his natural use or occupation is the means by which the LORD supplies him with the food and necessities of his natural life. This may not always appear as plainly in the natural world as in the spiritual, since many in this life appear to live in idleness, and thus without performing any genuine use, as do beggars, thieves, and those who live in mere luxury and pleasure. Nevertheless, even these are in reality performing uses, though for the most part vile uses. In the spiritual world, however, it plainly appears that use constitutes the life of all these; for in that world all are fed and clothed and provided with all things necessary to their life by the LORD gratis-but each according to the quantity and quality of his use-that is, according to the quantity and quality of his, affection of faith and charity. Spiritual nourishment and sustenance are in fact nothing else. All in the' other life perform uses. The difference between an angel and a devil in general is that the one loves to perform genuine uses of good from the LORD, and therein perceives the enjoyment of his life; the other hates all uses except such as centre in himself. But as the support of his life, infernal though it be, depends upon his work for others, he is driven to perform vile uses. Thus the hells are nothing but infernal workhouses and their inhabitants miserable slaves. There is thus not a single individual in the world, in heaven, or in hell, who is not a form of use. For every thing in the created universe was created from use, in use, for use. And by means of creation uses return to God their source in a perpetual, never-ending circle of life. In the daily performance of the duties of his calling, man rarely reflects or considers how his life is sustained thereby. Be indeed knows that if be does not work he cannot obtain the ultimate necessities of his life, and from this appearance many confirm themselves in the fallacy that they support their own life-that they live of and from themselves, and hence for themselves. Yet, if any one will regard the matter more rationally he will not fail to see that the absolute necessaries of his life are not made by hands, though human instrumentalities are needed. Man may cultivate the ground and plant seed, but he cannot make it grow and produce fruit. And so with all the ultimate necessities of natural life. From this is it not plainly evident that the connection of all natural uses, and their dependencies upon each other, rest primarily upon those natural goods which are provided gratis by the LORD the Giver of all good? But if this is lost sight of or denied by the natural man, how much less is it realized or acknowledged that in like manner man depends upon the LORD for that spiritual nourishment by which his spirit is sustained, and thence his mind, and indeed without which even his body could not exist. For it is written "that not upon bread alone shall man live, but upon every word going forth through the mouth of God" (Matt. iv, 4; Deut. viii, 3). Animals may truly be said to live upon material food alone, but not so man. He must have other food upon which his mind may live. Yet how few reflect upon this or consider whence and how that food is obtained? Let us examine this. The spiritual man will at once acknowledge that all the good of love and all the truth of faith upon which his spirit feeds are from the LORD alone, either directly from the Word or indirectly by means of precepts and instructions drawn from the Word by others. And he will further acknowledge that all his natural thoughts and affections upon which his animus feeds are derived from the natural world, and thus from representatives of the LORD'S Kingdom, in nature or the spiritual world, and thus that these also are from the LORD The spiritual man will make this acknowledgment because he acknowledges the LORD as the source and fountain of all life, and because he perceives that there is nothing material in use, but that the LORD is in all use with life and eternal felicity. Take away use, whether the heavenly idea of it or the infernal, and thought and affection perish, and with them life itself. Even the natural man, although he denies the existence of God and of everything spiritual, knows that the mind has to be instructed-built up and formed of knowledges and affections though he knows not how. He also may see that his mind, as it were, feeds upon and grows from sciences and pleasures derived by his senses from the natural world, which, when separated from the spiritual world, is dead. Those who only live in and from this dead world must themselves be dead men-dead as to everything spiritual and living-dead as to everything good and true.
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Such were the Jews, to whom the LORD therefore said, "Your fathers did eat the manna in the wilderness and are dead." The merely natural man loathes all spiritual food even as the Jews hated the manna, which was indeed angelic food (i. e., good from the LORD), flowing down from heaven into ultimate recipient forms in nature. Wherefore the LORD, speaking of His Divine Human, added, "This is the bread which came down out of heaven that any one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any one will eat of this bread he shall live forever- Amen, Amen, I say unto you unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood ye have not life in yourselves" (John vi, 49, 51, 53.) The reception of spiritual life or good from the LORD, thus the reception of the LORD Himself, by the spiritual presented by the manna with which the Sons of Israel man, by the Church in general and in particular, is re were fed during their forty years wandering in the wilderness. The regenerating man is continually nourished by the LORD with spiritual good, which is the good of truth, in states of active spiritual life, which especially consists in a life of use or love to the LORD and toward the neighbor. He is also nourished in more external states by the good of natural delights in agreement with the former. These two foods which sustain his life were represented by the manna given in the morning and the selav which came in the evening. Both are necessary to the regenerating man even as pleasures and recreations are necessary to the more vigorous performance of his daily work. Nor can man in the world keep his mind elevated for long upon spiritual matters without their becoming wearisome and undelightful-so repugnant are they t6 the natural man as yet not fully subdued. Nevertheless it is the spiritual food, which he receives by the affection of use, which sustains him in temptations, and which also enables him to faithfully perform his duties in the natural world for the sake of others than himself by which he becomes more and more a spiritual man. Without this he would as surely perish as did those Israelites who satiated themselves with selav, for thus does the merely natural man die by its own lusts. That this spiritual food is given by the LORD to man as much as he desires and as much as is necessary for his state-indeed as much as he can receive-is represented in the words of our text: "This is the Word which the LORD commanded, Gather ye of it, every one according to the mouth of his eating, an omer for a head to the number of your souls, take ye each one for him who is in his tent." This is said as a command, for so does every truth appear at first. All instruction implies a command and obedience. For the sake of man's regeneration he is instructed by the Divine Truth that he must co-operate with the LORD as if of himself. The LORD provides the food, man must gather, prepare, and eat it as of himself: then the LORD can appropriate it to him and cause it to nourish his body. Enough was to be gathered-each was to gather "according to the mouth of his eating, an omer for a head," by which is signified that reception and appropriation of spiritual good is always according to the faculty and ability of each. That this will be sufficient for man's need in every state is signified by the amount to be gathered, viz.: an omer; for an omer was the tenth part of an ephah, and a tenth part signifies what is sufficient. And because the good of one involves the good of all in the same society, and the good of all includes the good of each member, this is signified by the words, "to the number of your souls, and each one in his tent shall ye take." Concerning this mutual or reciprocal conjunction of good of the individual and of the whole society, or what is the same thing, the relation of the particular use which one performs to the common use of his society, we have the following instruction: "Heaven consists of innumerable societies which are distinct amongst themselves. Each society has a common good distinct from the good of other societies. Each one in a society has also a particular good distinct from another in the society. From these distinct and thus various, though concordant, goods of those in the society is made a form which is called heavenly. The universal heaven consists of such forms. These conjunctions are called forms in regard to goods, but societies in regard to persons. These were represented by the distinction of the sons of Israel into Tribes, Families, and Houses" (A. C. 8469). "Every one in a society in heaven communicates his good with all who are in the society; and all these communicate with each one. Thence exists the good of all in common-i. e., the common good. This good is communicated with the common good of other societies, whence exists a good still more common, and at length a most common good. Such is the communication in heaven, and thence it is that they are one altogether like the organs, members, and viscera in man, which, although so various and dissimilar, still by such communication present a one. Such communication of goods is given solely by means of love, which is spiritual conjunction. The universal, forming, and arranging all and single things is the Divine Good of the Divine Love of the LORD" (A. C 8470). The case is the same with the Church at large, and the various bodies and societies of which it is composed, as it is with the heavens; for heaven and the church make one by correspondence. From the teaching just given we may see how the LORD draws together the members of His Church into a community, not only those who constitute the Church Universal or communion of good throughout the world, but also those who are of His New Church, where the Heavenly Doctrines are known and received. In like manner does He draw together the different societies of the Church, and their component members, and also the various goods and truths which form the Church in the individuals, who, taken together, constitute the Church. This the LORD does by the sphere of His Divine Love, which is all-attractive. This, so far as it is received, produces a mutual affection for the goods and truths which make the Church, thus for the common good of the whole; and this mutual affection flows back with increased power into each individual of the Church according to his reception, which in turn depends upon what he himself gives, according to the universal law that influx is according to efflux. The same is true of the country and the society in which a man is and to which he performs uses. The all-pervading Divine Good of the LORD'S Divine Love flows freely forth to all; but each one receives only so much as he is willing and hence able to receive from genuine spiritual affection. How much that is depends upon himself. Though the sons of Israel each gathered an omer "it did not make what was superfluous to the numerous, neither to the few was it wanting. They gathered each one according to the mouth of his eating."
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That the LORD gives good to every one according to his need and thus sufficient for appropriation-indeed as much as can be appropriated for use-is represented by the omer of manna, which thus represents not a determinate quantity but a sufficiency in every state. All do not receive alike, for some are in more interior and more universal loves, others in more external and particular loves. This is true even in heaven, for there some angels are in stations of greater dignity and honor, with accompanying appearances of wealth and splendor, and others in less. Though the LORD gives equally to all, making "His sun to rise upon the evil and the good," some receive more of that Divine Sunshine, others less; but how much each receives he determines for himself in this life, nor can he ever go beyond. He determines this reception by the quantity and quality of his faith and charity, for this is the receptacle. He defines his spiritual measure or capacity for good by his affection for genuine good and truth, that is to say, by his affection for spiritual and thence natural uses to his neighbor. Such as this is when he dies, such will be the limit of his position in heaven, or his ability to perform uses there. This is signified by the LORD'S words, "By what measure ye measure, by that shall it be remeasured unto you that hear. Whosoever hath, to him shall it be given, and whosoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him" (Mark iv, 24, 25). By this the LORD teaches that the spiritual affection which is called charity should remain after death according to its quantity and quality and that it should be filled to eternity, in other words, perfected and increased indefinitely within, or according to the degree opened in this world by a life of use. Every angel is perfected to eternity, but within that degree of affection for good and truth in which he had lived or which was opened in him by life in the world. What is beyond that degree is outside. It does not belong to him, and hence cannot be perfected with him, for it remains closed. Man thus can only enter that degree of heaven which has been opened in him by the reception of good and truth in the world. If the celestial or inmost degree has been opened and formed, he becomes an angel of the celestial heaven and that celestial formation continues perfecting to eternity. If the second or spiritual degree has been opened, he becomes an angel of the second of spiritual. If only the natural degree has been opened, but still the spiritual degree, though not opened, has not been closed by a life of confirmed evil and falses, he becomes an angel of the lowest or natural heaven, or finds his home in the external boundaries of a higher heaven (D. L. W. 254). The man in whom those degrees have been opened above, becomes indeed an angel and more and more perfect to eternity, but he cannot pass from one degree to another, nor from one society to another, for to do so would be to pass out of his own good and truth or out of his life. Yet in whatever heaven, whether in the highest or in the lowest, or whether in the interior or in the exterior of any society there, his perfection increases to eternity. For there are continuous degrees as well as discrete degrees, and perfection is predicated of both even to the LORD, in whom all degrees are infinitely one (D. L. W. 223). It therefore does not signify as to the happiness and felicity of any in heaven whether he is in a higher or in a lower degree, in an interior society or in an exterior one; the ability to receive good from the LORD determines the happiness and felicity of all, and the measure of every one is filled full. Each takes "according to the mouth of his eating," and no one desires nor can he receive more. Every angel in heaven, and indeed every regenerating man, who is also an angel as to his interiors, is content with his lot, nor does he desire to change it for that of another, for he knows that the LORD has provided for every one that position and state where he can be most happy and most useful. Man opens one or other of the degrees of his mind by life in this world according to his affection for use, by means of the truths and goods of that use, as it is natural, spiritual, or celestial. And as was before indicated, he thereby forms to himself that plane for the reception of heaven into which he comes fully after death. What degree is opened in him, and how much, he cannot know in this life, but it is co-extensive with his affection for genuine uses of charity toward his neighbor and of love to the LORD. He may therefore know, that if he perceives an affection for good and truth outside of himself, and loves that in others and others according to that, and if at the same time he perceives delight from the activity of that affection in himself, it is well with him. In such a case he is receptive of the good of love and charity from the LORD, which flowing in by an internal way, only manifests itself during life by a certain latent delight, tranquillity and peace of mind in the activity of use; but after death this becomes fully manifest of what quality and quantity it had been in the world, for the man then comes manifestly into that degree which had been opened in the world, together with its joys and happiness. Such then is the reception of spiritual nourishment which the LORD gives to all who are in the affection of good works or genuine uses, from the conjunction of good and truth. Inwardly there is interior wisdom even such as there is with the angels of the third heaven, although during life it remains hidden wisdom, since it does not appear to the world, for it is inscribed on the life rather than on the memory. Into this angelic wisdom man comes in the degree that he removes all idea of self from his works, and thus from genuine spiritual affection performs that use to which the LORD has called him. As he acknowledges that all the good in his works is from the LORD alone, and claims nothing of merit to himself, the good of celestial love can be appropriated to him, and he can be brought into interior and ever blessed conjunction with the LORD, and thus into a state of good unknown before, and known only to him who is in it. For the LORD Himself says: "To him that conquereth I will give to eat of the hidden manna; and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written which no one knoweth but he who receiveth it" (Rev. ii, 17).
Title Unspecified 1895
The celestial is everything which is of love; faith also is celestial when it is from love; charity is celestial; all the good of charity is
HURTING OR DESTROYING TRUTH OR GOOD WITH ONESELF OR WITH OTHERS. 1895
EXODUS xxi, 1-11.
IN this Chapter, in the Internal Sense, those are treated of, who hurt or destroy the truth of faith or the good of charity with themselves or with others; what the punishment is, and what the restitution.
(1.) THE following are exterior truths, such as are to be in the civil state where the representative Church is to be, which flow from the internal truths which are of order in the heavens, "And these are the judgments which thou shall set before them."
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REFORMATION OF THOSE WHO ARE IN THE TRUTH OF FAITH, AND IN OBEDIENCE.
(2-6.) THOSE within the Church who are in the truths of doctrine and not in good according to them, "When thou buyest a Hebrew servant"-must undergo a state of labor and of some combat, "six years shall he serve which is succeeded by a state of pence, when truth is confirmed in their minds without any work of their own, "and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing." If they learn truth without delight, solely for the reason that it is the Truth of the Church, and because they believe that they will be saved by it, "if he came in his body"-then the truth is merely confirmed, and they are in a state of truth without delight even after the combat, "he shall go out in his body"-such in the other life are in the entrance to heaven, but not in heaven. If they are in the belief of the doctrinals of their Church, and not in corresponding good, but in a delight which feigns the corresponding good, because they do not do truth on account of truth, nor good on account of good, but in order that they may be rewarded, and the idea of self is thus in the truth and good which they do, and they are therefore not in the truth of good-that is, in the faith of charity "if he is master of a woman"-then they are in a state of truth with such delight conjoined, even after the combat, "and his woman shall go out with him these also are only in the entrance to heaven, communicating by the truth of faith which they have, with those who are in heaven, and by the delight conjoined to truth, with those who are without heaven. They are in the skin of the Gorand Man, which by the sense of touch communicates with the world, and by the fibrous connection, with the life of the soul in the body. But if good was adjoined to their truth by the spiritual, while they were in the combat, "if his master have given him a woman"-and truths and goods are derived therefrom," and she have borne him sons and daughters"-then the good adjoined by the spiritual, together with the truths and goods derived therefrom will not be appropriated to the truth, "the woman and her children shall be her master's"-their state after combat being merely that of confirmed and implanted truth, "and he shall go out in his body"-for, having been from infancy in the externals of the Church, though they had led a moral life, and believed in their doctrine, spiritual good could not be conjoined, but only adjoined during the combat, and so it receded after it. But if after the combat, they think from the truth thus implanted, "and if the servant saying shall say"-of the delight of recalling the spiritual goods which had come to them from the good adjoined by the spiritual, "I love my master, my wife, and my children"-and they think that they will give up the mere delight of obedience, "I will not go out free"-then they will enter into a state according to Divine order, "and his master shall bring him unto God"-when they will be in a state of truth confirmed and implanted, having at the same time some communication and conjunction with spiritual good, "and he shall bring him either unto the door or unto the post"-and they will be in a state of obedience, "and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl"-to eternity, "and he shall serve him forever."
REFORMATION OF THOSE WHO ARE IN AFFECTIONS FOR TRUTH ARISING FROM THE LOVES OF SELF AND THE WORLD.
(7-11.) THE internal sense now turns from the consideration of those who are in truth without affection, to those who are in affection, but not genuine. Genuine affection for truth is to will and desire the veriest truths of faith for time sake of a good use as an end, and for the sake of life, while an affection for truth which is not genuine is to will and desire truths for the sake of self, thus for time sake of being raised to honors, and to acquire gain; such are therefore in an affection of truth from natural delight, "and when a man shall have sold his daughter to be a maid-servant"-and these after the combat do not enter a state similar to those who are in truth without affection such as described above, "she shall not go out according to the going out of the men servants"-but if the affection of truth from natural delights does not agree with spiritual truth, "if she be evil in the eyes of her master"-so that it cannot be conjoined, "so that he will not betroth her"-then it is alienated from those truths, "and she shall be redeemed"-but it cannot be conjoined with such things as are not of the faith of the Church, "to a strange people he shall not have authority to sell her"-for this is contrary to the laws of order, "in his acting perfidiously against her." If it agrees with derivative truth so that it may be conjoined with it, "and if he have betrothed her to his son"-it shall be as a genuine affection of truth, "according to the judgment of daughters shall he do to her." If conjunction has taken place with the affection of truth from some other stock, "if he have token another to himself"-it is not to be deprived of its interior life or of its exterior life or of conjunction, "her food, her covering, and her conjugial debt he shell not diminish"-for if it be deprived of these, "and if he do not these three to her"-then it will be alienated without truth conjoined to it, "and she shall go out free with no silver"-for a natural affection conjoined with a spiritual affection, can never subsist without being sustained by the spiritual; if it be not sustained, the conjunction is dissolved, and alienation results.
Title Unspecified 1895
Celestial things are of innumerable genera, and of still more innumerable species.-A. C. 353.
LOVE, THE ESSENCE OF PRAYER. 1895
IN its origin, and so in its essence, prayer is love; for love ever seeks, and, as it were, asks for the fulfillment of its ends. It is of the essence of love perpetually to seek to give of its own to others, to bless them with the all of good which it has, in order to make them happy; and because good and happiness cannot he imparted except where there is free and willing reception love is ever soliciting reception by the object of its love reception of the good it offers; and since love is the supreme good of life-is indeed life itself-what love seeks is the reception of love-of itself. By that reception the giver and receiver are conjoined into a one, by a common hove. Hence love is a constant asking or prayer. Love itself exists only in the LORD, who is Love and very Life, and so with Him there is an infinite yearning and asking for reception on the part of man, for the sake of his conjunction with Life itself, and thereby salvation and eternal happiness. "Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one will hear My voice and open the door I will enter and sup with him, and he with Me." Only where the Divine pulsation finds a heart-string that vibrates in free accord, only where there is free and loving response, can the Divine entrance be made; and only from that love thus established and made, as it were, man's own, can there arise the responsive seeking for reception into the Divine Life, which is true prayer.
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Such prayer, on the part of man, is a petition that the LORD will receive, not anything of man's own, for he has nothing, but only the return of what has been given him by Divine Mercy to have his own-the faculty of reception by obedience to the Will of Divine Love. And because such return is not possible from any effort of his own, for from what is evil only evil can flow-he prays first to be delivered from evil-to be given light and strength to put away that which opposes the Divine End of creation. The end for which man was created is conjunction with the Divine-initiation into the Divine Life, and into its all-pervading sphere of love, innocence, peace, and joy. This end pervades the universe, even to its uttermost limits and its minutest particulars, for everything therein is a means designed to play its part in the working out of that Divine End, the conjunction of man with the LORD. To the attainment of that end man's structure, physical and spiritual, is Divinely adapted, and to it are shaped every faculty and every attribute, and every capacity for action which go to make him a human being; for the very human essence is, capacity for conjunction with the Divine. "And God created man into the image of Himself; into the image of God created He him." The sum of all man's capacities and faculties which are given him for the sake of conjunction is found in the capacity for genuine spiritual prayer. In order that two may be conjoined into a one there must be the desire and effort to conjunction, and this mutually and reciprocally. The LORD ever yearns for conjunction with man; all that is needed is reciprocal desire on the part of man. The origin of that desire is also from the LORD alone, but-wonderful to reflect-freedom of consent is given to man as his own, so that it seems as if the desire were from him. This appearance is ordained by mercy, in order that the reciprocation may be free, and thus maim be an image of the absolutely free love and life in the Divine. The Infinite Love which prompts man to desire conjunction, provides, with. Infinite Wisdom and Power, the means for the desire's fulfillment; and these means in a sum, are truths. For Truth is the very form of Divine Good, and Truth it is which, as the Essential Formative, creates man, endows him with form and faculties for reception, enlightens him, and, by its living soul of Good, enkindles in him the vital spark of that heavenly affection, the affection of truth, which is the soul-saving element in the fallen state of the Church. Thus while the conatus toward conjunction, is, on the LORD'S side, Divine Good Itself, on the part of man the effort is solely from truth, to truth, and by truth. Good is active, truth is reactive; and only reaction pertains to man. The LORD acts from good and inspires good, but man can receive it only as truth. He receives it at first in the memory-thus without himself proper. But by life according to it the truth becomes part of himself and thus so does good; for good is within truth. What love desires that it seeks and asks for. Divine Love, containing as it does all things, asks only for reception; but man, who has nothing, needs to ask even for the power to ask, as well as for the power to do what the living Divine Truth he seeks teaches. Since Good pertains to God alone, and to man only truth, it is plain that the affection for conjunction, on the part of man, is the affection of truth; and that from it arise all asking and all doing on his part. To illustrate: it is from truth that man knows that there is a God, Who is a Divine Man; that He is as to essence, Love and Wisdom,-and that all celestial attributes are His in Infinite degree, and that He imparts these in finite degree to the man who does his will. Within the truths which teach man these, is good, which affects him and disposes him to seek such a God and to desire conjunction with Him by love. It is truth, also, by which then the LORD responds to that desire and elevates man to himself-i. e., through regeneration by the Truth of Revelation. Consider the process of regeneration in all its particulars, and you will in no case find man acting from any good in himself, but always from truth, in which is the soul of good from the Divine Good. Unclothed Divine Good exists only in the infinite, incomprehensible, and unapproachable Divine Itself.
Title Unspecified 1895
The celestial is love to the Lord and toward the neighbor; where there is no love, the coupling is broken and the Lord is not present, Who only flows in through the celestial-that is, through love.-A. C. 1096.
EGYPT. 1895
I.
[Hebrew]- Arab. Mizr=a limit, border. "Mizraim" is the Hebrew name for Egypt. The Egyptians called their country "Kem," or the "Black Land," evidently from the Hebrew "Cham," for, in the Word, Egypt is called "the Land of Chain." The name "Egypt," by which that country is generally known, is of uncertain origin. Some claim that it is derived from the Egyptian words "Ha-ka-ptah," which are said to mean "the Genius of Ptah." This was the sacred name of Memphis, the capital of Egypt under the oldest dynasties. By others it is held that the country received its name from an early conqueror, a certain "AEgyptus," who named it after himself. Be this as it may, the Word calls it "Mizraim." The name always occurs in the dual form, on account of its signification, as will be shown elsewhere, and from the earliest times Egypt was divided into "the Upper and Lower Land." Its kings were called "the Kings of the Two Lands" and "Lords of the Red and White Crowns." Egypt may be said to be limited to the long and narrow valley of the Nile, extending from the first cataract to the apex of the Delta and the plain called by that name. The borders assigned to the land by geographers, however, include vast tracts, east and west of the Nile, of desert wastes. The cultivable portion of the land covers an area somewhat less than one three-hundredth the size of our own country, while the territory inclosed within its geographical limits is eight or nine times as large. Lower Egypt was called by the Greeks "the Delta," from a fancied resemblance of one of the letters of' the Greek alphabet. It is in shape an irregular triangle, and covers a little less than seven-tenths of cultivable portion of the land, the remainder being a narrow valley about five hundred miles long and from two to fifteen miles wide. But singular as is the shape of the land, its physical peculiarities are still more singular. "Egypt is the gift of the Nile," says an ancient historian, and no one since has so aptly and in fewer words described its most distinguishing peculiarity. Egypt is what the Nile has made it and is every year making it. As there is little or no rain in any part of Egypt, except that nearest to the Mediteranean, the land depends entirely upon the river for its irrigation, and the Nile not only waters but fertilizes the country with a rich mold, washed down every year from the mountains of Abyssinia.
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Egypt borders on the Land of Canaan-i. e., Canaan in its widest sense, The term "Mizr" means "border," so that the term "Mizraim" means "the two borders." This is quite in accord with the spiritual meaning of the country, for among the various significations of Egypt is that of the LORD'S Natural Kingdom. Now the Natural Kingdom of the LORD is the basis of the two higher kingdoms; thus Egypt, spiritually speaking, forms the border of the Spiritual and Celestial Kingdoms. Accordingly, Egypt, when named together with Israel and Assyria, always occurs in the last place. The dual signification of Egypt occurs again and again in various connections. The Egyptians, although located in Africa, were not of the African race. They are said to have been Caucasians, allied to the Canaanites, the Accadians, and the Southern Arabs. They are supposed to have emigrated into Egypt from Asia; but it would be useless to enter here upon the speculations of Egyptologists as to the location of their original abode. All that can really interest us in regard to this matter is the fact that the earliest records now known to us show that within historic times, at least, they have always inhabited Egypt, and are represented on the oldest monuments with the same peculiar characteristics as on the latest. They are depicted as of a dam-k color-i. e., the men are. The women are uniformly represented of a pale yellow. The contrast is quite striking. The cause assigned by some for this difference is that the women were less exposed to the influence of the sun than the men. It is admitted, however, that this cause alone could not have produced so great a difference in color as is represented; in other words, that this explanation does not explain. Nor are we told that the women appearing on the monuments as working in the fields, who, consequently, were as much exposed to the sun as the men, are represented in another manner. Hence the Egyptians must have had another reason for depicting the two sexes so differently. The most probable explanation for this singularity is found in the fact that it was the custom of time Egyptians to apply their knowledge of correspondences wherever it could be applied, and that they chose dark red and pale yellow to indicate the quality of the good and truth of the Church with them. That they represented men as red and women as yellow would thus indicate that they regarded themselves as belonging to the natural Church, or "the Church Chain" "the Father of Mizraim" (Cor. 39). From these considerations, it may be concluded with a considerable degree of certainty that the Egyptians were led to depict men in these dull colors, each sex differently, in order to represent the quality of the celestial and spiritual of the Natural Church, such as it was with them. That their reason for doing so must have been an internal one seems to be further confirmed by the fact they that made no such distinctions in representing foreigners, as the sculptures of Beni-hassan show, on which Semitic immigrants appear, men, women and children depicted, alike in the same color, yellow, while the Egyptian officials represented with them appear in the usual dull red tint. The ancient Egyptians are said to have resembled the modern Copts in form and features. They are as a rule tall and slim. It is asserted that the priests strictly avoided any excess in eating and drinking, for fear that excess might produce a tendency to corpulency. This they sought to avoid in order that the body may "sit; light upon the soul." Other people, judging from the monuments, seem to have had less fear in that respect, and indulged freely, sometimes even to excess at their banquets. But abstemiousness and excess seem to have produced the like results, if, as is claimed, the monuments give actual portraits of the persons represented. But the Egyptians may have had certain rules in regard to representing men on flat surfaces, as they represented natives and foreigners alike ridiculously slim. Such rules, if they had any, did not apply to sculptures in the round, for among them there are some that represent, even if not excessively corpulent, at least somewhat heavy people. The Egyptians were a skillful and industrious people. They are said to have been averse to intercourse with other nations. Their attitude toward the Sons of Israel seems to point in that direction. This exclusiveness did not however, have the usual results with them; for they do seem to have been self-sufficient. Agriculture flourished and was carried on on scientific principles. They raised a variety of domestic animals, both for food and other purposes. They were skilled in many arts, both useful and decorative. In short, through skill and industry they became a flourishing nation, depending until later times entirely upon their own and their country's resources. Their skill in architecture, in sculpture and other ornamental arts places them in the first rank of civilized nations, and, to crown all, they' have left to posterity an extensive literature. They also loved social intercourse, were fond of music, dancing and games. And these facts, with abundant detail, are recorded, strange to say, on the walls of the tombs of this singular people. Artists, mechanics, and husbandmen are represented with life-like fidelity at their various occupations. -
Title Unspecified 1895
Those who would have faith in the Lord must be endowed with the celestial-A. C. 1447.
THOMAS HARTLEY. 1895
(Concluded.)
DURING Swedenborg's absence from England, in the year 1770, Hartley undertook the translation into English, of the little work De Commercio Animae et Corporis, which had been published by Swedenborg at London, the preceding year. This first English edition was published at London, 1770, in a beautiful quarto, and with the unfortunate and cumbersome title: A Theosophic Lucubration on the Nature of Influx, as it respects the Communication and Operation of the Soul and the Body. To this treatise Hartley prefixed a very useful and interesting preface, to which is added a translation of Swedenborg's letter to Hartley, containing his autobiography. One person, at least, is known to have been led into the faith of the New Church by means of this publication-Mr. Richard Houston, of Liverpool, who, in the Divine Providence, became the medium of introducing the Doctrines to the Rev. John Clowes, of Manchester. In the summer of 1771, Swedenborg arrived again in London on the foreign journey which proved to be his last in this world, and Thomas Hartley enjoyed again the high privilege of frequent and intimate personal intercourse with the aged Revelator of the New Jerusalem. It is said that Hartley visited him, during this period, not less than twenty times in all, spending, usually, about two hours each time in his company.. The conversation was always carried on in the Latin tongue.
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Hartley's last visit is said to have taken place about three weeks before Swedenborg's death, and is thus described by himself in a letter to the Rev. John Clowes:
"I saw him in the beginning of his last illness, and asked him if he was comforted with the society of angels, as before, and he answered that he was. I returned home, . . . and heard soon after that he was near him departure, and that he had expressed his desire to see me; but as some hindrances to the visit happened at that time, I did not embrace the opportunity, which I should have done, for those hindrances might have been surmounted. My neglect on this occasion appears to me without excuse, and lies very heavy on my mind to this day " (Documents, Vol. I, p. 515).
The affectionate solicitude for his friend's welfare, which Mr. Hartley showed in his first letter to Swedenborg, appears again in the following letter to Mr. Richard Shearsmith, written shortly after Swedenborg was attacked by his last illness:
"FEBRUARY, 1772. "SIR: "As I have not heard lately from the Doctor [Messiter] I am impatient for information concerning the state of my honoured friend, Mr. Swedenborg, and shall take it as a particular favour if you will be so kind as to inform me how it is with him as to his bodily health; if he sits up and is cheerful if he is in a way of recovering his strength, and in general how affected by his disorder; for his valuable life and health is a matter of great consequence. I am well satisfied that nothing is wanting on your part, and on that of your good wife, to whom I send my respectful remembrance, and beg the continuance of your kind care and offices to the worthy gentleman, to whom I desire you will present my most affectionate respects and humble service. "I an, sorry that my affairs will for some time hinder me from coming to London, but I have the comfort to know that the two gentlemen of his and my acquaintance that were with me at your house [Dr. Messiter and Hampe] will do everything necessary for him in their power. You may mention or show this letter to either of the two gentlemen before mentioned, as well as to Mr. Swedenborg, together with my compliments to them. "I sincerely wish this may find you and Mrs. Shearsmith well in all respects, and I am, sir, "Your true friend, "THOMAS HARTLEY."
