and insist upon the necessity of regeneration that man may be saved, are infinitely superior to those solifidian doctrines, professed in the Lutheran Church, and advocated by Dr. Hase, in the belief of which, Luther says, "although we may commit fornication or murder a thousand times in a day, yet the sin shall not pluck us from the lamb of God." Verily, it is no wonder, that the advocates of "justification by faith alone,"- -a doctrine connected with such antichristian licentiousness as is involved in the above statement, and in others which might be adduced from Luther, and from the principal founders of that doctrine, it is no wonder that the advocates of such a doctrine should be opposed to the writings of Swedenborg, who, more than all other writers put together, has shewn the horribly desolating effects which such a doctrine has produced in the Christian Church,-it has utterly laid waste every thing good and true, and has brought to pass "the abomination of desolation in the holy place,”—the utter consummation of Christianity both as to doctrine and life. What Dr. Hase further says about "a magnetic influence by which Swedenborg in an extacy was transported," &c., shews how utterly ignorant he is of the nature of his case. But what is stated concerning the "third Testament," by which Dr. H. would insinuate, that the members of the New Church consider the writings of E. S. as an addition to the Word of God, and as equally holy and important as its divine contents, is probably the grossest misconception and error that characterize the "Church History" of Dr. Hase. The enemies of the New Church have often made the attempt to propagate this most erroneous notion, whereas the slightest inspection into any of Swedenborg's works, and especially into the small treatise on the "Sacred Scripture," in which he shews the nature of the Word, and in what its divinity consists, is sufficient to refute and to put to shame this most unfounded assertion. As to a "phantastical rationalism," which Dr. H. says Swedenborg's doctrine is, we can scarcely divine what is meant by the learned writer on "Church History;" but this we know, that he himself is labouring under a most phantastic delusion, concerning the true nature and importance of Swedenborg's theological writings. It is, however, probable, that Dr. H. means a rationalism which has only the imagination as its basis, and which has no facts in nature, and no truths in Scripture to rest upon; and this is the sense in which we apprehend Dr. H.'s *"Ab agno Dei non avellet nos peccatum, etsiamsi millies, millies uno die fornicemur aut occidamus." (See Luther's Letters, collected by John Aurifaber, and printed at Jena, 1556, p. 345.) statement will be understood by his readers. But if Dr. H. had but read a single volume of Swedenborg's works, he would have found, that E. S. not "only enriched the physical sciences" by his profound researches into nature, being every step of his way guided by the facts and observations of experience; but that he has also enriched theology by his observations on the Holy Word, by opening its divine contents, and by the facts of spiritual experience which he was permitted to enjoy, with innumerable truths. We sincerely recommend Dr. Hase, and all others who pretend to publish statements respecting the theological and philosophical writings of Swedenborg, that they first thoroughly study their subject, lest, when the truth appears, they be covered with confusion and disgrace.-ED.] POETRY. To MISS F. H., WRITTEN IN HER BIRTH-DAY PRESENT. HAIL! fountain of eternal life, Thou source of life and peace ! Thou bid'st vain man to flee from strife, And every sorrow cease. In thee made flesh, Jehovah shines In thee is seen His Triune One, How "He the wine-press trod alone," Interior glory from thee beams With rays of living love; The song of man and angel's themes, Heaven and earth in concord join Then read, my dear, this sacred Word, And, as each birth-day doth appear, Fresh happiness will come From ev'ry blooming-blessed year, Till Jesus call thee home. R. F. FAITH IS OF LOVE. SOONER shall heat desert the glittering flame, G. A. WINGFIELD. LONDON PRINTING SOCIETY. THE "Society for Printing and Publishing the writings of the Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg," (instituted in London in the year 1810,) has issued the following address to its subscribers : "Brethren,-At the last annual general Meeting of the Society, held in London, at the Music Hall, Store-street, Bedford-square, on Tuesday the 20th June, 1843, the Committee laid before you certain reasons which, as they considered, rendered it expedient to make a change in the manner of conducting the affairs of the Society. The sum of these reasons was, that the demand upon the Society, as a medium of Use, had outgrown the machinery by which its operations were carried on, and hence the Committee had become convinced, that'an expansion of the plan of the Society might safely take place, if not to the full dimensions contemplated by its founders, yet nevertheless to something more ample than the Church in this country had before witnessed.' (Report XXXIV. p. 21.) In the justness of this view you were pleased to concur, and to resolve, 'That it is highly expedient to establish a Central Depository for the Sale of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg in London. That this Depository be under the Superintendence of an acknowledged Member of the New Church; and that this Resolution be recommended to the earliest attention of the new Committee, to be by them carried into effect in such mode as they may deem most expedient.' (Ibid p. 4.) "We have now to report to you, that we have carried out your Resolution to the best of our ability. We have taken a ware-room in the house of Mr. WILLIAM NEWBERY, for warehousing your Stock, meetings of Committee, Library, &c.; and that gentleman will be your sole Publisher, and will have all the books at Publisher's price. It is scarcely necessary to say, that he is an acknowledged Member of the New Church, and that he has business - connexions with nearly all parts of the empire, and indeed, with nearly all parts of the world where the writings of Swedenborg are circulated. He is employed as your Agent at a salary of £10 per annum, and for the room he is to receive £40 per annum. His duties are those of supplying books to the Town and Country Booksellers, keeping the Accounts, and doing all the business which belongs