SWEDENBORG. 96 pages, crown 8vo, sewed, 3d. ; by post, 44d. Reflections respecting the Works of Swedenborg and the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church, by RAO BAHADOOR DADOBA PANDU. RUNG. The gentleman above named is a man of mark in India. With respect to him the Bombay Gazette of December 13, 1877, had the following paragraph: "We learn that the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for India has been pleased to send, as a present to our wellknown citizen Rao Bahadoor Dadoba Pandurung, a copy of a new and splendid edition of Patanjali's Mahabhashya,' with Kaiyyata's Bhashyapradipa' and Nagojibhatta's Bhashyapradipoddyota,' in six volumes. This erudite and elaborate work on Sanscrit philology has been got up in the ancient Hindu style, and published at the expense of the State. All the copies are intended to be offered as gifts to distinguished scholars and to learned Societies. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in his recent tour in India, distributed a few copies to the learned Societies and University libraries in this country. This valuable gift is a deserved recognition of the philological acquirements of Mr. Dadoba Pandurung, whose name has been intimately associated with the operations of the Educational Department from its foundation, his school works having been, as they still are, recognised as text-books throughout this Presidency." Notices of the present work have already appeared in a number of papers, in which the literary ability of Mr. Dadoba Pandurung is freely acknowledged. From these we adduce the following. The Argus, a Liverpool paper, says, "The little work is evidently what it professes to be, the production of a genuine Hindu, who has come to the conclusion that the truth is to be found in the peculiar form of Christianity which was expounded by Emanuel Swedenborg. The style of the Oriental convert to Swedenborgianism is always simple and clear, and those who wish to obtain in a small compass a fairly trustworthy and comprehensive exposition of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church will find in this neatly got-up tractate just what they require." The Malvern News remarks, This is a capital book to put into the hands of infidels, and those who believe in no hereafter.. To such men there will be several nuts very hard to crack found in this work." The Northampton Mercury says, "A store of food for thought will be found in 'A Hindu Gentleman's Reflections respecting the Writings of Swedenborg."" The Freemason calls it "the work of a cultivated and educated Hindu." The Brighton Examiner has the following: The author of this little work, after relating the means by which he became acquainted with the works and teachings of a writer who is, like many others, frequently condemned without being understood, has given a lucid and brief résumé of those matters. . . the understanding of which is held to be essential to Christian knowledge. The remarks and arguments are worthy of attention, and the perusal will not fail to benefit. Published for the SWEDENBORG SOCIETY by JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street, London. By the Rev. A. CLISSOLD, M.A. Crown Svo, cloth, 2s. Sancta Cœna; WHAT DOES SWEDENBORG REALLY THE TEACH ? Ninth Edition, crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. An Appeal in behalf of the BY THE Rev. S. NOBLE. "Here is a volume in which they are honestly expounded and the life and character of Swedenborg honestly described. So that by the perusal of a work of not quite 500 pages every reader can judge for himself who and what Swedenborg was and what he taught. We think that the unprejudiced reader will find that Swedenborg had far better grounds in reason and Scripture, for some of his views at least, than is commonly imagined. Like Professor BUSH of America, we have been astonished at the extent to which Scripture is quoted, and fairly enough too, in support of those views, and at their reasonableness and (LIMITED). Offices: 31 SEETHING LANE, E.0. Family Tea, 28. Excellent value, strong and rough, recommended to the notice of large consumers. Choicest Kaisow, 3s. This Tea possesses very great strength and fragrance, and is strongly recommended. Finest Lapsang Souchong, 3s. This is one of the finest descriptions of Tea imported from China, and is of very high quality and rich flavour. Indian Teas, 2s. 6d., 3s., 3s. 6d. These blends are composed of the finest growths from the Assam and Darjeeling Districts. They are much esteemed by those who prefer Teas of an astringent character. Green Teas, Finest Moyune Gunpowder, These are the purest and finest kinds of Green Tea imported. Scented Teas, Finest Orange Pekoe, 2s. 8d., 3s. This Tea is principally used for imparting fragrancy and briskness to ordinary Black Teas. All the above can be had packed in 20-lb. tins, and in cads, half-chests, and chests containing respectively about 20, 50, and 100 lbs. A reduction of id. per pound on cads and half-chests, and 1d. per lb. on chests. Samples forwarded on receipt of Stamps to cover cost of postage. Families will do well to try these Teas. Address, THE MANAGER, general harmony with the nature and order of THE CHEST TEA COMPANY (LIMITED), life as indicated by science. . . . We say then to all who want to know what Swedenborg taught: Get this book and read for yourselves." -The Christian Age. Published for the MISSIONARY AND TRACT SOCIETY OF THE NEW CHURCH by JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street, London. 