On February 21st Mr. Hartley wrote a second letter to Mr. Shearsmith acknowledging the reply to his first letter, and expressing, further, his gratitude to Mr. Shearsmith for the tender care with which his aged friend was treated. Both of these letters have been recently discovered, and were published in the New Church Magazine (London), 1885, pp. 387, 388. Swedenborg departed from this life on the twenty-ninth day of March, 1772. It is stated, by one authority, that Hartley was present at the burial, but other authorities deny this. Be this as it may, it is certain that Mr. Hartley's love of the Doctrines of the New Church was not in any manner limited by his love of Swedenborg's personality. We find that he published, in the following year, a tract entitled The Cause of the Petitioners Examined (reprinted at London, 1791, under the title, The Doctrine of a Trinity in the Divine Nature Defended). This little work was called forth by an application to Parliament by a society of freethinkers, who appealed for relief from subscribing to the "thirty-nine articles" of the Church of England, and especially the dogma of the Trinity. Thomas Hartley used this opportunity to defend the Doctrine of a Trinity in the Godhead by explaining at the same time the true nature of this Trinity as revealed in the Doctrines of the New Church. He avoided here any mention of Swedenborg, as he labored under the fallacious hope that the National Church would gradually and unconsciously become reformed by the permeating influences of the New Heaven operating upon the whole Christian Church. He himself continued a member of the recognized clergy of the Established Church in spite of his radical divergence from its dogmas, assigning as one of his reasons for his conduct the negative fact that Swedenborg had not directly advised him to the contrary. The next appearance of Thomas Hartley in the annals of the New Church was in the year 1778, when the first English edition of Heaven and Hell was published at London. The translation of this work had been begun by Mr. William Cookworthy, but was revised and continued by Mr. Hartley, who also composed for it an extended preface, which has been much admired in the New Church. The translation of this edition left much to be desired, and was, in many respects, a paraphrase rather than a translation of the original. Nevertheless, it remained for thirty-eight years the only English version of this important work, and had the blessed effect of leading many, very many, minds to the knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. In the year 1779 Mr. Hartley became acquainted with the Rev. John Clowes, by means of their mutual friend, Mr. Houghton, of Liverpool. Mr. Clowes was at this time occupied with the translation of The True Christian Religion into English, and secured for his well-known preface to this version aim elaborate account by Hartley, of the character and Divine Mission of the author, Emanuel Swedenborg. Hartley met John Clowes once only, when the latter propounded to his elder friend the puzzling question, how far he could conscientiously remain a clergyman of a National Church, the dogmas of which were so totally at variance with the New Doctrines which both of them had accepted. Hartley is then reported to have urged warmly upon the questioner the duty-as he saw it-of remaining in the line of usefulness which Providence had marked for him, insisting that
"By meekly enduring the cross that would be put upon his inclinations and opinions, in the course of his clerical career, his own purification and consequent usefulness as a pastor would be more certainly promoted than by the excitement of a self sought martyrdom, with its insidious sense of merit."-Life of Clowes, by Theodore Compton, p. 25.
This answer, though no doubt conscientious, according to the light Mr. Hartley then possessed, presents a grievously narrow sense of duty, and confirmed Mr. Clowes in a course, that, for a century, by his example, has retarded the true growth of the New Church. We must remember, however, that the question of the separate establishment of a New Church had not, at that time, been raised or investigated by the few receivers of the Doctrines. On his various visits to London, Hartley became acquainted, gradually, with other Newchurchmen, such as Benedict Chastanier, Peter Provo, and Charles Frederic Nordenskjold, to whom he related many interesting facts about his intercourse with Emanuel Swedenborg. Many of these accounts have been preserved for the use of posterity. When the first association of Newchurchmen was formed in London in the year 1783, Thomas Hartley was nearing the end of his earthly life, and was in a very weak state, physically. Yet his zeal for the promulgation of the Heavenly Doctrine continued undiminished to the end, as appears from the following letter to Peter Provo, written in the last year of his life: "EAST MALLINO, February 11th 1784.
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"DEAR SIR: "I am favored with yours of the last post, and have to acquaint you of my being informed some time ago by the Rev. Mr. Clowes of the laudable zeal shown at this time by many worthy persons for promoting the knowledge of the writings of the honorable and highly enlightened Emanuel Swedenborg, and in my answer to his letter I expressed the great satisfaction I received from the account, and my best wishes of success to so useful and important an undertaking, as I know no writings that so clearly illustrate the Holy Scripture, and, consequently, that tend more effectually to enlighten the understanding and mend the heart and life. It is a real grief to me that I cannot join my endeavors to give further help in forwarding so salutary a work, as I should think the remaining part of my life well employed in such a concurrence, but as I mentioned to you some time ago, my infirm state of health, together with frequent returns of a nervous disorder in the head, stomach, and bowels, in far-advanced years, unfit me for engaging in anything that requires close application of mind, and through this cause, joined to the present severity of the weather, I find the writing, even of this letter, rather too much for me, so that you will excuse my not being more particular in this answer to your last. "As to the intended translation of the other pieces of Emanuel Swedenborg which you mention, I doubt not their meeting with the like good success that has attended the foregoing translations. May the good LORD prosper the pious endeavours of all that may be concerned therein, and of all that are now labouring for the propagation of this Truth. "Please commend me good respects to Mr. Chastanier, and accept the same yourself, from, Sir, "Your friend and servant "THOMAS HARTLEY."
(Published for the first time in The New Church Magazine, 1885, p. 389.)
Thomas Hartley was removed from the natural life on December 10th, 1784. The occurrence was noted in the following passage in the Diary of his friend, Mr. Samuel Scott, of Hertford, a distinguished member of the Quakers:
"Twelfth month 20, 1784.- This day I was informed of the decease of my dear and worthy friend, Thomas Hartley, who departed this life on the 10th instant. I had been personally acquainted with him for more than nine years. We were very dissimilar in our natural dispositions and in our sentiments respecting various points; in others we were firmly united, our union being more in the spirit than the letter; the inward than the outward. He was a man of unaffected piety, great sincerity, and exquisite sensibility; deeply suffering under a sense of his own defects in particular and of the depravity of fallen nature in general; following a crucified Saviour in the regeneration, according to his measure. There is abundant cause for a comfortable hope that he now rests from his labours, 'where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest.'" (Documents, Vol. 1, p 600).
Thus ends the story of the earthly life of this early disciple of the LORD, in His Second Advent. His love of the Divine Truth was great and his faith strong, even though not entirely free from obscurities (and who dare boast of such freedom?), and his services to the infant New Church were many and important. He, too, we have no doubt, has gone to join the saints of the LORD'S New Heaven, and again to grasp the hand of his heart's friend, Emanuel Swedenborg. Well may the New Church honor his memory!
Title Unspecified 1895
The celestial is all the good of faith.-A. C. 880.
FIRST NEW CHURCH COMPOSER. 1895
DEAR SIR: Referring to your interesting account of "The First New Church Composer" (New Church Life, 1895, p. 102), I venture to point out that the well-known tune by Barthelemon, called "Morning Hymn," and usually set to Bishop Ken's verses beginning "Awake, my soul, and with the sun," appears in The New Magazine of for May, 1791, p. 232, under the title "The New Jerusalem," with the following words subjoined:
"Great God, Thy kingdom is begun, And Thou wilt reign from sun to still: Thy praise shalt sound from shore to shore, Thy kingdom stand, and fall no more."
This is the first verse of Hymn 28 in Mr. Proud's Hymn-book; and there is no indication that the music had appeared in any previous connection. Mr. Barthelemon was an occasional visitor at the house of my grandfather, who was an enthusiastic musical amateur, and whose family retained some interesting reminiscences of their distinguished but eccentric guest. Faithfully yours, JOHN PRESLAND.
LONDON, N. W., August 27th, 1895.
By a singular but interesting coincidence, shortly after the account of Mr. Barthelemon appeared in the Life, Mr. James Warrington, a Philadelphia correspondent of Notes and Queries (published in England), wrote that the tune usually sung to "Awake, My Soul," is found in Hymns selected from the most approved Authors, for the use of Trinity Church, Boston, 1808. "The Rev. J. Duche, for whom the tune was written, was a Philadelphian, then living in London, and I imagine he brought the tune with him when he returned to this country. I have made inquiries about this latter book, but up to the present can gain no information. The Rector of Trinity Church informs me that old members of the church whom he asked know nothing about the book." In a subsequent issue, an English correspondent, Mr. Will T. Brooke, apparently a Newchurchman, gave mote particular information, and his letter, in revised form, was reprinted in Morning Light of September 14th: "In the Dictionary of Music and Musicians, under 'Barthelemon,' Mr. Warrington will find it stated that the tune was composed 'about 1780.' I have before me Psalms and Hymns for the Use of the Chapel of the Asylum for Female Orphans, a new and enlarged edition, 1794. The music is not given, but the names of the composers are. When it is remembered that the Rev. Jacob Duche was chaplain of the institution (which chaplaincy he resigned in 1790, on his return to America), and note that the 1794 book is 'a new and enlarged edition,' we cannot feel surprised at finding Duche's name and Barthelemon's in connection, Duche being given as the composer of Psalm lxviii, T. S. Duche of Hymn 14, and Barthelemon of Hymns 8, 16 (the 'Morning Hymn'), 26 and 27. The last number,
'Come, Faith Divine, thy powers impart,'
was published about 1790 as a 'duet, the words by Mr. Duche,' a copy being in the British Museum. "The connection of the Rev. Jacob Duche with Barthelemon was religious as well as musical, for, although the fact is not mentioned in the Dictionary of American. Biography under 'Duche,' nor under 'Barthelemon' in the Dictionary of National Biography or the Dictionary of Music and Musicians, both were among the earliest followers of Emanuel Swedenborg in this country. In Hindmarsh's History of the Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church in England, America, and Other Parts, p. 23, I find, among other names of early adherents (i. e., in 1784):
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"'Mr. F. H. Barthelemon, Musical Preceptor to their late Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York, Gloucester, and Cumberland, and of his Supreme Highness, the Duke of Brunswick, and for several years Leader of the Band at the Ancient Concerts and the King's Theatre.'
"In the same volume it is stated on p.40 that 'the Rev. Jacob Duche, Chaplain to the Asylum for Female Orphans, had embraced the doctrines of the New Church,' and that 'many of our friends [of whom Barthelemon was, probably, one] attended his ministry on the Sundays.' A further account of Duche will be found in the Monthly Observer for 1857, p. 79, and of Barthelemon in the memoir prefixed by his daughter in 1827 to selections from his unpublished oratorio Jefta in Massa. "Not only so, but on his return to America, Duche became connected with James Glen, the leader of the New Church in America, and his daughter, Esther Duche, married the Rev. W. Hill, the translator of Swedenborg's Apocalypsis Explicate. It only remains to add that Barthelemon contributed to the New Jerusalem Magazine, 1790 (of which six numbers appeared, followed in 1791 by a supplement), seven compositions, four of which are part of a never-completed setting of the Bible version of the Psalms, and the remainder are anthems." [Here the correspondent quotes part of the prospectus of the Magazine published in the Life for July.] "Of the Hymn 8 for Trinity Church, Boston, 1808, I can tell Mr. Warrington nothing, but the preface shows there was an earlier edition, and the fact that two of the hymns are by the Rev. Joseph Proud, the earliest New Church hymn-writer, will serve, like Barthelemon's tune, to show Duche's influence here again. At present the first point will be to find the earlier edition of the 1794 book, and then whether any musical edition of the same was issued in any form containing the 'Morning Hymn.'" Still another correspondent writes to Notes and Queries: "In answer to the query on his subject, I send a copy of a few lines taken from a brief sketch of the Life of Barthemon, written by his daughter (Cecilia Maria, married Capt. Edward Prentis Henslowe, my paternal grandmother):
"'About the year 1780 an acquaintance commenced between Mr. Barthelemon and the Rev. Jacob Duche, then chaplain to the Asylum (or House of Refuge) for Female Orphans, a man of talent and exemplary piety. One immediate consequence of this acquaintance was an application to. Mr. Barthlemon to compose a hymn tune to
"Awake my soul, and with the sun,"
a composition which has been heard with delight ever since. He also composed many hymns and anthems for the benefit of the same charity, and was complimented with a governorship for life.'
"I have the book of Hymns and Psalms Used at the Asylum, printed for W. Grawler (organist). It has not that tune in it, though it has several others by Barthelemon. "RAY COLLICOTT "EAST ACTON."
Barthelemon's daughter must, perforce, be considered good authority; yet it seems not a little strange that if Barthelemon's music had been originally composed for Bishop Ken's hymn, the New Magazine of Knowledge should print it as if written for one of Mr. Proud's hymns. It followed upon the publication of Barthelemon's other New Church music in the New Jerusalem Magazine, and is the only tune that was specially published for a New Church hymn. The investigations of the correspondents of Notes and Queries have not revealed any earlier publication of the tune than that in the New Magazine of Knowledge, of the existence of which they make no mention. As this tune has awakened widespread interest, we reproduce it herewith, for it will be of interest to many who may not have access to the volume. We also supply, from Mr. Proud's book, the rest of the verses of the hymn for which it was printed and which is superscribed "On Daniel ii, 24."
THE NEW JERUSALEM.
The Music by F. H. BARTHELMON.
Great God, Thy Kingdom is begun, And
Thou wilt reign from sun to sun;
Thy praise shall sound from shore to
shore, Thy Kingdom stand, and fall no more.
[the first verse is set to music.]
2. Now all the boasting suns of pride From JESU'S presence seek to hide, Usurpers tremble from their throne, And our JEHOVAH reigns alone.
3. The dragon mighty to devour, Who rul'd with a tyrannic pow'r; The serpent conning to decoy, The devil eager to destroy;
4. These all the LORD shall pot to flight, And Hell shall tremble at His sight; Kingdoms of darkness now must fall, And JESUS be the LORD of all.
The Rev. Joseph Proud, one of the earliest ministers of the New Church, a popular and highly-esteemed preacher, realizing that none of the compositions and collections of psalms, hymns, and songs extant in the Christian Church "are adapted to the New Church, nor are they consistent with the genuine doctrines and truths of the Holy Word," himself composed hymns to the number of 359, "for the use of the New Church, signified by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation."
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Although many are not of first literary excellence, yet the Church of that period appreciated the New Church spirit that pervaded them. They were approved by the General Conference which met in the year 1790, and, as the copy before us shows, the fifth edition was published by the author in the-year 1818. The variety of topics of which they treat is great, and the perusal of the author's index to the contents is in itself a profitable study. Mr. David G. Goyder, in his Autobiography of a Phrenologist, says that "to many of these hymns the celebrated Barthelemon, at that time conductor of the orchestra at the Royal Opera, had composed tunes." One of the tunes," But Oh! how peaceful is the soul," Mr. Goyder reproduces in his book, as he considered it "truly charming." He introduces the music with the explanation: "I have never seen it in print, and I have no copy of it in manuscript. I recollect a Mr. Gregory wrote out several books of Barthelemon's music which were used in the choir, but I was not rich enough to purchase a copy. I will, however, try to write the tune set to the hymn above mentioned from memory." It would be of general interest to ascertain whether any of these manuscript books are still in existence among the descendants of the Newchurchmen of that day (1814). Mr. Goyder often attended the Lisle Street chapel where Mr. Proud preached, because there was a good organ: "I was passionately fond of the organ; and greatly enjoyed the music of Barthelemon." It is possible that Mr. Duche, seeing or hearing the tune used for Mr. Proud's hymn, "The New Jerusalem," found it applicable to Bishop Ken's hymn and introduced it, as his position in the Old Church may have rendered it inexpedient to use Proud's hymn. Moreover Bishop Ken's verses may have been considered more rhetorical and poetical in dress than Mr. Proud's song of "The New Jerusalem." But one cannot fail to note the contrast between the two. The latter is in confession of the LORD'S Second Coming, while the former bears out Mr. Proud's criticism of Old Church hymns that they are not "consistent with the genuine doctrines and truths of the holy Word;" as witness the lines:
"And with the angels bear thy part, Who all night bag unwearied sing Glory to Thee, eternal King'"
To supplement the remarks in the Life, on page 102, it may be observed that Bishop Ken's hymn, with Barthelemon's notes, has also found place in the Magnificat published by the General Convention, though the melody is slightly changed, and the harmony varies from that indicated in the old-fashioned way in the New Magazine of Knowledge. The composers name is incorrectly spelled "Bartholemon" In a number of American hymnals of the Old Church that we have examined we find different tunes for Bishop Ken's hymn, but nowhere Barthelemon's. Since writing the article on "The First New Church Composer," we have also ascertained that the sketch of his life credited to Moore's Encyclopedia, is a translation of the article in the French Biogrophie Universelle des Musiciens, etc., published at Paris in the year 1835 by F. J. Fetis. In a German contemporaneous musical encyclopedia (by Gerber, published in Leipzig in 1790), Barthelemon is described as "one of the fieriest and most feeling [empfindungsvollsten] violinists of this century." He is said to have visited Germany in the year 1777, then to have gone to Italy, where he married a singer with a beautiful voice and dramatic power, with whom, at the time of writing, he was living in London a happy life. While in Naples he received an autograph letter from the Queen to her sister, the Queen of France, with whom he obtained an audience on his way to London, his permanent home, where as noted above, he also became preceptor of royal personages. Of the Rev. Jacob Duche, who was the chaplain of the First Continental Congress, which met at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, in the year 1774, much that is of interest might be said, and the references to him, occurring above, urge on an account of his connection with the two movements for freedom-the one on the spiritual plane the other on the civil plane; but though the topic is exceedingly interesting, this does not appear to be the place for enlarging on it.
Title Unspecified 1895
The spiritual does not live except from the celestial, which is from the Lord.-A. C. 880.
RELATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. A. W. MANNING 1895
DEAR LIFE:-I note with surprise your reply in Life for July. It did not answer the first part at all, for you said man was spiritual and woman celestial. I asked you to refer me to the Writings. It would seem by your answer that no answer from the Writings could be produced, because it was simply a mistake of the writer, for there are as many husbands in the celestial heavens as wives. Your other reply to my question was not to the point, because I was, or intended to have reference to the celestial, while your answer pertained to the spiritual man, for the spiritual man has conscience within the understanding, while the will of the celestial is within the cerebellum. Your answer, therefore, was entirely on another degree and plane. I do-not want to be critical, but, the Life, more than others, seems to point out the flaws in the Messenger and otherwise. We are only human, and being so, can and are, liable to be in error; but the honest way -is to admit it without a second thought, but this can only be done when it is seen as such. With the kindest feelings and regards, I remain yours, A. W. MANNING.
ANSWER.
IT is even more evident from the present letter than from the first that our friend confines the meaning of the terms "celestial" and "spiritual" strictly to the reception of the influx of the LORD in discrete degrees, as if the term "celestial" meant only what is of the third or celestial heaven; for he says, "there are as many husbands in the celestial heavens as wives," implying, that when it is said that "woman is celestial and man spiritual," it means that the wife is in the celestial heaven and the husband in the spiritual heaven-an unfortunate existence which could not have been meant. That the terms celestial and spiritual have another meaning was sought to be shown when it was said that "the terms celestial and spiritual are universal terms." By this is meant that these terms are applicable to certain things in the whole and in every part of heaven. There are things celestial and spiritual in the celestial, in the spiritual, and in the natural heaven.
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In other words, and this perhaps will make the matter quite plain, the term "celestial" is the same as "good," and the term "spiritual" is the same as "truth," as is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 1613, where length and breadth are said to signify "the celestial and the spiritual, or, what is the same, good and truth." That woman is good and man truth, or that woman is affectional and man intellectual, is quite evident, not only from Revelation, but from common observation. And this is true of the celestial couple as well as of the spiritual couple. It is, indeed, revealed that in the celestial kingdom the husband is in affection, and the woman in cognitions of good and truth, but these are celestial affection and celestial cognitions and differ from the spiritual affection and cognitions to such an extent that they cannot be compared. It does not change that relation of husband and wife which was declared in the notes to which our correspondent has taken exception, and the intention to make which clearer led to the use of the perhaps unusual statement that woman is celestial and man spiritual. The object of those notes was to call attention to the intellectual character of man, and the affectional of woman, in the influence which the two exercise upon the education of infants and children, which is the most Important use that is committed to mankind. A wife, whether of the celestial or of the spiritual kingdom, has the charge of infants during their early years, during which time celestial remains are stored up, while the husband's charge comes later, when the sun's surroundings in the spiritual world are of a spiritual as contrasted with a celestial quality, and when his understanding is being formed. There exists considerable misapprehension concerning the contrast between celestial and spiritual couples, a misapprehension which leads to a conception of the subject as if the relation in the celestial kingdom were the inverse of that of the spiritual kingdom. The same characteristics which make woman so attractive to man are to be found in the celestial as in the spiritual kingdom. It is the essential quality which is different. The gentleness of demeanor, the softness of body, the sweetness of voice, which characterize the woman are found in her whether she be of the celestial or of the spiritual kingdom. In a couple of the celestial kingdom as with a couple of the spiritual kingdom, it is pre eminently in the mother's sphere that celestial remains are stored up and the-will is forming, and in the father's sphere that spiritual remains are stored up, and the understanding is forming. That the relation between husband and wife is practically similar in the celestial kingdom to what it is in the spiritual kingdom, is made evident to us by the words of a husband of that kingdom. In Swedenborg's narration of his visit to those who had lived during the golden age, he quotes these words as being spoken to him by a husband of that period: "We two are two bodies, but one mind; the union between us is as that of the two tents in the breast, which are called the heart and lungs; she is my heart; and I am her lungs; but because by heart here we understand love, and by lungs, wisdom, she is the love of my wisdom, and I am the wisdom of her love; wherefore her love from without veils nay wisdom, and my wisdom from within is in her love" (C. L. 75).
Title Unspecified 1895
Worship itself is nothing but a certain activity existing from the celestial which is within; the celestial itself can never exist without an active, and worship is the first active.-A. C. 1561.
Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN Man in Eden, a pamphlet of twenty-five pages, Mr. D. L. Thompson, of Toronto, declares his faith in the "Trinity of Words," the Hebrew, the Greek, and the Latin, and in a perception and knowledge of God from His Word, restored by means of the Latin Revelation.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. John E. Bowers, who has been studying astronomy for several years and has delivered lectures on the subject in various New Church centres, is rewriting the series and making of them a Treatise in seven or eight parts, which he hopes to publish in a few months. The title of the book is to be, "Suns and Worlds of the Universe: Their Origin, Formation, and Ultimate Uses; Outlines of Astronomy, according to the Philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg. With a Thesis on Man a Microcosm"
Title Unspecified 1895
Morning Light of September 14th, contains an advertisement calling for membership in a proposed New Church Socialist Society. Two "definitions" of the proposed socialism head the advertisement: "Religious-the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of Man. Social-to each according to his needs; from each according to his powers." Mr. Benson, of Manchaster, and Mr. S. J. C. Goldsack sign the call, and the Rev. T. Child and Mr. L. P. Ford are mentioned as having promised their support.
Title Unspecified 1895
Spencer's Weekly gives notice in its issue of August 17th that it will virtually cease its publication in its present form and under its present style, with that issue, but will be incorporated with a magazine-journal which will appear under another name and style and new proprietorship and editorship. Mr. Spencer says: "Single-handed I cannot go on any further without financial embarrassment. I know of no mandate in the code of ethics which demands that any champion of reform shall entangle himself in the shallows and miseries of indebtedness, and for my part, I don't intend to enter them."
Title Unspecified 1895
A HOMOEOPATHIC physician who stands concededly at the head of his profession, requested the reprinting, in pamphlet form, of the sermon on the "Stream of Providence," by Bishop Pendleton, which was published in Life, for May 1895, as he desired it for distribution to counteract, in his field, the modern falsities of science and philosophy. The sermon, with the sub-title "A Sermon on the Influx of the Divine into Forms of Life, and its Manifestation and Reaction in Ultimates; involving a Spiritual Explanation of Evolution and Kindred Laws," has accordingly been published by the Academy Book Room, 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, where it will be kept in stock.
Title Unspecified 1895
WRITING in the New Church Magazine for August, on "The New Church and the Nation," a contributor says: "There has been a society in Leeds for fully seventy years; and yet the general belief or impression amongst educated people in the town is that we are either Christadelphians or members of the 'Catholic Apostolic Church,' and I doubt not that the same holds true of most, if not all, of the other towns in the kingdom. How is this deplorable ignorance to be removed except by unusual effort?" The proposition is to raise L10,000 and to employ "Missionary Ministers" to dispel this ignorance. The ignorance complained 6f is not of necessity a proof that the Church has been lacking in missionary effort, but it certainly is a proof that the world is not "thirsting" for the Heavenly Doctrines. There is not a man living who is "thirsting" for the truth that he may live according to it, who is without it. Were it otherwise, could the mercy of the LORD be Infinite? There is danger in the belief that the LORD needs us to proclaim His Word. It is we who need the use.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. T. K. Payton contributes another study on the subject of "Remains" to The New Church Magazine. He shows that the Writings distinguish between the "storing up" and the "implanting" of Remains.
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He says: "Remains are stored up in man's interiors during his minority and without his knowledge or co-operation; but they are implanted only in his external man, and never before he is able, in freedom, to act from himself according to his own judgment, to endure spiritual temptations, and to co-operate with the LORD in the work of his regeneration; hence, not before he has arrived at the age of reason. They are stored up in order to furnish man with the necessary means to effect his salvation; but only so far as they are implanted in his external man is this brought into a state of order, in which it acts in unity with the internal man; consequently only so far is man regenerated. Hence the process by which Remains are implanted is really the process by which conscience is formed in man and he acquires a spiritual character. Moreover, they are stored up in the interiors of all, but so long as any remain indifferent about spiritual things, and live entirely for themselves and the world, they cannot be implanted, because for their implantation an earnest desire is requisite, and an effort on the part of man to live for heaven."
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
HUMILITY OF CONJUGIAL LOVE. DAVID H. KLEIN 1895
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."
IT is the essential of love not to love self, but to love others and to be conjoined to them by love. The essential of love, moreover, is to be loved by others, for thus there is conjunction. The essence of all love consists in conjunction, yea, this is its life, which is called delight, happiness, and beatitude. Love consists in this, that its own should be another's. To fed the joy of another as joy in one's self; that is loving. The Divine Love is the Very Love Itself, and from it is the Inmost of all the loves of angels and of men. Since the essence of all love is such that it wills to give itself to others, this is infinitely so of the Divine Love. Because its nature is such, the LORD created the human race, in order that it might receive His Love and be made forever blessed and happy from Him. Creation involves perpetual preservation, so that the LORD continually operates to conjoin man to Himself by love. The LORD came into the world that He might do this, for at the time of His Coming the power of the hells prevailed over the power of heaven, so that mankind was in danger of being separated from the LORD, and thus from the Divine Love. By conquering the hells and glorifying His Human, the LORD accomplished the great work of Redemption of the human race. Man may now be forever conjoined to the LORD by love, unless he voluntarily separates himself from Him. The regeneration of man is a finite image of the Divine work of the Glorification. Corresponding to that state of the LORD'S life on earth which is called His Humiliation before the Father, is that state in man of humility to the LORD which is the essential of all regeneration. This is that wherein man recognizes that of himself he is nothing, and that all of life and love that he has is from and by the mercy of the LORD. This humility is what animates the regenerating man throughout his whole life, for it has in it primarily love to the LORD. It finds expression in his life and thus in his regeneration, in those things which constitute charity toward the neighbor. Regeneration can take place fully only in a marriage, and it is in the state of marriage that the quality of humility becomes especially apparent. In a marriage the life and thought of one consort is so thoroughly the complement of the life and thought of the other that the two make one complete man. Together do they shun evils as sins, and together do they become regenerate. In order that there may be a true humility toward the LORD and thus to that of the LORD which is in the other, it is necessary that each consort should recognize his relation to the other, and are what in the Divine order is the place each should fill in the solemn covenant which makes them one. Divine Revelation alone, which teaches of Conjugial Love and of the nature of man and woman, can do this. Man and woman are spiritual beings and will therefore live to all eternity. The organism of the one, although essentially different from that of the other, is nevertheless so formed that it is the exact complement of it The male is essentially masculine in all his parts, in all the forms and affections of his mind, and in the very fibres and organs of his body. The female is similarly essentially feminine. Both are receptacles of love and wisdom from the LORD, but the difference between them consists in this: The inmost of the male is love which is veiled with wisdom; the inmost of the female is that wisdom of the male, and its covering is love derived from this. As love desires conjunction with wisdom, and wisdom with its love, so is there in the male and in the female a desire for a union into a one, and this desire is inmostly latent in every singular of both. This union is effected by regeneration. The love of the man is the love of growing wise. Woman is the love of the wisdom of the man which he has acquired by his love of growing wise. Since it is the wisdom in him that she loves, this becomes her life because it is her love. Hence it is inmost with her. When she in her life appropriates the wisdom of the man, loves it, and places herself is obedience to it, it first truly becomes wisdom, for it is animated by Conjugial Love which descends from the LORD, and which is received through her alone as a wife. It is Conjugial Love that gives soul and life to wisdom, and this wisdom so vivified is the wisdom man is to love. That which he has acquired by his love of growing wise, in him, is not really wisdom, and were he to love this, he would immerse himself in the pride of self-intelligence, which is spiritual death. But when this has been taken from him, received by the wife, and she by means of Conjugial Love has vivified it, then he may fully love this wisdom as it is received in her. This idea of the correspondence of man and woman, and of their relationship and union, is expressed in the Letter of the Word in treating of the creation of woman, where it says that JEHOVAH GOD took a rib from the man and from it built a woman. Here a rib, which is a bone of the cheat, signifies the proprium of man, which is the conceit of his self-intelligence. This has but little vitality, and, when viewed from heaven, appears like something bony, inanimate, and thoroughly deformed. Therefore, it was mercifully taken from man by the LORD. But when the LORD took it away, He put in place thereof flesh, which signifies the proprium of man vivified by the LORD. This flesh is the proprium of man, vivified by the LORD through the Conjugial Love of the wife. When there is a conjunction of the wisdom of the husband with the love of the wife, Conjugial Love is said to exist such as it is with the angels of the highest heaven. Yet this does not take place until both are regenerated, until the perverse human faculties of man and woman are subdued and checked, and their thoughts and affections brought into conformity to the Divine Law.
