am
 
 UCSB LIBRARY 

 
 "CEASE TO DO EVIL LKAHN TO DO WELL." 
 
 DISSERTATIONS 
 
 SUBJECTS CONNECTED THEREWITH, 
 
 IN HARMOST WIT1I THB 
 
 THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS OF E. SWEDENBORG. 
 
 BY JAMES AKBOUIN, ESQ. 
 
 FIRST COMPLETE AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 SAVANNAH: 
 
 EDWARD J. PURSE, PUBLISHER. 
 BOSTON : OTIS CLAPP. 
 
 1859.
 
 INTRODUCTORY 
 
 IN presenting the first American edition of the talented 
 Arbouin's views concerning the Regenerate Life, the Pub- 
 lisher would simply direct attention to the Author's brief 
 yet comprehensive Preface. 
 
 The " Notes " introduced, as well as the " Memoir," are 
 from the pen of Rev. Mr. Mason, of Melbourne, near Derby, 
 who arranged the last edition, published at London, in 1839 
 the basis of the present volume which has been thorough- 
 ly revised and corrected. 
 
 Readers will determine for themselves as to the correctness 
 of the views expressed upon the interesting theme discussed : 
 yet the assertion is unhesitatingly given, that naught will 
 be found in this book tending, in the slightest degree, to 
 wound the judgment of the most ultra dissenter : for the 
 Author, in the advancement of opinions, has been guided by 
 his own just expression, that " it would be a great mistake 
 to suppose that the firm conviction of the truth of any opin- 
 ion is inconsistent with a modest expression of it," and 
 " Truth must depend for its reception on the evidence which 
 can be afforded by fair argument, and can owe nothing to 
 the impassioned manner of its advocate." His style is 
 courteous, fervid, and figurative, and often rising into 
 passages of singular beauty and eloquence. The reader 
 will be convinced that the writer is in earnest, and also 
 exempt from the repellant qualities which too often embitter 
 theological controversies.
 
 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOE. 
 
 UB. JAMES ARBOUIN, the author of the following "Dissertations," was of an 
 ancient and highly respectable family of France. He was born at Lisbon, and re- 
 ceived a liberal education at one of the public schools of London. In addition to the 
 knowledge of Greek and Latin which he there acquired, he became an accomplished 
 French scholar, and had some knowledge of Italian. lie was, at one time, a leading 
 merchant in the city of London, and when in the high tide of worldly prosperity, and 
 from his distinguished talents and mercantile knowledge, was usually fixed upon to 
 form one of those deputations which frequently attend the minister of the day, upon 
 matters connected with the trade and revenue of the country. To the man of busi- 
 ness he united the more elegant accomplishments of the gentleman of refined taste 
 and education, which, added to great liveliness of manner, brilliancy of imagination, 
 and highly agreeable and polished behavior, attracted to his social board men in the 
 higher classes of society, eminent alike for their knowledge and talent. While dis- 
 tinguished in a degree as " earth's happiest man," and surrounded by what, in the 
 world's phraseology, is called " numerous and dear friends," a clergyman of his ac- 
 quaintance introduced him to a knowledge of the existence of the theological writings 
 of Emanuel Swedonborg, which, however, his mind was not, as yet, prepared rightly 
 to appreciate. The work put into his hands was The, True Christian Religion, and 
 tin's incomparable work, on a first, and no doubt a careless inspection of its contents, 
 he, to his subsequent astonishment and humiliation, treated with ridicule and con- 
 tempt, lie, however, suffered it to remain upon his shelf for a time, whence it occa- 
 sionally descended for the purpose of contributing to the amusement of a solitary 
 hour, or to the united mis-directed jocularity of himself and his thoughtless after- 
 dinner associates. But his mind was destined to undergo a change similar to that 
 described by the poet in reference to the efficient ministry of an exemplary clergyman, 
 " When fools who came to scoff, remained to pray." 
 
 From frequently recurring to the pages of this excellent work, even in frames of 
 mind BO unfavorable to instruction, he at length became forcibly struck with its con- 
 sistent harmony, the reasonableness of its doctrines, the apparent sincerity of its ex- 
 traordinary asseverations, and the high tone of spiritual morality and manly integ- 
 rity which it everywhere exhibits, till, in a happy hour, a conviction of the truth and 
 importance of the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem powerfully impressed 
 his mind, and prepared him, through the Divine Mercy, for those trials, and bodily 
 and mental sufferings, witli which it seemed good to the Divine Providence that he 
 should bo subsequently visited ; and which, in the issue, proved to him the happy 
 means of a high degree of preparation for a better state of existence. 
 
 Not long after this, owing to the general disasters of trade and commerce which 
 then occurred, he lost two-thirds of his largo property. This doubtless was a heavy 
 blow ; but enough still remaining for all the reasonable requirements of life, he 
 
 1*
 
 Tl. MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 quitted business, determining, with limited desires, to betake hiniH-ll to the enjoy- 
 ments of a comfortable retirement ; heightened by the combined delights arising from 
 the exercises of a devout mind, an increasing acquaintance with the Divine Truths of 
 the Holy Word, and the cultivation of a literary taste. But, alas! expectations of 
 peace, tranquility and competence, however reasonable and well-grounded they may 
 appear, are not always to be realized in this mutable state of being. Misfortune, as 
 the adverse dispensations of Providence are commonly called by mankind, still pur. 
 piled the subject of this menu ir. In an apparently evil hour, through a misplaced 
 confidence, he lost the entire remainder of bus property, and became, all at once, ex- 
 posed to the horrors of almost unbefriended penury and distress ! Thus, like Job, 
 once accustomed to every variety of worldly pleasures, but now liereft of all his 
 outward possessions, with a calmness which surprised even himself, he biibmitted to 
 the immense change which had come upon him, bent himself to his painful situa- 
 tion, and. with a mind now deeply imbued with the truths of the New Church, threw 
 himself with confidence on the Divine Providence, and realized the truth of the words 
 of the Psalmist, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and ho shall sustain thefr." The 
 Father of Mercies, who ''doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men," 
 was pleased, iu a manner altogether unexpected, to bring him a speedy relief. Walk- 
 ing down St. James street, uiusing on the forlorn condition of his affairs, he accident- 
 ally met an old friend who had not seen him for many year.-. By this gentleman he 
 was addressed with all the cordiality of recollected friendship, and in answer to some 
 inquiries that were made into his worldly circumstances, he requested to attend his 
 friend to his house, where he might more at leisure, and free from interruption, in- 
 form him of the sad events which had then recently occurred. Having here made 
 known the train of his disasters, this timely friend entered with warm sympathy into 
 his case, and told him that the firm to which he l>elonged had lately received a con- 
 signment of goods to be disposed of, and for which they required an agent, and if he 
 would undertake the business, the profits of the commission would afford him a tern- 
 porary assistance until something further could be done for him. With a heart deeply 
 jienetrated with gratitude for this signal interposition of Divine Providence, he witli 
 thankful alacrity accepted the offer, which in a very short time enabled him to realize 
 what was to him at that period a considerable sum. The same, kind and Ui.-interested 
 friend (the late Sir Scrope Barnard Morland, Bait., whose name is deservedly recorded) 
 was the means of Mr. Arbouin being chosen a director of one of the first insurance 
 offices: which circumstance was beneficial in point of income, and was a solace to hU 
 wounded spirit. He held it for some years to the great advantage of tin 1 institution, 
 the interests of which he was enabled to promote by the soundness of Ins views, the 
 experience of his commercial life, and the sincere respect entertained towards him 
 by a numerous circls of acquaintances. To this aid succeeded, ere Ion;:, further sup- 
 plies from livii'i; and departed friends, well ; o ^tainted with and highly esteeming 
 the integrity ami sterling worth of his character. These acquisitions, added to an 
 income derived from a conHBiMdon business in tin- wine tra-lc, >oon enabled him to 
 put by annually a Mil-plus b-yond hi* expenditure: by which he erailually ! 
 d of what, to his moderate desires, amounted to a comfortable compel 
 upon which he apiin retired from liu-ine3. and n -id M) for many y>-ais in the New 
 j'un'l. near IVIdington. 
 
 Mr. Arh.jiiin now .lili^-atly d vote 1 hims"lf to thep: > rii<al and study of tie- writings 
 
 i'-nborg: and also occupied much of his time in literary compositions founded 
 
 upon their principles, and illustr-itive of their views and ten. leir-v . lie alr-o. when 
 
 Mi.- -t-ite of his health p -minted, took iiMieh pleasure in the society of those members
 
 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. Til. 
 
 of the church, who, like himself, were affectionately attached to her doctrines, less, 
 however, on account of their luminous intellectual discoveries which, nevertheless, 
 lie reverentially valued than their heavenly character and quality, and their capa- 
 bility of purifying and elevating the affections of the will. In conversation, he hap- 
 pily blended the animated intelligence of a cultivated and penetrating mind with the 
 engaging charm of elegant and polished manners. He always preferred to lead the 
 discourse to subjects connected with the Regenerate Life, rather than to engage in 
 discussion upon points of a more speculative or less practical nature. Intensely 
 alive and sensitive to the surpassing beauties and glories of the Internal Word at this 
 day revealed, he was nevertheless, when bidden to the heavenly marriage feast, in- 
 clined to obey the divine injunction, and "sit down in the lowest room.'' Although 
 his eyes had been opened to behold the wondrous things of the divine law, it was 
 more congenial to his habit to regard the want and poverty of the will, than to in- 
 dulge the admiring gaze of the intellect. No sooner had he exclaimed, " Thy testi- 
 monies are wonderful,'' than he hastened to add, "therefore doth my soul keep them." 
 His delight in the Word was a delight in its purity rather than its beauty. His fa- 
 vorite sentiment appeared to be, "Thy Word is exceedingly pure, THEREFORE thy 
 servant loveth it. I hate vain imaginations; but thy law do I love." The blessed- 
 ness he sought was not merely that of intellectual light and fullness ; it was that of 
 purity, th.> blessedness of " the undented in the way, who walk in the law of the 
 Lord, who keep his testimonies, and seek him with the whole heart." His earnest 
 desire and constant prayer was, "Establish my steps in thy Word, and let not any 
 iniquity hare dominion over me. Let my heart be perfect in thy statutes." 
 
 Although Mr. Aibouin so greatly delighted in the company of the sincere lovers of 
 genuine truth, his mi ml was a stranger to any narrow restrictions. He loved good 
 men of every creed, and could truly say, "I am a companion of aH those who fear 
 thee, and of those who keep thy precepts." With the worldly, he was an upright and 
 an honorable "citizen of the world;" and with the citizens of the '-holy city," he 
 was a citizen of the "heavenly Jerusalem, whose builder and maker is God." 
 
 Being gifted with a keen sense and relish of the purity, intensity, and pointed ac- 
 curacy of the spiritual moral perceptions peculiar to the sex, he was particularly at- 
 tached to the society of spiritually-minded and intelligent females; and several 
 ladies, whose attainments in the life of goodness and truth were both exalted and ex- 
 tensive, accounted it a high privilege to be admitted to his friendship, and to bo 
 favored with his always improving and delightful conversation. Mr. Arbouin always 
 cherished th'- d'-'-pi-st reverenc fur th.- (.-harms of the female mind, when replenished 
 with the stores of heavenly wisdom, exalted and animated by the warmth of heavenly 
 affection. And although he was not permitted to enter the marriage state, and enjoy 
 the happiness of being, in this world, united with a partner possessing qualities the 
 counterpart of his own. it was from no indisposition duly to appreciate so great a 
 blessing, thut li remained a bachelor. The Divine Providence hud not favored his 
 . and, as became a sincere and spiritual C'hri.-tian, he felt it to be his duty and 
 privilege cheerfully to submit, knowing to a certainty that the Lord does all tilings 
 well. His constant prayer was, in the language of David, "Thou art good, an i 
 good; teach me thy stati, 
 
 IthiUib-:-H observed that he w;i* distinguished by a liveliness of mind and a bril- 
 liancy of imagination. These tal'-n! s, which are too often debased by their ] 
 
 to unworthy purpusi--,. in the POSSCSMOU of our author, were ever'directed to the noblest 
 objects. I5y him they w -re employed, under the influence of a sober judgment, and 
 deep religious feeling, to render attractive to others the path of life, and to win the.
 
 Till. MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 fancy, as well H.S tin,- In-art, to the admiration and practice of vital religion. That 
 olid wtodom which wean tho garb of simplicity ; which as is ca- 
 
 pable of effecting 90 much; anil is so superior to the tinsel of eloquent- -, and the 
 >f learning; that principle, in short, which is ex|-i Ji the 
 
 ! lurch writings u the wisdom of life.'' a.s it lived in his breast, so did it flow 
 jh lii-i works. In prose or in poetry, this was always the characteristic mark 
 by which his com positions were distinguished ; and in finding appropriate f>r: 
 
 lorn, he was eminently successful. His little volume enti- 
 tl"d -f>if~,rf ifi'-tna on the Regenerate Ziff,'' is the chief nf Ins; 
 Las always been regarded, very much to the credit of the members of the Xew Church, 
 with especial favor. Xot highly to esteem it, would indeed be a mark of a merely 
 natural state of affection, and an unrefined taste. Among his poetry are to be found 
 pieces which would have done credit to distinguished names. He also publ:- 
 
 \1 horisni-. with some original ones interspersed (and which are now sold 
 under the title of " Gems of Wisdom, Moral and Divine,"); also, "The Beaut 
 Owen i'eltham, selected from his Resolves;" and three Sermons on the Lord's Prayer. 
 As he always devoted his literary talents to the cause of religion, and believed the 
 cause of true religion to be that of the Xew Church, he was an active contributor to 
 the periodical works, which, since his introduction to a knowledge of h 
 have had the promotion of those doctrines for their object. Of the Aurora,'' a work 
 description, which was published in the years 1799 to 1S01. he was one of the 
 editors; and ho adorned its pages by valuable essay?, in prose and veri-, under a 
 great variety of signatures. Of the " Intellectual Repository,'' he wa* a regular cor- 
 respondent, under the signatures only of J. A. and I. V. T. The number preceding 
 his death was enriched with two papers of his writing, and they exhibit, in a very 
 striking degree, the vigor of mind that continued to animate his frame even to the 
 last day of his existence here. Nor is vigor of mind all that they evince ; they display 
 also a purity and elevation of sentiment that bespeak a spirit well prepared I 
 transit to a higher sphere. 
 
 For many years previous to his decease, Mr. Arbouin had been afflicted with that 
 most painful disorder, the stone, for the relief of which he several times underwent 
 the customary and most severe operation. After one of these trials of his fortitude 
 and patience, as he informed the compiler of this memoir, he was obliged to lie on a 
 s ofa for several weeks, and "that period," said he, "though one of intense bodily 
 suffering, was tho happiest of my whole life. Pain was no hindrance to the freedom 
 and activity of my mind. My spirit, in which I seemed altogether to live and think, 
 looked down, as it were, with pity upon the poor Buffering and prostrate body. 
 During that period I read through the six volumes of Swedenborg's Apocalypse Ex- 
 plained, with a perception of light, holy elevation, peace and inward joy. which are 
 perfectly indescribable!" 
 
 In this short sketch of tho leading events of the life of this very interior and 
 accomplished Christian. h'>- wonderfully are displayed the merciful dealings of 
 Divine Providence, ever at work to draw from temporary affliction, the means v 
 by we are qualified fur our eternal destination! To loss of possessions sin <-eeded a 
 long course of the most acute bodily sufferings; but the sufferer, being found patient 
 and resigned, experienced the faithfulness of the Divine promise. The Lord was with 
 him of a truth, and supported him under all his trials, and enabled him to endure to 
 the end, and to conquer in all his temptations. Those who knew Mr. Arbouin in hU 
 natural and comparatively irreligious state of mind, from which he was by degrees so 
 happily withdrawn by the process of Christian regeneration, knew him to bo subject
 
 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. IX. 
 
 to considerable haughtiness of character, and to frequent most violent ebullitions of 
 anger or excited temper. But all these tendencies became marvellously subdued ere 
 the close of his life, and from the ashes of his former state arose those characteristics 
 of Christian meekness and resignation by which ho was latterly so much distin- 
 guisheJ. AVell and truly might he then exclaim, "Before. I was afflicted I ivent 
 astray, but now do I keep thy word; it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that 
 I might learn thy statutes; the law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands 
 of gold and silver!" Yet, even in his merely natural state of mind, in all his 
 worldly dealings, he was distinguished by a scrupulous integrity and love of justice. 
 He has remarked that, in the full tida of worldly prosperity, he had secret misgivings, 
 and compunctious visitings of conscience were sometimes insinuated, which indicated 
 the latent spark of future improvement ; he also experienced those secret breathings 
 after a happy immortality which were subsequently embodied in ' ; the full assurance 
 of hope," and which was opened to his enjoyment through the writings of the 
 heaven-commissioned Swcdenborg. Sometime previous to hia death his characteris- 
 tic integrity shone forth with peculiar lustre, in the payment of a considerable debt 
 lor which he was not legally responsible. When justice was fully satisfied, and not 
 before, he failed not secretly to extend a charitable, though discriminating hand to 
 worth}- individuals suffering under affliction. 
 
 To the dreadful complaint already noticed, succeeded others of so afflictive a kind 
 that, as he often expressed himself, his sufferings were of a nature more painful and 
 distressing than those he had experienced from his former disorder. At length, with 
 the further advance of years, that general debility ensued which gradually brought 
 on hi* mortal dissolution. The day previous to his departure, he complained of ex- 
 treme pain in the viscera, and in the evening he was conveyed with great difficulty to 
 his bed (to which he had never confined himself during his illness,) and to the 
 anxious inquiries of a friend he replied with pious resignation and thankfulness, and 
 with a strong effort arousing himself, " This body is crushed ; but the mind is aa 
 vigorous as ever." His pains continued until a few hours previous to his decease ; 
 and on the 27th day of November, 1822, and in the eightieth year of his age, he ter- 
 minated his earthly career; and his highly purified spirit escaped to those realms of 
 eternal day, for which he had so lon<r, so earnestly, and so diligently prepared 
 himself. He bequeathed a considerable sum of money for the advancement of that 
 church, whose doctrines had so wonderfully supported him through the trials and 
 yicissitudes of his life.
 
 THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 I have been induced, by the advice of many friends, 
 to offer the following pages to the public ; for although 
 it is acknowledged that the progress of the Christian 
 life is marked by an infinite diversity of states, there 
 is, nevertheless, a prevailing resemblance of feature 
 that may render communications from some degree 
 of experience, both interesting and useful. A hope 
 is likewise entertained that, by giving them an exten- 
 sive circulation, some persons may be led by these 
 scattered rays to the fountain of light from whence 
 they were originally derived the theological writings 
 of Emanuel Swedcnborg. 
 
 From only a transient view of the very voluminous 
 scientific and philosophical works of the highly-gifted 
 Swedenborg, the vast attainments of a capacious mind 
 are abundantly evident ; but when we contemplate 
 his Mission for the revelation of the internal sense of 
 the Scriptures, we lose sight of him merely as an 
 author, and consider him, agreeably to his own dec- 
 laration, as the man" x " " before whom the Lord hath 
 manifested Himself in person, and whom He hath 
 filled with His spirit to teach the doctrines of the New 
 Church from Him." It forms no part of our present 
 subject to combat the prejudices that many have 
 
 * Vide Lis Universal Tltcolngy, n. 779.
 
 formed against writings which, they have never read, 
 or the hasty conclusions of others who have stumbled 
 at the threshold of the slightest investigation. It is 
 enough that we are happy in the conviction that the 
 number of those is daily increasing who, in the stead- 
 fastness of a sober mind, are perseveringly engaged 
 in receiving instruction from this new and wonderful 
 display of Gospel light, which, dispensing its splen- 
 dors above the misty regions of doubt or misappre- 
 hension, has a direct tendency to reform and elevate 
 the mind, to improve the heart, and to direct and fix 
 the affections upon the noblest objects of human 
 attainment.
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Regeneration, 1 
 
 Note concerning the Order in which the Human Principles are Regenerated, 11 
 
 The Natural and Spiritual Mind, 15 
 
 Note respecting the Union of the Internal and External Man in th- Regen- 
 erating Christian, 19 
 
 The Delights and Progress of Religion, 25 
 
 The Life of Truth and the Life of Good, 27 
 
 Note on a further Distinction between the Life of Truth and the Life of Good, 28 
 
 -What is Truth?" ..; 33 
 
 The Power of Retaining Truth, 35 
 
 The Internal Truth Its Advantages and Effects, 38 
 
 Note on the Distinction between the First Christian and the Second, or N>w 
 
 Jerusalem Church, 40 
 
 The Necessity of Acquiring a Mild and Gentle Spirit. 42 
 
 Note on the Consequences of an Imperfect Marriage between Goodness and 
 
 Truth, 47 
 
 Scientifics, , 51 
 
 Conversation, 52 
 
 Intercourse With the World, 58 
 
 Note on the Author's Commendation of Politeness and Behavior, 62 
 
 The Love of God and our Neighbor, 67 
 
 Charity, 69 
 
 Note on the Difference between the Old and the New Commandment of Charity, 75 
 
 Note on the Right Application of the Golden Rule, 81 
 
 Note concerning Uses, 86 
 
 The Happiness of a State of Order, 96 
 
 Self-Examination, - 98 
 
 The Lord's Prayer , 100 
 
 Note on Internal and External Worship, 117 
 
 The Delight of Gratitude, 121 
 
 Worldly Possessions and Attainments must end in Disappointment, if Temporal 
 
 be not joined with Spiritual Views, 122 
 
 Temporal Prosperity when Subordinate to Eternal Views, 125 
 
 The Expediency of a Straitness in Worldly Possessions and Enjoyments in order 
 
 to the Advancement of our Spiritual Life, 127 
 
 Voluntary Privations, 129 
 
 The Divine Providence, 131 
 
 A Settled Dependence on and Trust in the Divine Providence, 133 
 
 Difficulty of Attaining a Settled and Entire Trust in Providence. 134 
 
 Consolation offered to the Christian in the Prospect of his entrance into the 
 
 Spiritual World, 140 
 
 Association of Angela with Men, 141 
 
 The Delights of Constancy and the Delights of Variety, 143 
 
 The State of Marriage in the Celential and Spiritual Church, 144 
 
 Correspondence of the Horse. 146 
 
 Correspondence of the Vine, 147 
 
 -pondence of the Dove, 148 
 
 The Divine Humanity of the Lord, 149 
 
 Concluding Note, 164
 
 DISSERTATIONS. 
 
 ON REGENERATION. 
 
 THE first birth of man is of the body, for its proper 
 uses and functions in the world ; the second birth, or 
 regeneration, is of the mind, for its proper uses and 
 functions in the world, and after this life, for sublimer 
 uses in a spiritual body in heaven. The mind of man, 
 consisting of his will, understanding, and active 
 powers, having through successive generations been 
 perverted from its original heavenly state, and being 
 too much captivated with this world to think suffi- 
 ciently of its higher destination, it has become a work 
 of persevering difficulty to regulate its powers, so as 
 to bring them into obedience to the divine precepts,, 
 and into such an order of life as the angels of heaven 
 delight in. This difficulty is the sad result of the fall 
 of man from that order in which he was created,- 
 when his will, understanding, and active powers, bore 
 the image and likeness of the Divine Trinity in its 
 first principles, consisting of the divine love, wisdom, 
 and operation. It is now the case with every man 
 by birth, that his will has a tendency, inherited from 
 parents and progenitors, to love what is impure and 
 disorderly, while his understanding is inclined to 
 favor and excuse what is evil, and thus to prefer 
 falsehood to truth ; and the active powers, also, are 
 prone to a perverted excess of activity on the one 
 hand, and on the other, to an indolent reluctance, and 
 9,
 
 DISSERTATION'S OX 
 
 inaptitude, to take on the action of the renewed 
 will and understanding. Such is the nature of that 
 hereditary evil which must be removed by regenera- 
 tion, since it is certain that, "Except a man be born 
 again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
 
 The natural, or old will, into which every man is 
 born, must be entirely changed as to its ends and 
 purposes. Self-love and the love of the world, which 
 are seated therein, must receive a new direction, by 
 virtue of which the love of existence and of enjoyment 
 will be rendered instrumental to divine purposes and 
 uses, and to a primary regard to the good and 
 happiness of others. "When this is effected, man 110 
 longer loves himself, and the world for the sake of 
 himself, but " for the sake of the Lord and his gospel. 5 ' 
 He has laid down his fallen natural life, and has risen 
 again into the spiritual life of charity ; and in dying 
 unto sin, and becoming alive unto God, he has been 
 planted in the likeness of the death and resurrection 
 of his divine master."-" 
 
 The first dawn of the mind is to the use of the bodily 
 senses, by which the body itself is preserved, and its 
 health promoted. It is well, therefore, discreetly to 
 introduce the young mind into the experience of these 
 earliest delights, in order that the mind, which in 
 youth is closely connected with the body, may grow 
 with its growth, and strengthen with its strength. 
 In the maturer state of the mind, when the powers of 
 reason are unfolded, the precepts of virtue taught by 
 revelation should become the constant and habitual 
 rule of the life and conduct. And in proportion as 
 the influence of the divine precepts prevails, man 
 
 * Compare Luke be. 24, with Roman* vi. 0.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 becomes a creature of order ; what is sensual becomes 
 obedient to what is rational, and what is rational, to 
 what is divine. This order constitutes the second 
 birth, or regeneration ; for as the body was born into 
 the image and likeness of its earthly parents, so by 
 regeneration, the mind, or spirit, is born of God into 
 the image and likeness of his own love and wisdom. 
 Its primary affections are then fixed on the Supreme 
 Being, because those affections are continuous from 
 the love of goodness ; and as that love originates in 
 the divine goodness itself, so do the affections of it 
 continually return to their divine Source, by the 
 imitation of their great Original, in the promotion of 
 the happiness and well-being of mankind. It is this 
 which constitutes the true love of our neighbor, and 
 which also is coincident with the pure love of truth, 
 inasmuch as it is the love of that true order of things 
 which truth defines and describes. In order to see 
 this point more clearly, it is only necessary to advert 
 to the union of goodness with truth, as resembling 
 that of affection and thought. As it is obvious to 
 experience, that thought is affection brought into 
 conscious activity, so also goodness, which is of the 
 will, becomes truth in the thoughts? the understanding 
 (by means of the truths embraced in faith), and thence 
 descending, and going forth into corresponding 
 outward action, goodness, in and by truth, becomes a 
 life of charity and faith, in its various operations and 
 relations. 
 
 The love of self, and the love of worldly possessions, 
 are the powerful obstacles to the great work of regen- 
 eration, which cannot advance till these degrading 
 affections are subdued, and rendered subordinate to
 
 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 the more elevated pursuits of spiritual love. To be 
 regenerated, is to prefer a heavenly inheritance to an 
 earthly one, and the attainment of moral excellence 
 to the acquisition of opulence, power, or fame ; it is 
 to place the love of justice and of social kindness above 
 personal pre-eminence and temporal advantages of 
 every kind ; it is to prefer humble adoration to self- 
 elevation ; and contentment to ambition. Every one 
 is regenerated only in the degree that the love of God 
 and neighborly love, bearing the sway in his inmost 
 affections, are manifested in the infinite variety of 
 forms of a good life and conversation. This is the 
 case exactly in proportion as any one, by shunning 
 evils as sins, makes " the kingdom of God and his 
 righteousness " the first object of his desire and pursuit. 
 This also is what is meant by being born again of water 
 and the spirit, or by truth and a life according to it, in 
 aid of which the Lord continually operates by his 
 Holy Spirit, upon all who are willing to be led into 
 life everlasting. 
 
 II. 
 
 As Eegeneration advances, the perception of the 
 rational principle becomes more acute and refined ; 
 and the minuter shades of distinction between good 
 and evil become visible in clearer light. In the 
 commencement of the formation of the new will and 
 understanding, the grosser evils were shunned, but 
 now the more hidden and interior ones come into 
 view. Many also of the lesser evils, which before 
 were admitted or excused, are now by experience 
 known to be hurtful, and it is perceived that their 
 abandonment is indispensable to further progression.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 Many things which before were painful, and occasioned 
 deep regret when brought before the tribunal of the 
 understanding, are now condemned by the immediate 
 instinctive sensation of the will or affection. Con- 
 science has now acquired such a delicacy and power, 
 that eternity becomes, as it were, the touchstone of 
 time. Our actions here are transferred in thought to 
 our trial there ; and the mind revolts at any principle 
 in its voluntary practice, which it would not wish to 
 appear naked and undisguised before angels in the 
 world of spirits, when the inmost thoughts shall be 
 revealed. In the more interior stages of the new 
 birth, or of the heavenly order of the heart and mind, 
 all things are referred to God. If success attend our 
 temporal undertakings, we shall discern in them so 
 many gifts from God by which our sphere of useful- 
 ness may be extended, and our triumphs will be those 
 of thanksgiving and praise. Should adverse fortune 
 prevail, we shall conclude it to be best for us, and 
 that some attainments in goodness which we need, 
 are forming in the crucible for our future advance- 
 ment. If we suffer pain, we shall know that our 
 patience and submission are intended to be exercised 
 thereby, and that some dross, which adheres too 
 strongly, is removing from the virgin gold ; and 
 however severely felt the trial may be, it will not be 
 forgotten, that it is a purifying process. Do we suffer 
 by slanderous tongues ? We shall look up to the 
 Lord as our judge, and in any efforts that we make 
 in our vindication, we shall sincerely desire to 
 be guided by the principles of divine truth. Do our 
 enemies prosper, and does malignity triumph over us * 
 
 We shall consider that the purposes and actions of all 
 o*
 
 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 men, and all the effects resulting from them, are under 
 the supreme control of the Lord, whose "footsteps" 
 of infinite goodness, wisdom, and power, " are not 
 known." Does death threaten us at the moment 
 when our temporal concerns assume a brighter form ? 
 We shall consider that we know not what danger to 
 onr spiritual health may lurk in the transient sunshine 
 of outward prosperity, and that a brighter and eternal 
 sun awaits us in the heavenly world of everlasting 
 peace. Have we been disappointed of a much desired 
 partner here ? It will be our consolation that our 
 choice will become infallible hereafter, when Provi- 
 dence will direct our erring minds to an indissoluble 
 union with the only kindred spirit that is in every 
 respect suited for the improvement of our mutual 
 eternal felicity. 
 
 in. 
 
 In the progress of regeneration, the changes of state 
 are for the most part inscrutable. Most of them 
 transcend angelic wisdom, and are known to the Lord 
 alone. The little, however, which we perceive, we 
 are sometimes enabled to describe with some degree 
 of clearness. When the rational mind is fully 
 awakened to spiritual views, it is like a tree decorated 
 with leaves in spring, every new shoot putting forth 
 new beauty as it emerges from its winter state, till it 
 is crowned and surrounded with blossoms. In like 
 manner the blossoms of new-born spiritual truths 
 afford the delightful promise of an abundance of 
 heavenly fruit, in the degree that they escape the 
 blighting winds of self-love, and the love of the world. 
 The natural rational mind thus arrayed in the early
 
 THE REGEXEHATE LIFE. 
 
 spring of the regenerate life, is delightful to behold, 
 aud many will be attracted more by the appearance 
 of its blossoms than gratified by the deeper reflection, 
 that the tree must return again to a comparatively 
 unattractive state, and that what is outwardly so 
 gratifying to the sight, must recede, and give way to 
 the formation of fruits, which, after they have passed 
 their first sour and bitter state of temptation, will 
 prove still more gratifying to the view, because more 
 useful in the sustenance of spiritual life. Temptations 
 often repeated, and sometimes attended with direful 
 despondency, will assail the new convert as soon as 
 he is able to bear them, and will at times lead his 
 affections and perceptions far away into the burning, 
 barren desert, or the waste, howling wilderness, in 
 order that he may contemplate his own vileness, 
 discover his manifold evils, and look up to the Lord 
 alone for deliverance. These successive temptations 
 will excite an increasing abhorrence of evil ; and the 
 sufferer in them, when refreshed with intervals of 
 heavenly peace, will acknowledge at heart, that one 
 vital ray of spiritual sunshine is far more exhilarating 
 than all the natural delights, which, in his previous 
 state of life, had been sought with so much eagerness, 
 and cultivated with so much assiduity and care. As 
 the new satisfactions acquire strength, the former ones 
 will become insipid, until the objects of time will 
 seem gradually to shrink away from the grasp of 
 eternity, and the enlivening prospects of futurity, 
 built on a sincere desire to obey the divine laws, will 
 give a calm serenity of mind which the restless 
 billows of passion in vain endeavor to disturb. 
 Worldly pleasures have been repeatedly experienced
 
 8 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 to end in disappointment, satiety, regret, dissatisfac- 
 tion, and disgust ; but spiritual sufferings, on the 
 contrary, have been found to end in tears of delight, 
 in calm and humble submission, in the sweetness of 
 heavenly resolutions, in the reviving hope, and 
 sometimes the foretaste, of future felicity. The 
 former pleasures were attended with disappointment 
 almost in the act of enjoyment, but the new satisfac- 
 tions are built on everlasting foundations ; and if the 
 latter are occasionally taken from us for a season, it 
 is only in order to their being restored to us renewed 
 and increased by means of temptation-combats against 
 those selfish and worldly foes that would deprive us 
 of them. Our best delights are suspended, also, in 
 order to render us more sensible that they are, in 
 every degree of attainment, not our proper own, but, 
 like our life itself, the free and continual gift of God. 
 The spiritual life in its progress has much to undergo 
 from uncongenialities, and very often as much from 
 erroneous conclusions. So soon as we begin to prefer 
 heaven to earth, we are impatient to be translated to 
 a celestial clime, in whose pure atmosphere, however, 
 we have not as yet received lungs to breathe, and 
 where, consequently, we should, if prematurely intro- 
 duced into it, quickly lose the pulsation of the heart, 
 and with it, all sense of delight. Heavenly affections 
 are acquired by slow degrees. They are not promoted 
 by impatient wishes and fruitless sighs. They are the 
 reward given by the master of the vineyard to his 
 faithful laborer. The vineyard which he is to cultivate 
 is within him ; it is there that he must labor for " the 
 meat which endureth unto everlasting life." The 
 spiritual traveller who, on his first setting-out, sighs
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 so frequently for heaven, will probably find, on a 
 slight examination of his state, that he often sighs 
 likewise for those worldly possessions which he fancies 
 he could so aptly accommodate to spiritual uses, not 
 discovering the lure which fascinates him. Painful 
 uncongenialities occasioned by a forced intercourse 
 with the world, however they may sicken on the 
 new-born taste of the spiritual mind, have their 
 important uses ; by opening the contrast to our own 
 views, which brighten by comparison with things 
 opposite ; and by forcing self, in the subtle form of 
 spiritual selfishness, to subside. The latter effect is 
 consequent on a discovery of the states of the minds 
 of others, for while we behold in them much to avoid, 
 we are naturally led to endeavor to administer kind 
 and seasonable aid. Uncongenialities also, by causing 
 the temporary privation of the society we prefer, will 
 serve to enliven the relish for it. There is, doubtless, 
 a particular and unerring providence in bringing us 
 into situations that excite aversion, as well as into 
 such as most favor our truest delights. "When the 
 spiritual mind has progressively advanced to the dawn 
 of the celestial state, it will make more interior 
 discoveries by a single glance, than it could have 
 made in its prior states by its deepest researches, and 
 in its clearest vision. 
 
