congenial objects of affection, to be able to take refuge in the conclusions, that hereafter its bliss will be expanded on all sides by the endless multiplication of the objects of its love, while the feeling of imprisonment endured on earth will be succeeded by a sense of liberty, wide as the universe!

W

CLXV.

Contrary to the appearance, the ebbing of the natural feelings, perceived as low spirits, is intended to introduce a higher, because a more interior state than can be introduced when the natural feelings are in full flow, or when we feel in high spirits. In the former case, we should draw near to the Lord by patiently enduring his chastening; in the latter case, we should draw near to the Lord by chastening ourselves.

CLXVI.

When we act from the Internal Man, we act well; but when from the External Man exclusively, we act ill; and yet how few are consistently solicitous to ascertain whether they act from the Internal Man or not; and how many are altogether careless, in respect to particular cases, whether they act from the one or the other, while they give themselves credit, nevertheless, for a right action in general!

2

CLXVII.

If we suppose two parties to be at issue, and that each conceives himself to be the injured party, while one is acting from the Internal, and the other from the External Man, the former will be found to take refuge in the conviction that he is guiltless, dwelling but little on the offence of the other; while the latter will brood exclusively upon the extent to which he is sinned against, desiring to magnify it to the utmost, in order that he may justify to himself the vindictive feelings. he is determined to indulge.

If we allow self-love to shape to itself in our minds any fixed form, and especially if that form be a pretended moral form, or a simulation of a genuine moral form, all progression in the truly spiritual life is for the time obstructed.

CLXIX.

If a man wishes you to call him " a friend" on any other ground than a bron a proper Christian ground, he either wishes to make a selfish use of you, or expects from you some compliance inconsistent with enlarged views and right principles. The celestial man "knows no

man after the flesh." With the apostle he is ready to say, "Follow me, only as I follow Christ."

CLXX.

13

It is justly considered, that whoso from want of care kindles a fire, is responsible for all the destruction that ensues. So the wrong-doer is responsible for all the contention which he creates. He should not be allowed to post-date his quarrel from the warm retaliation he calls forth, which is a very common case; the offence must be dated, in equity, from the original wrong.

CLXXI.

Whoever wishes to hinge and fix a difference upon a later occurrence in a dispute, when words ran high, to healing it at the fountain head of such difference, while as yet the offence was small, only shews a determination to seize upon a pretext for perpetuating resentment, for thes gratification of his own malignity.

CLXXII.

The roads to goodness and wisdom run parallel, and we advance in both on the same principle. We advance in goodness by constantly suspecting our liability to fall into evil; and we advance in wisdom by as constantly suspecting our liability to reason erroneously, and judge unwisely.

CLXXIII.

Progressive development is such an essential feature in the character of man, that he is necessarily repugnant to any but gradual and small advances, especially those which involve a change in his will-principle. All very rapid advances are justly liable to suspicion. An advance from hardihood to sincere contrition appears great, and yet the real internal advance is but small. A real advance can only be made through the gradual detection of the particular evils involved in the general state on account of which contrition is felt. An intellectual advance may take place almost at a step, from great errors to great truths, but we must not conclude, as we are very apt to do, that a correspondingly great. advance has also taken place in the will-principle. This is impossible.

CLXXIV.

The success of the sower depends mainly on the earth being fitted to receive the seed. Just so, unless the mind be prepared for the instruction offered, the volunteer instructor will generally be regarded as an enemy, even although he "speak the truth in love,” and “reprove with meekness;" because the truth, however kindly delivered, will

provoke the hostility of the selfhood. An unkind presentation of truth affords an excuse for showing offence; but the kindest presentation of it may cause the feeling of offence to be in reality the greater, because no pretence is given for the expression of it.

CLXXV.

sc Admonitory efforts cannot be justly appreciated, or the favorable reception of them be perfectly sincere, except in the degree that they are successful; and this partly because success puts the mind of the party admonished in good humour with its own candour. It will gener ally be found, that to tell the truth makes friends of those who are converted by it, and enemies of those who are not,

CLXXVI.

To beed mush 1It cannot be doubted that the most promising method of instructing and convincing, is to "speak the truth in love;" but still it is not suitable to the dignity of truth, any more than it is likely to establish her just claims, to approach tremblingly, as with a faultering apology on her lips for being Truth, or as if this were a thing to be ashamed of. This is to speak the truth in meanness of spirit, rather than to “ 'speak the truth in love!" This may secure toleration for the timid advocate of truth, but it will scarcely procure for Truth herself either attention. or respect.

CLXXVII.