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This is the work of regeneration, and in it there is humility and the abasement of self. This humility consists in an acknowledgment from the heart of the mutual dependence of one upon the other, of how much of life and love from the LORD one derives from the other, and a consequent reverence and love toward that in the other which is from the LORD. The unregenerate man is in the pride of his own intelligence. Instead of loving his wisdom as it exists in the wife, he loves it only in himself. The knowledges and scientifics which he has, and the judgment which he exercises in his life, appear to him to be things derived from his own power. He loves these, and desires that the world should know and recognize them in him. He longs for exaltation on account of them. This is the love of self, the pride of self-intelligence, and the very opposite of the heavenly quality of humility. In this, primarily, there is no humility toward the LORD, because there is no recognition that all his power of rational thought is from the Divine Truth, which is from the LORD, there is no acknowledgment, which is the true requisite of humiliation of the heart, that in himself there is nothing alive and nothing good that he is most unworthy, vile, and filthy, and that the LORD, out of His Infinite Mercy, is continually drawing and keeping him out of the hells into which he is continually desiring to plunge himself. The essence of humility being thus wanting, there is with him no true humility toward that of the LORD which is in the consort. He does not love her, since he does not will to give that which is of himself, which is his wisdom, to her, but loves this in himself. Since woman is the reactive principle in a marriage, if the love of the man is self-centered and does not go forth, there is no reaction which can give new strength and support to his love. In a word, he cannot receive Conjugial Love through her, out of heaven, from the LORD. Thus he not only destroys all hope of the exaltation of his wisdom into celestial light, but he deprives the wife of that which forms a plane in her life for the reception of Conjugial Love- from the LORD. Influx is according to efflux, and Conjugial Love can go forth to the consort only in proportion that she receives from him the wisdom which she may clothe in a form so beautiful and tender. If she does not receive this, there is in their life no reciprocation, no active or reactive, and hence no conjunction. Everything that goes forth desires to return, for the esse of its life is that from which it proceeded, and to which it longs to be conjoined. That is why all creation aspires to the human form: in order that it may thus receive life and be conjoined to the LORD. And so it is with woman, who is good in form, or the good from truth. Good from truth, which is feminine, loves to be conjoined to the truth from good, which is masculine. To be a true wife a woman in form must look to be that good which continually longs for the increase of its truth. She becomes good from the truth or wisdom of the man, which is inmost with her. She does this by means of Conjugial Love which she receives from the LORD, and this she gives to the husband. Thus she becomes a representative image of the love defined in the first part of this paper, in that she longs to love or give that which is of herself to another, and to be loved or receive from another in return. Thus there is a perpetual circle of giving and receiving, which, while it draws the husband and wife ever closer and closer together into a one, draws them also ever nearer and nearer to the heat and light of heaven on the truly living plane of use. Conjugial Love exists in the development of use, and only in use can it grow and prosper. In use it is Conjugial Love from the wife which stimulates man in his work, which inspires him with a determination toward a more definite purpose in life, and which gives character and form to all us acts of charity toward the neighbor. The knowledge in man that without this love of the wife there would be with him no interior pleasantness of life, and that without her affection for his truth he could not be in true wisdom, calls from him a spirit of humility toward her. In their relationship there should be with him no desire to rule for the sake of pre-eminence, for, although he lead in the guidance of their lives (because his form is intellectual) there is nothing of merit attached to him on account of this. In the regenerating man, humility is instinct within a holy fear at the great responsibility the LORD has given in the commission of so sacred a trust, and it is expressed toward the wife by the acknowledgment of the precious boon she gives by the sweet addition of her life to his. Conscious of his own unworthiness, the regenerating man is humble at the thought of the humility of the wife in submitting her will to the decisions of his judgment, by a life of loving obedience. The opposite of humility, which in man is the pride of his own intelligence, has its counterpart in woman. The pride of man is the perversion of the intellectual form, and that of woman is a perversion of the voluntary. The voluntary of the woman is the love of the love of growing wise in the husband. The perversion of it is the love of that in herself which ought to be loved by the husband alone. It is the admiration in herself of the grace and loveliness of her form, which she has because she is a correspondential form of the affection of truth. Since she admires these in herself, she wills the admiration of others given so as to minister to her love of self. From this comes willfulness and capriciousness, which bear no restraint but rush forth untempered by justice or judgment. Heavenly obedience cannot dwell in these, and so there is no subordination of the will to the judgment of the husband, because in such a state, this appears as slavery. Her love being self-centered, the wisdom of the man is not inmost with her, and she does not represent the celestial feminine form of the good from truth. She is closed to the reception of Conjugial Love from the LORD, and since she does not love the wisdom in man, there is with her no desire for its growth and increase. Therefore nothing goes forth from her to him, there is no reactive to his love of growing wise, and the stimulus to his life being absent, his usefulness, although not destroyed, does not grow to its full fruition. The perversion of the masculine form, then, which destroys humility, is the man's love of his own wisdom. The perversion of the feminine is the woman's love of her own beauty.- These loves, if rightly subordinated, may indeed be present together with a true humility toward the LORD. For it is right and important that man should recognize the gift of rational thought, the power of elevating his understanding to the light of heaven which he has by virtue of the fact that he is a form made to receive wisdom. Only it is important that there be with him the acknowledgment that it is the LORD'S and has only been adjoined to him because of infinite mercy. Then he may even delight in the honor which men pay to his wisdom, since it will be a delight in the use which that wisdom performs in the world. And so also may woman love her beauty.
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We are told "that every woman in heaven and on earth wishes to appear beautiful in face and beautiful in manners, because she is born an affection of love. The form of that affection is beauty: wherefore, a woman who does not wish to be beautiful is not a woman who wishes to be loved and to love, and, consequently, is not truly a woman." It is, therefore, a right and a duty in woman to exhalt her beauty as a gift from the LORD, in the humble wish that she may become a more perfect representation of that form of the affection of truth imposed upon her by the LORD'S Divine Order of creation. Man being intellectual in form, is grave, harsh, and hard. The angular forms of truth with him are stiff and unyielding, so that his judgments are severe, wanting in the quality of mercy and love. Woman is pacific, yielding and tender, moved by affection, needing the light of judgment. Each has that which will make the life of the other complete and perfect. As both from the LORD shun evils as sins, and coming more and more into the heat and light of the Conjugial life, the husband will unconsciously grow more soft and tender from the sphere of his wife, and although his form will forever remain intellectual, his judgment will be tempered with justice and mercy, and the light of his understanding be infilled with the gentle heat of love. The wife will grew more wise and less capricious under the guidance of his judgment. Loving him, she will trust him. Though his judgment at times be at fault, conscious of his sincere effort to be guided in his life by the truths of faith; she knows that in yielding to his judgment she places herself in the stream of Providence, for the humility she thus expresses is toward the LORD or that of the LORD which is in him, and not to himself. DAVID H. KLEIN.
DR. MESSITER MISTAKEN FOR MR. HARTLEY. ERNEST J. STEBBING 1895
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 18th, 1895. TO THE EDITOR OF NEW CHURCH LIFE:. Dear Sir:-IN connection with the article in the Life for September on "Thomas Hartley," it may be of interest to your readers to know that at one time it was believed that Dr. Messiter was the friend to whom Swedenborg sent the letter known as the Answer to a Letter written to me by a Friend. This appears from the fact that in an edition of Heaven and Hell, published in London in 1817 by the Swedenborg Society, containing this letter, a footnote is added which is as follows:
"It has been generally supposed that the friend here addressed was Mr. Hartley, and it is so stated in the Aurora, Vol. II. p. 222 (? 223), where the original Latin is given, and also in the letter as prefixed to the work On the Intercourse between the Soul and the Body; but this is a mistakes the friend in compliance with whose request the above letter was written having been ascertained to be the late Dr. Messiter, a physician of eminence in his day."
This same note appears again in a reprint of the 1817 edition of Heaven and Hell, which was issued by Thomas Goyder in London in 1823. That the annotator is in error will be shown presently. It seems strange that the journals of the Church covering this period (1817-1823), so far as access has been had to them, have not corrected this note. The copy of the Intercourse, etc., referred to in the note, was perhaps published by the editor, R. Hindmarsh, at London in 1784, the year of Hartley's death. The title of the letter is "An Answer to a Letter from the Rev. T. H." The Aurora, containing the Latin copy of the letter, was published in the year 1800. An extract from the letter of the correspondent is as follows:
"The following Latin copy of the reply made by Emanuel Swedenborg to Mr. Hartley's queries respecting his character and connections being the only one that has been seen in England, and which indeed came out of Mr. Hartley's library, I have sent it for insertion in your magazine for the perusal of your readers."
Dr. Tafel, in his Documents, Vol. Ill, Part II, p. 1011, says: "This letter which Swedenborg addressed to the Rev. T. Hartley in August, 1769, was published by the latter gentleman during that year in the Latin and English languages." If further proof be needed that the Rev. T. Hartley was the recipient of the letter under notice, it will be found by reference to Documents 1 and 2 of Tafel's Documents. The first is a letter from Hartley to Swedenborg; the second is Swedenborg's reply. This reply quotes from Mr. Hartley's letter, and thus he is indisputably identified with it. Further, Document 3 is Mr. Hartley's acknowledgment of Swedenborg's reply. That the mistake could have been made that Dr. Messiter was the friend who received the "Answer," can only be accounted for by supposing that the existence of Mr. Hartley's letters to Swedenborg, constituting Documents 1 and 3, was unknown. It would be interesting to know what authority was consulted which led to the conclusion arrived at by the annotator of the 1817 edition of Heaven and Hell. Yours truly, ERNEST J. STEBBING.
GOSSIP. 1895
THERE is a creature born of hell- And taking of the nature of that hell That feeds on others' ills - That loves dissection of a soul As carrion birds to claw their prey. When virtues of an absent one are praised, A counter vice is on her tongue. She is all eyes, and ears, and mouth, To drink in others' foibles, faults, and sins; Sucking filth through silver straws, And hiding foulest lust Beneath the cloak of sympathy. Her eyes are glasses magnifying evils seen; Mirrors that distort the lovelinness of character. Strange she doth most infest That sex whose chief delight is charity. She's of the Old; and in the New The sword of Truth Will cut her from our midst. P. W. V.
Title Unspecified 1895
THAT even devils can elevate their understanding into the light of heaven, and perceive spiritual truths, is evident from Machiavelli. Although his book on The Prince is a barefaced advocacy of diabolical principles, he gives utterance in it to a fundamental truth of theology which was denied by the Church in the midst of which he lived, and which in consequence forms part of the new Revelation. After referring to the immediate leading of the Israelites by God, Machiavelli says, "God will not do everything immediately, because He will not deprive us of our free-will." That he adds "and of the honor that devolves upon us," simply shows that although he saw the truth, he did not keep it unmixed with falses of evil. Were such an expression to be found at the present day in-the writings of an eminent man, we should find it proclaimed by those who are continually on the watch for the progress of the New Church, that "this is an instance of the spread and reception of New Church Truth!"
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LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is "The Maples," Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery Co., Pa. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
PHILADELPHIA, OCTOBER, 1895=126
CONTENTS. PAGE EDITORIAL: Notes 145 Use, the Receptacle of Good (a Sermon) 146 Hurting or Destroying Truths or Goods with Oneself or with Others (Exodus xx, 1 11) 148 Love, the Essence of Prayer 149 Egypt, I 150 Thomas Hartley (concluded) 151 The First New Church Composer 153 The Relation of Husband and Wife 155 NOTES AND REVIEWS 156 COMMUNICATED: The Humility of Conjugial Love 157 Dr. Messiter Mistaken for Mr. Hartley 159 Gossip 159 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH The Academy of the New Church 160 General Church of the Advent of the LORD 160 The Church at Large 160 BIRTHS, DEATH, WANTED 160 THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
ON Sunday, September 8th and 15th, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt preached for the Society during the absence of the Rev. George G. Starker, on a short occasion. THE Philadelphia Schools of the Academy re-open on Tuesday, October 1st, at 10:30 o'clock A. M. The country branch, consisting of a goodly portion of the preparatory schools, opens on Monday, October 7th. THE Chancellor has started on an extended tour, and expects to visit Toronto, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. THE Rev. C. Th. Odhner, Candidate R. H. Keep, and Dr. C. Louis Olds sailed for Philadelphia on September 14th, arriving a week later. Huntingdon Valley, Pa.-BISHOP Pendleton has continued his valuable series of sermons on the subject of the conjunction between the spiritual world and the natural world, tracing the various forms of revelation and pointing out the dangers of spiritism, and expressing his conviction that the New Church will enjoy and does now enjoy an immediate and at the same time a mediate revelation from the LORD, but that the immediate revelation will never be separated from the mediate, the immediate revelation constituting the perception of or ulterior insight into the truths of revelation. MR. Henry Stroh, well and favorably known as the builder of the school-houses in Berlin and Parkdale, and of two private houses in Glenview, has built a very elegant frame structure for school and church purposes, after plans prepared by Mr. Benjamin Smith, a young New Church architect and former pupil in the schools of the Academy. The building and the ground upon which it stands are the property of Mr. John Pitcairn. The Academy is about to lease the building. The interior is entirely finished in Virginia pine, ceiling and walls being alike covered by this beautiful wood. The furniture of the chancel is of the noble California red-wood (Sequoia). The chancel, which measures 10 x 15 1/2 feet, is lit by a window in the roof; the light being shaded from the congregation by an ornamental tent-like contrivance of wood that rises in the fern of a Japanese roof and meets the ceiling in front of the window. On either side of the chancel is a small room, air and additional light being admitted by ornamental lattice windows. The auditorium measures 35x35 feet, giving more- commodious accommodation for the worshipers than we have had in the city; where the hall of worship was so crowded as to be often: uncomfortable. The auditorium will be transformed into schoolrooms by movable partitions. Much ingenuity has been expended in providing suitable ventilation, experience in former quarters having demonstrated the great need of this. The ceiling is a little over 22 feet from the floor and contains a large ventilator. As noted above, school will begin here on October 7th. Berlin.- THE Berlin School of the Academy was opened on the 2d of September with worship. The lessons read were The True Christian Religion, n. 305-307, and Exodus xx. The head-master preached a sermon on the Fourth Commandment, for the children. The text was explained in its natural, spiritual, and celestial senses. The school opened with twenty-six pupils, of whom seven are in the Boys' School, nine in the Girls' School, and ten in the Primary Department. ON the 10th of September a meeting of the members of the congregation of the Church of the Academy in Berlin was held at the call of the pastor, in order that at this time of the opening of a new season of the performance of the Academy's uses here, the nature of these uses and of our duties toward them might be considered. The pastor delivered arm address in which he pointed out the many blessings which the LORD has bestowed on those of the Church here through the Academy. He spoke of the gratitude toward the Academy which all should feel, and of the necessity of manifesting the same by earnest co-operation in the uses performed. Mr. Jacob Stroh, on behalf of the lay council, addressed those present on the financial support of the uses of Church and School. After remarks by several other members, the Rev. Prof. Enoch S. Price, of Philadelphia, who was spending a few days among us, spoke of the Academy uses in Philadelphia, and also expressed his pleasure an the progress here since his last visit five years ago. ON Sunday, September 15th, the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered.
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD.
A GENERAL meeting of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD will be held at Pittsburgh, Pa., on Tuesday, October 15th, 1895=126, at 10 o'clock A. M. By direction of Bishop Benade, L. G. JORDAN, Secretary.
France.-PASTORS G. C. Ottley and C. Th. Odhner, and Candidate R. H. Keep were present on Sunday, September 1st, with the New Church Circle in Paris. In the morning Pastor Ottley, who had prepared a special service for the occasion, baptized a lady and two children. In the evening he administered the sacrament of the Holy Supper. This was the first time a New Church priest has worn a robe in the worship of the Church in France. Several persons attended from quite a distance. The services took place in the parlor of a hotel.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
Maryland.- THE Rev. L. G. Allbutt of Toronto, has gone to Baltimore to take charge of the Society for a month, with a view to a call as Pastor. The Rev. Hiram Vrooman, it is understood, is leaving the New Church to devote himself to Socialism OHIO.-URBANA University re-opened on September 18th, "with an increased attendance of pupils, and a promise of in increased efficiency."
ENGLAND.
Kearsley.- AT the re-opening of the church here on August 11th, "An interesting feature was the placing on the Communion Table by Mrs. Robert Cooke as a gift to the Church, of the Bible formerly used by the late Rev. John Clowes when visiting the Society meeting at Top o' th' brow, Cinderhill, Ringley." Norwich.- THE New Church Society here has received the gift of a convenient little School-room, built and presented by one of its members. The Society has been in existence about seventy-six years. It has no Pastor.
FRANCE.
Paris.- AT the General Assembly of the New Church held on the 7th on July, a new Constitution was adopted, which a contemporary says, "reads like a good working document." Article V provides for Elders. Article VI; for Deaconesses, and Article X, that women may be on the Executive Committee and other Committees. M. C. Humann was elected President and M. J. Decembre, Vice-President. The Treasurer and Adjunct- Treasurer are the wives of MM Humaun and Decembre. Seven Deaconesses were appointed. An attendant at a service held by the Society a few Sundays ago, says: "M J. Decembre, who is a layman and Journalist, conducted the service. The whole service was painful, distressing, and sacrilegious. No minister, no worship, no holiness, not even reverence except of a most ordinary and perfunctory kind. There were about thirty in attendance."
SWITZERLAND.
MR. Honneger- Denzler, formerly Treasurer of the Swiss New Church Union, a highly esteemed Newchurchman, died at Kussnacht on July 23d, aged 64 years
WANTED. 1895
A strong New Church girl to help with thee children and sewing. For particulars inquire of Mrs. Hugh L. Burnham Glenview Cook County, Ill.
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Title Unspecified 1895
New Church Life Vol. XV, No. 11. PHILADELPHIA, NOVEMBER, 1895=126. Whole No. 181.
Title Unspecified 1895
It is the good of faith which makes the Church-that is, the life of love and charity-according to those things which are of faith.-A. C. 2982.
Title Unspecified 1895
LOVE-love to the LORD, and charity toward the neighbor-which is the essential of the Church, is as various in its activities, its manifestations, and its forms, as the large, the smaller, and the least humanities of which the Church is composed. As "it is the good of faith which makes the Church-that is, the life of love and charity, according to those things which are of faith," and as the things which are of faith are received in great variety by men, so the varieties of the things which are of charity and love are equally great. This variety of love and charity causes the discrimination of Heaven into innumerable heavens of greater or lesser extent, and on earth it will cause the multiplication of Churches.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN the Old Christian Church, churches have differed from each other on the ground of belief, and charity was ignored-nor was it even known what charity is. But in the New Church, a common love, varying in its form, yet one from being directed to the One LORD, and a common charity, exercised in manifold ways, yet recognizing the charity of all, will make a unit of the Church, whose perfection will arise from the harmonious variety of its parts, the goods and truths of faith and charity of which will be so many brilliant gems that add lustre to the "Crown of all the Churches."
Title Unspecified 1895
THE events of the past years foster the belief that, in the wonderful Providence of the LORD, such a new and more perfect state of the New Church has gradually been coming into existence. The first public recognition of the principle of the distinction of Churches according to spiritual law, and not merely extraneous accident, is to be found in the resolution of the General Convention, in the year 1883, against interference with the freedom of any Society to choose, from doctrinal or other internal considerations, to affiliate with any Association. This principle, now so evident, had actually to be contended for at the time. The law of spiritual kinship thus recognized, produced a Church of a growth so vigorous that it outgrew the bonds that connected it with the General Convention, and the last of them were finally sundered to permit its continued progress in freedom according to reason.
Title Unspecified 1895
THEN, under the new and more favorable conditions, the difference between the General Convention and the General Church became more clearly evident. In the one, the gross tritheism of the Old Church was condemned, and the LORD JESUS CHRIST was worshiped as the Only God, and the whole Convention was filled with a zeal to make Him known to the Christian world-but the Revelation of the LORD S Divine Human in the Writings that are His Second Advent found no acknowledgment. The General Church, on the other hand, worshiped the LORD in the temple of the holy truth of His New Evangel and declared its purpose to preach this new gospel of His Kingdom. There are signs that the outward separation and free development of these two general bodies of the New Church have enabled the acerbities of former days to soften and the distinctive uses of both to be recognized in a more fraternal spirit.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN the meanwhile, another Church had progressed on the lines of spiritual development: the Academy of the New Church, whose uses, cordially acknowledged by the General Church, relate to the life of love and charity in the education of men, women, and children. This very vigorous body; growing upside by side with the General Church, has apparently been overshadowing the latter, and this appearance has led to contentions and withdrawals from both. But the report of the last meeting of the General Church, herewith presented, will make it evident that the appearance is about to be dispelled, and that the General Church has entered more fully upon its distinctive life, the performance of its heavenly use of an internal evangelization-a use distinct from that of other Church bodies, yet making one with them to the greater glory of the LORD and of His Kingdom.
Title Unspecified 1895
However many varieties and differences of doctrinals there may be . . . still all together form one Church when all acknowledge charity as the essential of the Church-A. C. 3241
BREAD OF HEAVEN. Rev. GEORGE O. STARKEY 1895
A SERMON
"And it took place in the evening and Selou went up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a position of dew around about the camp. And the position of dew went up, and behold upon the face of the desert a minute round thing, minute as hoarfrost upon the ground. And the Sons of Israel saw, and they said a man to his brother, "Man-hoo?" ("What is this?") because they knew not what this was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which JEHOVAH hath given you to eat."-Exodus xvi, 13, 14, 15.
THE miraculous gift of manna to the famishing Israelites, is one of the most striking manifestations of Divine Mercy recorded in the Word, evidencing as it does in a poetically beautiful and touching way the LORD'S Infinite Love and care for mankind also His Infinite Power to meet all the necessities and conditions that can arise in man's life. But far greater depths of love and manifestations of power than appear, in the relief of mere natural want are revealed in that miracle of miracles, the gifting of man with spiritual life, treated of in the spiritual sense of the passage before us.
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Natural life and its phenomena are indeed wonderful; marvelous are the vivifying operations of unseen forces upon the lifeless particles of the earth's substances, producing everywhere from dead matter forms of living use; but how transcendent in comparison are the spiritual processes by which the LORD makes alive the cold, dark, dead soul of man. The gift of manna, which as was said represents the appropriation of spiritual life by man, took place at the close of the third of the temptations which beset the sons of Israel after they had passed through the Sea Suph and had entered the wilderness; the wilderness representing the temptations of regeneration. Infestations, which belong to the period of reformation, are represented by the trials of the Israelites during the sojourn in Egypt and the flight thence, and the first thirteen chapters of Exodus treat of the period of reformation, or the formation of the new understanding. The next three chapters treat of the beginning and progress of the process of regeneration, or the formation of the new will. Temptations are of increasing severity, for with the approach of spiritual life comes more acute and living sensation, and capacity for both delight and suffering; and each temptation is followed by its own proper form of consolation: for victory in temptation effects the conjunction of good and truth, which is attended with consolation and what is new of life. The first temptation is introductory; it shows man his evils, and excites terror of the infernal crew, who come to his view but are not then allowed to apply themselves intimately to his loves, but at the close of the temptation are shut up for the time, in the Sea Suph. The consolation in that state is a realization of #he Divine power to save. The second temptation is at the waters of Marah and Meribah, where delight in the acquisition of truths fails on account of the non-agreement of those truths with the loves or lusts in the unregenerate natural, which thence suffers pain. In the conflict between opposite delights the sensation of delight fails, i. e., is not perceived. The LORD, however, inspires a new good-a new affection-for truth, which consoles. Since "three" signifies what is complete, the third temptation and victory, mark the full establishment of the good of spiritual life. This is the formation of the new will, in place of the old will, for that-with the man of the spiritual Church-is dead and incapable of resuscitation-incapable of receiving good: it is nothing but evil. Briefly summarized, the procedure in regeneration is this: The LORD, from remains of good implanted from earliest infancy in the rudimentary spiritual mind, excites in the natural mind affections which, though only natural and unregenerate, are still good in form, and therefore correspondential to the heavenly seeds in the nascent internal, to which those natural affections can thus be serviceable, as planes for reception of internal or genuine good. Those natural affections are, in general, the affections of knowing and understanding truths, and the genuine internal affection for which they prepare the way is the affection of truth. This, when it descends into the natural, which is effected by the life of faith and charity, carries with it spiritual good, which is there conjoined with, its own truth; and this constitutes regeneration. Thus it is possible for man to be regenerated because he is created a dual being, having both a spiritual and a natural life, or rather, having receptacles for spiritual and natural life. The natural life is developed first, the spiritual later, and indeed developed by means of the former, despite the fact that the two lives are, at this corrupt day, antagonistic. Life consists in three things: love, which is of the will; thought, which is of the understanding; and operation or action, which is of the body, and which proceeds from both the former two conjoined. Of these the first, or love, is chief; for man is a form of love or will. Such as is the will such will be the thought, and such the life; for the will manifests itself in the thought, in providing means; and in the body, by act. Since the will of man is by inheritance corrupt, the life flowing thence is evil; and for him to acquire spiritual life requires the formation of a new receptacle for it-a new will. To understand the process three attributes of the will are to be considered-activity, freedom, and sensation, or delight. As these are essential to the life of the will, they are essential to the life of man. To live he must love; to love he must be free to love; and for, the love to be free and thus his own, it must be sensated; and that sensation is what is called delight. Nothing of love or life ever becomes man's own until it is perceived as delight; for it is by sensation or I consciousness that man is enabled to receive and perceive life as his own. When the activity of the will-the intention-conjoined to the free reflection of the understanding, descends into the body as action the resulting reaction is perceived as sensation; and because that sensation is the ultimate embodiment of the will's life, it cannot but be delightful. It is the will's conscious of its own ends and desires. Thus life descends into ultimates and is thereby established, and at the same time is connected with its beginnings in the mind, whence there is continuity and increase of life. Hence may be seen the potent effect of acts committed with intent, and with the delight of intention carried out; they form and establish the life of the will, and determine its quality. Delight as the ultimate includes the all of life. It is the end to which and by which the love spontaneously acts. Without it life could not persist, and there it is wholly removed the life sickens and finally dies. The LORD, as being life Itself, is Delight Itself in its first origin; for His Infinite Love is Infinite Joy; and as He is the omnipresent Life of the universe, on every plane thereof existence and its activity are manifested in delight, or in what is analogous. The gifting of man with spiritual existence, which is real life, in place of merely natural existence, which is no life-the vivification of man-consists in a leading of man in freedom from infernal loves to heavenly ones, and from the infernal delights of the former to the heavenly ones of the latter; thus it is an inversion of delights. Nothing less than Divine Power could effect such a substitution of opposite things, nothing less than Infinite Wisdom could provide for the wonderful order and progress of the process, disposing man's affections and leading him without ever violating his freedom-that corner-stone of the human principle with man. When it is remembered that this order varies with all the myriads of human beings created-for no two loves are the same-the mind is overwhelmed, and one wonders that man ever has the audacity to try to interfere in-the regeneration of his fellow-man-in the government and arrangement of his spiritual growth and its delights. Because man is organized for spiritual life as well as for natural life, he is capable of two kinds of delights, and these are distinct from each other, and before regeneration are opposed to each other, and they thus act as opposing forces, between which man is in equilibrium and thus in freedom of choice.