 The spiritual mind is in the perception of spiritual 
 causes, or means, which are truths, and which are far 
 above the comprehension of the merely natural mind, 
 laboring, as it does, in the dark shade of uncompre- 
 hended effects ; but the celestial mind is in the percep- 
 tion of celestial ends, which relate to the essential 
 uses of goodness ; and which ends, by the former
 
 10 DISSERTATIONS ON' 
 
 causes or means, are to be brought into accomplish- 
 ment in their effects* ; the celestial mind has a lively 
 sensation, as well as vision, that the beginnings and 
 endings of all things are in God ; it is most in self- 
 annihilation when in its most lucid states, for it is 
 then most in the reception of goodness from its divine 
 Source ; and when it is in the twilight of its evening 
 shade, it quietly submits, and waits the revival of its 
 energies with the rising sun. 
 
 The evil which the natural mind, while under the 
 government of natural love, indulges, and which the 
 spiritual mind, when it detects its movements in the 
 partially purified natural mind, condemns, the celestial 
 mind views with pity, as a feeble, unavailing effort, 
 the sad delusion of insanity, and the fretful workings 
 of yet uncorrected disorders, which must be over- 
 thrown. 
 
 The natural mind exults in selfish and worldly loves ; 
 the spiritual mind is at war against them, and is 
 blessed with intervals of peace , the celestial mind 
 having subdued them by power from the Lord, presents 
 such affections as are best calculated to win upon the 
 heart. 
 
 The natural mind offers the seduction of false 
 delights ; the spiritual mind offers the force of religious 
 precept, realized by example ; the celestial mind shows 
 that the end of the commandment is peace, and would 
 win men to it by love. 
 
 The natural mind is confined to earth, where it 
 would gladly prolong its existence ; the spiritual mind 
 would gladly leave earth for heaven, and join the 
 
 * By the spiritual mind, the author here means the mind which has been 
 opened to the spiritual degree; and by the celestial mind, the mind when it has 
 been further opened to the ctUstial degree.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 ascending angels which Jacob saw ; the celestial mind 
 having reached the summit of the heavenly ladder, 
 would return with the descending angels to invite 
 others to the celestial abodes. 
 
 -I Note concerning the Order in which the Human Principles are 
 Regenerated. 
 
 It may be expedient to add a few observations to 
 the foregoing article. 
 
 There are three degrees of the human mind, which, 
 when perfected, are receptive of three degrees of 
 heavenly good, answering to the three heavens : the 
 first degree of good, and which pertains to the 
 spiritual-natural degree, is called the good of obedi- 
 ence, or the good of faith ; the second, which pertains 
 to the spiritual degree, is called the good of charity ; 
 and the third, which pertains to the celestial degree. 
 is called the good of love to the Lord above all things. 
 The above three degrees are those of the Internal Man, 
 or the spiritual or heavenly mind ; and this region of 
 the spirit in the unregenerate, is wholly closed up ; 
 and instead of it, they think only from the External 
 Man, or the natural or earthly mind. In this case, 
 the three degrees of the external man are in a state of 
 opposition to the three degrees of good belonging to 
 the internal man, and are occupied by three degrees 
 of infernal evil, answering to the three hells. The 
 first degree of evil, which pertains to the merely 
 natural degree, is called the evil of the love of 
 pleasure ; the second, which pertains to the sensual 
 degree, is called the evil of the love of the world ; and 
 the third, which pertains to the corporeal degree, is 
 called the evil of the love of self above all things, or
 
 12 D1BSERTATIOXS 05 
 
 the love of dominion. The first, second, and third 
 degrees of evil, are respectively in opposition to the 
 first, second, and third degrees of good. Some persons 
 are more addicted, by hereditary constitution, to the 
 love of pleasure ; some, to the love of worldly posses- 
 sions ; and others, to the love of dominion ; but still 
 an unregenerate man, whatever his peculiar hereditary 
 propensity or bias may be, is governed by that degree 
 of evil which rules in the hell with which he is 
 connected, according to the extent in which, by a 
 wicked life, he has confirmed evil in himself. 
 
 While man is being regenerated to the first degree 
 of life, by which the good of obedience is attained, 
 charity and love to the Lord (or spiritual and celestial 
 love) are present, and consciously exist, but not as 
 leading or primary principles, but only as secondary 
 ones, acting remotely and feebly, and comparatively 
 as when a superior kind of man acts as a servant to a 
 well-disposed master, who, as a man, however, is the 
 inferior of the two. But when man is regenerated to 
 the second degree, charity becomes the leading prin- 
 ciple, and the good of the first degree merges therein, 
 while that of the third degree still remains in its state 
 of servitude; but when the third degree is attained, 
 love to the Lord above all things obtains the dominion 
 over the whole mind, and the two prior degrees of 
 good become secondary, and are lost to view as distinct 
 principles, in the effulgence of the highest. 
 
 In order that the good of the first degree, which is 
 the good of obedience, may be attained, the opposite 
 evil of the love of pleasure must be subdued ; and 
 during this portion of the regenerating process, 
 the two deeper degrees of evil, the opposite to the
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 two higher degrees of good, namely, the love of the 
 world, and the love of dominion or of self, are indeed 
 active, but only remotely, and in a feeble and second- 
 ary manner. After the evil of the first degree has 
 been subdued, and the good of obedience attained, 
 evil spirits of the second hell are permitted to call 
 forth the evil of the love of the world, and to operate, 
 in the way of temptation, to render it the ruling love ; 
 and when this evil has been subdued, and the good 
 of charity attained, evil spirits of the third or lowest 
 hell are permitted to call forth, in like manner, the 
 love of dominion, which, in its deepest ground, rebels 
 against every superior, even the Lord himself; but 
 this evil being subdued, the three degrees of the 
 external man have then been successively purified 
 from their evil bias, and the principles therein are all 
 rendered willing instruments to celestial purposes, 
 and are sanctified by their ruling principle, that of 
 love to the Lord above all things. 
 
 Thus it appears that, during the regeneration of the 
 first degree of the mind or life, the temptation is 
 chiefly from the love of pleasure, excited by the 
 spirits of the first hell, because power has not yet 
 been acquired by regeneration, or the attainment of 
 heavenly good, to enter into conflict with the deeper 
 seated evils ; and daring the regeneration of the 
 second degree, the temptation is principally in some 
 form of the love of the world, flowing in from the 
 second hell ; and during the regeneration of the third 
 degree, the temptation is in some form of the love of 
 dominion, flowing in from the deepest hell. 
 
 Every regenerate person does not attain the highest 
 degree of regeneration, some only attaining the first 
 3
 
 DISSERTATION'S OX 
 
 degree, and some, the second. It is not in the power 
 of any one to know the degree in which he has been 
 regenerated, nor ought he to desire to know it, for 
 this knowledge the Divine Providence sedulously 
 conceals, even to the end, in order to keep man in 
 states of self-abasement favorable to his further 
 progress, and to prevent him from falling into self- 
 glory, which would entirely put a stop to it. 
 
 As man advances, his deeper evils being brought 
 forth to his view, he becomes more humble, and more 
 disposed to consider himself as the least of all. and is 
 more and more willing to become the servant of all, 
 regarding himself as altogether unworthy of the least 
 of the divine mercies. 
 
 Since the regenerate man by divine aid successively 
 subdues his evils, the order of their excitement will 
 not, in his case, outwardly appear, because he has not 
 allowed them to go into act ; but the order is some- 
 times A'isible in unregenerate men, whose early 
 maturity exhibits dissipation, followed at middle age 
 by meanness and covetousness, and finally closed by 
 tyranny in old age, towards all who arc within their 
 reach. Cases undoubtedly occur in which early 
 maturity is marked by a sordid or a domineering 
 spirit more than by the love of pleasure, but still the 
 propensity thus exhibited is called forth by influx 
 from the same principle as it exists in the first hell. 
 
 The above described three degrees of good and of 
 evil, are called discrete, meaning perfectly distinct 
 degrees, connected by contact, but not continuous into 
 each other, and each degree has its continuous 
 degrees ; an idea may be formed of a discrete degree 
 by considering the connection of aftection, thought,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 15 
 
 and speech ; and continuous degrees are apparent in 
 the gradual diminution of sound from the place of 
 its production to that where it becomes inaudible. 
 Without the existence of discrete degrees, which are 
 degrees of elevation, there could be no interior or 
 superior principles in the mind, nor, of course, any 
 exterior or inferior ; and without continuous degrees, 
 or degrees of lateral extension, no one principle could 
 be capable of development, expansion, or gradual 
 perfection. Each discrete degree is progressively 
 perfected by continuous degrees. 
 
 For further particulars concerning degrees of both 
 kinds, the reader may consult Swedenborg's "Angelic 
 Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and the Divine 
 Wisdom ; " and also his treatise on " Heaven and 
 Hell," n. 38. 
 
 OX THE NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL MIND.* 
 
 PROGRESSION from a natural to a spiritual state, is 
 progression from a state of darkness and disorder to a 
 state of light and health. Before regeneration, man 
 thinks in an earthly manner, and so far as he refuses 
 to be regenerated, lie thinks in an infernal manner ; 
 but by regeneration he is led, through a rectifying 
 change passing upon the organs of will and thought, 
 into the capability of thinking in a heavenly manner, 
 and thus of thinking wisely, or from goodness and 
 truth in union. Before regeneration, a man thinks 
 according to a false estimate of outward things ; and, 
 
 :> By the tuttural mind, the author here means the unrcgencrate mind, 
 which is merely natural; and by the spirittial mind, he moans the mind which 
 has been made spiritual by regeneration.
 
 16 LISSKRTATIOXS OX 
 
 as respects the relations of human beings to each 
 other, and particularly the relations between the 
 opposite sexes, he thinks unwisely and disorderly, 
 because erroneously and impurely. Concerning the 
 persons and functions of the other sex, the merely 
 natural mind cannot but think in an inverted order, 
 that is, from the body to the spirit, instead of from the 
 spirit to the body. By the experience induced in the 
 course of regeneration, the false estimate of outward 
 things is corrected ; and the elevated mind is also 
 enabled to think purely and accurately concerning 
 the relations of man to man, and concerning the 
 conjugal union, and its uses, and the persons and 
 functions of the other sex. Thus to be able to think, 
 is to think purely from goodness, and accurately from 
 truth, and therefore wisely, and, as a blessed conse- 
 quence, in harmony with the thoughts of angels, who 
 can therefore be associated with us ; and in harmony 
 with the Lord's thoughts, with whom therefore con- 
 junction, both of will and understanding, can be 
 permanently maintained. Such is the immense 
 difference between the conscious life or thought of 
 the man who is merely natural, and of the man who 
 is made spiritual ! Indeed, the difference is so great, 
 that the spontaneous thoughts and judgments of the 
 merely natural mind respecting moral and spiritual 
 relations, are insanity, while those of the spiritual 
 mind, are wisdom ! The thoughts of the former also 
 are spiritually diseased or dead, because the true life 
 of love and wisdom, by which the latter are made 
 spiritually alive, and are given to enjoy spiritual 
 health and vigor, are in a state of extinction. The 
 spiritual mind is said tobe " alive unto God, ?< because
 
 THE UKGEX'KRATK LIKK. 
 
 therein the mental recipient organs of spiritual life 
 have been opened, and replenished with heavenly 
 loves and their pure delights ; but in the merely 
 natural mind, the spiritual organs for the reception of 
 spiritual life are in a state of imdevelopment Persons 
 of the latter description are in the unconscious recep- 
 tion of life immediately from the Lord, by virtue of 
 which they are preserved in the capacity of being 
 regenerated, and of having their spiritual minds 
 opened, upon their doing the work of repentance ; but 
 while they remain in evil, they reject from their 
 conscious individuality the mediate influx through 
 heaven, or through the medium of angels, because 
 this can only be consciously received in good affections 
 acquired by regeneration'- ; and, instead of the 
 heavenly influx, they choose to receive influx from 
 hell, or from evil spirits, by whom they are governed, 
 and are held in spiritual bondage. 
 
 As the mind of the regenerating Christian advances 
 towards maturity, it contemplates the pursuits of men 
 whose minds are merely natural as the wanderings of 
 insanity, which give fancied substantial forms to 
 fleeting shadows. Every thing, in fact, which is of a 
 transient nature, is viewed by such persons as perma- 
 nent. and every thing which is of a spiritual and 
 permanent nature, is regarded as visionary. Bodily 
 delights, which are constantly weakening, are specu- 
 lated upon, and fostered, as if they were to last 
 forever. Power and riches, houor and fame, which 
 time mocks, and death extinguishes, employ all the 
 energies of the infatuated mind, which, in its pursuit 
 
 * Meiliat,' 1 influx, lioweTcr, ha* a remote and unconscious activity upon th 
 io'lnnvn rnmainx: what remains *r<>, H shown in tin* n>>Tf :rti''U-.
 
 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 after shadows, is like the infant hand that would gra-j- 
 quicksilver ; when laid open, it has nothing in it ! 
 
 That veneration for the Supreme Being which all 
 His works without us, as well as within us, should 
 excite, giving birth to a benevolence that encircles 
 all mankind, the ambitious and restless cannot feel, 
 since their ruling purpose is to make themselves great 
 and mighty by thinking little of the Supreme Power, 
 and by seeking to increase their own enjoyments 
 instead of contributing to the happiness of their 
 neighbor. 
 
 Happy are they who are enabled to perceive that, 
 of themselves, they are nothing ; and who are thus 
 led to distrust the integrity of their motives, and the 
 soundness of their judgment, knowing that, in the 
 commencement of the regenerate life, there must 
 heeds be present in every act, comparatively little of 
 what is truly spiritual, and much of what is merely 
 natural !| It is, indeed, very difficult always to draw 
 the line between the two, and clearly to distinguish 
 between the demands of appetite, and the dictates of 
 reason ; the calls of our wishes, and the claims of duty 
 and conscience. Hence it is necessary to guard 
 against self-deception, and to remember that our best 
 interests are closely interwoven with a just judgment 
 concerning the true state of our minds. The work of 
 regeneration implies the entire giving up of the will 
 to the divine will, but this can never be done while 
 the mind suffers itselC to be blinded by the self-hood, 
 so as not to be able to distinguish between what is of 
 the Lord, and what is of self. 
 
 In the regeneration, every natural joy, however 
 fair, plausible, and pleasing its complexion, must fade
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 away in order to its being renewed from a spiritual 
 root, which will reanimate the natural joy, and give it 
 a permanent nature, by uniting it with eternal views 
 and principles. As regeneration advances, alternate 
 desolations and supports become more frequent. The 
 desolations are often attended with sad despondency, 
 and are shortened as they become more acute ; while 
 the supports, some of which are marked with particular 
 providences, are frequently also of short duration. 
 In the desolations we perceive our own nothingness, 
 and in the supports, the Lord's power. Were the 
 supports to continue too long, we might begin to fancy 
 ourselves to be something ; and were the desolations 
 to last, the Lord's power would disappear, leaving us 
 apparently to perish. In proportion as we acquire 
 the habit of feeling, as well as of intellectually seeing, 
 that, of ourselves, we are nothing, and that the Lord 
 is all in all-, our states are more and more perfected, 
 and it is given to us to enjoy an enlightened con- 
 sciousness that our spiritual attainments, while they 
 appear to be our own, are really of the Lord with us. 
 and thus are actually his. 
 
 -I \nti- ,'. */!/ UK/ lli< ('it ion of the Internal (.(ml /.>/<//"// Man in 
 (tie Rc.y fner at In ;t Christina. 
 
 iii the preceding article, the author uses the terms 
 "spiritual mind," and " natural mind,'' in a particular 
 sense, but those terms are sometimes used in another 
 sense, to mean the internal and the external man. 
 In a preceding Xote, the three degrees of the mind, 
 and the order of their regeneration, were discussed, 
 and it was stated, that the internal man consists of
 
 20 WSSERTATION5 OX 
 
 three unfallen degrees of life, and the external, of 
 three fallen degrees, and that, before regeneration, 
 the three degrees of the former are closed up, and 
 those of the latter are open, having a tendency to evil 
 in preference to good. But when regeneration is fully 
 effected, and the three degrees of the external man 
 have all been purified, or in proportion as this is the 
 case, they become of a heavenly quality by union with 
 the corresponding degrees of the internal man ; and 
 then, in the first degree, the love of pleasure becomes 
 subordinate to the love of obedience ; in the second, 
 the love of the world, to the love of the neighbor ; 
 and in the third, the love of self, to the love of the 
 Lord. If the first degree of good has been realized, a 
 man is called a spiritual-natural man ; if the second, 
 a spiritual man ; and if the third, a celestial man. 
 
 Simultaneously with the opening of the first degree 
 of the internal man, a new principle is brought into 
 operation, called the rational principle, and which is 
 situated between the internal and external man, the 
 superior part of it being spiritual, and the inferior 
 part, natural, and thus it is qualified for the office- of 
 an intermediate principle, and is capable of uniting 
 by means of properties analogous to both that which 
 is above, with that which is beneath. In this u middle 
 mind," as it is called by E. S., conscience is situated, 
 whose dictate is the harmonious result from all the 
 states of goodness and truth, either lent by the Lord 
 or actually appropriated by life from Him. It is in the 
 inferior part of this " middle mind," that man thinks 
 while he is in the world. Thus^the seat of thought 
 and consciousness being in the midst between the 
 spiritual and the natural mind, man is sensible of the
 
 THE RF.GKNERATE LIFE. 21 
 
 opposite influences which meet therein ; the one being 
 from the Lord and angels from above, through the 
 internal man ; and the other being from hell from 
 beneath, through the external man, that is, so far as 
 the latter lias not as yet been purified. In this centre 
 of consciousness, man is held between two opposing 
 forces in exact equilibrium, that he may freely deter- 
 mine to which he will give the preference. 
 
 In respect to what is lent by the Lord, above alluded 
 to : this embraces all the states of innocence and good 
 insinuated before mature age, as a medium through 
 which regeneration may be accomplished at maturity. 
 These states of good are called " Remains," as being 
 all that remains of the divine life in man before re- 
 generation ; and they consist of states of love to 
 parents and others, induced by kindness ; and states 
 of love to little companions, arising from pleasure 
 found in their society ; the former correspond to, and 
 become a medium for introducing love to the Lord ; 
 and the latter, neighborly love ; and these spiritual 
 principles being introduced by regeneration, the 
 innocence of ignorance imparted to the mind before 
 adolescence, is succeeded by the innocence of wisdom. 
 All the good that man receives from the Lord as the 
 consequence of his putting away evil, is given to him 
 as his own, on condition that he acknowledges that it 
 is a continual gift from the Lord. 
 
 Every degree of the mind from first to last, is 
 divided into two regions or principles, the one called 
 the will, which is the seat of the affections of love ; 
 and the other called the understanding, which is the 
 seat of the perceptions of thought : in a general sense, 
 " the will " implies the will parts of all the degrees
 
 22 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 taken together, and " the understanding," in like 
 manner, all that is intellectual in every degree. The 
 " new will '' embraces all that has been opened, 
 formed, and communicated by the Lord, in the will 
 part during regeneration ; and the " old will " ? denotes 
 all in the will which lias not, as yet, been purified and 
 made spiritually alive. The new and old will are 
 called by an Apostle the " spirit and the flesh," the 
 " inner and outer man," and also, " the new and the 
 old man/' The old will is also called in the New- 
 Church writings, the proprium or self-hood, which 
 term expresses the disposition in a finite creature to 
 better himself by appropriating something new or 
 additional, and this disposition is what distinguishes 
 him from the Infinite Creator, of whom no such desire 
 or change can be predicated. Sometimes the " pro- 
 prium " designates the deepest degree of self-love in 
 the old will ; it is then the old will, as it were, in its 
 very essence. Before regeneration, the proprium of 
 the old will, called the old proprium, desires to ap- 
 propriate nothing but what is evil and false, and 
 which is from hell ; but the new will desires to 
 appropriate only what is good and true from the 
 Lord, and it is therefore called the new proprium. 
 
 Man being thus compounded, it is clear that every 
 impression made upon him after his spiritual mind 
 has begun to be opened, has a two-fold character, and 
 is so perceived in the rational principle ; the superior 
 part of the impression being that which is made on the 
 new will, in the internal man, and the inferior, that 
 which is made on the new will in the external man, 
 to which also it somewhat frequently and artfully 
 annexes itself, belonging to the old will. It should,
 
 THE REOHNERATB LIFE. 
 
 then, be the care of a sincere Christian, first to detect 
 what is of the old will, that he may reject it entirely, 
 and next, to see that the internal and external of the 
 new will are duly subordinated and balanced, so that 
 each has only its due share in every impression. In 
 short, he should endeavor, with the strictest justice, 
 to " render unto Caesar the things which are Csesars, 
 and unto God the things which are God's." The im- 
 pression received by the internal man forms the 
 interior of the general impression, and that received 
 by the external man, its exterior. To present an 
 illustration : The internal man's zeal for the progress 
 of the church in the world, is a zeal for the increase 
 of internal good and truth amongst men ; but the zeal 
 of the purified external man is, for the external pros- 
 perity of the church, that is, in every thing which 
 renders it an object of pleasant and desirable outward 
 perception, as in numbers, respectability, talents, out- 
 ward order, and beauty of appearance in the externals- 
 of religion. While man is in the first degree of life 
 he is an external member of the church, and in all 
 his general impressions there will be more of the 
 external present than the internal, the latter being as 
 yet but feeble in its influence ; hence he will judge of 
 the prosperity of the church more from its outward 
 and apparent, than from its inward and real properties. 
 But when the internal man is sufficiently opened it 
 will be perceived, that the church is in greater pros- 
 perity by possessing one internal celestial member, 
 than it would be without him, even if it possessed a 
 thousand-fold more of members of a lower degree of 
 attainment. It is wise, then, duly to balance the ex- 
 ternal desire for numbers by the internal desire for
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 quality. Again : The internal desires the purity of 
 a future state, while the external desires its peace ; 
 but if the latter be not held in due subordination to 
 the former, there is danger of the hope of heaven be- 
 coming of a selfish quality, and, in seasons of adversity 
 in particular, of the mind coming under the influence 
 of the old will, and falling into a querulous and dis- 
 contented state. Again : When an injury is sustained, 
 the will of the internal man perceives in the offender 
 an unhappy departure from his own true interests, by 
 a sad violation of heavenly order ; but the will of the 
 external sees a loss occasioned to itself by an infraction 
 of natural justice, and it justly demands restitution: 
 now if the latter be not held in due subordination, and 
 the former duly cherished, the will in the external 
 may be drawn towards the old will, and be in danger, 
 through the loss of the guiding and correcting power 
 of the internal, of degenerating from natural justice 
 into vindictiveness and oppression. Again : The in- 
 ternal desires to realize the use of public worship, 
 while the external desires the pleasure it affords ; if 
 the latter is suffered to become so exclusively active 
 as that the former becomes almost quiescent, the 
 mental taste will become morbid and difficult to 
 please, and the mischiefs that would thence originate 
 are obvious. 
 
 This general principle then results : that if the 
 will of the internal man be duly cherished in its 
 activities, the purified will in the external is in safe 
 and enlightened activity ; but so far as the external is 
 allowed to predominate over, and silence the internal, 
 the latter cannot but lose power, and the consequence 
 will be, that the old will again will rear its head, and
 
 TIIE REGENERATE LIFE. 25 
 
 endeavor to seduce the inferior and external part of 
 the new will to listen to the dictates of what is evil 
 and false. 
 
 CONCERNING THE DELIGHTS AND PROGRESS OF RELIGION. 
 
 THE first or earliest abode of religion is in the 
 memory, the second is in the understanding, and the 
 last is in the heart. By prudent and religious parents 
 the subjects of religion are gradually introduced to 
 the infant mind, and particularly by means of those 
 pleasing and interesting, as well as instructive narra- 
 tives, with which the Scriptures abound, and which 
 are specially intended by the all-merciful author of 
 the "Word, for the use of young people.; The story of 
 Joseph and his brethren, David andGoliah, with other 
 portions of the histories in both Testaments, are calcu- 
 lated to inspire a relish for sacred subjects arrayed in 
 interesting occurrences, and also to lay the foundation 
 of sentiments of veneration for, and trust in, the 
 Supreme Lord of all. They are likewise calculated to 
 awaken incipient feelings of compassion, benevolence, 
 and forgiving charity. In maturer years, if these 
 early impressions are not superseded by an all-en- 
 grossing concern about vain and trifling worldly 
 things, the mind will revert to them, and will take up 
 the deeper truths that are conveyed in the sacred 
 pages, and will compare the lessons of early instruc- 
 tion with the ideas which it has subsequently formed 
 in a more free, as well as a more advanced state of the 
 understanding. The precepts of the Divine "Word 
 will then be received as an unerring rule, counter- 
 acting numberless propensities that oppose them, and
 
 26 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 so soon as they are firmly believed to be indispensable 
 both for our present and future felicity, an internal 
 struggle and warfare will commence between the false 
 delights of erring reason and passion, and the calm 
 and sober delights of rectified reason and subordinate 
 inclin ation. While this contention continues, many 
 bitter days will be experienced of spiritual, and possi- 
 bly of temporal privations ; and many painful conflicts 
 will have to be endured, in order to the subjugation 
 of acquired habits, or the giving up of hurtful or 
 delusive pursuits. The idols of the imagination must 
 be thrown down, and the imagination itself subjected 
 to an enlightened judgment, which knows how to 
 distinguish betweefa a good that is artificial and im- 
 aginary, and one that is founded in order, and 
 sanctioned by true wisdom. 
 
 Internal peace cannot take place until our spiritual 
 foes are subdued ; and until experience has realized 
 those satisfactions on account of which the under- 
 standing first submitted itself to the divine teaching 
 and leading. When the will acquiesces with the 
 dictates of the holy commandments, and the divine 
 law becomes habitually the rule of life, and the will 
 and understanding harmoniously conspire to form new 
 habits of thinking as well as of acting, then the 
 delights of religion begin to shed abundantly their 
 mild and heavenly radiance on the heart. Instead of 
 the malignant gratifications of revenge, hatred and 
 malice, the delights of a forgiving spirit are experi- 
 enced. Instead of the restless aims of ambition, 
 gratitude and contentment give a relish to the most 
 moderate possessions. Even the very lapse of time 
 occasions a constant delight, while it suggests the
 
 THK REGENERATE I.IKE. 
 
 nearer approach of an immortal existence. As the 
 prospects of the spiritual Christian are eternal, so 
 also, even during this transitory life, are all his really, 
 or most valued possessions, which form, as it were, the 
 first links in that chain of his being, which already 
 finds an extension into the heavenly societies. The 
 possessions in which the spiritual mind delights are 
 not those of wealth, or abundance of worldly things, 
 which, however, if obtained, are found to open chan- 
 nels of pure enjoyment, because they are principally 
 regarded for their use, but they consist of imperish- 
 able satisfactions found in the treasures of heavenly 
 wisdom unfolded in the sacred Word ; in acts of 
 benevolence ; in well-founded hopes ; in calm de- 
 pendence on Divine Providence ; in sweet social 
 intercourse ; in heavenly communications ; in retired 
 meditation ; in prayer ; in worship that never ceases 
 in the truly devout mind ; and in activities that 
 charity constantly impels and directs, with a view t< > 
 alleviate the sorrows, or promote the happiness of 
 others. The purposes and actions of wicked men are 
 patiently borne with, or else prudently opposed, 
 whenever opposition is seen to be a duty, in order tu 
 protect the interests of goodness. The delights of 
 religion may be interrupted, but they cannot be 
 destroyed. Being sown on immortal ground, they 
 will survive the transient sufferings and difficulties 
 of time, and will flourish with eternal increase in 
 heaven. 
 
 ON THE LIFE OF TRUTH AND THE LIFE OF GOOD. 
 THE life of truth is a life of obedience, and the lite 
 of good is a life of love. The life of truth rece
 
 28 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 and acknowledges the commandments, and is in the 
 constant endeavor to abide by their rule, in opposition 
 to many counteracting propensities ; the life of truth 
 is therefore a life of much labor and combat, but by 
 successive victories over the evils of the self-hood, it 
 progressively advances to the life of good, which is 
 the establishment of the commandments in the heart, 
 or in the soul's delight. In the degree that good be- 
 comes the leading principle, the state of warfare 
 ceases. Evil, having lost its lure, is no longer able to 
 charm and to divide the mind. During the life of 
 truth, the understanding often reproves the untoward 
 will, and temptations and desolations abound ; but the 
 life of good is a spontaneous rejection of evil as the 
 ^palate rejects unpleasant food, the eye, unpleasant 
 prospects, and the smell, offensive vapors : the sensa- 
 tion acts instinctively, and the understanding after- 
 wards confirms. In the former life, the understanding 
 teaches, and the will, sometimes with pleasantness, 
 and sometimes with reluctance, obeys. During the 
 life of truth, the activity of two opposite wills is sen- 
 sibly perceived ; the new will from the Lord acqui- 
 esces, and the old will, not yet subdued, frequently 
 rebels ; during the life of truth, faith distinguishes 
 qualities, and occasions clearness of vision of those 
 things which are afterwards brought into fruition by 
 the life of erood. 
 
 A Note on a Further JJlstinction between the Life of Truth // ill- 
 Life of Good. 
 
 One of the most common mistakes made by man- 
 kind, in judging of their actual attainments in virtue,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 29 
 
 is, that of mistaking their commendation of a good 
 quality, or their admiration of an intellectual descrip- 
 tion of it, for the actual possession of it. This is the 
 same thing as mistaking our truths to be goods ; or as 
 identifying, or confounding, the intellectual percep- 
 tions with the voluntary affections. The observation 
 equally applies to those who are in natural, as to 
 those who are in spiritual intelligence ; and it is one 
 of the important uses of genuine doctrine, to correct 
 this erroneous estimate, and thus to prevent any one 
 from " thinking more highly of himself than he ought 
 to think." 
 
 The Life of Truth is the preparatory stage of regen- 
 eration, and which also is called reformation ; in this 
 state, the order of thought and action is from good to 
 truth, or from the will to the understanding. It is, of 
 course, in the earliest state of the Life of Truth, that 
 the mistake alluded to exists in the greatest degree. 
 In the gradual progress of the regenerate life, there is 
 a successive discovery of /the latent evils of our fallen 
 nature ; and with this discovery a doubt gradually 
 springs up, whether the goods previously thought to 
 be possessed, but which in reality were only truths, 
 were really possessed. Thus the regenerating Chris- 
 tian gradually obtains the correction of the error into 
 which he had necessarily fallen respecting his early 
 spiritual condition. This correction he owes to 
 the Lord's merciful operation upon his mind ; and 
 the period when it takes place is, when he is surprised 
 by a sense of loathing for the heavenly manna, 
 and when he detects in himself a strong inclination 
 towards the flesh pots of Egypt. In the attainment 
 of a sense of his mistake, and which can only be 
 4*
 
 30 DISSERTATION'S OS 
 
 fully effected by the aid of genuine truth, the 
 Christian has the advantage over the man whose in- 
 telligence and morality are merely natural, because, 
 from his not submitting himself to the divine opera- 
 tion, the latter cannot but remain in his first state, in 
 which he proudly magnifies himself for his personal 
 possession of virtuous qualities, when, all the while, 
 he only possesses the intellectual patterns of them, 
 and they somewhat defective, first, in his under- 
 standing, and, secondly, in the natural habits induced 
 by his conforming to them in his outward conduct. 
 In his will, there still remains the love of self ruling 
 with unquestioned authority, but in a comparatively 
 restricted and beneficial manner. But as self love is 
 not really in any degree removed, but only restrained, 
 as it were, with its own consent, and because it is 
 allowed the bribe of self-worship, there is no room 
 for a new principle of good in the will to be intro- 
 duced by the Lord, and it is evident that, until this 
 new principle of good is introduced, and the new will 
 is formed by its introduction, the principles of action. 
 at the best, are truths, and not goods. In characters 
 not truly and altogether religious, or not entirely 
 receptive of divine truth, thus in characters whose 
 faith is merely historical, there can be no advance 
 from the life of truth to the life of good. Such ad- 
 vance is also rendered extremely difficult when truth 
 is extensively falsified, or mixed with error. 
 
 While the sincere novitiate in the regenerate life is 
 in the experience of full delight with the opening 
 beauty of divine truth, and mistakes his intellectual 
 admiration of the good that it delineates, for the 
 possession of the good itself, he necessarily thinks
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 31 
 
 much better of his spiritual condition than it really 
 deserves. But this defect of judgment the Lord 
 mercifully overrules for his good. Being yet weak 
 in faith, resolution, and zeal, he requires encourage- 
 ment to proceed in the, at first, painful task of self- 
 renunciation, i Were he to be made sensible of the 
 enormous evils which lie hid in his self hood, he would 
 be discouraged, and return to a natural state, in utter 
 hopelessness of ever becoming spiritual.) This is im- 
 plied in the leading of the Israelites round about 
 through the wilderness, " lest they should repent on 
 seeing war, and return to Egypt." Although the 
 Christian, while he mistakes the delight of truth for 
 the possession of good, thinks more highly of his 
 state, as to good, than it deserves, he is not at all 
 culpable for so doing; and although it is not con- 
 sistent with his well being, that he should continue 
 in this erroneous perception, it is, nevertheless, per- 
 fectly innocent, because it is according to the appear- 
 ance necessarily presented to his mind ; and inasmuch 
 as " the fear of the Lord " has introduced " the 
 beginning of wisdom" with him, there is also the 
 beginning of intellectual good with him, consisting in 
 a sincere affection of truth for the sake of spiritual 
 ends ; and this also conduces to render his error 
 innocent, and to guard against any dangerous risings 
 of pride. The doctrine likewise which he has received, 
 that man of himself is mere evil, is also a guard 
 against self-righteousness, and it is one which forms 
 another important distinction between his case and 
 that of the proud intellectual, moral man. 
 
 As the advancing Christian's selfhood is successively 
 opened, he becomes more and more acquainted with
 
 32 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 his evils, until he attains the conclusion of the Life of 
 Truth, and the commencement of the Life of Good ; 
 and, perhaps, at this point, his estimate of his attain- 
 ments is most near the truth. But as he advances in 
 the Life of Good, his more interior and dense evils 
 being opened to his view in temptation, he becomes 
 amazed, and even horrified, at his state by nature : 
 and such experiences continually recurring, with only 
 such intervals of spiritual refreshment being allowed 
 to him as are absolutely necessary, his idea of himself 
 becomes more and more humiliating. He is not 
 allowed to dwell upon his attainments in good lest he 
 should be tempted to glory, and therefore he is no 
 sooner encouraged with a glance at the good which is 
 forming and maturing in him, than the veil passes 
 over it, and his thoughts are again directed to the 
 evils almost always present to his perception, either 
 in a state of forced restraint and subjection, or in a 
 state of high insurrection in the conflicts of temptation. 
 Such is the process, until the life of good is completed, 
 and man is called to enter into the enjoyment of his 
 Sabbath of eternal rest from spiritual labors and 
 combats, in heaven. 
 
 The mistake of the advanced Christian concerning 
 his spiritual condition, in supposing it to be so inferior 
 to what it really is, is in no wise hurtful to him, but 
 altogether beneficial. It is quite encouragement 
 enough to urge him to press forward on his heavenly 
 way, that he knows, and is sure, that he hates all evil 
 because it is sin in the sight of the Lord. And 
 although his evils so often stand out in giant-like 
 dimensions before his perception, he is enabled to 
 comfort himself that they are not really his. and to
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFK. 33 
 
 assure himself that they cannot be imputed to him, 
 because, so far from loving them, he hates them with 
 a perfect hatred. The benefit that he derives from 
 his lowly estimation of himself is immense, inasmuch 
 as the entrance of spiritual life and love from the 
 Lord is always in exact proportion to man's self- 
 abasement, and the depression of his proprium ; for 
 exactly in proportion to his distrust of his own power, 
 does man come into the enjoyment of the aids of the 
 Lord's omnipotence; and thus exchanges weakness 
 for strength, ignorance for wisdom, evil for good, and 
 self for the Lord with him. 
 