to a wholesale Bookseller. will aslo provide attendance on the Committee, assist the Secretary in sending Circulars, Reports, &c., and give out the half-subscriptions. He "Arrangements have been entered into, by which the Stock of the Society will still be in the Society's keeping, although in the ware-room of its Publisher, and thus your property will be placed beyond risk. The expenses of the Society will be somewhat less than under the old mode of management. Mr. Newbery will supply the public with your Works, without any of those delays which have so often been complained of, and which probably in many instances have hindered the sale of the works. "Of course the removal of the Stock, the fitting-up of the ware-room in a substantial manner, and the various contingencies always attending a new establishment, will involve some outlay; and we have only to assure you, that everything has been done, and will be done, in the most economical manner compatible with your interests, or rather with your objects as constituents of the Society. At the same time there is every ground to hope, N.S. NO. 50.-VOL. v. that if, under the blessing of Divine Providence, the present establishment be permanent, THESE first expenses will be as nothing in the balance with the good that will ultimately be realized, and even with the prosperity of the Society in a pecuniary point of view. "We should leave unfulfilled one of the most pleasing parts of our communication did we not speak a little more at large of the establishment itself. It is on the premises, 6, KING STREET, HOLBORN, an entirely new house, situated in a great thoroughfare, and within six doors of one of the most busy avenues of London. The ware-room is lighted from above by a skylight, and affords easy accommodation on two of its sides for the whole of your Stock, consisting of about twenty-five thousand volumes. It forms one continuous view with the first shop, and seen from without, presents nn appearance more worthy of the importance of the Society than any thing of the kind that has hitherto been seen in London. The part unoccupied by the Stock is still sufficiently large to serve as a room for our Committee meetings, or even if it were necessary, probably for general meetings, of the Society. The shop itself is very capacious, and when its exterior and interior fittings-up are completed, it will take its stand justly among the premises of the great booksellers of London. "We have every reason to trust, that you will here find all your business transacted with promptitude, and with that unvarying kindness on the part of your Agent, which beseems the responsible officer of a Society, and above all, of a Society in the New Church. In a word, we trust that you will have reason to be more satisfied in future with the fruits and working of your establishment, than at present with its prospects, and the fair promise which it seems to hold forth. "On this occasion it may not be improper to remind you, that the Society will require new means to enable it to sustain a usefulness commensurate with its present position; and that the time is one in which you may very fitly exert yourselves to enlarge the pale of your Institution, by procuring fresh Subscribers, and urging the members of the New Church in your respective neighbourhoods to unite for the purpose of supporting a body, the prosperity of which is a measure of the prosperity of the Church in the British Islands. In these times, when K it is difficult to determine in what sphere the Great Buildings' of the Old Church are most tottering, or whether the scientific Infidel, the Sectarian, or the Church man, is most formidable to her established creeds, it surely becomes the members of the New Church, to spread the good tidings, that our Lord has prepared a New Temple of greater glory than the first' for those who love Him by keeping His commandments; and to direct the steps of all who are willing to be led, towards the Holy City of the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem. To enable us to do this, however, requires much larger means than the New Church has placed at our disposal. And yet we cannot help feeling, that sufficient might be done by small contributions gathered from the members of the various Societies of the Church, to fulfil whatever the present exigencies can demand. We hope, therefore, that as we have not consciously felt any part of your Resolution unexecuted, but exerted ourselves to carry it out to the utmost limits which a 'sound prudence prescribes, so you will act with fresh zeal in the new circumstances in in which you are now placed as members of the Society, and thereby maintain and increase the establishment which you have sanctioned and instructed us to commence.-By order of the Committee, "W. M. WILKINSON, Secretary." MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. AN OPINION FROM ANTWERP CONCERNING SWEDENBORG'S SPIRITUAL DIARY. "Antwerp, Jan. 2, 1844. SWEDENBORG'S ANIMAL KINGDOM. Mr. Adamson ....... ........... Edinburgh Society. Mr. Griffin, Louth. Miss Heaton "My dear ***,-F*** will be the bearer of this and of your books, for the loan of which I much thank you. I think the Diary very valuable, as illustrating questions which must occur to every one who has read any of Swedenborg's works. The perfect harmony of the facts there recorded, with the Memorable Relations introduced to prove or illustrate a point, is quite striking; as also is the confirmation, that his intellectual growth, as the recipient of the heavenly truths, was coördinate for a long period with the things he saw and heard. Now as the highest, although the simplest forms of Mr. J. Mellor the intellect, appear in his doctrinal expositions, the fact of his having seen such things rests on the most complete and wonderful chain of testimony. More could not be found in any case, and less could hardly be expected when the ultimate truths were revealed. Briefly, he thought out these large and wise doctrines, which he says were given him from above, and so in every sense they must have been, and so are evidenced to be by his record of what he saw and heard, independent of the deductions or doctrines; for there facts are evidently the forms of truths. I read through the four leading doctrines and the Coronis with very great satisfaction and conviction." Mr. Ferguson, Glasgow Mr. Whitehaven, Salisbury.. ..... Mr. E. Thompson, London.. ..... £4 4 0 Dr. Lees, Leeds 3 3 0 2 20 2 20 1 1 0 |