31 SEETHING LANE, E.C. FIRE OFFICE, LIMITED. 72 COLEMAN STREET, LONDON, E.C. Agency Applications Invited. LIEBIG'S PEARLS OF STRENGTH DUNN & HEWETT Purify and enrich the blood, strengthen the system, HAVE OBTAINED TWO SILVER MEDALS AT THE Or, the Holy Supper explained on the prin- PARIS EXHIBITION, ciples taught by Emanuel Swedenborg. 8vo, sewed, Is. 6d. The Literal and Spiritual Senses of Scripture In their relations to each other and to the Reformation of the Church. 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d. The Prophetic Spirit; In its Relation to Wisdom and Madness. LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, & Co. NEW AND RECENT WORKS Our Eternal Homes. By a BIBLE STUDENT. Fifth edition now ready, with the extensive alterations and corrections of the Author, the late Rev. JOHN HYDE; Crown Svo, cloth, 3s. Light on the Last Things. By the Rev. W. B. HAYDEN. Just published, foolscap 8vo, cloth, Is. 6d. For this, the first English edition, the Author has written an additional chapter continuing the history of Hades, besides revising the entire work. Authority in the New Church. By the Rev. R. L. TAFEL, A. M., Ph.D. LONDON: JAMES SPEIRS, 36 Bloomsbury Street. 1878, For the excellence of the whole of their Manufactures of Soluble Cocoas, Chocolates, and Essence of Coffee. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "It is as exhibitors of Cocoa and its preparations that Messrs. Dunn & Hewett principally shine. Their exhibition is a very complete one. They exhibit a model of the Cocoa-tree, the pod with its berries, the berries themselves, and some of their chief constituents, as particularly the butter or fat of Cocoa, and the active principle, Theobromine; some botanical and chemical diagrams in illustration of the subject are likewise exhibited."-The Lancet, Sept. 28, 1878. "Messrs. Dunn & Hewett show a charming case, which is beautifully arranged, displaying Cocoa in every form."-The Grocer, May 11, 1878. "Messrs. Dunn & Hewett of London, the wellknown manufacturers of Cocoa, Chocolate, and Essence of Coffee, have obtained Two Silver Medals.". "-Mercantile Shipping Register, October 1878. "If actual instructiveness and scientific value go for anything, the case of Dunn & Hewett will not pass unrewarded."-Glasgow Herald, Aug. 5, 1878. MANUFACTORY: PENTONVILLE, LONDON. promote the appetite, give life and energy and a general feeling of health and comfort, perhaps never before experienced. This remedy stands alone, and is prepared in the form of pearls, and is perfectly tasteless. Sold in Boxes at is. 1 d., 2s. 9d., and upwards. A Box sent free for 14 or 33 stamps. M. LIEBIG & CO., And at Paris and New York. Just published, No. 1. "FINANCIAL NOTES;" Or, "THE MONEY MAKER." In twelve numbers, forming a Complete and Valaable Guide to Investors and Business People. The whole Series will form a volume of reference and matter not otherwise obtainable, from the pen of an able financier. Each number will contain a list of good paying Securities on the rise, and Debentures and Shares for profitable investment. Published by Messrs. THOMPSON and CO., STOCKBROKERS, 27 Mansion House Chambers, Queen Victoria Street. The Birkbeck Building Society's Annual Receipts exceed Four Millions-How to purchase a house for two guineas per month, with immediate possession and no rent to pay. Apply at the Office of the BIRKBECK BUILDING SOCIETY, 29 and 30 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. How to purchase a plot of land for five shillings per month, with immediate possession, either for Building or Gardening purposes. Apply at the Office of the BIRKBECK FREEHOLD LAND SOCIETY, 29 and 30 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane How to invest your money with safety. Apply at the Office of the BIRKBECK BANK, 29 and 30 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. Deposits received at vary ing rates of interest. Current Accounts opened with persons properly introduced, and Interest allowed on the minimum monthly balances. English and Foreign Stocks and Shares purchased and sold, and Advances made thereon. Letters of Credit and Circular Notes issued. A Pamphlet, with full particulart, es application. FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. UR last chapter was devoted to an exposition of the law according to which we believe the Divine Word to have been written, which we declared to be based upon the analogy which connects the world of matter with the world of mind and with the Lord, thereby giving to every physical object or experience a metaphysical significance and symbolism. The truth of this doctrine of a correspondence between things natural and spiritual receives continual confirmation in our ordinary conversation, the language of which is full of metaphysical analogies. How intuitively, for instance, we recognise the connection between heat and love! A warm heart, a frigid demeanour, a hot temper, a chilling reserve, "Cold inhumanity, Burning insanity,' are familiar phrases, at once understood by all, notwithstanding that the heat referred to is purely spiritual, and utterly incapable of measurement by any thermometer. So with the relation of light to truth; it is universally discerned, and supplies some of the most frequent and expressive of our colloquialisms. The "mind's eye," the existence of which was perceived by Shakespeare,† has a vision perfectly distinct from that of the body, yet no whit less real, and even more essential. Hence we often speak of seeing in a sense altogether abstracted from that of physical optics, and talk about bright ideas or obscure statements with a well-warranted confidence that no one will misunderstand us. What a frequent vigour, What a frequent vigour, moreover, language derives from the employment of the names of animals in an allegorical or spiritual connection! Every mother has called her babe a little lamb; every moralist, following the Divine Teacher, has characterized a crafty traitor as a fox or a serpent (Luke xiii. 32; Matt. xxiii. 33). History commemorates the valour of a lionhearted king: even national qualities have become embodied in certain symbols drawn from the animal creation, and used either in boastful self-assertion or in proud disdain; so that the British lion, the French eagle, and the Russian bear are zoological creations clearly intelligible to every politician. This figurative employment of physical expressions in a metaphysical or spiritual sense is confined to no dialect, limited to no period. Their use seems coextensive with the human race; coeval with its duration upon earth. Like the most ancient legends of mythology, which also exemplify, to an astonishing degree, the great doctrine of correspondences, they are survivals, transmitted to us from those old, old times when the world was young, and when men, in the first brightness of the race's golden age of innocence and wisdom, better knew than now how near is earth to heaven. For in that Eden state of intelligence and purity a knowledge of the relationship between things natural and spiritual, and of the consequent significance and sug* Thomas Hood, The Bridge of Sighs. + Hamlet, Act I. sc. 2. gestiveness of all material existences and phenomena, was honoured and cultivated as the science of sciences.* Thence it passed, in a gradually debased and obscured form, into the most venerable traditions and literatures, many of the relics of which, rightly understood, still bear ample testimony to its existence, and to the high esteem with which it was once regarded. Thus the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the oldest writings in the world, give many indications of an acquaintance with the laws of correspondence; while Hermes Trismegistus, who is said to have flourished more than two thousand years before the Christian era, left on record the profound declaration that "all things which are in heaven exist also upon earth, but in an earthly manner, and all things which are upon earth exist also in heaven, but in a heavenly manner." Whether Hermes were or were not, as many have conjectured, and as is highly probable, a myth, the floating down the stream of time from the remotest fact is unquestioned that this striking statement comes antiquity, and that it witnesses, most emphatically, to the existence, in that far-off period, of the belief which it so tersely and clearly expresses. In Such, then, is the wonderful, yet simple and intelligible, plan upon which the Sacred Scriptures are written. His Word, as in His works, the Divine Author has poured forth His wisdom into a succession of receptive forms, until it reaches its lowest and ultimate development in the letter of the Bible. Consequently this is the Divine truth itself, manifested in the lowest aspect of which it is susceptible, that it may thereby reach the lowest minds. Thus accommodated and modified to suit the perceptive faculties of those to whom it is addressed, the inspired volume becomes an absolutely universal book. It affords a plenitude of simple, childlike ideas; lessons of profoundest wisdom