Mmmmwwxm /SW- cy A NEW-CHURCH DOCTRINAL CLASS-BOOK. Part first. CONCERNING THE LORD. PP.EPAEED BY DIRECTION' OF THE (JENEKAL CONVENTION, UNDEE THE SUPERVISION OF ITS COMMITTEE ON RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. BOSTON: WILLIAM CARTER AND BROTHER, 21, Bromfield Street. 1862. BOSTON: PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON AND SON, 22, School Street. ADVERTISEMENT. Tins little volume is offered, in obedience to the demand of the General Convention, as the first part of a class-book for the instruction of the young in the doctrines of the New-Jerusalem Church. If found, by a little experience, sufficiently well adapted to its purpose, it will be followed by similar parts on the other fundamental doctrines. Those who contemplate using the book are especially warned not to make of it a substitute for Swedenborg's Works, but to use it only as an introduction to these foun tain-heads of doctrine. Its chief use will, it is supposed, be found in Sabbath- school classes of children from twelve to fifteen years old. Children younger than this can hardly be expected to have an intelligent appreciation of all its instruction; although, in the absence of enough that is better adapted to their age, they may, of course, derive some benefit from it. Those who are over fifteen, or even approaching that age, may study Swedenborg's own Works with greater advantage than any thing else, after their Bible, especially if they can be led on by an intelligent instructor. VI ADVERTISEMENT. Teachers using this book are further advised to give short lessons only, requiring these to be learned thoroughly, so that the substance (not necessarily the words) of each lesson may be well implanted in the mind ; and not relying too much on the printed questions, but using every expedient of inquiry and elliptical statement to draw from pupils an expression of their knowledge of the subject-matter. Ca pable teachers will also take every opportunity to enlarge upon the subject, and to impress it more fully in the pupil's mind by apt illustration and explanation, and especially by reading coincident passages from the Word and from Swedenborg. For this purpose, they are particularly re ferred to the first chapters of Swedenborg's "True Christian Religion," and to the " Doctrine of the Lord." CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page. Introductory : TnE Importance of a Knowledge of the Lord, and the Means of attaining it 1 CHAPTER II. God is One, and the Only One 11 CHAPTER III. God is Life Itself, and the only Source of Life . . . . 18 CHAPTER IV. God is Eternal and Infinite : He is Omnipotent, Omnipre sent, and Omniscient ... .26 CHAPTER V. The Lord, our Redeemer and Saviour . 35 CONCERNING THE LORD. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY : THE IMPORTANCE OF A KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD, AND THE MEANS OF ATTAINING IT. "TVTE read in Deuteronomy, " Hear, O Israel : The Lord ' ' our God is one Lord ; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might," chap. vi. 4, 5. And in the New Testament we read, that when the Lord was asked, " Which is the first commandment of all ? " he answered, "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel : The Lord our God is one Lord ; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : this is the first commandment," Mark xii. 29, 30. We learn through Swedenborg, that the very life of the angels in the highest heaven consists in love to the Lord. This love is the source of all their happiness and all their wisdom ; and the degree of their happiness and wisdom de pends upon the degree of their knowledge of the Lord, and of their love for Him. Thus we may see that it is of all things the most important and useful for us to have true What is the subject of this chap ter? What do we read in Deuterono my? What do we read in the New Testa ment? What do welearn through Sweden borg about the life of the an gels ? What is this love the source of? What does the degree of their hap piness depend upon ? What is most important and useful for us ? 2 CONCERNING THE LORD. ideas of the Lord, and proper feelings of love and reverence for Him. To all nations, even the most degraded, there is given some idea of a Power superior to themselves, upon which they feel themselves in some degree dependent for life and happiness : for they know that they did not create themselves, nor any of the living creatures about them ; and that they have no power to make any thing live, or to prevent its dying when its time has come. Nor have they any con trol over the changes that are going on around them in the positions of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth ; in the wind, the storm, and the sea. Their dependence for life and its blessings, on causes beyond their control, compels men to recognize the existence of some Power above them selves ; but what this Great Power is, they cannot learn from their own unassisted thought. Some think it to be the sun, some a mere wooden idol, some an animal ; and some call it the Great Spirit ; each nation or tribe according to the tra dition of their fathers. A true idea of the real creating and controlling Power can be obtained by men, only by its being revealed through heaven from the Creator Himself. The Lord provides, in His mercy, that there should always be revealed to men as perfect ideas of Him as they are able to comprehend and love. The reason why some people are permitted to have such rude and imperfect ideas of Him is because they have so far separated themselves from Him, and from the life of His love, that they are unwilling, and thus unable, to receive and love any higher conception of Him. What idea is given to all nations ? What do they know about the crea tion of men and animals ? What is said of their control over the great changes around them ? What are they compelled to recog nize ? What cannot they learn ? What do they think it to be? How only can a true idea of the Great Power be obtained? What does the Lord provide ? Why are such imperfect ideas of the Lord permitted? INTRODUCTORY. 3 In the beginning, men were created in the image and likeness of their Creator. They were thus able to receive something of His love and wisdom ; and so they could have true ideas of Him, and could even see Him manifested before their eyes. This state continued as long as they and their descendants continued to live in love to Him, and in love from Him towards others. But, in the course of time, their pos terity began to think less of the Lord, and more of themselves. Thus they gradually closed their minds to the life of His love and wisdom, which was always endeavoring to flow into their minds. They lost more and more of His image in their minds, until they could no longer be permitted to see His appearance before them, lest they should turn away and hide themselves from I-Iim whom they no longer loved, or even wished to see. As they ceased to turn towards Him in heart, they ceased to see any thing of Him with their eyes, or even to remember His name. They at last began to worship, instead, other gods or idols of their own invention, the images of the self ish desires of their own hearts. Then, in mercy, the Lord appeared to Abraham, and to his descendants, Isaac and Jacob, and afterwards to Moses. He made Himself known to them by His name Jehovah. He led them out first from their idolatrous native land, and after wards from their bondage in Egypt, into possession of the heaven-like promised land of Canaan. He gave them the in structions and commandments which were needed to bring them out of their burdensome life of slavery to selfishness, into such a life of love to the Lord and the neighbor as would In what form and condition were men created? What were they thus able to re ceive ? and what ideas could they have ? How long did this state continue? What is said of their posterity ? To what did they close their minds ? What did they lose ? and what was the consequence? What ceased as they ceased to turn towards Him? What did they begin to worship ? To whom did the Lord then ap pear ? By what name did He make Himself known? Where did He lead them? What instructions and commands did He give them? 4 CONCERNING THE LORD. prepare them for living in heaven ; and this very change from the bondage of selfishness to the freedom of heavenly life was represented by their being led out of Egypt into Canaan, and by all the particulars of their deliverance and journey. The commandments and revelations then given by the Lord were written down by Moses, and are preserved for the instruction of all mankind. They are contained in the five books of Moses, which form the first part of the Old Testament. But the children of Jacob, or Israel, who were called the Israelites, and afterwards, in part, the Jews, did not long obey even those commands which were necessary for them to obey in order that they might remain in the land of Canaan ; and they neglected the spirit of all the Lord's commands, so entirely, that they did not get from them any true idea of His character. They did not receive His love and wisdom, and so could have no true image of Him in their minds. It was even forbidden them by their teachers to pronounce His name Jehovah. The whole race of men on the earth was becoming so far removed from a heavenly life, that soon all would have been separated from the Lord, and lost : none could have been saved from selfishness and evil ; for none would have had any correct idea of the Lord, and of the nature of His heavenly kingdom. The Jews professed to believe in Him, and to obey His commandments : but their hearts were far from Him ; and their good works were done, not from any love to Him and to the neighbor, but for the sake of their own glory. Even How was this change of life repre sented? What was done with the commands then given? In what are they contained ? What is said of the children of Is rael ? What did they neglect? What did they not receive or have ? What was forbidden them ? What was happening to the race of men? Could none have been saved? and why not? What did the Jews profess to believe and to do? What is said of their hearts and good works? INTRODUCTORY. 0 the obscure and gross ideas of the Lord, which their fore fathers had received, the Jews made more obscure, more gross, and more like themselves. All the instruction and commands which had been revealed failed to save men, be cause of their hardness of heart. Prophets declared by divine inspiration what the Lord required, and foretold the misfortunes which would befall men if they did not amend their ways. Men did not listen to them ; but their prophecies were written down, and form the prophetical books of the Old Testament. At last, the Lord Himself came into the world, in the nature and form of a man, in order to save men from their sins, and to lead them back to Himself. He thus showed to men something of His divine love for them, and gave them a better understanding of His own nature, and of what He re quires from them, at the same time that, by living before them such a life as He desires them to live, He enabled them to live it, and to receive again something of His love and wis dom into their minds. Narratives of His life, and many of His words, were written and preserved by His disciples ; form ing the Gospels of the New Testament, which have been preached throughout the world. Thus was established the first Christian Church, composed of all who have believed these Gospels. The word " Testament," or, more properly, " Covenant," as applied to the two parts of the Bible, means a sign, or medium, of conjunction of man with the Lord. The words of the Old Testament expressed all the instruction which was given to the Jewish Church, by which they could obtain a What of their ideas of the Lord? Why did not the instruction which had been revealed save men? What did prophets declare ? What became of these prophecies ? What is said of the Lord's com ing? What did He show to men ? what did He give them ? and what, at the same time, did He do for them? How was the instruction of His life preserved ? What was thus established ? What does " Testament " mean ? Wha"t do the words of the Old Tes tament express ? 