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Thus he is capable of being regenerated, in that it is possible for spiritual delights to become dearer to him than the natural delights, and thus acquire dominion. The growth of spiritual delights keeps pace with the growth of remains in the new-forming spiritual mind. In the rudimentary stages these delights are imperceptible. Although imperceptible delight seems g paradoxical term, that it may and does exist may be illustrated by our unconscious actions, every one of which is from our affection; and the activity of affection is not possible apart from delight. Since those incipient internal delights are often not strong enough in themselves to survive or to overcome the overwhelming delights of powerful lusts in the natural, the LORD often permits these latter to be broken by other than internal control,- by misfortunes, sicknesses, and griefs, in order to restore to the regenerating man internal freedom of choice; and with the wicked such trials serve to check the inordinate increase of evils. In this work of preparation and leading the LORD is the All in All. Being life itself He is Essential Activity and Joy Itself. It is from their Divine types in Him that man's love, liberty, and delight proceed. His universal Divine presence brings delight wherever there is reception-even the perverted reception by the wicked being attended by the merciful permission of what is to them delight. Hence there is no such thing as total removal from the out-stretching sphere of II is goodness and mercy. Man, acting in the freedom given him by the truth (in which is good), gradually prepares for the final laying down of his life, to which the LORD is leading him-leading him to death in order that he may find life; the LORD is preparing to descend into the very natural with good, which, when sensated there as delight will become man's own; or, rather, man will become the LORD'S. As the LORD approaches with heavenly delight, man comes into more grievous temptation. A life and death struggle is at hand. From the lowest depths of the natural man-i. e., from the hells there rise up the infernal host in their raging fury at the hated presence, the approach of which they feel, and which they realize means their ejection from their seat in the natural. There is the seat of sensation and delight for them also, as well as for man, so far as man's life is derived from them, for the life of the spiritual world terminates in man. Desperately they battle for their life of delight, and insidiously they strive to enkindle his lusts, to obscure the sense of impending good, or, rather, to turn it into undelight-to ensnare man with the false appearance of freedom and delight arising from self-leading, which they themselves, however, know is really a leading by hell as its vile and wretched slave. On the other hand, the LORD and the angels inflow into celestial remains and thence into the truths in the natural, where is the field of battle, holding man fixed in the truth and supporting him with their heavenly sphere of freedom and delight. Man, however, is in the pain of spiritual travail, for soul is about to be born, fruitage from the celestial seed of holy remains. Over the birth presides the Divine Presence, whose holy promise is, "Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to come forth, saith the LORD?" But torn between the opposing freedoms and delights, man feels neither freedom nor delight. He is not yet in good. The sense of the Divine Presence, with power and delight, is not yet his, and in the sense of his utter impotence, in absence of delight, and hence in despair of life itself, he doubts the power of truth to save, "And the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron." Under the stress of temptation, "in the wilderness," he thinks that any life, even that false appearance of life in the unregenerate natural, would be better than no life, and longs for pleasure, even that which he has already given up as vile, "And the sons of Israel said to them, 'Who will give? We might have died by the hand of JEHOVAH in Egypt,' when we sat at the fleshpot"-i. e., when he enjoyed the pleasures of the unreformed natural, before he had been introduced into truth and its affection. Despair in temptation is permitted in order that man may come into the actual sense of his utter impotence against the hells, and so come into innocence, which is entire trust in the LORD and willingness to be led by Him. This is the very abode of the LORD with man-the very celestial source of life. Man is permitted to co-operate, to struggle as if from himself, in order that he may dispose himself to receive, may appear to reject evil and to appropriate good as of himself; but to remove the fallacy in the appearance, the LORD at the last moment seems to relax His mighty support, and then man is about to lapse even into hell. The object of this is that the proprium may utterly yield, when man ceases to fight from the power of the proprium, although not desiring to choose evil. Another use is that man may perceive the quality and state of hell, and thus be prepared to perceive and be affected more interiorly with its opposite, the heavenly joy and peace, which at this, the darkest hour before dawn, are close at band. For now the Hero and the Conqueror, the LORD in His Divine Human, stretches forth his omnipotent hand, and the hells sink down in hopeless defeat. Through the obscurity in which he has been during the conflict, comes to man a perception, which is revelation from the Divine, that he is liberated, but not by his own power-"And Moses and Aaron said to call the sons of Israel. In the evening and ye shall know that JEHOVAH hath brought you forth out of the land of Egypt." Light and peace are beginning to dawn in his internal man, and affect also somewhat the external; he recognizes that the combat is over, and that in the state of confusion left by the battle it remains for him only to apply himself to receive what he now perceives the LORD will give-a new good and a new life; that he is simply to obey the laws of order in the performance of use, whereby the external will be brought into order and receptivity,-"And Moves said to Aaron, Say to all the company of the Sons of Israel. Approach before JEHOVAH." He now sees something of the use of the suffering just undergone,-"Because He hath heard your murmurings." From truths already in the mind, illumined now, however, by an increased influx of truth from within, he reflects upon the temptation he has passed through,-"And it came to pass that Aaron spoke to all the company of Israel and they looked pack to the wilderness." And the literal statements of written Revelation are now seen by him to be infilled with the very presence of the LORD, instructing concerning Himself in His Divine Human, and concerning His Kingdom and His Church,-"And behold the glory of JEHOVAH was seen in the cloud." From his new state of perception of the truth which is in the Doctrine of the Word-"And JEHOVAH spake to Moses, saying,"-he realizes that his grief and his rebellious doubts and complaints are to cease, and that he will now experience a sense of delight in the natural,-"I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel, Speak to them, saying, Between the evenings ye shall eat flesh."-
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And he perceived that a new good, which is spiritual life, will be given him in an abundance limited only by his capacity to receive,-"And in the morning ye shall be satisfied with bread." So that he will actually come to know that the one Only God, Who, as Divine Truth requiring to be obeyed, hag seemed hard and distant, is really Divine Love appearing in the Divine Human,-"And ye shall know that lam JEHOVAH; your God." Thus the state draws to a close-"And it came to pass in the evening." Opposition in the natural having been removed, the delight of the interiors descends into the natural, giving a sense of delight and thus of life. The delights of evil, which once seemed the all of life, are gone, and yet man finds that he lives and has delight, in that it has a holy, living internal. This delight in the natural, which we have seen to be requisite for appropriation, is signified by the "selau" which "came up and covered the camp," i. e., filled the whole natural mind, which now submits to the internal or spiritual mind; and in this state takes plate the Coming of the LORD to man in delight. The delight just described, being natural, was relatively obscure. It has served its purpose, the conjunction of the internal and the external; and conjunction being established, the LORD elevates man into a new and more interior state-for there is no end and no standing still in the Divine circle of life-"And in the morning there was the position of dew about the camp." "In the supreme sense 'morning' signifies the LORD and also His advent; in the internal sense it signifies His Kingdom and Church and its state of peace; also, it signifies the first state of the New Church and of the new man of the Church], and also a state of love; also a state of illustration, thence a state of intelligence and wisdom, and also a state of the conjunction of good and truth, which is when the internal man is conjoined to the external. That morning signifies so various things is because in the supreme sense it signifies the Divine Human of the LORD, thence also all those things which proceed from Him; for the LORD is in these things which proceed from Him even so that He is there" (A. E. 179). Dew denotes the Truth of Peace- Divine Truth-which in essence is Good-descending in that state of love and light just described as signified by the morning. As dew has stored up within it something sweet and delightful and nourishing to vegetation more than rain has, so celestial truth, after temptation, descends like dew to nourish and refresh the interiors of the mind, as the "rain" of external truth could never do (see A. E. 448:7). For the Truth of Peace has stored up within it the peace of heaven, which is a state of rest from the labors and troubles of the proprium, a state of entire submission to the LORD, who in heaven is gladly acknowledged as reigning in all things, doing all things, gifting all with celestial and spiritual joys, arising from love to Him and to the neighbor. That inmost peace from the LORD is such that it penetrates to the very inmosts of man's being, where it "affects the first substances and the beginning of substances, and thence derives and pours itself forth into what is substantiated and formed from those beginnings, and affects them with pleasantness and the origin of ideas, consequently it affects the very ends of man's life with satisfaction and happiness, and thus makes the `mind of man a heaven" (see A. C. 8455). Upon the man who submits himself to the government of the Truth of Peace, the storms of this life can make no deep or lasting impression. The exalted state just described, after truths below have been vivified, and new intelligence imparted, seems to pass away, for the Truth of Peace is indrawn, and, so far as man's consciousness is concerned, ceases, "And the position of dew went up." Man's conscious thought becomes directed to the new truth which he now discerns in the truth of doctrine from the Word. That doctrine now becomes to him actually living and Divine, and the contained particular truths receive new life, order and arrangement from the unseen operation of the Truth of Peace. This is of the Divine, and is affected by the LORD only when man's proprium is quiescent, as after temptations. For the Truth of Peace has interior and wonderful power, receiving as it does life directly from the LORD, from whom life is insinuated in successive order through what is inmost, through interiors to exteriors, so that with the regenerate the influx of life into externals is open, even from the LORD (A. C. 8456). In the intellectual of the natural, where before was desolation as to spiritual good and truth,-"And behold upon the faces of the wilderness"-there now appears spiritual good, the good of truth in first formation. "A minute round thing." The quality of this good of truth is known from its origin, which was truth in the understanding elevated above the concupiscences of the will. Of truth, quantity, size, and number are predicated; for truths are various and distinguished, and therefore have limit. The good just mentioned, in its essence is truth, for it is intellectual; but because affections have been formed in the intellectual, even so as to form a new voluntary, truth is made sensible as good, to the regenerate, for it contains good from the Divine. Hence to the term "minute" is added "round;" for what is round, has no border or limit, but is continuous, as good is, which flows in continuously from the Divine, without limit. The reception of good, however, is limited by the degree and quality of the establishment of truth in the life, as a plane of reception; and relatively to the Divine bounty the reception by man is certainly minute. Truth which has become good, however, is the means for growth in good. Though "small like the hoar-frost on the ground" like that it is continuous-not discreted into flakes, like snow-and so is as it were Consistent, connected and fluent-applicable to uses of good. All this experience is so new to man's thought and sense that he is amazed, and like the Sons of Israel he cries "Man hoo," "What is this?" The new life and delight differ from the old as day from night. From the Divine Truth now established with him he then perceives that this is indeed spiritual good which is now his, his food and his life; and being life, it is, as he further perceives, the LORD Himself in man-" and Moses said, This is the Bread which JEHOVAH hath given you to eat." One important application of the text which suggests itself, is, that since the LORD is the living, omnipresent soul of the universe, we are to seek Him everywhere in good-in all things that come within the scope of our natural life. Even in evil conditions-which are apt to claim an undue share of our attention and thought-good is present and often may be discerned afterward in the Divine end designed in the permission of the evil, so that to good we should set our heart and our thought. Not that we are to try to do good. The LORD is the only Good and the only LORD, and He gives us good to do only in the form of Truth; for Truth it is which alone instructs us in the shunning of evils and in the performance of uses. But if in carrying out truths we regard primarily the LORD'S will we place good, which is H is will, in the first place.
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A consistent application of this principle to the troublesome conditions that arise in this disturbed natural existence of ours, might assist to bring us under the peaceful influence of the angelic choirs mentioned in one of the lessons read this morning [A. C. 5396]. The angels perceive most clearly that the Divine Government from ends-that is, from good-is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent, thus immutably sure and tranquil. Application of that principle also will assist us to escape from the obscurity of fallacious appearances, and also from disturbance in the proprium. Very many of the problems that perplex and harass us in the Church life, and in our occupations, would be simplified by earnest study and prime regard directed to the LORD'S will, or to good, or what is the same, to use. For instance, if those sincere members of the New Church who are troubled by the doctrine of the Priesthood would only consistently follow out their daily prayer that the "LORD'S Kingdom come," bow clearly might they discover the force of the plain teaching that the Priesthood is that by which is secured the Divine presence among men-i. e, the LORD'S Kingdom; and so they would learn to place that office where it belongs, and cease to ascribe it to men. And so in all matters of distinguishing the finite instrument from the function or use, use being nothing else than Divine good present with men in representative form. And then, the delights with which as undeserved rewards the LORD'S Mercy vivifies as it were every plane of life, how truly alive would they become with' us if we would but regard the LORD In them, and attribute them to Him and make Him and not self the object regarded, thus bringing them within the Divine circle of influx and return; how we would grow in the performance of use and thus in the reception of life and delight. But of especial application is this, that the truths that contain and prepare for the Truth of Peace, by which and in which the LORD comes to feed and make alive his fold, are to be found in the Writings of the New Church and there alone: that as the Truth of Peace is to penetrate to the very inmosts of man, and thence to fill his whole mind, even to the extremes, with spiritual life, which is the LORD, so likewise does it descend into and penetrate every particular teaching of those Writings, "even so that it is the LORD there," revealing himself as Divine Good in the form of the Glorified Human, and infilling every one of its crystal truths with Doctrine concerning love to Him and to the neighbor. The LORD has come to us indeed. Let us pray that we maybe enabled to receive him.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Church is the Church from the doctrine of truth and the life of good.-A. C. 3305.
HURTING OR DESTROYING TRUTH OR GOOD WITH ONESELF OR WITH OTHERS. 1895
EXODUS xxi, 12-27.
(12-15.) THOSE who hurt another as to the truths and goods of faith, and thus extinguish his spiritual life, "he that smiteth a man and he die"-are damned, "dying shall die"-but if they have not done it from the will from foresight, "and he that hath not lain in wait"-but it appeared as chance, "and God made to meet unto his hand"-then they are in a guiltless state, and exempt from punishment, "and I shall appoint for thee a place whither he shall flee"-but if, from previous thought from a depraved will, "but when a man have done from purpose against his companion"-they maliciously deprive the neighbor of eternal life, "to kill him with deceit"-they will be damned, even if they betake themselves unto the worship of the LORD, "from Mine altar shalt thou take him to die"-for their deceit is like poison, which penetrates into the interiors, and kills every thing of faith and charity, and destroys the remains, which are the truths of faith and the goods of charity stored up by the LORD in their interiors, and when these are destroyed no spiritual life remains, and because they cannot repent they cannot be forgiven, although they promise repentance. They who blaspheme the LORD and His Kingdom, "and he that smiteth his father and his mother"-are likewise damned, "dying shall die." (16, 17.) They that apply the truth of faith to evil, and alienate it from themselves, "and he that stealeth a man, and selleth him"-and yet acknowledge it, "and he be found in his hand"-are damned, "dying he shall die"-and they who wholly deny the LORD and His Kingdom, "and he that curseth his father and his mother"-are damned, "dying shell die." (18-21.) Those who contend with themselves about truths, "and when men shall strive together"-and one of the truths of the doctrine of faith, or of the internal sense of the Word, is weakened by some truth from the literal sense of the Word, as commonly received, which appears to teach differently, "and a man smite his companion with a stone or with his fist"-and the truth of faith is not extinguished, "and he dieth not"-but it is separated for a time, but not denied or exterminated, "and he lie down in bed"-and the forces of spiritual life remain in it, "if he arise and walk abroad upon his staff"-then they shall not be guilty, "And he that smiteth shall be guiltless"-but the truth is to be indemnified, "only his cessation he shall give"-and is to be restored by correctly interpreting the literal sense of the Word, or, as it is also called, the scientific truth, "and curing he shall cure." And if any one within the Church shall, from his own power, hold in evil the scientific truth, or the affection for it, "and when a man smiteth his servant or his maid with a staff"-so that it is extinguished under his view, "and he dieth under his hand"-he will be punished with spiritual death, which is damnation, "avenging he shall be avenged"-but if the state of life remains unto the full, that is to say, if his faith in the truth of the literal sense, which disagrees with the truth of the internal sense, is extinguished after he has fully examined it," but if he stand a day or two days"-he shall not be punished with death, "he shall not be avenged"-because it is acquired from his proprium, he believing it to be true by induction from assumed principles from the proprium, "because his silver is he." (22-27.) When there is a grievous contention among truths, "and when men shall fight together"-and good which is being formed from truth is injured, "and shall strike with a blow a pregnant woman"-and comes forth out of the spiritual into the natural, not in just order, and yet is confirmed there, "and her births come forth"-and thus there is no injury done there, "and there be no harm done," then it is to be amended, "fining he shall be fined"-until the good in the natural agrees with the truth of good, "as the lord of the woman hath laid upon him"-according as is equal, "and he shall give to the judges"-and if it was hurt, "and if harm was done"-then punishment follows according to the law of order, that "thou shalt do so to the neighbor, as thou wishest that he should do to thee," hence that that will be done to thee, which thou doeth to another,
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"and thou shalt give soul for soul"-and this, if they have injured or extinguished anything in the interior intellectual, "eye for eye"-if anything in the exterior intellectual, "tooth for tooth"-if anything of power of spiritual truth, "hand for hand"-if anything of power of natural truth, "foot for foot"-if anything of the affection which is of the interior love in the voluntary, "burning for burning"-if anything of the affection which is of the exterior love in the voluntary, "wound for wound"-if anything of affection in the intellectual, "stripe for stripe." If the internal man hurt the truth of faith in the external, "and when a man shall smite the eye of his man-servant"-or the affection for truth there "or the eye of his maid servant"-so that he extinguishes it, "and destroy it"-then it can no longer serve the internal, "he shall let him go free for his eye, "and if it have destroyed the truth, or the affection for truth in the sensual, "and if he shall have struck out the tooth of his man-servant or the tooth of his maid-servant"-it can no longer serve the internal, "he shall let him go free for his tooth."
Title Unspecified 1895
In the good and truth of faith is the Lord, and where the Lord is, there is the Church.-A. C. 3379.
REFLECTION. 1895
"I HAVE now been in conversation with spirits and angels concerning reflection, to which I do not know whether men sufficiently attend, but if they do attend to it they will find more in the doctrine of reflection than in any other whatsoever." If men will attend to the doctrine of reflection they will find more arcana than in any other, because without reflection no single arcana can be discovered. Even external revelation would be of no avail unless reflection were given, since without it the things of revelation could not be taken up by the mind, drawn inward and applied to the life. Reflection is the essential human faculty which distinguishes man from beast; it is the rational in active operation, and is a kind of mental digestion. Let us briefly examine its powers and operations on the basis of the corporeal memory, or while man is yet in the world; for after death, or by the removal of the corporeal memory, remarkable changes take place, which give rise to different kinds of reflections, which are to be considered at another time. With all, men, therefore, of sound mind, reflection exists in some grade or degree, but with much variety according to the state of the individual, and with much modification according to the subject or object reflected upon. All these varieties and modifications cannot be even be enumerated, but we may comprehend them in four general classes: First. Reflection upon consequences. This is common to all men, and produces circumspection or prudence in worldly things; its fruits are certain civil virtues which make society, in its external form, possible. Second. Reflection upon actions, as to whether they are good or bad. This is common only to those who have something of religion, and produces an external conscience, the fruits of which are moral virtues, which render society stable. Into this state something spiritual may inflow, but very obscurely. Third. Reflection upon thoughts which enter into actions with a view of discovering their quality, and thence the quality of the actions. This pertains to those who are in the light of Divine Truth, and produces an interior conscience, the fruits of which are spiritual virtues, which make heaven possible. Fourth. Reflection upon affections as to whether they are interiorly good or evil. This pertains to those who look to the LORD alone, and produces perception, the fruits of which are celestial virtues, which bring I heaven present. Thus we observe an ascending series by which the mind is more and more interiorly opened, even to a perception of celestial things. Time, however, will not permit us to develop the whole series, but it will be of interest and importance to consider briefly the last, namely, as to how perception is produced by reflection upon affections, Affections are hidden; they are felt, not seen; their quality may, to some degree, be indicated by the thoughts flowing from them, but very imperfectly, and it is a law of order that a thing to be known as to its real quality must be examined by that which is interior to itself; therefore there must be something within and above the affections of the mind from which they may be explored. This something is perception, which is nearly akin to the sense of touch, and because of this perception can explore the invisible affections of the mind which, as said, are felt, not seen. Habitual reflection upon affections appears to produce perception; but the real truth is that perception is given by the LORD to one who is prepared to receive it, and when thus given, the man reflects from perception, which is the same as to say that he reflects from internal revelation, for perception and internal revelation are the same. These few remarks are made by way of indicating some of the arcana which may he discovered by a study of the doctrines of reflection.
Title Unspecified 1895
Disagreement in the doctrinals of faith does not prevent the Church from being one, provided there is unanimity as to willing well and acting well.-A. C. 3451.
EGYPT. 1895
II.
THE LORD'S NATURAL KINGDOM.
WHEREVER in the Word the name of any country occurs, the angels do not think of the country, but of the inhabitants as to their spiritual state; and their spiritual state is the Church with them (A. R. 285). Elsewhere it was shown that the countries around the Land of Canaan, into which the Ancient Church spread, represented the Church, such as it was, with their inhabitants. In each of these countries the Church assumed a quality different from that of other countries. As the Land of Canaan constituted the centre from which the Church emanated to other countries, the quality of the Church there was more interior than in any of them. From this circumstance it was that the Land of Canaan represented the LORD'S celestial Kingdom. Each place in that land had a signification according to its situation, distance, and boundaries as to the quarters. The same was the case with all the countries surrounding it; each receiving its signification likewise from its situation, distance, etc, as viewed from the Land of Canaan. Thus the Land of Egypt, by virtue of its situation and peculiar characteristics, represented the LORD'S natural kingdom. In a more limited sense it represents the natural man, or the man of the natural Church, and since the natural man is more delighted with the knowledge of spiritual and Divine things than with the things themselves, the Land of Egypt represented also Science.
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From all these circumstances it is evident, that among the Ancient Churches the Church of Egypt occupied a comparatively low place. Hence it was customary with the inhabitants of Canaan in speaking of the direction of Egypt from Canaan to say "down to Egypt," or" up from Egypt," and these being correspondential expressions, are also used in the Word. Thus we read of Abraham, of Jacob, his sons, and others, that they went "down to Egypt," by which expression is indicated a descent from the celestial or spiritual to the natural. Egypt is, in fact, situated lower than the Land of Canaan, the latter being a hilly country, and in some places even mountainous; while Egypt, especially that part which borders on Canaan, is only slightly raised above' the level of the sea. But the correspondence between the Church such as it was with the Egyptians, and the country they inhabited, appears not only in this instance, but in many others, as will her seen in the sequel. The Land of Egypt, as stated above, represents the natural mind. Now the natural mind is constituted of all the things which belong to the external memory, such as knowledges of every kind, as also the natural affections which man has in common with brute animals. To it belongs also the Imaginative, which is the interior sensual (A. C. 3020). Such are the elements which compose the natural mind. But all knowledges, even natural knowledges, as well as the affections belonging to them, proceed from a higher origin. They come from the LORD by derivations; for from the LORD proceed Divine things; from these are derived celestial things; from these again spiritual thinks; and from these last, natural things. In fact, they are all Divine, accommodated merely to the apprehension of man by additions from the several planes of the spiritual and natural worlds, which serve as coverings, and at the same time as vehicles of Divine things. Now, having described the nature of the Land of Egypt, as well as the nature of that degree of the mind to which it corresponds, it will be easily seen how perfect a representative of the natural mind the Land of Egypt was, on the plane of nature; for just as the natural mind is formed through, or composed of knowledges, with the affections belonging to them, the Land of Egypt was formed by means of elements which correspond to them. Egypt was formed by the River Nile, which not only waters it, but leaves a rich mold. For Egypt, unlike any other country, is not watered by rain, so that even in this particular there is an exact correspondence. Rain signifies Divine truths from heaven; while the waters of a river signify truths of the natural degree, the River Nile especially representing the knowledges of the natural man (A. R. 496; A. E. 569). But that even these latter, although not of so interior a degree, nevertheless have as high an origin, but suffer some modification, thus become less pure before they are received by the natural man, is represented by this circumstance, that the waters of the Nile descend from mountains, and in their descent receive additions which render them turbid. Of such a quality are the knowledges of the natural man, they are impure by virtue of the earthly things added to them; the earthly things being represented by the clay or mud of' the Nile. Thus in the Nile-water are contained both the elements which correspond to the things of which the natural mind is composed, water representing natural truths and clay or mud of the Nile natural good or affections (A. E. 411). Nor does this wonderful adaptation of the external to its internal, in relation to Egypt, end here. Many other facts reveal this relation. Above all, the fact stands out prominently, that Egypt does not owe its peculiar characteristics to any other cause than that there might be a country on earth in which a peculiar quality of the Church might have a perfect ultimate to rest upon. Its products are so many other proofs or confirmations of this fact. Such animals and plants occur on the monuments, whose signification refers to the natural degree, as the ass, the goat, the cat, the dog, the jackal, and others; among birds the vulture, the hawk, the ibis, and the goose are common; all of which signify something of the natural. The ass, for instance, signifies the scientifics of the natural man; the goat those who are in natural truths, and thence in good; the eat those who are in external worship, but who pay no attention to the teachings of the Church; the dog signifies cupidities. Among the birds, the ibis and the goose, being waterbirds, have, of course, relation to the natural; the hawk occurs only in an evil signification in the Writings, the external man separated from the internal. The horse does not occur on the earlier monuments. Its signification does not place it there. For a similar reason the eagle does not occur on them. Both the horse and the eagle represent the rational, hence they belong more properly to Assyria, on the monuments of which country they are constantly met with. The sheep was extensively raised for its wool, its flesh not being used as an article of diet. Cattle seem to have been more highly valued than other domestic animals, and this, no doubt, as much on account of their signification as their usefulness, if not more. Serpents `and crocodiles also appear frequently on the monuments. All the above-mentioned animals, the horse and the sheep excepted, as well as the birds and reptiles, belong to Egypt on account of their signification. And there is little doubt that if the signification of all the animals found on the monuments were given in the Writings, it would be found that they all refer to the natural degree. Among plants and vegetables there are some which constantly appear at sacrifices and in connection with religious ceremonies; the principal of these are the lotus and the onion. The lotus, being a water-plant, must of necessity represent something of the natural; but not being mentioned in the Word, its particular signification is not given. The onion, however, is mentioned. It was extensively used both for religious purposes and as an article of diet. The sons of Israel, weary of the manna, gave vent to their discontent in the following complaint: "Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic" (Num. xi, 4, 5). This describes the state of the sons of Israel, in that they lusted after natural things. But while this passage describes spiritual things as to its internal meaning, what is still more to the purpose for our present use is that we have here enumerated various articles which constituted the principal part of the diet of the Egyptians, all of which signify something belonging to the natural. Fish here signify natural things in general; the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic the lowest things of the natural, which is also called the sensual (A. E. 618). But enough of this.
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These few instances taken from the several kingdoms of nature will suffice to illustrate the fact that the Land of Egypt was in every way so constituted as to be able to serve as a perfect ultimate for a particular quality of the Church, such as the genius of the Egyptians would permit it to assume.
Notes and Reviews. 1895
TUE seventh volume of the Arcana Coelestia, Rotch Edition, is out. This contains Chapters xxviii to xxxi of Genesis, or paragraphs 3650 to 4228, of the work.
Title Unspecified 1895
WE learn from Messrs. Rand, McNally & Co., of Chicago, that they are the publishers for the United States of The Birth of a Soul, by Mrs. Phillips, which was reviewed in the August number of the Life. They bought the American copyright, and issued the book simultaneously with Messrs. Allen & Co., of London.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE painstaking Secretary of the American New- Church Sunday- School Association manages to invest the Journal of that body with considerable interest, by means of notes and references that connect and complete the records and reports. This year's Journal is embellished with one of the "Hoffman pictures," representing the raising of the widow's son.
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
CHANCELLOR'S VISIT TO BERLIN. 1895
THE Chancellor of the Academy and his wife on their tour of the centres of the Academy, arrived in Berlin, on Monday, September 80th, and remained for two days. On Tuesday morning they visited the school. The children had assembled in the chapel, and greeted the visitors on their entrance with the Academy "Color Song." Then each child was introduced and handed the Chancellor a few flowers. After this the head-master spoke to the pupils of their great privilege in seeing the Chancellor, whom the LORD had chosen as His instrument to found and take care of the Academy Schools. The Chancellor then addressed the children, expressing his pleasure in seeing them, saying that they, together with the pupils of the other Academy schools, are all children of the Academy. Amongst other things, he said, "The LORD'S blessing has been upon the school work of the Academy, and it is He Who has sent you to us that we may lead you to Him. You must remember that it is the LORD Who does the work in our schools, and we, your teachers, are but His instruments. He sends angels to teach the children in heaven, and he sends your teachers to teach you. I hope that in the future we may see more of one another. I wish you progress in knowledge and good in this world and hereafter." The children then went to their class-rooms, and the visitors spent a short time in each room observing the active-work of the school. After, this all went out on the grounds, and the Chancellor and his wife each planted a fruit-tree as a memorial of their visit, the children meanwhile singing the school-song, "Alma Mater." Thus was the memorable morning brought to a close, and as the visitors entered their carriage the children bade them farewell by singing the song, "Happy May You Be." In the evening of the same day a social for the adult members of the congregation was held, at which sixty-four persons were present. Upon the entrance of the Chancellor and Mrs. Benade, all arose, and immediately afterward the presentation to the Chancellor and his wife took place. Wine was then served, and the pastor rose and introduced the first toast. He spoke of the great pleasure which all felt in having the Chancellor and his wife present. He was happy to say that this visit was in preparation of a longer one which the Chancellor contemplated making some time in the future. "This is the first visit of the Chancellor of the Academy to Berlin since the uses of the Academy have been instituted here. It emphasizes the fact that the work here done is Academy work. The actual presence of the head of the Academy will strengthen us all in our love and loyalty to the Church which the LORD has mercifully founded, through our beloved Chancellor, for the salvation of souls. His presence most eminently served this use among the children this morning, and I am sure will do it for us at this gathering this evening. What is more important than our love to the Church which nourishes and cares for us? According to the genuineness of that love is the state of heaven with us. Let then, the first sentiment, to which we will now drink, be: 'The Academy of the New Church.'" After "How good are thy tents, O Jacob," had been sung, the Chancellor spoke of order as depending upon the observance of distinctions, which distinctions must be observed in externals. There are two uses which the Academy is performing, the one the use of the instruction and education of children and the other the use of instructing adults and lending them to heaven. These two uses should be made distinct. He then made an application of this idea to the work in Berlin, and continued: "I notice a remarkable growth here, which is a great pleasure to me, since it proves that the truth has been taught in its integrity. The cause of the fall of so many nominal New Church societies is that the truths concerning the LORD are not correctly presented. The LORD is not presented to men as the LORD Himself, revealing Himself in Doctrine; instead, there is a presentation of the doctrine concerning the LORD in a popular form of teaching. The LORD has come in the Internal Sense of the Word, and it is for you to see Him therein, not simply as Doctrine, but as the Truth of Doctrine which is to be taken into your understandings, from thence into the will, and then into life. This Truth is the LORD Himself, thus coming into your understandings, wills, and lives. The Divine Truth is the LORD JESUS CHRIST in His presence among you, standing and teaching you truths which are to be applied to life. That is what we aim to teach to children in order that remains may be implanted in them. All worship of the LORD is performed in Doctrine and according to Doctrine. We are to understand Truth more and more in progression, understanding it thus and thus to-day, that we may understand it thus and thus to-morrow. He who sees the LORD in His teaching can do the LORD'S Words. It is the function of the priesthood to lead you that you may receive that teaching into your lives internally and externally." The next toast was "To the priesthood of the Church," to which the Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist responded after all had sung together, "Arise, O LORD." Mr. Rosenqvist said: "I would call the attention of both laity and priests to the holiness of the office of the priesthood, because it is the LORD'S office among men. It is not only for the laity to keep this truth in mind, it is also very important for every priest to remember the holiness of the office in which he is, in order that he may be reminded continually that he is not administering his own office, but the LORD'S office as a priest among men.
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With this in mind a priest can be truly successful in leading people to the good of life, but this only in so far as the laity also acknowledge the office as the LORD'S." The Chancellor, pursuing the same subject, adverted to the doctrine that there are two things which must be in order, ecclesiastical and civil affairs, and that in order that there may be order there must be governors. In the Church there must be a chief governor, whose office it is to see that order is fostered and that disorder is removed. The priesthood is an office representative of the LORD'S office as Saviour. When the LORD in His First Advent redeemed men from the overwhelming power of Hell He fulfilled the office of Saviour. The office of the priesthood after the LORD'S Second Advent is representative of the LORD'S office as the Saviour of the world. The priesthood is the LORD'S office and not man's. One who teaches this is regarded as speaking from selfish interests; but, nevertheless, it must be taught, for it is the truth. The high priest of the Israelites, when questions of great moment occurred, put on his priestly garments and entered the Holy of Holies to inquire of the LORD there. So the priest of' the New Church, in the acknowledgment that his office is the LORD'S and not his own, must enter and inquire of the LORD. It is for him to pray to the LORD for light, for prayer is nothing else than conversation with the LORD. After this he can say with authority, "Thus saith the LORD; this is what He teaches you." It is the LORD who calls men to the priestly office, and they, as His instruments, speak His will. "I would like to impress you with this, so that when a priest speaks of this office you may understand him to mean the LORD'S office. The priests are as hands to the LORD, which He moves and uses in order to lend men by truth to the good of life." The next toast was to "The laity; its co-operation with the priesthood." After all had sung in unison "What shall I render?" Mr. Rudolph Roschman responded as follows: "What we have heard to-night has been a great treat to us. The earnest words which were addressed to us to-night must induce a love and confidence in the priesthood. The laity can in many ways co-operate with the priesthood. One way is to receive new things of order with confidence, as coming from the LORD; and even if we cannot understand them at first, we ought to receive them with confidence and carry them out in a life of duty. Another way of co-operating with the priesthood is to communicate with the priest concerning any doubts or obscurities in our minds, and thus to get further instruction. Without the co-operation of the laity, the Church cannot grow. If the food is not taken and digested by the stomach, the head suffers also. The external uses in which the laity can co-operate with the priesthood are manifold and very important. These uses will readily suggest themselves to those whose minds are open and willing to co-operate. In behalf of the laity I wish to thank the Chancellor for his kind words of encouragement, and I also express their hope of having him with us again not many months hence. If he has had even a little of the enjoyment out of his visit that we have had, I am sure he has enjoyed it very well." The concluding toast was to "The Chancellor and his wife," to which all responded by singing "Happy May You Be." The remainder of the evening was spent in dancing and conversation and thus was brought to a close the happy gathering on the occasion of the first visit of the Chancellor of the Academy among us since the Academy's uses have been in existence here. Long will we remember it! N. [The speeches were not reported in short-hand, and are therefore not verbatim nor full.]
Title Unspecified 1895
There are many Churches, yet each is called Church, and also is a Church, in proportion as the good of love and faith reigns there; therein the Lord makes one out of many, thus one Church out of many.-H. H. 57.
CHANCELLOR'S VISIT TO GLENVIEW. 1895
THE long-cherished desire, by this Society, for a visit from the Bishop, was gratified on Saturday, October 5th, by his arrival with his lovely wife. On every house floated the Academy colors and from every door issued forth bright faces to greet and bid welcome to the guests as they drove around the park, before going to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Burnham, where they were to make their temporary home. On Sunday evening a reception was given by Mr. and Mrs. Seymour G. Nelson, in honor of the Bishop and his wife. It was an informal occasion, giving opportunity for all to renew their acquaintance with the Bishop and to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Benade, whom many were meeting in a social way now for the first time. It might be added that this charming lady won all hearts, and carries away with her the affection and esteem of every member of the Society. On Tuesday evening an Academy meeting was held preparatory to the establishment of Academy worship here. At a previous meeting the members of the Academy expressed a desire to have instituted among them a local Church of the Academy. With the abject of fulfilling this desire, the Bishop inquired of the members their preference for a pastor, in order that in nominating one he might act in accordance with their wishes. The question seemed almost superfluous, so unanimous and enthusiastic was the desire to have the Rev. N. Dandridge Pendleton continue the work which he has so zealously and so ably conducted. A meeting of the congregation was held on Thursday evening, at which those who are of the congregation, but not members of the Academy, were given an opportunity of expressing their preference for a pastor. All speakers assured the Bishop of their confidence in Mr. Pendleton, and their wish to have him for their pastor in the future. On Friday night Bishop and Mrs. Benade attended the usual Friday class. The subject of the doctrinal instruction this year is Reflection. Saturday night Mr. and Mrs. Burnham gave an "at home" for their guests, and although we were warned that it was Saturday night, the affection all felt for the guests of the evening, and the nearness of the time set for their departure, made every one loath to leave, so the hour was late before the party broke up. On Sunday morning the Rev. N. D. Pendleton was installed by Bishop Benade as Pastor of the local Church of the Academy in Glenview. The charge of the Bishop to the Pastor made a profound impression, as it institutes a new state of the Church here. At 3 P. M. all the flags were again hoisted, and the church people with their little ones all collected at Mr. Burnham's house to speed the parting guests.