 Thus it is that the Lord overrules all states, even 
 to the imperfections of them, so as to cause all things 
 to " work together for good to those who love Him " 
 in sincerity, by keeping His commandments, and 
 shunning evils as sins against Him. 
 
 ON TRUTH. 
 
 Pilate said, What is Truth? John xviii, 38. 
 
 THIS question, of most important and extensive 
 meaning, can only be answered according to the 
 feeble apprehensions of the human mind. Truth, in 
 its origin, belongs to the Deity alone. Truth is order ; 
 it is the perfection of form, or the manifestation of 
 good, without which good is an unknown, unmani- 
 fested essence ; truth is, therefore, the form of God, 
 whose essence is goodness. This explanation may be 
 illustrated from the natural world, where are corres- 
 ponding forms that meet our apprehension. The 
 natural sun, with its heat and light, is an image of 
 the spiritual sun, and of what is divine and spiritual
 
 3J; DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 thence derived; its essence is heat, its manifestation 
 is light, and these are, together, the efficient ca 
 and thence the constituents, of order in the natural 
 world ; for the light reveals the order ol nature that 
 results from the operation of the sun's heat, in the 
 progressive maturity of multiplied forms of use and 
 beauty, in like manner, Gospel light, or spiritual 
 truth, is the manifestation of good, which animates 
 the moral world within us with the divine warmth of 
 love ; it is the development of that successive order 
 by which man approaches to the perfection of spiritual 
 form, which form, when animated by goodness, as its 
 essence, constitutes him an image and likeness of God. 
 
 As a created being, I desire above all things to be 
 acquainted with my Creator ; to know his nature and 
 attributes; also to know myself ; and what I can do. 
 and ought to do, in order to gain His favor and His 
 love. Divine Truth tells me what, and who, God is : 
 divine truth, therefore, which alone can discover to 
 man the nature or quality, as well as the will of ( 
 is of infinitely more importance than all other truth, 
 which, in its infinite diversity of forms, may still be 
 traced to one original source. Truth in its origin is 
 the Word, or Infinite Wisdom of God, which Word 
 is the manifestation or form of God, by which alone 
 He is described and seen. The Word, therefore, in 
 the beginning was with God, and was God, and since 
 the written Word thence derived, in its inmost ground, 
 treats solely of God, it, also, viewed in itself, is divine, 
 or is God, who therein, and thereby, manifests Him- 
 self to angels and men. 
 
 Truth, in its purity, can relate only to goodness ; it 
 is the servant or operating cause to perform its work :
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 35 
 
 its guide to lead man to it ; its herald to proclaim it ; 
 its bosom friend in which goodness delights ; the 
 touchstone by which its properties are tried, known, 
 and brought to light. Truth is all that God speaks to 
 man relative to what is divine, and to the way in 
 which man should walk ; and, in a subordinate sense, 
 Truth is all that man speaks while he continues faith- 
 ful to the Word of God. When man keeps the com- 
 mandments, he leads a life of truth ; when he loves 
 the commandments, he leads a life of goodness ; thus 
 truth, sent forth from goodness, which originates in 
 God Himself, returns tc Source. Truth, there- 
 
 fore, is the bright mirror, the manifested form, and 
 the oracle of God. 
 
 ON THE POWER OF RETAINING TRUTH. 
 
 THAT a man of a confirmed evil life should hate 
 divine truth, is from the very nature of evil. Truth 
 discovers to him his own hideous form. If from the 
 memory only he views it, he looks with oblique or 
 half averted eyes. He considers Truth as a tiresome 
 monitor, an unwelcome intruder, that is always finding 
 fault, and always imposing a task ; and if the early 
 impressions on his memory did not retain some in- 
 delible record of its precepts, he would totally shut 
 his mind against it. When remorse follows guilt, it 
 is at first the offspring of fear ; if, however, there is a 
 degree of acknowledgment that what was done was 
 wrong, accompanied with a degree of self-condemna- 
 tion, it is the first dawn of the mind's reform, and is 
 a faint earnest of future obedience. When truth from 
 the memory is confirmed in the understanding out of
 
 3(5 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 regard to its excellence, a further advancement takes 
 place in the admission of truth. In this stage, when 
 the propensities to evil recur, they are sincerely con- 
 demned, until affection, or the will, by insensible 
 degrees, first espouses the cause of truth, and after- 
 wards, of goodness ; and then anxiety and pain never 
 cease to accompany the commission of evil, even in 
 its slightest visible operations. As the new will be- 
 comes more confirmed, and the affections of goodness 
 and truth gather strength, evil is successively resisted 
 and pr* iway, and when it occasionally returns, the 
 pain !>'! anguish arising from repugnance to it 
 increase, until at last they grow intolerable. The 
 will, in proportion as it acquires settled habits of 
 goodness, increases in the love of truth, and has more 
 frequent returns of tranquility and peace. 
 
 Truth has no permanent abiding place with man un- 
 til it is received into the affections. It then operates 
 in the life, and increases, by new acquisitions, with- 
 out end. It is the food by which his spiritual life is 
 sustained. Remarkable instances have, indeed, oc- 
 curred of brilliant attainments in truth, when only 
 the love of fame, or gain, or of rule and pre-eminence 
 have presided in the will. But when the pursuit after 
 knowledge is led on by such principles and motives, 
 the acquisitions are always flighty and unsolid. Let 
 but attentive observation watch the events, and ere 
 long most egregious falsehoods will spring up, which, 
 mingling with and adulterating truth, will present a 
 sadly changed and chequered scene. Leading truths 
 will vanish from the mind, at intervals, like falling 
 stars ; or will wither away, like flowers cut off from 
 their parent root. The light of truth without the love
 
 THE REGBNERATE LIFE. 
 
 of it, is a transient meteor. Its apparent flame is the 
 cold light of the glow-worm. As the body without 
 the soul is dead, so truth not united with a genuine 
 affection of good, as its proper life, is compared by 
 the Lord to a carcass. Our Lord also compared those 
 persons who profess truth without any desire to unite 
 it with goodness, to salt which has lost its savor ; be- 
 cause self-love, wherever it is allowed to prevail, 
 destroys the inherent tendency of truth to seek to be 
 united with goodness, supplanting it, and taking its 
 place. It is the desire to unite truth with goodness 
 that preserves the church in a state of spiritual life ; 
 and without this spiritual salt, it must become the 
 prey of corruption. It is of those who possess and 
 cherish this desire, that the Lord says, " Te are the 
 salt of the earth." 
 
 It would be an abuse of language to call that indi- 
 vidual a genuine member of the ]S"ew Jerusalem 
 Church, whose claim to be so regarded rests only on 
 an outward acknowledgment of some of her funda- 
 mental doctrines, while he has no design to make 
 progression in the spiritual life of goodness and truth. 
 All that can be said of such an one is, that he has 
 changed his party, or his religious denomination ; but 
 that he is still nothing more than a religious partizan. 
 There are some doctrinal Christians of an active intel- 
 lect, who appear to enter deeply into the subjects of 
 the church, but if their character were to be accu- 
 rately weighed, the extent of their religious efforts 
 would be found to be this, to delineate moral like- 
 nesses for other men to copy, forgetting the necessity, 
 in their own case, of bringing their own affections 
 and conduct into harmony with their own delineations. 
 5
 
 3g DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 CONCERNING THE INTERNAL WORD, ITS ADVANTAGES 
 AND EFFECTS. 
 
 WHEN the affections as well as the understanding 
 are introduced to the internal Word at this day re- 
 vealed, and the life corresponds to its dictates, man 
 becomes an inhabitant of the heavenly kingdom as to 
 his spirit, and feels that he is but " a stranger and a 
 sqjourner " upon earth. The world, like the letter 
 of the Word, merely serves to supply him with cor- 
 responding forms of his heavenly inheritance, and 
 external uses conducive to its attainment. In con- 
 templating the order and beauty of the heavenly 
 kingdom which the messenger of the new dispensa- 
 tion has been allowed to visit, in order to describe 
 them for the benefit of the Church he views the 
 surpassing delight of eternity, when compared with 
 time ; and of infinitude, when compared with space. 
 He beholds a world where the spiritual form, the 
 image and manifestation of the free spirit, can roam 
 at large, and with a single desire be transported from 
 orb to orb without the confinement of space; possess- 
 ing in its own mind the heaven which it inhabits ! 
 To the prepared Christian, it is a heartfelt privilege 
 while he is in the present world, to enjoy the absolute 
 certainty of soon leaving it. Friends and acquaint- 
 ances daily fall around us. Death carries on an un- 
 relenting warfare upon our perishable material forms; 
 and even a tranquil delight is perceived in every fresh 
 token of their decay, because death is no more than 
 the throwing off that material covering which has 
 been provided for the first budding forth of our exist- 
 ence in the world of nature. By the internal Word
 
 THK REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 we are presented with a more sublime view of the 
 infinite love of God, and of the more refined opera- 
 tions of charity ; of the true nature of genuine faith, 
 and of the necessity of its union with charity, without 
 which it is but a mere name. The Trinity now seen 
 to be comprised in the manifested Saviour, the 
 Jehovah that was to appear upon earth has ceased 
 to distract the mind by the false conception of three 
 distinct persons instead of divine essentials ; and the 
 understanding is, in consequence, relieved of that 
 cloud of overwhelming difficulties which, for centu- 
 ries, have estranged the church from the true knowl- 
 edge of her God. 
 
 By a more clear and enlarged idea of our God, we 
 are brought nearer to Him ; our worship becomes 
 more animated, and our love more ardent ; and from 
 love to the Lord our charity will become more active 
 and extensive ; and our self-examination more watch- 
 ful, faithful, and refined/ I The satisfaction of doing 
 good, to which we are led by numberless means while 
 our constant attention is to shun evil, will be renewed 
 with every rising sun. The hours of retirement will 
 be sweetened with heavenly contemplation ; and the 
 busy hours of life, though oppressed with many un- 
 congenialities, will be patiently sustained. Every 
 thing imparts a blessing, when all things have their 
 use, and all things have their use when God is in all 
 our thoughts. The tendency of those thoughts in 
 which God is, is always to our neighbor's good, either 
 nearly or remotely. Anxieties which darken the un- 
 derstanding, and temptations which occasion despond- 
 ency, will ultimately confirm our dependence on 
 Divine Providence ; and this will gradually enable
 
 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 us to rise above our trials and temptations, until oar 
 inward peace becomes permanently established. The 
 Lord's words, which in themselves are spirit and life, 
 become, as it were, a dead letter, when the mind, by 
 yielding too much to worldly principles, becomes 
 restless and untranquil ;' but when the Lord is in the 
 holy temple of our renewed affections, thoughts, and 
 inmost desires, all the earth, that is, all the passions 
 of the natural mind, will keep silence before Him, 
 and by His divine influx through the internal man, 
 we shall be directed on our way./ 
 
 A Note on the Specific Distinction between the First Christian Church, 
 and the Second, or New Jerusalem Church. 
 
 THE first Christian Church fell from its purity by 
 becoming a prey to the love of dominion, because that 
 infernal love can only be subdued by means of genuine 
 celestial and spiritual truth, which mankind were not 
 prepared to receive at the commencement of that 
 church, partly through the want of a secure basis for 
 it in natural science. The Church which attains to 
 the subjugation of the love of the world, but not of 
 the love of dominion, is only a spiritual Church, and 
 such, it appears, was the Church established by the 
 apostles, and hence it was that it maintained its fidelity 
 only so long as it was under persecution ; but when the 
 enjoyment of civil prosperity and power called into 
 activity the love of dominion in its leaders, it began 
 to depart from its simplicity, i But the New Jerusa- 
 lem Church is to be a celestial church, when, through 
 the medium of genuine celestial and spiritual truth 
 which it possesses, it has subjugated the love of do- 
 minion. In this church there will always be some
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 41 
 
 who have subdued in themselves this most direful 
 principle, and therefore this church will never come 
 to an end. 
 
 Such being the true and distinctive quality of the 
 New Jerusalem Church, it should be the anxious 
 desire and care of every sincere believer in its doc- 
 trines, to guard himself against the encroachment of 
 its most insidious enemy, the love of dominion 
 grounded in the love of self, and which takes the 
 various forms of a desire to rule the opinions and 
 actions of others, and to receive homage and submis- 
 sion from them. In all its forms it is " the strife who 
 shall be the greatest." In the present day, it is not 
 very likely that such a strife will be carried on under 
 an open avowal of it, but the principle itself may as 
 really exist under the mask of various subtle forms, 
 and pretences of zeal for effecting some laudable or 
 apparently useful purpose. In calling to mind, and 
 in applying to his own case, the Lord's rebuke to his 
 first disciples for striving who should be the greatest, 
 the member of the New Church will contribute, in the 
 most effectual manner, to the descent of the new dis- 
 pensation from heaven into the world, by the firm 
 establisJiment of it in Ms own soul.* He who, in the 
 professing New Church, subdues in himself the love 
 of the world, but, for want of sufficient watchfulness, 
 suffers himself to become unknowingly the prey of 
 the love of dominion, disguised under some illusive 
 character, although he be a member of the spiritual 
 church, he is not, as yet, interiorly, a full member of 
 that true celestial church which is emphatically signi- 
 fied by " the Holy City, New Jerusalem, the bride 
 
 * For this rebuke, see Luke xxii., 2427.
 
 42 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 and -wife of the Lamb , " and if there were none in 
 the church of higher attainments in the regenerate 
 life than himself, the "New Jerusalem," properly 
 speaking, would already have fallen to decay. 
 
 The highest degree of the good of innocence com- 
 municated from the Lord's Humanity, denoted by 
 "The Lamb," can only be received by those who have 
 subdued in themselves the love of dominion grounded 
 ill the love of self, and have substituted for it, through 
 the Lord their Saviour operating in them and with 
 them, the love of dominion grounded in the love of 
 use ; in which case, honor and distinction, power and 
 influence, will only be desired for the sake of those 
 ends which originate in love to the Lord and love to 
 the neighbor. 
 
 The distinction between a celestial and a spiritual 
 church is further explained in other parts of the 
 Dissertations. The reader is also referred to the fol- 
 lowing passages in our great author's works, as afford- 
 ing a just ground for the foregoing remarks. Arc. 
 Cat. 4489, 5733 ; Apoc. Rev. 912 ; Apoc. Expl 1029. 
 
 ON THE NECESSITY OF ACQUIRING A MILD AND GENTLE 
 SPIRIT, AS THE PROPER TEST OF THE OPERATION OF THE 
 INTERNAL WORD UPON THE AFFECTIONS AND THE LIFE. 
 
 IN the writings of Swedenborg, we find the follow- 
 ing interesting passages, and to which many more 
 might be added, to the same purpose : 
 
 " Truth from good is soft and gentle, falsehood from 
 evil is hard and tierce ; hence the origin of hard and 
 bitter speeches." [A. 0., 6359.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 43 
 
 " Every natural affection, as it ascends towards in- 
 terior principles, or towards heaven, becomes milder, 
 and at length is changed into a heavenly affection." 
 [A. C., 3009. 
 
 " As sound which is on high, where the atmosphere 
 is more pure, is tacit, but when it descends to the 
 inferior or more dense atmosphere, is louder and more 
 sonorous, so divine truth and divine good are in their 
 elevated state pacific, and altogether undisturbed ; 
 but when they fall to lower degrees they grow un- 
 pacific, and at length tumultuous." [A. C., 8823. 
 
 " Goodness of disposition manifests itself by gentle- 
 ness and sweetness ; by gentleness, in that it is afraid 
 to do hurt ; and by sweetness, in that it loves to do 
 good." [Pla. Jup., 50. 
 
 The life of our Lord on earth was the most perfect 
 pattern of mildness and gentleness. When His dis- 
 ciples would have brought down fire from heaven to 
 consume their adversaries, He mildly rebuked them, 
 saying, " Ye know not what spirit ye are of." When 
 they seemed disposed to desert Him, He made this 
 affectionate appeal to them, " Will ye also go away ? " 
 When Peter had thrice denied Him, " he looked on 
 him, and Peter remembered his words." Under the 
 pangs of crucifixion, He prayed for His murderers 
 with his dying breath. 
 
 The spirit of violence, of impatience, of impetuosity, 
 of pre-eminence, of the love of dominion from the love 
 of self, are the very spirit of antichrist, whatever softer 
 name may be given to it by insidious evil spirits. 
 Zeal is the apology they constantly supply for the 
 disorder they unceasingly create. But what is the 
 quality and origin of that zeal which is quick in de-
 
 44 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 tecting faults of opinions or conduct, and which, enters 
 upon resentment and punishment with alacrity, evi- 
 dent satisfaction, and ill-disguised delight ? Can any- 
 thing like pleasure in punishing even the unworthy, 
 by words or deeds, flow in from heaven? Zeal to 
 inflict even the punishment of hard words, is incom- 
 patible with the tenderness of that charity which 
 always feels pain when it is compelled to give pain. 
 Zeal is felt for what is pleasant, and not for what is 
 painful ! It was this false and intemperate zeal that 
 induced Peter to draw his sword. John, who lay on 
 his Saviour's bosom, had not less zeal ; but his mild 
 and persevering endeavor was, in imitation of his be- 
 loved Master, to win men to his love. It is the 
 common practice of intemperate zeal to sour the 
 minds of men by vociferous and violent argument, 
 and thus to prevent them from seeing the truth, by 
 creating a prejudice against it; while the constantly 
 presenting it in battle array effectually prevents its 
 being received by the affections. Such persons are 
 so blind as not to perceive, that truth must be invest- 
 ed with the attributes of kindness and friendship in 
 order to its being loved and obeyed. So to conduct 
 ourselves as to endeavor to meet the apprehension of 
 others, and to court it by a genuine display of the 
 mild and orderly operation of truth upon ourselves, is 
 the way of wisdom. I In offering truth, we should be 
 able to show in our behavior, the good it has led to 
 in ourselves, and thus invite others to seek, and be- 
 come partakers of, the same good; Truth led on by 
 selfish and worldly principles is loud, imperious, im- 
 patient, self-applauding, and triumphant ; but when 
 conducted by heavenly principles, it is candid, mild,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 45 
 
 patient, yielding, accommodating, engaging, and yet 
 sincere and steadfast. The man who is actuated by 
 heavenly principles will travel out of his way to bring 
 the wanderer home, and if he cannot awaken his un- 
 derstanding, will strive gradually to impress his heart, 
 by the practical lessons of charity, gentleness, and 
 kindness. In the well-prepared mind, the influx of 
 heavenly truth is tranquil as the silent dew softly 
 descending into a fleece of wool. 
 
 If we unite the love of goodness, which is called 
 charity, with truth, then is truth illustrated from 
 heaven, and leads to a just judgment, and goes safely 
 and well into activity in the aifairs of life ; but if 
 truth be not united with charity, self carries the un- 
 derstanding and its truths into a perverted activity, 
 producing more harm than good, however high and 
 honorable the motives and objects alleged on such 
 occasions may be. Truth, when joined with good, 
 contemplates erroneous opinions, and even reprehen- 
 sible conduct, with forbearance, and with hope for a 
 beneficial change ; but truth alone, or what in effect 
 is the same, truth joined with self, too hastily despairs 
 of a change being wrought by any other means than 
 those which generally prove unavailing, namely, 
 quarrelling and absolute condemnation. Hence come 
 retaliation under the mask of justice, withdrawing 
 from duties through unwarranted personal feeling, 
 and the taking up of low motives of action on the 
 irrational plea, that others have done the same. Is it 
 then desired to avoid such unhappy results by main- 
 taining truth in union with charity '? Upon the 
 occurrence of, and when deliberating upon, any un- 
 toward contingency, let use, and thus the will of God,
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 be put in the first place of regard, and let favorite 
 views and objects, and personal feelings allied to the 
 self-hood, be put in the last place. 
 
 It ought never to be forgotten by the mind which 
 is undergoing regeneration, that the pro'cess is carried 
 on by the continual calling forth of the latent evils in 
 order to their removal ; and consequently, that the 
 first feelings generated by opposition to our wishes, 
 are more likely to originate from below than from 
 above ; hence, also, the first views in which those 
 feelings embody themselves are more likely to be 
 wrong than right. If this be remembered, it will' be 
 attended with an exercise of watchfulness and cautious 
 circumspection. Well would it be for us, if the sen- 
 sations contrary to peace, which follow any disap- 
 pointment or injury, were met by the admonition in 
 the Word, " Fret not thyself because of evil doers ; 
 fret not thyself in any wise to do evil." And should 
 zeal for the offended laws of justice and order begin 
 to assume the character of anger and resentment, it 
 would be well to meet it with the apostolic assurance, 
 that " the wrath of man worketh not the righteous- 
 ness of God." The purposes of divine love can only 
 be legitimately and directly furthered by the activity 
 of true charity. 
 
 Do the disciples of the new dispensation meet to 
 realize the use, and enjoy the delight, of conversing 
 on the sublime truths of the eternal Word, and do 
 they ever suffer disputation and discordance to prevail? 
 This would be to shut out the sun's rays, instead of 
 showing their beauty in a prism ! Minds not in unison 
 cannot unitedly dwell upon the subjects of heavenly 
 truth. Such meetings may be likened to a concert
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 without concord ; for agreement of. opinion is as the 
 concord of melody, and variety of opinion, maintained 
 in mutual love, is as the concord of harmony. The 
 love of truth cannot abide with any form of the self- 
 seeking principle, inasmuch as the latter engenders 
 nothing but discord, confusion and strife. 
 
 Our surest remedy against a spirit of strife and con- 
 tention will be found in constant inward prayer for 
 strength to resist all disorderly affections ; but since 
 prayer, by itself, cannot produce any good effect, it 
 must be followed up by a diligent co-operation with 
 the Lord, in using that divine aid, which is never 
 denied to the sincere supplicant. "We must resolve, 
 likewise, to watch against the first ebullitions of anger, 
 of restlessness, and of anxiety ; and on such occasions 
 to turn our thoughts to heavenly things. Every day 
 we must determine to go forth with an endeavor to 
 be calm, moderate, and temperate ; to reflect more, 
 and to speak less ; to dwell much on the truths of the 
 living Word, and to look more earnestly to the Lord. 
 Such endeavors will doubtless be ultimately crowned 
 with tranquility and peace. 
 
 Note on the Consequences of an Imperfect Marriage of Goodness 
 and Truth. 
 
 "Wisdom is the result of a perfect marriage of good- 
 ness and truth having been effected in the mind. In 
 this case, the will is only willing to adopt and favor 
 those conclusions which are in agreement with its own 
 purity, and which are suggested by pure truth in the 
 understanding ; and the understanding is not inclined 
 to admit any proposition, or to appropriate any idea,
 
 48 DISSERTATIONS 05 
 
 which is unpleasing to, or uncongenial with, the good 
 that is in the purified will. In this state of harmo- 
 nious regard to each other, the action and reaction of 
 the two faculties are equal ; and all causes of disunion 
 being excluded, they are united in complete oneness, 
 and' all their united decisions are wisdom, that is, they 
 are the dictates of truth and righteousness. This is 
 what the Lord meant by saying, " If thine eye be 
 single, thy whole body shall be full of light." 
 
 But when the marriage of goodness and truth is 
 only partially effected or maintained, so far " the eye 
 is evil, and the whole body is full of darkness." In 
 the same proportion the decisions of the judgment 
 are partial, prejudiced, and unwise. So long as man 
 is in the body, so long must he be liable to the action 
 upon him of opposite moving principles. Nothing but 
 complete vigilance can maintain the constant domin- 
 ion of charity, and thus guard him from temporarily 
 falling a proy to the corrupt part of his will. " Watch 
 and pray, that ye enter not into temptation/' If a 
 man be not watchful, he will soon be found paying 
 undue regard to some particular object, or opinion, 
 with which his self-hood will become closely united. 
 Nothing can guard a man so effectually as an habitual 
 cherishing of the good of innocence, by looking to the 
 Lord and depending upon His guidance, whilst, at 
 the same time, the utmost efforts are made to bend 
 the will to the divine will, and to keep the under- 
 standing open to conviction, and pliant to the influ- 
 ence of divine truth and right reason. In proportion 
 as any object, even such an one as, in itself, is inno- 
 cent, is unduly and inordinately regarded, the blinding 
 influence of the -will-proprmm will begin to develope
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 itself. "What is opposed to it will be viewed with an 
 evil eye, and, consequently, will be judged of with an 
 unwise judgment. Its proportions will be distorted, 
 its object misrepresented, its mischief exaggerated, or, 
 perhaps, that evil quality which is ascribed to it, will 
 be altogether imaginary. 
 
 Even well-disposed persons, in the main, through a 
 defective marriage of goodness and truth, are found 
 to run into such errors as bring discredit upon their 
 judgment, and distrust upon their character. A de- 
 fective marriage of goodness and truth, or of the 
 will and understanding, may be chiefly in the one 
 faculty, or in the other. The best disposed may err, 
 if their understandings are not formed by genuine 
 truth ; and the best intellectual culture will be no 
 protection against practical errors, if the corrup- 
 tions still inhering in the will are not faithfully 
 watched and effectually guarded against. Well- 
 disposed persons are found in opposite parties in 
 religion and politics, and are seen acting as if their 
 own opinion could not possibly stand by its own 
 merits, and as if it could no longer be maintained 
 than while they impute, by mere strength of assertion, 
 all manner of evil to that of the opposite party. 
 The wisdom to adopt the golden mean, and to hold 
 the balance of justice and judgment even and steady, 
 seems to be abandoned as unworthy of countenance. 
 Thus some Protestants, while they agree with Catholics 
 in all the essentials of doctrine, seem only to feel safo 
 from the objects of their dread while they can mag- 
 nify the differences between the two creeds, and this 
 they do to an extent that excites a smile of wonder 
 and pity in the calm-judging spectator. It is one of 
 6
 
 5(} DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 the worst features in this state of mind, that the evil 
 eye, having created the evil which it sees and de- 
 plores, does, nevertheless, so gloat upon the object 
 that offends it, as to be unwilling to part with it; 
 and therefore it refuses to receive evidence that that 
 evil is purely imaginary, and that the object of dislike 
 and reprehension has no existence whatever, except 
 in the morbid state of the judgment of him who de- 
 nounces it. It is thus that the New Church is dealt 
 with by its opponents. They charge us with denying 
 that which we affirm, and with affirming that which 
 we deny ; and it is in vain that we beg to set our 
 accusers right ; our testimony to our own belief is 
 discredited ; and the hearsay, or mistake, of the ac- 
 cuser is regarded by him as better ground for belief 
 than any thing we can asseverate, and is depended 
 upon by him as irrefragable evidence. The evil eye, 
 the offspring, sometimes, of misdirected, but not alto- 
 gether ill-intentioned zeal, appears to delight in think- 
 ing evil of those who cannot adopt the opinions which 
 it favora, And why is this ? It is because some cor- 
 rupt principle of the old will has got possession, either 
 permanently or temporarily, of the intellectual powers, 
 and therefore an unhallowed delight is felt by the evil 
 eye in thinking evil for its own sake, and against evi- 
 dence, in preference to thinking well, upon solid 
 grounds. Just the reverse is the case when charity, 
 which " thinketh no evil, and believeth all things," 
 upon good evidence, sways the powers of the under- 
 standing, and moderates the judgment. 
 
 Well-disposed persons, even in the New Church, 
 will do well to guard agciinst falling into the perverse- 
 ness and darkness of the evil eye. If an individual,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 however talented he may be, will not allow his brother 
 to be the expositor of his own sentiments, but persists 
 in attributing what is disclaimed, and in caricaturing 
 what is admitted, then does he present too certain in- 
 dications of the absence of candor, and of the presence 
 of an evil eye. 
 
 ON SCIENTIFICS. 
 
 GENERAL and common scientifics,* acquired in early 
 life and progressively improved, are the vessels which 
 are receptive of spiritual things, and they become 
 vivified and enlightened by spiritual truths in the 
 degree that these are illustrated and warmed by 
 charity. Celestial and spiritual truths, when opened 
 and expanded by the genuine affection of truth, will 
 flow into scientifics, and discover in them many beau- 
 tiful natural correspondences of themselves, which 
 serve to reflect divine things, like so many mirrors. 
 But let not the man of science, by means of merely 
 natural knowledge, attempt to open the fountain of 
 wisdom in the divine Word, because this is contrary 
 to order. Should this be attempted, the inefficiency 
 of the exertions of the self-will of man would soon be 
 manifested in the sad results of his presuming and 
 fruitless labor. Such activities will too soon betray 
 the pride of intellectual attainment, darkened by the 
 mist of error. Self will prove to be the centre of 
 manifold exertions to obtain an acknowledged superi- 
 ority. There will be a real desire of rule blended 
 with an apparent desire of good ; and the uses of the 
 
 * By scientific! are meant all things known, whether upon spiritual or other 
 subjects, and laid up in the storehouse of the memory, which may be regarded a* 
 the outermost region of the understanding.
 
 52 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 intellectual faculties will become perverted to selfish, 
 purposes, instead of being continually exercised in a 
 devout application to the treasures of the divine "Word. 
 The mind will speculate on the curious devices of 
 novelty, and, in its search after inventions that may 
 excite wonder and admiration, will apply itself to 
 cold and lifeless investigation. The understanding, 
 when thus fettered by empty scientifics, cannot rise 
 into states of true intelligence, but, like the flying 
 fish, instantly drops from the purer element into which 
 it had vainly expanded its feeble wings. 
 
 ON CONVERSATION. 
 
 CONVERSATION is calculated to recreate, as well as 
 to improve the rnind. By the privilege of speech we 
 can communicate the spontaneous productions of 
 thought, and introduce the discussion of subjects most 
 interesting to our own, and to our neighbor's happi- 
 ness. "We not only can enter upon such topics as the 
 varieties of every day suggest, giving to the discus- 
 sion of civil affairs an intellectual cast, and moral 
 tendency, but, by the aid of revelation, we can carry 
 our ideas beyond the limits of time, and render our 
 discourse interesting even to attendant angels ! "What 
 pity is it, then, that so many hours, days, and nights 
 should be spent by thousands in the most frivolous 
 pursuits, pursuits which fill the mind with vain and 
 trifling ideas, and serve to excite every disorderly 
 passion, and to lay the foundation of untimely disease 
 and death ! Pageantry is called forth to support 
 pride, till there is a rivalry in excess. Through the
 
 THE REGEXERATK LIFE. 
 
 glaring splendor of the midnight scene, the mind, as 
 well as the body, is deprived of serenity and rest ; and 
 if all were to retire who feel, but will not own, their 
 disgust, but few comparatively would remain to keep 
 up the farce of artificial delight. Leaving the haunts 
 of intemperance, dissipation, and folly, where conver- 
 sation is reduced to the merest ravellings of thought, 
 we turn to those social engagements where we might 
 reasonably expect far superior entertainment, among 
 those who have long professed their predilection for 
 more rational conversation, and for mental recreation 
 drawn from a religious source. But here, again, we 
 are liable to meet with disappointment. The conver- 
 sation takes a desultory turn. The ideas that flow 
 from the sacred fountain of Revelation are listened to 
 for a moment, and in a moment are dispersed to give 
 way to some trifling incident, or the narrative of some 
 dull fact, which the natural mind will doat on, as if 
 the prospects of eternity were less interesting than 
 those of time ; the varieties of infinitude more cir- 
 cumscribed than the trifling scenery of the day ; and 
 the soul's essential happiness of less importance than 
 the transient delights of the world, and the pleasures 
 of the body. ;Thus it happens that the purpose of 
 social-religious meetings is too frequently interrupted, 
 and sometimes entirely turned aside, by the intrusion 
 of subjects of little moment; and the hours are suf- 
 fered to slip away unimproved, that were intended to 
 be far differently devoted.; Perhaps if only a few 
 friends were to meet, whose minds are open to eternal 
 views, and whose hearts are won over to eternal in- 
 terests, a continued and varied satisfaction would arise 
 from animated communications on sublime and useful
 
 54: DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 subjects, spreading a serene stillness over the mind, 
 elevating its enjoyments, and furnishing on the mor- 
 row calm and pleasing reflections, such as the spiritual 
 mind stands in need of to counteract the troubles and 
 disappointments of each succeeding day. By occa- 
 sional conversations among a few friends at evening, 
 the mind is buoyed up and kept in its proper element ; 
 it is refreshed with returns of gratitude to the Divine 
 Providence ; it is expanded with neighborly love, 
 and becomes more and more fitted for the delights of 
 heaven. 
 
 II. 
 
 In social intercourse, when the mind is in a state of 
 freedom, it will resort to those subjects of conversation 
 which are most interesting to its affections, and con- 
 genial with its views ; and when impediments from a 
 variety -of causes prevail, it will feel more or less of 
 disappointment ; and sometimes, from being denied 
 opportunities of introducing such a turn of conversa- 
 tion as it delights in, and from being forced to attend 
 to what is not only uninteresting but wearisome, it 
 will sink into a state of torpor, and remain almost 
 without ideas. From the subjects of conversation 
 which a man prefers, and to which he is spontaneously 
 led of his own free choice, he may form a just and 
 clear j udgment of the quality of his affections, and of 
 the ruling affection to which every other is subservi- 
 ent. Thus the man whose ruling affection begins and 
 ends in the boundaries of his estate or diversified 
 property, will insensibly turn to the objects of his 
 delight, and will talk much of worldly possessions ; 
 the politician, if he carry not his thoughts a little
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 55 
 
 higher than the affairs of this world, will incessantly 
 dwell on the forms and changes and affairs of govern- 
 ment, more especially if he bears a part in them ; he 
 who has wealth as well as power, and places therein 
 his supreme delight, will be found habitually in a 
 train of thought that favors the worship of his idols 
 always ; the mere disputant will easily find a field for 
 controversy ; his ruling love being that of control, he 
 will aim more at triumph than at truth ; and being a 
 stranger to the love of promoting harmony, will de- 
 light in a warfare of words, and in exciting an adver- 
 sary to opposition. Researches after truth are sober 
 and calm ; they are not violent, but conciliatory. 
 The lover of truth endeavors to collect the scattered 
 rays of light, and to bring the subject into clearness, 
 while the disputant frequently ends with leaving all 
 things in doubt, darkness, and confusion. 
 
 Moral or spiritual sentiments, which have a genuine 
 ground in the mind of the speaker, and the remark 
 is equally applicable to his intellectual opinions, will 
 generally, for two reasons, be expressed in a calm, 
 deferential manner, and with some appearance of dif- 
 fidence ; first, from an habitual feeling of liability to 
 mistake ; and secondly, because there is no desire to 
 force the judgment of the hearer. And this gives an 
 advantage to the side of truth ; for a hearer will 
 always be inspired with a feeling of co-operation to- 
 wards a speaker who propounds his opinions with 
 becoming diffidence ; while an unbecoming confi- 
 dence such as is generally the companion of error, 
 will arouse into opposition the offended feelings of the 
 self-hood, and close the doors of the mind by an 
 excess of distrust, or an unwillingness to be convinced.
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 It would be a great mistake to suppose that the firm 
 conviction of the truth of any opinion is inconsistent 
 with a modest expression of it ; or that it requires to 
 be set forth with a confidence of manner correspond- 
 ing with the inward assurance of the speaker, in order 
 that the conviction of the latter may pass into the 
 mind of the hearer. Truth must depend for its recep- 
 tion on the evidence which can be afforded by fair 
 argument, and can owe nothing to the impassioned 
 manner of its advocate, for this can prove nothing but 
 the fact that a strong feeling is associated with his 
 conviction, not at all to the advantage of the latter. 
 The pure love of truth is the love of it abstractedly, 
 and this repudiates all alliance with the passions of 
 the self-hood. Charity desires that truth may be re- 
 ceived wherever it is felt to be congenial, and, there- 
 fore, is likely to be beneficial ; but the scientific 
 principle, ruled by self-will, loudly demands its recep- 
 tion under all circumstances, and without any exercise 
 of a just discrimination. 
 