6 CONCERNING THE LORD. knowledge of the Lord and be conjoined to Him. The words of the New Testament, in connection with those of the Old, have been the means by which those who have com posed the Christian Church have obtained a knowledge of Him, and, so far as they have received this knowledge into their hearts and lives, have become conjoined to Him. The New Testament does not take the place of or supersede the Old Testament, but is rather the fulfilment and illustration of it. The words of the Lord, when in the world, often referred to and explained the words of the Old Testament ; and He expressly said that He came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil. But the words of the New Testa ment give much more perfect ideas of the Lord than we can obtain from the literal sense of the Old Testament ; and the words of the Old Testament, though no less important and useful than when first given, are now to be understood in accordance with the words of the New. In the Christian Church, as well as in the Jewish, the instruction which was given it has been perverted from its true meaning : for self-love, and the pride of self-intelligence, have again so blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of men, that they use their knowledge to sustain their natural selfish life, rather than to lift them out of it into heaven ; and as the Jews refused to receive the words which the Lord spoke to them, so now many of those who profess to believe in Him close their minds against the true meaning of these words, and against His Holy Spirit, which would call them to remembrance. Like the Jews, they have made the com mandments of God of none effect by their traditions. They What have the words of the New Testament been? What does the New Testament do for the Old? What is said of the Lord's words? and what did He say of the law and the prophets? What is said of the words of the New Testament? and what of the Old? What has happened in the Christian Church? What has self-love done ? In what do many resemble the Jews? What have they done like the Jews ? INTRODUCTORY. 7 have now no true image of Him in their minds, through which they may receive His pure and holy love and wis dom. It has now again become necessary for the Lord to make a new manifestation of Himself to men, which will recall them to the proper understanding of the revelations of Him self which He has previously made, and give such additional light as they are now able to receive. For although men are now very wicked, as they were at the time of the Lord's coming among the Jews, yet their minds are much more cul tivated and enlightened than were the minds of the Jews and the early Christians : those who now have something of a humble spirit, who are willing to learn about the Lord, to love Him, and to be His disciples, are able, to receive much more perfect ideas of Him than could have been re ceived at the time when He came among the Jews, and, if they put away their evils, come into a more spiritual and heavenly state of mind than was possible to men of that age. Thus the new manifestation of Himself which the Lord has now begun to make is much fuller and clearer than the previous manifestations. As the Lord said to the disciples, " These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs ; but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in pro verbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father," Johu xvi. 25. In Matthew we learn, that, after foretelling the devasta tion of the Church, He said, " Immediately after the tribu lation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken ; and then What have they not now ? What has now become neces sary ? What is the state of men now ? What is said of those who are hum ble? How does the new manifestation compare with the previous mani festations? What did the Lord say to the disci ples? What do we learn in Matthew ? 8 CONCERNING THE LORD. shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," chap. xxiv. 29, 30. These words have always been known to the Christian Church ; but it has not been known what they mean. It is not meant that the visible stars shall fall from heaven, nor that the sun of this world shall be darkened, and the moon not give her light ; nor is it meant that the Son of man (that is, the Lord) shall be seen coming in the clouds of vapor which surround this earth : but these things are all said figuratively, accordmg to the correspondence of natural things with spiritual ; as when the Lord said, in parable, "A sower went out to sow ; " and afterwards explained that the sower was Himself, and that the seed was the Word. By the sun which should be darkened, and the moon which should not give her light, is meant the Lord Himself, who appears in heaven as a sun to those who specially de light in receiving the warmth of His love, and as a moon to those who specially delight in receiving the light of His wis dom. By His appearance being darkened, and not giving light, is meant the state of men, — that they have not been willmg to receive His love and wisdom into their minds, and so have not recognized Him as the Source of all love and wis dom. By the stars falling from heaven is meant that men have lost or destroyed all real knowledge of what is good and true. By the Son of man's coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory is meant the Lord's showing Himself clearly, and in the glory of His real charac ter, through the words of the Scriptures. Have these words been understood ? What is not meant? What about the Son of man ? In what way are these things said ? What is meant by the sun and the moon? What by the sun's being darkened ? What by the stars faUing from heaven ? What by the Son of man's coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory? INTRODUCTORY. The literal meaning of the words of the Scriptures often conveys but very imperfect and obscure ideas of the Lord ; for they were so written as to convey some idea to the gross people to whom they were first given. Their real inward meaning could not have been understood by these people ; and it was therefore veiled as with a cloud by the literal mean ing, through which men may see as much or as little of the real divine meaning as they are capable of comprehending. To such as read the Word without loving the Lord, or lifting their eyes to Him, the cloud is thick and dark, transmitting little or no light ; but, to those who love to see all they can of the Lord's love and wisdom in His words, the cloud is full of light, enlightening their minds, and filling the words with love and power. The Lord now begins to come to us most manifestly and fully in these clouds of heaven, by revealing to men the interior, heavenly meaning of all the Scriptures. For this purpose, He has formed and prepared the mind of a man (Emanuel Swedenborg) with wonderful rational power and great learning, and with extraordinary humbleness, and good ness of heart, so that he could be visibly in company with angels, and could understand the Word in its heavenly light, at the same time that he was living in this world, and in such possession of his bodily faculties as to be able to write and publish what he thus learned. Beginning at Moses and the prophets, the Lord now ex pounds to us through Swedenborg, as He did to two of His disciples, in all the Scriptures, things concerning Himself. What does the literal meaning of the Scriptures convey? How were they written ? What is said of their real meaning? To whom is the cloud dark? To whom is it light? How does the Lord now come? What has He done for this pur pose ? For what was he thus prepared ? What could he be doing at the same time? What does the Lord now expound to us? 10 CONCERNING THE LORD. We now learn that every part of the Scriptures contains, in its internal or heavenly sense, instruction concerning Him who made us in the beginning ; and who labors continually to save us from our sins, that we may become children of His heavenly kingdom. We learn that the God who made the heavens and the earth — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — is He who bowed the heavens, and came down ; who suffered Himself to be born as a little child upon earth, that He might become God-with-us. We learn that He thus came upon earth, not to be with men for a life-span only, but, by thus taking upon Himself human nature, to dwell ever after with us, nearer than man or spirit or angel can be, and to give directly into our hearts the life of His Holy Spirit. Only His outward manifestation to the world ceased with the laying- down of the earthly body. He is now, more completely than before, God-with-us ; and manifests Llimself as such to all who love Llim and keep His words. Let us, then, look up to Him with grateful love and confi dence, and learn with careful attention all that we can about Him, about His kingdom, and about the way in which He would lead us to live, in order that we may come into it. Let us do this, not for the sake of appearing good and wise, nor even for a selfish desire for the happiness of heaven, but from a sincere and earnest desire to draw near to Him, and to do His will on earth as it is done in heaven. What do we now learn about the Scriptures? What about the Lord ? What about His thus coming upon earth? What manifestation ceased ? What is said of Him now? and to whom does He manifest Himself? How should we look to Him? and what should we learn? From what motive should we do this? GOD IS ONE, AND THE ONLY ONE. 11 CHAPTER II. GOD IS ONE, AND THE ONLY ONE. A S an introduction to the first and greatest of all com mandments, it is said, " Hear, 0 Israel : The Lord our God is one Lord," Deut. vi. 4 ; Mark xii. 29. There is nothing more important for us to know of the Lord, our Cre ator, than this, — that He is One, and the Only One ; that there is no other God besides Him. That the Lord, our Creator and Redeemer, is one God, and that there is no other God, is plainly declared through out the Scriptures. In the first of the Ten Commandments it is said, " Thou shalt have no other gods before me." In Isaiah we read, " Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts : I am the First, and I am the Last; and beside me there is no God," xliv. 6. " Is there a God beside me ? Yea, there is no God : I know not any," xliv. 8. " I am the Lord that maketh all things ; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone ; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself," xliv. 24. " I am the Lord, and there is none else : . there is no God beside me," xiv. 5. " For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens ; God Himself, that formed the earth, and made it ; He hath established it ; He created it not in vain ; He formed it to be inhabited : I am the Lord ; and there is none else," What is the subject of this chapter ? What is the introduction to the great commandment ? What is most important for us to know ? What is plainly declared in the Scriptures? What is said in the first command ment? What in Isaiah ? 