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The ubiquitous photographer was there, and could his camera but have pierced the outer mask, what a picture of internal happiness would have resulted, and also of thanksgiving for the interior gifts that have been so bountifully showered upon us.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Church on earth is formed through Heaven by the Lord, in order that they may act and be consociated as one,-A. R. 879.
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD. 1895
PITTSBURGH, again, has been the scene of a promising forward movement of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD. Although only eight members attended the general meeting from Philadelphia, Berlin, Toronto, and Greenford, a goodly number of the local Church were present, and the meeting accomplished the purposes for which it was called. Most of those who had come from abroad saw for the first time the neat little school-house and chapel in the East End, which, was erected since they last met, and found it, in spite of its small size, an attractive and homelike meeting-place. The sessions, which lasted two mornings, wore a churchly air; Bishop Benade, and the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Church, the Rev. John Stephenson, in their priestly vestments occupied places in the chancel, throughout the meeting, which was devoid of any "reports from ministers, lay-officers, or societies. Each session was opened with a short service, and at its close the sacred books were returned to the sacrarium, and the curtains were drawn, as at any meeting for worship.
FIRST DAY.
On the first day (Tuesday, October 15th), the lessons from the Word treated of the Church and its establishment by the LORD through the Divine Truth (H. D. 241, et seq.; John i).
THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS.
The Bishop delivered an oral address on the purposes of the meeting. He referred to the long interval that had elapsed since the last meeting (three years), an interval that was caused by circumstances of the Divine Providence, and which, so he hoped, had led to the further opening of ideas concerning the purpose and ends of the body. The Pennsylvania Association had been succeeded by the General Church of Pennsylvania, and this again by the General Church of the Advent of the LORD, which was founded on the everlasting gospel that the LORD JESUS CHRIST reigneth. It had been thought by some, that the languishing condition of the General Church proceeded fl-cm its close connection with another body, not from the nearness of doctrinal position, but because the members of the two bodies were closely associated, some being leaders in both. Whether this was the case or not was not to be examined in the meeting. It was necessary to render both more distinct, and to preserve their respective ends in a more distinct manner. The Academy has its own chosen use and well-defined methods, that use is the reason for its existence; and the General Church has also a well-defined use for the reason of its existence, and this use, in the Divine Providence of the LORD, has again brought its members together, to see whether the use cannot be revived. The LORD has come and revealed the Divine Truth for the salvation of all men. This Revelation makes it incumbent upon those who receive it, to spread abroad a knowledge of it to others, and in the pursuit of this three things are necessary: first, to gather out from the world those who are ready to receive the Truth, who are ready to learn from the LORD and to be gathered into a Church, and who are generally in simple states. Secondly, those so gathered are to be instructed in regard to the truth of Revelation, especially in regard to the two fundamental truths, that God is one, and that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is He, and that men are conjoined with Him by a life according to the Decalogue; and, thirdly, they are to be initiated into a life according to the commandments-the life of the Divine Will, as now revealed from God out of Heaven-the life according to the teaching of doctrine that comes from the LORD. These three are uses of the Church. The Church as it exists in the bodies termed, in this country, the General Convention, add, in Great Britain, the General Conference, make the missionary use the chief use for which they exist; they have devoted themselves to this good and right use, and we should wish them prosperity and sympathize with them in it. But this is not sufficient. After men have a knowledge of Divine Revelation they ought to be initiated into the particulars of doctrine; that they may become rational they need to be instructed in the truth of doctrine and initiated into its life. Such a distinct use requires a distinct organization of the priesthood and of the laity of the Church, and a distinct quality of teaching. This is the use to which the General Church of the Advent of the LORD is chiefly committed. The Academy of the New Church, as the third Church, has devoted itself to the use of "initiation" into the Church, leading to its more interior things, which is done by opening up the doctrine, developing the affections of good and the affections of truth, which is expressed in the term education, which is the leading and fundamental use of the Academy. These three things are to be done by the men of the Church who are capable of being elevated into Heaven. As to the duty of this General Church, which is no less than proclaiming the gospel that the LORD JESUS CHRIST reigneth, has it been done in the past? This is not what has been generally called the missionary use, or that of proselyting, but of opening to men that the LORD is the God of the Church; to make known to those who are capable of receiving, that the LORD is in this Revelation, and that there is not a single doctrine, not a single line, not a single word, not a single letter in which the LORD is not, if we are but willing to see Him speaking to us the words of Infinite Truth. This requires more interior study of Revelation, and a more interior affection. We have not done our duty in the past, and the Church has been languishing, and we should reflect, why? This work requires considerable, material expense. Men cannot go forth to teach others unless they have the necessary means. Our laymen ought to inquire whether they have provided a sufficiency of means for carrying on the use. In conclusion, the Bishop left it to the meeting to answer the question whether the General Church should go forward to proclaim the doctrine, and whether the means should be provided for this purpose. He added, that while the work had not been done as it ought to have been done, yet the number of applications for admission into this Church have steadily increased in this country and elsewhere.
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The LORD has done this, although the members have not done their duty.
PROSPECTS FOR THE GENERAL CHURCH.
The Secretary of the General Church, the Rev. Leonard G. Jordan, averred, in corroboration, that men were all the time looking to the General Church and making applications, and that there was a growing warmth of feeling toward the Church; and, if this did not always express itself in application for membership, it was from ignorance of what was involved in this. There is a body of New Church people quite dissatisfied with the instruction afforded by the New Church in general. Hence there is, in various parts of the Church, a state of unrest, and at the same time a movement away from the Church altogether. Much of this movement could be stayed, if the work that has been outlined by the Bishop were done, and people were taught where the LORD is to be found. The Church has not been able to follow up this work, partly because the long distances make the expense of traveling very great in this country. If we were able to have free transportation, the roll of members could have been multiplied several times over.
THREE CHURCHES ARE IN EXISTENCE.
Bishop Pendleton believed from doctrine and from the manifestations of the Divine Providence with us that Bishop Benade's position was true. There was no doubt that the Church on earth must assume a trinal form. Heaven is a trine, the priesthood is a trine, man is a trine-because the LORD is a trine. As a matter of fact, we had three Churches. Was this of man, or was it of the LORD? For himself, he believed it was of the LORD. First was the General Convention and the General Conference, then came the withdrawal of the General Church from those bodies, for good reasons. In that withdrawal and separation the body continued to exist. If there was reason for separation then, there was reason for the existence of the General Church now. It has a use to perform. In the Divine providence the name of the body was changed, and the Joint Councils decided upon the use of the body. The body has not gone out of existence, but it has been languishing. Still another body of the Church has been in existence for the past twenty years, and in view of the existence of these bodies we should try to discover the finger of the Divine Providence, and whither it points, whether this body is to go out of existence, or continue. Its use is to proclaim that the LORD Himself as present in the Writings given to the world through Emanuel Swedenborg. It is an internal propaganda, the external propaganda the New Church is carried on elsewhere. The more internal form of propaganda is to take the people who have received the doctrines, and to lead them to see the presence of the LORD in the Writings. This use is most important, and should be well and thoroughly done. If there has been doubt concerning it in the past, that doubt should disappear in the light of the fact that the Church exists. If there is a desire on the part of the people, then the desire should be satisfied. This is a use for an entire priesthood, calling forth the whole energy of a priesthood devoted to it. And if the Church is not prepared to perform the use now, yet the thought concerning it should be kept alive, until the LORD prepares the men and the means, if the Church puts itself in a position to perform use, there is no doubt that the reward will be abundant.
INTEREST IN THE GENERAL CHURCH.
Bishop Benade spoke of the evidences of interest in the General Church, and of prospective work that came from abroad-from France and Sweden. In the native city of the LORD'S Apostle, they are looking to the Church in this country for guidance and assistance. The first organizations of the Church are evidently disintegrating, they are adopting all kinds of means to keep their children aid families in outward connection with the Church. In England, the old societies are literally going to pieces, and they admit their disintegration themselves. Man comes under the rule of duty as soon as he sees it, and if we see rationally the use that is before us, then we are under obligations to engage in it. The truth which the General Church has set itself to evangelize is to be sent out to the whole world, and especially to those who are prepared to be reformed and regenerated. Seeing this, what shall we do?
A DISTINCT PRIESTHOOD NEEDED.
The Rev. A. Czerny, commenting on his own experience in labors for the Academy, as Head-master of the Pittsburgh school, and for the General Church, as Pastor of the Greenford Society, said that the work of the General Church required a distinct priesthood, one cannot engage in both uses with entire satisfaction. The Rev. E. J. E. Schreck looked for greater prosperity in the General Church, and satisfactory results, when the Bishop's long cherished wish for an incumbent of the Bishop's office who could devote his undivided energies to the General Church should be fulfilled. The work of a Church depends largely upon its head, for it is that which gives unity to the work, inspires the priesthood with greater zeal, and draws forth a readier response from the laity. The priests can do comparatively little effective work unless they have a chief, for as the conservation and uses of the Universe depend on the unity of God, so the prosperity of any body, greater or smaller, depends upon its one chief. Mr. George A. Macbeth maintained that we had plenty of means. Why were they not forthcoming? Partly because we are in the faith-alone doctrine, thinking and willing of the work without doings. Men generally do what they really want to do. Can any means be devised to overcome the failure of the laity to come forward in the General Church?
THE CHANGE IN THE ADMINISTRATION BY LAYMEN.
In answer to this, the Bishop called attention to the law that man lives by means that are provided for his sustenance by himself. Man cannot do work unless his mind be organized to will, think, reason, and determine, and unless the body act in accordance with the soul. The Church is not a mere aggregation of individuals, but human, and needs a head. Work cannot be properly done by committees or councils. One man is needed in every centre, who will organize the work under him. We have had organization of Councils, but have met with failure. He had been looking for one man to undertake the work of providing the means for the General Church, at first in a small way, and then in a larger way. The world and our world is coming to recognize that government by Committee is a failure. In all order there is subordination, and these agencies are so graded that all act together, and from each other As the finances need to be organized, they ought to be placed at the disposal of one man, who in his office will be in illustration to perform his duties as they have never before been performed.
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The Bishop concluded with a request that some man be suggested who will undertake the use and organize it.
FURTHER DISCUSSION.
The Rev. John E. Bowers spoke of distinct uses requiring a distinct priesthood, and welcomed the new idea that there were actually three churches, which accorded with the teaching that the Church is in a trinal form. He believed in the existence of the General Church, by whom the two great essentials should be taught so that they might be heard throughout the world, to be either accepted or rejected. Nor need the evangelist fear, for when he goes out into the world he will receive the necessary financial support from those to whom he ministers. The Rev. L. G. Jordan, referring to the trend among many away from the General Convention and in the direction of the Academy,-for people come to the General Church in order to be allied to the Academy by whose power and strength of life they are attracted, spoke of the need of an intermediary between Convention and the Academy, and such the General Church had put itself in the way of becoming; but the question is, Is the General Church enough and is the membership large enough to maintain its work? Mr. Richard Roschman said that he had often wondered why our affections go out more toward the Academy than to the General Church, and queried whether it was because the latter lacked a distinctive priesthood, or because sufficient instruction concerning it was not received from the priests. The Rev. John Stephenson thought that if the priests of the General Church were to perform distinctive uses they ought to receive distinctive instruction. At this time the members were called upon as Newchurchmen to perform this use, or else it would be given to others whom the LORD would raise up. If a use is not performed by one body it is given to another, to those who are in the good of life, and who will perform it from conviction. There is more in the distinctive use of the General Church than can be seen except by those who enter actually upon it. Bishop Benade, in answer to Mr. Roschman's question why the use of the Academy was preferred, attributed it to the rich blessing in children which had come to so many of our members, and in whose education they are so deeply interested. Reverting to the use of the General Church, he spoke of one necessity for the distinctive training of those young ministers who wish to enter upon the use of the General Church, which could be done only when the distinctions were clearly seen. Several names for the Treasurership were suggested to Bishop Benade, among them being that of Mr. Walter D. Uptegraaf.
MEETING OF PRIESTS.
IN the afternoon a meeting of the priests present was held in one of the school-rooms, the conversation being on the lines of the morning's proceedings.
THE SECOND DAY.
ON Wednesday morning the lesson, read by the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Church, was on the subject of charity and faith.
A NEW TREASURER APPOINTED.
Bishop Benade stated, for the information of the meeting, that the idea of constituting a distinct priesthood of the General Church had met with favor at the priests' meeting, and also, that, as concerned the Treasurership, Mr. Uptegraaf had decided to take charge of it. This settled an important question to be decided at the present meeting, and he hoped that the new Treasurer would be received with confidence and met with open hands, so that the priests would be empowered to carry their work through to a successful issue. Heretofore the finances had been committed to a council, but now a new departure was made, and they were to be placed in the hands of an individual, who would be responsible to himself and to the body for the proper administration of the office. He will organize the work, and find assistants in various localities of the Church. The Bishop then asked of the Secretary the number of circles there were in the different localities connected with the General Convention and the number of members.
THE FIELD OP THE GENERAL CHURCH.
The Secretary then entered upon a detailed and very interesting account of the various centres where the General Church is established from Connecticut to California, and from Ontario to Georgia, but, unfortunately, the account has to be omitted from this report for want of space. One manifest feature was emphasized by the Secretary: the home-life plays an important part in the centres of the Church, and in some of them the parents try their best to educate their children themselves, and look forward to sending them to the schools of the Academy as quickly as the Divine Providence opens the way. The Secretary, commenting on the variety of people embraced in the General Church, spoke of the many kinds and degrees of affection for truth. In certain cases the affection may not flourish unaided. He spoke of living right as an art. No one starts out with the ability to live well, but it has to be taught and practiced as an art, and, therefore, there are teachers who are to find out the affections and encourage them. The General Church ought to look to these centres and provide ministrations. We ought to recognize that the Academy is doing one use, the General Convention another, and that the General Church might to perform the third or intermediate use. By request, the Rev. John B. Bowers gave an account of his labors, which was necessarily much curtailed, as the time for closing the meeting was drawing near. In conclusion, Bishop Benade thanked the members for responding to the call and manifesting so much interest, and expressed his hopes for a promising and happy future for the General Church.
A FEAST OF CHARITY.
THE members of the Church in Pittsburgh provided a bountiful repast on Wednesday evening, at which, as usual on such occasions, several instructive and earnest after-dinner speeches were made, the Pastor, the Rev. John Stephenson, acting as Toast-Master.
"THE CHURCH."
Bishop Benade referred to the appeal to the courts of justice made in this city a few years ago, which ended in failure. They failed to obtain the justice which they had a right to demand. But he now felt disposed to congratulate them on that failure. He had come to regard it as the very best thing that could have taken place. The LORD had taken it out of their hands and done better for them than they could do for themselves. The LORD had given them this young and vigorous Church, which will grow in usefulness day by day.
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This is now the Central Church of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD. He went on to speak of the very important changes in the organization of the General Church of Pennsylvania, and of the institution of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD which had been witnessed in this city. The most important meeting here was that in which the General Church of Pennsylvania separated its connection with the General Convention of the New Church in this country, and claimed the right to act independently of that body and thus came into ecclesiastical freedom. There had been various stages in the development of these movements, but all have looked to the establishment of the freedom of the whole Church as well as that of the individual members of the Church. We look thus to leaving every one in that freedom, because it is the fundamental teaching of the Church that man is to be regenerated only in freedom. Every step of our progress is therefore to be taken in freedom. We cannot accomplish anything in the Church without acting in freedom, both as individual members of the Church and in our corporate capacity. We expect that with this freedom the Church will grow, not only in members but in spiritual life; that it will grow in internal quality and in the fuller reception of the spirit of Charity and Love to the LORD. The meeting we have just held had for its purpose to carry out the distinction between the Academy of the New Church and the General Church; and the body represented here to-night, being a part of the General Church, will enter into this distinction which must be made in order that the uses committed to the church may be performed. As the individual members enter into the life of this distinction, with this body, so will they enter into the life of the General Church with which they are connected and assist it to come more fully into freedom and to stand as one man before the LORD. This work they will do in more perfect submission to the will of the LORD, coming thus into the fuller life of the body of the Church, that body at the same time rising to the highest point of its capacity. This will bring with it in time the regeneration of the lives of the members and the attainment of the highest life they can reach. Upon this effort of the men of the Church he prayed the blessing of the LORD.
"THE PRIESTHOOD."
Bishop Pendleton, speaking on the Priesthood of the Church, said that its use is to proclaim that the LORD JESUS CHRIST reigns, Whose reign shall be for ages of ages-that is, to eternity. This is the Doctrine that the General Church is to proclaim. In order to do-that use it must have a priesthood devoted to it with all the energy of their life. Without this the work cannot be done. The priesthood is the instrument by which the LORD interprets His Word to men that thus man may be prepared for Heaven. We have reason to hope that this meeting will be the beginning of new life for the Church. Those who heard Mr. Jordan's report of the state of the Church must be convinced of the necessity of a priesthood for the Church in order that the work may be done and the people fed with the bread of heaven. These people look to the Centres of the Church for instruction. Is it to be in vain? He did not think so. The LORD will put it into the hearts of men to do this work. There is no doubt that they will now see it. Think of it! There are seventeen centres, seventeen oases in the desert of the Christian wend in this country looking to this Church for the instruction they need. It had been brought out in the discussion, especially of yesterday, that there are two general states of the man of the Church. The first is the more general state respecting the Doctrines as given by the LORD. The second consists in seeing the LORD'S Very Presence in those Doctrines. The first is seeing that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is Divine, the God of Heaven and Earth. This is the truth which the missionary proclaims, that the LORD is One with the Father-that is God, who came into the world, was JEHOVAH, the Father Himself. Those who have come from the Old Church into the New, know how deeply they were affected by this truth when first it was seen. Having been brought up in the old idea of the LORD and possessing nothing better, all at once it was revealed to them from Heaven that it was God Himself, the Father in Heaven, the Creator of the world, who came to save. This introduces man into the New Church. Before, he was in darkness. Then he came into light. This work of introduction is being done in a certain way by the General Convention in this country and by the Conference in England. This is a good and a great work, but it is not all that should be done. Particulars must be given. The spirit of Doctrine which is the truth in the Doctrine, as the Bishop said yesterday, must also be provided. The Spirit of Doctrine is the LORD Himself in the Doctrine. Now, it is just as distinct a step to come into this idea that the LORD is present in the Writings and the Writings are the LORD, as into the truth that He is the God of the Church. The use of the General Church is to help men to take this step. It is a use of exceeding magnitude. We cannot measure it. It has been thought that it would be better if all the work of education and that of the General Church could be done by one Church. It is not possible for one body to do it. Even now we have more work in the Academy than we can do. We need more men there. If the Academy were to undertake the work of the General Church, it would be the destruction of that body. It is a most wise thing that the Bishop had declared that these two bodies should be distinct. This will be seen to be so in time by all. But if we do not see it clearly now, let us be patient and trust in the LORD. The Providence of the LORD points to three bodies, or a three-fold use. And in this let us not think of separation. It is not a separation, but a distinction. Heaven is three, but it is also one. So the Church may be three, but one before the LORD. The General Church and the Academy are not in separate, but in distinct uses, which are simply varieties. Both worship the LORD JESUS CHRIST, both believe the same doctrines and love the same truth, only the truth is applied to several uses. If they are in charity, all men, however various the uses they perform, are one before the LORD. Inmostly the Church of the Academy and the general Church are more one than two. But they must he distinct to be one, and the more distinct they are the more they can be one. It is so with the Heavens, it is so with the Church, it is so with husband and wife. As these two Churches grow up together from their inmost conceptions of the truth they will become one, and all these suggestions of separation will vanish away like the mists before the morning sun.
"WORSHIP."
Mr. Schreck spoke of the Worship of the General Church. With the beginning of every new state in the Church the relation to the LORD becomes a new one.
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He is seen more clearly than before, and the Church can come nearer to Him. By the important meeting just held a new thing has been established. The Church has progressed in the way of freedom. The General Church is freer than before, for the priesthood has been made more distinctive and sees more clearly the distinctive work of the Church, its magnitude and importance. Although freed from the democracy of the General Convention which tyrannized over the office of the priesthood, yet that freedom had not penetrated to the whole body of the Church, and old ideas still modified the application of the true doctrine of government. This meeting has witnessed its extension to the laymen in those things that are of their province. The principle of government by one head, recognized ere this in the work of the priesthood, was now applied to the administration of the temporalities. The new state of the General Church must affect the state of the whole New Church, marking a stage in the regeneration of the whole of the New Church, as it is a new stage that brings us nearer to the LORD. The vision of the LORD often becomes obscured, but states like these are like the bursting of the clouds that have obscured the face of the sun, and we are able to draw nigh to the LORD and be illustrated by the rays of truth that proceed from Him. As this new state is such that it leads to the reforming of the soul of the Church, a new worship will arise. In the sister Church of the Academy new forms of worship have been provided as the effect of a new state in that body. So here the distinction now to be recognized will lead to a distinct worship of this body: not only by the instruction, which forms part of the worship, but also by its ritual, a new and more beautiful ritual, inspiring the affection, will this distinction he established. It is a great subject and one that will open up as the General Church proceeds on the lines now more clearly seen. The General Church has been passing through a critical time, but its immediate future is assured. When the Bishop had expressed thanks to the members for answering his call by attending the meeting, he, the speaker, had felt that our gratitude was in greater measure due to the Bishop, because, in spite of physical infirmities and many trials, he had held fast to the idea of the General Church as a distinctive Church, and had faithfully maintained what he had been given to be the best for the life of the Church in the future. He therefore proposed the health of Bishop Benade, which was heartily concurred in.
Reference was made to the Church in England, and Bishop Benade and Mr. Macbeth speaking of their late experiences among the brethren there.
"THE NEW TREASURER."
The new Treasurer of the General church was toasted. Mr. Uptegraaf responded by saying that he had very little to suggest. The matter was very new to him yet. He appreciated the great honor of the appointment, but at the same time it was a great surprise to him. The Bishop had thought he could do the work, and therefore he had accepted the office. He did not know yet exactly what the duties would be. He believed the idea was to change the method of conducting the office, to make it more vigorous and to put it more on the commercial basis. This he believed to be a good thing. The support will be better and the members of the Church will be better satisfied, because it will bring home to them that they are actually supporting the Church throughout the country, and their interest will extend to the different places. He continued that it might not be generally known that the General Church has property at the different centres. He had never seen a schedule of it, and supposed it to be very small in some instances, but whatever it is, it should belong to the whole Church, and not simply to the members from one or from another part of the Church. It would be his endeavor periodically, and with the periods not very long, to lay the state of things before the members. Especially to inform them as to the receipts and disbursements from time to time, and the operations as distinct from those of the Academy or any other body. He supposed that nobody could say much about it at this time, but as soon as possible he should inform the members of the wants of the work and what will be required from them to meet them. He did not know whether it would succeed, but this had been his thought for a long time as to the way to carry on the business of the Church. If it is so carried out with vigor, it would make for the progress of the body.
CHARITY AMONG CHURCHES.
Mr. Jordan said that there was a thought he regarded as worthy of further attention before dismissing. It had appeared in a more or less tacit form in the meetings already, but it should be more distinctly recognized by us. It was known that at the time of our separation from the Convention, there was much antagonism on one side and the other because the conditions had been such as to interfere with the freedom not only of priests, but of laymen then constituting our body. The conditions had caused some of us to raise the question whether the General Convention was really a Church at all. But now it was evident that as we had been freer to develop our uses so had they been made freer in some ways, and whatever might be the imperfections of their work, or the view they take of us, we can admit that they are a Church and doing useful work as such on a certain plane.
Title Unspecified 1895
God, from His Omnipotence, has established the Church.-T. C. R. 74.
PROFESSOR ODHNER'S VISIT TO ENGLAND AND SWEDEN. 1895
TO THE EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE." MY DEAR BROTHER:- Having recently completed a journey abroad, it may be of interest to your readers to hear a short account of my observations of the state of the Church in foreign lands, and of the work that I have been able to perform during my vacation. The purposes of my journey were to complete, certain investigations relative to the history of the New Church; and to arrange for the reproduction, by means of photography, of one of the manuscripts of Swedenborg in Stockholm. I left Philadelphia on May 4th, arrived in London on May 11th, and on the very next day had the pleasure of preaching to the Church of the Academy in that city. Of this Church, with its Pastor and his co-laborers, no description needs be given here, as they are well known to your readers, and, moreover, within the prohibited historical radius of fifty years. And this is well, for me fears that any such account would be a very partial one, in view of the captivating sphere of brotherly sympathy, geniality, and unlimited hospitality which distinguishes our London friends.
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I need but state that I found the Academy Church in the metropolis of the world progressing second my fondest hopes; united as one flock under the earnest and appreciated ministry of their Pastor, and deeply devoted to the uses of education and the propaganda of those internal principles of life and faith upon which the Academy is founded. Considering the few years that have elapsed since the establishment of this Church, and the great vicissitudes through which it has passed, its internal development and its external growth are unparalleled in the history of the New Church. As in other centres of the Academy, the chief source of numerical increase has been the children and young people who have been educated in the Church, by the Church, and for the Church, but beside this, the congregation in Burton Road has, especially in the last years, been increased largely from members of other societies in London, who have become dissatisfied with the life and principles governing the General Conference and its component parts.
THE STATE OF THE CHURCH AT LARGE,
in London, as elsewhere in England, is, indeed, critical, not to say desperate, and this according to the public confession of the leaders and principal members of the Conference Societies. Some of these Societies have lately died out, others are on the point of extinction, or gradually dwindling, and it has even been prophesied that in ten years from now there will not be any organization of the New Church [or of the Conference] in London. Nor is this decaying state manifested only in decreasing congregations and nagging interest, but especially in the loss of the youth of the Church, in internal disunion between the members, and in a growing dissatisfaction and lack of confidence in the ministers. While this unhappy state is everywhere recognized and loudly lamented, there is yet no hope for a better future, so long as the leaders of the Church are blind to the root of the evil, which is nothing but self-will and self-intelligence. But here and there, in various Societies, a few are beginning to turn their faces to that organization in London which holds erect the standard of the Divine Authority of the Heavenly Doctrines. This number is continually increasing, and the future prospects of the Church of the Academy in that city are, indeed, most encouraging.
NEW CHURCH LIBRARIES IN LONDON.
The chief purpose of my visit to London was to investigate the various collections of New Church literature which exist there in greater completion than anywhere else in the world, with the exception of the Academy's collection in Philadelphia. In the libraries of the Swedenborg Society, of the New Church College in Islington, of the British Museum, and in private libraries, I reaped a rich bibliological and historical harvest, which, with previous investigations in America, and the subsequent ones in Sweden, makes my catalogues of New Church publications very nearly complete.
THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY,
in its handsome house, No. 1 Bloomshury Street, possesses unquestionably the largest collection in England of the Writings themselves, in their various editions and languages. I found here many rare publications and unique copies, together with a number of old and valuable historical documents. The collection of collateral literature is comparatively small, but contains many rare and early volumes and pamphlets. All the volumes are exceedingly well bound and classified, but they are covered with the dust of ages, the venerable evidence of long and untouched repose.
THE COLLEGE IN ISLINGTON,
deserted for years by teachers and pupils alike, contains another valuable library of New Church literature, which bears similar signs of rest. This collection is especially rich in controversial pamphlets and brochures which the New Church has produced in such sad abundance, but which, nevertheless, are of value in affording glimpses into the inner and hidden life of the Church. Here, also, I was shown a MS. volume, containing the minutes of the Society in Great East Cheap (1787-1790), which was copied by the Rev. William Hill from the original minute book, which has been lost. The library is at present under the care of Mr. L. W. Grundy, an octogenerian, who still retains vivid memories of John Clowes and Robert Hindmarsh. The past century seemed short, indeed, to me, while conversing with this venerable Newchurchman, who is, perhaps, the last living link between the earliest pioneers of the New Church and the present generation.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
contains a rather incomplete collection of "Swedenborgiana," but a very large one of collateral works, probably the largest in England, as the British law requires each publisher to send to the Museum a copy of every new publication. All volumes are here catalogued, not according to subjects, but alphabetically, according to the name of the authors, and as the official catalogue of the library is contained in over one thousand folio-volumes, it was no easy task to go through these, page by page, picking out only the New Church authors. But it was done, nevertheless, with very gratifying results. Beside these three libraries, I had the opportunity of looking over some private collections, in which, and especially in that of the Rev. R. J. Tilson, much valuable material was found.
SOME OLD LANDMARKS
of the history of the New Church were visited during my sojourn in London. Among these I may mention especially the old Swedish Church and "Ye Old London Coffea House." The former stands like an ancient monument of respectability in the dirtiest and "smelliest" district of Whitechapel. The church or chapel itself looks like an old-fashioned Swedish country church, and is interesting only from its association with Emanuel Swedenborg, who, indeed, but seldom visited it during his life on earth, but whose mortal relics are interred-directly under the altar! How representative, this, of the state of the Old Church and its temples, whitened sepulchres, full of dead men's bones! From its triplet casket in the vaults of this chapel Swedenborg's skull was stolen, in 1817, by a Swedish officer, who vainly offered to sell this relic to members of the New Church. After various adventures it was finally restored to its resting-place. On one of the walls of the church may be seen the memorial tablet in honor of Swedenborg, which was placed there by Mr. J. S. Hodson, in the year 1857, as a commemoration of the centenary of the Last Judgment. In the vestry hang the portraits of the successive pastors of the Swedish Church in London, among these the likeness of the Rev. Arvid Ferelius, who administered the last sacrament to Swedenborg, and who himself became a receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines.
(To be continued.)
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LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is "The Maples," Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery Co., Pa. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
PHILADELPHIA, NOVEMBER, 1895=126.