 The man of literature, whose ruling passion is the 
 attainment of knowledge, is qualified to strew his path 
 with flowers, to be at once amusing and instructive, 
 provided his attainments are set off with a manner 
 that is unassuming and condescending, and he con- 
 tinually bears in mind that the end of all human 
 learning is improvement in moral excellence, accom- 
 panied with an humble adoration of its Divine 
 Original. 
 
 He whose mind is stored with the varied acquire- 
 ments of learning and science, and whose judgment is 
 competent to elucidate important subjects, should be 
 as far from a vain display of his intellectual wealth on
 
 THE REGENERATE LITK. 57 
 
 the one hand, as from an appearance of unsocial taci- 
 turnity on the other. All the gifts of the Creator are 
 distributed with a view to their being rendered pro- 
 ductive of the greatest possible benefit. Learning, 
 without truly religious feelings, will rather serve to 
 fortify the strong-holds of real ignorance, than to ad- 
 vance real knowledge, by invigorating the judgment. 
 Every one who possesses it, had need to guard against 
 the continual and subtle efforts of the natural mind 
 to devote it to its own glory. 
 
 Some who possess considerable mental attainments 
 indicate much more desire to teach than to learn, as if 
 it were possible for any individual so to have exhaust- 
 ed the stores of truth as that nothing should remain to 
 be learned. Aptness to learn is a first essential to an 
 efficient instructor. In order to converse profitably, 
 it is as necessary to possess the talent of hearing with 
 candor, as of speaking with intelligence* It is this 
 only that can banish interruptions which introduce 
 confusion, and suspend the activity of the best feelings. 
 /A pleasing mode of hearing is as valuable in company 
 as a pleasing method of speaking J Close attention, 
 intelligent and ready perception of the drift of re- 
 marks, and the manifestation of an inquiring mind, 
 and a teachable disposition, greatly contribute to the 
 advantages of conversation, by calling forth the stores 
 of the well-informed. When candor and meekness 
 are wanting in an individual, he is but ill qualified to 
 sustain his part in conversation, {No one should go 
 into company either exclusively to -entertain, or to be 
 entertained.. If the former be the case, the company 
 will be tired of him ; and if the latter, he will be tired 
 of the company. Conversation is a public exchange,
 
 58 DISSERTATION'S OX 
 
 where every one should be waiting his opportunity of 
 buying and selling with reciprocal advantage. 
 
 The heaven-taught mind alone can give to conver- 
 sation its greatest weight and truest interest. Prac- 
 ticed in the true estimation of temporal things when 
 compared with eternal, the true Christian will seek 
 his inheritance in immortality, and will reconcile him- 
 self to the quick succession of events that occur from 
 day to day, whether prosperous or adverse, relying on 
 the control^of Infinite Wisdom, which is ever at work 
 for the promotion and completion of human happiness. 
 In society he will vary his subjects of conversation, 
 and suit them to the occasion, and to the minds and 
 states of individuals. He will gladly seize on every 
 fair opportunity of attracting the powers of reason to 
 the laws of revelation, and of bringing the ideas, 
 thoughts, and conversation of men on earth, into the 
 order and harmony of heaven. 
 
 ON INTERCOURSE WITH THE WORLD. 
 
 WHAT is life that has death in it, and what are tem- 
 poral pursuits when separated from eternal views? 
 They are not only fleeting, but delusive shadows ! In 
 the degree that we acquire the life of truth, everything 
 that is false will excite aversion ; in the degree that 
 we love goodness, evil will be held in abhorrence. 
 Such being the nature of all things that are opposed 
 in form and essence, the spiritual mind cannot, with- 
 out sensible pain, hold intercourse, and apparently 
 blend, with worldly minds, in whom all things oppose 
 the order it has adopted, bring confusion on all its
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 59 
 
 arrangements, and offer it ashes for beanty. Doubt- 
 less that kind, unerring Providence which has opened 
 to our view the fountain of truth, and enabled us to 
 partake of many an exhilarating draught of the waters 
 of life, will not lead us to the shallow streams of the 
 waters of bitterness oftener than may be requisite for 
 our advancing states, although we can neither see nor 
 judge of the specific use of such painful inflictions. 
 \The bitter waters which the children of Israel met 
 with in the wilderness, were rendered sweet by cast- 
 ing wood into them, and so will the bitter waters of 
 which we complain be rendered palatable when good- 
 ness, which wood corresponds to, has blended its 
 benign qualities with them.! If we watch our oppor- 
 tunities, when mixing with the world, we shall find 
 many good purposes to promoted Although we do 
 not feel at liberty directly to lead our companions to 
 the highest contemplations, indirect and inferior uses 
 are not unworthy of our regard. Even to the laughter 
 of inconsiderate mirth, that often leagues with mis- 
 chief, we may administer some happier turn of thought 
 than triumph or ridicule can boast; at the luxuriant 
 feast, if mindful of temperate restraint, we may 
 season the repast with something at least remotely 
 good, some observations of a moral tendency, some 
 anecdote that shows the deformity of vice, or the 
 praise of excellence, and thus may strive impercep- 
 tibly to bend the conversation to something that 
 savors of order, of beauty, of benevolence, of nature, 
 of reason, and of God, without breaking in upon the 
 freedom of others, or injuriously arousing their preju- 
 dices. We may smother the tale of scandal in the 
 conspicuous merit of some living character. | By yield-
 
 60 DISSERTATIONS OH 
 
 ing polite attention without flattery, and by lending 
 patient ear to uninteresting, and even to erroneous 
 remarks, we may, in turn, excite more notice to our 
 own observations, and thus create opportunities dis- 
 creetly to introduce what is true, or what is useful, 
 even for the purposes of eternity, as well as of time./ 
 On our return home we shall then have something 
 cheering to recollect ; for assuredly it is an attribute 
 of heavenly mercy to accommodate to the weaknesses, 
 and to bear with the infirmities of those who, equally 
 with ourselves, are the subjects of divine mercy and 
 solicitude. Should these opportunities have been 
 denied us, as they sometimes will, by the effusions of 
 irrational mirth, or the contentions of argument, let us 
 at least look back to our conscious better purpose, 
 and to the discreet and often silent course which we 
 have pursued, and then the pain of uncongeniality 
 which we bring home with us will be greatly miti- 
 gated, and will quickly subside. But if we have not 
 only been unguarded in our conduct, but have yielded 
 to the vague delights of the natural mind ; if we have 
 forgotten those mental treasures with which we have 
 been entrusted for the benefit of others, and for hours 
 have eagerly adopted the shadow for the substance ; 
 if we have fanned the flame of folly, have fed the 
 sensual appetite,: have enlisted for a while as the dis- 
 ciples of noisy, inconsiderate mirth, or of too pointed 
 raillery ; and especially if we have listened to the 
 irreligious insinuation without offering a becoming 
 check ; when we return home, our pain and reproach 
 will arise more from the life into which we have been 
 ensnared, than from the temporary privation of our 
 own proper delights. In this case, we must humble
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 ourselves with the prodigal son, with whom we have 
 been content to partake of the husks which the swine 
 do eat, before we are again qualified to sit down to 
 our accustomed spiritual feast. "We must shake off 
 the natural life which has seduced us, before we can 
 return to the spiritual life that has charmed us beyond 
 all possibility of extinction. 
 
 Let us, therefore, endeavor, when invited to social 
 intercourse with the world, to be guarded against its 
 seductions. The celestial mind cannot be seduced, 
 for it lives secure in its own ethereal element ; it can- 
 not descend to inferior objects without being sur- 
 rounded with its own atmosphere, which is fully 
 receptive of the divine influence ; but the spiritual 
 mind, exposed to varying affections of what is spiritual 
 above, and of what is natural beneath, in the weak- 
 ness of its progress will partake, as it were, of an am- 
 phibious nature. Its views are often at variance with 
 its attractions ; its understanding explores with eagle 
 eye the heavenly kingdom, while the new will lends 
 wings to aid its flight ; but the old will endeavors, 
 and sometimes unhappily with a degree of success, to 
 draw it down to earth again, and thus to blend to- 
 gether irreconcilable properties. Let us watch, there- 
 fore, against evil, that good may become more and 
 more permanent in its influence, securing us against 
 the fascinations of fancy, and the fruitless wishes of a 
 restless mind, which, under a veil of illusion, will 
 offer us quails for manna. Let us proceed with diffi- 
 dent and humble caution, and with a constant desire 
 and unceasing prayer to be directed on our way ; 
 and then we may rest assured, that Divine Providence 
 will protect us from spiritual injury in our intercourse 
 7
 
 52 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 with the world, and will ultimately wean us from its 
 influence, as we become more and more matured for 
 heaven. 
 
 A Note on the Author's Commendation of Politeness or Courtesy of 
 Behavior, in the foregoing article, as it is connected with Religion, 
 and consequently with Regeneration. 
 
 E. S. shows that there are several distinct orders 
 or degrees of good, which are to be maintained in 
 their proper subordination and connection in the 
 mind, so that the lowest degree may be the firm and 
 immovable basis of the higher degrees. Every order 
 of good has its laws by which it is defined. The low- 
 est degree, such as exists with " respectable," but 
 still merely natural men, is called civil, and with this 
 degree is so intimately blended the next, called moral, 
 that, in practice, the two are found acting together as 
 one ; indeed, the moral may be regarded as the inter- 
 nal of the civil degree. The laws of this degree are, 
 first, the civil laws of our country, and, secondly, the 
 unwritten or traditional moral law, founded on the 
 maxims and customs of civil society, and which, with 
 the more educated and refined portion of the commu- 
 nity, form what is called the laws of honor and polite- 
 ness, and with the less educated and refined, the laws 
 or observances of decency and civility.. It is upon 
 these traditional laws that " respectable " men act in 
 society, whether they add thereto the spiritual-moral 
 laws of religion or not, and they so act because they 
 are convinced that the interests of all parties so re- 
 quire. This consideration is the ruling motive of the 
 " respectable " but merely natural man ; but in the 
 truly religious man, it still operates, or should operate,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. (J3 
 
 iu his natural principle with undiminished force, 
 although only as a secondary motive, which is elevated 
 and sanctified by its union with the higher and ruling 
 religious motive.* Under the beneficial influence of 
 the laws and observances of honor and politeness, or 
 decency and civility, even persons who in their selfish 
 hearts are at war with the interests of all their race, 
 are found acting in the manner of men imbued with 
 disinterested and kind affections. How much better 
 it is to be acting in a peaceable manner under such 
 wholesome restraints, than to be carried into open con- 
 tentions under the impulse of the selfish passions ! 
 If, then, politeness does such good service for the 
 votaries of self, how unwise it would be for the friends 
 of truth and virtue to discard it ! 
 
 Politeness (combined, of course, with the observ- 
 ance of the civil law,) implies a large and compre- 
 hensive sense of obligation so to act towards all, 
 without exceptions of any kind, as not to wound their 
 feelings by a disregard of them, or by any indication 
 of any degree of contempt for their persons or sincere 
 opinions, however imbecile the latter may appear. 
 Even controversies, into which conscience sometimes 
 compels us to enter, should be so conducted as that, 
 while an opinion is condemned in the abstract, no per- 
 sonal disrespect is conveyed towards the holder of it, 
 as such. True politeness knows no inequality, for, in 
 respect to its obligations and claims, all are on a level, 
 
 * E. S. instructs us, that they who hare a conscience of what is good, which 
 is the conscience of the internal man, and which consists in acting according to 
 the precepts of faith from internal affection, HATE ALSO a conscience of what is 
 just,, which is the conscience of the external man, and which consists in acting 
 according to civil and moral laws from external affection. See "The New Jerusa- 
 lem and its neaTenly Doctrines," n. 1&1.
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 from the throne to the cottage. No difference of 
 grade, opinion, or creed, can justify a departure from 
 the observance of the laws of politeness. Kelations 
 who regard not the ties of blood or affinity ; friends 
 who have not stood the test of friendship ; professed 
 Christians who have fallen below the standard of 
 Christian practice ; all have still, and equally with 
 others, an unalienable title to be treated with polite- 
 ness as members of society ; and just the same as if 
 no deficiency in their other relations had been mani- 
 fested. Should, then, any one refuse to answer to the 
 claims we have upon him as a relation, a professed 
 friend, or Christian brother, our civil claims upon him 
 as a member of society will still remain in unmitigated 
 force ; and he will still have, on the same ground, an 
 undiminished claim upon us for that treatment which 
 is due to every decent member of society, however his 
 fallings off may have justly and unavoidably dimin- 
 ished our esteem for him personally. Politeness, in- 
 deed, cannot be withheld from any one without 
 committing a violation of the great civil and social 
 compact ; and without endangering in ourselves, by 
 undermining their proper foundation, the higher de- 
 grees of good, and the obligations thereto annexed. 
 As Christianity cannot be imagined as resting on 
 any other basis than that of civilization, so neither can 
 charity be effectively supported except on the basis 
 of honor and decency, politeness and civility. No 
 differences of opinion between Christians as individu- 
 als, or as members of society, can possibly warrant the 
 infraction of the laws and observances of politeness, 
 which, justly viewed, are the proper basis of the laws 
 of religion, and the sure guards, the faithful friends,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 and dutiful imitators, of the precepts and practice of 
 charity. Had this truth, that in the discussion of 
 differences of opinion, to depart from politeness is to 
 depart from an indispensable and an indefeasible part 
 of a Christian's duty, been duly remembered ; had 
 good intentions been thus guarded and guided in their 
 activity, how much unhappiness would have been 
 avoided both in religious families and in religious 
 societies! 
 
 By becoming a real Christian, and adopting the 
 highest moral standard of action, an increased, and 
 not a diminished obligation is incurred to observe to- 
 wards all, and especially towards fellow-Christians, 
 the civil laws and usages of honor and politeness. 
 The freedom of Christian brotherly communion has 
 no safeguard or permanent basis except that of an 
 observance we might say a strict observance of 
 the laws of politeness ; and if, from any cause, that 
 free kind of communion is interrupted, the parties to 
 it must fall back upon the obligations they owe to 
 each other as members of civil society ; they must 
 not imagine that the interruption of the activity of 
 the higher degree of good justifies, or affords any 
 reasonable pretext for, the disregard of the obligations 
 annexed to the lower degree. 
 
 Only known moral and civil outcasts have forfeited 
 their title to politeness and civility. 
 
 It is of immense importance to train young people 
 to the uniform practice of civility and politeness, 
 even among themselves. They should be taught to 
 bear in rnind the rule prescribed to himself by E. S., 
 "Always to observe a propriety of behavior ;" and 
 every endeavor should be made to impress upon them
 
 66 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 the important truth, that politeness and civility are 
 an indispensable preservative of peace and harmony 
 in families and friendships ; and in civil, social, and 
 religious communities. Nothing can prove a more 
 effectual guard of mutual confidence and good humor 
 than a conviction in all parties, that the observances 
 of politeness are all but certain to be mutually main- 
 tained ; each feeling assured that he will himself 
 sedulously guard against offending the other, and that 
 the other will take equal pains not to offend him. 
 
 It is quite certain, that the obligations of religion 
 on the conscience are more assailable by evil spirits 
 when they are not fortified by the establishment, in 
 the lower principles, of the civil virtues we are re- 
 commending ; for the lower principles, which ought 
 to constitute the outworks of the higher, when not 
 duly ordered, afford to the enemy a point from which 
 he may carry on his assaults against the citadel with- 
 in ; and the lower principles are not duly ordered, or 
 completely guarded, unless they are in the keeping of 
 the double guard provided for them, consisting, first, 
 of the primary and ruling influence of the influx 
 from the higher principles, and, secondly, of their 
 own proper secondary influence, inducements, or 
 motives, which, although comparatively low and in- 
 terested, form an ultimate guard and basis that cannot 
 safely be dispensed with. Such a secondary motive 
 in the natural mind, is that which impels to a polite 
 and courteous behavior ; it is a desire to realise the 
 benefit which must arise from behaving to others in 
 a pleasing and unobtrusive manner, thus gaming their 
 good will, and receiving from them similar treatment 
 in return. But when this secondary motive, and the
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 demeanor to winch it leads, is found to act as a servant 
 and guard to true charity, from which it derives both 
 sanctity and dignity, it cannot be doubted that polite- 
 ness is worthy of the Christian, as suck, as well as of 
 the outwardly respectable member of the civil com- 
 munity. Whoever, indeed, would effectually guard 
 against the temptation to despise others on account of 
 their opinions or defects, or to show resentment on 
 account of their behavior, would do well to combine 
 in his view the highest dictates of the new will with 
 the civil requirements of politeness ; for, in embody- 
 ing the former in the latter, he will experience the 
 truth of the doctrine, that interior principles come 
 into the fullness of their sanctity and power in corres- 
 ponding ultimate forms and manifestations. 
 
 ON THE LOVE OF GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOR. 
 
 IF we love God, we shall love his laws and dispen- 
 sations ; we shall love not only his gifts, but even his 
 chidings, the gifts of his tenderest love !*/ If our 
 self-will were not frequently checked, controlled, and 
 forced by a strong hand from its course, and yet so as 
 not to violate our freedom, it would remain forever in 
 a perverted state. Our pursuits, our attachments, our 
 hopes, our fears, our triumphs, and our very sighs, 
 must all be rectified, and acquire a new and heavenly 
 order. The tenor of the Christian's life, notwith- 
 standing occasional inward trials and outward afflic- 
 tions, is sweetened with intervals of peace. He 
 enjoys a simplicity of heart, a serenity of conscience, 
 
 * Soo Rev. iii. 19.
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 an equality of temper, a lively confidence, an humble 
 resignation. To love God, is to love goodness in every 
 form, and in every degree ; and to seek to promote it 
 by every possible means ; and to shun evils of every 
 kind as obstacles to its progress. To love our neighbor, 
 is to seek his well-being and happiness, more especially 
 by promoting his spiritual welfare by good counsel, 
 and by kindness, according to his state. We should 
 travel lightly and pleasantly with him, and not tire 
 him by leaning too heavily upon him with our own 
 anxieties. By bearing our own burdens patiently, 
 and by endeavoring to relieve those of others, we 
 shall gradually wax strong in the Lord, and find his 
 yoke easy and his burden light. In the most ancient 
 church, charity was classed into a variety of distinc- 
 tions, and exercised accordingly ; but, at this day, we 
 seem to understand very little even of its more gen- 
 eral operations. The true love of our neighbor is an 
 imitation of the love of God to us. It is beneficent, 
 disinterested, forgiving, and compassionate. It seeks 
 to set the purposes of others right by good counsel 
 and by kindness, and finds its own enjoyment in the 
 happiness which it promotes. To love God truly, we 
 must love both the hand that gives and that takes 
 away ; that oppresses, that relieves, that elevates, and 
 that confounds. To love our neighbor truly, we must 
 love him with all his faults without loving his faults ; 
 we must take him as he is ; and increase our love as 
 he increases in goodness. If he is capable of listening 
 to counsel, we must advise him for the best ; if he is 
 abandoned and apparently irreclaimable, we must 
 pray for him, and never forget that general law of 
 charity which extends to all mankind.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 69 
 
 ON CHARITY. 
 
 CHAEITY is the love of goodness, and thence, the love 
 of doing good ; it is the compendium, and at the same 
 time the source, of all the virtues ; wherever it really 
 exists, not one of them is wanting, and where it exists 
 not, the appearance of their existence is unsubstantial 
 as a transient sound. With this truth, the present 
 solifidian church appears to be wholly unacquainted 
 with, notwithstanding it is clearly set forth by an 
 apostle,* who, in emphatically declaring that charity 
 is greater than faith, plainly shows the high estima- 
 tion in which charity was held by the primitive 
 church. 
 
 The good offices of charity, in their minute and ex- 
 tensive operations, are known to the Lord alone, and 
 it is only in proportion as selfish and worldly loves are 
 subdued, that we are open to the influence of this 
 divine emanation from the Lord, and can become 
 acquainted with the celestial science of its operations 
 and effects. 
 
 To find our happiness in promoting the happiness 
 of others, forms a striking contrast to the seeking our 
 happiness in the subserviency of others. The former 
 disposition engenders humility, brotherly kindness, 
 tenderness, and compassion ; a perpetual desire, in 
 forgiving injuries, to rectify the deformed and erring 
 propensities in which they originate ; and to hold out 
 to all the distinctions between false happiness and the 
 true, and mildly to invite and persuade to the best 
 choice. Happiness thus sought for in uses, is sure to 
 
 * See the first Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter xiii.
 
 70 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 be found, for the effort to create happiness for others 
 must infallibly produce it in ourselves, agreeably to 
 a thousand declarations of the Divine Word. On the 
 contrary, to seek our happiness in the subserviency of 
 others engenders pride, haughtiness, discontent, dis- 
 satisfaction, and even cruelty ; and the setting out 
 upon wrong principles must ever prove abortive to its 
 purpose ; for it is a law as immutable as it is just, that 
 " there is no peace to the wicked." None, therefore, 
 find happiness for themselves, which is worthy of the 
 name, except in the generous effort to promote it in 
 others. Every one must eat of the fruit of his own 
 doings. 
 
 Genuine charity in its operations is represented by 
 the miracles which our Lord performed upon earth. 
 It gives light to the blind who are in the darkness of 
 error ; it opens the deaf ear to attend to divine things ; 
 it helps the feeble, and assists the lame to walk ; it 
 raises those who are dead in worldly and selfish love, 
 to the life of heaven ; unbelievers alone, who slight 
 its report and turn from its aid, lose all the benefit of 
 that instrumentality which the Lord has appointed for 
 it. Charity gives a new current to that sensibility 
 which, in early life, some are so prone to idolize, not 
 aware that its refinements are often the secret or 
 disguised ministers of self-love. Instead of being 
 tender for itself, and subtle in the contrivance of its 
 own gratifications, the heaven-born sensibility of 
 charity is tender for others, cautious not to provoke, 
 unwilling to give offence, mild in persuasion, and 
 patient in bearing with the prejudices, perverseness, 
 and gross views of the natural mind. If it cannot ac- 
 complish any good purpose on untractable dispositions,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 it retires and waits for a better opportunity ; but to 
 the receptive mind it opens its treasures, not to 
 dazzle, but to attract and invite, communicating first 
 its general or more common good things, and reserv- 
 ing its gold, its pearls, and its jewels for the last. 
 
 Under the impulse of charity, it will sometimes be 
 attempted to correct errors of opinion or conduct in 
 persons who are entirely, or for the time being, owing 
 to some dominant evil or infirmity, incapable of ap- 
 preciating the intended good offices. In this case, the 
 counsels of charity are not only liable to be slighted, 
 but also to be regarded as an offence, and to be met 
 with contempt or resentment. Under such painful 
 circumstances, it will be well to remember, that in 
 the mind there are two perfectly distinct positions, or 
 points of view, from which events of such a nature 
 may be contemplated, the one, from the spiritual 
 mind; and the other, from the natural mind ; and 
 that the same object, as seen from these two positions, 
 will assume two totally different aspects or appear- 
 ances, the one being genuine, and the other fallacious. 
 If contemplated from the spiritual mind, offences are 
 viewed as they affect the peace of the offender, which 
 is an object of spiritual solicitude ever dear to genuine 
 charity ; but if seen from the natural mind, offences 
 are viewed as they affect the wishes of the offended 
 that is, of self! In the latter case, the object is seen 
 as if close to the eye, and magnified into some hideous 
 form, as a lion ready to devour ; the mind becomes 
 disturbed, and its thoughts confused and turbulent ; 
 the judgment is warped, and the ends it favors, and 
 the course it suggests, are assumed to be good and 
 useful, when all the while they are evil in their
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 origin, and mischievous in their results ; forbearance 
 is deemed weakness, and the returning good for evil, 
 pusillanimity; resentment mounts the throne, and 
 talks of justice, and the oracle whence judgment is so 
 confidently given, owes all its inspiration to the spirits 
 of darkness. But if the offence be viewed from the 
 commanding height of the spiritual mind, how differ- 
 ent is the result ! The offence is seen at such a dis- 
 tance from the offended party as to be incapable of 
 reaching him, or of doing him the least hurt ; it is 
 even diminished into absolute insignificance ; the 
 mind, while viewing it, feels only a calm sentiment of 
 pity for poor human nature. Its thoughts are in ac- 
 cordance with the divine thoughts of mercy as revealed 
 in the Word, and with the precepts of charity ; and 
 therefore nothing can disturb the serenity of its feel- 
 ings. With thankfulness it looks up to the Lord while 
 it appropriates to itself, and subscribes to the truth of 
 the words, "Great peace have they who love thy 
 law, and nothing shall offend them." Should, how- 
 ever, the natural mind, through sudden excitement or 
 hastiness of temper, take the lead of the spiritual 
 mind in passing a judgment on the offence and the 
 offender, a state of mental conflict and temptation 
 will ensue of greater or less duration, until the ascent 
 of the hill of celestial love is regained, and then, in 
 the light of the Lord, whose temple is founded there- 
 on, a new and more accurate view will be taken, and, 
 as a necessary consequence, tranquility and peace 
 will return. 
 
 If the judgment of the failings of others be formed 
 from, and under the influence of, truth only, then 
 the sentiment felt towards them will be that of
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. Y3 
 
 contempt, because all contempt originates from the 
 natural-rational principle ; but if, in forming a judg- 
 ment, charity takes the lead, then mercy and pity, 
 without impeaching the accuracy of the judgment of 
 truth, will disarm contempt, and deprive it of its 
 sting. The feeling of contempt, by itself, is harsh 
 and painful, because it approaches towards infernal 
 spirits ; but the sentiment of mercy is peaceful, be- 
 cause it flows from the Lord through heaven, and 
 becomes embodied in the divine precept, "Be ye 
 merciful, as your Father also is merciful." 
 
 II. 
 
 True charity, while it "thinketh no evil," does not 
 require of us to judge so favorably of others as to see 
 things through a false medium, and to call evil good. 
 Genuine charity and truth are ever in union, and in 
 the degree in which charity is derived from, and 
 elevated to the supreme love of the Lord, the spiritual 
 perception becomes clearer, and is more free from the 
 clouds either of prejudice or partiality. It is as little 
 the office of charity to flatter as to offend. To en- 
 courage with the warmth of approbation what is 
 good, and calmly, but firmly, to oppose what is evil, 
 are equally consistent with the character of genuine 
 benevolence. Among the religious acquaintances we 
 form, we shall sometimes find ourselves much disap- 
 pointed in our expectations of congeniality of dispo- 
 sition, and sometimes deeply deceived in onr judgment 
 of character. As the spiritual affections will grow 
 stronger towards every apparent degree of increasing 
 goodness in our friend or neighbor, so will they weaken 
 8
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 on its apparent decline. In forming an estimate of 
 the character of others, we should endeavor to judge 
 calmly, conscientiously, justly, and even generously, 
 without being swayed by partiality on the one hand, 
 or resentment on the other. But still the most right- 
 eous human judgment can only judge by appearances. 
 No one can know the interior state or ruling motives 
 of another. It is the province of the Lord alone to 
 know the thoughts, and the most secret intentions of 
 the heart. Suppose, then, a friend, to whom our at- 
 tachment has been firm for years, should discover 
 principles that we never suspected, principles of deci- 
 dedly evil tendency, and a conduct that we cannot but 
 think irreconcilable with the professions that won our 
 regard ; it is surely, in such a case, both just and ra- 
 tional to lessen our intimacy, though this should be 
 done gradually, and with a cautious and almost unwil- 
 ling scrutiny ; but the circumstances indicative of a 
 change being repeatedly and clearly proved, and 
 being such as cannot consist with our former good 
 opinion, we are at liberty to be more distant ; to advise 
 when we can ; and to hope always, even to the end ; 
 since the case, whatever it may be, is in the hands of 
 Providence. Let us not attempt to give a false gloss 
 to what is manifestly wrong, still less let us delight to 
 dwell on a subject of real regret which we cannot re- 
 lieve. In a confidential conversation we must not 
 prevaricate, but there is no occasion to anticipate the 
 censure of the world, or to add to its severity. The 
 mind may take its own distinct views, and act accord- 
 inglv, but, except with those friends who participate 
 in our reoret, and who maintain the same tenor of 
 
 ^ ' 
 
 good will, there is much eligible safety in silence.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 Charity -will ever be kept alive and active by a deep 
 and habitual sense of our own imperfections ; and 
 mercy is the aspect of charity towards the imper- 
 fections of others. Although we cannot but retire 
 from the man who makes religion a stalking horse, we 
 may nevertheless indulge the hope that there may be 
 some spark of vital essence even in so crude a form, 
 and that the professor who is so religious in word will 
 at length out-talk himself, and be ashamed, in some 
 silent hour, of a mimicry from which he can derive 
 no substantial good. Charity can never live with 
 false pretence. It will not cast its pearls before swine, 
 neither will it give that which is holy to the dogs. It 
 will offer its more genuine and purer principles only 
 when this can be done with the promise of success. 
 It will consider what methods are best suited, and may 
 be most successfully adopted, to promote general and 
 individual good consistently with the laws of harmony 
 and peace, with which it delights to dwell. 
 
 A Note on the Difference between the Old and the New Command- 
 ment of Charity. 
 
 The law which is commonly cited as prescribing 
 the Christian principle of charity is this, " Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbor as thyself" This law is found in 
 the Old Testament (Lev. xix., 18), and is cited by the 
 Lord in the New, and therefore it is commonly, but 
 erroneously, supposed to be the only Christian law of 
 charity or love to the neighbor ; and,even Dr. Paley 
 is found to have labored under this mistake. But the 
 truth is, that it is the Jewish law of charity rather than 
 the Christian, and although this may be the law which
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 the Christian is allowed to act upon so long as he re- 
 mains an external member of the church, and although 
 it is tolerated in accommodation to Christian imper- 
 fection, yet the proper Christian law of charity is in 
 effect this, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor more than 
 thyself." This is plain from the Lord's words : " A 
 new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one 
 another ; as I have loved you, that ye also love one 
 another." (John xiii., 34.) Now that the Lord loved 
 mankind more than himself is evident, since, in a 
 selfish sense, it is impossible for him to love himself at 
 all. That the Lord meant his new commandment to 
 be understood in this sense is plain from his comparing 
 his giving his own life a ransom for many, to a man's 
 laying down his life for his friends, in which case the 
 love of another more than self is clearly exemplified. 
 It also appears from his saying, that he came not to be 
 ministered unto but to minister; and likewise from 
 his presenting his own example to us in connection 
 with his precept, " let him that is greatest among you 
 be as he that doth serve," for he adds, "I am among 
 you as he that serveth." That Paul so understood the 
 Christian doctrine of charity in act, appears from his 
 saying to the elders of the church at Ephesus, " La- 
 boring with your hands, ye ought to support the weak, 
 and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he 
 said, it is more Messed to give than to receive." (Acts 
 xx., 35.) If the above were not the true sense of the 
 command to Christians to love one another as the 
 Lord loved them ; if the " new commandment " did 
 not imply that the neighbor was to be loved more than 
 self, it would not be a new commandment at all. It 
 would be precisely the same that was given to the
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 Israelites in the Old Testament. It would be the law 
 which came by Moses, and therefore would not, as 
 coming from Jesus, be with any truth or propriety, a 
 new commandment. Indeed, when it is duly consid- 
 ered that " God is love," it must be concluded that 
 man can only become a likeness of God when he re- 
 sembles Him in loving his neighbor more than him- 
 self; since Infinite Love has no selfish ends in view in 
 any of its activities. 
 
 In order to comprehend rightly, and thence to apply 
 faithfully, the law of Christian charity, it must be 
 borne in mind that the Lord, in deciding that the 
 Samaritan who did good to the wounded man, was 
 neighbor to him, and not the Levite and the priest 
 who refused to do good, has at the same time decided 
 that the neighbor, whom we are to love more than 
 ourselves, is the good man who is spiritually akin to 
 us ; for in giving His commands to us to act like 
 Christians, the Lord assumes that we are already His 
 sincere disciples. In its strictest sense, and in the 
 strictest conformity with the Lord's intention, the 
 command, to love the neighbor more than self, is to 
 be understood in such a sense as is sure to be affixed 
 to it by real members of the church in their dealings 
 with each other ; and it is in the church in heaven 
 that the command is perpetually found in full and 
 blessed activity. ISTo one there, while acting upon 
 the Lord's words cited by Paul, can possibly give too 
 much, because he will find no one who can possibly be 
 induced to receive too much, and without receiving, 
 there can obviously be no actual giving. In the truly 
 Christian community, the "too much" will be viewed 
 in the same light by all. It will be defined according
 
 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 to Christian principles, and the Lord's example ; and 
 
 therefore the law will be in operation with the fullest 
 
 benefit, and without any possibility of mischief. Is 
 
 it objected, "If the good only are the neighbor who 
 
 is to be loved, then the precept to love the neighbor 
 
 does not apply to the wicked ? " It is answered, 
 
 Certainly not. If those with whom we are acting are 
 
 in any accordance with goodness, however external ; 
 
 or, if we are altogether ignorant of their character, 
 
 we are to assume that they are good, using however, 
 
 in the latter case, some degree of caution and reserve. 
 
 The law of charity as respects the wicked is given by 
 
 the Lord when he says, " Love your enemies ; bless 
 
 them that curse you ; do good to them that hate you ; 
 
 and pray for them that despitefully use you and per- 
 
 secute you." The regenerate man accounts all as 
 
 friends and neighbors who resemble his heavenly 
 
 Friend, even the Lord, who is nearer to him than any 
 
 creature can be ; and he accounts those as enemies 
 
 who, by an evil life, are " the enemies of the cross of 
 
 Christ," that is, who, by their bad example, while 
 
 they call themselves Christians, encourage the neglect 
 
 of that essential Christian doctrine, that we are to 
 
 follow the Lord's example, spiritually understood, and 
 
 take up our cross and follow Him, and " die daily " 
 
 unto sin for His sake. " I am crucified with Christ," 
 
 says Paul, for " they that are Christ's have crucified 
 
 the flesh with the affections and lusts." The regen- 
 
 erate man sees nothing really desirable in the world, 
 
 but to be employed in furthering the divine purposes, 
 
 and all who are willing to do this are friendly to his 
 
 ruling desire, and thus to himself; and all who are 
 
 opposed to the divine purposes are inimical to his
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 ruling desire, and thus to himself. The former he 
 loves by desiring that they may grow better and bet- 
 ter, and thus happier and happier ; and this he desires 
 to promote directly and indirectly. The latter (his 
 enemies) he loves by desiring that they may turn from 
 evil to good, and thus from misery to happiness ; and 
 he delights in promoting such a change as far as lies 
 in his power. Hence there may be many external 
 acts of beneficence which he may do to the former, 
 but which he cannot do to the latter, because his so 
 doing would be opposed to his desire for their reforma- 
 tion, being calculated to hinder it because the en- 
 couragement of the wicked is the encouragement of 
 their wickedness. Our Lord makes this distinction 
 when he says, on the same occasion, in His sermon on 
 the mount, " Give to him that asketh thee," and 
 " Give not that which is holy unto the dogs ; " that 
 is, "present your treasures of divine truth to those 
 who are receptive of them, but not to those who reject 
 them ; " and the reason assigned is, because the latter 
 would only be injured by such gifts, by being led 
 thereby to add to their own condemnation. 
 