12 CONCERNING THE LORD. xiv. 18. In the Gospel of John it is said, "All things were made by ITim, and without Him was not any thing made that was made," i. 3. And in the Revelation to John : " Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." — "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power : for Thou hast created all things ; and for Thy pleasure they are, and were created," iv. 8, 11. "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and mar vellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name ? For Thou only art holy," xv. 3, 4. "• I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last," xxii. 13. Similar things we find in many other places. The Word of God is the manifestation of His love and wisdom in the language of men. Every word of it, inte riorly understood, has reference to Him ; and thus every part is written in perfect accordance with the truth that He is one, and with constant reference to His oneness. The case is similar with the speech of the angels in heaven. The atmosphere in which they live and breathe comes directly from the sun of heaven, in which the Lord is : and it is impossible to speak in this atmosphere the name of Gods ; that is, of more than one God. And because all the thought of angels is from the one God, and connected with Him, the sentences of their speech (Swedenborg tells us) close with an accent of unity. Indeed, as all the life, both of angels and men, flows into them from the Lord, they cannot think of more than one God, without doing violence to the life which is in them ; nor can men, unless they have What is said in John ? What in the Revelation? What do we find in other places? What is the Word of God? What is said of every word ? What is said of the speech of angels ? What of their thought aud their sen tences ? What is said of the life and thought of angels and men ? GOD IS ONE, AND THE ONLY ONE. 13 so filled their minds with false ideas, that the life which they receive is perverted. Well-disposed people, of simple, honest hearts, by receiv ing this influx of life from the Lord through heaven, with out perversion, have from it an instinctive perception that there is one only God. Even the better part of Heathen nations believe in one only God, although they have many erroneous ideas of Him. The Mohammedans have a cus tom of frequently exclaiming, " There is one God," or " God is one ; " and we may suppose this to have had, re motely, a heavenly origin, although they add that " Moham med is Llis prophet." The interior perception that there is one God, the Maker and Preserver of all things, flows into man from heaven while he is willing to love and obey Him. But, when selfish and evil desires close the heart against the Lord, then the mind is also closed against a true understanding or percep tion of His nature. In place of the one only true God, men then think but of such powers, or such manifestations of the Divine Power, as they feel obliged to look to for help or pro tection in their selfish pursuits. In the Most Ancient Church on earth, men were of such a simple, childlike, angelic disposition, that they freely received the heavenly idea of the one God by immediate perception and revelation. In the succeeding Ancient Church, men formed their ideas of God more by their own intelligence : the various attributes of the Divinity they called by different names ; and these,' in later, degenerate times, came to be What perception have well-disposed people ? What is believed among the Hea then? What custom have the Mohamme dans? What perception flows into man? and when? When is the mind closed against it? What do men then think of in place of the true God ? What is said of the men of the Most Ancient Church ? How was it with the men of the succeeding Church? What did they call by different names ? How were these afterwards regard ed? 14 CONCERNING THE LORD. regarded and worshipped as different personages. Hence came the Grecian mythology, in which various gods were worshipped, as Jupiter, Venus, Apollo, Minerva, and others ; and all the various kinds of idolatry, in which human beings,- animals, and many earthly objects, have been worshipped as the seat of some superhuman or divine power. Again, in the decline of the first Christian Church, men have so far forgotten the oneness of God as to make of Him three persons, according to the three names by which He is spoken of in the Gospels, — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three, they say, are three persons, al though they call them one God. Such is the system of doctrine which is even now taught in the Christian world to the great mass of the people. But we are not to suppose that all who hear these doctrines, and imagine that they believe them, do really in heart believe in three different Divine Persons ; for the light flowing in from heaven gives a perception of the one only God to all whose hearts are open to heavenly influences, however they may be taught to think and speak of more than one. From Swedenborg we learn that it is common for the inhabitants of other earths to have a knowledge of the one only God by perception and immediate revelation from heaven, as was the case with the most ancient men on our earth. On this earth, men now attend less to what is com municated to their minds interiorly from heaven than do the inhabitants of other earths, and more to natural things and the study of natural sciences. But as the whole natural world, and all things in it, are created by the one only God, and receive their life from Him ; so the study of them and What came from this ? What has taken place in the Chris tian Church? What do they say of these three ? To whom is this taught? Do all who are so taught believe in three Gods? Why not ? What do we learn about the inha bitants of other earths? What do men on this earth now t most attend to ? What does the study of natural things show ? and why ? GOD IS ONE, AND THE ONLY ONE. 15 of their laws shows that there is one God, their Maker and Preserver. Those who study the works of Nature wisely, see a wonderful unity and harmony of design, that shows them, as in a mirror, the unity and infinite goodness, wisdom and power, of the Creator. We know well, that, in every thing which men make for themselves, it is necessary that there should be one man to plan all the parts in harmony with each other, so as to make the whole complete, and able to effect its intended use. As, for example, even in a coat : one mind must plan the size and shape of all the parts, in order that they may fit to gether, and make an entire and perfect coat. So with a house : one mind must plan or combine all the parts of it, — their forms, their sizes, and their relative positions, — other wise the parts would not fit together, and form an orderly and serviceable whole. So with a ship : every part must fit into its place beside its fellows, supporting them in their ser vice, and performing its own peculiar portion of the general use. This could not be effected unless the forms, the sizes, and the arrangement of all the parts, should be determined by one builder. If this is so with the rude constructions of men, how much more certainly must it be so with the works of Nature, as we call them, so infinitely complicated and in finitely perfect, as compared with the works of men ! It is plain to see, in the infinite variety and wonderful order and mutual adaptation of the various parts of the human body, that they must have been all formed by one wise Maker. So, too, from the similarity with harmonious variety in families and nations, and from the various relations What do those see who study wisely the works of Nature? What do we know about things which men make? How is it with a coat? How with a house ? How with a ship ? How only can this be effected ? How must it be with the works of Nature ? What do we see in the parts of the human body? What do we see in families and na tions ? 16 CONCERNING THE LORD. and connections between them, we may know with certainty that they were all made and are preserved by one Creator. And as it is with men, so it is with all the animals, birds, fishes, insects, and other living things on the earth : for they are intimately connected with each other in all degrees of similarity, with infinite, orderly variety; so that they form, when taken together, a perfect series, all the way from those animals which can hardly be distinguished from vegetables, even to the most perfect. Again : with vegetation we find a most beautiful series, from the hard, dry lichen, which is almost mistaken for the rock on which it grows, up to the delicate flowers of the gar den, to the noble oaks of the forest, and to the fruit-trees bearing all delicious fruits. Even the stones and earths have their orderly connections, and their degrees of purity and value, from the rough stones of the wayside to the beautiful marbles and to the precious ruby and diamond. In each of these wonderful series, it is plain, to any one who thinks about it, that every particular of the series must be created by one and the same Creator from whom it has its constant life. From the wonderful connection, too, of these different series with each other ; from their all showing similar modes or laws of progression, from the simplest to the most perfect; and from their mutual dependence upon and use to one an other, — it is impossible for us not to see that all the different series of substances and beings are created and preserved by the same one and only Creator : for it is seen that every part of the earth, and every thing on it, are created with a With what else is it as with men ? How are they connected ? and what do they form ? What do we find with vegeta tion? How is it with stones? What is plain in these series ? From what facts about these differ ent series do we see that they are all created by the same Be ing? What is seen about every part of the earth, and every thing on it? GOD IS ONE, AND THE ONLY ONE. 17 knowledge of every other part, and with constant reference to the whole. And when we look beyond this earth, to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the distant stars, we see that they, too, are all created and move with constant reference to each other, in perfect harmony, and in accordance with the same laws that govern the motion and condition of this earth and of all things upon it. This all shows what we are taught in the Word, — that the whole universe, boundless as it seems, is created and governed and sustained by the same one and only God who made all things, and without whom was not any thing made that was made. What do we see about the sun, I What is shown by all this ? moon, &c. ? 18 CONCERNING THE LORD. CHAPTER III. GOD IS LIFE, AND THE ONLY SOURCE OF LIFE. TT7"E have learned that there is one only God, who is the * ' Creator of all things. We are now to learn that He not only creates them at the beginning, but that He also sus tains them and gives them all their life at every moment : thus that lie alone is Life itself, and the constant Source of life to every being and thing that exists. We read in Genesis that " the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul," Gen. ii. 7. And in the Psalms of David, "With Thee is the Fountain of life," xxxvi. 