presented in the guise of biographies, histories, and parables, full of pathos and enthralling interest, such as may rivet the attention and reach the capacities even of early youth. It abounds in considerations adapted to gross, callous, and impenitent natures; in vigorous denunciation, solemn warning, and stern menace. Viewing the letter of the Word as the cloudy covering which beneficently tempers the dazzling radiance of infinite truth,t these parts of its contents constitute the densest veils, the darkest glasses, mercifully provided for the weakest eyes. For, as communicated through these obscuring media, the Divine wisdom can affect with advantage many whom, in its unqualified splendour, it would never reach, since they allow just as much of the heavenly light to penetrate as the soul, blinded by sin and folly, can receive with profit. times, indeed, nothing is clearly revealed but the one essential duty of avoiding evil, which is enforced by the most tremendous arguments of terror, judgment, and wrath to come. To influence His wayward and rebellious children for their good, the all-loving Father assumes an aspect of anger and severity, that the dread of His irresistible might may turn those whose selfish coarseness would imperviously resist the pleadings of His tender pity. Nor let it be supposed that, in thus addressing the wicked and obdurate, the letter of Scripture at all misrepresents the facts which it is essential for them to recognise. Incorrect when regarded in the direct light of genuine truth, such exhibitions of the Divine character are yet in precise accordance with the actual experience of the persistent sinner, and delineate, with absolute fidelity, the delusive and slanderous appearances induced by a state of evil. For just as an iceberg, if endowed with thought and speech, might revile the blessed sun as * Swedenborg, True Christian Religion, 201, 202. + See Morning Light, p. 431. Some * a consuming destroyer; so the soul, obstinately opposed to heavenly purity and order, inevitably feels the heat and light of the infinite Dayspring as an agonizing torment. And the Sacred Scripture, which necessarily possesses its human as well as its Divine aspects, beneficently and most wisely employs such appearances as means for impressing those who would be insensible to loftier inducements. For although fear is an ignoble motive, it is far better that a sinner should be thereby driven to amendment, than that the lack of any purpose such as he can appreciate should leave him unchecked in guilt. And if, urged in the first instance by terror, he desist from evil and seek in his Bible for further instructions as to the way of safety, his early crude impressions will gradually give place to new and juster opinions. As his mental sight gains strength the clouds which graciously tempered the light to his capacity will grow more luminous. Beneath the obscure appearances of the letter the radiant and benignant realities of the spirit will shine with ever-growing clearness; and, from that "fear of the LORD" which is "the beginning of wisdom" (Ps. cxi. 10), he may at length arise to the "perfect love" which "casteth out fear" (1 John iv. 18). Thus while the most ignorant, and even the sensual and evil, can always read the Word with profit, the best and wisest can never exhaust its infinitude of wisdom. The child, whether in years or culture, can understand and profit by its letter; the sage can study and obey its inward spirit. And the child, as he grows in knowledge, and in that clarified perception which springs from purity of heart and the performance of the Divine will (Matt. v. 8; John vii. 17), can advance to ever higher states of understanding and delight, until he finds the stream of revealed truth, like the holy waters of the sanctuary which rose from the ankles above the knees and loins, "waters to swim in, a river that cannot be passed over" (Ezek. xlvii. 1-5). "For Indeed, owing to the peculiar manner in which the Sacred Scriptures are inspired and produced, they necessarily exist in heaven as well as upon earth, and constitute, as the Creed asserts, "the fountain of wisdom to angels" there, no less than to men here. For the Divine wisdom, on its descent to its lowest manifestation in the letter of the Bible, passes through the spiritual world, and by means of the forms and modifications it there assumes, is prepared for reception by minds still in the present state of pupilage. Hence the Psalmist expresses no more than simple truth in the declaration, ever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven" (Ps. cxix. 89), though there it is of course divested of the outermost literal sense, requisite for its comprehension by men on earth, and appears solely in its inward and higher meanings. Thus, also, conjunction with heaven is effected by the Word; for the angels, who are all ministering