 It will be seen, on reference to the passage (Mat- 
 thew v. 43), that while the Israelite was only required 
 to love his neighbor as himself, he was, at the same 
 time, allowed to hate his enemies ; but when the time 
 had come for the " new commandment," the man of 
 the church, in receiving it, was also commanded to 
 love his enemies ; and it appears quite plain, that to 
 love our enemies invoices the capability of loving our 
 neighbor more than ourselves. That the Christian 
 church has lapsed from Christian charity is evident 
 from the fact of its having gone back to Jewish charity,
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 while it remains, at the same time, universally igno- 
 rant of that very remarkable fact. Doubtless, in this 
 universal ignorance, embracing all the established 
 clergy, and those educated at the universities, who 
 derive their ideas of charity from Dr. Paley's work on 
 Moral Philosophy, we may see the wisdom of the 
 Divine Foreknowledge and Providence, in providing 
 that the new commandment should be couched in 
 somewhat indefinite terms, so that those who would 
 not practice the charity of the New Testament, might 
 fall back upon that of the Old. There is no saying 
 what might have been the effect upon external minds, 
 if the Lord, in giving his new commandment, had said 
 plainly, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor more than 
 thyself" for such minds are even found frequently 
 expressing a doubt whether it be possible to love their 
 neighbor as themselves. 
 
 In the foregoing observations, the precept of loving 
 the neighbor has been called the precept of charity, 
 because, although abstractedly charity is the love of 
 goodness, it is also the love of doing good thence de- 
 rived ; for no one can have the former love except in 
 a state of endeavor towards its proper activity that 
 of doing good ; and the love of doing good is coinci- 
 dent with the love of the neighbor. " By this we 
 know that we love the children of God, when we love 
 God, and keep his commandments, for this is the love 
 of God, that we keep his commandments. (1st John, 
 v. 2, 3. 
 
 The practice of the precept of Christian charity co- 
 incides with the just and judicious application of that 
 precept emphatically called the " Golden Rule ; " a 
 note, therefore, on this subject is inserted, and next
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 31 
 
 follows. The same general principle applies to the 
 carrying out of both precepts, namely, to consider in 
 what manner they would be in operation in a truly 
 Christian state of society, and to apply them accord- 
 ingly, regardless of the unreasonable wishes of indi- 
 viduals who are in a different state from that assumed. 
 The laws of divine truth are immutable, and are not 
 to be bent, and thus misapplied and perverted, be- 
 cause there are individuals in the world who will not 
 submit to be regulated by a just interpretation of 
 them. 
 
 A Note on the Right Application of the Golden Rule. 
 
 " Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, 
 do ye even so to them ; for this is the law and the 
 prophets." It will be observed that the form in which 
 this rule of life is enacted is positive, and not merely 
 negative, and yet it is seldom acted upon, if ever, 
 amongst Christians, except negatively. This is the 
 whole of the benefit which they appear disposed to 
 derive from its application, and, therefore, the proper 
 way in which this positive enactment is to be carried 
 into effect, has, perhaps, never been inquired into for 
 many ages. Dr. Paley cites it in his Moral Philoso- 
 phy, which is professedly founded on the New Testa- 
 ment, but he says not a word concerning the proper 
 mode of its operation. Christians read and practice 
 this rule, so far as it is practiced at all, as if it had 
 been written, " Whatsoever ye would that men should 
 \nof\ do to you, do [not] ye even so to them." There 
 is no difficulty in acting upon the law thus negatively 
 modified. Evil is known to be evil ; and every one
 
 82 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 can " cease to do evil ; " but every Christian ought 
 also to desire to " learn to do well" He should not 
 merely be a negative, but also a positive disciple and 
 follower of his Lord. A Christian of this character 
 will earnestly inquire how he is to act upon the golden 
 rule as a positive enactment. Perhaps he will say, 
 " If I wanted money to embark in a business attended 
 with risk, I should like another to lend it to me with- 
 out security ; ought not I, then, to be willing to incur 
 a similar risk ? " To this it is answered, that the ques- 
 tion proves that the inquirer is unacquainted with the 
 right application of the rule ; he is unaware that the 
 rule was given to be acted upon by real members of 
 the church in their dealings with each other, and, of 
 course, upon Christian principles, and consequently 
 that, under such circumstances, every selfish wish, 
 such as that implied in the supposed question, is alto- 
 gether excluded. The same rule applies here as that 
 which was pointed out in the note on Christian charity. 
 The Christian precept of charity was given for the 
 church to act upon, and could not be expected to be 
 acted upon by those who are not of the church ; and 
 all true members of the church, inasmuch as they al- 
 together abjure selfishness, both of principle and 
 practice, would not allow the selfish wishes of merely 
 natural men to be any rule for them, in carrying the 
 divine precepts into their life and conduct. To carry- 
 out the principle of charity according to the dictates 
 of those who are strangers to charity, would be like 
 acting upon a heavenly principle under the direction 
 of evil spirits. Selfish men, amongst each other, could 
 not possibly act upon the golden rule. It is utterly 
 incompatible with selfish principles, which, therefore,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 83 
 
 in the estimate of a Christian must be wholly excluded. 
 The Christian precept and principle of charity is, 
 " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as the Lord loves thee, 
 and consequently more than thyself; " the rule of 
 practice, whereby this principle is to be carried into 
 effect, is that which we are now considering, and is 
 commonly called, for its obvious excellence, " The 
 Golden Rule." This rule may be thus paraphrased in 
 perfect consistency with its intended application : 
 " Whatsoever ye [as spiritual men] would that [spirit- 
 ual] men should do to you, do ye even so to them." 
 Since nothing contrary to the true Christian principle, 
 " It is more blessed to give than to receive," ought to 
 be desired, and consequently, nothing purely selfish, 
 so also nothing but what agrees with Christian princi- 
 ples and practice, and is promotive of them in others, 
 ought to be done or granted. To anticipate another's 
 selfish wish, and to gratify it, would be to encourage 
 and foster those principles which exclude from the 
 kingdom of heaven. This certainly can be no part of 
 the duty of a Christian, and consequently could not 
 have been included in the enactment of the Golden 
 Rule. A spiritual man would not desire to risk an- 
 other's property in business ; and therefore it is not 
 any part of a spiritual man's duty, according to the 
 Golden Rule, to incur that risk. Nevertheless the 
 risk may be incurred from personal love ; but then it 
 is not incurred under any rule of duty, but under the 
 influence of a personal preference. It may indeed, 
 in particular cases, be incurred under a rule of duty ; 
 but then this rule can only be that of seeking, in the 
 first place, the kingdom of God and His righteousness ; 
 in other words, because such a proceeding is rationally
 
 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 seen, and conscientiously felt, to be in some way con- 
 nected with the duty of pursuing eternal ends in the 
 first place, and of regarding temporal advantages as 
 only secondary, and as merely instrumental to those 
 ends. But such cases are exceptions to the general 
 rule. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that the Lord prefaced the 
 " Golden Rule " with the word, " Therefore, what- 
 soever," &c., implying that it was a deduction from 
 the principles previously laid down. He had previ- 
 ously said, " Ask and it shall be given you," and to 
 show that the Father of Mercies would give to His 
 creatures whatever wasybr their good, and that only, 
 that He would " give good things to them that ask 
 Him," He had instanced the example of human 
 fathers who, although evil, " know how to give good 
 gifts unto their children." From these premises He 
 deduced the necessity and reasonableness of acting 
 upon the golden rule. The inference appears to be 
 this : As God will only grant our request when that 
 which we ask is for our good, and according to His 
 revealed will, so His servants should give and do to 
 others those things only which are for their real good ; 
 and, of consequence, that as the Lord withholds when 
 that which is asked would be injurious, so His ser- 
 vants should disregard wishes which ought not to be 
 indulged. 
 
 It is not difficult to distinguish cases where it is for 
 the real benefit of a necessitous individual to give to 
 him that which he needs, and consequently to see that 
 such giving would be an exercise of true and enlight- 
 ened charity. In all such cases, the obligation of 
 the Golden Rule is coeval with such a perception.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 85 
 
 Whenever an individual needing assistance entertains 
 such a perception of the duty and benefit of extending 
 it to himself, he may justifiably indulge a wish to re- 
 ceive it ; and another, having a similar perception, 
 and being competent to meet and gratify such a wish, 
 he is in duty bound to extend the required aid. In 
 every case of the right application of, and acting upon, 
 the Golden Rule, it may be truly said, that such prac- 
 tical charity is twice blest ; it blesses him that gives, 
 and him that receives- Indeed, it does more, it 
 blesses not only for time, but for eternity. The giver 
 gives under an influence from heaven, and is reward- 
 ed with a sense of heavenly happiness, and with a 
 proportionate inward spiritual improvement, and this 
 makes his temporal ability to become to him of eter- 
 nal value; because, at the same time that he thanks 
 God for that ability, he gives to Him the praise of the 
 disposition to use it aright. On the other hand, the 
 receiver rejoices in the happiness of the giver in 
 having such a disposition, and such a present and 
 prospective reward ; he thanks God as the prime 
 Mover and Spring of all good, and he is grateful to 
 the human instrument of his bounty ; and thus piety 
 and gratitude convert the earthly acquisition into a 
 means of eternal good. 
 
 "Whatever needful restraints prudence may lay upon 
 the benevolent mind, in acting upon the golden rule, 
 in a world where Christian precepts are commonly en- 
 forced by individuals with infinitely more rigor upon 
 others than themselves, it is no small consolation that 
 we are hastening to a world where they can be acted 
 upon spontaneously, without calculation, and with 
 unmixed benefit. Christian principles are here com- 
 9
 
 36 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 monly referred to more as the rule and measure to 
 determine what is to be expected from others, than as 
 a rule of conduct towards others ; and, perhaps, if it 
 were not for this reference, they might become alto- 
 gether forgotten and obsolete, both in theory and in 
 practice. But, in heaven, the divine precepts are 
 never adverted to but as measuring what ought to be 
 done for the good and happiness of others ; and no 
 one there can be under any necessity to watch for, and 
 guard against, the selfish wish, either in himself or in 
 others. Every truly good man will, therefore, in his 
 preparation for heaven, be in the earnest desire evi- 
 denced in the generous, and yet prudent, endeavor to 
 do all the good he can to others spiritually, and, as 
 far as he deems consistent with this, to promote their 
 temporal wishes and interests likewise ; and in deter- 
 mining this latter point he will not deceive himself, 
 and dignify selfish dictates with the title of wisdom, 
 but he will be guided by the dictates of a good con- 
 science, and a judgment guided by the Word, and by 
 experience, and enlightened from heaven. 
 
 A Note Concerning Uses. 
 
 Since the New Jerusalem Church is to become a 
 celestial church, and since the essential character of a 
 celestial church is the love of uses grounded in the 
 love of the Lord above all things, it is expedient to 
 introduce a few remarks concerning the Nature of 
 Uses, and the states of mind which the man of the 
 church is likely to pass through in connection with 
 their performance.
 
 THS BEGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 The following passages from the treatise appended 
 to " The Apocalypse Explained,"* are worthy of the 
 deepest attention. 
 
 " By Uses are meant the uses of every function 
 which relates to man's office, study and employment ; 
 these uses are essentially good works in the sight of 
 the Lord." 
 
 " So far as a man is in the love of use, so far he is 
 in the love of the Lord and his neighbor, and is a 
 man. By loving the Lord is meant to do uses from 
 Him, and for the sake of Him ; by loving the neighbor 
 is meant to do uses to the church, to a man's country, 
 to human society, and to a fellow-citizen. By being 
 a man is meant to do uses to the neighbor for the 
 Lord's sake. No one can love the Lord in any other 
 way than by doing uses. To love the Lord as a per- 
 son, without loving uses, is to love the Lord from self, 
 which is not to love ; neither can the neighbor be loved 
 otherwise than by uses which relate to every man's 
 office. When with priests, rulers, traders, laborers, 
 and servants, there prevails fidelity, rectitude, sinceri- 
 ty, justice, and zeal, there exists the love of their re- 
 spective uses from the Lord, and from Him they have 
 the love of their neighbor, in the extended and in the 
 limited sense. Thus it is evident that by loving the 
 Lord is meant to do uses from Him as their Source, 
 and by loving the neighbor is meant to do uses to 
 Him as the object of their direction, and that these 
 uses ought to be done for the sake of the neighbor, of 
 the use, and of the Lord. Thus love returns to Him 
 who is its source, by means of love to the neighbor 
 
 * Volume VI. pp. 346365.
 
 88 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 who is its object, and love is continually going and 
 returning by deeds, which are uses. And since to 
 love is to do, if love be not done, it ceases to be love ; 
 for what is done is its effected end, and is that in 
 which it exists. Affection alone, in itself, is not any 
 thing ; but it becomes something by being in use, that 
 is, in an act which, in its essence, is affection. The 
 affection of use before it is brought into act is nothing 
 more than a mere idea." 
 
 " Love to the Lord involves uses as to their Source, 
 and love towards the neighbor involves uses in regard 
 to their subject. There are three degrees of affections 
 and of uses." 
 
 " Man is not of a sound mind unless use be his 
 affection or occupation. So far as man is in the love 
 of use, so far he is in the Lord, in the church, and in 
 heaven. By combat against evils, those things are 
 dissipated which obsess the interiors, and thus the 
 spiritual mind is opened, by which the Lord enters 
 into man's natural mind, and disposeth it to do spirit- 
 ual uses, which, in outward appearance, are natural 
 uses ; and to no others can the Lord give to love Him 
 above all things, and the neighbor as themselves. If 
 by combat against evils as sins man hath procured to 
 himself any thing spiritual in the world, be it ever so 
 small, he is saved, and his uses grow afterwards like 
 a grain of mustard seed into a tree." 
 
 "The spirit of man, in itself, is nothing but affec- 
 tion ; and hence after death he becomes an affection 
 of use, if he becomes an angel of heaven." 
 
 " The reason why every man hath eternal life ac- 
 cording to his affection of use, is, because that affec- 
 tion is the man himself, and hence such as it is, such
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 is the man. There is a spiritual, and also a natural 
 affection of use ; both are alike in the external form, 
 but in their internal form they are different. The 
 spiritual affection of use is for the sake of the Lord and 
 the neighbor as ends, and gives heaven to man ; but 
 the natural affection of use (whence come evil uses) 
 is solely for the sake of honor or gain, and gives hell 
 to man. In the spiritual world uses are stripped 
 naked, and it is revealed from what origin they are. 
 They who have loved themselves and the world above 
 all things, and have not applied their minds to uses, 
 except for the sake of honor and gain, and have pre- 
 ferred the delights of the body to those of the soul, 
 after death think insanely, except while they are en- 
 gaged in compulsory employments in hell." 
 
 In addition to these lucid statements, nothing need 
 be said concerning the nature of uses. Every sincere 
 New- Churchman must estimate the privilege of per- 
 forming uses according to his ability and opportunity. 
 Besides the uses of a person's station in life, there are 
 also uses which are more a matter of voluntary choice, 
 such as civil, political, and religious uses of a general 
 kind, and to which a man is impelled by the love of 
 his country, his fellow-citizens, and fellow-Christians. 
 Social uses are here omitted, because in several of the 
 Dissertations the discussion of them is included. 
 
 "When we are engaged with others in the perform- 
 ance of these uses, we naturally endeavor to lead them 
 to adopt that opinion, or that mode of acting, which 
 we ourselves consider to be the best. Now, it is not 
 always considered that there is present in all such en- 
 deavors, necessarily, a strong inherent principle of the 
 natural man. "Were this duly borne in mind, it would 
 9*
 
 90 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 not be so generally taken for granted that our motives 
 are perfectly pure, or that our strong convictions of 
 being in the right are altogether to be relied on. This 
 principle is, the desire that others may resemble our- 
 selves. It is inscribed on every human mind, and is 
 found in greater or less activity in all. It is the sec- 
 ondary motive of angels in their ministrations the 
 primary motive being pure love ; and it is the pri- 
 - mary motive of infernal spirits, in the temptations 
 they induce, combined with the love of rule. This 
 principle originates in the desire of the Creator to 
 make His creatures like Himself, and is necessarily 
 transferred to them as a part of that likeness into 
 which they were created. If man were without the 
 corresponding desire to render others like himself, he 
 would, in a very important particular, be unlike his 
 Maker. Since this desire is born with us, is of the 
 natural man, and therefore is, by nature, in an invert- 
 ed state. It is a fallen inclination adhering to every 
 principle therein, and requires to be regenerated. It 
 is necessary, therefore, that every well-disposed mind 
 should vigilantly guard against its undue and disor- 
 derly activity. The character of this principle with 
 the regenerate is seen in the tender and generous 
 activity of angels, who desire only to benefit man, 
 and not to force a change upon his character, nor to 
 deprive him of his freedom of judgment or choice; 
 and the character of the same principle, in its invert- 
 ed state, as it exists with the unregenerate, is seen in 
 the efforts of infernals to bring mankind into bond- 
 age, by making them like themselves. It is owing to 
 the inordinate and inverted state of this natural pro- 
 pensitv, in conjunction with the love of dominion, that
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 in civil and political discussions there is manifested 
 so much intemperance of speech and behavior ; and 
 to the same cause is to be attributed that spirit of 
 contention which, unhappily, sometimes breaks in 
 upon the peace of religious societies and private com- 
 panies. It is too often forgotten by arguers, that 
 there are no real sources of mental strength but good- 
 ness and truth, or virtue and prudence, and that the 
 violation of these by vehement passions, instead of 
 furthering the purpose in view, tends to defeat it by 
 destroying that self-possession which is essential to the 
 exercise of vigorous judgment. In states of excite- 
 ment, objects no longer retain their proper relations 
 or relative magnitude. While that which is advo- 
 cated is seen by the excited advocate as the greatest 
 possible good, that which is opposed is magnified into 
 the greatest possible evil, the truth being, perhaps, 
 that the good or the evil is more of an equivocal 
 character than otherwise, when contemplated by a 
 judicious and impartial observer; or indeed it may be 
 the case that the alleged good is mischievous, and the 
 alleged evil beneficial ! If, in arguing, goodness and 
 truth have their full effect upon us, it will be seen in a 
 dignity and propriety of behavior which is best cal- 
 culated to induce upon the hearer a receptive state of 
 mind ; but if the natural desire to urge others into 
 the resemblance of ourselves predominate, combined 
 with an undue mingling of the self-hood with the 
 object in view, that desire will display itself in some 
 unamiable and unengaging form, predisposing those 
 who witness it to undervalue our arguments, and re- 
 ject our conclusions, and furnishing them, in the over- 
 weening confidence exhibited, fair prima facie evidence
 
 92 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 that our opinion is nothing more than a hasty impreg- 
 nation of self-love, and, therefore, most likely to be 
 wrong. 
 
 In performing uses within our church-society (if we 
 are united with a society), or in endeavoring to lead 
 others into the truth, however pure our motive, the 
 natural principle alluded to will require a vigilant 
 guard to be placed over it. If our opinions or coun- 
 sels are not received, and our uses appear to be nulli- 
 fied by opposition perhaps deemed by us unwise or 
 vexatious with what sort of feelings do we meet our 
 disappointment? If we feel untranquil, restless, 
 somewhat resentful, or " weary in well-doing," it is a 
 proof that there is too much of the natural man in 
 our activities, aud that, in proposing with some sin- 
 cerity to benefit the Lord's church, we suffer our 
 self-hood to mix itself up with our efforts, even in a 
 degree that would scarcely be justified, were it a 
 matter of our own private property ! It will generally 
 happen that, in proportion as the motive is pure, and 
 the above named natural inclination in due subor- 
 dination to the spiritual love of use, the expression of 
 our sentiments in making a proposal will be moderate 
 and deferential ; and if not acceded to, the opposition, 
 whether finally successful or not, will be taken in per- 
 fectly good part. On the contrary, in proportion as 
 an opinion or proposed measure is dear to the self- 
 hood, it will be urged with vehemence, and perhaps 
 in a style and manner somewhat uncourteous ; and if 
 defeat should follow, it will be borne with evident 
 feelings of anger and mortification. He who is angry 
 with his brethren, regarding them with depreciating 
 feelings, and especially if he cuts them off as personal
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 93 
 
 enemies, because they cannot adopt his views, has 
 too little of the love of use, and too much of the 
 spirit of tyranny, in the constitution of his motives. 
 If, on the other hand, success is followed by an ap- 
 pearance of contempt or displeasure towards oppo- 
 nents, or by indications of self-merit and self-gratula- 
 tion, whether observed by the subject of them within 
 his own breast, or outwardly manifested ; or if there 
 is felt a thirst for praise, or a forgetfulness to refer the 
 meed of applause to Him from whom alone both will 
 and power, as well as success, are derived ; in either 
 of these cases, also, there is too much of self in the 
 springs of action, and too little of the Lord. 
 
 Zeal in proposing what appears to be useful, may 
 be a good> or it may be otherwise ; it certainly goes 
 into action in a more safe and genial manner in the 
 form of diligent and calm perseverance, united with 
 fortitude and patient good humor under opposition, 
 than when it manifests itself in heated excitement, 
 perhaps even passing the bounds of courtesy ; and in 
 petulant reproaches and expressions of disappoint- 
 ment when defeated in its object. Anxiety about the 
 success of a proposal in which much interest is felt, 
 may be necessary with some persons to rouse them to 
 take any trouble about it, but still it is a mark of the 
 weakness of the new will. 
 
 As purity of motive is from above, so is it combined 
 with an exactly proportionate degree of confidence in 
 and resignation to the Supreme Disposer. Even al- 
 though the celestial mind could foreknow that the 
 adoption of its views was essential to the establish- 
 ment or preservation of the external church, having 
 begun its efforts under the movement of the Divine
 
 94: DISSERTATIONS 05 
 
 Will, it could even then calmly view the frustration 
 of them by the short-sightedness or perverseness of 
 men, and say from the heart, " Not my will, but thine 
 be done ! " Since, however, at the best, a disputed 
 view of use has some doubt as to its efficacy annexed 
 to it, the exercise of deference to the hand of Provi- 
 dence, as guiding to the best result, is no more than 
 what is reasonable and becoming in such a case, as, 
 indeed, it is in every other. 
 
 Although the true lover of use may fail in his ef- 
 forts to introduce the truth to others, and be without 
 any outward encouragement to perseverance, he will 
 patiently pursue his course ; he will not suffer himself 
 to entertain, for a moment, contemptuous or reproach- 
 ful feelings towards the spiritually blind and deaf, 
 knowing that " no man can take any thing except it 
 be given him from above ; " and that all the loss is to 
 the rejecter of the truth ; and that a gain must needs 
 accrue to himself as the offerer of it, so far as his 
 motive is from the Lord. He feels assured that if the 
 Lord does not call some particular well-disposed indi- 
 vidual into His marvellous light, it is because He 
 perceives, that his feeble and sickly plant will best be 
 kept in life in the shade of an obscured intelligence. 
 Entertaining the conviction that the Lord does all 
 things well, he will more than acquiesce in the Divine 
 arrangements. And as the celestial mind can thus 
 exclude self from mixing up with its feelings of dis- 
 appointment, so, in the event of success, no feeling 
 but that of calm thankfulness will prevail, united 
 with humble rejoicing that it has been made the hon- 
 ored instrument of use in the hand of the Lord. 
 
 It remains to notice a use which must sometimes be
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 95 
 
 performed that of questioning or reproving, especi- 
 ally publicly, the acts of those with whom we are in 
 some way connected. This duty is one of a most 
 dangerous kind, because the influences of the self-hood 
 are so ready, in the most subtle manner, to blend 
 with, and perhaps to overpower, the purer motive. 
 It is not enough to recommend prayer and self-exam- 
 ination before entering upon this duty, since these 
 acts will avail nothing if the mind be already pre- 
 determined as to its course ; and it will be no easy 
 matter to ascertain, while these acts of devotion are 
 going on, whether the meditated purpose has been 
 suspended to obtain more light to discover mistake in 
 it, if any, or to obtain more light merely to justify 
 and confirm it. If the latter be the case, the light 
 will be a false light, but it will be readily received as 
 true, because it favors the predisposition of the will. 
 
 Happily there is a guiding rule which may well be 
 borne in mind. No one can safely enter upon the 
 duty of reproving except in a state of much calmness 
 of feeling, mingled with some apprehension lest he 
 should give pain without producing benefit. Indeed 
 the task must be felt as a painful one, for that will 
 certainly be the case, if charity is the ruling motive. 
 But so far as alacrity of mind, active excitement, or 
 any feeling allied to desire, or pleasurable anticipa- 
 tion, is felt in the prospect of it, or even if the feelings 
 are tumultuous on the occasion, then there is good 
 reason to doubt, at the least, whether the love of use, 
 or the gratification of the proprium, has most share in 
 originating the proceeding. 
 
 What, then, is to be done on making the humilia- 
 ting discovery, that self has had too great a share in
 
 96 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 forming the intention? Certainly the intended use 
 must not be abandoned, if reason clearly perceives 
 that ill effects would result from silence being observ- 
 ed ; but if the meditated reproof can be seen as of 
 doubtful good effect, after a sincere effort has been 
 made to discern and appreciate the merits of the neg- 
 ative side of the question, the purpose should then be 
 entirely laid aside. But if, after the discovery of the 
 alloy in the motives, the purpose must, nevertheless, 
 be proceeded with, it should be entered on with feel- 
 ings of humiliation, self-distrust, and circumspection, 
 and with an earnest hope that divine guidance will 
 be vouchsafed to bring the matter to a beneficial issue 
 without the admixture of any circumstances that may 
 give occasion for subsequent self-condemnation, or 
 even regret. 
 
 ON THE HAPPINESS OF A STATE OF ORDER. 
 
 WERE mankind fully convinced that the Supreme 
 Being who created them, can alone accomplish for 
 them the purpose for which they were created, 
 namely, their eternal happiness, to begin on earth, 
 and to be perfected in heaven, they would listen to 
 those laws which revelation has made known to them 
 for its attainment, considering them as laws, not to 
 deprive them of real blessings and comforts, but grad- 
 ually to confer them with everlasting increase. In- 
 stead of a surrender of the mind and its affections to 
 the divine laws, and of persevering in the road which 
 the finger of God has pointed out to them, men, like 
 untoward children, prefer to wander through woods 
 and forests, delighted with unknown tracts, and
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 exposed to briars and thorns, to the poisonous berries 
 of self-love, and to the envenomed bite of serpents 
 and reptiles of the most noxious kind. Such, indeed, 
 are the various unrestrained passions, the continual 
 tormentors of those who, exceeding the just measure 
 of temperance in worldly enjoyments, lose that sweet 
 relish which a moderate participation of them, under 
 the influence and control of heavenly principles, alone 
 can impart. It would be as easy for a tree to thrive 
 with its root in the air, and its branches in the ground, 
 as for a man to attain happiness by quitting its proper 
 centre in God, and by burying in earthly pursuits the 
 fruit-bearing blossoms of a mind organized for celes- 
 tial contemplation, and the purest moral practice. 
 
 Let us fancy for a moment a small society of truly 
 rational beings, whose minds are enlightened from the 
 fountain of wisdom in the Divine Word, and who, in 
 the true worship of the heart, love God above all 
 things, in the natural, moral, and spiritual order in 
 which they delight to move ; whose wants are easily 
 supplied, because they are content with little ; and 
 who, from a principle of active goodness, the offspring 
 of their supreme love to their only Lord and Saviour, 
 are ever watchful to contribute something to promote 
 the well-being of their neighbor ; who meet to con- 
 verse a little about their worldly concerns, and much 
 about the enlivening prospects of eternity ; who are 
 enamored of truth, because by truth they discover 
 those operations of goodness in which they delight to 
 engage ; and who, amidst a world far differently dis- 
 posed, patiently wait the lapse of a few years, which 
 will pass away as a dream, when, having passed the 
 gate of death, they shall resuscitate with immortal 
 10
 
 98 DISSERT ATI OXS ON 
 
 youth in bodies not subject to decay, but like the soul 
 or mind which animates them, be more and more per- 
 fected to all eternity. In such a society, envy, hatred, 
 malice, deceit, pride, and selfishness could find no ad- 
 mittance ; while humility, kindness, condescension, 
 and every reciprocal act of genuine charity, would be 
 continually manifested in a variety of forms, having a 
 constant tendency to promote inward peace even in 
 the bosom which is suffering from outward trials. In- 
 dividually giving glory to God for piloting their 
 feeble barks through the storms and tempests which 
 man's perverted free agency has brought on the ocean 
 of time, the members of this happy community would 
 pursue their destined course until they are safely 
 landed on the eternal shores, where heavenly order, 
 and increasing felicity, shall exclusively occupy their 
 mental consciousness, while the remembrance of the 
 evils and perils they have passed will be lost in sweet 
 oblivion. 
 
 ON SELF-EXAMINATION. 
 
 SELF-examination, as practiced in the earlier stages 
 of regeneration, is periodically performed as a duty 
 enforced by self-compulsion, the expediency of which 
 is seen and felt, in order that we may discover our 
 latent and prevailing evils, and guard against the se- 
 duction of those false defences to which the natural 
 mind will so frequently have recourse. Self-examina- 
 tion, by laying open our manifold imperfections of 
 heart and mind, will lead to humiliation, and this to 
 the adoration of the divine perfections, and to a con- 
 stant desire to imitate them. It is a duty which the
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 99 
 
 doctrinal, and also the practical solifidian \vill equally 
 be disposed to neglect. The doctrinal solifidian 
 will disregard it as unnecessary to salvation ; and 
 the practical solifidian will omit it, because, although 
 he is possessed of genuine truth, he is not sincere- 
 ly desirous of uniting it with goodness. It is a 
 duty which the merely natural mind thinks not of, 
 because its views are continually verging to self- 
 elevation. It desires to become great, and labors to 
 obtain the possession of a name in the kingdom of this 
 world, and cannot endure the idea of becoming little 
 for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. But as the 
 mind becomes more enlarged by spiritual views, it 
 begins to think less of the world, and more of heaven ; 
 while the instruction which it continually draws from 
 the Sacred Word enables it to see more clearly in 
 what that fitness consists which, alone, can qualify for 
 the enjoyment of a future state of happiness, a state 
 for which the natural mind, of itself, has no relish. 
 It is the great object of self-examination, to ascertain 
 whether the state of the affections is in harmony with 
 that fitness, or otherwise ; and the state of the affec- 
 tions can always be known by a comparison of the 
 thoughts with the requirements of true religion. As 
 the spiritual life advances, self-examination, which 
 was at first a duty periodically imposed, and perhaps 
 obeyed with some degree of reluctance, becomes more 
 and more a spontaneous act, until at length every 
 thought, and every change in the state of the mind, is 
 instantly submitted to investigation, in order to ascer- 
 tain its agreement, or disagreement, with the heavenly 
 order. Every day furnishes a more distinct view of 
 its occurrences, and, as it were, sits in judgment on
 
 100 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 itself. The words and actions of others do not pass 
 unobserved by the regenerating mind, but the minute 
 and severe scrutiny is exclusively applied to its own 
 conduct. Although the motive and general tendency 
 of the spiritual mind be to shun evil and to promote 
 good, its motives and ends are so frequently inter- 
 rupted by counteracting principles in the natural 
 mind, that a renewed recurrence to the laws of divine 
 truth is continually required. The love of self and 
 the world, though weakened, are not subdued ; and 
 their influence is often discovered by habitual obser- 
 vation, in a thousand subtle forms. Nothing leads to 
 spontaneous and habitual self-examination so directly, 
 as the frequent and devout contemplation of the Lord's 
 wonderful works, and the display of His infinite good- 
 ness and mercy, in the creation, redemption, and 
 salvation of mankind. This, like letting in the sun's 
 rays, will discover to us our dark spots, and while it 
 increases our humility, will lead us to a kind and 
 merciful consideration of the faults and imperfections 
 of our neighbor.* 
 
 OX THE LORD'S PRATER. 
 
 PKAYEK is communication or discourse with God ; 
 and in the degree that we are ardent and sincere in 
 our devotion, it is a kind of revelation ; for the affec- 
 tions being laid open to heavenly influences by 
 devout prayer, celestial light, as well as heat, is com- 
 municated from the Lord. Were it not for prayer, 
 which brings us home to God by consecrating the day 
 
 * The reader is affectionately referred to the "Heads of Self-Examination," 
 contained in Mr. Mason's "Help to Devotion."
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 and the night to His worship, we should be lost in a 
 maze of worldly cares, anxieties, and difficulties 
 through the day ; and our sleep would bring us no 
 calm repose, sweetened by the consciousness of Divine 
 love and care. In that divine prayer called the 
 Lord's Prayer, we are taught to acknowledge the Lord 
 as the sole object of our worship; to revere His name 
 or attributes ; to desire the restoration of His spiritual 
 kingdom within us ; to resign our wills to His will in 
 all His dispensations, and in every act of His provi- 
 dence, until earth shall become as heaven within us, 
 and until the external form of our actions shall be- 
 come one with the internal spirit which rules them. 
 "We are also taught to desire that the whole earth, by 
 obedience to the Divine will, may be brought to the 
 worship of the Lord, in the harmony and peace of 
 heaven. "We are taught to pray that the Lord will 
 provide all things needful for us, according to the 
 measure of our manifold wants, both of a bodily and 
 spiritual kind, as known only to His infinite wisdom ; 
 that we may continually receive His forgiving mercy. 
 which we cannot receive unless we act under the gen- 
 uine influence of it towards our neighbor, since the 
 heart that knows no benevolence, pity, and compas- 
 sion to mankind, shuts out the love of God, which, 
 like the sun, always shines, but which cannot act upon 
 bodies that resist its influence. We are taught to pray 
 to be led out of temptation, by being delivered from 
 the power of evil, and to ascribe our salvation and 
 fitness for heaven to the power of the Lord, operating 
 on and with our feeble endeavors, and to whom alone 
 we are taught to ascribe all power and glory forever. 
 This divine prayer, while it appears to be merely a 
 10*
 
 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 compendious and simple form of Christian worship, is 
 so full of divine and spiritual wisdom, that there is 
 not a single sentence in it but what contains infini- 
 tude ; nor can there be any form of true devotion, or 
 even a single sigh of humble adoration, or an aspira- 
 tion of celestial ardor either with man on earth, or 
 angels in heaven, but what proceeds from, and is 
 brought home to the tenor of, this short, but infinitely 
 perfect form of words. 
 
 II. 
 
 Since all the words, as well as works of our Lord, 
 contain infinitude in them, eternity is inadequate to 
 unfold them. This is the case with the Lord's Prayer. 
 The human mind, though finite, may nevertheless, in 
 the contemplation of this divine prayer, be opened 
 more and more to new views of it, useful both for the 
 animating spirit of worship, and the advancing pro- 
 gress of spiritual life. 
 
