they are seen in their spiritual or celestial ground. It is to be feared that the christian church, generally speaking, is to much carried away with the noise and bustle of external things-too anxious perhaps, about propagating the peculiar doctrines of religion, and of increasing the number of its professors, while the more important purposes of life, and the furtherance of the regenerate state in the hearts of its members, are too much neglected, as though they were not connected with a man's personal safety, and with his everlasting peace in the world to come. An over anxiety about external things, even if those things are connected, with the visible church, and with the promulgation of truth, is no desirable state for the mind to be absorbed in; we have other matters, more weighty than these to attend to, and which will come home to every breast; a neglect of which, will ruin our peace here, and blight for ever our prospects of eternal joy! An anxious desire to promote the cause of true religion among men, is indeed laudable and praiseworthy in the highest degree; but an over anxiety to do this, to the total neglect of the weightier matter of which we shall presently speak, is indeed replete with danger, and, to say the least of it, it is choosing that state which Martha (as recorded in Luke) chose, and neglecting the one thing needful, made choice of by Mary. Of these two female disciples it is said, that “ Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me." To which the Lord replied and gave this gentle rebuke-"Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken from her." x. 42. Here we observe that the part which Mary chose is called a good part, and the one thing needful; not that the part made choice of by Martha was an evil part; it was good in its degree, but it was not of that stamp, which deserved the exalted appellation of the one thing needful. How anxious, then, should every christian be, to make choice of this good part, in order that he may secure thereby the presence and approbation of the Lord. That we may know what this good part is, we may briefly observe that to be troubled about many things, which was the state of Martha, is to be wholly taken up with the external affairs of the church, with the propagation of the doctrines of truth, and with the externals of religion; but the good part which Mary chose, is silently and carefully to watch over and promote the life of religion in the soul, to increase in good, purity and holiness, and thus that the religion should be made personal, and the will thus advanced in the regeneration, without which there is no second

birth, and consequently no good part, or life eternal. We may, like Martha, be troubled about many things, we may be most anxious to propagate the truth, and the doctrines of religion to our fellow men, but in assisting in this great work, every man should be careful not to neglect himself. He who neglects his own affairs, is but little calculated to attend to those of others. St. Paul seems to have cautioned himself against this neglect of personal advancement in the true life of religion, where he says, "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away," 1 Cor. ix. 27. A simple attendance upon the externals of religion, may be compared to Martha, who ran out to meet the Lord; but a carefulness to promote the life of religion in the soul is described by Mary, who sat still in the house; for to sit still in the house, signifies the tranquillity of peace, arising from a settled dependance upon the Lord, and from the leadings of his providence.

Do we wish to experience in a supereminent degree the joys and felicities of true religion? If we do, we should listen, with the most profound attention to these words of the Lord, " Arise! get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone," Jer. xlix. 31.

This verse describes the settled tranquillity and peace of the celestial man, and although, in the present state of things, few may arrive to this most exalted and happy state, yet it is satisfactory to know that the state is attainable by all those who will make use of the means, and those who would enjoy the blessings of eternal life, must arise and go up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care.

The first thing necessary to be done in order to obtain the celestial state of tranquillity, is to ARISE! and O may we not be deceived upon this point, for the deceitfulness of the heart, and the treachery of our judgment, may often flatter us with the idea, that we have arisen, when in reality we are grovelling in scenes below, and delighted only with the sensual gratifications of this world and time. To arise is an expression which very frequently occurs in the Word of God, but its interior signification is little attended to; it is passed over in a light manner, because it is considered as a familiar expression frequently used in ordinary discourse. Nevertheless its true meaning is not to be destroyed, because men carelessly and foolishly pass it by. If it be necessary to arise in order to enjoy the sweets of celestial tranquillity, it is expedient to know the true meaning of the term, and what it is in

man that must thus arise! It is impossible to see the full force of this little word arise, unless we obtain something like a correct knowledge of ourselves; and to assist us in this inquiry we may observe that man is a spiritual and an immortal being, and all the varied states, and processes through which he has to pass in the regeneration as the means of securing his eternal life, are, in the Word of God throughout, faithfully described. The will and the understanding in union form together the man; these two faculties are in Holy Scripture distinctly described, and those who contemplate the contents of the Book of Life, should mark well this distinction; for otherwise they may apply those terms to the understanding which belong to the will, and those to the will which belong to the understanding; in this case their conclusions will be defective, and their doctrines false. As the two faculties of will and understanding are so nearly allied, so the terms made use of in scripture to describe them, may appear to the superficial reader, as mere synonimous expressions, when in reality they are not so. In the Word we frequently find two expressions so coupled and connected together as to give the appearance of having one and the same meaning, whereas they are entirely different, one having relation to the will, and the other to the understanding, thus we read of weeping and mourning, joy and gladness, people and nations, thanksgiving and the voice of melody, with other expressions of a like kind. Wherever these terms occur man is spiritually described as to the state of his will and understanding, thus for instance the two expressions weeping and mourning, which appear to have the same meaning, are mentioned in Isaiah thus-"In that day did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth." xxii. In this passage weeping has reference to the defect of good in the will, and mourning to the defect of truth in the understanding. The same may be said of joy and gladness, only with this difference, that the term joy refers to the will in a state of good, and gladness to the pleasure of the understanding, when illuminated with Divine Truth: thus both terms when taken together describe the real and true state of man. The case is similar with the other words just referred to. In the verse just mentioned we also observe this two-fold mode of expression, though the terms used, are more remote from each other than those of joy and gladness. Thus, it is written, "Arise, get you UP, unto the wealthy nation!" Wherever this word arise occurs, it is generally united with another word which signifies progression-a going from one place to another; but spiritually it is descriptive of intellectual progression, or advancement into supe

