what is meant by these words of the Lord: "In the consummation of the age, that is, in the end of the present church, shall be tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, neither shall be; and except those days should be shortened, no flesh could be saved," Matt. xxiv. 21, 22.

599. In the combats or temptations of individual men the Lord works out a particular redemption, as he wrought a general one during His abode in the world; by His combats and temptations in the world, the Lord glorified His Humanity, that is, made it divine; in like manner, at this day, with every individual during his state of temptation, He fights for him and overcomes the infernal spirits which infest him, and after temptation glorifies him, that is renders him spiritual. The Lord, after having wrought universal redemption, reduced to order all things both in heaven and in hell: in like manner with man, after temptation, He reduceth to order all things in him that belong to heaven and the world. The Lord after redemption established a new church; in like manner He also establishes in man the principles that belong to the church, and makes him a church in particular. The Lord after redemption conferred peace on those who believed on Him, for He said, "Peace 1 leave with you, My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you," John xiv. 27; in like manner he gives man after temptation a perception of peace, that is, gladness of mind (animus), and consolation. From these circumstances it is evident, that the Lord is a Redeemer to eternity.

600. The regeneration of the internal man, without that of the external, may be compared with a bird flying in the air, that hath no habitation on dry ground, but only in some fenny place, where it is infested by serpents and frogs, so that it flies away and perishes. The internal man may in such case be compared also with a swan swimming in the midst of the ocean, that is not able to reach the shore to build herself a nest; so that she lays her eggs in the water,

where they are devoured by the fish.

He may be compared too with a soldier standing on a wall, which being undermined, he falls down headlong, and is buried in the ruins. He may further be compared with a beautiful tree transplanted to a place where the soil is rotten, and where whole troops of worms devour its root, so that it withers away and dies. He may be also compared to a house without a foundation and likewise to a column without a pedestal. Such is the internal man, when it alone is reformed without the external, for where this is the case it has no determination to the practice of good.

VIII. THAT THE REGENERATE MAN HAS A NEW WILL AND NEW UNDERSTANDING.

601. That the regenerate man is renewed, or made new, is a doctrine known to the present church, and is confirmed both by the Word of God, and also by reason. BY THE WORD OF GOD, from these passages: Make ye a new heart, and a new spirit; why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Ezek. xviii. 31: "Anew heart will I give you, and a new spirit will 1 put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put My spirit within you," Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27: "Henceforth know we no man after the flesh, therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature," 2 Cor. v. 16, 17: By a new heart in these passages a new will is meant, and by a new spirit a new understanding, for heart, in the Word, signifies the will, and spirit, when it is joined with heart, the understanding. It is plain also from REASON, that the regenerate man hath a new will and a new understanding, for these two faculties constitute man, and these are the faculties that are regenerated; wherefore every man's true quality is determined by these faculties; he is a bad man if his will be bad, and much more so if his understanding favours the badness of his will; as on the contrary he is a good man if his will be good, and much more so if his understanding favours

the goodness of his will. It is religion alone that renews and regenerates him, for this occupies the supreme seat in the human mind, having under its observation those civil duties which belong to the world, through which also it ascends, like the pure juice in a tree even to its top, and from that elevated station beholds all natural concerns, as a person standing on a high tower, or mountain, looks around upon the plains beneath.

602. It is to be observed, however, that man, with respect to his understanding, may ascend almost to the light which the angels of heaven enjoy, but unless he ascend also as to his will the old man still reigns within him and he is not made new. How the understanding exalts the will more and more to the same elevated station with itself, was shewn above; it is on this account that regeneration is predicated of the will primarily, and of the understanding secondarily; for the understanding in man is like the light in this world, and the will like heat, and it is well known that light without heat produces no life or vegetation, but that light in conjunction with heat produces both: the understanding also, with respect to the inferior region in the mind, is actually in the light of the world, and with respect to the superior region, in the light of heaven; so that, unless the will be elevated from the inferior region to the superior, and there be conjoined to the understanding, it remaineth in the world, and in such case the understanding flies upwards and downwards, and during the night descendeth to the will beneath, and there takes up its rest, where they are connected together like a man and a harlot, and give birth to a two-headed offspring. Hence it is further evident, that man is not regenerate unless he have a new will, and a new understanding.

603. The human mind is divided into three regions, the lowest is called natural, the middle spiritual, and the highest celestial; man by regeneration is elevated from the

lowest region which is natural, into the superior which is spiritual, and by this into the celestial. That there are three regions of the mind, will be proved in the following article. Hence it is that the unregenerate man is called natural, and the regenerate spiritual; and hence it is evident, that the mind of the regenerate man is elevated into the spiritual region, and there beholds, as from a superior station, what passeth in the lower or natural mind. That there is a superior and inferior region in the human mind must be plain to every one from a slight attention to his own thoughts; for he can take a view of what he is thinking about, and therefore he says that he has been thinking, or is thinking, of this thing or that, which would not be possible unless there existed an interior thought, called perception, which, looks into the inferior, simply called thought. A judge when he hears or reads a long series of cases quoted by an advocate, collects them under one view of the superior region of his mind, and thus sees them under a universal idea, and afterwards causing this view to descend thence into the inferior region of the mind, which is that of natural thought, he arranges his arguments in due order, and according to his superior view of the subject, delivers bis opinion, and pronounces sentence. Who doth not know that a man may conceive and conclude in a single moment or two, what he cannot express by the inferior thought in half an hour? These instances are adduced to shew, that the human mind is distinguished into inferior and superior regions.

604. As to what concerns the new will, this is in the spiritual region, above the old will, and in like manner the new understanding, this with that and that with this: in that region they enter into conjunction with each other, and conjointly look down into the old or natural will and understanding, and dispose all things there to obedience. How: evident is it that were there only one region in the human

mind, and if evils and goods, falses and truths, were there to be all confined and mingled together, a terrible conflict must ensue, just as if wolves and sheep, tigers and calves, hawks and doves, were all confined together in one den? And what must be the necessary consequence of this, but a cruel slaughter, the fierce and savage animals tearing in pieces the meek and gentle? It is on this account provided, that goods with their respective truths should be collected into a higher region, that they may dwell secure, and repel the assaults of their enemies, and likewise by chains and other methods, subdue and finally disperse evils, with their attendant falses. This then is the meaning of what was said in a former article, that the Lord through heaven ruleth whatsoever belongs to the world in the regenerate man. The superior or spiritual region of the human mind is also a heaven in miniature, and the inferior or natural region is also a world in miniature; which is the reason why man was called by the ancients a microcosm or little world, and he may also be called a microuranos or little heaven.

605. That the regenerate man, or he who is renewed as to his will and understanding, is in the heat of heaven, that is, in its love, and at the same time in the light of heaven, that is, in its wisdom, and on the contrary, that the unregenerate man is in the heat of hell, that is, in its love, and at the same time in the darkness of hell, that is, in its insanity, is at this day known, and yet unknown; the reason is, because the present church hath made regeneration an appendage* to its faith, into which faith reason is forbidden to look and examine, hence the same prohibition is extended to every thing that relates to the appendage, which, as was just observed, is regeneration and renovation; these three then, regeneration, renovation, and faith, are to the present church as a house, whose doors and windows are

See the meaning of the word appendage, as here applied, note, n. 519.