 In this prayer are contained seven distinct petitions, 
 through which may be traced the seven stages of re- 
 generation, as described in the exposition by E. S. of 
 the spiritual sense of the six days creation, and the 
 seventh day of rest, as mentioned in the first chapter 
 of Genesis. It begins with an acknowledgment of 
 God ; for prior to an acknowledgment of God it is 
 evident that no prayer can be offered. It was in the 
 beginning that God said, " Let there be light, and 
 there was light." "When the darkness of practical 
 unbelief is dispersed, and it is seen that God is, and 
 that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek 
 Him, man can offer up the first petition of this prayer, 
 that he may venerate his Creator in the boundless
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 103 
 
 manifestations of His love, wisdom, and power ; in 
 the second petition, that he may live under their in- 
 fluence, as the obedient subject of His kingdom ; in 
 the third, that the will, as well as the understanding, 
 may be submitted to the divine laws, so that, while 
 the understanding is convinced of their excellence, 
 the will may affectionately submit to their control ; 
 in the fourth, that he may arrive at a state of depend- 
 ence, confiding for all things in the Divine Providence ; 
 in the fifth, that the law of mercy may be exercised 
 in forgiving offences, for he who can freely exercise 
 forgiveness upon enlightened principles, has attained 
 to the performance of charity's most exalted duties, 
 and is able with cordiality to do all manner of good 
 to his neighbor ; in the sixth petition, man prays to 
 be armed against the power of temptation from the 
 kingdom of darkness ; and in the seventh, for a deliv- 
 erance from evil. Thus man is taught to pray for 
 the attainment of the celestial state, and the prayer, 
 which begins with an acknowledgment of the Lord as 
 the author of that state, ends with a glorification of 
 Him, on account of its attainment. The gradual at- 
 tainment of it may be traced from acknowledgment 
 to veneration ; from veneration to obedience ; from 
 obedience to love ; from love to dependence ; from 
 dependence to mercy ; from mercy to final victory in 
 temptation ; from victory in temptation to the cessa- 
 tion of the power of evil, which is the establishment 
 of the kingdom of peace, in every region of the mind. 
 
 in. 
 
 A very striking agreement or harmony subsists be- 
 tween the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments.
 
 DISSERTATIONS OK 
 
 The words, Our Father who art in the Heavens, con- 
 vey an acknowledgment of God. When this acknowl- 
 edgment is from the heart, and influences the life, 
 we shall be faithful observers of the commandments, 
 " Thou shalt not have other gods before me. Thou 
 shalt not make to thyself a graven image." With 
 scrupulous and watchful care we shall put away all 
 spiritual idols, and likewise all objects that exclude 
 the Lord from our affections, and mislead our pursuits 
 from eternal ends. Though they put on the ensnaring 
 similitude of some fancied good, if nevertheless they 
 betray their true character by deranging the peaceful 
 course of our affections and thoughts, we shall con- 
 sider them as delusive forms that would lead us from 
 God, being taught by the holy Word that whatsoever 
 most excites our love, and our inward, although con- 
 cealed adoration, is in reality, for the time, the object 
 of our worship. If the Lord be indeed the object of 
 our worship, we shall revere Him in His Word, by 
 regarding it as the true manifestation of His own 
 Divine quality and character ; while our thoughts, our 
 affections, and our outward actions, will bear the in- 
 delible stamp of His supreme guidance and control. 
 Hallowed be thy name. When the name, or proper- 
 ties and attributes of the Lord are revered by a con- 
 firmed interior worship of the heart, we shall atten- 
 tively observe the next precept, by not taking His 
 name in vain. We shall not apply what is divinely 
 good and true to any purpose in alliance with what is 
 evil and false ; either by inattentive prayer, which 
 only lives and dies upon the lips, or by conversation 
 which treats sacred subjects with levity, or by intro- 
 ducing passages of the Word in common or frivolous
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 105 
 
 discourse ; or by a thought which conceals its wicked 
 purpose under the mask of religious profession ; or 
 by the act which openly betrays it. 
 
 Thy kingdom come. When the kingdom of the 
 Lord is established within us, as recipients of His 
 divine goodness and truth, we shall enjoy its inex- 
 pressible blessings in tranquility and peace. We shall 
 begin to experience that holy state of spiritual rest, 
 which is signified ~by keeping holy the Sabbath day, and 
 which results from the union of love and wisdom in 
 the will and understanding. This state can only be 
 communicated to the humble and the meek, who, 
 through the divine aid, have subdued that kingdom 
 within them of selfish and worldly love, which is the 
 kingdom of warfare and trouble. Before the Lord's 
 kingdom can come, and the dawn of the spiritual 
 Sabbath day commence, the worldly kingdom must 
 be removed in all its forms, and this great work will 
 require six days of spiritual labor. Many evil dispo- 
 sitions must be successively shunned, although dear 
 to us as the eye by which the most delightful objects 
 are seen and enjoyed, or as the right hand, the power- 
 ful minister to our wants and desires, and the instru- 
 mental guardian of our safety. Before the kingdom 
 of the Lord can have dominion, many trials and 
 temptations must be endured. "The will of the 
 flesh," and " the will of man," must be brought into 
 subjection to the divine will ; and then we shall be 
 enabled to say from the heart, 
 
 Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth. 
 Amidst all the changes and vicissitudes of life, a total 
 submission to the divine will is ever found to be the 
 great inlet to support, consolation, strength, and
 
 10(3 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 direction. To a man that has a settled confidence in 
 the Divine Providence, those very vicissitudes will 
 take the form of merciful dispensations. If our friends 
 fall around us, we know that their days are numbered 
 by an all-wise Disposer, and that a separation from 
 them by Death must sooner or later take place, and 
 that the time of the Lord's appointment is the fittest 
 and the best. If our worldly riches are taken from 
 us, it is not on these that our heart is fixed. A priva- 
 tion of these, to a mind that is enabled to keep eter- 
 nity in view, will only serve to increase the value of 
 spiritual possessions. These we shall find in the in- 
 exhaustible treasures of the divine Word, in the re- 
 viving hopes of immortality, and in the manifold 
 good offices and uses which our subdued and elevated 
 affections will daily discover to ns. While we strive 
 to revere, rather than to unfold the inscrutable ways 
 of Providence, we shall make choice of such measures 
 as, in our feeble apprehension, are best suited to pro- 
 mote the best ends ; and find a heartfelt satisfaction 
 in leaving the event to that Controlling Power which 
 cannot err. Thus will our temporal engagements and 
 pursuits be tinctured with heavenly views and prin- 
 ciples, and we shall be brought into ready obedience 
 to the next harmoniziag precept, 
 
 Honor thy father and thy mother.* By a cheerful 
 obedience to our heavenly Father, and to those truths 
 of His Word from which we receive our spiritual for- 
 mation, we shall enjoy a spiritual length of days in 
 
 * By the "father'" here mentioned is spiritually to be understood the Lord 
 as to his Paternal Divine Love; and by ," mother," the Church whose maternal 
 care is exercised in dispensing those Divine Truths by which she leads her children 
 to goodness, and thus to a blessed conjunction with their Heavenly Father.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 107 
 
 the heavenly Canaan, or the perpetuation of states of 
 goodness and truth, first in His church on earth, and 
 afterwards in heaven, where the succession of time 
 will be lost in endless felicity. In submitting our will 
 to the divine will, we honor our heavenly Father, and 
 also prepare ourselves for the faithful observance of 
 all the subordinate degrees of respectful obedience, as 
 obedience to the sovereign, the laws of the realm, the 
 magistracy; and in every situation of life, we shall 
 preserve that fear of offending which orderly affec- 
 tions will ever create, and freely " give honor to all 
 to whom honor is due." Were children very early 
 impressed with a simple explanation of this divine 
 prayer, and taught to consider the Lord as their Al- 
 mighty Parent who provides all things for them, they 
 would, in the innocence of their infantile love, be 
 susceptible of a more tender, respectful, and dutiful 
 attachment to their earthly parents. Remarkable in- 
 stances have occurred of very striking effects being 
 produced on the minds of persons who, in advancing 
 to maturity of reason, have deviated for a time from 
 the principles of true devotion, inseminated in their 
 childhood, but who have returned to such a confirma- 
 tion of them, that the influences of the world could 
 never finally erase them. 
 
 Give us this day our daily bread. When we are 
 brought to such a happy state as to be led by the 
 divine will, habitually rendering honor to our spirit- 
 ual Father and mother, we shall perceive that it is in 
 the Lord that we live, and move, and have our being. 
 The cheerful performance of our duties in the good land 
 that floweth with milk and honey, will become our 
 heavenly bread, and all other necessaries will be pro-
 
 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 vided in the degree that is requisite for us. Our 
 dependence on Almighty care will not make us sloth- 
 ful, but diligent, in our secular as well as our religi- 
 ous concerns, while in our activity there will be 
 present the sweetness of content. Like the diligent 
 husbandman, we shall watch our opportunities with 
 attentive care, well knowing that we can neither 
 command the seasons nor the incidents of life ; and 
 while we co-operate for the attainment of that provi- 
 sion, spiritual or natural, which is granted to our 
 feeble efforts for the day, we shall avoid all anxieties 
 and cares for the morrow. 
 
 Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 
 Fully sensible that Divine Love continually forgives 
 our manifold frailties and imperfections upon our 
 humble confession, we shall as freely forgive the in- 
 juries of others. Our strongest feelings towards those 
 who commit them will only lead us earnestly to desire 
 that the source from whence they spring may be rec- 
 tified. We shall delight in the divine precept, " Be 
 ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful." This 
 forgiving charity, the offspring of love to the Lord, 
 will enable us to overcome in every temptation, and 
 to reject every opposing evil ; and then shall we, as 
 if by a heavenly instinct, avoid every degree of hatred 
 and ill-will which is prohibited in the command 
 Thou shall not commit murder. This command we 
 shall observe whole and undefined, both as it regards 
 the person and the reputation of our neighbor, even 
 to the slightest injury. We shall remember that en- 
 mity, hatred, and revenge, are the beginnings of 
 murder ; and as such, that even the smallest degree 
 of them is to be carefully avoided. As the Lord, in
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFK, 109 
 
 a supreme sense, is our neighbor, we shall do no act 
 that derogates from His glory ; and least of all shall 
 we harbor that enmity against the Most High, which 
 always lies concealed in aversion to His laws. 
 
 And while, under a deep sense of our sinf illness, we 
 seek for that divine forgiveness which consists in the 
 removal of evil ; while we habitually regard our 
 fellow-creatures as having a claim upon our good will 
 and service, rather than as being debtors to us to pro- 
 mote our personal views or selfish gratification ; while 
 we devoutly and continually pray, Lead us not into 
 temptation, but deliver us from evil ; then will the 
 remainder of tJie commandments be duly observed by 
 us, both in their literal and their spiritual sense. 
 
 We shall avoid adultery, even in thought, as the 
 destruction of every civil, social, and religious obliga- 
 tion. We shall not, by any favored tenets of our own 
 establishing, adulterate the truths of the divine Word, 
 still less shall we deny its sanctity, or profane it by 
 the pride of our self-hood. 
 
 We shall not steal, by depriving our neighbor, un- 
 der any pretence whatever, of his just rights or 
 property, either by oppression or deceit. Our deal- 
 ings will be fair and honest, upright and sincere ; and 
 our discharge of the duties of justice, faithful and 
 diligent. We shall not oppose or detract from our 
 neighbor's good purpose, because his mode of promo- 
 ting any civil or religious use may differ from our 
 own ; still less shall we presume, by imperious author- 
 ity, self-merit, self-derived intelligence, self-righteous- 
 ness, or vain glory, to arrogate to ourselves the honor 
 that belongs to God alone. 
 
 We shall not bear false witness against our neighbor, 
 11
 
 HO DISSERTATIONS Oil 
 
 either from the infernal delight of slander, or for the 
 sake of an y advantage to ourselves. We shall be in- 
 duced on all occasions to take the favorable side of a 
 character, rather than traduce or defame it. All 
 cunning devices, stratagems of deceit, and purposes 
 of mischief, from envy or emulation, will be shunned 
 as cruel and merciless. Even our most undisguised 
 friendly counsel will be softened into an appeal of 
 candor and affection, lest an unfriendly deportment 
 on our part should disparage the truth, and prove, as 
 it were, a false testimony against its true character, 
 and always friendly tendencies. At the same time, 
 and for the same reason, we shall be careful to pre- 
 serve the integrity of truth, neither calling good evil, 
 nor evil good. Above all, we shall endeavor to 
 cherish and manifest, on all occasions, a veneration 
 for divine truth and goodness, as our nearest neighbor, 
 and, even in our common discourse, confine ourselves 
 to what is strictly and minutely true, without ex- 
 aggeration. 
 
 We shall not covet our neighbor's possessions, hav- 
 ing learned, in whatever situation we are placed, 
 therewith to be content; our affections also being 
 fixed on treasures which neither moth nor rust can 
 corrupt, and which the world can neither give nor 
 take away. As the avaricious mind is corroded by 
 a continual craving, and, from a feeling of wretched- 
 ness in itself, would forever grasp at the possessions 
 of others, so, on the contrary, the contented mind, in 
 its dependence on Providence, finds a continual feast. 
 When the exertions of the spiritual mind for the good 
 of others are crowned with success, it is in the height 
 of its enjoyment ; and when they fail, it silently
 
 THE REQEJfERATB LIFS. 
 
 submits. It covets not to bring the will or under- 
 standing of any one under its dominion or control ; 
 nor does it presume, by murmuring at the limited 
 extent of its capacity, to contend with the infinite 
 wisdom of Him whose footsteps are unknown, and 
 who, as Lord of all, equally presides over the worlds 
 that are suspended by His power, and over the spar- 
 row that falls to the ground. Instead of coveting 
 talents and attainments which we have not, we shall 
 thankfully contemplate the inexhaustible treasures 
 which we possess, in those divine laws which contain 
 the very essetial principles of our present and 
 eternal happiness ; and in that divine prayer which, 
 when devoutly addressed to the Lord, will enable us 
 to observe them. Our first care will be to " seek the 
 kingdom of God and his righteousness," and then our 
 heavenly Father, having formed his kingdom in our 
 inmost affections, will teach us to ascribe to himself 
 alone the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever 
 and ever. 
 
 IV. 
 
 This divine prayer contains in itself the spirit of 
 the prophecies, as well as of the commandments ; and 
 in such a manner that the practice of the one is the 
 fulfilment of the other. 
 
 Our Lord said to his disciples, " If ye love me, keep 
 my commandments." There can be no other test of 
 our love to an earthly sovereign than by a ready com- 
 pliance with the laws and forms of his government ; 
 nor of our love to the King of kings, than by a ven- 
 eration for his laws, and a continual endeavor to abide 
 in the faithful observance of them. The laws of
 
 DISSERTATIONS OH 
 
 earthly governments, and of civil society, are merely 
 external; and hence, by too many, the rules of de- 
 corum may be observed outwardly, while the inward 
 affections, from the absence of religious convictions, 
 may have little or no regard to them, and may even 
 be intent on hidden mischief. The acknowledgment 
 and worship which God requires is that of the heart ; 
 and therefore the delights of religion can never be 
 realized until they are preferred to all other delights. 
 As obedience is far more acceptable to Him than the 
 outward sacrifice of praise, so the love of what is or- 
 derly and good, which forms the very soul of internal 
 obedience, can alone transform the restraint of rule 
 into the privilege of choice, and convert the service 
 of the Lord into the most perfect freedom. 
 
 To observe only in a general way on what we have 
 before particularised of this divine prayer :4-When 
 we acknowledge and worship God from the heart ; 
 when we revere his holy name or attributes ; when 
 we ardently desire the establishment of his kingdom, 
 taking his Divine Truth as the regulator of our 
 thoughts, words and actions, and the reigning princi- 
 ple of our inmost affections; when we submit all 
 things to his divine will, by a surrender of our own 
 will, both in respect to our temporal and eternal con- 
 cerns ; when, in all our undertakings, however fair 
 and plausible the motive, we can calmly leave the 
 event to the Divine Providence ; when with grateful 
 hearts we can receive the instructions of his holy word 
 as our heavenly bread ; and, as our earthly bread, 
 the lot which his adorable wisdom and goodness has 
 appointed to our temporal exertions ; when our 
 charity goes forth in its useful, benevolent and for-
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. ] 13 
 
 giving operations, as a ray from that fountain of heat 
 and light which enlightens our understandings and 
 warms our hearts ; when temptations cease with the 
 dominion of evil, and with profound and humble 
 adoration we can ascribe the kingdom, the power and 
 the glory to the Lord, who has done all things for us ; 
 then will the following beautiful prophecies, along 
 with numerous others of similar import, be brought 
 to their spiritual completion in us as individuals, and, 
 in due time, they will assuredly be fulfilled over the 
 whole earth. 
 
 "They shall come with weeping, and with suppli- 
 cations will I lead them ; I will cause them to walk 
 by the rivers of water in a straight way, wherein they 
 shall not stumble ; for I am a Father to Israel, and 
 Ephraim is my first-born." [Jeremiah xxxi. 9. 
 
 " All nations whom thou hast made shall come and 
 worship before thee, O Jehovah, and shall glorify thy 
 name." [Psalm Ixxxvi. 9. 
 
 "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be 
 glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the 
 rose." [Isaiah xxxv. 1. 
 
 "The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the 
 haughtiness of men shall be made low ; and the Lord 
 alone shall be exalted in that day, and the idols he 
 shall utterly abolish." [Isaiah ii. 17, 18. 
 
 " At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and 
 his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel." 
 [Isaiah xvii. 7. 
 
 " In the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven 
 set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed ; it 
 shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, 
 and it shall stand for ever." [Daniel ii. 44. 
 
 n*
 
 114 DISSERTATIONS 0* 
 
 "And there was given him dominion: and gloryy 
 and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan- 
 guages should serve him ; his dominion is an ever- 
 lasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his 
 kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." [Daniei 
 vii. 14. 
 
 " Thy people shall be willing in the clay of thy 
 power in the beauties of holiness." [Psalm ex. 3. 
 
 "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh up- 
 rightly, shall dwell on high ; his place of defence 
 shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given 
 him, and his waters shall be sure." [Jerem. xxxi. 33. 
 
 " The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the 
 Lord, as the waters cover the sea." [Isaiah xi. 9. 
 
 " After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my 
 law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts; 
 and will be their God, and they shall be my people ; 
 they shall all know me from the least unto the great- 
 est, saith Jehovah, for I will forgive their iniquity, 
 and I will remember their sin no more." [Isaiah 
 xxxiii. 15, 16. 
 
 " Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, 
 a tabernacle that shall not be broken down ; not one 
 of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither 
 shall any of the cords thereof be broken." [Isaiah 
 xxxiii. 20. 
 
 " And the work of righteousness shall be peace ; 
 and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assur- 
 ance forever." [Isaiah xxxii. 17. 
 
 " And the Lord shall help them and deliver them ; 
 he shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, 
 because they trust in him." [Psalm xxxvii. 40. 
 
 To fulfil this divine prayer in our lives, and, with
 
 THE REGENERATE LIPB. 115 
 
 the prayer, the prophecies, is within the reach of 
 every one who endeavors to shun evil in all its forms, 
 and applies with sincere devotion for Almighty aid. 
 But those evils which the commandments forbid we 
 can never shun, except by unceasing exertion ; and 
 we can never see them, except by vigilant and faith- 
 ful self-examination. 
 
 Cease to do evil, and learn to do well, must be the 
 impressive admonition presented to our minds with 
 every rising sun ; and if this general precept be ob- 
 served with watchful and faithful perseverance, we 
 shall not fail to acquire, in due time, delight in well 
 doing, and shall enjoy, by anticipation, the world's 
 more general reform. If our days glide on, at one 
 time, smoothly and undisturbed, it is the hand of 
 Providence that gently guides the soft current of our 
 life ; if, at another time, troubles rise, and extreme 
 dangers threaten, the same Providence rides on the 
 whirlwind and directs the storm. To a mind under 
 the influence of heavenly affections, both the prosper- 
 ous and the adverse events of life will be viewed with 
 gratitude and calm dependence, under a firm convic- 
 tion that the constant course of the Divine Providence 
 is, either manifestly or invisibly, to bring good out of 
 evil. 
 
 While we cherish the transcendency grateful idea, 
 that these prophecies will finally be accomplished 
 universally, let us endeavor to verify them in our- 
 selves. We have the commandments to guide us ; 
 we have the prophecies to encourage us ; and we 
 have a form of prayer from the Lord himself; and if 
 we sincerely and devoutly address him as our almighty 
 and indulgent Father, we shall be enabled, by keeping
 
 116 DISSERTATIONS OH 
 
 the precepts, to fulfil the prophecies, and to form the 
 heavenly kingdom within us ; and, in a few short 
 years, our spirits will be released from their material 
 prison-house, and be transported to the eternal man- 
 sions, to experience increasing purity, wisdom, and 
 blessedness, forever. 
 
 V. 
 
 Having shown that the Lord's Prayer contains a 
 summary of the ten commandments, and also involves 
 the fulfilment of important prophecies, we are next 
 led to point out its harmonious agreement with the 
 eight beatitudes contained in our Lord's sermon on 
 the mount. This harmony is not interrupted by the 
 difference in the arrangement of the latter, since 
 every part of the Divine Discourse alluded to will be 
 found to accord with some portion of the Divine 
 Prayer. The blessing bestowed on those that hunger 
 and thirst after righteousness, refers to states of the 
 inind turning towards God. The blessing bestowed 
 on the .meek, who shall inherit the earth, refers to 
 those who in humility receive instruction, hallow the 
 Lord's name, and become members of His church. 
 The blessing bestowed on the poor in spirit, for theirs 
 is the kingdom of heaven, and on the pure in heart, 
 for they shall see God, refers to the state when the 
 Lord's kingdom is come, and His will is done on 
 earth as it is in heaven, and when our dependence for 
 all things needful is on the Divine Providence. The 
 blessing bestowed on the merciful, for they shall ob- 
 tain mercy, refers to the state of the forgiveness of 
 our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against 
 us. The blessing bestowed on those who are perse-
 
 THE REGENERATE MFK. 
 
 cnted for righteousness sake, refers to states of temp- 
 tation from which deliverance is effected by the Lord. 
 The blessing bestowed on the peace makers, for they 
 shall be called the children of God, refers to the state 
 of peace, the final result of the completion of the 
 Divine Prayer, and for which completion we ascribe 
 the kingdom, the power, and the glory to the Lord. 
 
 A Note on Internal and External Worship. 
 
 From the preceding articles on the Lord's Prayer, 
 it appears that, in teaching man to pray, the Lord 
 designed that he should "pray with a reference to 
 practice, and practice with a reference to prayer." 
 Much delusion exists at the present day for want of a 
 proper discrimination between internal and external 
 worship. Properly speaking, internal worship is the 
 devotion of all within us to the Lord, by means of the 
 external worship of a good life of piety and charity. 
 The inward powers consist of all the affections of the 
 will, all the knowledges of the understanding, and all 
 the powers of action which thence receive impulse 
 and direction. All these are merely ideal and unsub- 
 stantial things until they become actual, in deeds of 
 love, and words of wisdom, or in active piety towards 
 God, and active charity towards man. As it was the 
 same Lord who ordained pious worship by teaching 
 us to pray, and who ordained obedience by giving us 
 His commandments, it is evident that both are equally 
 portions of our duty to God, and that to do good is as 
 truly a part of external worship as to pray. But un- 
 happily there prevails a fallacious mode of apportion- 
 ing our duties, by considering religious worship to be
 
 DISSERTATIONS OH 
 
 all that is implied in "our duty to God," while the 
 remaining portion of our prescribed duty is treated as 
 if it were inferior to the other, and is called merely 
 moral duty, and hence, being unwarmed by the ruling 
 love or motive, and unsanctioned as an essential to 
 salvation, it dwindles into a cold and partial discharge 
 of " the duty to the neighbor." In this case, there is 
 no basis provided in external worship for the love of 
 the neighbor for the Lord's sake, and consequently 
 the union of internal with external worship is broken, 
 and the external becomes, in various degrees, in the 
 solifidian churches, external worship without internal ; 
 which is like a dead body without a soul. The wor- 
 shipper of this character is diligent in the outward 
 exercises of piety, but doles out only so much of 
 practical gratitude, and conformity with the moral 
 law, as the fear of hell extorts, or, perhaps, the fear 
 of the world's censure prescribes. His worship is 
 founded on fear, and he is a stranger to the exalted 
 motive of doing good from the love of good. He 
 does not search out his evils, because he would prefer 
 not to lose his own good opinion, feeling some self- 
 complacency in thinking himself holier than others, 
 even while he fervently disclaims all self-merit. He 
 departs from flagrant evils because he feels he cannot 
 avoid doing so without incurring punishment. It 
 enters not into his calculation for eternity, that there 
 is as little room in heaven for the cold and narrow 
 heart, and selfish aim, as there is for the drunkard and 
 the swearer ! 
 
 But if the solifidian doctrine naturally leads to ex- 
 ternal worship without internal, the receivers of the 
 true doctrine of charity and faith united in good
 
 THE REOKNERATK tIFB. 
 
 works are not unaware that the old will has a ten- 
 dency, in their own case, in precisely the same direc- 
 tion as the solifidian doctrine ; and that, in various 
 ways, it will endeavor to get clear of the restraints of 
 the new will, and the genuine doctrine of charity. 
 
 There is a fear of man which forbids the well- 
 disposed to do right, and to act up to the full convic- 
 tions of duty ; as well as fear of the world's censure 
 of open immorality. Natural timidity, or the dictate 
 of some lurking principle of selfishness, will prompt 
 the preference of the tortuous course of policy and 
 expediency, to the plain and straight forward path of 
 justice and uprightness. Such persons are like 
 traitors in the camp ; they make good professions, but 
 no dependence can be placed upon them in the day of 
 trial, or the hour of need. It is plain that so far as 
 this leaning to expediency rather than conscience be- 
 comes habitual, internal worship is deprived of its 
 proper basis in the practical part of external worship; 
 and iu the same degree the devotional part of exter- 
 nal worship is rendered of no value. Conformity to 
 the world's maxims in worldly minds, and a politic 
 balancing of interests against conscience in religious 
 characters, are kindred principles. In either case, 
 the divine majesty of truth, which ought to be wor- 
 shipped by the devotion of all the powers of life 
 without exception, is slighted ; and it appears to be 
 unknown, that every tortuous deviation, to avoid 
 bowing to that truth which is the voice of God, is a 
 departure from both internal and true external wor- 
 ship. Persons who know what is best to be done, and 
 also feel a good will and desire to do it, and yet, from 
 want of firmness, resolution, or moral courage, do it
 
 120 DI8SXRTATION8 ON 
 
 not, are betrayers of their own interests, the interests 
 of true religion, and the trust committed to them by 
 their Divine Master. No selfish plea or excuse can 
 remedy the mischief they inflict upon their own souls, 
 however it may satisfy their own prejudiced judg- 
 ment, or silence their conscience for the future. 
 
 Not to bow to the dictates of truth, except when 
 they coincide with our interest or convenience, ex- 
 hibits a reluctant and parsimonious dealing with the 
 Great Owner of all our talents, and which has more 
 resemblance to the conduct of the unprofitable, than 
 the profitable servant. It is, indeed, allied to that 
 kind of external worship without internal, which was 
 manifested by the undutiful son who said, " I go, sir, 
 and went not." It is an ungrateful return to Him 
 whose communication to us of his blessings is only 
 limited by the limited extent of our will and capacity 
 to receive them. 
 
 He that would fully unite internal with external 
 worship must, in the first place, seriously and habitu- 
 ally endeavor to make himself acquainted with all the 
 claims of divine truth upon him, under all possible 
 circumstances, and must determine to yield those 
 claims with a cheerful meekness and lowliness of 
 heart. He will not then be long in discovering, that 
 to lay upon the altar of self-devotedness every narrow 
 view, every undue feeling of self-interest, and every 
 constitutional infirmity dear to the self-hood, in short, 
 everything which impedes the free course of duty, is 
 to make a blessed exchange of that which the falla- 
 cious calculation of self calls desirable, for the full 
 blessings of goodness and truth, perfected and estab- 
 lished in the ultimate acts of the life ! Should an
 
 1Ut RKOKNERATK LtTK. 
 
 objection arise in the mind of any one that it is hard 
 work to do all this, that it is hard work for the timid 
 to become courageous, then let him strengthen himself 
 in the divine address and promise, " Be strong and 
 of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid ; for Jeho- 
 vah thy God, he that doth go with thee, he will not 
 fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be of good courage, and 
 he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the 
 Lord." 
 
 As the " New Jerusalem " is to come down from 
 God out of heaven to earth, in the case of every in- 
 dividual who is admitted to be a citizen of the holy 
 city, so is true internal worship to descend and become 
 fully established in external, by acts of practical duty 
 as well as of piety ; but as the New Jerusalem is as 
 nothing to those who refuse it admittance to their 
 own souls, and so pro vent its descent to earth as far as 
 they are individually concerned, so also internal wor- 
 ship is nothing but a floating idea, except so far as it 
 becomes embodied in acts of piety, charity, and 
 mercy, by which God has commanded His creatures 
 to worship Him. 
 
 ON THE DELIGHT OF GRATITUDE. 
 
 THE essential delight of gratitude can be known 
 only to the regenerate Christian, since he alone from 
 the heart acknowledges all things as gifts from God, 
 not excepting oven those privations and sufferings 
 which, in the course of their progression, invariably 
 unfold to him their hidden treasures. Gratitude is a 
 never- failing source of delight, by making every. en- 
 joyment a blessing from Providence, whose goodness 
 12
 
 122 DISSERTATIONS OJJ 
 
 often overpowers the feelings of the heart. The re- 
 generate mind sees in its own existence a source of 
 eternal praise ; it is deeply sensible that He who gave 
 life, gave it for happiness, and, lest erring man should 
 mistake his way to the happiness for which he was 
 created, gave him also infallible laws and regulations 
 for its attainment, together with the most encouraging 
 promises of every requisite divine assistance. 
 
 Contentment and gratitude are inseparable com- 
 panions. The former shuts the door against anxieties, 
 while the latter opens the gate of delight. Content- 
 ment occasions a peaceful calm, and gratitude a 
 devout rejoicing a silent offering up of perpetual 
 incense on the altar of the Giver of all good. The 
 worldly mind, instead of looking upward with ado- 
 ration and thankfulness, looks down for distinction 
 and subservience. It asks for more possessions in 
 order to procure increased homage ; and confirms 
 more and more in itself a constant craving, which is 
 destined to be followed by continual disappointment. 
 On the contrary, gratitude to the Supreme Benefactor 
 never fails to e*xcite benevolence to man, while an ex- 
 quisite participation of the happiness which the exer- 
 cise of benevolence promotes, invariably calls forth a 
 fresh stream of gratitude, love and adoration. Secure 
 in its humble dependence, it finds a temple of worship 
 in the most fluctuating events; and in the deepest 
 troubles, descries the tender mercies of its God. 
 
 THAT ALL WORLDLY POSSESSIONS AND ATTAINMENTS MUST 
 END IN DISAPPOINTMENT, IF TEMPORAL BE NOT JOINED 
 WITH SPIRITUAL VIEWS. 
 
 THAT this truth is incontrovertible, the daily expe-
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE, 123 
 
 rience of the young, and the settled conviction of the 
 aged, will continually confirm. It is a truth that can 
 only be doubted by those persons who are immersed 
 in temporal pursuits, even to a degree of insanity, 
 and who, from an ardent love of the world, would 
 fain disprove what they every day lament that they 
 are disappointed and unhappy. They have accus- 
 tomed themselves to wear a mask till they cannot bear 
 to go without it ; and therefore they endeavor to in- 
 duce a belief upon others, that they are possessed of 
 that lasting gratification for which they continually 
 sigh. The soul, from its very nature, can only be 
 satisfied with immortal possessions. All things which 
 begin and end with time, being in themselves tran- 
 sient and perishing, are of no more estimation in the 
 view of a truly religious mind, than in the degree in 
 which they can be made subservient to eternal pur- 
 poses. Honors, riches, pre-eminence and power may 
 be all rendered subservient to the cause of religion 
 and virtue, and thus to things eternal, and in this new 
 creation of their uses they may all be pronounced 
 very good ; but considered in themselves, as they will 
 come to nothing, so they are nothing. Ask the youth 
 upon whom religion and virtue have made some deep 
 and early impressions, in what estimation he holds 
 his worldly pleasures and gratifications, when he re- 
 turns to his serious, silent and monitory reflections ; 
 and he will candidly own that they are vain, delusive 
 and unprofitable. Perhaps to this he will add, that 
 if he could find only one friend who so estimates 
 them, one of his truest satisfactions would be to hold 
 frequent intercourse with that friend on more inter- 
 esting and elevated subjects. In his riper years, he
 
 DISSERTATIONS OJI 
 
 will confirm more and more the correct estimate which 
 he made in his youth. His pursuit of virtuous attain- 
 ments will become more steady, and more ardent, till 
 all his thoughts, words and actions will have eternal 
 purposes in them, and will serve at once to render him 
 more useful here, and to prepare him for a better state 
 hereafter. 
 
 Virtue is eternal ; and the mind which is so deeply 
 impressed with its dictates as to be led to the constant 
 practice of them, lives in eternity even while it re- 
 mains in time, and will find time truly delightful 
 exactly in the degree in which it opens the prospect 
 of eternity. The mind that would shut out eternity, 
 separates itself from religious virtue, and meets with 
 incessant disappointment. It will not own the truth, 
 because it does not love truth ; for truth leads to vir- 
 tue, and virtue to eternal delight. Should the aged 
 advise, their counsel is disregarded, on the ground that 
 they have become querulous from having outlived their 
 enjoyments, though the calm and sober satisfactions 
 which virtue brings will increase to the last moment 
 of life. Should the young advise, their observations 
 are deemed of no account, because they are wholly 
 unacquainted with the world. And thus admonition 
 is lost on the disciple of falsehood ; and admonition 
 slighted, is misery secured. Man was created for hap- 
 piness even in this world, but only according to the 
 immutable laws of happiness established from creation. 
 From a breach of the divine commandments, or, what 
 is the same, of the laws of happiness which regard even 
 the regulation of the inmost thoughts and affections, 
 are derived the innumerable forms of human misery 
 which are daily presented to our view.
 
 THK RKOKNKR1TE Lift. JO. 5 
 
 Those privileged individuals whose elevated affec- 
 tions, and upright intentions and conduct, open to them 
 the cheering prospect of eternity, will find, in an hum- 
 ble dependence on the Divine Providence, the secret 
 of soothing their feelings in adversity, and of giving 
 tenfold enjoyment to the innocent gratifications of 
 time ; while those who, either fiom aversion or a cold 
 disregard to religious instruction and practice, shut out 
 the prospect of eternity, will not only have an eternity 
 to dread, but, as a necessary consequence, will deprive 
 themselves during their whole lives of the truest and 
 most heart-felt enjoyments the enjoyments of time 
 sanctified and elevated by those of eternity. 
 
 ON TEMPORAL PROSPERITY WHEN SUBORDINATE TO 
 ETERNAL VIEWS. 
 