9. " Oh, bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of His praise to be heard ; who holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved," Ixvi. 9. And in the Gospel of John, "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was Life ; and the Life was the light of men," i. 3, 4. We know very well that we are not able to make even so much as one hair of our heads ; and yet it seems to us, until we have learned better, that, after being created and born into life, we have life in ourselves, and live of ourselves. But let us consider how it is with things of our own making. What is the subject of this third chapter ? What have we learned previous ly? What are we now to learn ? What do we read in Genesis? What in the Psalms? What in the Gospel of John? What do we know very well ? and what seems to us? GOD IS LIFE, AND THE ONLY SOURCE OF LIFE. 19 We make a watch, with its springs and wheels and dial ; but, when all complete, not a wheel will move unless we apply some power to turn it. We apply the needful power through our fingers and a key, and the wheels revolve in their order. To save the trouble of turning all the time, we apply at once power enough to turn the wheels all day ; and we apply it to a spring so arranged with checks and balances as to hold the power, and give it out, little by little, as it is wanted to keep the wheels in uniform motion through the day ; and, when this power is used up, we apply enough again for another day. So with a steam-engine. We build it complete in all its parts, ready to drive a steamship across the ocean, or a train of cars over the iron road. But it cannot move one stroke of itself, when all done. It is all cold and dead and motionless, until we fill its boiler with water, and heat the water with fire. Heat is full of power and activity ; and, when applied to water, it fills the water with power, expands it into steam, and fills the steam with such power as will move the whole machinery of our engine, and carry the ship over the water, or the cars over the land. Nothing that we can make has any power of its own to move or act ; but it must be continually supplied with power from another source. So it is with every thing that is made by the great Creator. He creates beings and things of most wonderful forms and capacities for receiving life and power, and for using it for some good purpose ; and He fills them so constantly with life from Himself, that none of them know otherwise than that the life they receive is their own. Yet, What is said of making a watch ? How do we apply power ? How do we make it continue for some time? What do we do when the power is all used up? What is said of building a steam- engine? Can it move of itself ? What is necessary to move it ? What does heat do ? What is said of things we make ? How is it with what is made by the great Creator? What does He create ? What does He fill them with? 20 CONCERNING THE LORD. if this life should be withheld for a moment ; if, for a moment, they should cease to receive this life from their Creator, — they would be motionless and dead at the instant. It is easy to see that a plant has not of itself the power to produce leaves, one after another, in their perfect form and order, nor to shape its beautiful flower and delicious fruit. These are works far beyond even the power of man to pro duce ; and much farther beyond the power of a simple plant, which can neither see nor hear nor think nor speak, nor even move from one place to another. We know that it is not the plant that has the wisdom and power to produce such beauty and use, but that this productive and fruitful life is given to the plant at every moment from its Maker. So soon as the influx of this life ceases, the plant withers and dies. So with animals. We see an ugly worm crawl up a tree and under a piece of bark. Here he winds himself about with a silken web till he is shut up in a tight case, in which he lies or hangs as dead in his coffin, without desire or power to move. In time, a change comes slowly over him ; and, when this is complete, his power of motion returns, and with it desire and need of food and air. He eats his way through his prison-shell, and comes out a beautiful butterfly, as differ ent in appearance from what he was before, as a delicate flower is different from its simple seed or homely root. No one can suppose that this grovelling worm had the wisdom or the power to produce from itself the gay butterfly. We know well that such a work as this is far beyond the power and wisdom even of a man ; and much more is it beyond the power and wisdom of a simple worm. We see plainly that all the life and power of the worm must have been given it What if this life should be with held? What is it easy to see of a plant ? What is said of these works ? What do we know ? What if this influx of Hfe ceases ? How is it with animals ? What does a worm do ? What changes come over him? What cannot we suppose ? What do we know well ? What do we see plainly ? GOD IS LIFE, AND THE ONLY SOURCE OF LIFE. 21 every moment from its infinitely wise and powerful Maker ; while the worm itself, or the butterfly, had little more know ledge given it than enough to eat when it was hungry, and to protect itself in some degree from harm. For these things, indeed, it has a wonderful instinctive knowledge ; but even this knowledge and life it receives every moment from its Maker. See the little sparrow's egg lying close by its brother-eggs in its snug little nest under a tuft of grass. Its tender shell is of a beautiful form, spotted all over with brown. Within is the little round yolk, floating in a whitish or transparent liquid. This is -what we should now see if the egg were opened. But wait a few days, while the mother-bird sits over her eggs and keeps them warm, and then what a change comes on ! There is a slight pecking against the shell from the in side : the shell is broken a little, and a faint peep is heard from within ; the shell is broken more and more, until out comes a little, live bird, tender and feeble at first, but soon to grow strong, and to fly about and sing with its mother- sparrow. Who has done all this ? Who has changed the simple yolk and white of the egg into the perfectly, wonderfully formed little sparrow ? The mother-bird has done nothing about it but to keep it warm, and sheltered from harm. Nor is it possible that the egg itself should have the power of changing itself from simple egg to living bird. The sub stance of the egg is changed into the bird by a slow and steady growth ; so that we say it grows into the perfect bird. But it cannot so grow of itself. It is not possible that the What knowledge had the worm ? What is said of this knowledge ? How do we see the sparrow's egg? What is said of its shell? and what is within it? ^ What happens in a few days ? What further change ? What questions are asked about the egg and sparrow ? What has the mother-bird done ? What is said of the power of the eKg? What of the substance of the egg? Had it the power to make this change itself ? 22 CONCERNING THE LORD. simple matter of the egg should have the wisdom and the power to produce a living bird ; for this is far beyond the wisdom and power of men. We see plainly that the life in the egg which causes it to grow into a bird must be given it continually from its Maker, who is the constant Source of all life, and without whom not a sparrow falleth to the ground. Thus we can readily see in all humbler animals, that they have no power of life in -themselves, but must be constantly dependent for all their life upon their Creator. And it is easy to see that the same thing is true of infants and chil dren. But as we grow up, and begin to act of ourselves, we are liable to lose sight of our constant dependence upon our Creator for all our life. It seems to us as if we had life in ourselves, from which we think and speak and act. When we see our bodies grow and gain in strength, we sometimes think that it is our eating suitable food, or taking proper ex ercise, that is the cause ; and, when our minds enlarge and increase in capacity, we think that this is effected by the learning we acquire, or by the exertions of mind we make. But, if we consider more carefully, we may see clearly what we are taught in the Word of the Lord, — that we cannot make one hair white or black ; that, so far from being the source of our own life, we cannot add one cubit to our stature at our will. The food we eat is the means by which our bodies are made to grow in size and strength : but the food itself has nothing at all of the wisdom and power necessary for the formation and wonderful development of our bodies ; nor has the body itself any thing of this wisdom and power. The body, in itself, is as dead, and incapable of motion, as a What do we see plainly ? What can we see in all humbler ani mals? What in infants and children? What are we liable to as we grow up? What seems to us ? What do we think of our bodies and of our minds? What may we see clearly, if we con sider ? What is said of the food we eat ? What is saicl of the body ? What of its lifelessness ? GOD IS LIFE, AND THE ONLY SOURCE OF LIFE. 23 piece of machinery made by ourselves : but it is so wonder fully and perfectly constructed, that, while life is breathed into it from its Maker, its various parts can all work together, each performing some use for all the rest ; appearing as if each had independent life of its own, when yet in themselves they are dead, and only live by receiving life each moment from their Maker. The soul, or mind, has much more life than the body. It has the power of loving, thinking, and causing the body to do what it desires. There is danger, therefore, of our fall ing into the way of supposing, that our souls have their life in themselves and from themselves. We know, however, that they cannot possibly have made themselves, but must have been made, as well as their bodies, by the only infinitely wise and powerful Creator. We know, that, besides being made by the Creator, they must also receive their life from Him ; and we may perceive, if we will, that this life cannot be given to live of itself, independent of its Source, but must come from Him continually, and so be renewed at every mo ment. As the food of the body is the means by which its growth and strength are attained ; so mental food, or good feeling and true thought, is the means for attaining growth and strength of the mind. But mental food has no more the wisdom and power necessary for giving life to the mind, than bodily food has the wisdom and power necessary for giving life to the body. Nor has the soul itself any more power to re-create itself by means of this food than the body has ; but the same Power is needed for the constant renewal of the life of the soul, as well as of the body, which made them What of its wonderful construction ? How is it, in fact, with every part ? What is said of the life of the soul ? What power has it? What clanger is there ? What do we know? What more do we know ? What may we perceive ? Of what use is the food of body and mind? What is said of its power of giving life? What of the soul's power ? What power is needed ? 