spirits (Heb. i. 14), near to us and mindful of us continually, are never drawn into such close communion with us, or enabled to help us so effectually, as when we are employed in a reverent study of the inspired pages. While we read the letter, they discern the hidden glories of the spirit, and in such perception experience some of their richest delight, and acquire their choicest opportunities to instil into us pure desires and clear intelligence. This fact explains the marvellous power of the Sacred Scriptures, so different from that of even the noblest productions of mere human genius, to calm the troubled mind and to chasten and restrain the wayward passions of the tempted, By the Divine mercy of the Lord more will be said of the distorting and disorganizing effects of evil, and its slanderous misrepresentations of God, heaven, and goodness, in our chapters concerning Salvation, Hell, and Infernal Spirits. agitated heart. Who, that has really learned to use his Bible, will not testify to such an influence! How often, sitting down to its pages harassed and perplexed, has a sweet and tender sphere of peace and order gradually flowed into the soul! The doubts and fears and discords of natural thought and desire have gently subsided; the various conflicting interests and claims of the world and heaven have been adjusted to a truer standard; and the man has arisen from his half-hour's reading refreshed and enlightened, brave and calm. Whence comes this sanctifying operation? From heaven, with which the Word has given him consociation; from the Lord, who is the inmost of the Word, and who is ever present in its inspired truths, to meet and bless the soul that humbly seeks Him. Therefore let the practice of reading the sacred volume be constant and habitual. Especially let all little children, of whose like is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. xix. 14), be early initiated into a love and reverence for those Scriptures which will make them "wise unto salvation" (2 Tim. iii. 15). Precious at all times to our angelic helpers, the Word of God is never more dear to them than when its holy truths reach them through the guileless mind of a little child. Moreover, understanding in spirit and in truth those portions of the Divine revelations which, with all the knowledge we are privileged to enjoy, we can only see, in comparison, as "through a glass, darkly" (1 Cor. xiii. 12), the angels advance for ever into a clearer comprehension of the immeasurable heights and depths of the infinite wisdom. To a devout Bible reader this will surely be among the most glorious of his anticipations of the triumphs and delights of heaven. There every obscurity which has perplexed him will be gradually cleared away; every dark appearance of the letter will shine with the lustre of the manifested spirit; every holy verity which here transcended his comprehension will yield a perpetually increasing wealth of intelligible and practically useful knowledge. True, he will never fathom the wonders of omniscience, nor exhaust the instruction which the Divine Word will yield; and well is it that he cannot. If eternity admitted of finality in the attainments and achievements of which it gives the opportunity, heaven itself would at length cease to be heavenly. There, indeed, there will be no end to progress; no possibility of ever saying, "I have reached the goal, and can advance no further;" thus, no satiety. But there, also, there can be no darkness, no anxious doubt, no fear; since all these will be swallowed up in the ever-growing radiance of the intelligence and blessing of that path of the just, which "shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov. iv. 18). In the light of these glorious truths, then, all the seeming difficulties and imperfections of the Scriptures vanish. It is seen that the Word of God was given for other purposes than to teach geology, history, or ethnology; thus, that it can never be rightly understood while it is judged by the standard with which we should test the worth of treatises on these or any other sciences. The Divine Author has actually recorded, with infallible accuracy, every fact connected with these subjects, but He has written them in the appropriate volume, the book of nature, which it is the province of the natural philosophers to decipher and interpret. The page of revelation, on the other hand, is intended to communicate lessons respecting which the material creation is intrinsically dumb; even those "things of the Spirit of God," which "the natural man receiveth not, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. ii. 14). Thus the Divine Word is in its essence spiritual, and its purposes, like all the ends of Providence, are eternal. In its very obscurities and apparent blemishes a merciful design is discoverable. Many of these, as already seen, are