 IT sometimes happens, in the course of Divine 
 Providence, that when the mind of man, in the com- 
 mencement of his regeneration, begins to open to eter- 
 nal views, his worldly supports are taken from him, 
 sometimes gradually, and sometimes suddenly and 
 with apparent violence. This appears to be permitted 
 in order that he may learn to look upwards, and to find 
 his support in the Lord alone ; and also, in order to 
 disentangle his affections from the world, and to break 
 all their bonds and affinities. This, at first, must ne- 
 cessarily prove a severe trial to the new convert, and 
 under the pressure of it he will be tempted to shrink 
 from pursuing his passage through the wilderness, and 
 will look back with regret to the sensual delights of 
 Egyptian bondage. During this state, were the days 
 of his worldly prosperity to return, his worldly affec- 
 12*
 
 126 DISSERTATIONS OK 
 
 tions, though somewhat chastened by adversity, would 
 return with them ; and hence it is necessary that he 
 should be kept in straitnesses of various kinds. 
 Worldly aids, however, are mercifully provided ac- 
 cording to his necessities, in various unexpected forms. 
 A stranger hand will sometimes afford the desired 
 help, like the raven who brought food to the prophet. 
 At times he will be sensible of the goodness of the 
 Divine Providence in sending him manna from heaven 
 for his spiritual support ; and, at other times, he will 
 loathe it, and sigh for quails. "When he falls into com- 
 pany with worldly minds, he will sometimes be shock- 
 ed and disappointed ; and sometimes be partially won 
 over to his former delights. In proportion, however, 
 as his spiritual mind is strengthened, in consequence 
 of his natural affections being weakened by privation, 
 outward trials and inward temptations, he will mix 
 with the world with less danger; he will be able to 
 regard its levities and amusements, so far as they are 
 not criminal, as resembling children's play ; reserving 
 to himself his hidden satisfactions, on which he will 
 delight to feed, and which he will venture to impart 
 to others at prudent intervals, and suitable opportuni- 
 ties. A ray of worldly prosperity which previously 
 would have dimmed the light of his spiritual mind, 
 and darkened its views, may now serve to make them 
 more luminous, by removing the shade of worldly 
 cares and anxieties, so that the free spirit, being disen- 
 cumbered of earthly entanglements, may take a wider 
 range; and the elevated affections may soar aloft 
 without danger of ag{iin sett'ing upon earth, being, 
 like the bird of paradise, instinctively taught to live 
 upon the wing. The divine favors, in the spiritual or
 
 THK REGENERATE LIFB. 
 
 natural form, are now like grapes and figs from the 
 promised land, and the triumphs of the humble re- 
 generate mind are those of gratitude and tears. 
 
 ON THE EXPEDIENCY OF A STRAITNESS IN WORLDLY POS- 
 SESSIONS AND ENJOYMENTS IN ORDER TO THE ADVANCE- 
 MENT OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 AFTER the understanding has been enlightened and 
 the affections have begun to receive new life from the 
 Divine Word, the will-principle of the natural man, 
 which is to be entirely subdued, occasionally submits, 
 and occasionally prevails. While man continues un- 
 der the influence of the divine will, a new order takes 
 place which is but faintly understood ; and the old 
 will too often ensnares the understanding to condemn 
 what it cannot comprehend. A privation of worldly 
 possessions and enjoyments immediately after a new- 
 born charity has begun to warm the heart, and the 
 being forced into worldly difficulties after having wil- 
 lingly parted with worldly delights for the sake of the 
 heavenly kingdom, appears to be a counteracting 
 rathe r than a meliorating process ; and we are often 
 apt to lament, in the bitterness of our anguish, that 
 we cannot go to heaven by the way that we would 
 choose. But during the infant stages of regeneration, 
 and while the first emotions of our charity are as yet 
 blended with inferior principles, had we ample means 
 for the external operation of charity, are we sure that 
 in the exercises of it there would be no triumph? 
 Might we not often mistake the state and character of 
 others, and, by an ill-timed aid, impede the trials which 
 it is needful for them to undergo? Would there be no 
 danger to our temperance from the table of luxury
 
 128 
 
 to our humility in the courts of pride or to our sin- 
 cerity among flatterers ? We know not whither great 
 worldly means might lead us ; and if in the course of 
 Divine Providence we are deprived of them, it must 
 assuredly be for our advantage here or hereafter. The 
 dissipations of the world into which we might be drawn 
 by prosperity, even when we proposed to avoid them, 
 might deprive us of the benefit of interior trials and 
 temptations, to which a retired and forlorn state, arising 
 from worldly privations, is frequently introductory, 
 and forms a necessary basis. To learn to forgive in- 
 juries is more difficult than to bestow bounties, and 
 injuries will abound when adversity prevails. It is 
 chiefly in seasons of adversity that our patience and 
 forbearance are exercised by false friends, from whom 
 it is expedient that we should be separated, and who, 
 when the summer sun of prosperity appears to be for- 
 saking us, will fall off like autumnal leaves. To prefer 
 dependence upon the Lord to actual possession, relying 
 on the Lord alone in erery effort that we make, is a 
 state that we cannot arrive at till our usual supports 
 are taken from us. It is not in a calm sea that the 
 mariner's heart fails him, but in the trying tempest 
 which defies his utmost skill. The world is at present 
 in the very consummation of false principles and evils, 
 and great are the advantages of often retiring from it 
 by self-examination, and by seeking instruction and re- 
 pose in the Divine Word. 
 
 The man of worldly prosperity, on emerging from a 
 merely natural state and beginning to acquire spiritual 
 views, will sometimes languish for a change in his ex- 
 ternal circumstances. He grows weary of worldly 
 subjects that are void of life. He returns to the festive
 
 THE REGENERATE L1TI. 129 
 
 board, but sickens at the repast. His worldly friends 
 and acquaintances are again invited, but the inward 
 affections mourn, while the external mind labors in 
 vain to exert a cheerfulness which it cannot feel. His 
 former delights become like heavy burdens, from 
 which he knows not how to disengage himself, nor can 
 he conjecture by what means such long established 
 connections are to be broken. An unexpected misfor- 
 tune takes place, which suddenly changes the scene ; 
 and, in the midst of surrounding difficulties, his eman- 
 cipated spirit begins to breathe freely, as in a new at- 
 mosphere. But scarcely is he released from the bond- 
 age of Egypt, before he finds himself at the entrance of 
 the wilderness. In travelling through it, his fainting 
 heart will often recoil, and he will at times be brought 
 to the very brink of despair, when deprived at the satne 
 time of his worldly and spiritual comforts. But let 
 him strive to possess his soul in patience, and to main- 
 tain an humble dependence upon the Lord, and then, 
 in the hour of his greatest need, the Lord will give 
 him manna from heaven, and water from the rock, and 
 both of them he will find in the Word of Life. It will 
 be given to him truly to enjoy that fit measure of 
 worldly comfort which the Lord, in His wisdom and 
 goodness, will not fail to provide, until he arrives at 
 " the land that floweth with milk and honey," his 
 eternal abode in the heavens, where his tears will be 
 turned into joy, and all his cares into the delightful 
 rest of heavenly uses forever. 
 
 ON VOLUNTARY PRIVATIONS. 
 
 WE are never so much disposed to have considera-
 
 130 niSSERTATIOKS ON 
 
 tion for others, as when we are accustomed to impose 
 on ourselves voluntary privations, and never so little, 
 as when we extend our self-indulgences ; although to 
 some persons the reverse of this proposition may seem 
 to be the truth. The reason is, that by restraining our 
 desire for enjoyments of an outward or sensual kind, 
 we weaken the power of self-love, which, the more it 
 prevails, the more it weakens the power of neighborly 
 love. The keeping within due bounds our lower 
 gratifications will always prove the surest means of 
 enlarging those which are rational and spiritual ; and 
 the crown of all these is charity, in its disinterested 
 and elevated endeavors to add to the happiness of our 
 neighbor. The man whose sensual and degraded de- 
 light is the accumulation of wealth, will think very 
 little sufficient for those who want, and will therefore 
 deal out to the necessitous with a very sparing hand. 
 The voluptuary, at any price of inconvenience to 
 others, will secure to himself those false and degraded 
 pleasures which entirely engross his regard. He 
 would beggar his family to increase his gratifications, 
 of which we have lamentable and daily proofs. 
 
 Bat he who, amidst the natural enjoyments of time, 
 can contemplate an eternity to succeed, will direct his 
 thoughts and affections to worthy objects, and, above 
 all, to the attainment of that fitness for a future state 
 of existence which oiight to be the chief concern of 
 an immortal being. He will perceive the love of God 
 to be inseparable from an habitual adherence to that 
 order which His precepts enjoin ; and the love of his 
 neighbor to be inseparable from a faithful discharge 
 of his relative duties; and, in his journey to a hap- 
 pier country, he will be content with such outward
 
 THK REOESCIUTB Lift. 
 
 consolations, however few, as are afforded him by an 
 all-gracious and all-wise Providence. 
 
 ON THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 
 
 THAT the course of the Divine Providence is inscru- 
 table, is a truth that finds an easy admittance into the 
 regenerate mind, for all the acts of the Providence of 
 the Lord being a combination of His love, wisdom 
 and power, which are infinite, their operations are 
 necessarily, for the most part, such as transcend human 
 apprehension. Nevertheless, the general end and 
 object of Divine Providence is certainly known to be 
 the good of mankind ; but the specific object, in par- 
 ticular cases, will not often be obvious to our very 
 limited perceptions. To rely with humble and un- 
 shaken confidence on the Divine Providence, is the 
 highest privilege of a human being ; since it is ac- 
 companied with inward peace, and serene, undisturbed 
 happiness. But this happy state cannot be attained 
 until the divine precepts are engraved on the heart, 
 and thus become impulsive principles which act 
 spontaneously through the uniform tenor of the life. 
 He who maintains heavenly order in his affections by 
 keeping close to the Holy Word, and thus to the Lord, 
 moves in the stream of Providence, in consequence 
 of which he is kept from being the cause of mischief 
 to others on the one hand, and, on the other, many 
 untoward events, which would otherwise occasion 
 much pain to the self-hood, pass harmlessly by, leaving 
 a spiritual benefit and blessing behind them. The 
 activity of goodness, as a ruling principle, and the 
 sweetness of dependence on the Supreme Control, go 
 hand in hand. If the former relaxes, the latter her
 
 132 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 comes clouded. The affections, purposes, desires, 
 thoughts, and even the ideas of thought, must be under 
 the dominion of truth and goodness in union , and self- 
 dependence must be habitually discarded, before a 
 delightful sense of the divine control and protection 
 can be fully enjoyed. No wonder, then, that the fru- 
 ition of this happy state, even with the regenerate, 
 ebbs and flows. Severe trials are of necessity permit- 
 ted for the sake of our purification ; and it requires 
 considerable advancement in the Christian life calmly 
 and gratefully to contemplate the operations of Divine 
 Providence, through the medium of intense sufferings. 
 The mind, oppressed by the tortured frame, will often 
 shrink back ; it will strive to be composed ; and will 
 finally be compelled, all but despondingly, to confess 
 its own utter inability. It must wait for its cheering 
 views and comforts until Providence has passed by, 
 and reveals a milder splendor than that which, if it 
 had been seen in its approach, would have dazzled and 
 confounded. At such times, we should take shelter 
 in the rock of faith, and be content, with Moses, 
 that the hand of Omnipotence should overshadow us, 
 till his glory has passed by. A few scattered rays, while 
 it retires, is all that feeble mortals can bear. The 
 slightest revelation, then, of what Providence has done 
 for us is sufficient to overwhelm the reflecting mind 
 with gratitude and astonishment. Should our suffer- 
 ings at any time prove extreme, and such as human 
 nature recoils at, and especially when wj ;.re apparent- 
 ly forsaken by our only sufficient IL Iper, our Lord's 
 example should prove our never-ceasing admonition, 
 leading us to excl.iim with Kim, "Father, i.ot my 
 will, but thine be done."
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 ON A SETTLED DEPENDENCE ON, AND TRUST IN, THE 
 DIVINE PROVIDENCE. 
 
 A dependence on the Divine Providence, like ev- 
 ery other attainment in the regenerate life, is gradual 
 in its growth, and variable in its operation. In the 
 earliest stages of our Christian warfare, the black 
 clouds that surround us, and the new forms of diffi- 
 culty and desolation by which we are tried, will occa- 
 sion sad despondency, and sometimes absolute despair ; 
 but by degrees we shall discover the hand that lifts us 
 up, and learn to confide in that Divine Power which 
 continually protects us, and enables us again and 
 again to surmount the overwhelming billows, till at 
 length we feel ourselves secure in the Divine Word, 
 as our spiritual life-boat, which the threatening waves 
 cannot possibly overset. Were Providence to raise 
 us up before we are sufficiently humbled by repeated 
 desolations, we should most assuredly triumph in our 
 own strength, and the natural mind, which had begun 
 to be subdued, would regain its dominion, and prevent 
 that self-annihilation which is the only true test and 
 sure ground of our advancing in the spiritual life. 
 As our trust in the Divine Providence increases, and 
 becomes habitual, every occurrence will form an oc- 
 casion for our looking up to, and holding secret com- 
 munion with the Lord. For the smallest -instance of 
 prosperity, or permitted enjoyment, we shall immedi- 
 ately give thanks. Under adverse circumstances, our 
 prayers will be as instantly offered up, that we may 
 take a right course, and that, in due time, we may 
 surmount our danger or difficulty, deriving from it 
 the intended spiritual improvement. The same Prov- 
 13
 
 134 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 idence that was visible in the progress of our priva- 
 tions, will be equally so in the wonderful and unex- 
 pected means of our support ; and when all these 
 circumstances have been reiterated to the experience 
 of the true penitent, a more refined observation will 
 ensue, and even a delight will be felt in the course 
 which the Lord takes with us, and which, for the 
 whole world, we would not wish to alter. The affec- 
 tions, now elevated and purified, instead of calling on 
 the reflecting intellect for support, and for a repeti- 
 tion of its former instructions, will urge it to witness 
 those clearer views which affection, the fruit of holy 
 experience, can alone unfold, till the understanding, 
 from being the preceptor, becomes the pupil of the 
 rectified will, and the reason confirms what the heart, 
 in its more copious and refined reception of heavenly 
 influx, dictates. 
 
 A mature trust in the Lord can only exist in the 
 degree in which self-dependence subsides, and this 
 can only subside by privations and by repeated trials, 
 by which the pure in heart are gradually taught, in 
 all things, to see God. 
 
 ON THE DIFFICULTY OF ATTAINING A SETTLED AND ENTIRE 
 TRUST IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 worldly things go well with worldly minds, 
 they are in good humor with Providence, and are 
 willing to pay an apparent homage for the good things 
 they possess, and which they secretly hope by this 
 means to preserve, and also, possibly, to increase, by 
 their own independent endeavors, if unobstructed by 
 the course of events, through the favor of Him who
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. J35 
 
 rules them. That this is the temper of worldly men 
 in prosperity, is evident from their general conduct 
 in adversity. They are then deprived of their appa- 
 rent confidence, for they cannot trust Providence in 
 the dark. Still less can they suppose that Providence 
 is equally kind in depriving us of our possessions, as 
 in securing them to us. When all things prosper, 
 they are willing to call their good fortune by the name 
 of Providence, but when their darling schemes mis- 
 carry, they examine and endeavor to find out the 
 cause in something casual. After the paroxysm of 
 vexation has been somewhat exhausted by the expres- 
 sion of vain regrets, or passionate exclamations, human 
 prudence is taxed to its. utmost limit to repair the mis- 
 chief, and is urged by the fretful and anxious feelings 
 to find out either a remedy, or grounds of selfish con- 
 solation, the latter, perhaps, including some premedi- 
 tated retaliation, if the case be one of personal injury. 
 Various schemes are successively devised and aban- 
 doned, with as little reference to a controlling Provi- 
 dence as if there were no " God that judgeth the 
 earth." It is thus that the real estimate of Divine 
 Providence is manifested, in the neglect and distrust 
 with which the Disposer of all things is treated. His 
 goodness, wisdom and power' are equally slighted by 
 the implied imputation that he lacks either will or 
 power to aid. In fact, the prevalent feeling seems to 
 be, resentment against Providence a feeling which 
 exclaims with Jonah, " I do well to be angry ; " and 
 this feeling naturally suggests the conclusion, that 
 God's claim to confidence for the present and the 
 future has been forfeited ! No help is, therefore, 
 asked of Him from whom alone help can come.
 
 136 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 Should, however, a sudden impulse of fear or selfish 
 prudence originate a prayer, it breathes no sincere 
 feelings of resignation, and inasmuch as it is not " the 
 prayer of faith," it cannot be granted, for resignation 
 and confidence must always exist in an equal propor- 
 tion. It is, indeed, quite evident that the natural 
 mind has, in reality, no clear or well-grounded belief 
 in Providence ; but rather considers the world as 
 being like a clock, or curious piece of mechanism, 
 which, being once wound up, is left to go by itself, 
 and is subject to many contingencies. But this, its 
 general idea, the natural mind will sometimes be will- 
 ing to depart from, when, in a fit of selfish or seeming 
 piety, it desires to draw a different conclusion con- 
 cerning Providence, in favor of its own interests. As 
 the wicked have no genuine faith, so neither can they 
 have any real or consistent trust in Providence. 
 
 Far different are the views of the regenerate mind. 
 From an affection for truth, and from the hope of 
 being more firmly fixed in that good to which the 
 eternal truth of the Word unerringly leads, it sees 
 God in all things. JThe rational mind, lit up by rev- 
 elation, clearly discerns that there could be no Prov- 
 idence if it did not exist in the smallest things as well 
 as in the greatest ; it being obvious that great events 
 are made up of the smallest contingencies, and that 
 they owe their unfoldings and progress to the latter, 
 as trees grow out of, and expand from, their seed^ 
 Guided also by genuine doctrine from the Word, 
 confirmed by the exercise of the intellectual powers, 
 the rational principle sees clearly, and also fully ac- 
 knowledges, that nothing can be more impossible 
 than that infinite love should intermit its care, or that
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 the Creator should grow weary of superintending His 
 
 work ; it perceives that God, from an absolute neces- 
 
 sity of His nature, must desire, and cannot but operate 
 
 for, the good of every one without exception. From 
 
 actual observation and experience also, the regenerate 
 
 mind, in its interior views, takes as it were a micro- 
 
 scopic view of the Divine Providence, and although 
 
 in its most lucid states, even the celestial mind can 
 
 discover but a small portion of that providential op- 
 
 eration which, viewed in itself, is infinite, it is never- 
 
 theless led into the perception of myriads of wonders 
 
 in beautiful and orderly display, which escape the 
 
 gross and confined vision of the natural mind. In the 
 
 course, however, of the various changes of state which 
 
 occur in the progress of the spiritual life, our general 
 
 acknowledgments and perceptions are sometimes ob- 
 
 scured by partial doubts. The old will, ere we can 
 
 part with it, often interrupts the progress of the new. 
 
 The former, so far as it prevails, opposes its sensations 
 
 to confession and acknowledgment; while the latter, 
 
 under every moment of its influence, leads to uncon- 
 
 ditional submission. Until we arrive at this state, the 
 
 sweet and peaceful dependence on the Divine Provi- 
 
 dence of yesterday, may be carried away to-day by 
 
 some new form of difficulty. The understanding, 
 
 while undergoing its renovating process, requires to 
 
 be led to the Divine Word, like a child to be taught, 
 
 and then it not only sees and acknowledges the divine 
 
 truth therein, which points to the eternal end of all 
 
 the dispensations of Providence, but also delights in 
 
 the prospect of new degrees of attainment in heavenly 
 
 affection. "When the new will prevails, it realizes 
 
 those delights, but so often as the old will returns, it 
 
 13*
 
 138 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 deprives us of our tranquil states by demanding pos- 
 session instead of exercising dependence ; and in its 
 degraded concupiscence, the latter will often sigh for 
 those delights which the rational mind had abandoned 
 as impure or worthless, and will excite a secret devo- 
 tion to some golden calf, by seducing the understand- 
 ing to its constant plea of a little more comfort and a 
 little less care. sOne of the greatest and most common, 
 hindrances to a firm trust in the Divine Providence 
 is, the disregard of the Divine precept which forbids 
 every degree of anxious thought for the morrow, 
 because, as the Lord himself declares, " sufficient unto 
 the day is the evil thereof." | It is overlooked that 
 these words convey the important truth, that every 
 day invariably brings its full burden of duty, both of 
 endurance and of performance, and that no more 
 strength can be given than the patient bearing of that 
 burden requires. " As thy day is, so shall thy strength 
 be," is an immutable record of Divine truth. When, 
 therefore, the mind, yielding to anxiety and distrust 
 of the divine goodness, loads itself with the cares of 
 the future, in addition to the " sufficient evil " of the 
 present, it cannot reasonably expect that the Divine 
 Providence should follow its example, and break 
 through its own laws, by giving more strength than 
 the daily burden requires, and thus anticipating the 
 aids which are in store for the future. If, then, strength 
 be given for the day, and no more, and man persist in 
 doubling his daily burden by adding anxiety for the 
 future, he must needs sink under his load, and become 
 a prey to his own ingratitude and folly. Besides, no 
 divine promise of good can be realized by man any 
 longer than he continues in conjunction with the Lord,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 139 
 
 and so remains within the protecting sphere of divine 
 order, by keeping <z^ the divine precepts. All things 
 needfiil are promised only on the condition of seeking 
 the kingdom of God and His righteousness in the first 
 place. To distrust the Divine Providence by yielding 
 to anxiety, is to depart from conjunction with the 
 Lord, by departing from a state of co-operation with 
 Him by obedience ; and the unavoidable result must 
 be, that the anxious mind not only increases its daily 
 burden beyond its daily strength, but it also rejects 
 from itself the aid promised for the profitable endu- 
 rance of that sufficient portion of evil which is allotted 
 for the purposes of purification. 
 
 Under these impressive considerations we may well 
 exclaim, how truly blest are they who know by happy 
 experience that the new will in -the celestial mind, in 
 possessing the Lord, possesses all things ; deriving 
 comfort from privation, and possession from depend- 
 ence ! It is the regenerate celestial mind which has 
 received with the "white stone"* "a new name;" 
 it has derived from the union of good and truth from 
 the Lord, the permanency of peace ; it has become 
 more and more insensible to self and the world in pro- 
 portion as it has become more and more alive to God ; 
 it can enjoy the harmony of social intercourse ; and 
 even in solitude can find the most enlivening society, 
 because the celestial affections have intimate access 
 to heavenly societies, whose mild influence is at times 
 clearly perceived. In the world, its constant, though 
 invisible operation, is to do good. It would requite 
 all injuries by an endeavor to rectify the disorder that 
 
 * Rev. ii. 17. See the explanation of this given in Swedenborg's Apocalyps* 
 Explained.
 
 14:0 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 gave rise to them ; and would, if possible, return all 
 favors by a communication of its own delights. When 
 power is denied, it enjoys its heavenly purpose ; and 
 when opportunity is given, it immediately goes forth 
 into action. 
 
 CONSOLATION OFFERED TO THE CHRISTIAN IN THE PROS- 
 PECT OF HIS ENTRANCE INTO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 
 
 DEATH is the gate of life, since to die is to live for- 
 ever. 'Tis the concluding day to all our worldly cares 
 and anxieties, and the commencement of serene, un- 
 disturbed delight the dawn of eternal peace. 'Tis 
 the putting off our perishable forms with the frailties 
 and diseases that wait upon them, to resuscitate with 
 the privileges of immortality, in forms forever per- 
 fecting in beauty in* proportion as our hearts and 
 minds improve in the love of goodness, and in the order 
 of truth. Superior angels will delight to fan the flame 
 of our love of virtue, and to lead us to progressive 
 degrees of improvement through the boundless ages 
 of eternity. To die, is to meet our beloved friends to 
 part no more, assured, at the same time, that those 
 who are dear to us will soon folio w.\ This world is 
 but the cradle of our existence, and He who gave us 
 being, alone knows when it is the fittest time for us to 
 be translated to a happier clime^ When He calls us, 
 shall we not with cheerfulness obey His voice, while 
 angels are hovering round our pillow to lead us to our 
 immortal existence our eternal home? Our Lord 
 resuscitated on the third day; and the soul, which 
 cannot die, on being detached from its earthly im- 
 prisonment, will awake to a new state of life and 
 liberty, endowed with a consciousness of its immortal
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFH. 
 
 powers, and strongly yet tenderly invited to pursue, 
 by the instruction and example of surrounding liappy 
 spirits, every purpose of divine love and charity, and 
 to engage in blessed activities transcending all mortal 
 thought, and crowned with an eternal adoration of 
 the Lord of Life and Glory, that Holy Being whom, 
 in the splendor of His works, we have in this world 
 but faintly seen, and even in the light of His "Word 
 have viewed but as " through a glass darkly," we 
 shall behold in the immortal state, in the divine light 
 of an unsetting sun ; we shall be favored with a nearer 
 approach to the radiance of infinitely more stupen- 
 dous displays of His creating power and paternal care, 
 than we can possibly conceive of in the present im- 
 perfect stage of existence. This world has cost us 
 many a sigh ; but why should we yield to depression 
 when our brightest hopes are beginning to be realized, 
 when the cloud is fast removing, and when the ever- 
 lasting gates are opening to receive us ? 
 
 ON THE ASSOCIATION OF ANGELS WITH MEN. 
 
 As angels reside in our good affections, and as these 
 are so frequently interrupted or overshadowed, it is 
 not surprising that we are seldom made sensible of 
 their presence. Nevertheless, an inward conscious- 
 ness of their benign influence is sometimes granted to 
 us, and especially when the mind is in the delight of 
 good and useful purposes, or when reflection has 
 brought it to a settled calm. On the other hand, when 
 the purposes are disturbed or perverted by counter- 
 acting circumstances or uncongenial minds, and the 
 thoughts are ruffled, it is often the signal for the ap-
 
 14:2 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 proach of evil spirits, who are delighted to fan the 
 flame of discord, or to encourage gloomy and despond- 
 ing ideas and groundless apprehensions, and thus to 
 cloud the Spiritual Sun that bright emanation in 
 whose cheering rays we are made sensible that we 
 spiritually live and move, and have a spiritual exist- 
 ence. The approach of angelic spirits is inexpressibly 
 sweet and calm. It restores all things to harmony 
 and peace ; and in breathing forth the purposes of 
 good will, it tranquilizes the mind, and disposes it to 
 the silent offerings of gratitude and praise. Who that 
 has felt the soft and enlivening association of angelic 
 spirits, would willingly indulge in any of those mo- 
 mentary delights of evil, whose uncleanliness must 
 needs drive away such holy associates, and introduce 
 in their stead the dark, disorderly and malignant 
 crew whose delight is in the destruction of human 
 happiness? Angels cannot dwell with disorder in 
 any form, either of envy, hatred, malice, un charita- 
 bleness, false pretence, or impure desire. To guard 
 against these subtle foes requires perpetual watchful- 
 ness, and a firm resistance to all the bribes that self- 
 love and the love of the world can offer. Besides 
 these obstacles, we have others to surmount that are 
 for the most part undefinable. Sickness, by detach- 
 ing the mind from temporal things, will sometimes 
 prove the means of attracting angelic associates, and 
 of disposing to interior views, and of opening delight- 
 ful prospects of futurity ; but, at other times, the 
 necessary attention to bodily ailments, as well as the 
 sufferings themselves, will disappoint these interior 
 views, and draw the attention exclusively to the poor, 
 weak citadel, in which the enemy seems to possess
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 14:3 
 
 unrestrained power to riot with increased violence 
 and effect. In the present state of the world, while 
 the affections have to combat with hereditary evils, 
 and the body with a morbid inheritance, while, 
 through its fluctuating course, regeneration sometimes 
 appears to be advancing, and at other times to be 
 stationary, or to be falling off into a retrograde mo- 
 tion, we cannot expect a permanent state of the 
 fruition of the society of angelic visitants. Much, 
 however, may be done to solicit their more frequent 
 visits, and to induce their longer stay. Let us care- 
 fully arrange the subjects of our thoughts and pursuits, 
 maintaining them in a state of elevation by connect- 
 ing them with eternal views. Let every evening 
 prove a comment on the day. When our sensations 
 are in heavenly delights, let the intellect repose, and 
 when they are obscured, let it bring the treasures of 
 the Word to our aid. When we seem to be without 
 uses, let us study the more to search out and avoid 
 evils, in which case we shall be sure to be introduced 
 into uses, for the greatest of all uses, because it is the 
 foundation of all, is, to put away evil. Should Prov- 
 idence seem to forsake us, let us seek Him in His 
 promises ; our spiritual' enemies cannot long endure 
 the sacred pages ; let us patiently wait during the 
 sorrows of the night, and the morning will assuredly 
 return with an increase of joy and peace. 
 
 ON THE DELIGHTS OF CONSTANCY, AND THE DELIGHTS OF 
 VARIETY. 
 
 THE delights of constancy, and the delights of 
 variety, may at first sight appear to be in opposition
 
 144 DISSKUTATIOXS OS 
 
 to each other, while, nevertheless, they are so closely 
 united that the one cannot exist except in dependence 
 upon the other, any more than a flower can flourish 
 when separated from its root. The sun is constant in 
 his rising, and all nature teems with abundance and 
 variety through his instrumentality ; so, comparative- 
 ly, the enjoyment of our real rational comforts in 
 their indefinite varieties depends on our constancy in 
 the adoration of the great First Cause. Whenever 
 we turn from this fountain of happiness, every enjoy- 
 ment sickens and dies, as flowers cut off from their 
 parent roots. 
 
 In the marriage state there can be no true felicity 
 but what is built on the constancy of unanimity and 
 fidelity. From the constant determination of the 
 affections of each to the other, meeting as it were in 
 a common centre, two rational minds in unison are 
 capable of producing endless varieties of mutual de- 
 lights, by an interchange of kind offices and atten- 
 tions, by the education of children, by the charms of 
 conversation, and by varied pursuits ; but so soon as 
 the constancy of harmony and fidelity fails, the blos- 
 som of happiness dies. 
 
 ON THE STATE OF MARRIAGE IN THE SPIRITUAL AND 
 CELESTIAL CHURCH. 
 
 TIIE marriage state may be traced, in the sacred 
 order of its appointment, to its Divine Source, and 
 may be seen as originating in the union of the love 
 and wisdom of the Lord, and thence in the conjunc- 
 tion of the Lord with His church, or with created 
 minds in a state of heavenly order. Every individual
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 145 
 
 in whom these principles unite, is spiritually married ; 
 and it cannot be doubted that this spiritual marriage 
 will give birth to a desire towards a true, spiritual, 
 and therefore chaste marriage union with a suitable 
 partner ; for such a union alone fitly represents, and 
 brings into fulness of enjoyment, the activities of love 
 and wisdom in the spiritual mind. But a regenera- 
 ting mind will repress all undue anxiety concerning 
 the period of accomplishing its wishes, knowing that, 
 as the Divine Providence is peculiarly exercised re- 
 garding marriages, with a view to the modification of 
 the hereditary principles in the offspring, it is both its 
 bounden duty and privilege to look to the Lord, with 
 full confidence in His love and care, and also that it is 
 better to look for the attainment of an object so desir- 
 able through Him, rather than immediately from the 
 self-hood ; for, in the former case, the judgment will 
 be under divine guidance, but in the latter it will be 
 in danger of being warped by the lower principles. 
 Woman, by creation, is more especially the organized 
 form of affection or love ; and man, of intellect or 
 wisdom. 
 
 In the spiritual church or state,* the husband rep- 
 resents, and viewed abstractedly or essentially he is, 
 truth progressively advancing to goodness ; and the 
 wife represents, and essentially is, the love of that 
 truth or of progressive wisdom ; and in the degree 
 that she loves the wisdom which he pursues a.nd un- 
 
 * The tpiritual church is with the man who acts from truth to good, tliu.s in 
 nn nscending order towards the Source of good; but the celestial church is with 
 the man who has completed that order, and is in most interior conjunction with 
 the Lord by love, and from Him acts in th descending order, or from love by truth 
 into the life. But see the foregoing Dissertation "On the Life of Truth and the 
 Life of Good." 
 
 14
 
 146 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 folds, she exalts and increases the affection of her 
 partner towards her. In the celestial church or state, 
 when truth has reached its destination in pure good- 
 ness, or the supreme love of the Lord, the wife, elevated 
 to the same love, no longer represents the love of man's 
 wisdom, but becomes the more beautiful form, mani- 
 festation, or truth, of his love. In the prior state, the 
 husband loved the representative form of the affection 
 of the wisdom which he sought ; in the latter state, he 
 is more strongly- attracted to the more beautiful rep- 
 resentation of the form of his love. Thus is the affec- 
 tion of each celestial partner exalted by an organiza- 
 tion out of itself, in the person of its partner, through 
 which there is produced a more delightful sensation 
 of the Supreme Love, from whom love truly conjugal 
 is a continual emanation, or a divine gift or production. 
 During the advancement of the spiritual state, self- 
 love will be more and more sweetly lost in the as- 
 cending degrees of union in mutual love, till, in the 
 celestial state, mutual love is still more sweetly lost in 
 a more exquisite participation of the Supreme Love. 
 
 THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HORSE. 
 
 THE horse corresponds to the understanding of truth 
 in its general usefulness, in the delight it takes in 
 exercise, in its fleetness and activity, and in its obedi- 
 ence tq its rider, as the understanding obeys the will. 
 There are horses that trip, that shy, and that are rest- 
 ive ; and these qualities are found inhuman intellects. 
 Some horses are more docile, some are vicious, and 
 some cannot be controlled* and in human understand- 
 ings these varying properties are conspicuous ; stub-
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 147 
 
 bornness, teachableness, and wrong-headedness, mark 
 the different characters we daily meet with. The 
 horse of the truest symmetry and fleetest movement, 
 with a safe manner of going, is most esteemed ; and 
 an understanding finely organized, of quick compre- 
 hension and sound judgment, is most highly prized. 
 The color denotes its peculiar characteristic quality, 
 which will be found in the correspondence of colors. 
 
 THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE VINE. 
 
 THE vine, with its fruit, corresponds to spiritual 
 truth, and the exactness of the correspondence is in 
 many instances clearly and beautifully unfolded. 
 The tree spreads its branches with great quickness, 
 but it requires much sun to ripen its fruit, which, in 
 a cold climate, will not come to perfection ; in like 
 manner divine truth, where the affections are cold, 
 cannot arrive at maturity, but will remain in a raw, 
 cold, and sour state. When the grapes are ripe, and 
 the juice is expressed, it has its fermentation to un- 
 dergo before it is fit for use ; so spiritual truth must 
 undergo its fermentation, and get rid of heterogene- 
 ous properties and adhering falsehoods, before it can 
 come into use. The wine must be kept some time 
 before it is fit to drink ; so truth must be some time 
 retained and settled in the mind before it can come 
 into life. If wine is kept too long before it is drank 
 it will perish ; so will divine truth, if after a certain 
 time it is not brought into life. When wine has un- 
 dergone its fermentation, it should be kept cool ; so 
 divine truth, when ^.purified in the mind, should be 
 guarded from the heat of the disorderly passion of
 
 148 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 self-love. Wine, "beyond the quantity well digested, 
 will intoxicate ; and so will truth, when not appropri- 
 ated by the practice of goodness. Wine is the best 
 and most exhilarating of all cordials for the body ; and 
 so is divine truth for the mind. The gardener, in 
 pruning his vine, will be careful to preserve the bear- 
 ing wood in succession, and lop off the useless branches. 
 In like manner, we look to those branches of truth 
 that are fruitful, and lop off such as, after a certain 
 time, cease to be useful, such as the rudiments of 
 truth to which we no longer return. As the vine is 
 continually putting forth new bearing wood, so will 
 divine truth become increasingly productive, if we 
 are careful of its culture. Only that quantity of wine 
 is of use which promotes health ; so also, only that 
 quantity of truth is of real use which promotes good. 
 A bad state of health may prevent th good use of 
 wine, and a bad state of the affections will prevent 
 the genuine use of truth. If the health be sound, it 
 will derive from wine a new stimulus ; and if good- 
 ness be the sound and leading principle of the affec- 
 tions, it will derive from divine truth an infinite 
 variety of excellent properties and uses. 
 
 THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DOVE. 
 