rior states of wisdom and truth. Thus the prodigal son says→→→ I will arise and go to my Father. The Lord said to his disciples, arise let us be going-the Lord said to Jacob, arise, get thee out of this land—arise, go up to Beth-el and dwell there. Again in the prophets, the Lord says-arise; shine, for thy light is come. The watchmen shall cry, arise! let us go up to Zion-In all these passages, and in others where the term arise occurs, the word is used in reference to the will and to the will alone, and is fully descriptive of its elevation out of a state of evil, into that of good. If then the word arise, signifies an elevation of the will from a state of evil into a state of good, how many and important are the subjects contained in this word. While the human will is content to lie down, and as it were grovel in low, earthly and mere sensual desires, it is impossible for the man to make any progress in true wisdom, or in that life which prepares for heaven and its joys. Evil and good are opposites, as much so as are beaven and hell, misery and happiness, and while evil is cherished, good cannot enter, consequently we cannot be blessed with the true light of wisdom. It is not possible for any one to love evil, and in consequence thereof to do it, and at the same time by faith to acknowledge truth; for man cannot be saved by thinking and speaking truth, or even what is good, when at the same time he willeth, and in consequence of willing, doeth nothing but evil. "It is man's will-principle which liveth after death, and not his thinking-principle, only so far as it hath been conformable to his will-principle." Love is the Life of man-the will is the very seat of his life, and such as is the quality of his life, such will be his final state of misery or happiness. How exceedingly important, then, are these words,—" Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation that dwelleth without care!" There is no possible way of going up to this wealthy nation but by the renunciation of evil in all its forms! we must first arise! after which we shall begin by provided means, to make the sacred ascent to this wealthy nation, where no cares or anxieties are to be found.

By the wealthy nation is meant the celestial church and the celestial man! This church and nation is said to be wealthy because it receives directly from the Lord the imperishable treasures of the Divine Love and wisdom! these are the true riches which in the complex form the solid wealth of the kingdom of God. The treasures of the Divine Love and wisdom are received by celestial men immediately from the Lord; these treasures have not to pass through any other mediums; so that the gold cannot become dim, neither can the fine gold be changed or the silver become dross. These Divine treasures, the celestial man receives at once into his

will and life, making them the ground of his affections, desires and actions, and the source of every true delight. The celestial man is not only wealthy, but he is without any gloomy fears or apprehensions. He has no anxieties or cares about the future; he acknowledges no faith, but what hath its ground in love, which love is the principle of his actions. The ends which influence him regard the Lord, and thereby his kingdom and eternal life. He is engaged in no combats, and in case he is assaulted by evils and false principles he despises them. He has no apparent or real restraints, but is in perfect liberty and freedom of soul. He is a conqueror in the truest sense of that expression; he had, by divine assistance, in the state of his regenerating process, obtained victory after victory over all his impure affections and thoughts; and now, having obtained the wealthy nation, or the celestial state, he enjoys the peace of his conquest, and partakes of the fruit of that celestial tree, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. To this celestial state of internal tranquillity and peace, signified by the wealthy nation, few, in the present day, arrive. The hindrances are many, but they chiefly rest with ourselves; the cares of the natural world, and the deceitfulness of its riches; keep us bound down to the corruptible loves of self and the world; they bind us to the earth and to its unsatisfying and treacherous pleasures, and by this means keep us from doing the first work of arising above these sensual things. If we do not arise, we can never obtain the wealthy nation that dwelleth without care. This wealthy nation is further described as having neither gates nor bars. In the scripture we frequently read of gates and doors, and they are always mentioned in reference to introductory knowledges, or to those truths of a mere external or literal nature, which introduce and thus lead on the mind to a more enlightened and comprehensive view of Divine Truth. The celestial state, signified by the wealthy nation, is far, very far above the mere introductory knowledges of divine subjects. The blessed inhabitant of the wealthy nation has passed through all these gates and doors; he receives the light from the pure fountain of light! he has entered into the holy of holies! and the introductory truths, which were as means in the commencement of his heavenly journey to accomplish his end, are now lost in the brightness and splendour of that light and wisdom which belong to the celestial state. In the first stages of our spiritual journey, we require those introductory and simple truths, which will lead us on by degrees in the heavenly life, and thus like so many kind helps, introduce us into a brighter state of light and glory: but having once passed the gates, and entered into the wealthy nation, the