required in order that the Scriptures may have power to reach and influence the sensual and evil. And even those difficult parts of its contents which cannot be readily explained as serving this intention have yet a beneficent purpose in the loving economy of our heavenly Father, since they ensure the inviolate maintenance of those faculties of freewill and rationality which are the distinctive characteristics of manhood. Why, unbelievers sometimes ask, should a volume professing to be a revelation from God exhibit any obscure or equivocal peculiarities? Why is not every statement as obvious and incontrovertible as the facts of the multiplication table? Why has not the Creator blazoned on the sun such irresistible proofs of His existence and nature, and a promulgation of His laws so clear and emphatic, that the whole world should see and know and confess their duty to reverence and obey? Such objections, however, though often honestly urged, and at first sight very plausible, entirely overlook the true nature of the service the Lord desires. He wants no compulsory allegiance, no poor mechanical devotion. Unenriched by the spontaneous affections and intelligent acknowledgment of His worshippers, what were the most complete submission better than the slavery of an automaton to him who has fashioned its machinery and set its wheels in motion? God wishes us to think, to inquire, to choose; wherefore He purposely addresses us in a manner to excite reflection, and to lead us onwards, from doubtful questionings, through various degrees of satisfaction, up to the full light of conviction and assent. But besides this, and more than this, a revelation which should immediately enforce a full assurance of its authority, so far from being a blessing to mankind, would prove a grievous and intolerable curse. Obedience depends far less on the acknowledgment of the understanding than on the humble self-subjection of the will; since it is "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (Rom. x. 10). To compel every one intellectually to perceive the truth, therefore, independently of the preparation of the affections to co-operate in its due reception, would impose upon multitudes the burden of a responsibility for which they are totally unfit. "That servant who knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. . . . For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke xii. 47, 48). Our Divine Master mercifully exonerates us, to the utmost measure possible, from the pressure of this just and necessary law, by providing that the knowledge of His will shall, to a considerable extent, be conditional upon our disposition to perform it. Those who approach the Scriptures in a hostile spirit are thus at once repelled by the superficial difficulties of the letter, and, despite themselves, are saved from the guilt of profaning a sanctity into which they have not enough perseverance to enter. Of course their negligent and slothful indifference is itself a sin, but it is an offence far less heinous than the wilful violation of the holiest truths into which they would otherwise rush headlong; admitting of a much easier removal, and, even if unrepented of, involving a less awful condemnation. To them, therefore, applies that strange mysterious utterance of our Lord, which has no doubt frequently contributed to the use which, in such enigmatical terms, it describes: "Unto them that are without, all things are done in parables; that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them" (Mark iv. 11, 12). Obviously, our all-merciful Father never opposes hindrances to a real conversion, or withholds His forgiveness from any true. penitent.* But there is such a thing as a conversion entailing a relapse in which the last state is seven times worse than the first (Matt. xii. 43-45), a repentance which needs to be repented of (2 Cor. vii. 10); and it is from this tremendous danger that the Divine Providence graciously protects us by enveloping some portions of the Word in apparent darkness. All things necessary to salvation are however clear. Indeed, the Scriptures may be likened to a glorious Human Form, clothed except as to the face and hands. Concealed, for the most part, by the vesture of the letter, the spiritual sense shines in undisguised plainness through a sufficiency of passages to reveal God and to help the world. And just as the true worth and significance of a man are found in the soul which beams through his face and works through his hands, so the true Divinity of the Word consists in that inner spiritual meaning which, conspicuously visible in some places, also underlies the letter in every part, even where apparently the most obscure, and constitutes its spirit and its life (John vi. 63). Moreover, this doctrine of the spiritual sense of Scripture, rightly understood, tends to enhance immeasurably our estimate