24 CONCERNING THE LORD. in the beginning. If, for a single instant, our life should be cut off from its Source, from our Creator, we should perish. If, for one instant, our life should fail to come to us from Him, we should cease to exist. In Llim is Life ; and the Life is the light of men. If His life should be cut off from us, our life would be extinguished as suddenly and completely as a ray of sunlight is extinguished when it is cut off from its source, — the natural sun. As it is with the life of men, of animals, and of plants, so it is with all the life of the world. Nothing can exist at all without some degree of life or vitality. Even the rocks have a certain kind of life, though it is very feeble and limited ; and all this Life, from first to last, comes from the one only Source of life, — the great Creator of all. It comes not only once, at the beginning or creation of all things, but continually, as long as they exist. Much of this life comes, indeed, through the sun of this world ; but this sun is a representative, to the natural world, of the Lord, who is as a spiritual Sun to the spiritual world. It receives all its own life from the spiritual Sun, and is a medium of this life to material things. The sun, the moon, and the stars, as well as the earth and all things upon it, depend each moment for their life and existence upon the one only Source of life, — the Creator, — who alone lives always and for ever of Himself. In the heavens, it is the highest delight of the angels to perceive interiorly that all their life flows into them from the Lord ; and, in proportion as they have this perception, they What if our life should be cut off from its Source? What if our life should fail to come to us? What is in Him? What if this should be cut off ? With what else is it as with men? Can any thing exist without life? What is said of the rocks ? Whence is this life ? When- does it come ? Through what does much of it come? What is said of the natural sun ? What is said of its life? What is said of the sun, moon, and stars ? What is the highest delight of the angels ? GOD IS LIFE, AND THE ONLY SOURCE OF LIFE. 25 are in wisdom and happiness. For, in proportion as they per ceive that all their life is from the Lord, they love to receive it, and to act from it in doing His will. Thus they are en abled to receive more and more of His love and life, from which is all wisdom and all happiness. So may it be in some degree even with us in this world, if we seek to acknowledge constantly that all our life is from the Lord, and strive to live as we know that He desires to have us live. What is said of their life ? I By what means may it be so with What do they thus receive? | us? 26 CONCERNING THE LORD. CHAPTER IV. GOD IS ETERNAL AND INFINITE : HE IS OMNIPOTENT, OMNI PRESENT, AND OMNISCIENT. "YT7~E have learned that all created beings have their life * ' continually from God, their Creator, who alone lives always and for ever of and from Himself. He is Life and Being itself ; and from Him all others have their life and be ing. The whole world is His, and He made it. " The heavens are Thine ; the earth also is Thine : as for the world, and the fulness thereof, Thou hast founded them," Ps. xxxix. 11. The whole universe is in His hand: its space and its time are to Him as nothing ; for He was before all, and is over all ; and upon Him do all things depend for their form and existence. The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. " A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past," Ps. xc. 4. " Thy years are throughout all genera tions. Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure ; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment ; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed : but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end," Ps. cii. 24-27. The eternity and infinity of Him who is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, cannot be comprehended What is the subject of this fourth chapter? What have we learned? What is said of the Lord's being Life? What is said of the world? What is said in the Psalms? What is said of the universe? What is said of the heaven of heavens ? What is said in the Psalms? What in another Psalm ? What is said of the Lord's eternity and infinitv ? GOD IS ETERNAL AND INFINITE. 27 by us ; for we are but a minute portion of His universe, as a drop in the ocean. We can form no proper conception of His eternity ; for if we add years to years, and centuries to centuries, — thousands of thousands, and millions of millions, of them together, until wc have gone far beyond such a length of time as wc can form any definite idea of, — we are still as far from a just idea of His eternity as when we began. Times upon times, and ages upon ages, are but transient things to Him who creates them, and who, from their begin ning, knows their end. The very idea of time is but an inferior idea, belonging only to this natural world of material things. The angels do not number years, or grow old, as men in this world ; but, instead, they advance for ever into more and more perfect states of love and wisdom. Instead of time, they think of progression of state as to wisdom ; and, instead of thinking of the eternal duration of their life, they think of the unending progress they can make in wisdom, without the possibility of attaining to the Divine Wisdom ; and instead of thinking about the eternity of God as an eter nity of time, without beginning or end, they think about the infinite perfection or the divinity of His Wisdom. We cannot form any proper idea of the Lord's immensity by trying to extend our ideas through the whole boundless universe, and by thinking that all these heavens of heavens cannot contain Him who created them ; for the very idea of space is a natural idea, belonging only to this natural world. Space is but the limited earthly representation of quality or state as to good. Difference in this is what causes all ap- Can we form a just conception of His eternity by thinking of years after years ? What is said of times and ages? What is the idea of time? Do the angels number years ? What do they think of instead of time ? What instead of length of life ? How do they think about the eter nity of Uod? How cannot we form an idea of the Lord's immensity ? What is said of the idea of space ? and where does it belong? What is space ? What causes appearance of space in the spiritual world? 28 CONCERNING THE LORD. pearance of space in the spiritual world. Space in the natu ral world describes the magnitude and importance of the sun and the earth, and the distance between them ; also the magnitude and importance of things on the earth, and the distance between them : and, in the spiritual world, that which is represented by space, quality of love, or life, deter mines the importance and usefulness of every one ; and difference in quality of love determines the distance of one from another. Thus, instead of the immensity of God, the angels think of the infinite perfection or divinity of His Love ; instead of the distance between themselves and Him, they think of the difference between their imperfect love and His Divine Love ; and, instead of the space between themselves and each other, they think of their difference in state, or quality of love. Instead of passing through space in order to come near to each other, they enter into similar states of affection, and then they are near together at once ; and, instead of endea voring to advance through space to draw near to the Lord, they endeavor to receive more and more perfectly His Love in themselves, and thus to make their state more and more nearly in accordance with His state. Thus the true way to form proper ideas of the immensity and eternity of God i3 to think of the infinite perfection or divinity of the Love and Wisdom which are His life. Infinite Love and Infinite Wisdom are the Lord Himself : they are His very essence. Every created thing is in some degree an image of its Creator, or of something in Him, What .does space describe in the na tural world ? What does quality of love do in the spiritual world? What do the angels think of instead of the immensity of God ? What instead of the distance or space between themselves and the Lord and others? How do they go to each other? How do they approach the Lord ? What is the true way to form pro per ideas of the immensity and eternity of God? What is said of Infinite Love and Wisdom ? What is every created thing an image of? GOD IS ETERNAL AND INFINITE. 29 either in its purity, as it is in Him, or in its perversion, as it is with imperfect and wicked men. So wo can see in every thing, that its essence is in some degree an image of the Love and Wisdom which are the essence of the Creator. Thus, in man, we see that his whole life, or essence, con sists in will, or desire, and in understanding, or thought. In the will or love which a man has, is his sole life or energy. Every thing which he does, is done from some motive or desire or affection of his love or will. Without any love or will, he would be as lifeless as a stone. But will or love alone is not enough to make a man. He must also have some understanding or intelligence to direct his will. Love or will alone cannot do any thing ; for it knows not how. It is like a bird flying without eyes : it could find nothing it wanted, and might fly straight against a wall, or right down to the ground. A man may desire or will to do good to his neighbor ; but, unless he has some knowledge or understanding to show him how to do it, he can do nothing ; and, if he attempts it, he will be likely to injure both his neighbor and himself, rather than do any good. For every useful action that men can do, they need the will to do it, and also understanding or knowledge how to do it ; and that this is the case with man, is because it is so with the Lord, who has created him in His own image and likeness. With the Lord Himself, every thing, even to the smallest particular that He does, is done from His Infinite Love by means of His Infinite Wisdom ; and, as this is the nature and order of His life and of His works, every created thing What can we see in every thing? What do we see in man? In what is man's life? From what does he do every thing? What would he be without love or will? Does he need any thing more ? What? Can love do any thing alone ? What is it like? What about a man's desiring to do good ? What if he attempts it ? What do men need for every useful action? Why is this so with man? How is every thing done by the Creator? What foUows from this being His nature and order? 30 CONCERNING THE LORD. has the same nature and order impressed upon it. Every thing has a certain intention or effort which is its life or will, and also a certain knowledge or instinct or law by which its intention is effected. Every animal has its love or desire for certain purposes or actions, and also its instinctive know ledge of the way to effect them. The bird loves to move rapidly through the air ; and it has an instinctive knowledge how to move its wings. So with the movement of the fish in the sea, and of the animals that walk and run upon the land. All animals have a love or desire for food ; and they have an instinctive knowledge of what food is good for them, where to find it, and how to obtain it. They have also a love for their young, — for nourishing and protecting them ; and they have an instinctive knowledge of the way to do it. Their instinctive life makes them desirous to protect it from harm ; and they have instinctive knowledge of their best means of protection. These various forms of love, with the instinctive knowledges belonging to them, are the seat of the animal's life. Into them the life given by their Creator flows with all the power necessary to carry them into effect. Thus even the love and the instinctive wisdom of the animal, which are his life, in some degree image forth the Divine Love and Wisdom which are the life of his Creator. Even plants have for their life a kind of effort or desire for growing and bearing fruit ; and they have each certain laws peculiar to the particular species, by which their growth is regulated and perfected. The effort, or life, and the laws of it, are not under the control of the plant, but pro- What two things has every created thing? What has every animal? What is said of the bird? What of other moving animals? What have animals in relation to food? What in relation to their young ? What is said of these loves and their knowledges? What flows into them ? What does the animal's love and its wisdom image forth? What have plants? What is said of their effort of life and its laws ? GOD IS ETERNAL AND INFINITE. 