 THE dove corresponds to the truth and good of faith, 
 which constitute the spiritual marriage. It is distin- 
 guished by its fidelity to its mate, and by its fond and 
 wooing attentions ; in like manner, the principles of 
 genuine truth and goodness are attracted towards 
 each other. The dove is remarkable for the velocity 
 of its flight, especially when danger threatens, or
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 149 
 
 when returning to its mate ; in like manner will truth 
 quickly disappear when beset by evil and the false ; 
 and if separated from the good principle it will impa- 
 tiently return. The dove, if carried far from home 
 and then let loose, immediately darts upwards, and 
 after flying round and round, as if deploring its ban- 
 ishment, and moved with strong desire to return, it 
 begins to feel the instinctive attraction towards its 
 abode, and, as if endowed with an extraordinary 
 keenness of vision to discern it, thither it wings its 
 rapid flight. So when the truth of good has been 
 imprisoned or borne down by any uncongenial force, 
 when set free it mounts upward to its elevated views, 
 feels the sacred attractive influence, and with clear- 
 ness of vision descries its abode in the sacred Word, 
 and with delight returns to its home. | As doves de- 
 light to stand in the soft descending shower, so are 
 truth and goodness refreshed with instructive dis- 
 courses of wisdom. The dove descended at our Lord's 
 baptism as the innocent emblem of the truth of good, 
 the form in which our Lord made His manifestation 
 on earth. 
 
 ON THE DIVINE HUMANITY OF THE LORD. 
 
 DOUBTLESS this divine subject will be the delightful 
 contemplation of angels to all eternity; and the feeble 
 apprehensions which our most humble and pure inte- 
 rior affections will be enabled to acquire upon earth, 
 will prove to be nothing more than the lispings of 
 infancy. The thoughts which are here ventured to be 
 offered may nevertheless be acceptable to candid and 
 congenial minds, to whom such subjects are always 
 interesting, however confessedly obscured in shade.
 
 150 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The Lord made His Humanity divine, by which is 
 meant, in a general sense, that through progressive 
 stages of putting off the maternal humanity by com- 
 bats and victories, He advanced from a state of in- 
 fancy, through degrees of intelligence and wisdom, to 
 union with the Essential Divinity ; He thus glorified 
 his Humanity by successive steps, and lie fully glori- 
 fied it by the last temptation of the cross. In the veil 
 which He assumed, it is our great privilege to con- 
 template Him through advancing stages of our regen- 
 eration, until, by successive steps, imitative of the 
 divine progress, we are enabled to throw off obstruct- 
 ing imperfections from evils and false principles, and, 
 by divine influx from our glorified Lord, from first 
 principles to ultimates, to be again brought into con- 
 junction with Him. 
 
 When the affection of truth humbly seeks for illus- 
 tration, it will find it in the living Word, in the inter- 
 nal sense of which the Lord condescends at this day 
 to manifest himself in glory, or in His glorified Hu- 
 manity, while in the mere literal sense we contemplate 
 Him in the maternal infirm humanity. It is by means 
 of the Word, and by the gradual renewing of our 
 minds through the truth, that we become recipients 
 of the divine influx from His glorified Humanity, 
 from first principles to ultimates ; for as the literal 
 Word is the basis and continent of the internal sense, 
 so also, in the One manifested Lord " dwelleth all the 
 fulness of the Godhead bodily." Therefore, as the 
 apostlesays, " Is any one afflicted? let him pray " to 
 that merciful Saviour who passed through the deepest 
 trial of human sufferings. " Is he merry (or in glad-
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 ness of heart)? let him sing psalms " let him address 
 his inmost thankfulness to his glorified Redeemer, the 
 eternal and living Fountain of all Beatitude. 
 
 We are informed in the writings of Swedenborg, 
 that in the time of the most ancient church there was 
 no written Word, for the men of that church had the 
 Word inscribed on their hearts, inasmuch as the Lord 
 taught them immediately through heaven what was 
 good, and thereby what was true, and gave them to 
 perceive each from a principle of love and charity, 
 and to know from revelation. The very essential 
 Word to them was the Lord. This church is called a 
 celestial church, because it took its peculiar character 
 and designation from good, rather than from truth. 
 The succeeding church is called a spiritual church, 
 because it inclined to truth more than to good ; this 
 church had a written Word, as well historical as pro- 
 phetical, and, in the beginning, their Word consisted 
 of such things as had been preserved and collected 
 from the most ancient people. [See A. (7., 3432. 
 
 From this statement the following view is presented 
 to the mind. When the principle of heavenly love 
 was on the decline among the human race, and when 
 the divine influence was weakened in its effect, the 
 divine teaching took a different form. When the af- 
 fection, which is, as it were, the soul of truth, was 
 grown weak, it was necessary to give to truth a per- 
 manent body, or fixedness, that the mind might not 
 lose sight of the Object of its worship ; and that the 
 light of truth might not depend on the fluctuating 
 state of the affections, but take the outward form of 
 an inward and eternal document. So soon, therefore, 
 as the most ancient or celestial church had lost its
 
 152 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 1 ove, the promise of a Messiah gave to faith its per- 
 manency, which was in less or greater illumination 
 according to the states of the men of the succeeding 
 ancient or spiritual church. A faithful obedience to 
 the divine commandments was continually excited 
 among them, first by truths derived and retained 
 from the celestial church, and afterwards by a written 
 "Word. In the primeval state of the Adamic or celes- 
 tial church, the divine human principle of Jehovah, 
 passing through the heavens, could influence the ce- 
 lestial, spiritual, and natural mind of man, which, 
 like the heavens, then constituted a one, and were 
 acted upon as such, from highest to lowest principles, 
 or from the centre to the circumference. This church 
 was in the innocence of wisdom, and in exact corres- 
 pondence with the innocence of infancy, being gov- 
 erned by a spirit of love. But the infant must grow, 
 and its internal mental powers must be developed. 
 In his progress to adolescence, the youth questions, 
 compares, and examines those lessons which were 
 taught during the innocence of his love, and fancies 
 that he realizes, in the opening powers of his mind, a 
 superior and independent state. In like manner the 
 posterity of the most ancient church, looking more to 
 their own understandings than to the Fountain of all 
 "Wisdom, began to disregard and even to despise 
 divine comnmnications, and, by degrees, fancied 
 themselves gods. Having thus set up the pride of 
 self-intelligence, and commenced worshipping that 
 mental power which, in its order, was a true image of 
 the Deity, they rendered it, in its perverted state, the 
 foundation of succeeding idolatries, since to make an 
 idol of self-intelligence is not less insane than the
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 153 
 
 external worship of an inanimate stock or stone. 
 And such were the unavoidable results of listening 
 to the suggestions of the serpent, and forsaking the 
 tree of life for the tree of knowledge, that is, of 
 listening to the fallacies of the sensual principle, 
 which suggested that man should form his character 
 from self-derived knowledge, rather than from an 
 humble acknowledgment that he derived everything 
 from God, as the Sole Fountain of Life. 
 
 To the ancient or spiritual church, represented by 
 Noah and his posterity, the Israelitish church suc- 
 ceeded; and this, in its decline, became a church of 
 mere representatives, consisting of types and ceremo- 
 nies, in which the spiritual things represented or 
 signified were entirely overlooked. Thus the pride 
 of self-intelligence, nurtured by the self-love of man, 
 fell into degrees of life more and more remote from 
 God, and into denser and denser shades of ignorance 
 and error, until the human mind became merely 
 sensual and corporeal, deriving its conceptions and 
 conclusions entirely from the appearances presented 
 to the senses. The recipiency of the human mind can 
 only be in proportion to its state of reception. Those 
 commandments which were engraved on the hearts of 
 the celestial men of the celestial church, and which 
 were retained in the understanding and affectionate 
 minds of the spiritual men of the spiritual church, were 
 delivered by the hand of Jehovah himself, on tables of 
 stone, to the Israelitish church, which consisted of nat- 
 ural men only, in order that those same commandments 
 might remain in indelible characters on the memory : 
 at once confirming their divine authority, and discover- 
 ing the state of recipiency into which man had fallen.
 
 154: DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 SECTIOX II. 
 
 The "Word, which is Divine, and which, in itself, is 
 the Divine Humanity, is ever and invariably the same, 
 but its manifestation has varied its -form in every age, 
 according to the state of human minds. Divine truth 
 was well nigh lost to the human apprehension in ex- 
 ternal rites and ceremonies, when our Lord conde- 
 scended to manifest Himself in the flesh. He veiled 
 himself in the human form in order that He might 
 become a living precept, the bright and perfect ex- 
 ample of His own documents ; that He might restore 
 His perverted Word ; fulfil the prophecies ; and in 
 His clouded omnipotence might approach without 
 annihilating, and consign to regions of darkness, the 
 hosts of infernal spirits who, after gaining possession 
 of men's minds, had begun to obsess their bodies, in- 
 somuch that multitudes became "possessed with 
 devils ; " so that, it is evident, if such possessions had 
 been allowed to increase and take their course, un- 
 obstructed by divine interference, the whole human 
 race would have been speedily destroyed by infernal 
 agency. Such was the direful state of mankind when 
 the great Creator, in His love and in His pity, conde- 
 scended to become their Redeemer. As " the Word 
 made flesh," our Lord was clothed with human in- 
 firmities, and, as a necessary consequence, He became 
 liable to temptations from the hells ; these He suc- 
 cessively overcame, and at the same time He glorified 
 His humanity, by expelling progressively everything 
 maternal therein, and thus putting on a paternal 
 Divine Humanity. This great work of Redemption 
 having been finally completed by the passion of the 
 cross, " the Word," or the Divine Truth, in which
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 155 
 
 was the Divine Good, rising from the toinb, re-assumed 
 its glory unveiled, and, in the divine ultimates of 
 manhood, ascended into heaven. Thus do we behold 
 the ETERNAL Trinity of Love, "Wisdom, and Operation, 
 which before the incarnation was only in first princi- 
 ples, descending into last principles, called " flesh," 
 and therein becoming the CHRISTIAN Trinity of Father, 
 Son, and Holy Spirit ; or the Divinity or Divine Soul, 
 the Humanity or Divine Body, and the proceeding 
 Operation from both united in one, like the soul and 
 the body in man. 
 
 Many interesting considerations may be suggested 
 by comparing the ultiraates of the " Word made 
 flesh," with the ultimates or letter of the written Word. 
 By manifesting himself in the flesh the Lord became 
 constantly visible and accessible, and thus resembled 
 the Word in the letter. His disciples, notwithstand- 
 ing, who had so many opportunities of resorting to 
 Him, and of hearing his divine instructions, had but 
 a very obscure and feeble apprehension of his Di- 
 vinity ; and this, also, is the case with many in our 
 day, who apply themselves to the letter of the Word 
 only, without any perception of its real inward 
 divinity its very spirit and life, that lies concealed 
 in its internal sense. While the disciples resorted to 
 their Master only as a man, they could not fully com- 
 prehend his true character as God. Our Lord, there- 
 fore, acquainted them with the necessity,- when His 
 work should be accomplished, of withdrawing Him- 
 self from their bodily sight, that His divine spirit 
 might have a more effectual operation upon their 
 minds. " If I go not away the Comforter cannot 
 come." They were favored at the transfiguration
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 with a view, as it were by anticipation, of the Lord 
 in glory, in order that their minds might be duly im- 
 pressed with their Master's true and divine character, 
 and thus, being in a more elevated state, be better 
 prepared to receive the influence of divine truth pro- 
 ceeding from His glorified humanity after His resur- 
 rection. Our Lord, during his abode on earth, had 
 given new spirit and life to the "Word of the Old 
 Testament by the precepts and doctrines of the Gospel, 
 but only a few scattered rays of its internal sense 
 could find a recipiency in human minds. Though the 
 prophecies were fulfilled, and the resurrection realized, 
 still the hovering cloud hung upon the sacred text. 
 The nature of the Divine Trinity, as consisting of 
 essence, form and use, or of the Divinity, Humanity, 
 and proceeding Operation, under the names of Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost, and as comprised in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, the one only manifested Lord, the Al- 
 mighty Jehovah in a human form, was not as yet 
 clearly understood ; and the great truths relating to 
 man's immediate resurrection, and the nature and 
 order of the spiritual world, were still left under the 
 veil of mystery. Our Lord's second advent was to 
 reveal many things which he could not at his first 
 advent disclose to his disciples, because they were 
 not able to bear them. Their minds were not at first 
 prepared to believe that man rises in a spiritual body 
 on the third day -after his decease, even as the Lord 
 arose on the third day in a Divine body ; they were 
 not prepared to receive the idea of a heaven without 
 pre-eminence, where to be little is to be great, and 
 where to be most humble is to be most elevated. In 
 accommodation to their feeble states of apprehension,
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 157 
 
 it was necessary, by means of some ambiguous ex- 
 pressions, to leave them, for a time, in the belief that 
 the material body would rise from the grave, and 
 thus to give, by a sensible idea, an external kind of 
 reality to the resurrection, and also, for a time, to 
 suffer them to imagine that the visible world would 
 be destroyed, in order to fix in their minds some im- 
 pression, adapted to their understandings, of a future 
 general judgment. But after the dispensation of the 
 Holy Spirit, the disciples enjoyed an increased light 
 on these subjects, as is evident from the Epistles ; 
 but still an apostle confessed that, on some points, 
 they still " knew only in part," and, as yet, " saw as 
 through a glass, darkly." 
 
 But the Lord is now come in the clouds of heaven 
 with power and great glory, or in the internal sense 
 of the Word, which shines through the clouds of its 
 literal sense, for the enlightenment of the " New Je- 
 rusalem." He is come not to destroy, but to save 
 the world, and by a gradual, but sure progression, to 
 establish peace and righteousness amongst men ; and 
 to unite His true church forever with the heavens, 
 by a plenary reception, and union, of genuine truth 
 and goodness. 
 
 The Lord's sensual principle (which was assumed 
 by a miraculous birth in the weakness of the maternal 
 humanity, and was afterwards glorified and raised in 
 power,) having, in the course of its purifying process, 
 resisted and overcome the hells, the true disciple of 
 his Lord can no longer be the slave of that principle, 
 because it has been glorified or " lifted up " by the 
 Lord of Life, secured against a host of enemies, and 
 brought to be the foundation, or lowest existing basis, 
 15
 
 158 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 of the eternal order of the heavens. [See John iii. 
 14, 15. ByHhe serpent here mentioned is to be un- 
 derstood the sensual principle of man, which, in the 
 Lord, was to be made divine, and thus to become the 
 medium of regenerating the same principle in man. 
 It was thus that the Lord took off the curse from the 
 serpent, or that state of aversion in the sensual prin- 
 ciple which caused the fall, by restoring it to its 
 primitive order, innocence, and subordination to the 
 higher principles.] 
 
 Since manifestation must ever be according to re- 
 cipiency, the divine influx, to the devout recipient 
 subsequent to the incarnation, must differ from the 
 divine influx through the heavens prior to the incar- 
 nation. Influx is always from highest to lowest prin- 
 ciples in successive order ; but that order having been 
 interrupted by the posterity of the celestial church, 
 the efficacy of the divine influx is at this day restored 
 by means of the Divine Humanity, from which it 
 proceeds replete with restorative power, from the 
 highest to the lowest of the fallen degrees in man, so 
 that a regenerate man is no longer liable, as at first, to 
 be seduced by the sensual principle to recede from 
 love into self-love and self-idolatry. " God is able to 
 save to the uttermost " all who approach his Divinity 
 through his Divine Humanity. 
 
 SECTION- in. 
 
 We now come to notice the results, in man's re- 
 generation, which were intended to follow from the 
 Lord's glorification. In these results, the regenerate 
 man is ever found treading in the footsteps of his 
 Divine forerunner.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 159 
 
 It is first to be observed, that the regular series of 
 the regenerating process must terminate in a simili- 
 tude to the divine love, or in the restoration of that 
 image and likeness of God which has been well nigh 
 obliterated. The order of its progression is, from 
 faith to obedience, and from obedience to love. Man 
 must believe in his heart in Jehovah, as manifested 
 in the flesh in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 until that faith is vivified by love, which will be the 
 certain result of his persevering in shunning evils, as 
 sins against his manifested God and Saviour. 
 
 Under the first impressions of truth, he will go with 
 the Lord to the temple, and for a while will hold 
 disputation with the doctors or the learned that is, 
 he will contend earnestly for truth against those who 
 pervert and adulterate it ; in a more advanced stage, 
 he will accompany his Lord to the marriage in Cana, 
 and will perceive in himself the water turned into 
 wine ; that is, entering into the heavenly marriage 
 state of the new will and understanding, his truth 
 will become spiritualized by its union with goodness. 
 In the further progress of that union he will be en- 
 abled successively to surmount his evil propensities 
 until they are at length nailed to the cross with his 
 crucified Redeemer ; he will resuscitate with Him to 
 newness of life, till truth is glorified in him ; he will 
 then be fitted to receive the Lord in His second ad- 
 vent, and from being the disciple of His truth, will 
 become the disciple of His love. 
 
 The Saviour must be spiritually born in us by re- 
 generation ; He must put off' in us, by fighting for us 
 against our spiritual enemies, those evils which He 
 put off with the maternal humanity ; He must be
 
 160 DISSERTATIONS OS 
 
 crucified in us to the death or quiescence of our 
 former corrupt natural life ; He must resuscitate 
 in divine truth in us, and establish His kingdom 
 of love in us, before we can be fitted for His 
 heavenly kingdom, and before the incarnation of the 
 Divine Humanity can produce in us its triumphant 
 and eternally saving effects. Thus shall we recover 
 the image and likeness of God in Christ Jesus, which 
 can never more be effaced ! The external man, though 
 distinct in degree, will be united with the internal in 
 corresponding harmony; and the church immortal, 
 which now descends from heaven, will establish its 
 dominion with us forever. 
 
 Many, whom curiosity may excite to contemplate 
 the wonders of the new dispensation which is gradu- 
 ally diffusing its light through the world, may, for a 
 while, gladly receive the divine testimony, in the 
 imaginative delights of the natural inind ; but none 
 can have any part or lot in the benefits of the second 
 advent, who do not undergo the process of the first, 
 as above described. We must die to self before we 
 can have life in and from the Lord. We must have 
 genuine truth before we can have genuine heavenly 
 love. The Lord is " the Way, the Truth, and the 
 Life," and every one who would participate in the 
 Life must, with heart-felt humiliation, apply to the 
 manifested Jehovah as the only Way which can in- 
 troduce to the Divine Truth and to that Divine Love 
 and Life which contains in its bosom eternal felicity. 
 
 The attempts which are made by some to dive into 
 mysterious truths by the exertions of the self-hood or 
 the aid of scientifics, appear like working into the
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 
 
 mines of spiritual truth with the iron tools of merely 
 sensual perceptions, instead of opening new veins by 
 the luminous course of the maturing affections. Much 
 controversy has been held concerning the nature of 
 our Lord's resuscitated Body, during which the dis- 
 tinction between what is material and what is sub- 
 stantial seems, in some degree, to have been lost sight 
 of, in a fruitless endeavor to render this sublime and 
 mysterious subject more clear than the records of 
 Divine Truth have made it, or,' rather, more clear 
 than our faculties, in their present state, are capable 
 of apprehending. The terms "flesh and blood," 
 when applied to our Lord's resuscitated Body, will 
 convey to the natural mind an idea of materiality ; 
 but to the spiritual mind, an idea of substance. It 
 was doubtless no other " flesh and blood " than that 
 of which the Lord's Supper is a symbol. The divine 
 love was manifested in a human form, which, rising 
 from the tomb fully glorified, was still apparently 
 tangible to those who required an undoubted proof of 
 their Master's resurrection, and whose ideas, being 
 still merely sensual, were impressed with the appa- 
 rent materiality of what they saw. But notwith- 
 standing this appearance, the Body of our risen Lord 
 was certainly not material, but divine-substantial. 
 It was because it had been wholly divested of mate- 
 riality, that it could no longer be seen by the eye of 
 the body, and therefore became visible and invisible 
 at intervals to the spiritual vision of the disciples, 
 who, even while they enjoyed that vision, had no idea 
 of its being any other than their usual natural vision. 
 The same divine condescension that comforted the 
 natural minds of the disciples, by telling them that
 
 DISSERTATIONS OX 
 
 they should sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve 
 tribes of Israel [by which the judgment from divine 
 truths was represented,] and that suffered an impres- 
 sion to remain on their minds, for a time, that at 
 " the last day," their material bodies would resus- 
 citate, could give to Thomas the satisfaction of appa- 
 rently feeling, with the material hand, the wounds of 
 his crucified Lord ; and, as a further conviction of the 
 reality of His resurrection, He could eat broiled fish 
 with His disciples, and concerning which the enlight- 
 ened Swedenborg observes, that after His resurrection 
 "He proved himself to be a man, both by the touch 
 and by eating before His disciples." [T. C. II. 793. 
 
 There can be no reasonable doubt that the great 
 object of these demonstrations was, to assure His dis- 
 ciples that His body was not that of a spirit a body 
 in first principles but that of a man in last princi- 
 ples, upon which point the following statement of our 
 author is highly important : " The Lord rose from the 
 sepulchre with His whole Body which He had in the 
 world, and left nothing behind Him therein ; conse- 
 quently He took thence along with Him the real 
 natural Humanity from first to last; wherefore He 
 said to His disciples after His resurrection, when they 
 supposed that they saw a spirit, 'Behold my hands 
 and my feet, that it is I myself; handle Me and see ; 
 for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me 
 have.' (Luke xxiv. 39.) From whence it appears that 
 His natural Body, by glorification, was made divine." 
 [7 1 . C. jR., 109. 
 
 Although the tilti mates of a Divine Man were thus 
 added by the Lord to his Eternal Divinity, it is not to 
 be understood that He added anything to His eternal
 
 THK REGENERATE LIFE. 163 
 
 and immutable Divine Essence, or to His Love and 
 Wisdom, such an addition being impossible ; but that 
 He added to His immediate operative powers a new 
 medium of operating for man's salvation, by virtue of 
 which His Humanity is called " the Mediator between 
 God and man." 
 
 KISEN from the grave, the mighty Lord 
 Fulfils the promise of His Word, 
 While feeble mortals vainly join 
 The glorious Godhead to enshrine. 
 
 The form divine though clad in light 
 Its splendor veil'd from human sight, 
 That man, from doubt and error freed, 
 Might worship in a firmer creed. 
 
 Now through the heavens His glories beam- 
 Of angel-choirs the noblest theme, 
 For 'tis from Him their states improve 
 In endless bliss, and mutual love. 
 
 On earth, let Hallelujahs join 
 To hail the Human made Divine ; 
 Let heaven and earth united raise 
 The grateful song of endless praise.
 
 164 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 A Note on the Necessity of Devoting to the Lord the Ultimate part 
 of Man, called the Body, in order to the full benefit being received 
 from the Lord's Assumption and Glorification of the Ultimate 
 Divine Principle in Himself, called the Divine Body. 
 
 Every subject introduced into " Dissertations on 
 the Regenerate Life " should have some clear refer- 
 ence to our spiritual improvement. In order to give 
 the preceding articles on the Divine Humanity a more 
 direct practical tendency, the following remarks are 
 added. 
 
 We are instructed by E. S., that before the Lord's 
 incarnation he was a Divine Man in first principles, 
 called celestial and spiritual, but not in ultimates, 
 called natural ; and that as a consequence he could 
 communicate immediately with man's internal man, 
 which contains his first principles, but only mediately, 
 or through the internal man, with his last principles, 
 called the natural mind and body. And inasmuch as 
 man immersed himself in nature more and more, and 
 averted himself from the Lord, as the sun of heaven, 
 until representative worship had lost all its efficacy, 
 and man was upon the point of altogether separating 
 himself, and becoming the prey of the powers of 
 darkness, therefore the Lord assumed the natural 
 principle of a man actually, in and by means of a 
 natural body, which he made fully divine in the world 
 by means of temptations in which he overcame the 
 hells, and especially by the last, on the cross. This 
 he did, in order that, from his Divine Ultimates, he 
 might flow immediately into the ultimates or body of 
 man even as, before his incarnation, from his first 
 principles, he flowed into the first principles of man 
 and thus might effectually protect man's body from
 
 THK REGENERATE LIFE. 165 
 
 infernal obsession ; and also from the natural lusts in- 
 herent in the body, so that the powers of hell should 
 not, at their will, enter into them, and effect man's 
 destruction, both as to soul and body, by destroying 
 his freedom of will and choice. 
 
 But it may be well to present an interesting passage 
 of our enlightened author himself, taken from the 
 Apocalypse Explained, n. 726. " Ultimate things are 
 those which are most remote from the Lord, which 
 are things in nature, and the ultimate things of na- 
 ture. These are called ultimates [or last or lowest 
 things,] because spiritual things, which are prior, ter- 
 minate in them, and subsist and rest upon them as 
 upon their bases. All power is in ultimates, because 
 prior things are together in them. The heavens sub- 
 sist in order upon those things of the church which 
 are with men in the world, thus upon divine truths in 
 ultimates, such as are the divine truths in the literal 
 sense of the "Word; these truths are the ultimates 
 with man into which the Lord floweth in from Him- 
 self, and thus from first principles, and ruleth, and 
 containeth in order and connection, all things which 
 are in the spiritual world. Now inasmuch as the 
 divine power itself resideth in those ultimates, there- 
 fore the Lord Himself came into the world, and was 
 made man, that he might be at the same time in ulti- 
 mates as he is in first principles, to the end that, by 
 ultimates, from first principles, he might reduce all 
 things into order which had become inordinate. At 
 the period immediately before the Lord's advent, 
 there was not any divine truth in ultimates in the 
 church but what was falsified and perverted, in con- 
 sequence of which there was not any basis to the
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 heavens ; wherefore unless the Lord had come into 
 the world, and so assumed Himself what was ulti- 
 mate, the heavens which were from the inhabitants 
 of this earth, would have been translated elsewhere, 
 and all the human race in this earth would have per- 
 ished in eternal death. But now the Lord is in his ful- 
 ness, and so in his omnipotence in the earths, as he is 
 in the heavens, because he is in ultimates and in first 
 principles together. Thus the Lord can save all who 
 are in ultimate divine truths from the Word, and in 
 a life according to them, for he can be present and 
 dwell in those ultimate truths, because they are His, 
 and are Him." 
 
 Again : " All divine influx is from first principles 
 into last, and by connexion with the last into middle 
 principles, and thus the Lord connects all things of 
 creation, on which account he is called the First and 
 the Last. This too was the reason why he came into 
 the world, and put on a human body, and likewise 
 glorified Himself therein, that from first principles, 
 and at the same time from last, He may govern the 
 universe, both heaven and the world." [A. E., vol. 
 vi., p. 399. 
 
 The reader will not fail to perceive the coincidence 
 of this statement with the following passages written 
 by apostolic inspiration : " Having made known un- 
 to us the mystery of his will, according to his good 
 pleasure which he purposed to himself concerning the 
 dispensation of the fulness of times, that he [the Di- 
 vinity] would gather together all things in Christ [in 
 the Humanity], both which are in the heavens, and 
 which are on earth, even in him in whom also we have 
 obtained an inheritance." "It pleased the Father
 
 THE REGEXERATE LIFE. 1(37 
 
 [the Divinity] that in him [the Humanity] should all 
 fulness dwell ; and, having made peace [or perfected 
 himself] through the blood of his cross, hy him to 
 reconcile all things imto himself; by him, I say, 
 whether they be things on earth) or things in heaven." 
 [Eph. i. 10 ; Col. i. 19. 
 
 The Lord having thus assumed the power of imme- 
 diately operating upon the ultimates of nature, it 
 might naturally be expected that man would be 
 specially called upon to prepare himself to receive 
 the action of the Divine Ultimates or Body upon his 
 own ultimates or body, and accordingly we find the 
 Apostles were led most emphatically to call upon their 
 converts to devote their bodies to the Lord. " I be- 
 seech you, by the mercies of God, that ye present 
 your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto 
 God, which is your reasonable service." (Rom. xii. 1.) 
 Again : " Know" ye not that your body is the temple 
 of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of 
 God ? and that ye are not your own, for ye are bought 
 with a price? Therefore, glorify God in your body, 
 and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. vi. 19.) 
 Again : " Ourselves which have the first fruits of the 
 Spirit groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption 
 the redemption of our body." (Rom. viii. 23.) The 
 Apostle also regarded the body by nature as the im- 
 mediate seat of spiritual death, or of the extreme self- 
 hood, as when he exclaimed, " O wretched man that 
 I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? " 
 And then he triumphantly adds, " I thank God [I 
 shall be delivered] through Jesus Christ our Lord " 
 [that is, through the Divine Humanity or Body.] 
 (Rom. vii. 24.) Again : " In me, that is in my flesh,
 
 DISSERTATIONS ON 
 
 dwelleth not any good thing ; " " Let not sin reign in 
 your mortal body ; " " The flesh lusteth against the 
 spirit ; " " If ye live after the flesh ye shall die ; " 
 with other passages equally proving the Apostle's 
 conviction of the necessity of man's devoting his body 
 to the Lord, according to the laws of divine order. 
 This form of expression was authorised by his Divine 
 Master, who spoke of " the will of the flesh." "That 
 which is born of the flesh is flesh ; " " the spirit is 
 willing, but the flesh is weak." Now although the 
 flesh spiritually signifies the external man or mind, the 
 literal sense is not the less accurate in describing the 
 flesh as the seat of evils, which are to be removed and 
 superseded by their opposite goods. That we of the 
 New Church ought to resemble the Apostle in de- 
 siring the adoption and redemption [from impurity] 
 of our body, as well as of our spirit, may be learned 
 from the following passage from E. S. : " If you are 
 disposed to believe it, man, by regeneration, is made 
 new, not only in having a new will given him, and a 
 new understanding, but also a new body for his spirit 
 for such as the will and understanding of man are, 
 such also is the man in all and singular things from 
 the head to the heel, inasmuch as all are productions 
 from the will and understanding, as was proved above"* 
 It appears, then, that the Apostles of the first, and the 
 herald of the second Christian, or New Jerusalem 
 Church, unitedly call upon us to devote the body to 
 the Lord, and, on reference to the apostolic counsel 
 
 * See Ap. Ex., vol. vL p. 385. The reader will also consult pages 375 380, 
 and he will find that the "productions" in the body from the will and under- 
 standing, are in the material body, and consequently that the "new body for the 
 spirit'' means a renewed material, and not a spiritual body, as might be hastily 
 concluded. if the words "as was proved above" were not duly attended to.
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 169 
 
 on this head, it will be seen that it has a more especial 
 reference to the maintenance of a state of chaste con- 
 jugal love. This is a remarkable fact. The Apostles 
 saw that the chaste marriage of one husband and one 
 wife was alone compatible with the purity of the 
 Gospel, and all-essential to the redemption of the 
 flesh from its impurity, by the power of the Incarnate 
 God. In like manner, our great author assures us that 
 a chaste conjugal principle is indispensable in man r 
 in order to his effectual reception of the Divine Spirit^ 
 which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Body. 
 
 The devotion of the body to the Lord is a point of 
 doctrine and duty that has not been sufficiently at- 
 tended to. It has not been seen in its proper connec- 
 tion Avith regeneration as the result of the Lord's glo- 
 rification in ulti mates. It is an important doctrine of 
 the Ne\v Church, that the perfection of the interiors 
 of the mind is in exact proportion to the degree in 
 which the ulti mates are brought into order. A high- 
 er degree of spiritual life is attainable under the New 
 Jerusalem, than was attainable under the first Christian 
 dispensation. But how is it to be attained ? Undoubt- 
 edly by the regenerate man devoting the very ulti- 
 mates of his nature, as well as his interiors his very 
 body, as well as his mind to be the subject of that 
 sanctifying power which the Lord took to himself, by 
 making His own body divine to its very ultimates. 
 In order to this, the man of the church must account 
 it his privilege not to regard his body, and the func- 
 tions thereof, as his own, but the Lord's. His constant 
 thought must be, at least in spirit, " I am thine save 
 me." " I am thy purchase by redemption come, 
 Lord, and take possession of me, both soul and body, 
 16
 
 DISSERTATIONS 05 
 
 by effecting the salvation of botli from sin." "When 
 a man, from the ground of a well-instructed mind, 
 has devoted his ultimate nature to the Lord, in sin- 
 cerity, he has then given up all to the Lord ; and then, 
 because " in ulti mates all things co-exist," the divine 
 principle is in his ultimates in the plenitude of its 
 renovative, legislative, and administrative power. 
 The conclusion, indeed, appears obvious : that since 
 the Lord took to himself full power, by means of a 
 Diving Ultimate or Body, the corresponding recipient 
 of that power, and by means of which it is exercised, 
 must be the human ultimate or body ; and as, in con- 
 sequence of such correspondence, the body is, and 
 must be, the seat and subject of the divine exercise of 
 power, in order to the sanctification of his interiors 
 and their firm establishment upon renewed ultimates, 
 jt must follow, that man must prepare himself in his 
 ultimates to receive, and to be subject to that power, 
 by devoting his body to the Lord, according to His 
 commandments. The new sanctifying power is given 
 from a Divine Ultimate Body, and in what can it be 
 suitably received but in the corresponding renewed 
 ultimate of a man ? Before the incarnation, the first 
 principles, or the spirit of man, received an influx 
 from the Divine Spirit, or Jehovah in his first princi- 
 ples ; but Jehovah has taken upon himself last prin- 
 ciples, called '-flesh," in order that he might imme- 
 diately act upon man's last or lowest principles, called 
 "flesh," simultaneously with his divine operation 
 upon man's first principles. Thus it appears that the 
 renewed ultimate or body, including its proper prin- 
 ciples of will and thought, is to become the seat of the 
 exercise of that divine power, by which interior things
 
 THE REGENERATE LIFE. 171 
 
 may be held in the plenitude of order and perfection. 
 That such an office cannot be performed by the ulti- 
 mate until it lias been renewed, or until the body has 
 been "adopted," or "redeemed," is obvious; but 
 when the ultimate principle of man has been duly 
 prepared, the divine influx from the Lord's Body can 
 find a wide, a deep, and a firm basis thereon ; and 
 then the proper foundation of the Holy City, New 
 Jerusalem, is laid in the world. Thus it is that 
 " Jacob " [or the natural man] becomes " the lot of 
 the inheritance of Jehovah." * Perhaps the habitual 
 devoting of their bodies to the Lord by the receivers 
 of the heavenly doctrines, will be one of the signs 
 which will precede the more full manifestation of the 
 New Jerusalem. 
 
 The glorification of the Lord's Body gives to Him 
 a mediate power whereby the bodies of men, even 
 those of the wicked, are guarded against that obses- 
 sion by infernal spirits which existed at the first ad- 
 vent; and which, had it not been prevented by the 
 incarnation of Jehovah, would have rendered man's 
 regeneration impossible. But the benefit is not lim- 
 ited to this protection. Our Divine Protector is also 
 our Saviour. When He has effectually planted His 
 power in the ultimate organs of will and thought, He 
 has there established an effectual guard against infer- 
 nal power ; and He can then go on perfecting the in- 
 teriors simultaneously with their corresponding ex'e- 
 riors, until the whole man, from first principles to 
 ultimates, is brought under His blessed dominion. 
 His first and general redemption was, and is, the pro- 
 
 * See Deut. xxxii. 9.
 
 DISSERTATIONS 0* 
 
 tection of the body from infernal obsession ; but Ilis 
 second or individual redemption is, the restraining the 
 lusts embodied in the flesh, and especially those which 
 are anti-conjugal, from overpowering the spiritual 
 affections of the spirit, and especially the chaste con- 
 jugal principle, which is destined to descend from the 
 marriage of goodness and truth in the spirit into the 
 body, and there to produce its proper correspond- 
 ence in ultimates the chaste love of marriage.
 
 UCSB LIBRARY
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000 604 270 9