CONTENTS. PAGE. EDITORIAL: Notes 161 The Bread of Heaven (a sermon) 161 Hurting or Destroying Truths or Goods with Oneself or with Others (Exodus xxi, 12-27) 165 Reflection 166 Egypt. II- The LORD'S Natural Kingdom 166 NOTES AND REVIEWS 168 COMMUNICATED: The Chancellor's Visit to Berlin 168 The Chancellor's Visit to Glenview. 160 General Church of the Advent of the LORD 170 Professor Odhner's Visit to England and Sweden 174 LIFE OF the NEW CHURCH The Academy of the New Church 176 The General Church of the Advent of the LORD 176 The Church at Large 176 BIRTHS AND BAPTISM 176 THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH
Philadelphia.-ON October 6th the Rev. W. F. Pendleton discoursed on "Repentance" as necessary to precede the partaking of the Holy Supper. On October 13th the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to forty-five communicants. On October 20th the Rev. G. G. Starkey preached a discourse on the LORD'S Prayer. THE Doctrinal Class was resumed October 17th. The Rev. G. G. Starkey, who has charge of it, began a course of instruction on the subject of "Regeneration." The class meets on Wednesdays at 7.45. THE Philadelphia Schools of the Academy reopened on October 1st. In the absence of the Chancellor, the Vice- Chancellor, the Rev. W. F. Pendleton officiated. He expressed regret at the absence of the Chancellor, but extended the welcome of the Chancellor, Professors, and Teachers to the pupils. He hoped the Work would continue to be as pleasant as it had been in the past, and he asked for loyalty and obedience. The work would begin this year under somewhat unusual circumstances. The school would be divided. There would be school in the city and in the country. It would be necessary for some of the teachers to be in the country, and for others to teach in both places. A school-house had been provided in the country, and they are looking forward to moving the whole school There, but the LORD has not indicated His own time. The College and Theological School would continue in the city as before. The Vice- Chancellor then spoke of the object of the school. He said that the Ten Commandments was the basis of the schoolwork. The object of the school is that all may learn to keep the Commandments. The Revelation of the Commandments was new, and yet not new. Man knew them before but not as to their internal form. Man had become ignorant of the fact that the Commandments were for the sake of spiritual life. Those evils are pointed out in the Commandments which damn the soul of man. Heaven is formed by the keeping of the Commandments. A New Church was established that men might be saved. The work of the school is to do this work. One cannot be placed in true liberty unless one is properly prepared in childhood. After this training, when one comes of age, it may be confidently hoped and believed that one will continue in the right path. The school is founded on the keeping of the Commandments, and all the teaching of the school looks to that end, and to that end alone. In the afternoon a Social was held, affording the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the new pupils and of reunion with the old. A pleasing feature of the Social was the placing of a garland, made by one of the young ladies, on the portrait of the Chancellor, accompanied by the singing of a song to him in chorus. The completed roll shows 35 students and pupils in attendance on the schools in town, and 34 in the country. Huntingdon Valley.-ON Sunday, October 20th, the chapel and school-house, which was described last month in these columns, was dedicated to its uses by Bishop Pendleton. A number of the young people had made use of the early autumn morning to gather leaves and vines to decorate the chancel and communion rail, and the room presented a beautiful appearance when the congregation arrived. Although it had not been made generally known that the dedication would take place, as the ceremony was to be quite simple, news concerning it leaked out, and the morning train brought some zealous people from the city, among them visitors from Berlin. After stating the objects for which the building was reared and for which it has been leased by the Academy, Bishop Pendleton drew aside the curtains that veiled the sacrarium, and placed in it the books of Divine Revelation in the literal sense and in the spiritual sense, accompanying the act with selections from the Word. He then took the Word in Hebrew and Greek and The True Christian Religion in the origin Latin edition, from the sacrarium, and placed them on the altar. The LORD'S Prayer was followed by another prayer suitable to the solemn occasion. Then the Bishop invoked the Divine blessing upon the building, the furniture of the chancel, the ministers and the congregation, the teachers and the pupils. The building was dedicated to the uses of worship, of educating young and old, and of social life. The dedication was followed by the baptism of a young lady, a recent convert to the New Church, from Renovo. After this the Holy Supper was administered to forty-six communicants. An invitation to Cairnwood drew a large gathering to that charming place in the evening, and the internal happiness that came in the morning services was ultimated in delightful social communion. The auspicious beginning of Academy work in the country was duly commemorated, and the similar auspicious reawakening of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD was likewise placed before all, by a very full account of the meeting, presented by Bishop Pendleton. SCHOOL was opened on October 8th, before the entire finishing of the building. In the absence of the Chancellor, the Vice- Chancellor, Bishop Pendleton, opened the school with Divine worship and a short address. ON Sunday, October 27th, Bishop Pendleton baptized three children during services. The Rev. George G. Starkey preached on the LORD'S Prayer. Pittsburgh.- THE teachers and former pupils of the school held a social on September 26th as a farewell to the five scholars who will attend school in school year. We also had the pleasure of Miss Augusta Pendleton's presence.
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD.
Middleport.- DURING the summer just past, Candidate Charles E. Doering ministered very acceptably to the Middleport Society, preaching on Sunday mornings and conducting a Doctrinal Class on Sunday evenings. He also gave special religious instruction to the children once a week.
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
Ohio.- THE Ministers of the Ohio Association held a conference at Cleveland on October 11th. The Rev. John Goddard ordained Mr. Myron G. Browne at the request of the Lakewood Society. Papers on New Church Education were read and the following, among other resolutions on the same subject, was passed: "Resolved, That it is the sense of this Association that the great and imperative need of the New Church is to have her own university; an institution where every youth of the Church may find advantages equal to other institutions on the plane of the natural sciences as now understood, and providing for the individual needs of all, and permeated by the special teachings of the Church on the relation of all natural things to the spiritual." New Hampshire.-ON Sunday, October 6th, the German New Church Society of Manchester dedicated their new little temple to the worship of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. The Rev. Messrs. Hinkley and Diehl performed the ceremony.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Northampton.- THE Rev. J. F. Buss will resign the Pastorate of the Northampton Society at the end of the current year. Southport.- THE first meeting of the Lay Preachers' Association was held at South port on September 7th. Mr. Edward Seddon is the President. "The whole of the time was occupied in forming the rules." Derby.- THE Rev. James Hyde was ordained into the ministry of the New Church on September 25th. He has for the last two years been acting as the Minister for the Derby Society, but hitherto he has not been recognized by Conference.
Title Unspecified 1895
New Church Life Vol. XV, No. 12. PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER, 1895=126. Whole No. 182.
Title Unspecified 1895
A CENTURY ago, the New Church was arraigned at the bar of the ecclesiastical courts of Swedenborg's native country. As, at His First Coming, the LORD was brought before a Council, and condemned to death by the ecclesiastical leaders of His Church, and this sentence was executed by the civil rulers of the country that witnessed His birth and ministrations, so at His Second Corning He in His Divine Truth was likewise condemned by a Council of leading ecclesiastics professing His Name, and their influence prevailed with the civil government.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE acceptance of the Doctrines by two Swedish professors of theology, Drs. Beyer and Rosen, led to a bitter attack upon the Doctrines of the New Church and upon the two professors, in the Consistory of Gottenburg, an attack in which the Speaker of the House of the Clergy joined, and they were called upon by royal decrees to recant their views, and to promise to abandon their newly-found faith. Their trial dragged its weary length through a period of twelve years. Swedenborg did not live to see its termination, neither did one of the accused, Dr. Rosen; while the other, Dr. Beyer, died shortly after the last act in this great ecclesiastical drama.
Title Unspecified 1895
OF this trial Swedenborg said, in a letter to the Universities of Upsal, Lund, and Abo, that it was "the most important and the most solemn that has been before any council during the last 1700 years, since it concerns the New Church, which is predicted by the LORD in Daniel and in the Apocalypse, and agrees with what the LORD says in Matthew xxiv, 22." As "the most important and most solemn trial" in the seventeen centuries that had passed over the Christian Church, its particular proceedings and events hold front rank in the domain of history. The LORD'S prophecy, "Unless those days should be shortened, no flesh could be saved, but for the elects sake those days shall be shortened," has nowhere else been presented so vividly to the eyes of men on earth. The deep-seated and malevolent anger of the dragon was expressed in the most blasphemous accusations, that the New Church, whose very life is acknowledgment of the sole Divinity of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, is "schismatic, in the highest degree heretical, in most of its parts Socinian, and, in every sense, objectionable." The judgment passed in the name of the king upon Swedenborgianism unheard, the disgraceful treatment of Swedenborg and of the professors, and the ultimate disposition of the case by the Supreme Court of Appeals-constituted the repudiation and condemnation of the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem; the distinct and unmistakable rejection of the Divine Ruler of the Universe: the LORD JESUS CHRIST in His Divine Human; put an end to the subsequent public advocacy of the New Church among the clergy of the established Church, and resulted, in later years, in the establishment of the New Church in a distinctive and separate external form. Thus the Church came to an end "before its time" (A. R. 4), in the Old Church, as otherwise it would have perished utterly as the LORD'S kingdom on earth; and provision was made for its establishment elsewhere.
Title Unspecified 1895
"EXCEPT those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." As the LORD bore the evils and falses of the Church at His First Coming, being tempted by the hells, and finally by the Jews, by whom He was crucified, and thus represented the violence done to the Word, which is Himself, so at His Second Coming, when He preferred the Last Judgment, and, finally, when He, the Word of Divine Truth, was condemned by the ecclesiastical end civil authorities of Sweden, He bore the evils and falses of the Church by again subjugating the hells. As at the First, so at the Second Coming, the combats were ultimated in the natural world. Here, indeed, to the eyes of natural men, He was apparently slain, but His death was in reality the means of His complete Victory. For the elect's sake those days were shortened. The Judgment was made complete-the ultimate rejection of the LORD by the Church marked the conclusion of her existence as a Church. Having left the LORD, she was left by Him, and her place in the spiritual world "knoweth her no more." But the altered conditions in the spiritual world made it possible for the New Church to be more fully and completely established on earth, as in heaven, from among those who were in a life of good.
Title Unspecified 1895
IN this connection, due stress needs to be laid on the fact that although this trial, for obvious reasons, is not treated of directly in the Writings, yet there are unmistakable references to it in The True Christian Religion, n. 112 and 137, which give some of the numerous instances of the prolongation of the Last Judgment in the Spiritual World, and of the close connection of people and events in that world with people and events on earth.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE invaluable archives of the early history of the New Church, known as the Documents concerning Swedenborg, edited by the late Dr. R. L. Tafel, contain twenty-nine letters and papers relating to the trial. This collection, however, has never seemed complete, especially as the termination of the trial, so far as the evidence of the documents is concerned, was vague and indefinite. It is, therefore, to be accounted as an important event that a number of papers were discovered during the past summer, stored away in the hitherto unexamined Royal Archives of Sweden, of which at least thirty-eight, relating to this trial, have never before been made publicly known. They complete the official records of "the most important and most solemn trial that has been before any Council in the last 1700 years." The story of the discovery of these documents will be found in Professor Odhner's account of his visit to England and Sweden, and a full list, descriptive of the papers, including also a number of other documents relating to Swedenborg and the New Church, is likewise presented herewith. Carefully executed copies of the original Swedish have been received by the Academy of the New Church, and they are about to be translated into English by Professor Odhner.
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These documents ought to be printed; and, indeed, uniform with the other documents of the case heretofore published.
LADDER SEEN BY JACOB. C. E. DOERING 1895
A SERMON
"And he dreamed, and behold a ladder standing on the earth, and its head touching Heaven; and behold the Angels of God ascending and descending upon it."-Genesis xxviii, 12.
IN the chapter from which our text is taken there is described how the LORD made His Natural Divine as to Truth and as to Good, and, representatively, how He regenerates mail as to truth and good, and further, how the LORD began to make Divine His Natural from the ultimates of order, and that thus he disposes the intermediates, thereby conjoining all and single things with the First, that is, with the Divine itself. But in the representative internal sense is described how the LORD regenerates man, also from the ultimate of order, and thus disposes the intermediates that through the rational He may conjoin them with Himself. In the words of our text in the supreme sense is described how the LORD made Divine the various planes, from the ultimate even to the inmost, that thereby there might be a communication from the Inmost, in the Divine, with the ultimate, in order that the human race might be saved; and in the internal sense is described how the LORD regenerates the various degrees in man, from the lowest to the highest, that he may become a means of communication of the good and truth inflowing from the LORD, upon which communication depends his salvation. "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder standing on the earth, and its head touching Heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it." "And he dreamed." "That hereby is signified foresight is manifest from the signification of dreaming, as denoting, in the internal sense, to foretell future events;" for Prophetic dreams in ancient times were Divine and were predictions of things to come, and as the Word inmostly treats of the LORD and they who dreamed represented the LORD, therefore dreams signify foresight or providence, for predictions concerning future events are from no other source than from the Divine Foresight, since He alone knows and foresees the needs and necessities of men, and hence also provides for them. But the prediction that is inmostly involved here is concerning the Coming of the LORD, for by this He was in a manner present with the men of that Church, and the successive states of His Glorification are described by what he dreamed. "And behold a ladder standing on the earth." By this is signified communication of the lowest truth and good thence. This appears from the signification of "ladder" as denoting communication, and from the signification of "earth" when placed in relation to the Heaven, as is here the case, as denoting things lowest. This signification of "ladder" rests on the ultimate use of it, which is that it is an instrument for the purpose of communicating between what is lower and what is higher, for by it one can ascend from a lower to a higher and then again descend from the higher to the lower, and thus have established a means of communication between them. "And its head touching Heaven." This signifies communication with the LORD, that is, of things lowest with the LORD, Who is the Highest or the head, and in the inmost sense is signified by "Heaven;" for Heaven is not from anything of the angels who are there, their propria being nothing but evil, but it is Heaven because there is the Divine of the LORD, since this makes Heaven. In the representative sense, which treats of the regenerate man, by a ladder standing on the earth and its head touching Heaven is signified communication of the lowest truth and good in the external man-i. e., truth and good which man acquires as it were by his own application, With the truth and good in his inmost, and hence with the LORD; for He dwells with man in his inmost, and hence also it is said in the next verse, And behold JEHOVAH standing above it's "And behold the angels of God ascending and descending upon it," signifies infinite and eternal communication and thence conjunction, that is, of what is lowest with the LORD. This may appear from the signification of "Angels of God," as denoting Divine Truths, which continually ascend to God and descend from Him. This communication of Divine Truths must be infinite and eternal, because they proceed from the LORD Who is Infinite and Eternal, and return to Him when they are received by the man who reacts with Him; although then with respect to the man they are limited and finited by the reception. But not only the Procedure, but also the return of Divine Truths was infinite and Eternal in the LORD, when He glorified His Human from outmosts or ultimates to the inmost or the Divine. And this He did successively, forming and terminating every degree, so that now in His Human the Divine Truths descend from Him to ultimates and from ultimates again ascend to Him, by which there is effected infinite and eternal communication with the ultimates, not only of man, but also of nature, so that they too are held in order by it, and the ultimates being in order, a plane is thereby formed that the higher and intermediate degrees may also be reduced into order. Thus, then, we may see that inmostly our text is a prediction of the LORD'S Coming and then how the LORD became the uniting medium between Himself and the world-that is, how He assumed the Human and glorified it, first making it Divine Truth and then Divine Good, and thereby became His own ladder or way; for in the original tongue the word ladder is derived from a word meaning way, which signifies Truth, by which there is established a connection and communication between Himself and the human race, which communication before this had been through the Angelic Heavens, and which now had been severed by the evils and falses of men, who had become merely natural, so that it was impossible for the LORD to reach them on that plane without assuming a natural Human, which could be seen by the eyes of men, thereby becoming in Himself the Way from the outmost or rational degree to the inmost. But as our text inmostly describes the glorification of the Human of the LORD, how He thereby became the way to Himself, so also in the internal sense it describes the regeneration of man, who has broken in himself the connection with Heaven and with the LORD, and how she by regeneration again becomes a medium of communication between Heaven and earth, which is now possible since a communication has been permanently established in the LORD, and being established in Him it is possible to be established in men who receive Him and suffer Him to establish the communication in them.
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But man had not only severed his connection with Heaven, but he also had established a connection with Hell so that he became a ladder for the fuses and evils to ascend from Hell and descend thither, instead of becoming a ladder for the truths and goods to ascend to Heaven and descend thence. And in order that this communication with Hell may be broken, the evils and falses with their delights have to be put away and in their place man must receive goods and truths from the LORD. And this can only be accomplished by a life of regeneration, by which the various planes in his mind are opened to receive the celestial and spiritual things from Heaven. The reason why man can become such a communicating medium between Heaven and earth is because in his body are collated all things of the natural world, and his mind is so formed that it can be a receptacle of nil things of the spiritual world; for in it there are degrees, which degrees with the regenerate are opened successively, and as they are opened they receive the influx from the LORD through the Heavens, and by receiving react with the influx. But with those who do not become regenerate, these degrees remain closed so that they do not receive the influx from the LORD, or rather they react against the influx, by perverting the goods and truths which continually flow forth from Him, into the opposite evils and falses, so that it may be said that the influx passes through their minds as water through a sieve, and becomes commingled with the mire of their self love in their sensual and natural man, whereby it is turned into what is filthy. And of such a man it cannot therefore be said that he becomes a ladder for the ascent and descent of truths from the LORD, but that he becomes a ladder for the ascent and descent of falses from Hell which continually flow forth thence, and confirm him in the evils of his life, by taking on the appearance of truth in the external; and after death such a one also becomes consociated with his like in Hell; for he loves the evils and falses which are there, and every one's final lot is where his love is, because there is his life. But this is not the end of creation, for every one is born for Heaven. But in order that he may enter it and become a part of it, he must put off the life into which he is born, which is hereditarily nothing but evil, acquired in a long succession of ages from his parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, and receive new life from the LORD-that is, he must be made new especially as to the internal man, for this is really the man himself and remains to all eternity such as it has been formed in the world. However, before he can become new as to the internal, or before he can be regenerated, he must first as to time he made new as to the external, or, what is the same, he must be reformed before he can be regenerated. The process of this reformation and regeneration in man, or how man becomes a ladder by which the truths from the LORD ascend from his very ultimate to his inmost and when he is regenerated descend from his inmost to the ultimate is described in the words before us. "And behold a ladder standing on the earth and its head touching heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it." When man is born into the world as an infant he is not of himself actively a medium of communication between Heaven and the world, or between Hell and the world; for he is not yet in freedom, and until he becomes of his own right, and has the freedom to choose either the one or the other as his goal, he is only a passive and irresponsible medium between Heaven and the world. As an infant he is such a passive medium between the celestial Heaven and the world, for in this age the LORD forms his will by the insinuation of innocence and charity toward his parents, nurses, and playmates, and by many other celestial things which do not appear to man and of which he is entirely ignorant. That this state may be fully formed,-for, the more complete a state is the more interior man is capable of becoming-it is necessary that the child be kept in the sphere of innocence, and that everything which tends to destroy innocence be removed, and this is done not only by keeping the child out of the company of evil associations, but especially by the parents and nurses restraining the evils and caprices of the self love in their natural man, which evils with them cause the presence of evil spirits who are always ready to do injury, and their presence thus disturbs the angels who are attendant on the child and hence also the child itself. But when these evils are guarded against on the part of those who have charge of the infant, then the LORD implants celestial remains and forms his will. When this state is complete, then a new state begins and the child is transferred from the sphere of the celestial angels into the sphere of the spiritual, and he now becomes a passive medium of communication between the Spiritual Heaven and the world. In this age he is initiated into the various sciences and knowledges, especially into those knowledges which are general and contain in them interior things, and which thereby serve as a basis of communication; for when the child is imbued with such knowledges, the angels who are attendant on it perceive the interior things in those general truths and feel delight therein, which delight is transferred to the child; and as this delight with it takes on the appearance of the delight of knowing, it serves the child for acquiring more knowledges, and thus the mind is prepared to afterward receive genuine truths. When this state has come to its end there arises a new state in which the boy begins to reason about things, and he is then transferred from the sphere of the spiritual angels into the sphere of good spirits, and he is now a passive medium of communication between the natural, Heaven and the world. And when his intellectual is furnished with sciences and knowledges and he has become a rational man, no longer acting from the sphere of others, but as of himself in a state of freedom, he is no longer a passive medium of communication,- but becomes an active and responsible medium either between Heaven and the world or between Hell and the world, and if his choice be the former he will become an active medium between the Heavens and the world as he before was a passive, but in an inverse order from that of his irresponsible age-i. e. he first associates and communicates with the angels of the natural heaven, then with those of the spiritual heaven, and finally with those of the celestial heaven, and the goods which were implanted in him in his infancy will gradually descend, and when he is regenerated they will become the outmost as well as the inmost of his life. Let us now follow him in his progress upward from the lowest round of the ladder to the highest, for he has not yet began the ascent, since all his previous states were but preparations for this step; or, let us see how the LORD forms him into a ladder by means of which the Heavens communicate with the world. And that we may do this, we must keep before us the fact that his mind is divided into three regions or degrees, one above another, each one communicating with its own heaven according to the degree which is opened in him.
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If it is only opened to the first degree, he communicates with the ultimate or first Heaven, and he as to his spirit is in consociation with good spirits; if it is opened to the second degree, he communicates with the second or middle Heaven, and he as to his spirit consociates with the Spiritual angels; and if he progresses still further, so that the third degree is opened, he communicates with the third or inmost Heaven, and is in consociation with the Celestial angels, and he is gifted with angelic wisdom and blessedness (although both are very much obscured by the natural body in which he still is). Man also after death comes into that Heaven with which he had communication while here. But that he may enter the highest heaven, it is necessary that the interior degrees of his mind be well terminated, and by terminations be distinct, the one from the other, and when they are terminated, or by terminations, are made distinct, the one from the other, every degree is a plane in which the good in flowing from the LORD through the corresponding Heavens rests and is received. Without those degrees as planes, good cannot be received, but, as has already been stated, flows through as through a sieve, even to the sensual, and is there changed into what is filthy. If, however, the various degrees are terminated, the good from the LORD inflows from the inmost successively to the outmosts-that is, through the rational into the interior natural, and thence into the exterior natural or sensual, distinctly as by the steps of a ladder, and in every step it is qualified according to the reception and termination of that plane. The first plane that is opened or which is first regenerated is the natural. This is effected partly by means of the knowledges which are stored up in the memory, and partly by an affection of them. Of those knowledges some are general, such as are in the historicals of the Word, and others are such as are not altogether contrary to genuine truths, and as serve to introduce them. Among these latter are: that all love begins from self; that self is first to be regarded and then others, that good is to be done to such as appear poor and miserable in an external form, whatsoever may be their inward quality, that widows and orphans are objects of charity. Besides many others which partake somewhat of the false to which he hereditarily inclines, but, which, nevertheless, at the same time serve to introduce him into new life, and admit into them whatsoever is conducive toward forming in him a new will and a new understanding. When he is in this state he believes himself to be good and wise, especially when be knows some particulars of the doctrinals of the Church, and can apply them, not so much to his own life, as to the life of others. He, however, does not remain in this state, which may be called the infancy of his new life, but passes out of it and begins to think, from perception given by the LORD, that in the historicals of the WORD there lie concealed more interior things than he is aware of, and the doctrinals of the Church he now accepts, not merely because the leaders of the church teach them, but because, by study and application, he sees that they are true; and as he from his own thought superadds thereto, he is pleased, and comes into an affection of truth, still, however, somewhat tainted with worldly loves, but which affection nevertheless spurs him on to acquire more truths. In this manner he gradually climbs up the steps of the ladder in the first-story of the house of his mind, and when he has reached the highest round of the ladder in this plane, a change takes place in his mind; for the LORD mercifully opens the second degree of it, so that he now comes into communication with the angels of the middle Heaven, whereas before he was only in communication with the angels of the lowest Heaven. He now not only discriminates between the truths in his understanding, but he also performs the acts of charity not primarily respecting the person, such as he appears in the external form, as he did in the first state, but respecting the quality of the man to whom charity is exercised; and, moreover, he now performs uses for the sake of the common good, and not primarily for himself; not yet however altogether because he loves good or use, but because he sees that this is the right thing to do and compels himself to do it, and in this manner he is gifted with a genuine affection of truth, and he lends a life which in the Writings is called a life of charity, which life is still as to us interiors truth, but in its exteriors appears as good-that is, it is truth in act or deed. Thus he progresses in this state until it also is full and then another change takes place, providing he is able to progress still further. The third or highest degree of his mind is opened by the LORD, and he comes into communication with the angels of the highest or third Heaven. He now has no need to compel himself to do good, but be perceives delight in doing good, and also at the same time perceives the truths by which good is done, and the pleasantness attendant therewith when they confirm good. These are now the goods and truths of his new will and new understanding, with which he is gifted, in the place of his former will and understanding, which now have been removed to the circumference, and he has ascended the steps of the ladder to the step where the LORD appears to him and the truths which served him to ascend are now vivified by the good inflowing from within and with the good descend, and moreover as they were the first in his regeneration, now when he is regenerated they are the last, and good takes its own proper place, good which was stored up in the celestial remains of his infancy now appears clothed with the wisdom of his old age. As this is the progression in general it is also in particulars. There is a continual descent of truth and of good pari passu with the ascent; for as man learns truths from the Word, from doctrinals and from preachings, all which come from without, and applies them to his life, he also at the same time receives truths from within from the LORD, in that he has a perception of the particular truths which are applicable to the use which he is performing, which perception can only take place when he has learned truths from without, which form a plane for the reception of good from within which disposes the truths externally acquired into order, and thence is his perception, and this is so on every plane and in each degree of his life, and the perception is more or less full according to the degree which is opened in him, becoming more and more clear as he ascends the ladder and may be said to be finitely perfect as compared to his former states. When he has reached and entered into the third degree. Yet, even on this plane, there are degrees of perfection, for we are taught that there are those who are more in wisdom and there are those who are more in love, but the inmost of all are those in whom there is an equilibrium between love and wisdom. And such a man the Newchurchman is to be, for he, differently from any who have lived in the preceding churches, can acquire truths from without more copiously and at the same time by application to uses from the love of uses he will also receive perception in those truths. We have been speaking as if man ascended the ladder from himself; but this is according to appearances, the meaning is that he is elevated by the LORD.
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But by virtue of his free will, every man is at liberty, as of himself; to collect for himself knowledges; and as he collects from the Word both in its letter and internal sense by means of the understanding, he prepares and makes ready a way for the LORD to descend and elevate him. The LORD alone can do this, and also that which man does as of himself he does not from himself; but from the power which is continually given him by the LORD to use as if it were his. And when he uses this power as of himself, acknowledging that it is not from himself but from the LORD, and thus as of himself procures the means of his elevation, then the LORD descends and elevates him, and in every step of the way He is present and leads him. Whether we say that He is present and leads him or that He rules him, it is the same thing, and His ruling is according to the degree in which man is, and always by his love, but according to the truths which ultimate and give form to his love. Thus He rules him according to the plane which is formed in him. In general it may be said that this plane with the good is conscience, which is genuine or not according to the degree of regeneration. And even with the wicked, there is the appearance of conscience in the external by which they also are ruled and are thereby restrained from rushing into all kinds of wicked and nefarious deeds. The word conscience is derived from the two Latin words con, scio, meaning "knowing with," hence the knowledge that man has with or in himself; and if we keep this idea in view, we may see how the LORD rules every one by conscience. Infants, children, and boys are ruled by their parents and teachers by it, but with them it is not a real conscience but only a consciousness of the punishment which will follow if they do evil, the knowledge of which punishment they still retain in their memory, from former punishment administered for evils committed. The evil are ruled similarly and also those who are in the first states of regeneration, for these are detained from doing evil, and hence do what is apparently just and right, not from any interior knowledge of what is just and right, but from a knowledge or consciousness of the loss of things which they love, if they do not act rightly. However, as they progress in regeneration, they come into a spiritual idea of what is just and right, and are ruled by this, and when they are regenerated they are in the perception of spiritual good and truth and are ruled by this, for now they love what is good and true, and are in their delight when they can ultimate those goods by performing uses to others. Thus then on every plane they are ruled by conscience, at first external but becoming more and more internal, until it becomes perception. And when this state is reached, the various planes by which man has ascended now act as one; for the inmost inflows into the lower planes and reduces them into order; for man from his inmost Can see all things which are below it, as one who has ascended the side of a mountain to its summit, and there, with a clear vision, views the surrounding landscape. He has in reality ascended-the ladder of his mind from the lowest round to the highest where the LORD appears to him and he sees the Divine Truths from Him ascending and descending, as Jacob in his dream saw the angels of God ascend and descend the ladder which touched Heaven.- AMEN.
Title Unspecified 1895
The Sower will publish from time to time notices of suitable books for children to read. Time issue of November 16th recommends John Fiske's History of the United States, and Lily F. Wessclhoeft's The Fairy Folk of Blue Hill.
HURTING OR DESTROYING GOOD OR TRUTH IN ONESELF OR IN OTHERS. 1895
EXODUS XXI, 28-37.
(28-36). If there be an affection for evil in man's natural, which hurts the truth or the good of faith, "and when an ox shall push a man or a woman with the horn"-so as to destroy it, "and he die"-then it must suffer the punishment meted out for destroyed truth or good of faith, "the ox stoning shall be atoned"-and that evil must by no means be appropriated but it must be cast out, "and his flesh shall not be eaten"-it is not an evil that comes from the internal man, for as it is of his voluntary, which is evil by inheritance; and as man has not yet been instructed, it is not of the internal life which is of the understanding, "and the master of the ox is guiltless." But if the affection of evil has been of long duration, "and if that ox was wont to push with the horn, of yesterday and the day before yesterday"-and it has passed over into the internal sight of man, into his intellectual, "and it hath been testified to his master"-and has not been repressed, "and he hath not kept him in"-if it has destroyed the truth and good of faith, "and he hath killed a man or a woman"-then it must suffer the punishment of destroyed truth, "the ox shall be stoned"-and the internal man will be damned, "and also his master shall die"-for the man who knows evil in himself, and does not repress it, is guilty, for he approves it, and thus extinguishes the light of truth, and together with it, the faith of truth in its conception; and when this is extinct, good from the LORD is not received; hence the internal man cannot be opened, and hence it cannot be gifted with spiritual life which is the life of truth and good of faith; when man's state is such, then he lives the natural life, which is that of the external man; but this life without time spiritual life is dead. In order that he may he free from the damnation, "if expiation be laid upon him"-he must undergo the hard things of repentance, which are spiritual temptations, "and he shall give the redemption of his soul"-according to the quality of the affection of evil from the intellectual, "according to all that hath been laid upon him." If there be an attack, on the part of the affection of evil, upon the truths and goods of faith derived from the interiors, "whether he have pushed with the horn a son, or have pushed with the horn a daughter"-it must undergo a similar punishment, "according to this judgment shall it be done to him." If the affection of evil have destroyed truth of good in the natural, "if the ox have pushed a man-servant or a maid-servant"-the internal man must restore this to the full, "the silver of thirty shekels he shall give to his master"-he must suffer the punishment of having truth and good destroyed in the natural, "and the ox shall be stoned." If any one receive the false from another, "and when a man shall open a pit"-or if he himself have fashioned the false, "or when a man shall dig a pit"-and does not again extinguish it, "and not cover it"-and it perverts the good or truth in the natural, "and an ox or an ass fell there in"-then he with whom the false is shall amend it, "the lord of the pit shall repay"-by means of the truth with him whose good or truth in the natural has been perverted, "silver shall he render to his matter"-and the evil or the false shall remain for himself, "and the dead shall be for himself." Within the Church this amendment of perverted good or truth is effected by the truth from the Word, or from doctrine which is from the Word; for truth teaches what is evil and what is false, and thus man sees and acknowledges them, and when he sees and acknowledges, then they can be amended.
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And when there are two truths, the affections of which are diverse, and the affection of the one injure the affection of the other, "and when the ox of a man shall smite the ox of his companion"-so that the good affection perishes, "and he die"-then the affection of the one which hurt the affection of the other, is to be alienated, "and they shall sell the live ox"-and his truth will be dissipated," and divide his silver"-and so also the affection that does the harm, "and also the dead they shall divide." If he had known beforehand that there was such an affection, "or, it is known that that ox was wont to push with the horn, of yesterday, of day before yesterday"-and if he did not hold it in bonds, "and his master hath not kept him in"-it is to be entirely restored, "repaying he shall repay an ox for the ox"-for the hurting affection, "and the dead shall be for himself." (37.) If any one takes away from another his exterior or interior good, "when a man shall steal an ox or a sheep"-and extinguishes it, "and slay it" or if he alienate it, "or sell it"-then he shall suffer a corresponding punishment to a great amount, "five oxen he shall repay for the ox"-and also a corresponding punishment to the full, "and four sheep for the sheep." When alienated good is to be amended or restored man suffers hard things, for he is either left to his own evil, thus also to the punishment of evil-for evil carries its own punishment with it-or he is let into temptations, by which the evil is tamed and removed, which are the punishments here spoke of. The interior good is to be fully restored because that good makes the spiritual life of man, and unless the spiritual life be restored to the full, the exterior good which makes the natural life cannot be restored, for this life is restored by the interior life; but good in the external or natural man cannot be restored to the full, because there the blow remains as cicatrix which becomes callous. In short, as the external or natural of man is to be regenerated by his internal, so in like manner good in the natural that has been carried off and alienated is to be amended and restored.