31 ceed continually from its Creator ; and they are, in their degree, images of His Love and Wisdom. Stones have their degree of life ; which is a certain energy of their particles, disposing them to form certain combina tions, and causing them to do it whenever they are free : and they have certain orders or laws, according to which their combinations are effected. The beautiful crystals of quartz, of ruby, and of diamond, are the results of this effort or life which the stone receives from its Maker, acting in accordance with its peculiar law or order of action ; and this energy, with its law and order from the Creator, are an image of His Love or energy, and of His Wisdom or order. The natural sun, which is the natural representative of the spiritual Sun, gives a complete natural image of the Lord's Life. For as the sun of this world pours forth its heat and light, which are its life, throughout the world, and is thus a medium from the Lord of life and motion to every thing in it ; so the Lord Himself, as the Sun of heaven, pours forth His Life, that is, His Love and His Wisdom, which are the heat and the light and the life not only of heaven, but of all the universe. " His going-forth is from the end of the heaven, and His circuit unto the ends of it ; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof," Ps. xix. 6. The Lord's Love is pure, holy, divine love towards others. Pure love is the love of giving all that one has, even his very life, to others, without desire for self. In all the love which we know in men, there is some selfishness. A child loves its mother, and there is something of pure, disinterested love in its affection ; but there is mingled with it much What have stones ? And what more ? What is said of crystals ? What does this energy with its law image ? What is said of the natural sun ? What does the sun do ? And what does the Lord do as the Sun of heaven ? What is said in the Psalms? What is the Lord's Love ? What is pure love ? What is there in all men's love ? What is said of a child's love ? 62 CONCERNING THE LORD. selfish regard for her, merely because of what she does to gratify its selfish pleasures. A father loves his child, and he may have some true love for it ; but much of his love is founded in his feeling that the child is his own, and that whatever increases the good of the child adds to his own possessions. A man loves his wife, and the wife loves her husband : but their love depends in some degree on the feel ing that the one they love is their own, and contributes to their own selfish comfort ; and, so far, their love is not pure love of the good of others, but the impure love of self. The Lord's Love alone is, perfectly pure love towards others. All good love in angels and men comes from His Love ; and the love of every one is impure and imperfect, compared with His. The Lord's love of giving all that He has, even His own life, to others, is the cause of His creating the universe, with all things therein. He creates beings to whom He can communicate His life of love and wisdom. For this end they all are, and were created. For this end He creates all inferior creatures, with the earths on which they live, and the suns to give them life, that they may all serve as means for the creation and development of man. And men are created in the image and likeness of the Lord Himself in order that they may become as perfect recipients of Him as it is possible for created beings to be, and that they may all together form a heaven to receive His Love and Wisdom with greater and greater fulness and perfection for ever. As the Lord is thus pure Love itself, and the Source of all love, so He is also perfect Wisdom itself, and the only What of a father's love ? What of the love of a husband and wife? What alone is perfectly pure love ? What is said of the love of angels and men? What is the cause of the Lord's cre ating the universe ? Whom does He create ? What is for this end ? What else is done for this end? Why are men created in the image - and likeness of the Lord ? What are they created to form ? The Lord is pure Love, and what else? GOD IS ETERNAL AND INFINITE. 33 Source of wisdom. As wisdom is the form of love, and is its mode of action, the wisdom is perfect as its love is per fect. The love cannot exist without its wisdom, nor can there be wisdom except from its love. The Divine Wis dom of the Lord is the form of His Divine Love, and per fectly united with it ; and as the Divine Love is Infinite Love to others, so the Divine Wisdom is Infinite Wisdom for carrying this Love into effect. As there is no limit to the Divine Love, so there is no limit to the Divine Wisdom. Both are infinite and eternal. They form the Divine Life from which are all things, and which is all-powerful ; which is the constant Source of life to every thing, and is thus always everywhere present, seeing and knowing every thing that exists and every thing that occurs. Hence the Lord is rightly said to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. But when we say that the Lord is omnipotent, or all- powerful, we must not suppose that He can do every thing that we can imagine. His power is greater than we can possibly imagine ; but it proceeds from His love and His wisdom, and therefore it cannot act contrary to their order. The Lord cannot act contrary to Himself. As His power comes from His Love, there is no power to act contrary to His Love ; and, as His Wisdom is the form and order of His Love, there is no power to act contrary to the order of His Wisdom. For example : as it is of His Love to love men, and to endeavor to make them happy, it is not possible for Him to hate them, and to endeavor to make them miserable ; and, as it is of the order of. Divine Wisdom that the happi- What is wisdom ? and what its qua lity? Can love or wisdom exist alone ? What is the Divine Wisdom? Is there any limit to it ? What are they both ? What do they form ? And what is said of the Divine Life? What is the Lord rightly said to be ? What must we not suppose about the Lord's omnipotence? What is said of His power? How cannot the Lord act ? What is said of His power in relation to His love ? What in relation to His wisdom? What about His love of men ? What about the order of Divine Wisdom in relation to men? 34 CONCERNING THE LORD. ness of men should consist in love to the Lord and the neighbor, it is not possible for Him to make them truly happy while they are in the love of self. Every imaginable good thing, that would be really good for men, the Lord can do, and, at the right time, does : it is only impossible for Him to do any wrong, or any thing that is not for the best good of all. Thus we see, that, to have a proper idea of the Lord, we must think, as the angels do, of His Infinite, Divine Love of giving forth His life to others whom He creates to receive it ; and, together with His Divine Love, we must think of His Infinite Divine Wisdom, the perfect form of the Divine Love. We must think of these as His Divine Life, which is Life itself, or the only Life from which every thing is. We must think of this Life, not as existing in any particular place, but as the great Infinite Life or Being from which and in which even all space exists ; and then we can begin to have some idea of His infinity, eternity, omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. What is possible to the Lord, and what is not possible? How must we think, to have a pro per idea of the Lord ? How must we think of these ? How must we think of this Life ? What can we then begin to have some idea of ? THE LORD, OUR REDEEMER AND SAVIOUR. 35 CHAPTER V. THE LORD, OUR REDEEMER AND SAVIOUR. "V¥7*E have learned that there is one only God, who gives ' ' to all created beings their existence and life. We have learned that He has created man in His own image and likeness, to receive love and wisdom from His Divine Love and Wisdom, and to live a life resembling His Divine Life. But the natural life into which all men are born is not like the Divine Life ; for the Divine Life is that of love to others, and the natural life of men is that of love for self. Every one has an inner mind or capacity for receiving love to others ; and this is opened gradually, as fast as he can be led to receive the love willingly and freely. Life is really life, only so far as it is free and voluntary. The Lord's Life is the most free and voluntary of all life ; and, so far as He can bring man into His own image, He gives him life re sembling His own free Life. This life cannot be given man at first ; he cannot be born into it as he is into natural life : for he would not, in that way, receive it of free choice, or live it freely. He can receive it freely only when he has become able to think and choose for himself. Now, in order that he may know enough to choose the heavenly life of love What have we learned about God ? What about His creating man ? What is said of man's natural life? How does it differ from the Divine Life? What capacity does every one have ? and when is it opened? What is said of life's being free? What is said of the Lord's Life ? What does He give man ? Is man born into this life at first ? Why not? When only can it be received freely? What is necessary in order to guide man's choice ? 36 CONCERNING THE LORD. to others, which is the free, Divine Life, in place of the natu ral life of love to self, it is necessary that some knowledge should be given him of the Divine nature, of the Divine purposes, of the duty and happiness of living in accordance with these purposes, and of the way in which such hfe may be acquired. This knowledge is always given to man by the Divine Providence, in such form as is best adapted to his understanding. The love or life of man flows into him from the Lord, imperceptibly, and unknown to himself, until he feels it mov ing within him as his own life. The knowledge which he is to employ to guide his use of this life is given also from the Lord ; but it comes to man from without, through various mediums. This knowledge, with the proper affection for it, is the food of the mind, by means of which it lives and grows. In the earliest age of the world, called the Golden Age, men were in an innocent, childlike state, and received with pleasure the knowledge and affection which were given them through heaven. They were in so good and heavenly a state of mind, that heaven itself was open to them, and they received good instruction directly from angels. They were taught, and loved to see, even in the things of this world, lessons of heavenly wisdom ; and they learned with delight to love every thing only as it conduced to heavenly life, and not as means of self-gratification. They gladly opened their minds to receive the heavenly life of love to others, and kept the natural love of self in proper subjection to it. Thus the first mode in which men received knowledge of Is this knowledge given? In what manner does the love or life of man flow into him? How does his knowledge come ? What is this knowledge to him? What is said of the earliest age of the world? How did men then receive instruc tion? What did they see in the things of this world? How did they learn to love things ? What lite did they receive, and what did they do with the love of self? THE LORD, OUR REDEEMER AND SAVIOUR. 37 the Lord and of heavenly life was by direct instruction from Him through the angels of heaven. In succeeding generations, the state of men became changed. They gradually came to prefer studying out wisdom for themselves to receiving it in simple hearts by instruction from Heaven. Then they lost the ability to re ceive such instruction, as they grew unwilling to receive heavenly love. Their knowledge of divine and heavenly things was now derived from the traditions of what had been made known to former generations ; and at length, when these traditions were in danger of failing or of being misinter preted, certain men were inspired by the Lord to collect and write down words of divine instruction which had been given to their fathers. These formed the ancient Word of God, parts of which are sometimes alluded to in the Old Testa ment.