of the value and dignity of its letter, since it exhibits every jot and tittle in direct and most intimate connection with heaven and the Lord. We cannot possibly reach a knowledge of the spiritual truths of the Word, or perceive its light, or wield its power, except in the proportion that we faithfully and reverently study its literal and outside language. Even when most seemingly obscure and trivial, therefore, the letter of Scripture must be regarded not as a worthless innutritious husk, to be destroyed and removed before the wholesome kernel can be used, but as the divinely-appointed covering within which truth may be most effectually presented, and through which, as our minds are illuminated and our hearts purified, its light will be seen to shine with the clearest lustre. In the letter of the Word Divine truth is in its fulness, its sanctity, and its power,t because in the letter all the might and glory of the spirit are contained and present. The spiritual sense is like the keen trenchant blade which hews its way through hosts of adverse foes: the letter is the blunt smooth handle by which we grasp the weapon, and are enabled to wield it. Thus, in our contests with evil, the literal sense of Scripture is our instrument of warfare, the hilt that we must grip firmly, and with which we must strike stoutly. The spiritual power with which the letter is associated will doubtless supply the actual means of victory, but this power can only be exerted in and by the letter. It is with us as with our Lord, who, "tempted in all points like as we are" (Heb. iv. 15), repelled every suggestion of the evil one by using the literal statements of the Word. "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him" (Matt. iv. 4, 7, 10, 11). While, therefore, we strive our utmost to understand the spiritual wisdom of the Scriptures, and thankfully praise the Lord for revealing it to men, let us beware lest we fall into any * Forgiveness of sins, although often confounded with salvation, is yet entirely distinct, and may even be experienced without any realization of salvation; a seeming paradox which we hope to make clear in our chapter on Salvation. + Swedenborg, Doctrine of the New Jerusalem respecting the Sacred Scripture, 37. irreverence for their plain literal meaning. For everywhere the letter is holy, and constitutes the only channel to the spirit. It is proper to mention, moreover, that in both the Old and New Testaments our Bible contains a few books which do not possess this interior spiritual significance, and thus do not constitute, in the most exact sense, parts of the Word of God. These are, in the Old Testament, Ruth, the two books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon; and, in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. Let no one suppose, however, that in thus discriminating between two degrees of inspiration in the Scriptures, we do any violence or manifest any disrespect towards those works to which the secondary position is assigned. The place these occupy, in the estimation of the New Church, is precisely that which most Christians ascribe to the entire Bible; that is, they are regarded as the productions of good and wise men whom the Lord enlightened by His Spirit that they might convey, to various dispensations of His Church, much precious instruction concerning both doctrine and life. Besides, there exists good evidence in the Divine Word itself for the distinction here asserted. The Jews are known to have divided their sacred writings into three classes, known as the Law, the Prophets, and the Chetubim or Hagiographa. Of these, the Law included the five books of Moses: the Prophets comprised the historical books produced before the Babylonish Captivity, or Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; together with all the works we now commonly enumerate as prophetical, excepting the book of Daniel: while the Hagiographa contained all the books of the Old Testament which we have mentioned as not possessing the spiritual sense, together with the Psalms, the Lamentations, and Daniel. Now as to the Divine and plenary sanction of the Law and the Prophets, or Moses and the Prophets, it is sufficient to recall the numerous and expressive occasions on which they are quoted in the New Testament as authoritative by the Lord Himself. The Psalms, again, He expressly designates as Scripture (John x. 34, 35), and Daniel He groups with the Prophets (Matt. xxiv. 15), thus separating them both from the Hagiographa, no portion of which, with these exceptions, He ever recognises as the Holy Word. In the New Testament, again, nothing can be more marked than the difference between the Gospels and Apocalypse, which are inspired in the supreme degree, and the Acts and Epistles, which were written under a personal and more general illumination. In the former case the individuality