Patience and forbearance are necessary towards characters of an ordinary stamp, presenting no marked features of either good or evil. It will probably become apparent in time, that good has really existed with them interiorly, although in a dormant state, owing to its being in bondage to some evil of infirmity rather than of sin. During continued self-compulsory abstinence from sin, the mental principles will develope themselves, until the imprisoned good has gained strength to burst its bonds, and prove the reality of its existence to the beholder. It is such characters as these who are meant by those who are in prison," to whom the righteous are said to delight to minister, regard less of the unpleasing aspect of the features necessarily accompanying a state of imprisonment. The encouraging symptom to patience and perseverance, is the continued abstinence from known evil; for evils often exist unknown to the subject of them, in early states of the regenerate

life.

CLXXVIII.

66

Every possible circumstance happens to us in order to the furtherance of one or other of three divine purposes:-To exercise our confidence N. S. NO. 65.-VOL. VI.

Y

in the Divine Goodness, and thus increase our growth in the good of innocence, which is the essence of love to the Lord; to exercise our love to our neighbour; or, to exercise our love to our enemy. The last bearing a resemblance to the Divine Mercy, which is Divine Love in its most glorious manifestation, may be considered the sublimest exercise of the three, and therefore, at the same time the most difficult and the most privileged.

CLXXIX

"All that a man hath will he give for his life," says Job. If, then, a man will not part with his beloved gold to secure his spiritual life from the disease of covetousness, or even from death, how little is he prepared to prove the sincerity of his faith, by following his Saviour literally, "to prison and to death!" If our Lord was willing to be crucified in order to perfect his human nature, should not we, seeing that he gives us all needful power? No man has a right to consider himself a true follower of the Lord unless he can say, "Yea, Lord," to the question, “Am I willing to be literally crucified, were crucifixion absolutely necessary to the extinction of a besetting evil propensity?" May all who are selfishly holding back their services to the cause of God and truth, consider this saying; for it is worthy of all acceptation!

CLXXX.

On the generally admitted principle, that were all the evils of a man's heart disclosed to his view at once, he would not be able to recognise his own likeness, and therefore would disown it, and the more so in proportion to its faithfulness, it appears necessary to try to apportion our discoveries to others of their defects, to their capacity of conviction; for so far as we exceed this capacity, we must necessarily defeat our own object, that of producing conviction. To denounce defects without any hope of producing conviction,-except, perhaps, when it is done with a view to the uses of example,—is an approach towards mere personal abuse.

CLXXXI.

Religion literally means a binding or rebinding, and consequently religion spiritually means conjunction with the Lord; and this implies trust in Him, because conjunction is incompatible with want of trust. In the Old Testament faith" is only twice mentioned, and then only in the sense of trust, and instead of faith, trust is mentioned frequently, which is faith in its best sense. In the Evangelists, faith always means trust in the Lord; but in the Epistles, owing to the peculiar circumstances attendant on the first "preaching of Christ," faith generally cam 257io,o quibivorq

means the acceptance of Christianity in place of Judaism, or in place of idolatry. Hence it appears that religion is essentially a trust in God, according to the truth, for nothing but truth can establish the trustworthiness of God. Religion, in this sense, is inseparable from obedience.

(To be continued.)

FREELY YE HAVE RECEIVED; FREELY GIVE."-THE DUTY OF THE RICH.

SIR.

To the Editor of the NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE.

I read the communication of M. Le Boys des Guays (p. 151) with deep interest, and should be gratified by being allowed, through your medium, to express my thanks for the pains he has taken in presenting so complete a view of the New Church in France, and my admiration of the truly enlarged and enlightened sentiments he has expressed. Such an appeal-so just and so modest, -for pecuniary aid, makes the sense of relative poverty peculiarly depressing, while it perhaps tends unduly to magnify the privilege of possessing this world's goods in such abundance as to be able, without feeling any result but true pleasure, "freely to give" to those who have spiritual need. But dare I hope that our respected brother's appeal will be successful? I confess my hopes of such a result are very small indeed! Our friends in this country are willing enough to make converts to their religious views; and therefore they are willing to converse with those who are willing to hear them, when they can find time from the important engagements of business. Then and thus do they practise the precept, "Freely ye have received the riches of Divine Truth,-freely dispense them." When, however, it becomes evident that we are not doing all that we can to spread the knowledge of the truth in the world; and some zealous and benevolent mind puts forth a project for the more general announcement of the divine truths of the Lord's Second Advent, and solicits pecuniary aid, it is found, such is the result of my experience and observation, that individuals not resident in the same locality as the projector, rather feel offended than pleased at this new demand on their purses, or to give the idea a more heavenly form of expression,--this additional opportunity of rendering their wealth conducive to their eternal happiness, by applying it to the promotion of eternal ends, ge The bane of the prosperity of our more general institutions is the feeling expressed in the inward exclamation, "I have enough to do with my money in my own locality." It is granted that the expense of providing ourselves with the spiritual necessaries, comforts, and luxuries,