* But men became more and more engrossed in the desire to be wise of themselves for the sake of their own power and pleasure. Thus they became more and more unable* to receive and understand divine instruction, and this ancient Word ceased to be intelligible and useful to them. It was then necessary that instruction should be given them in a new form, adapted to their lower, more selfish state. Few even preserved any knowledge of the one only God ; but different nations worshipped, as gods, idols of their own mak ing. Then the Lord appeared and spoke through an angel What was the first way in which men received knowledge of the Lord? What happened afterwards ? What did men come to choose ? What did they lose ? How did they then get any know ledge of divine and heavenly things ? What was done when this know ledge failed? What did these writings form ? What became of men ? What is said of their ability to un derstand, and of this ancient Word? What became necessary ? What is said of their knowledge of God? What did they worship ? How did the Lord appear? and what directions did He give ? * Num. xxi. 14, 27; Josh. x. 13; 2 Sam. i. 18. 4 38 CONCERNING THE LORD. to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, directing them to prepare, in the land of Canaan, the foundation of a great nation, to which He would give divine instruction ; and when the people had become great, after a long residence in the land of Egypt, He called them again to the land of Canaan by His servant Moses. To Moses He gave commandments and laws for the Israelites, and inspired him to write the chief part of what are called the Five Books of Moses, in the Old Testament. This instruction gave to the Israelites all the knowledge which they were able to receive about the Lord', and about the manner in which they ought to live that they might be a good people ; but it did not teach them any thing about heaven and heavenly life, because they would not have understood it, or would have perverted it. Instead of heaven, and the way to attain to it, it told them of the land of Canaan, and the way to reach it. Instead of describ ing the nature and mode of heavenly life, it gave them outward forms which they must observe in order to remain in prosperity in the land of Canaan. These forms and ob servances were natural representations of heavenly life, and of the means of attaining to it. Thus the Israelitish people, so far as they observed their laws, were a representation of a true church or of a heavenly people ; and, so far as they endeavored to obey the divine laws in heart as well as in outward form, their hearts were opened to receive something of the life of heaven. The Israelites, however, did not long obey their laws even in outward form. They were always a stiff-necked and What took place when the people had become great? What was given to Moses ? What did this instruction give the Israelites ? What did it not teach them ? What did it tell them of instead? What did it do instead of describ ing the way of heavenly life ? What did these forms and obser vances represent? What did the Israelitish people rep resent? What is said of their obedience in heart ? Did the Israelites long obey their laws ? What were they always? THE LORD, OUR REDEEMER AND SAVIOUR. 39 rebellious people, except at times of fear and distress, when they were obedient till they were delivered. Hence, in time, the greater part of them were destroyed, and driven out of the land of Canaan. Only the Jews, who were a portion of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, were left to represent the nation. These, by outward observances which were more or less perversions of the original laws, thought that they were meriting the rewards which had been promised for obedience ; but inwardly, for the most part, their hearts were hardened, and they were very wicked even in outward deeds. They perverted to their own selfish purposes the instruc tion which had been given them, until they derived no bene fit from it as a means of acquiring heavenly life. They made the commandment of God of none effect by their tradition. Thus they took away the key of knowledge : they entered not in themselves, and those that were entering they hindered. Prophets were sent them, from time to time, by the Lord, to warn them of the consequences of their conduct, and to give them every opportunity for repentance ; but they refused to listen to them : they ceased to represent a true church ; and they finally lost even their place among the nations of the world. A new revelation became necessary to make men ac quainted with the nature of the Lord and of heavenly life ; and, besides this new instruction, there was need of the Divine Power to remove the obstructions which had accu mulated between man and heaven. In the world of spirits, as well as in this world, the way to heaven was obstructed What happened to them ? Who were left? What did these observe ? and what did they think? What was their. character? What did they do with the instruc tion given them? What is said of the commandment of God? What of the key of knowledge ? Who were sent to them ? For what purpose? Did they listen? What became of them ? What became necessary? What more was needed? What is said of the world of spirits at that time ? 40 CONCERNING THE LORD. by evil spirits, who assumed to be angels of light ; who entered not into heavenly life themselves, and who hindered those that were entering. They obstructed and perverted the influx from heaven that was necessary to fill men with heavenly life. Human and angelic power was no longer sufficient to withstand the power of the evil spirits; and, unless those days had been shortened, no flesh could have been saved. It became necessary for the Divine Power Itself to fulfil the divine instruction in human life. This was necessary in order to subdue the power of the evil spirits, to give men an example of heavenly life, and to establish a means by which they might receive the power to follow this example. The Divine Power then took upon Itself the nature and form of a man, and thereby manifested the Divine Love and Wisdom in human life. This coming of the Lord into human life was foretold from the commencement of man's decline from innocence ; as we read, in Genesis, of the serpent and the woman. God said, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed : He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise I-Iis heel," chap. iii. 15. By the serpent is meant the selfish nature of man ; and by the seed of the woman is meant the Lord in the human nature, which He took upon Himself. This coming of the Lord was fore told also by the various prophets who were sent to the Israelites. Isaiah prophesied, " The Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel (that is, God with us)," chap. vii. 14. And again : "Unto us a Child is born, i What did the evil spirits obstruct and pervert? What is said of the power of the evil spirits? What became necessary? For what purpose was this neces sary? What did the Divine Power do? When was this coming foretold ? What is said in Genesis ? What is meant by the serpent? What by the seed of the woman ? By whom also was this coming fore told? What did Isaiah prophesy? What again ? THE LORD, OUR REDEEMER AND SAVIOUR. 41 unto us a Son is given ; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace," chap. ix. 6. And again : "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God : we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is Jehovah : we have waited for him ; we will be glad, and rejoice in His salva tion," chap. xxv. 9. The Gospels of the New Testament describe this mani festation of the Lord in the form of man, and relate many things that He did and said, as they appeared and as they were heard by men. In the Gospel of Luke, we learn that an angel appeared and foretold to the Virgin Mary the birth of a son, whose name she should call Jesus, — that is, Saviour; and who should also be called the Son of God. And, when the Child was born, an angel appeared to some shepherds, who were keeping watch over their flock by night ; " and the glory of the Lord shone round about them ; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not ; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord," chap. ii. 9-11. We learn that " the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom ; and the grace of God was upon Him," Luke ii. 40. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and sta ture, and in favor with God and man," ii. 52. We learn that He was baptized by John in the river Jordan ; that He was tempted of the Devil in the wilderness ; that, when about thirty years old, He began to preach to the people, teaching them to repent of their sins, and to follow Him in the regene- What do the Gospels describe and relate? What do we learn in the Gospel of Luke? What is said of the angel appearing to the shepherds ? What did he say to them ? What is said of the Child, as He grew up? What do we learn of His baptism ? what of the temptation? what of His preaching ? 42 concerning the lord. ration. And, while thus working for the spiritual good of men, He performed natural good works which represented and corresponded to the spiritual works. He delivered men's minds from spiritual diseases, that is, from their sins and from bondage to evils ; and, at the same time, He miracu lously cured their bodily diseases, and released them from bondage to evil spirits. Even some, whose minds seemed hopelessly dead and buried in sin, were restored to a right mind ; as even the dead in body were brought back from the grave. To all who were willing to hear, instruction was given, which is food and drink to the mind ; and, to men who hungered and thirsted for bodily food, bread was given, and wine. In these good works, the Lord showed men His will and His power to do them all manner of good ; and by them were represented the good works which He is constantly en deavoring to perform in the minds of all, and which must be done in order that they may be saved. By His life and in struction, He showed men the nature of His Love, — what it would do in human life, and what they must do in order to receive it into their lives, and to become united with it in heaven. He not only taught them what kind of a life they should live, but He actually lived this life before their eyes. He performed the same work in His human nature which they have need to perform in their human nature. Every resist ance which man needs to make against the selfish tendencies of his nature, which are excited by evil spirits, the Lord made, in His human nature, against the efforts of evil spirits to excite the selfish tendencies which that nature inherited What else did He do for men ? What did He do while delivering men from their sins? What did He do for some who were dead? What for those who were hun- What was shown in . these good works? and what was repre sented by them? What did He show by His life and instruction ? What did He do besides teaching men how to live? What work did He perform? What resistance did He make ? the lord, our redeemer and saviour. 43 from the mother. For in this human nature were inherited all the propensities to evil which the human race had ac quired by its perverse indulgence of self ; and every one of these propensities had to bo resisted, and cast out, in order that the Divine Love might be received in its place. The means which the Lord used for resisting the efforts of evil spirits were the truths of His Divine Wisdom ; and the same means must be used by men. Wlienever evil spirits endeavored to excite a selfish tendency in His human nature, the Lord exposed the wickedness of their purpose by presenting that truth of the Divine Wisdom to which their evil was opposed. For example : the Devil strove to excite in the human nature the selfish love of possession and dominion ; showing all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and saying, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me ; " which meant, if He would worship self, and devote His powers to self-gratification. The Lord drove these evil spirits away by bringing upon them the light of Divine Wisdom contained in the words, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, - and Him only shalt thou serve." Then the Devil left Him, and angels came and ministered unto Him. — Matt. iv. 8-11. Evil spirits cannot stand a moment in the light of Divine Truth ; for this discovers at once their real quality, in all its wickedness and deformity. Whenever this light is brought to bear upon them, they flee from its presence. But it cannot be brought into our minds, unless we are willing to receive it ; otherwise it would destroy What were inherited in His human nature ? What had to be done with these propensities ? What means did the Lord use for resisting the efforts of evil spi rits? What was done when they tried to excite a selfish tendency ? What example is given ? How did the Lord drive these spirits away? What took place when the Devil left Him? Why cannot evil spirits bear Divine Truth? What do they do when this light comes upon them? Can this light be brought into our minds ? 44 concerning the lord. our freedom, and thus our life. The Lord alone was able to receive this light in its purity and fulness, in the human nature, just as fast and as far as it was needed to repel the false persuasions of evil spirits. By His receiving this Di vine Truth with willingness and affection in the natural human mind, the evil spirits were driven away and subdued, and the natural human life of self was replaced by Divine Human life from the Divine Love. Evil spirits were allowed to reach and affect the natural human mind which the Lord took upon Himself, by means of its natural selfish propensities ; and, in like manner, men were allowed to lay violent hands upon the natural human body which He took upon Himself, by means of its natural physical infirmities. But, as fast as evil spirits attempted to lay hold of any propensity of His human nature, the Lord delivered. Himself from them by casting off this very propen sity, and bringing down into its place the Divine Nature which they could not approach. So, when evil men with evil spirits seized His natural human body, with the desire to destroy Him, He suffered them to do whatever they would with this body, — even to putting it to death upon the cross. But this they could not have done, except by His permission ; as He Himself said, " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me ; but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father," John x. 17, 18. How far did the Lord receive it in the human nature ? What was effected by His receiving it? What were evil spirits allowed to reach? and by what? What were men allowed to do ? and by what ? How did the Lord free Himself from the assaults of evil spi rits? What did He bring down in place of the human nature? What did He suffer men to do ? How only could they do this ?- What did He say? the lord, our redeemer and saviour. 45 The life which He laid down was the natural, infirm hu man life which He received from the mother, and in which He was born into the world. But the life which Ho was to take again was the Divine Human life, which was born into the world within the natural human life ; and this could be developed only as fast as the natural life was laid down. The natural human mind and body served as means for the reception and development of the Divine Human life, and for its manifestation to men, and communication with them. But, so fast as the Divine Human life was brought down, the infirm human nature was cast off; and, at length, scarce any thing was left of it but the material body. And when this had performed all its work, and now only stood in the way of the completion of the Divine Human nature, it was given up to the Jews, with all its natural sensibilities, and capacity of suffering and dying, and was crucified by them. So long as the life of this body lasted, the Lord's life was in it, and spoke through the medium of its infirmities and sufferings ; but, when this body ceased to live, the Divine Human life was freed from it, and thereafter existed only in an infinite, Divine Human body. The Lord said, " My Father loveth me because I lay down my life that I might take it again ; " and also, " This commandment have I received of my Father." When He spoke of the Father, who had sent Him into the world, and who gave Him commandment what to do, He was speaking of the Divine Love which caused Him to take upon Himself the infirm mind and body of man, and which was the cause of all that He did in that body. Every word and act of the What was the li fe that He laid down ? What life was He to take again ? What did the natural mind and body serve for ? What then became of the human nature ? What remained of the human nature at last ? What became of the body? What was in this body while it lived ? In what did the Divine Human life dwell after this body died? What did the Lord say ? Whom did He mean by the Fa ther? 46 concerning the lord. Lord, on earth as in heaven, was spoken or done in fulfil ment of the Divine Love towards men. Thus it was from the Divine Love that He laid down the infirm human life which He had received from the mother, in order that He might have in place of it the Divine Human life ; for this was the only means by which He could enable men to lay down their natural life of self-love, and to be willing to re ceive from Him the heavenly life of love to others. By fulfilling the Divine Love, in every word and act of hu man life, in accordance with the Divine Wisdom, He formed a perfect Divine Human life, which could be filled and united with the Divine Love. When, therefore, all was accom plished, and the last of the maternal human nature cast off, the Divine Love descended into this Divine Human nature, and made it wholly Divine. The Son then became one with the Father, and was withdrawn from the sight of men ; but the Divine Life was now brought down into the presence of every state of human life. When thus present, its power is able to expel every thing that is false or evil, and its light and life fill and vivify every affection for what is good and true. The presence in the visible human form derived from the mother was not the full and perfect presence with men which was desired by the Divine Love, but was only the means for its accomplishment. The presence became full only after the rejection and death of the infirm human body, when the Di vine Human nature became complete, and filled with the Divine Love. It was not until then that the Holy Spirit of the Lord could be directly imparted to men. As is said in What is said of every word and act of the Lord ? What was thus from the Divine Love? Why did the Divine Love cause Him to do this? What did He form by fulfilling the Divine Love? What did the Divine Love do when all was accomplished ? What then became of the Son ? What is said of the Divine Life? What power has it when thus pre sent? What is said of this presence in the human form ? When did the presence become full? What is said of the imparting of the Holy Spirit? THE LORD, OUR REDEEMER AND SAVIOUR. 47 John, before the crucifixion, "But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive ; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified," vii. 39. And in another place He says, " It is expedient for you that I go away : for, if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but, if I depart, I will send Him unto you," xvi. 7. The Comforter is the Holy Spirit. By the Lord's going away is not meant really leaving the disci ples, but only the laying-down of the natural life with which He was then clothed, and which they could see and hear. This had to be cast off before the Divine Human nature could be completed, and be able to communicate the Holy Spirit to men. And after the crucifixion, when the Lord stood in the midst of the disciples as they were assembled together, " He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Ee- ceive ye the Holy Spirit." The Lord is now able to be nearer to us, and is actually nearer to us, than He was to the disciples before the crucifix ion and resurrection, if we are willing to receive Him. He now continually redeems men by leading them to lay down their natural life of self-love, and to receive the heavenly life of love to others. This He does by calling to their re membrance the words which He has spoken to them. To all who are able to hear them, He continues to speak these words as He spoke them to the disciples : and to all He now says, as He said to the disciples, " If ye love me, keep my commandments ; and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, — even the Spirit of truth, whom the world can-. What is said in John ? and what in another place ? What is tho Comforter? What is not meant by the Lord's going away? What is meant? What could not be done till this was cast off? What took place after the crucifix ion? How near is the Lord now to us? How does He now redeem men? In what way does He do this? To whom does He speak these words ? What does He now say to all ? 48 CONCERNING the lord. not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you," John xiv. 15-18. The Holy Spirit, or the Comforter, is the influence of the Lord working within us to regenerate us, by driving out the natural life of self-love, and causing to be born within us the new spiritual life of heavenly love to others. It is the very Spirit of the Truth which He has revealed to us in His words and in His life on earth ; and this Spirit He breathes into our hearts, to call these words to our remembrance, and to give us the desire and power to keep them. Thus the Lord our Creator, by coming down into human life, has become our Redeemer ; and, by His Holy Spirit which He now breathes upon us, is our Regenerator. In this threefold work for us, He is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But in all He is still the one only God, — our Lord Jesus Christ. What is the Holy Spirit? What does this influence do? What is it the Spirit of? For what purpose does he breathe it into our hearts ? What has the Lord, our Creator, be come ? and what is He now to us ? What is He called in this threefold work? What is He still? NEW WORKS ILatcIg iPuWisfjrtJ, nnti for Salt, BY WILLIAM CARTER AND BROTHER, 21, Bromfield Street, Boston. PARSON'S ESSAYS. Third Series. A Third Series of these valuable and popular Essays, by Theophilus Parsons, LL.D., has just been issued from the press. The subjects of the Essays are, — HE COMETH IN CLOUDS. PARADISE. THE SEA. THE END OF THE CHURCH. The whole forming a handsome 12mo hook of 301 pages. Price 75 cts. Postage 12 cts. THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE SUN, OP HEAT, AND OF LIGHT. BY SAMPSON REED. In press, and to be issued next week, a Second Edition of this little work, which has been so long out of print. It is particularly designed for use in Sabbath Schools ; and gives, in a clear and comprehensive manner, the correspondences as above. William Carter and Brother's Neiu Works. NEW-CHURCH CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN. Just published, a Second and Revised Edition of this valuable little work, which is prepared under direction of the General Convention. Price 20 cts. HOBART'S LIFE OF SWEDENBORG, Fourth Edition ; Containing, in addition, a Lecture on the Mission of Swedenborg, by Sampson Reed ; and an article on the New Jerusalem Church, prepared for the New American Cyclopaedia. Price 75 cts. Post age 10 cts. Extract from a Notice of the Work. " We are very glad to see that Messrs. Wm. Carter and Brother have published a new edition of this valuable work, which has been too long out of print. We hope, at some future time, to speak more particularly of the different attempts which have been made to write the biography of Swe denborg. 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