of the penmen is entirely merged in the importance of their message. The facts of the Redeemer's life are recorded with scarcely a single interposition of any of the narrators, who are simply voices through which the Divine truth finds a channel into the world; and the sublime visions of the Revelation are described with as absolute a "Thus saith the Lord" as ever dictated the utterances of Isaiah or Jeremiah. But how different from these are the masterly letters of Paul and the other writers of the Epistles! There the author's personality is continually and prominently conspicuous. We read his views of Christian doctrine, the arguments by which he sustains them, the applications to which he puts them. Sometimes we are expressly informed that he is asserting his own opinion merely (1 Cor. vii. 6, 12, 25, 40); once we find a striking criticism, by one Apostle, of the "things hard to be understood" propounded by another (2 Pet. iii. 15, 16). Evidently, therefore, we must not claim for these compositions such an inspiration as entirely excludes the operation of the writers' own peculiarities of will and judgment. They are not produced according to the laws of correspondence, like the plenarily inspired books of Scripture, nor are they, like these, in direct and precise communication with heaven and the Lord; thus they do not constitute, in the deepest and most exact sense, the Word of God. But they are fully equal to the highest estimate that the religious world has usually formed of the entire Bible; the distinction between the New Church doctrine of the Word and that commonly held being simply this, that the New Church depreciates no part whatever of the Scriptures below the ordinary standard, while it exalts by far the greater portion of the sacred volume to a pinnacle of sanctity and glory surpassing the loftiest conceptions of preceding ages. But where may the Science of Correspondences, and the principles on which it is to be employed in the interpretation of the Divine Word, be more fully learned? We answer, In the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, the Swed ish philosopher and theologian, who was especially prepared and instructed by the Lord to communicate this knowledge to the world. His most voluminous work, the "Arcana Cœlestia," or Heavenly Secrets, in twelve large volumes, contains a complete exposition of the spiritual meaning of the books of Genesis and Exodus, besides which he also wrote two important works on the Apocalypse, and, throughout his numerous writings, he continually sustained every assertion by an unparalleled fulness of quotation from the inspired Scriptures. To him, therefore, we would refer all candid inquirers after truth, as the divinely-commissioned channel of instruction on this most holy subject.* And what is the proof of the doctrine for which we have been contending? Its best and surest vindication is found in the fact that the key fits the lock which it professes to open, and thus that its authority, rightly understood, is absolutely self-confirmatory. For throughout the entire Word we find that the same types always bear the same symbolical significance, and yield a coherent, intelligible, and useful meaning when interpreted by the same uniform law. It is easy to state this fact, but it is not so easy to comprehend all the wonder which it involves. To us the volume labelled the Holy Bible presents itself as one book, produced apparently at the same time and under similar circumstances. Considerable effort is required to enable us to realize that this seemingly simple and homogeneous work is made up of many separate books, composed at widely different periods, by men of strongly contrasted characters, who wrote amid scenes and events of the utmost variety and dissimilitude. Viewed, indeed, from the ordinary standpoint of mere human literature, the Bible is no more entitled to be regarded as one integral work than if we should bind into a single volume the works of Plato, Cicero, Bede, Dante, Milton, Fénelon, Behmen, Emerson, and Macaulay, and should attach to this miscellaneous collection one single name, and present it to the world as one homogeneous production. For the Word of God, omitting those portions of the Bible which we have enumerated as not possessing the spiritual sense, consists of thirty-four books, the production of which ranged over a period of some sixteen centuries from about B.C. 1491 to A.D. 100; indeed, inasmuch as the earlier portions of Genesis are probably relics of a Divine revelation existing long previous to that which * The manner in which a knowledge of the Science of Correspondences and of the true nature of the Divine Word has been restored to mankind, with other particulars connected with the subject, will necessarily demand further attention in our chapters on the Second Coming of the Lord and the New Jerusalem. |