DOCUMENTS IN THE ROYAL ARCHIVES OF SWEDEN. 1895
THE following is a list of Documents relating to Emanuel Swedenborg and the New Church, which were found recently in the Royal Archives of Sweden. They are fifty-eight in number, and of these forty-nine have never before been known to the Church, while the remaining nine-though known from more or less accurate translations-have not before been known in the original.
1.-1716, Dec. 6th, Lund.-Memorial from Christ. Polhemar to Charles XII, recommending Em. Swedherg to the post of Assessor in the College of Mines. (New.) 2 folio pages. 2.-1716, Dec. 10th, Lund.-Royal Letter, appointing Em. Swedherg assistant to Polhemar, and to the degree and title of Assessor Extraordinary in the College of Mines. (New.) 1 page. 3.-1716, Dec. 18th, Lund.-Royal Letter to the College of Mines, containing information of Em. Swedberg's appointment. (Translated in Tafel's Documents. Vol. 1, p. 401). 1/2 page. 4.-1716, Dec. 18th, Lund.-Royal Certificate of Em. Swedberg's appointment. (Contained in Doc. I, p. 402.) 1/2 page. 5.-1720, July 9th, Stockholm.-Emanuel Swedenborg to the King. Petition for appointment to the ordinary assessorship. (New.) 2. 6.-1720, July 21st, Brunsho.-Bishop Swedberg to the King. Appeal in behalf of Emanuel Swedenborg for elevation to time ordinary assessorship. (New.) 1. 7.-1720, Nov. 21st, Stockholm.- Swedenborg to the King. Second petition for appointment to the ordinary assessorship. (New.) 4. 8.-1729, July 7th, Stockholm.-[This date is a mistake. Should be 1724.] Swedenborg to the King. Third petition for the appointment to the ordinary assessorship. (New.) 1. 9.-1724, July 15th, Stockholm.-Royal Letter, appointing Swedenborg to the position and salary of ordinary assessor in the College of Mines. (New.) 1. 10.-1726 (about.)- Swedenborg to the King. Protest and appeal against the pretensions of Assessor Swab to the position and salary of Swedenborg in the College of Mines. (New.) 4. 11.-1733, April 13th.- Swedenborg to the King. Petition for leave of absence, in order to go abroad. (New.) 2. 12.-1733, April 14th, Stockholm.- The College of Mines to the King, recommending that Swedenborg's petition for leave of absence be granted. (Translated in Doc. I, p. 442.) 2. 13.-1743, June 14th.- Swedenborg to the King. Petition for another leave of absence. (New). 2. 14.-1743, June 13th.- Swedenborg to the King. Requisition for a passport. (New.) 1. 15.-1747, June 2d.- Swedenborg to the King, Letter of resignation from the College of Mines. (Translated in Doc. I, p. 464.) 2. 16.-1760 (about). A foreign minister's inquiry respecting the death of a Prince of Saxe- Coburg. Swedenborg's reply. (Published in appendix to Swedenborg's Drommer, 1744.) 1. 17.-1766, June 22d, Gottenburg.- Dr. Johan Rosen to the Consistory of Gottenburg. Reports a plan for a volume of sermons, to be published by him and Dr. G. A. Beyer. (New.) 2. 18.-1769.- Consistory of Gottenburg to the Diet. Reports that some of the clergy in the Diocese have begun to agitate against Swedenborg's Writings. (New.) 1. 19.-1769, Oct. 6th, Stockholm.- Swedenborg's Memorial to the House of Clergy, requesting the liberation of the copies of Conjugial Love, which had been confiscated in Norrkoping. (New) 1. 20.-1769, Oct. 30th, Stockholm.- Swedenborg to Dr. Beyer; extracts from the printed letter. (Translated in Doc. II, p 306.) 5. 21.-1769. Dec. 3d.-Extract from the Minutes of the Ecclesiastical Committee of time House of Clergy. The case of "Swedenborgianism" recommended to the consideration of the Chancellor of Justice. (New). 1. 22.-1769, Dec. 3d.-Extracts from the Minutes of the Ecclesiastical Committee of the House of Clergy. Resolutions on the same subject. (New.) 6 p. 23.-1769, Dec. 5th.-Bishop Filenius, on behalf of the House of the Clergy, to the Chancellor of Justice, recommending him to watch over orthodoxy. (New.) 2 p. 24.-1769, Dec. 30th.-Extracts from the Minutes of Ecclesiastical Committee. Consideration of Swedenborgianism in Gottenburg, and the cases of Dr. Beyer and Dr. Rosen. (New.) 2. 25.-1769, Dec. 30th, Upsala.- Consistory of Upsala to the House of Clergy, requesting that the Theological Faculty of Upsala be asked to investigate and report upon Swedenborg's "heretical" writings. (New.). 3.
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26.-1770, Jan. 14th.-Extracts from the Minutes of the Ecclesiastical Committee. Resolution recommending that a refutation of Swedenborg's teachings be composed. (New.) 1. 27.-1770, Jan. 21st.- House of Clergy to the Archbishop and Consistory of Upsala, reporting that measures had been taken for the suppression of Swedenborgianism. (New.) 1. 28.-1770, March 3d, Gottenburg.- Assessor Aurell to the Chancellor of Justice. Fulsome expressions of gratitude for measures taken against Dr. Beyer and Dr. Rosen; further accusations made, and demands for more rigorous punishment. (New.) 4. 29.-1770, March 24th, Stockholm.- Chancellor of Justice to Judge Gillerstedt, of Gottenburg, inquiring into reasons for delay in reporting upon the case of Swedenborgianism. (New.) 1. 30.-1770, April 12th, Stockholm.- Swedenborg to Dr. Beyer. (Translated in Doc. II, p. 352.) 6. 31.-1770, April 22d, Gottenburg.-Rev. A. Borelius, of Thorsby, to the Gottenburg Consistory regarding Dr. Beyer's Sermon-Essays. (New.) 1. 32.-1770, April 26th, Stockholm.-Royal Resolutions respecting Swedenborg's Writings and the Gottenburg doctors. (A small part of this Letter translated in Doc. II, p. 365. The major part new and very important.) 12. 33.-1770, June, Stockholm.- Swedenborg's Memorial to the King, protesting against persecution. (This is the first appearance of the original of this important letter. An incomplete translation published in Doc. II, p. 373.) 7. 34.-1770, Sept. 5th, Gottenburg.-Extracts from Minutes of the Consistory. Dr. Rosen deprived of certain official privileges, in consequence of Royal Resolution. (New.) 2. 35.-1770, Sept. 7th, Gottenburg.- Dr. Rosen to the King. Promises not to preach or defend Swedenborg's teachings. (New; important.) 4. 36.-1770, Sept. 28th, Gottenburg.- Dr. Roempke to the Consistory. Accuses Dr. Rosen of violence against his pupil, Dr. Rempke's son. (New.) 2. 37.-1770, Sept., Gottenburg.- Dr. Rosen to the Consistory. Explains the chastisement given to Dr. Rempke's son. (New.) 3. 38.-1770, Sept. 26th, Gottenburg.- Dr. Rosen to the Consistory. A very witty protest against the Consistory's unjust treatment of him versus Dr. Rempke. (New.) 4. 39.-1770, Oct. 11th, Gottenburg.-Bishop Lamberg and the Consistory to the King. Report of Dr. Rosen's violence against his pupils, and his "impudence" toward the Consistory. (New.) 3. 40.-1770, Oct. 19th, Gottenburg.- Dr. Rosen to the King. Protests against unnecessary persecution on part of the Consistory. (New.) 5. 41.-1770, Nov. 15th, Stockholm.-Extract from meeting of the Royal Council of State. Swedenborg's memorial to the King considered. The whole referred to the King's own decision. (New.) 1. 42.-1770, Nov. 16th, Stockholm.-Extract from minutes of the Royal Council. Further consideration of Swedenborg's memorial. The memorial of the Chancellor of Justice approved. (New.) 1. 43.-1771, March 6th, Gottenburg.-Bishop Lamberg and the Consistory to the Chancellor of Justice. Reports Dr. Beyer's and Dr. Rosen's delay in handing in their explanations of their relations to Swedenborg's teaching. (New.) 3. 44.-1771, March 14th, Gottenburg.- Dr. Beyer to the King. Protests against further persecution by the Consistory. (New.) 7. 45.-1771, April 11th, Gottenburg.-Extract from minutes of the Consistory. Dr. Beyer peremptorily forbidden to teach the Greek of the New Testament. (New.) 3. 46.-1771, May 14th, Stockholm.-Extract from Minutes of the Royal Council of State. The case of the Gottenburg doctors-who still refused to recant their allegiance to Swedenborg's teachings-referred to the Court of Appeals in Jonkoping ("Gota Hofratt"); the doctors now to be treated according to the civil law. (New; important.) 2. 47.-1773, June 16th, Gottenburg.-Extract from Minutes of the Consistory. Dr. Beyer's reply to the Chancellor of' Justice, whether he and Dr. Rosen had yet recanted their belief in Swedenborg's Writings. (New; important.) 7. 48.-1774, March 27th, Gottenburg.-Bishop Lamberg and the Consistory to the King. Review of the whole case against Dr. Beyer, who still persists in refusing to recant the Swedenborgian doctrines. (New important.) 13. 49.-1774, April 27th, Gottenburg.- Dr. Beyer to the King. Petition for permission to resume the instruction in Theology. (New.) 3. 50.-1774, May 27th, Gottenburg.-Bishop Lamberg and the Consistory to the Gota Court of Appeals. (New.) 1 51.-1776, June 18th, Jonkoping.-Gota Court of Appeals to the King. Explains causes of delay in deciding upon Dr. Beyer's case. Recommends that Dr. Beyer's request to resume theological instruction he not granted. (New.) 3. 52.-1776, Nov. 22d, Stockholm.-Royal Resolution commanding that the trial against Dr. Beyer should "rest," since the Theological Faculty of Upsala had not yet expressed itself on the orthodoxy of Dr. Beyer's published works. (New.) 2. 53.-1777, Sept. 18th, Brunsbo.-Bishop Forssenius, of Skara, to the Chancellor of Justice. Complains of the propagation of "Swedenborgism heresies" in his Diocese. (New.) 3. 54.-1777, Sept, Stockholm.- The Chancellor of Justice to Bishop Forssenius. Declares Swedenborgianism beneath contempt, and unworthy any published refutation. (New.) 4. 55.-1778, Sept. 3d, Jonkoping.-Gota Court of Appeals to the King. Reports its inability to decide the case against Dr. Beyer without the judgment of the Theological Faculty of Upsala. Recommends that Dr. Beyer be left in peace, and the case be considered closed. (New; important.) 4. 56.-1778, Sept. 14th, Stockholm.-Extract from Minutes of the Royal Council, confirming the recommendations of the Court of Appeals. (New.) 4. 57.-1779, Feb. 16th, Stockholm.-Extract from Minutes of the Royal Council. Dr. Beyer's former petition, to resume theological teaching, declared lapsed, since he now had been permitted to retire from active service. (New.) 1. 58.-1791 (about) Captain Herman von Walden to the King. Petition for permission to publish a reply to (Professor Mohler's) attack upon the New Church. (New.) 3. Total, 155 pages.
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The Academy Book Room is desirous of publishing an English translation of the above documents uniform with Tafel's Documents concerning Swedenborg; but experience in the book-trade of the New Church has brought the conviction that the sale will hardly result in the full return of the money needed to meet the expenses of publication. Those who are interested are therefore invited to correspond with the Book Room, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia. It is hoped that there may be some who will contribute sufficiently large subscriptions to ensure this undertaking.
Title Unspecified 1895
Notes and Reviews.
Title Unspecified 1895
MR. Albert P. Schack, of Denver, Col., has become associate editor of the diminutive paper The Surer Trumpet.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. Dr. F. W. Dahlmann has resigned his connection with Bote der Neuen Kirche except as a contributor, and that paper is now edited solely by Mr. Nussbaum. The publication office has accordingly been removed to St. Louis. The attempt is being made to extend the circulation in the Old Church under the misleading plea that "the New Church is not a sect," etc.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE editor of the New Church Messenger, the Rev. Charles H. Mann, has returned after a year's travel for his health, and the Rev. Jabez Fox, who edited the paper during his absence, has retired from the position he so worthily filled. In the new year, the Messenger's name is to be changed to New Churchman, the size of page made smaller, the number of pages and amount of matter increased, the price lowered, and other changes made looking to an increase in the number of subscribers and in the patronage of advertisers.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE Rev. John Doughty for some years prior to his death was engaged on an Index to Swedenborg. It is a folio volume of 266 pages, closely and very carefully written, and bears the title, "An Index of References to the Correspondences, Representatives and Significatives of the WORD, to be found Unfolded in the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg." He says, "This Index has been compiled as the basis of a Dictionary of Correspondences to be written hereafter, if time and health permit." The volume contains 53,000 references; The date of the preface is March 31st 1882. Mr. Doughty died in 1893.
Title Unspecified 1895
A NEW edition of the Decalogue, in Hebrew and English, for use in schools and families of the New Church, has just been published by the Academy Book Room, from new plates. The former edition of the Hebrew was imperfect, and considerable pains have been taken to make this edition flawless. The type has been set by a student of the Academy, and this, together with the English translation, have been revised by several of the Philadelphia ministers. The present translation conforms more to the English idiom than the last, and white not so literal to the Hebrew, is none the less faithful. The text is printed clearly on bristol-board, neatly mounted on red cloth, and folding double so as to admit of being carried in the pocket. The price is 15 cents.
Title Unspecified 1895
A PLAN has been proposed by Professor J. H. Williams for increasing the endowment of Urbana University. It is that notes be given to the University payable in ten yearly payments and drawing interest at six per cent. This would give the University the income of the full endowment as soon as subscribed. Every $200 would entitle the donor to one scholarship. A writer in the New church Messenger, with that self-complacent ignoring of the Academy which characterizes many friends of Urbana, says: "This is the Church's only University. . . There is now a disposition, on the part of both the faculty and the Church in Ohio, to make it really what it now is in name, a New Church University, and a good one." To seek for an endowment is to begin the work of reconstructing Urbana at the wrong end. This has been the trouble in the past.
Title Unspecified 1895
MR. James Warrington, who is mentioned on page 153 of the Life, called at the Library of the Academy soon after the publication of the second article on "Time First New Church Composer," and during an interview with him, in the course of which he expressed a doubt of Mr. Duche's influence being directly responsible for the publication of Barthelemnon's music and Mr. Proud's three hymns in the Boston hymn-book of 1803, it was suggested and agreed to, that it was highly probable and reasonable that this came about through the Rev. William Hill the son-in-law of Mr. Duche, who had accepted the Doctrines of the New Church, but had taken orders in the Church of England. He is known to have visited Boston in the year 1794 and to have come to America permanently in the year 1796, residing first in Boston and then in or near Philadelphia. Mr. Warrington is making a special study of the history of hymn-tunes of all denominations in England and America, and hopes to publish a work on the subject upon the completion of his extensive researches.
Title Unspecified 1895
THE fact that perception is at this day entirely unknown, when yet it was the principal thing of all the Churches in most ancient times, invests the last issue of the Swedenborg Concordance (Part 83) with considerable interest, for nearly half of it is taken up with the subject of perception. One of the definitions of the word is given in n. 25l3 of the Arcana Coelestia: "Perception is nothing else than the Divine coming or influx into the intellectual faculty." In the Concordance there happen to be two misprints in this entry, which ought to be corrected. The passage there is made to read, "perception is nothing less than the Divine coming of influx into the intellectual faculty." We notice also, that a striking passage as to the need and use of perception has been inadvertently omitted; it occurs in the Brief Exposition, n. 46, and reads, "Good flowing forth from man without perception, is inanimate as from a statue." Another error occurs under the word "Apperception," where, at n. 9035, for "Mental view takes place by means of spiritual truth and is apperception," read, "Mental view takes place from [ex] spiritual truth, and is apperception."
Title Unspecified 1895
THE September and October numbers of the University Courant, a four-page paper published at Urbana, Ohio, in the interests of Urbana University, are of especial interest. The September issue contains photo-engravings of the University Building (called Bailey and Barclay Halls) and of the Dormitory (called Oak Hall), together with a brief description of them and the College curriculum. The Courant has hitherto been edited and published by the students, with occasional contributions from the Professors, but the October number appears with the following staff of editors "Prof. John H. Williams, Chief Editor and Manager. Student Editors, Vesalius Horr and William J. Doyle." This number announces that it is the purpose of the Courant to devote its space chiefly to the subject of New Church Education, and accordingly this first issue under the new management is occupied principally with abstracts of the papers and the discussion of the subject at the late meeting of the Ohio Association. The New Church is to be congratulated upon this re awakening of interest at this ancient seat of learning of the New Church, and we wish that the new President to whom this revival is due, will meet with the success merited by his zealous efforts. A systematic "campaign" in the General Convention carried on by means of a paper especially devoted to the cause may in time have the effect of arousing the people from the apathy to New Church education, especially of a collegiate character into which they have been confirmed by the love of the world and of what the world has to offer.
Title Unspecified 1895
FOR some time there has been much correspondence in Morning Light on the subject of "New Church Socialism." Mr. George Trobridge writes on this subject in the issue of October 19th. He makes a good point when he says: "New Church life should be as distinctive as New Church doctrine.
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There is not the wide distinction between a New Church people as a body and those under the influence of false doctrines, whether ecclesiastical or political, that there was between the early Christians and the world around them. If there were, the growth of time Church would be more stable and rapid." The Rev. J. F. Buss, writing on the same subject, says: "As a matter of sad but plain fact, the outward New Church is going to pieces under our very eyes. Alongside that fact is the equally patent one that we have in the Writings of the Church the clearest possible teaching, as far as fundamentals go, as to what is the true form of ecclesiastical government and organization for the New Church." He says again: "If we must proceed on the principle of imperium in imperio, let us form, not a New Church Socialist Society, which will but divert us from the paths of true improvement and progress, but a 'Church Reform Society,' the object of which shall be to bring the New Church, both in Conference and in the Societies, into a Church life in accordance within the Heavenly Doctrines, and the outcome of which, should that object fail of attainment, may be separation from the New Church Conference and the formation of a 'Reformed New Church,' the basis of which, from the commencement, should be faithful and scrupulous obedience to the Doctrines of the New Church in all Departments, both of Church life and individual life." As President of the "New Church Educational Institute," Mr. Buss has the machinery for a "Reformed New Church" ready to his hand.
Communicated. 1895
Responsibility for the views expressed in this Department rests with the writers.
PROFESSOR ODHNER'S VISIT TO ENGLAND AND SWEDEN. C. TH. ODHNER 1895
(Continued.)
"YE OLD LONDON COFFEA HOUSE,"
No. 49 Ludgate Hill, is a place of particular interest to the New Church, from the fact that the very first public meeting ever held by Newchurchmen took place here on the 5th day of December, in the year 1783. This well-known inn was established in the year 1731, and the original building is still standing, though it now has changed into a high-class modern restaurant. It was at one time the noted resort of publishers, who here sold their copyrights and surplus stock, such transactions it must have been well known to Robert Hindmarsh, the being in all cases ratified over the dinner table. As sue printer and bookseller, who convened this first New Church meeting. A number of friends of the Academy assembled here on the evening of June 12th, after the close of time annual meeting of the Swedenborg Society, in order to refresh themselves and to pledge their affections and loyalty in cups to the New Church, to the Academy, and to the memory of those first five members of the Church in London, whose meeting in this very room, one hundred and nine years ago, had been followed by such important and blessed consequences. When we departed, "mine host" presented to each one of us a little matchbox with a picture of his historical inn, of which he is justly proud.
AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. WILKINSON
made one of the most interesting and delightful incidents of my visit to London. The Doctor, the venerable Nestor in the literary camp of the Church, lives in a charming villa in the northern part of London, and the interior of his home is a delightful and representative fitting to his mind-richly stored, as both are, with beautiful and interesting things. Personally, this original and famous champion of New Church Science is a tall and erect gentleman, eighty-three years of age, white of hair and beard, spectacled, benignant, lively as a young man, as interesting, instructive, and witty in his conversation as in his many and well-known writings, capturing the heart and time attention of the visitor at once. The only evidence of his great age is a slight deafness. His pen is still as active as ever in the promulgation of the spiritual, historical, and scientific principles of the New Church, but his hopes for the reception of these truths this by the world at large are less sanguine than in former days. He expressed great interest in the Academy's educational work, and especially in the attention which is given in our schools to the study of Hebrew and of Swedenborg's Scientific works. The Academy's proposed undertaking of reproducing the priceless manuscripts of Swedenborg was hailed by him with the liveliest sympathy, this being a work which he has constantly held up before the conscience of the Church. The Rev. J. R. Tilson and Mr. L. B. Pendleton accompanied me on this visit to Dr. Wilkinson, and we all felt that our interview with him had been a great privilege and pleasure, and an education in itself.
IN COPENHAGEN.
In company with Mr. Pendleton I left London for Stockholm on June 13th, stopping on the way in Copenhagen for two days, in order to investigate the collection of New Church literature in the Royal Library of Denmark. This literature is not large in the Danish tongue, but I found, nevertheless, a number of works for which I have not met with elsewhere. Among the original editions of the Writings in that library I found the set of the Arcana Coelestia, which Swedenborg on his death-bed presented to the Rev. Arvid Ferelius.
THE NEW CHURCH IN STOCKHOLM.
Arrived in the gay and beautiful capital of Sweden, the American visitors were met by the Rev. A. T. Boyesen, who, on the following day introduced them to the leading members of the society at a festive dinner given on the beautiful island of Stromsborg. The purpose of the feast was to celebrate the "New Church Day," this being the first time that the Second Advent of the LORD was thus commemorated in Sweden. Some thirty members of Pastor Boyesen's Society were present at this memorable gathering, which to us was a most delightful surprise, not only on account of its novelty, but especially on account of the warm sympathy which all expressed with the principles and work of the Academy. Abundant opportunities were given to the guests to explain these principles; and an anxious desire was manifested by the members of the Church to learn more these interior truths, for which the faithful preaching of the pastor had created a receptive plane. This desire was complied with on the following day, the 19th of June, when I delivered a public lecture explaining the significance of the "New Church Day," and on four consecutive Sundays, when I preached and conducted the worship of the Church. The lecture was printed in Harolden, the organ of the Society. The New Church in Stockholm and in Sweden, as is known, is divided into two groups, which have separated from one another, partly on doctrinal and partly on personal grounds. The organizations represented by the Rev. Messrs. Manby and Bjorck, are supposed to be in harmony with the principles and work of the General Convention and the General Conference, while those following the leadership of Pastor Boyesen have held more strict opinions upon the Divine Authority of the Doctrines and the Priestly government of the Church, and have, in consequence been "suspected" of leaning toward the Academy.
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The doctrinal issues involved in the position of the Academy have not, however, as yet been fully presented to the New Church in Sweden, and the "lines of demarcation" have not yet been completely drawn, whence a further interchange of certain members may he expected in the future. But, in general, there is no doubt of the "Academical" inclinations of Pastor Boyesen's Society, abundant evidence of which was given both at private and at public gatherings of a social nature. The teachings, ceremonies, and social principles and practices, which were presented and introduced during our sojourn in Stockholm, fell like dew upon a thirsty ground, and I cannot but express my hope and confidence that this Society will in time develop into a strong and loyal centre of the Church. The series of services which were introduced during my visit in Stockholm have been continued by the Rev. Joseph E. Boyesen, of Middleport, Ohio, whose preaching is much appreciated, not only by the members of his father's congregation, but also by a number of persons connected with the other Society in Stockholm. Shortly after my arrival in Stockholm I was joined by the Rev. R. J. Tilson, of London, whose earnestness and sympathetic character made a profound impression upon the members of the Church, even though the majority of these were unable to converse with him in his native tongue. Two general socials were held during our visit, at which the principles of the Academy and the necessity of New Church social life were explained both in English and in Swedish. At one of these the use of the "loving cup" was introduced, as also the singing of "Vivat Nova Ecclesia" and a Swedish translation of the refrain, "Happy, happy may he be," all of which was enthusiastically received. As an evidence of the Society's sympathy with and confidence in the Bishop of the General Church, I was charged with the pleasant task of presenting to him an album containing a Latin dedicatory inscription and the photographs of a number of the members.
THE "OTHER" SOCIETY IN STOCKHOLM,
which is under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Albert Bjorck, is stronger financially, and perhaps also numerically, than Pastor Boyesen's Society, though it is hardly as united, doctrinally or socially. Connected with this branch of the Church is the "New Church Publishing Association," an independent organization of seven laymen, which of late years has published a number of the Writings and of collateral works, and also opened a Book Room and a Reading-room in a cent al locality. Here are stored a valuable library of New Church literature and a mass of manuscripts, letters, and documents relative to the early history of the New Church in Sweden. Most of these, I found, had for three generations belonged to my own family. The Book Room is kept in excellent order under the able management of the Misses Lundberg. The Reading-room is used also for lectures and evening meetings of Pastor Bjorck's Society. Much regret has been expressed, both in Sweden and abroad, at the divided conditions of the New Church in Stockholm, and some unsuccessful efforts have been made at a union or co-operation between the two Societies. In view of the radical differences in doctrine and government, a forced external union would be a mistake. Kindlier feelings are now beginning to prevail, and a recognition of the distinct and important uses which each of the Societies is performing.
THE SWEDENBORG FAMILY.
During our stay in Stockholm we were afforded excellent opportunities of becoming acquainted with time present generation of the Swedenborg family in that city. There are now seven distinct branches of that family in Sweden, all descended from Emanuel Swedenborg's brother, Jesper. The present nominal head of the family, Carl August Emanuel, is an old bachelor, of a very eccentric character, living in the south of Sweden. He is said to have had visions and peculiar spiritual experiences in his youth, but is now of an unbalanced mind. The actual head is his brother, Lieutenant- Colonel Gustaf E. O. Swedenborg, whose wife is an active and affectionate member of Pastor Boyesen's Society. The Colonel himself, now in his sixty-eighth year, is decidedly opposed to the New Church, and regards his great kinsman, Emanuel, with mingled feelings of pride and distrust. To us he was very affable, however, and received us in his home on terms of great familiarity. Here we were shown the original signet-ring of Emanuel Swedenborg, and were presented with an impression of the seal. This was the only relic he possessed, but he told us of the inkstand of Emanuel, which had lately disappeared in an unknown manner. It was interesting to study the portraits of his ancestors, most of whom did not at all resemble Emanuel's type, but had long and thin features, said to have been inherited from Jesper Swedenborg. The face of the Colonel himself, however, wore quite a strong resemblance to the earliest portraits of Emanuel. None of his children have any interest in the New Church. The daughter, Ulla, not along ago, was married to a nephew of Pastor Boyesen. The eldest son, Lieutenant Gustaf Swedenborg, two years ago, married the daughter of the famous arctic explorer, Professor Nordensjold, and is now the happy father of "the" Swedenborg baby, a sweet little girl, whose eyes are compared to Emanuel's by the fond grandmother. The second son, Emanuel, is a young sub-lieutenant, who sometimes accompanies his mother to the services of the New Church. At our suggestion, the Colonel and his lady sent out a circular letter to all the now living members of the Swedenborg family in Sweden, inquiring after any manuscripts, letters or relics of Emanuel in their possession, but thus far no replies have been received. The Colonel also supplied me with a list of all the living members of the family, old and young, which enabled me to complete the genealogy published in Dr. R. L. Tafel's Documents, which does not contain any of the twenty-three births that have occurred in the family after the year 1800. A family-tree in the archives of the House of Nobles supplied us with some dates and information relating to the two brothers of Swedenborg, which are lacking in the Documents.
AN ORIGINAL PORTRAIT OP SWEDENBORG,
which has-hitherto been, unknown to fine Church, was also shown us. It is an old and somewhat faded oil painting by an unknown artist, representing Swedenborg as a comparatively young man, with a smiling and most beautiful countenance, and wearing his court dress and a queue, instead of the usual wig. The original is in the possession of Mr. Isidor Dannstrom, of Stockholm, who bought it many years ago of a person who had purchased it at an auction of Swedenborg's furniture and effects in his old home on Hornsgatan. We secured a copy of a photograph taken from the original, and have been promised the negative by the photographer. It is the finest and most beautiful of any portrait of Swedenborg that we have seen.
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A VISIT TO SWEDENBORG'S SUMMER HOUSE
is a sine qua non to any Newchurchman visiting Stockholm. We found it in a backyard, and in a rather dilapidated condition externally, built in on three sides by shanties and houses. Interiorly it is even more disappointing, owing to the greed, bad taste, and sickly sentimentality of some "enterprising" speculator who has draped the square room with crepe and silver stars, and in the midst has placed a catafalque, containing a wax figure representing the dead body of Swedenborg, lying in state, with a bunch of white wax flowers in his hand. (Entrance fee, 25 ore.) The whole arrangement excited disgust and indignation and we took our refuge to the dusty garret above, which the hand of the vandal had not yet touched. Of Swedenborg's once famous and extensive garden nothing now remains, excepting perhaps a very ancient and decaying poplar tree just outside the summer house. The building itself now belongs to the city, and could be purchased, I heard, at a small sum by any one desiring to preserve this interesting historical relic from the decay or destruction that soon will become inevitable. At a short distance from this spot we came upon a new street of uninteresting tenement houses, which a grateful city has named "The Swedenborg Street."
THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
To the Newchurchman the most interesting place in Stockholm is, however, the Royal Academy of Sciences, where are preserved, in a fire-proof compartment, the priceless theological and scientific manuscripts of Swedenborg. The sight of these poorly bound folios and quartos, whose yellow pages contain the first ultimation of the most perfect and crowning Revelation of Divine Truth that has ever been given to mankind, that Revelation which has forever broken the power of Hell, and which is destined in all future ages to lead a redeemed race ever nearer to Heaven and to God-this sight and the attendant sphere cannot but most profoundly affect a disciple of the LORD in His Second Advent. Knowing the supreme importance of every jot and tittle of this Revelation, the beholder is seized with the irresistible desire to see this Revelation preserved forever in the exact form in which it was first given. In the presence of these manuscripts we felt not like Napoleon at the Pyramids, with the past centuries looking down upon him, but as if the reproachful eyes of all future races of men were directed upon this callous generations of Newchurchmen, who permit the tooth of Time to waste this inspired Writing without availing themselves of the wonderful means which the LORD has now provided for its exact reproduction and preservation. We felt on this occasion that if the entire art of writing and printing had been given and discovered for the chief, nay, sole end of fixing and communicating the Word of the LORD, then the chief raison d'etre of the art of photography was given for the reproduction and preservation of these manuscripts, which contain His Word in its Heavenly, Spiritual, and most glorious sense. A beginning of this work of preservation was made a quarter of a century ago, and this work we were now appointed to recommence by the photographic reproduction of
THE SUMMARIES OF THE INTERNAL SENSE,
which is one of the smallest, but one of the most important of these Manuscripts, the one which in the collection, by the Divine Providence, has been marked "Codex 1." This Manuscript, which is unusually well preserved, and which contains twenty-five folio pages, is now being reproduced by a new method in photography, called the "Phototype," which differs from the "Photolithographic" method employed by Dr. R. L. Tafel, in this, that not only the writing itself; but the whole page of the Manuscript, with all its spots and blemishes and its very color, is represented, leaving no room for retouching or for any unintentional alteration of a single letter by the editor. It makes an absolutely faithful reproduction of the original, and is thus the most desirable, in spite of its greater cost. Of the significance and all-important value of this one particular Manuscript, we need not say anything further here, as it has been explained before, except to point out the necessity of knowing the absolute correctness of the marginal numbers in the Manuscript, which refer to the seventeen subjects of the universal sense of the Word, which are presented in a list on the first page. While printers and editors may make mistakes in reproducing these, the sun and the negative will make none. In the work of watching the reproduction of this Manuscript I secured the most valuable aid of Dr. E. V. Dahlgren, who has succeeded Dr. Ahlstrand as Librarian, of the Academy of Sciences, and who is a no less genial than learned gentleman, having a greater experience in editing photographic editions of ancient Manuscripts than any other person in Sweden. In this kind of work he is a worthy successor of his father, who was the only person who, in 1859, was able to decipher and edit the then newly-discovered Manuscript of the Drombok; or, Book of Dreams, of Swedenborg during the year 1744.
THE ROYAL LIBRARY.
All of the MSS. of Swedenborg of which we have any knowledge are preserved in the Academy of Sciences, with the exception of the MS. of this Book of Dreams, which is kept exhibited in a show-case in the Royal Library of Sweden. This enormous Library is contained in one of the most magnificent buildings of Stockholm, and is said to be the best arranged of any such institutions in Europe. To a Newchurchman this Library is of especial interest, from the fact that its late chief, Dr. Klemmiming, though not a receiver of the Doctrines, made the collection of the New Church literature his particular "hobby." The collection of "Swedenborgiana" is, consequently, one of the most complete in the world, and proved a rich field for the historical investigator. The present Librarian, Count Carl von Snoilsky, who is the "poet laureate" of Sweden, has strung his lyre on various occasions in honor of his great countryman, Swedenborg, but does not have any particular interest in his teachings. He received me with great courtesy, and did all in his power to make my investigation of the Library an easy and successful one. Beside the MS. of the Drommar, the archives of this Library contain some of Swedenborg's letters and some autographs, of which the following is a list: 1. A signature of "Emanuel Swedberg," dated 1707, perhaps the earliest in existence. 2. A short receipt for money, undated. 3. A note to Daedalus Hyperboreus, p. 34, written 1715 or 1716. 4. A letter to the Baron, Governor C. Ribbing, dated August 20th, 1724. 5. A receipt for money lent, dated June 14th, 1742. 6. A quarto page, containing a few fragmentary notes "de vita Conjugii Paris Primogeniti." 7. A table of contents to Heaven and Hell. 8. A list of typographical errors in the same work. 9. Ditto, to the original editions of Earths in the Universe, Last Judgment, New Jerusalem, with the first draft of a letter in English, addressed to Mr. Lewis, in London, the printer of these works.
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10. Two letters to Bishop Mennander, of Abo, dated, respectively, August 25th, 1762, and August 19th, 1764. (These letters are not translated or mentioned in the Documents.) Besides these autographs, I found the following, in Swedenborg's hand, on the fly-leaf of a copy of Prodromus Principiorum Rerum Naturalium ("The Principles of Chemistry," Amsterdam, 1721): "Hae Lucubrationes, quae sunt primitia, dono dantur viro Nobili, Equiti, consiliario, Cancellerio A. Stiernmanno, Amico, ab Authore Em. Swedenborg. Holmia 1760 d. 12 Martii." And below this the following observation: "Eques in seusu spirituali, qui vocatur sensus mysticus, significat scientiam et intelligentiam, similiter Stiernmann, nam stellae in eo sensu significant cognitiones veri et boni; ita stellarum vir scientem et intelligentem." Another interesting find in this Library was a printed letter, addressed by Swedenborg to Dr. Beyer, and published by the latter at Gottenburg, in 1760. The appearance of this letter caused great wrath among the opponents to the New Church, and gave fresh impetus to the persecution against the New Church "Lectors" in Gottenburg. Of this publication, which was immediately confiscated, the Royal Library possessed two copies. On application, the librarian presented one of these to the Academy.
THE ROYAL ARCHIVES.
While collecting materials in Sweden for his Documents Concerning Swedenborg, Dr. R. L. Tafel appears to have neglected the investigation of the Royal or National Archives of Sweden. On my visit there to my uncle, Professor Claes T. Odhner, who is the chief of this institution, a bundle of papers was brought forth, which contained a mass of important documents relating to Swedenborg, being the originals of his official appointments, his communications to the successive kings that reigned in Sweden during his lifetime, together with papers referring to the great trial of Dr. Beyer and Dr. Rosen. The most important of all-these documents is undoubtedly Swedenborg's letter to Kiting Adolphus Frederic, in which he protests against the then raging persecution of "Swedenborgianism " in Sweden. Dr. Tafel's translation in the Documents was made from an (undated) copy of this letter, but the whereabouts of the original has not been known until now. It is dated May 25th, 1770, not, as Dr. Tafel infers, May 10th, and does not in all respects agree with the translation in the Documents. All these papers have now been copied in the original. While speaking of this subject, I may mention that yet another unpublished letter to Swedenborg was found during my visit to Sweden. It is undated, and addressed to Count C. G. Tessin, but is not of theological import. The letter now belongs to Miss Sophie Sodergren, one of the members of Pastor Boyesen's Society. C. TH. ODHNER.
(To be continued.)
DECENNIAL OF THE PITTSBURGH SCHOOL. 1895
THE Decennial of the Pittsburgh School, which occurred November 1st, was celebrated by a social at the school-house. A long table placed in the middle of the room was laden with cakes and fruit provided by the Alnmnae, and beautifully decorated with flowers and two candelabra. The Head-master seated the teachers and those connected with the school along the east side of the room, the families whose children are, or have been, scholars in the school, along the north and south, while the rest were placed along the west. All having been assigned their seats, the Head-master read No. 386 of Conjugial Love, and an address on the object of New Church Schools. At its conclusion punch, provided by the Alumni, was passed round, and the first toast, to the Church, was proposed, to which "Vivat Nova Ecelesia" was sung; the second toast was to the School, the school song being sung in response. The Head-master stated he had asked several to speak on subjects connected with New Church education-the first being on "New Church Science," by Mr. Macbeth, followed by Dr. Cowley on "Anatomy." Mr. Stephenson next responded to the toast to "Literature," after whom Mr. Wm. Rott spoke on "History in the light of the New Church;" Mr. Czerny concluding with the subject of "Art." [The speeches are reported below.] The tables having been cleared away the rest of a very enjoyable evening was spent in dancing and conversation.
DECENNIAL ADDRESS. 1895
THIS day closes time first decade of the existence of the Pittsburgh School of the Academy, and it is proper that a few words be said on this occasion concerning the use. It is customary on occasions like the present to review the progress which has been made, and the events which have transpired during the period completed; but we shall take the liberty of departing from this custom, and shall do what in our estimation will be more instructive, and that is, present to you an idea of the origin and nature of the use of education, such as it presents itself to us in the right of the teaching concerning it. We are taught that from the LORD, by means of the man of the Spiritual World, proceeds a sphere of love and wisdom to produce ends which are uses (C. L. 386). This sphere pervades the whole created universe, and flows into the minds of man, but is received according to the state of each. By virtue of its influx into miniature it produces all the effects or uses visible and perceptible to the senses; and through its operation upon the minds of men, it presses for ultimation in spiritual uses. But as already stated, it is received according to the state of each. Hence it appears to be inactive with those who are unprepared to co operate with it; but nevertheless strives to do its work. But as no man can remain stationary, but must either progress or retrograde, men are constantly being prepared for new states. This law applies to the Church in general no less than to the individual man; hence in the Church there are new states arising from time to time. Now as soon as any new state develops, new needs presents themselves, and the minds of men are directed to new uses. In other words, a new basis is formed for the influx of this universal sphere. This sphere operates mediately and immediately, or, as it is sometimes expressed, the LORD operates immediately from Himself, and mediately through angels and men. And in order that any use may be complete, the series of operations which enter into it must be complete from the LORD downward. Hence, as soon as men are ready to co-operate with the LORD, He at once connects them with such angelic societies as are in the love of these uses.
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These then communicate their own zeal for the use to men, who, on their part, seek to ultimate them, apparently of their own prompting, and independent of any such communication and inspiration from above. Hence all spiritual uses are the result of the constant influx and operation of a universal sphere of uses proceeding from the LORD, whose sole end is the salvation of the human race. When this fact is once seen, it will also be seen that all spiritual uses are the LORD'S, and must be ascribed to Him. Now all spiritual uses have for their end the formation and development of the mind of man according to the order of heaven. But neither angels nor men know in what manner they must co-operate with the LORD in order that this end may be accomplished. Therefore, the LORD has revealed the principles of education, which must govern in the formation of the mind of man. And the result of this revelation has been what the LORD has ordained it should be. The teaching of these principles received in affirmative minds has formed a basis for time influx of this universal sphere, and has produced a desire in such minds to ultimate the same. For, as has been stated, this sphere of uses is constantly striving to ultimate itself for the spiritual good of men, but its operation is limited by the quantity and quality of the knowledges possessed by man. There are no result as long as men are unprovided with these means. Knowledges are, so to say, the instrumentals which give power, direction, and determination to the affections. Accordingly, when by means of the teaching and study of the principles of education a basis had been formed for the influx to operate, it produced a conviction that they should be ultimated, and the conviction a desire for distinctive New Church Education, which resulted in the establishment of a centre devoted to this use, from which have emanated several branches, of which this school is one. But in what does the distinctiveness of New Church Education consist? It consists in this, that its end and aim is the instruction and training of both the natural and spiritual minds. It regards the formation and training of both minds in such a way that they may complement each other, as its true function. For, unless the two minds are thins trained, man cannot be truly-i. e., spiritually, rational. The knowledges and affections in the natural mind must be of a quality to correspond with the principles of truth in time spiritual mind, thus capable of being arranged into a rational form. When the knowledges and principles of truth are thus arranged into a rational form in the mind, the light of heaven is received without instructions, like the clear light of the sun into precious stones, which receive the sun's light according to the order and arrangement of their particles; while, on the other hand, the light of heaven is rendered obscure, or is wholly suffocated, when there are none but natural knowledge in the mind, which, without light from above, cannot he arranged into the heavenly form. Hence the formation and training of the mind according to the principles of education revealed to us must gradually impart to the pupil the faculty of thinking from truths. He must almost unconsciously, as it were, acquire the faculty of discriminating between what is true and what is false, in other words, the faculty of individual judgment, imperfect at first, to be sure, but which is nevertheless this beginning of what in the end may develop into true rationality. And since true freedom consists in thinking from truth, the pupil is gradually initiated in this freedom. This result, more than anything else, distinguishes New Church education from every other; for there is nothing which so limits and retards the development of true rationality, as the pressure of human authority in rational and scientific matters. This pressure prevails in all educational institutions outside of the Church, for there is no institution of this kind which does not hold up some human authority or other as its oracle to whose opinion all must submit. No such authority is acknowledged in the Schools of the Academy. The pupil is first of all instructed in the knowledges of good and truth revealed to us, and then gradually initiated into the habit of judging all other knowledges in the light of these. Thus he learns to acknowledge the Divine Truth as the only authority, and to subject everything presented to his mind to that. Such we understand to be the aim of true education; and such is the view we have held of the use from the beginning of the school. This idea of the heavenly origin of the use, of its exalted character and dignity we have ever had before our minds. Indeed, this idea has been our chief support in the trials and difficulties which we had to meet. It has been our polar star, which pointed out to us the way, when it seemed obscure and uncertain. And, lastly, it has filled us with the conviction, that to the use are due all our efforts, all our strength and abilities. Now having given you our idea of the origin and nature of the use, little more need be added. It is not necessary for us to speak of the results of our work, as they are known to you. Besides, we hold that results sue beyond human control, as conditions, which may be either of providence or permission, are powerful factors in promoting, as well as defeating purposes. In so far as our efforts have been blessed within any success, and have really been conducive to the spiritual welfare of those entrusted to our care, the praise belongs to time LORD; and we are grateful for having been permitted to co-operate with Him in this work of our choice and affection. As for the school, it has always had its friends, whose kindness and sympathy in our efforts we here wish to acknowledge. And we hope that their interest in the use will continue, and he more and more confirmed by an increasing intelligence in the principles of education. This last must after all be the basis upon which your affection for the school must rest; else it will have no better foundation than an obscure idea of the nature and importance of the use, or your favor will be toward the persons performing the use, and not to the use itself. As for ourselves, we intend to follow the same course we have followed heretofore-that is, to strive to ultimate the principles laid down in the Writings for our guidance-in other words, to do our duty according to the light given us. For the rest we shall trust in the future, as we have in the past, that the LORD will take care of His use, and will prosper our efforts with what success conditions will render possible.
NEW CHURCH SCHOOLS AND SCIENCE. 1895
IN speaking about science, it is necessary for some of us, in order to get a correct idea or a proper understanding of it, to ask ourselves what it is, for we have been accustomed to hear of the sciences as something separate from or independent of religion, something exclusive of or aside from the Divine and in favor of "nature" as an independent thing. Now it may be said as a short and condensed definition, the sciences, as commonly understood, are a collection of knowledges, in themselves not bad nor harmful, but valuable, but made harmful by the bad use of men.
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There are very many of these knowledges accumulated and preserved in the forms of books, and many men the gold and silver of the Egyptians, the great aim of engaged diligently accumulating more. To us these are the world to-day being accumulation either for the sake of what is known as "knowing" or "learning," and nearly always in opposition to the idea of any Divine Being, but in favor of what is vaguely termed "nature," the idea being very apparent that nature is a separate and distinct "force" by itself. The bad part about it is not in the sciences on knowledges, but in bad and perverted use of them by men. Again, we scarcely appreciate as among sciences the learning of a trade. Knowing how to bind a book or make a pair of shoes is a science, and this may be perverted or misused, and a proper use of the knowledge performed faithfully and well from a principle of religion, is scarcely thought of, but, on the other hand, is strictly kept separate from any such idea. Knowledges, we are told over and over again, can all be confirmatory of the Divine, and if associated with the idea of use from a principle of religion, are a benefit to eternity. Often what we do, we do not do from a right principle, and what we know has a certain separateness, and generally ends in mere knowing or a thing of the memory, evaporating or ending there. It is a stupendous statement to make, to say that our schools are the only ones on the earth in which an unquestioned idea of the Divine is implanted first, and the sciences are used as confirmatory of this, coupled within the idea of their being means to an end from a principle of religion of present and eternal benefit, and not mere knowledge; and when our children, first in the knowledge, come later into the acknowledgment of the LORD, the sciences become of value in the performance of their various callings and uses, and assist in the appreciation of the nearness and reality of the kingdom of the LORD for "it is within you."
LITERATURE.
As literature in general embraces everything written and extant, it necessarily includes subjects of every kind concerning which men think, speak, and write. In the form of literature men not only express their thoughts and affection is, but also convey to each other information concerning various subjects. As men have both good and evil thoughts and affections, varying indefinitely in their quality, the expression of these various thoughts and affections in the form of writing produces a literature which cannot be termed altogether good or altogether bad. The question has been frequently raised as to what is good in literature and what is bad. So far as the merely external forms of writing are concerned, the judgment concerning their correctness or incorrectness will undoubtedly depend upon the grammatical and critical standard adopted. But the judgment concerning the quality of the thoughts and affections expressed depends upon their own origin-that is, whether they arise from an acknowledgment of God and a life after death or from the denial of such things, which is materialism. But it must not be forgotten that throughout all kinds of literature there are numerous scientifics which in themselves are neither good nor evil. Literature is of use for the perfection of the rational, for by means of information concerning scientific, civil and moral things the faculty of judging is developed successively with man. The first judgment which a child makes is sensual, and so far as literature is concerned it consists in distinguishing the various forms of the letters of the alphabet. Afterward it forms a sensual judgment concerning the correct forms of writing by seeing the difference between the correct and incorrect forms. No judgment can be formed except from opposites or relatives, wherefore evil and falsity serve good and truth upon every plane for relation. It is true that if opposites are mingled confusion ensues; still, if they are kept apart, they elevate the judgment. As man advances into the natural rational he can begin to form judgments concerning the relative good and evil of the thoughts and affections contained in books, and so advance in the perfection of the national even to the spiritual. Literature is of use for the perfecting of the ration al, because as a whole it contains the expression of the truth and the falsity of many subjects. Man, then, from his first age, by seeing that good with its truth and evil with its falsity are opposites, can determine the quality of the one from the quality of the other. This is, in a general way, the use of literature in the New Church-the use of perfecting the rational.
HISTORY IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
WE are taught in the Writings that the LORD'S Providence is not only universal but also particular, and it is the acknowledgement of this Truth which makes history a different study in the New Church from what it is in the Old, for we should endeavor to see the Providence of the LORD not only in the course of events as a whole, but in each particular occurrence as well. It is this-time seeing in the facts of history proofs of the LORD'S providence and not of man's prudence-that makes it one of the useful branches of learning. As a necessary consequence of this, the New Church, contrary to the Old, considers ecclesiastical and secular history as inseparable; in fact, it is only from a thorough knowledge of the history of the Churches as revealed in the Writings that the cause and effect of events can be rightly understood. From this knowledge of ecclesiastical history certain facts are shown to have the very opposite explanation to that given by historians; as, for instance, instead of the civilization of the ancients at the dawn of history having been a development from a previous state of savagery, it was, in fact, the corruption of a former genuine civilization. Viewed in this manner, the great movements that have taken place in the world will be seen in a clear light, and History will take on quite a different aspect and assume a new importance from what it did before.
ART IN THE LIGHT OF THE CHURCH. 1895
ART may be defined to be the ability to represent ideas or mental pictures in external forms. The men of the Silver Age told Swedenborg that the study of their minds was the study of truths, and the study of their bodily senses the representation of truths in external forms. This teaches what the object of Art should be. The remains of the nations of the Ancient Church show that the men of that time understood this principle, for their art was chiefly of that description. It was ideal Art-the representation of qualities, attributes, affections, and virtues. Realistic art was then unknown. They never copied nature; indeed, they used ideal forms even in representing natural objects.
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We live in a scientific and materialistic age. The study of facts and not of truths is the study of this age, and realistic art is representative of this age. For realistic art deals with facts; ideal art, on the other hand, within ideas. The artist must, of course, study the facts found in the various kingdoms of nature, as it would he impossible for him to express ideas without a knowledge of them; but to represent ideas, an exact copying of nature is not necessary. The ancients had the faculty of extracting the essence or to give the spirit (if we may use the expression), of the thing, without copying the thing itself. They eliminated what was not necessary to represent the idea. They used scientifics as means merely, and subordinated them to the idea; so that when they wished to represent ideas which had no actual representatives in nature they did not hesitate to make combinations of various forms. Thus the Egyptians, Assyrians, and other nations frequently combined human and animal forms to represent the things of the Church with them; and they were able to do this because they had a knowledge of correspondences. This-i. e., the representation of the things of the Church-seems to be the true use of art, of art not only in the sense of sculpture and painting, but in its wider sense, which includes architecture and the histrionic art; for in heaven all these arts are used for the above-mentioned purpose. And the nations of the Ancient Church, as far as we can learn, made a similar use of them. Their architecture, for instance, was based upon correspondences, as can be seen from the fact that the temples of Egypt and of Greece have many points in common with the temples described in the Word. The "trine" can be seen in the general plan and traced in many details of construction and ornamentation. In other words, architecture was likewise one of the means by which truths were represented in external form. In regard to the historic art, we are distinctly taught that in heaven there are dramatic exhibitions, the subjects represented being "various graces and virtues of moral life." There is reason to believe that the ancients made a similar use of this art. Fine art in those days was truly ideal-employed to represent truths, affections, and virtues in external forms. Time reverse seems to be the case now, for at the present day art is devoted, for the most part, to subjects unworthy the pains, skill, and even genius wasted upon them-such as passions and crime, or ugly and repulsive objects in nature. The future artist of time Church will, no doubt, avoid such subjects: His imagination will be guided by a reason formed from truths, and the study of correspondences will furnish him the means of representing an infinite variety of subjects not attempted heretofore.
General Church. 1895
THE TREASURY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD, ITS PRESENT CONDITION AND FUTURE NEEDS.
THE present condition of the treasury of the General Church of the Advent of the LORD, is as follows:
Cash on hand October 31st, 1895, $49.96 Due on Account of Loans to the treasury, $300 Due to Photo-lithiographic Fund, 46 -$346 Estimated Receipts during November, $ Estimated Disbursements during November, 100
From the foregoing it will be seen that the treasury in debt to the sum of $346, and that on November 30th this debt will probably be increased to $396. It is estimated that the treasury should have for the general uses of the Church not less than $250 per month during the present year. If every member who reads this report will contribute something, however small, this sum can be provided with ease. Probably the greatest difficulty with which the treasury has heretofore had to contend has been the fact that the members of the Church lose sight of the needs of the general Church. The requirements of the Church in a few localities are well looked after, but the general use, "To proclaim and teach the everlasting gospel that the LORD JESUS CHRIST reigneth, as that Gospel is set forth in the books written by Him through His Servant, Emanuel Swedenborg," is almost entirely neglected, so that the General Church has barely been kept alive during the past two years. It is estimated that not one in ten of the members of the Church have heretofore contributed toward the support of the general use, and it is believed that this has been entirely due to the fact that this important use has been overlooked in the desire to aid the work in particular localities. It is therefore proposed to hereafter give in this column a monthly report of the receipts and disbursements of the treasury, in the hope that each member of the Church will read the reports and take some interest in the work. Without the aid of those who have not heretofore contributed, the object of the General Church cannot be carried forward outside of about ten places. Do you wish this work to be done? If so, will you kindly send to the Treasurer any contribution that you may care to make toward the doing of the work vigorously? Contributions may be sent through the local treasurers, or direct to W. D. Uptegraff, Treasurer, Liberty and Atlantic Avenues, Pittsburgh, Pa. November 15th, 1895=126. Contributions for the support of the office of Bishop should hereafter be seat through the local treasurers.
CALENDAR. 1895
IN view of the Treasurer's Statement, given above, it will not be a matter for surprise that he has found it necessary to do away with the gratuitous distribution of the Calendar to members of the General Church. The Calendar is now in press, and the Treasurer has commissioned the Academy Book Room to attend to its sale. It may be had on receipt of the price (ten cents a copy) on application to the Academy Book Room, or any of its branches. For the information of such as may possibly not have heard of, or seen, the Calendar published by the General Church, it may be said that it presents a plan of daily readings in the Word and the Writings, for use in the family or by individuals. The Sacred Scripture and the Writings are both read in course. Next year will be the ninth year of the course.
RETIREMENT OF MR. JORDAN. 1895
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH
The undersigned hereby desires to call attention to the fact that his official relation to the General Church ceases at this time. Those who have been accustomed to communicate with him on Church matters will please address Bishop Benade directly. L. G. JORDAN, (Late) Secretary and Bishop's Assistant. PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 23d, 1895=126.
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Title Unspecified 1895
NEW CHURCH LIFE.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE ACADEMY OF the NEW CHURCH.
TERMS:-One Dollar per annum, payable in advance. FOUR SHILLINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
THE EDITOR'S address is "The Maples," Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery Co., Pa. Address all business communications to Academy Book Room, Carl Hj. Asplundh, Manager, No. 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Subscriptions also received through the following agents: UNITED STATES. Chicago, Ill., Mr. A. E. Nelson, Chicago Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 565 West Superior Street. Denver, Col., Mr. Geo. W. Tyler, Denver Agent of Academy Book Room, No. 544 South Thirteenth Street. Pittsburgh, Pa, Mr. Wm. Rott, Pittsburgh Agent of Academy Book Room, Tenth and Carson Streets. CANADA. Toronto, Ont., Mr. R. Carswell, No. 20 Equity Chambers. Waterloo, Mr. Rudolf Roschman. GREAT BRITAIN. Mr. Wiebe Posthuma, Agent for Great Britain, of Academy Book Boom, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W. PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER, 1895=126.
LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1895
CONTENTS. PAGE.
EDITORIAL: Notes 177 The Ladder seen by Jacob (a Sermon) 178 Hurting or Destroying Good or Truth in Oneself or in Others (Exodus xxi, 25-37) 181 Documents in the Royal Archives of Sweden 182 NOTES AND REVIEWS 184 COMMUNICATED Professor Odhner's Visit to England and Sweden (continued) 185 Decennial of the Pittsburgh School 188 THE GENERAL CHURCH The Treasury of the General Church 191 The calendar 191 Retirement at Mr. Jordan 191 LIFE OF THE NEW CHURCH: The Academy of the New Church 192 The General Church of the Advent of the LORD 192 The Church at Large 192 BIRTH AND BAPTISM 192 HOLIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT 192 THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH.
Philadelphia.-ON October 27th, Candidate Doering preached on "The Ascent and Descent of Divine Truth" (Gen. xxviii, 12). On November 3d Bishop Pendleton took for the subject of his discourse "The Imaginary Heavens" (Ps. i, 4-6), and on November 10th Minister Starkey preached on "'Father,' the Divine Love" (Matt. vi, 9). On November 17th Pastor Price delivered a sermon on "The Heritage of the Celestial" (Ps. ii, 6-8). On November 24th Bishop Pendleton preached on the text "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." A VERY pleasant school social was held on November 1st at which the Chancellor and his wife attended. Quite a number of the country scholars also were present. THE Chancellor and his wife are "at home" to members of the school the first and third Friday in each month. FOR the benefit of the Huntingdon Valley contingent of the Philadelphia Church, the sermon of each LORD'S Day is repeated the following week in the country, the two pulpits being thus occupied in succession by the same minister. Huntingdon Valley.-FRIDAY evening has become the appointed time for several features of the Church work. On November 15th Bishop Pendleton inaugurated a Doctrinal Class for the young unmarried people, the subject being, Repentance, Reformation, and Regeneration. The class begins at five o'clock. At six o'clock the members partake of a picnic supper, in which any member of the Church may participate. After supper social life occupied the time until the meeting of the singing class at eight, conducted by Mr. Robert M. Glenn. Beginning with November 29th the half-hour preceding the singing class is devoted to a lecture by Bishop Pendleton on Education in the Home. About twenty young people attend the Doctrinal class; about thirty in all participate in the practice in singing.
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE ADVENT OF THE LORD.
Pittsburgh.- THE Rev. John Stephenson has begun a class in education which meets every week. The subject of consideration so far has been "Heredity."
THE CHURCH AT LARGE.
THE UNITED STATES.
Maine.- THE sixtieth annual session of the Maine Association was held in Portland on October 5th. The Rev. G. H. pole was re-elected President. During the session time question was asked, "What constitutes a receiver?" and the reply in general was that it was one who accepted the truth relating to the LORD in His Second Conning, as taught in the Writings of Swedenborg." New Jersey.- THE Rev. C. H. Mann has resigned the pastorate of the Orange Society, which he has held for more than twenty-nine years, partly on account of his throat and partly because he felt it his duty to reduce the amount of his professional responsibilities. Illinois.- THE fifty-sixth annual meeting of the Illinois Association was held in Chicago on October 25th. The Rev. L. P. Mercer was the presiding minister. The New Church was recognized as the official organ of the Association and four hundred copies ordered to be printed and sent to the members monthly. The Rev. L. P. Mercer was recognized as a General Pastor by a special service. This office he holds only so long as he shall be the presiding minister of the Association.
GREAT BRITAIN.
London.- THE New Church Evidence Society held its twenty-first annual meeting in the Camden Road Church on October 7th. The Rev. S. C. Eby presided. The Society appears to be have done good work during the year. It has inaugurated a new movement, namely, the depositing of books in the waiting-rooms of railway stations in towns where there are corresponding members to give an occasional look to their safety. THE fourteenth annual meeting of the New Church Orphanage was held at Bloomsbury Street on October 21st. The Orphanage has adopted since its establishment seventy-six children. Of these, forty-two have been clothed, educated, and maintained until they reached an age when they could become useful in the world. As many as thirty-four are still dependent on the Orphanage. Seven have been adopted during the year. But there is no indication that they receive distinctively New Church training. Burnley.- THE Society at Bunley met on October 8th to extend a welcome to their new minister, Mr. F. J. Stockton. Mr. Stockton in his address said: "He felt deeply thankful for time kindly feelings displayed toward him from outside ministers. Only the previous day he had had the pleasure of being made a member of the Nonconformist Ministers' Fraternity." Each member present "offered him all the help he could any time be needed his services." Why does the Church not grow? Bristol.- THE Rev. J. J. Thornton preached his farewell sermon to the Bristol for of which he has been the Pastor the past year, on October 27th. He will become the Pastor of the Liverpool Society.
HOLIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT. 1895
As the most appropriate holiday gifts in any New Church family we recommend-
THE SACRED SCRIPTURE THE WRITINGS OF THE NEW CHURCH THE SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF SWEDENBORG And any of our standard and recent publications. Of these only a few can here be enumerated. THE SACRED SCRIPTURE; OR, THE WORD OF THE LORD. Oxford 8vo Edition. According to the New Church Canon. Handsomely bound in full cochineal morocco, gilt edges. $5.00. In half morocco, $3.50. In red cloth and gilt edges, $2.50.
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. The Double-column Edition. Bound in cochineal morocco. (An old translation, but the best existing.) Price, $4.00. Rotch Edition, 3 vols. Elegantly bound in half calf, $6.75. The same, 3 vols., in cloth, $375. CONJUGIAL LOVE. London Edition. New translation by Searle. Full red morocco, gilt edges: London binding, $5.50; Philadelphia binding, $5.00; Blue Cloth binding, $1.25. CONVERSATIONS ON EDUCATION. By the Rev. W. H. Benade. Cloth, 75 cents; postage, 7 cents.
A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF EMANUEL, SWEDENBORG, with A SKETCH OF His PERSONALITY. By the Rev. C. T. Odhner. With a portrait of Swedenborg, taken from an original painting. Forty-one pages, 5x7 inches. Paper, 15 cents; Cloths, 25 cents. ROBERT HINDMARSH. A Biography by the Rev. Carl Th. Odhner. 116 pages (5 1/2 x 7 1/2), handsomely bound in Blue Cloth, 50 cents; postage, 7 cents. LESSONS IN ANATOMY FOR CHILDREN OF THE NEW CHURCH. Part I. The Eye. Part II. The Ear and the Nose. Part III. The Tongue. Part IV. The Skin. Price, each part, 25 cents. We have now secured a number of the illustrations to this work, which will be inserted in the bound copies, which we hope to have ready for delivery before the holidays. Price, in Cloth, $1.00. THE WEDDING GARMENT. A Tale of the Life to Come. By Louis Pendleton. 16mo. Cloth, $1.00; White and Gold, $1.25. The favorable comments on this book have been many, indeed, and it is a book eminently fitted for a gift-book.
A list of the Writings of the New Church, and other books, here for sale, will be mailed on application to the ACADEMY BOOK ROOM, 1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia.